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. 

Aston Villa

Another solid(ish) performance last weekend against Brighton in the FA Cup, securing our passage into the next round and setting up a home clash with Middlesborough, in a few weeks time. In reality the 3-2 scoreline made the game seem a lot closer than it was, we were always in control and when Theo Walcott scored his first goal since his return from injury after 6 minutes, it seemed as if it would be one way traffic. Mesut Ozil made it 2-0 with a smart finish and Arsenal were cruising. Brighton pulled one back, but no sooner where they back in it than Arsenal finished the match off as Rosicky, who was outstanding all match, scored a thumping volley to cap his performance. Although Brighton got a second Arsenal managed to hold on.

Today we have a chance to draw level on points with 4th placed Southampton if we beat Aston Villa at the Emirates. Villa are a side who are in big trouble and have struggled this season. That said they are in desperate need of some points and we all know that Villa at home is far from a banker. We've struggled against Villa at home before and we know what they bring with them and how they play. They have the powerful Benteke upfront who despite a dry spell is always dangerous infront of goal along with the likes of Agbonlahor and Fabien Delph on the wing they have the potential to pose a huge test for us. After a wonder strike last week Charles Gil might be their biggest threat though purely because he's an unknown quantity.

In our team news Wenger confirmed earlier in the week that his is "unlikely" to risk playing Sanchez who had a slight thigh issue. I would imagine this means he'll be on the bench and will only be used if he's desperately needed. The free space in the midfield I think will probably be take but the newly fit Mesut Ozil albeit in his least favourite position on the wing. Danny Welbeck remains sidelined but is expected to be fit again for the NLD next weekend. Coquelin is expected to regain his place as the holding player in the middle of the park whether that's alongside or behind Ramsey remains to be seen. The battle at right back is on between Chambers and Bellerin. My gut instinct looking at Villa's left flank would be to play Bellerin purely because of his pace against Delph and Agbonlahor. New boy Gabriel Paulista is fit and could see some action but I expect him to start on the bench.

With all teams around us winning yesterday we need to step up and show some steele to make sure we aren't the big losers of the weekend. A win would also put some pressure on Southampton who play against Swansea in the late game today. COYG!

Brighton & Hove Albion + Signings

Well I've been away for a few weeks and what a few weeks it's been. We went to the Etihad and played a style of football I never thought I'd see Arsenal play, we set out and protected the back 4 through the simply brilliant Coquelin and a simply magical performance from Santi Cazorla. It was a big performance and hopefully we've broken through this mental block we seem to have in the big games.

Since then we've made a couple of signings. Firstly in the form of a youngster from Legia Warsaw called Kristian Beilik. He's a holding midfielder but at 17 years old I think he's definitely one for the future. The other which is all but confirmed is the signing of Villareal centre back Gabriel Paulista. He's been part of a defence that have conceded just 17 goals this season in La Liga. Joel Campbell is going the other way on a loan deal but there is a sticking point to this deal and that is his work permit. As he's not a Brazilian international there's no guarantee that he'll be granted one. That said, with a fee rumoured to be around £14m, I can't see us dropping that sort of money without being confident enough to get it sorted.

Yesterday was a quite brilliant day and a fantastic advert for the FA Cup. Chelsea crashed out at Stamford Bridge losing 4-2 to Bradford City in an amazing performance. Man City also crashed out to Middlesborough 2-0 at the Etihad. Along with those Southampton and the spuds also went out in surprise results. United and Liverpool have replays so who knows what will happen. As good as these results are they should server as a very serious warning about how dangerous this competition is. We need to make sure we aren't another victim of this mad weekend. We take on a Brighton & Hove Albion side who sit 19th in the Championship but will be right up for it today.

I expect we'll see starts for the likes of Walcott and Ozil who have been watching from the bench recently. I also expect rests for players such as Sanchez and Cazorla who desperately need them, not that you'd know by the way they've been playing recently. We have enough to get through this fixture but we just need to make sure we don't take our foot off the gas.

So fingers crossed we aren't another victim of this weekend. COYG. 

