Manchester United (A)

Well we pulled it off against Udinese, after a few shakey moments in the first half. In fact to be totally honest we were shit in the first half and I was preparing to be watching us play on Channel 5. Then in the second half we played really really well, after a typical Arsenal goal from RVP, Szczesny pulled off probably the best penalty save I've ever seen and proceeded to get mobbed by our squad. A well worked second from Walcott and Udinese were beat. 

However today we go to a place where no team won last season. Manchester United v Arsenal not long ago was a hotly contested game with either side having equal chance of coming out on top. Nowadays however it's almost certain that at Old Trafford we'll lose and to be honest looking at the squad we're likely to field today I'm not at all surprised. More on that in a minute. Arsenal fans everywhere are sick and tired of being taken to pieces by United and everyone would like to us giving them a good run, or at least scoring a 93rd minute winner after Vermaelen has broken Rooney in two when clearing a corner.

So to the teams likey to play today. We lost Nasri to City during the week to nobodies surprise, but it was a complete piss take when he says that we have no passion since moving to the Emirates when he never fucking played at Highbury. He's right in my opinion but he can't make that call. Anyway along with Nasri fucking off and just flicking it in to Dzeko, 2-0 city against spurs, we also face the loss of Song due to his ban. Vermaelen and Kosciely are both touch and go. I would expect to see Sanga and Jenkinson on the wings, I do feel for the young lad whose really been thrown in at the deep end. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Rosicky start after playing really well when he came on against Udinese. RVP will be upfront on his own as usual and Gervinho is also serving his ban. So who to watch for, that Shrek-faced piece of shit obviously as well as Danny Welbeck who has been lethal so far. Young and Nani on the wings are always dangerous and of course its a given that if Park plays he'll score, the little prick.

I really do worry about us being embarassed today. I think they'll just take us apart, and we could face a drumming, that said I'm not right about much these days, lets all pray I'm wrong. Even with the likes of Welbeck and Cleverly on the pitch they are still an incredibly good team. To show the confidence that some people have in us one of that larger betting companies is refunding all losing bets if we win. Yet on the other hand the Telegraph seems to think we're gonna draw 2-2 (I'd take that right now). But somehow I can't see it.

A win today would be tremendous but I just can't see it, a loss means we'd be 8 points behind United after just 3 games. Good luck lads.

Prediction: Manchester United 2-0 Arsenal

Udinese Calcio (A)

So the other running saga of the summer came to a close today as a deal for Samir Nasri was completed. I'm not sure of figures, I believe it is around the £23m mark. To be honest we could all see this happening and its no shock to anybody. However we are now in the situation where we didn't want to be, two of our best players have left and we have days left to close any deals. According to Arsene we are looking at midfielders but we've heard all this before. 

The squad for tomorrow I must say can't be described as ideal. Wilshere has been ruled out for up to 3 weeks with a knock picked up in training. Koscielny is also out which leaves us with defensive problems as always but Djourou is in the squad and ready to play. However on the positive side Song and Gervinho are available as is Van Persie and Emmanuel Frimpong who played a blinder against Liverpool until getting sent off.

Anyway looking at Udinese they are a dangerous team and if we underestimate them then we may be looking a Europa League for the rest of the season. In terms of their key players the threat comes obviously from Di Natale who is a quality striker and was top scorer in Serie A last season. Other striking threats come from Barreto and Pinzi who can both pop up with a goal here and there. As we saw at the Emirates they can create chance after chance however this tends to leave them open at the back which I think will be our chance to get at their goal. However AS IT STANDS the pressure isn't on us to attack, whoever scores the first goal will set the mood for the game. Should we score first then I think we'll settle in and their moral may drop, however should the reverse happen I can see us panicking and that leads to errors I just hope we can score first.

I think this is the most important game of Wenger's career and I do mean that, yes we've been in cup finals and huge PL deciders but this is the game that will define this season, his most important yet. If we win tomorrow and lose at Old Trafford then I think many Arsenal fans would accept that, I always see Man U away and expect a loss. However lose tomorrow and we drop into the Europa League, moral will plummet and the fans will get more and more agitated, which I can see leading us into a disastrous season. Don't get me wrong should we fail to qualify tomorrow I will be devastated and angry and Arsenal fans everywhere have the right to be. Either way I don't think we'll be seeing the "In Arsene we trust" banners around the Emirates as often as we used too.

So tomorrow is an enormous game and I really mean enormous. I think (hope) we can pull it off, keeping a clean sheet at home was pivotal and should we score once Udinese will need to score 3 and I'm not sure they will do that. A word to the wise for fans going to Udine, firstly you've left it fucking late, secondly their fans are complete lunatics and will kick fuck out of anyone who they see as getting in their way. However the atmosphere will be electric and I'm sure you'll enjoy the game.

Prediction: Udinese Clacio 1-1 Arsenal 

Poor start and utter frustration

Apologies for the lack of posting recently its been a rather hectic week. As an Arsenal fan its also been a frustrating week. So 3 games into the season and none of our performances have been remotely convincing. So lets start with Newcastle, after the whole fracas with Barton and Gervinho we end up with 10 men due to that thuggish prick. How he got away with nothing is still beyond me but we've lost Gervinho for the trip to Old Trafford and also the home game against Swansea which is most definitely not helpful. With Van Persie being the only striker that I have faith in, the loss of Gervinho was not helpful and on top of that we've lost Song for a "stamp" on Barton. I don't blame I'd find it hard to resist stamping on him.

