Finally after a dull international break we return to proper footballing action this weekend and we continue our chase for a top 4 spot against Reading at home. This won't be an easy game.
Firstly we have a few doubts over the game this weekend, Gibbs is struggling with an illness so Monreal will fill in at left back. Walcott is out with a groin problem and Wilshere is out as a precautionary measure. But the really heartbreaking new came from Abou Diaby who will be out for eight to nine months with an anterior cruciate injury. Nobody deserves his luck. Sadly for him I fear this could end his career at Arsenal.
When Diaby first appeared on the scene his potential was clear and if he hadn't been hampered by injury he would have been one of the best midfielders in the world, make no mistake. After THAT tackle he didn't really seem the same player, then at the beginning of this season I really thought he might be back to his best then after that injury against Chelsea he lost it again. I really feel for the bloke who seems very genuine. As it was well put by 7amKickOff:
"Dan Smith made three appearances for Sunderland, one in which he ruined a career"
It really is that black and white, I wish Diaby a speedy recovery none the less and I really, really hope he proves me wrong.
None the less the show must go on and with all the injury news etc. I would expect Wenger to keep the same back line and although Podolski is back and available I can't help but feel Arsene will go with Gervinho on the left. I think the Arsenal team will be like this: Fab, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Ramsey, Arteta, Cazorla, Alex OC, Gervinho, Giroud.
Now on paper this is a game we should win but matches aren't played on paper and Reading are scrapping for their lives and they of course have a new manager. We have to go out there and want this win. It looks as if Reading will start with Pogrebnyak upfront on his own with McAnuff just behind him. Along with this they also have Robson-Kanu on the wing who can be a pain on his day.
Reading are a team that are very capable of playing good football and as I said they are fighting for their lives and of course we have the new manager effect to deal with but of course we should dispatch them and keep our chase for the top 4 on track, especially as the scum have a potentially tricky trip to the Liberty to deal with.
So 9 games to go and everything still very much to play for, let's keep on track COYG!
As the game drew on I had that feeling that we would be staring down the barrel of another disappointing result. But then in the 78th minute Lukas Podolski's deflected shot found the bottom right hand corner. After a bizarre ruled out and ruled back in incident and rather amusing moment between us and the Stoke fans we had our goal and held on until the end. In all honesty Stoke turned up happy to try and absorb all the pressure and nick a point, but we always looked like scoring. Let's hope we can have a repeat performance against Sunderland this weekend.
Sunderland have been in a real hit and miss side this season. Beating City one week then losing to Reading the next. Let's hope we catch them on the off day when we travel up north on Saturday. Now we know Sunderland are a physical side much like Stoke and we know it'll be a tough game. Fletcher is their main target man having scored nearly double the amount of goals as their next highest scorer. We also have Danny Graham to contend with having signed for them in the window.
Vermaelen is still a doubt after failing to shake off an injury picked up before last weekends game. If he's still out Koscielny will step in again. Wenger will have a choice to make between keeping Diaby and Oxlade-Chamberlain in or returning to Podolski and Cazorla. I thought we looked more dangerous with the German and Spaniard in the team, however both, Cazorla especially needed a rest. I think Wenger will throw them back in this weekend. So: SZCZ(who might actually have a save to make this week), Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscileny, Monreal, Arteta, Wilshere, Cazorla, Walcott, Podolski, Giroud would be my guess at the team.
I thought Monreal overall was fairly solid against Stoke, he can certainly pick out a ball and he can certainly hold his own physically. He has a few wobbles but I'll put that down to nerves more than anything. It was great to see another Spaniard in the team in the form of Mikel Arteta, whose experience is desperately needed in the team. We're no doubt better off with him in the team so I'm glad to see him back.
It'll be a tough trip to Sunderland but let's hope we can grab another 3 points in the fight for the top 4. COYG!
Prediction: Sunderland 1-2 Arsenal
Wednesday night was all about one man really. Anyone who watched the game will know exactly who I'm talking about. After 25 attempts and extra time seeming inevitable, Jack Wilshere fired a left footed shot low, past Michel Vorm and it was no more than we deserved. The first half was quite slow and "tippy tappy", but the second half we battered the Swansea goal, hitting the post, having 3 efforts cleared off the line and forcing countless saves from the Swansea keeper. On another day we could have won 3 or 4, but we got the job done and it was a solid performance. Tomorrow is an altogether different story.