Hull City

The Third round draw of the FA Cup wasn't kind to us really although it could have been worse. We take on Hull in a repeat of last seasons final where we needed extra time to beat them after nearly being put out of sight within the opening 20 minutes. It'll be a hard game particularly with our injury hit midfield even though we may have Flamini returning and in Wengers own words "a small chance" of Ozil making an appearance although I struggle to see it. 

After our abysmal performance at St. Mary's we need a big result today even though I'd have preferred to see us rest players who are quite clearly shattered (Sanchez). But with our team in the shape it's in currently I think we can dismiss that idea. We know that one thing is for sure and that is David Ospina will play in place of SZCZ and according to the club this was planned long before his comedy show at the weekend. Theo Walcott is expected to start which will be good for him after being out for so long. If anything he takes some of the emphasis off Alexis with his pace and penetration.

Upfront I've heard mixed news about Welbeck ranging from he has a chance to he's ruled out. I would suggest he wont play so Wenger will decide whether to put Chuba Akpom upfront or whether to play Alexis as the lone man again. In the middle Francis Coquelin may play again pairing up with Flamini this time instead of Chambers. Aside from that I don't think we have any other team news. Our defence looks set to remain the same against Southampton let's just hope the don't repeat their performance.

I'm not sure about Hull in terms of who they have available to play but I do know they've been struggling for form recently and goals which probably means they'll unload on us. They have got a goal threat from Jelavic amongst others but the big man I assume will be the one we need to keep quiet. Their defence is there to be got at if we can pull them out of shape with our pace going forward.

Big performance needed today boys, let's repeat the outcome in May.

Southampton Review

 
Our string of festive victories came to an end yesterday as we went down 2-0 away at Southampton. We started the game with our first choice back four but a makeshift midfield left us struggling to control the game as we like too. Not to mention not having a single fit striker apart from Giroud who's stupidity to get sent of the other day is proving costly. Alexis started the game upfront but never really got going.

However the most disappointing part of the game was that we gifted them both their goals quite literally. The first was poor defending from Kos combined with a SZCZ moment that reminded me more of Almunia. The pole came tearing out of his goal and forced Mane wide, but as Koscielny decided to linger in the middle rather than go to him Mane lobbed SZCZ and with a lot of spin and a strong wind blowing goal-wards the ball bobbled over the line.

The game continued and bar an effort from Cazorla that was well saved by Forster we offered very little. Then another moment of madness from the Pole in goal gifted Tadic with the easiest goal he'll ever score. A ball in it hit Debuchy and rolled to the feet of SZCZ who was on the floor at the time and instead of letting the Frenchman clear up, SZCZ poked the ball away from him and straight to Tadic.

The atmosphere in the away end was poisonous, the point proven when a fan (somehow) managed to reach the dugout and confront Wenger. Obviously not something we like to see but its so easy for our fans to turn at the moment. One moment we a string some wins together and all is well. The next we lose and it's back to tit for tat within our own ranks.

I don't know what to make of Arsenal at the moment really. Blowing hot and cold. We have Hull in the cup on Sunday and in my opinion this is a good chance to rest the likes of Sanchez who clearly is exhausted.

In other news Lukas Podolski's time at the club appears to have come to an end. The German International has made it quite clear before that he wants to be playing football and at his age I can understand that. Still I will miss him and I think he's a good option to have and in recent times has been underused in my opinion. At the moment it is unclear whether it is a loan with a view to a permanent move or just a straight forward transfer, either way it appears he's played his last game for the gunners. I wish him all the best. 

Liverpool Review and QPR

I've wondered many times this season (and previous ones) where I end up horrendously frustrated with Arsenal and yesterdays match was right up there with the best of them. Appalling is not the word to describe our performance yesterday, it was without a doubt our worst performance this season. We had the lowest possession stats in match since Opta began, Liverpool had the most shots by a team since Opta began. Luckily our abysmal defending was only matched by Liverpool's shocking shooting. Unsurprisingly we went 1-0 down then somehow Debuchy headed in beating Skrtel at the far post after the ball was powered back in by Flamini.

