Chelsea (H)

So firstly it's been a long, long time since I last posted and so much has happened, too much to cover so I'll assume we're up to date with how it stands. Today we take on Chelsea who have the title all but wrapped up and for that reason I think this afternoons match could be a borefest. Mourinho will set his men out to get a draw and I have no doubt that's what they'll do.

You can be as tactically astute as you want, when his team are setup like that breaking them down is incredibly hard. They hold their shape, break up play and make life miserable for the opposition. That said we know their threat going forward and to think they won't attack is stupid.

In terms of team news, our big doubt this weekend is Per Mertesacker who limped off furing our win over Reading at Wembley. In that game Wenger shuffled the pack a lot bringing in a raft of players who weren't sharp which I think is part of the reason we struggled. I expected Paulista will start today and the back four will resume with Monreal and Bellerin as the full backs. 

Chelsea's main issue is their lack of a fully fit striker. Remy and Costa are out so our old foe Drogba will lead their line even though there are doubts over how fit he is. Trying to guess how Mourinho will setup is hard, he will be aware of Sanchez's threat so may deploy Ramires to deal with him. I expect Willian will come in to add even more muscle to the midfield containing Matic.

From a sporting point of view, the best thing to happen in this game is we score early on to draw them onto us although secretly aside from it being against us I don't think Mourinho would be devastated by a slim defeat with their gap. The three most likely scorelines I can see here are 1-0, 0-0 or 0-1. But only time will tell. This would be a huge monkey off our backs and a big victory for Wenger over that unbearable Portuguese prick. It would also take us back into second and following United's loss against Everton would give us a two point cushion over 3rd place City with a game in hand.

An interesting game it looks set to be. 

One Out and One In

Morning all, it's been a while since my last post and that's because well, really nothing has been happening in terms of Arsenal. More media speculation, a "leaked" away kit and a bit more speculation pretty much sums it up. However with the UK window officially opening yesterday (yes players can sign beforehand but nothing is official until the 1st) the transfer cogs are turning and Arsenal have been busy. 

After releasing a number of player already this season we've followed that up with a loan leading to a permanent deal for Johan Djourou for Bundesliga side Hamburg. Now many of you will be well aware of how critical I have been of Djourou but it's important to remember that he's been hampered by injury and he did have spells where he looked good. But due a combination of reasons, it just didn't work out for him. He seems like a genuinely nice guy and I wish him all the best in future, especially following his comments about just wanting to play.

Now onto what we've all been waiting for A SIGNING, as in an OFFICIAL SIGNING. It's not the world class striker we've all been waiting for but its a start. 20 year old, French striker Yaya Sanogo has joined from Auxerre on a free. Now many will say this is a typical Wenger signing but I think this time it actually makes sense. With Bendtner seemingly on his way and well who really knows with Chamakh we won't have depth up front and I think it's important to have young talent coming through. There is minimal risk as its a free and according to those who watch French football he's a decent enough prospect. Like many of you I'm sure I don't know much about him so I've put together this little fact file.

Yaya Sanogo

 

696 × 392 - arsenal.com

Age: 20
Height: 1.91m (6ft 3in)
Position: Striker
Former Clubs: CO Les Ulis, Auxerre
International Career: 49 apps for French U16-U21
Career Goals: 43 in 49

Those are some impressive stats in terms of goals and if his development continues at a nice rate we could have a very tidy striker on our hands. 

In terms of other transfer news the usual Higuain stories are floating around but I'm still rather skeptical about the deal going through. Interestingly German media reported yesterday we had a £19.7m bid turned down for Leverkusen defensive midfielder Lars Bender and although there has been no confirmation of the bis from either side Leverkusen did say in a statement that he wasn't for sale at any price, which as we all know means nothing in the transfer window. 

So we're finally starting to see things happen and although stories linking us with world class players should always be taken with a pinch of salt. I don't think that's the last of our activity in this window.

Until next time.