We travel to take on the chavs of Chelsea at the Bridge. Now as I'm sure you're all well aware Chelsea are currently under a bit of pressure, especially at home, winning just 1 of their last 5. The manager is unpopular, there is a sense of unease on terraces which makes it a fantastic time for us to go down there and pile on the misery. But make no mistake this is a huge game and they will be up for it.
Wenger has some decisions to make over the team selection tomorrow. We fielded a side midweek with Cazorla and Walcott either side of Giroud. Podolski dropped out and we sat Diaby and the defensive Coquelin infront of the back four. Podolski is again a doubt for tomorrow after missing training yesterday but he does hope to be fit. The main question will be who will be leading our line, Giroud or Walcott who of course signed a new 3 and a half year deal. The outcome of this decision will also affect whether Oxlade-Chamberlain will get a start. If Walcott starts upfront he will otherwise I can see him remaining on the bench.
Chelsea are out of sorts as of late and it is still touch and go whether Terry will be fit for the clash. After Ivanovic's torrid game against Swansea his confidence may be shot and this could be our focal point. Upfront for Chelsea is anybody's guess, personally I would play Ba but my gut feeling is Benitez will start Torres. Mata is Chelsea's danger man, if we can nullify him then we might be able to keep them quiet. I think it will be Diaby's job off the ball to stick with Mata.
I must admit I fancy us tomorrow, I'll probably be proved wrong but it would be a great result if we could steal 3 points. It'll be close that's for sure, but let's hope its the red side of London that come out on top.
Prediciton: Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal
Our unbeaten run came to end on Saturday as we went down 2-1 to Chelsea, largely I have to say due to our own errors. Defensively we were all over the place and although I understand why Wenger chose Vermaelen and Koscielny over Mertesacker, it was the wrong choice and I think he knows that. The first goal came from a free kick conceded by Vermaelen who steamed through Torres, as it was put in Torres somehoe wrapped his foot around Koscielny and put it into the top corner.
We retaliated before the half when Gervinho stopped an Ox cross in the box, pivoted and rifled into the roof of the net leaving Cech no chance. It was a great goal but apart from that Gervinho had a relatively indifferent game, there is no doubt he is one of the most frustrating players there are. We started the second half well and for the first 7 or 8 minutes we were the better team but then once again we conceded a free kick which Juan Mata whipped in and Koscielny could do nothing but help it into the net. It was goal bound anyway. After that we went totally flat and didn't do much, Cazorla was shut out effectively by Chelsea and I think we lost something after Diaby went off 15 minutes in with what we now know is a Thigh strain. Perhaps we should have had a draw when Giroud rounded Cech and but only found the side-netting from a tight angle, not the easiest chance but the opportunity was there to shoot and a player in form may have found the finish.
Champions League action tomorrow as we host Olympiacos. After beating French champions Montpellier in France, a win tomorrow would set us up nicely. Judging the team is difficult at the moment. With Diaby out it's possibly we may see Frimpong occupy his role but I doubt that is the case. I think its more likely we'll see Ramsey sit behind the front line with Arteta, far from an ideal setup but there you go. I think the line up will be something like this: Mannone, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Ramsey, Arteta, Alex OC, Cazorla, Podolski, Gervinho. This is another game we should be winning in the group and it will be interesting to see how the team bounce back after the weekends disappointment.
In other news it's good to see that Jack Wilshere has played his first 60 minutes of competitive football in 14 months, after making an appearance in the 1-0 defeat to West Brom U21's yesterday. Let's hope we'll soon see him back in the first team.
I don't think tomorrow will be too challenging but in the Champions League very few games are easy.
Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Olympiacos
It was ugly, we rode our luck, they should have scored more. But we took all 3 points and in football that's all that really matters. I'm not going to babble on too long about this but there are a couple of points I'd like to go over.
In the first half, we looked good and dominated until Vermaelen gave away a dubious penalty that on reflection probably was a penalty. Belhanda stepped up and cheekily chipped it right down the middle. This sparked wild celebrations from their fans and I feared the worst. But 7 minutes later we were level through a very classy Podolski goal, after he was passed in from Giroud, who frankly did basically nothing all game. His second touch opened his body up, selling the keeper a dummy and then putting it past him at the near post, a really great goal. 2 minutes later, we were ahead thanks again to Gervinho. Jenkinson who had a touch and go game (dithering a few times), went charging down the wing, as he did a few times to be fair to him, and put in a great cross for Gervinho in the middle who basically couldn't miss but nearly did! 2-1 Arsenal.