We started the second half marginally better but the game was still ridiculous by any standard. Sanchez played as poorly as I can remember and he's clearly exhausted. Welbeck had a mare as well. If the OX was fit then I'm the fucking tooth-fairy, he misplaced every pass, gave everything away and was just generally poor. Cazorla was, along with SZCZ, one of the only positive players in the game and it was through him we took a surprising lead. He produced a brilliant run down the left and then pulled it back for Giroud who powered the ball between Brad Jones' legs. A great finish from the big french man who was also fairly good.

As the game rolled on it was so painfully obvious what was going to happen, any Arsenal fan can tell you that. Borini came on and 18 minutes later was sent off so Liverpool were down to 10 men. Any top team should be able to see a game out against 10 men. Then 6 minutes into injury time (9 minutes due to Skrtels injury) we had a corner. For whatever reason we had nobody on either post and the man who caused such a lump of injury time Martin Skrtel powered his header in across the goal. Writing on the wall but still horrifically frustrating. A point away at Anfield is nothing to be sniffed at but the manner at which is happened is what is annoying.

That's done now no point lingering wen we play in 4 days. We take on an improving QPR at home before a tricky trip across London to West Ham so we need some points desperately. Team news right now is non-existent so I can't speculate on who will play, all I know is that we need to win and there should be no reason as to why we don't. We showed what we can do against Newcastle, we need to start doing it more. QPR will be buyoed by their late win against West Brom at the weekend but at the same time they also shipped 2 goals early on so they are there to be beaten.

Obviously their man man is Charlie Austin who has been banging the goals in for fun and he's the one our defence will be tasked with keeping at bay. Mertesacker is terribly out of form and he needs support from team mates. Personally I would shift Debuchy back out to the right and put Chambers into the middle just because I think that's where we'll get the most use from him. Debuchy knows how to get back and cover when needed which I think is where Chambers lacks a little pushed out wide.

So that's Boxing Day and although Arsenal are all over the place right now, it's time to forget about football for a few days. Merry Christmas and I'll be back soon.       

Liverpool (A)

It's been a while since my last post and in that time we've won some big games against Southampton and Newcastle but also lost a disappointing match against Stoke. After we thrashed Newcastle last weekend hopefully we can kick on as we get right into the thick of the Christmas period and we take one Liverpool at Anfield.

Now Anfield is a place where we've had mixed success after years of good performances we got taken apart last season. However Liverpool have been in even worse form than we have this season. Losing Suarez and Sturridge has cost them although their main problem so far has been at the back, where they have been leaking goals. Just last week their first choice keeper was replaced as they got thumped 3-0 at Old Trafford. If that doesn't scream problems then I don't know what does.

In terms of injuries our midfield that seemed so crowded at the beginning of the season has now been battered as we have a severe lack of central Midfielders. The OX faces a late fitness test ahead of the match and if he fails that, without Ramsey we are in big trouble. In some good news Chambers returns from suspension so I suspect we will see him slot alongside Mertesacker with Debuchy being shifted out to his familiar right. Welbeck, Cazorla and Sanchez will operate in supporting roles for Giroud upfront.

Liverpools back line tomorrow could be bare bones stuff with Johnson out and Lovren a doubt. We could see Arsenal old boy Kolo Toure handed a start. I don't rate Lazar Markovic as a wing back to whoever is on our right (probably Alexis) could have a field day as he wanders forward. Liverpool are also without Balotelli who has been banned by the FA so I'd think they'd go with Sterling upfront who has been hit and miss this season. Initially I thought this could be bad for us but thinking about it more, it means they have to pass the ball well and control the game which I'd like to think against us will be difficult. If they were playing Lambert the long balls and his hold up play may cause us problems with players making runs off him.

Looking at todays results with teams around us picking up points tomorrow is a huge game and hopefully one that we can take by the scruff of the neck and put in a shift that will take all 3 points back to the Emirates and set us up nicely for the Christmas period where we play 800 games in 10 days.