Now to Tuesday night. Our first win of the season. We managed to overcome Udinese thanks to a well worked Walcott goal. Although we didn't seem to have much confidence in ourselves and Di Natale who is a top striker was unlucky not to find the net with a number of opportunities. Full marks to Wojeich though for a good performance. I must say I don't think we are going to find Wednesday's trip to Udine easy, by any means. They are dangerous and will go all out to get the result they need. The match previews will resume starting with that one on Tuesday.

Our performance against Liverpool wasn't a disaster. Until we lost Frimpong. Now I've had reservations about Frimpong, in fact I thought he was shit. But yesterday he was tremendous on his PL debut. His long range effort deserved to find the corner. He got a totally unjustified first yellow but the second there could be no complaints about, he went over the ball and he had to go, the fans applause as he left, showed that he did impress. it was also funny seeing Lucas land on his head after doing a flip. Nasri played which shocked a lot of fans but I'll give him his due he gave it his all and played well, the whispers that his move is off are now circulating. The reports in many papers that he stated it would be a bitter departure came from a fake facebook account, so although he may have fucked us around it goes to show that the media never helps. It was nice to hear his chant in the tune of give it up. Vermaelen was very vocal at the back which is good, he certainly shows what we missed last season. Szczesny was again brilliant and was at no fault for the two goals we conceded. The first was tremendously unlucky from our part with Miquel clearing into the face of Ramsey and looping over although the creation should have been flagged for offside. The second we were simply undone with a well worked move.

So it hasn't been the greatest start to the season. One thing that all 3 games have shown is that we have no depth in the squad. Yes we have injuries and suspensions etc. but we don't have the experience or the power on the bench to compete with other teams. Players are needed and we can only hope that Wenger spends, the so called defensive signings that Ivan Gazidis said we were working on just haven't materialised and until they do our defence will always be questioned.


Well enjoy the rest of your week and hopefully we can pull it out of the bag on Wednesday. Match Preview will be up Tuesday, until then.

Pre-season round up

I apologise that I haven't posted in a while, I'm currently still in the US although I return home soon. Since I last posted a lot and not a lot has happened. We managed to draw with both Boca Juniors and New York Red Bulls to lose the Emirates cup although it was a nice thing to see Thierry raise the cup. After a young lad put the ball through our own net minutes from the end there were thunderous boos from our own fans. Really? At a pre-season friendly? I dread to think what the reaction will be when we lose at home during the league. I think booing the team in a pre-season game is excessive and also bad for moral, you must remember that these games are simply warm up exercises to bring fitness levels up so losing them isn't the end of the world.

I understand the fans frustration at what seems to be a poor summer of few signings and few improvements. I understand that because I am a fan, but surely booing the team off the pitch after a pre-season tournament isn't the way to go about supporting our boys. Following the Emirates cup we suffered our first defeat of the pre-season , going down 2-1 away to Benfica. Now this may not appear good, but we bossed the first half with a team that I imagine will resemble the starting line up (minus Cesc, Samir and Jack) with the Dutchman RVP scoring. There were 6 changes at the half and a much younger untested squad took the field and this showed a problem for us, which is that the squad is lacking depth. Looking at United, Chelsea and City they all have players on the bench who can fill in when needed and do the job well. We, on the other hand offer little in the shape of stand ins. I'd like to say that we will strengthen by dipping into the transfer market but looking at developments today I highly doubt that, more on that in a bit.

 
So the saga of Cesc continues and it has reached a point now where all parties involved at our end seem totally fed up of it. The board have stated they want to sort this sooner rather than later, but with Barcelona continually pissing around its still going on. I really hope the pathetic way that Barcelona have treated us this summer comes back to haunt them. But the fault doesn't only lie with them it lies with us, I read that Hulk as he is known has a 100M Euro buy out clause in his contract. 100m! Now why didn't who drafted Cesc's contract agree a £40m buy out, that's what we want and that ensures that we get it. Anyone who knows the ins and outs of football contracts and clauses, answers on a postcard please. Cesc was left out of the squad for both the Emirates and Eusebio Cups, due to a "Thigh Problem", whether this is true or not who knows but we seem no closer to a conclusion than we have all summer. 

As for Samir Nasri, well fuck only knows whats happening about his future. He was also left out of the squad with a muscular problem but Wenger seems confident he will be an Arsenal Player this season. However the window is open till August 31st so who knows what could happen between now and then.

Now to the transfers I touched on earlier and we have made another one! Don't get too excited this one has been in the pipe line all summer and its that of 17 year old Alex Oxlade-Chamerlain. Another winger, just what we need right now. Another for the future but hardly one that at the moment, with all respect, gets the blood rushing, I really don't understand the signings of winger after winger unless we're planning to play 1-1-8 next season but hey, I'm not ruling it out. Also during last week we had another bid rejected for Jagielka but as I said, I think that deal is miles away from completion so we shall see what happens this week. Arsene said we were looking to sign "super quality", if a 17 year old Southampton winger is his idea of super quality then god help us all.

Anyway the season is almost upon us and men (and women) everywhere are starting to get excited about that first game of a brand new season. The dullness of a football-less summer is nearly over and the harsh reality of the Premier League starts for us with a tricky trip to Newcastle, followed by our Champions League qualifier with Udinese, who also may be a challenge. But at least we avoided the trip to Russia the following week. 

Next post will be Thursday, until then enjoy your week.