We went in at the half and I felt pretty confident that we'd kick on a kill the game off. Sadly the second half we were poor from the get go. We started and Montpellier battered our goal firing shots all over the place. When we did finally clear our lines, we looked tired physically and didn't really look like we had anything left to give. Steve Bould made the changed as the half went on with Giroud (another goaless appearance), Cazorla and Podolski coming off. Montpellier had a golden chance as the seconds ticked down when Mertesacker completely missed with a sliding tackle leaving the player with the ball about 10 yards out only to smash it straight at Mannone who did well to hold onto it. Diaby who thought the referee wanted to send him off?? made a stupid challenge in the box that I thought was a penalty only to see it waved away.
We were lucky and I'm really not sure why we looked so tired in the second half. If we play like that against city,we'll get battered on Sunday. Ah well. Until then have a good week.
Now that is much more like the Arsenal that we know and love, a convincing 6-1 win over a team that frankly we should be beating 6-1. Yes 2 of the goals were own goals but they were both made by strong attacks down the left and that hard low cross into the box that is always prone to get touched in. A gorgeous free kick from Poldi who was brilliant all game, the keeper probably should have done better but the was very well struck. A goal from Walcott which was nice to see and 2 from Gervinho who I have been very critical of recently.
Attention now turns to our first Champions League match of the season which kicks off this evening with our trip to Montpellier. Much has been made about whether or not Olivier Giroud will start after being left on the bench on Saturday which did surprise me in all honesty. I thought it would have been the perfect game for him to play but maybe Wenger had half an eye on this game. With it being his old club as well where, from what I can gather, he was idolised I think it seems almost written that he would score his first Arsenal goal today, should he start. However as Wenger has stated there is a lot of pressure on him and he might rest him to try and take some of that off of him.
As for the rest of the team I think we will see some level of rotation tonight as we have Man City on Sunday and we may have some players that aren't quite rested fully from Saturday. I have a feeling we might see Walcott start tonight possibly along with Ramsey who didn't feature at the weekend. Gervinho could start sitting in the CAM role behind our main striker whoever that may be, with Cazorla shifting out to the wing, or he could start in place of Giroud. He played well at the weekend and there are suggestions that we may have found a role that suits the Ivorian. For me that remains to be seen realistically, we shall see how he performs as to be honest I find him frustrating. Diaby is expected to be fit to play so we'll either see him start or I think he'll come of from the bench after his fantastic performance against Liverpool. Koscielny is another player who could start but I think we may see Mertesacker retain his position for this match and then maybe drop out at the weekend.
The big talking point amongst Arsenal fans has been goalkeepers. Now Szczesny, I'm not gonna sugar coat it, had a day to forget on Saturday and not just because of the mistake that led to the goal. He overall wasn't great. Now Arsenal have come out and said he has an ankle knock, whether that played a part in his performance is difficult to tell, but one thing that is for sure is that we are taking Mannone tonight with young keeper James Shea on the bench.
I'm not gonna predict players to watch for on their team because I know so little about them. I just know they've got off to a poor start in league currently sitting 16th. A player said the other day, if they play like they did at the weekend against Arsenal, they'll concede 8. Confidence for sure then. My line up would be: Mannone, Gibbs, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Jenks, Diaby, Arteta, Poldi, Cazorla, Walcott, Giroud. We'll see what Mr. Wenger goes for. COYG!
Prediction: Montpellier 0-2 Arsenal
Morning everyone, it's matchday!! The first one I've been back in England for so digging up team news and other stuff has been much easier. We're taking on Southampton today and in all honestly we should be winning games like this especially at home, but they have been firing well so far narrowly missing out on points against both Manchester clubs.
Team news coming out of Arsenal is that SZCZ is fit and ready to play and although Mannone has played well in the first 3 games I think we'll see last seasons regular return. Walcott is definitely out with an illness, Diaby faces a fitness test on a slight muscular problem but I think he'll be benched either way. Another question mark for me is Gervinho who to be blunt has been disntinctly crap so far, Alex OC could start on the wing with Cazorla in the middle and Poldi on the other wing. Giroud is yet to have scored that illusive first goal, but the omens are good for the Frenchman with Ian Wright, my hero Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry all scoring their first goals against Southampton, so lets hope he follows suite. Arsenal Team: SZCZ, Jenks, Mert, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Arteta, Ramsey, Alex OC, Cazorla, Poldi, Giroud.
Southampton are a team I have to say I don't know a lot about having not seen them this season. But dangers players are Lambert (current top scorer with 2), Lallana another dangerous player, Schneiderlin and the new boy Gaston RamÃrez. Without Diaby in the middle we just lack a bit of power but if we can get our passing game into flow early we should be OK in the middle. By the way, a lad to watch for in their back 4 in Clyne the right back, very fast and from what I remember can pick out a good pass.
That's it, short, sweet but to the point. If we get going early I think it could be a long afternoon for the visitors but you never know with Arsenal.
Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Southampton
Well here we are again, in that dull interlude, where football fans go a little crazy due to withdrawal symptoms. Of course we have internationals but they are boring as fuck so the rumour mill starts to churn out crap again.
Let's start, anyway, with the our first win of the season over Liverpool. It's always good to beat Liverpool at Anfield and although long gone are the days when I saw this fixture as "one of those games" that could go either way, it's still nice to get one over on them. I expected us to win and we did with some real stand out performances. It was great to see Poldi get on the score sheet with his first goal for us (and partially rescuing my fantasy league score) along with Diaby who was simply mustard, creating Lukas' goal along with other chances as we went forward. But once again Santi Cazorla was magnificent to watch, I saw him described as majestic before the game and he really is. It's a shame for him that the Spain squad is as good as it is because otherwise he'd be a regular. My dad said to me "once he scores, he'll be away", moments later he was embracing Gervinho after smashing the ball low under-ish Reina who didn't get down quick enough. A solid performance and scarily a third clean sheet in a row, maybe Steve Bould is starting to work his magic.
So, as I'm sure many of you know, the papers ran a story the other week quoting Sagna as saying something like "losing your best players, of course it affects you". Along with some talk about his contract which is set to run out in 2014. When asked whether Arsenal had contacted him over his contract he said "No, nothing". I can understand Sagna's frustration cause he reflects the mood of a lot of Arsenal fans, but I think he just needs to stop for a moment and take a look at the situation. His contract doesn't run out until 2014 and while I'd rather Arsenal just sorted it out I'm sure they will do so in their own time. As for this "ambition of the club" shit that RVP rolled out, the fans don't buy it, the club don't buy it and player shouldn't see it as an easy way out.
Moving on though, in his interview after the Liverpool game Arsene said that he was impressed with Diaby and he hoped he got through the Internationals OK. However he has picked up a muscular problem, which ruled him out of last nights game with Belarus. On the plus side Wenger isn't concerned saying he has a "small chance" of playing on Saturday which to me means he won't be playing on Saturday. Let's hope it isn't serious and he can get back to his killer form soon.
That's about it for now I'll be back with a pre-match report for the Southampton game on Friday. Until then enjoy your week!
Hi all, just a quick post today as I am extremely busy.
As I'm sure many of you know, this morning Laurent Koscielny has agreed a new long-term deal with us. We have been criticised for our defensive frailties over the last couple of seasons but Koscielny, especially last season, I think has been fantastic. He's really got his head down and got on with the job in hand making crucial interceptions, tackles and scoring the odd goal too including our winner at West Brom. He has really won the fans over and it's great to see him (much like Vermaelen) sign a contract, no fuss, no problems and focus on his football. See Robin, it's not that hard is it?
In other news and these are only rumours I have seen from various sources that we have agreed personal terms for Malaga winger Santi Cazorla. He's a lad I don't know much about I'll admit but he would be yet another addition to our attacking line up. Giving us plenty of depth up front. I don't know whether he's a left or right winger but it means there will be hot competition for one side.
Malaga are currently in a bit of a financial situation. With the new owner piling money in at a rate of knots, there have been issues with players wages not being paid and tax problems. If they don't wipe their debt by July 31st, they will be relegated and banned from playing in the Champions League. This gives us the opportunity to possibly force a sale of around €20m.
Yesterday Wenger also stated that we won't be going in for Yann M'villa, unless Wilshere or Diaby suffer a setback which sadly seems likely. I think it's risky to gamble on Diaby's fitness and bringing in a player as cover would be no bad thing. But we can only speculate until anything else is said.
We play the Malasyia XI later today in our first proper pre-season match, let's see what happens and pray for no injuries. Till next time.