Momentum Lost

So after 3 wins back to back we've faltered again. After a resounding performance against an under par Borussia Dortmund to ensure our passage into the next round of thee Champions League we then beat West Brom and Southampton albeit in very nervy games. I finally thought we were starting to click into out rhythm but sadly not.

Stoke has ever been a happy hunting ground for us which agitates me more than I can really put into words because behind the usual suspects I detest Stoke so much and their brand of rugby. They shouldn't even be allowed to play that style of "the beautiful game" in my opinion but there you go. We were 1 down after just 20 seconds to Crouch of all people. A complete fuck up in the defence gifted the lanky ex-tottenham wanker the easiest goal of his career.

Things went from bad to worse to even worse as we went 2 and then 3 down. Aside from Cazorla and Ramsey getting much needed goals the rest of the match was just irrelevant. Defensively I don't think I've seen a worse performance all season and I can't believe I'm writing this again. Mertesacker alone is a completely different player to a rested Koscielny. He doesn't seem to function with anyone other than him. I said at the start of the season our defensive frailties and the managers absolutely inexcusable decision to not bring in other defenders when it was painfully obvious we needed them was always to be our undoing. 

I'm getting totally fed up by this now. It's pathetic. The season started with so much hope and now here we are. Sitting behind West Ham and Southampton 3 points off the top four when and failing poorly. Poor old Sanchez must be wondering what the fuck he's doing here. He left Barcelona for this. It was so obvious how disappointed he was yesterday and he is absolutely shattered. The manager said he needs a rest and midweek is the chance to do it.

Our next 4 games are: Galatasary, Newcastle, Liverpool and QPR. Gala aside we should see those games as all winnable with Liverpool somehow playing even worse than we are at the moment but I fear that we will be in trouble in all of those games. 

We need to make it to January in with a chance of making top four but at the moment that seems very questionable. I'm starting to feel that this is the beginning of the end for Wenger despite the fact that I love the man for what he's done. His job rests on the results and his signings until February. The only crumb of comfort is that Chelsea have finally lost this season so we still have our ageing invincible season to cling on to.

Manchester United: The Fallout

Here we are again. At the moment I feel like it's groundhog day. If you read my previous posts for a number of weeks now I've been saying the same thing. Need a win, sooner rather than later blah blah. And this is it all over again following yesterdays defeat.

Going into the game I was strangely confident of getting a result, foolish me. We started well and for the first half an hour we were all over them, we played well and looked dangerous. United were at sixes and sevens and it looked like this would be the time where finally we were going to beat them. But individual short comings yesterday cost us anything.

Danny Welbeck was trying way too hard to score against his old club and prove a point. That selfishness was his undoing. There were a number of chances where his finishing was piss poor frankly and another where he should have squared it for a team mate. But the worst finish of the day came from Wilshere who quite frankly could have been shot for missing one-on-one from all of 8 yards. What was even worse was that Sanchez was in acres of space to his left for a tap in.

From there the sense of inevitability was overwhelming and despite Fellaini was offside and fouled Gibbs for the 800th time in the match a shot heading wide was deflected in off Gibbs who you have to feel for. We pressed very hard and even though we were losing by only one goal it was poor management. We needed to clear our heads and get back in possession but it seemed like we have every player on the edge of the United and box and it was blindingly obvious we were gonna get caught on the break and low and behold thats what happened.

When Di Maria found Rooney it was obvious he would score against Martinez who came on for the injured SZCZ. Not his fault, it was Rooney one-on-one how do you deal with that. From there whatever we did it we were going to lose. The only silver lining was a cracking goal from Giroud on his return from injury deep into stoppage time.

We're in a bad way at the minute and we need a point against Dortmund to get through the CL group this week and I'm so far from confidence its unreal. Thankfully I'm out on Wednesday so I won't be subject to it. 

Wenger in? Wenger out? At the moment I don't know, but something needs to change and immediately.

Swansea (A)

Arsenal have it all to do in Europe now after catastrophically throwing away a 3 goal lead against lowly Anderlecht. For 60 minutes the gunners played like champions, with pace and intent and quite frankly a cool penalty from Arteta, a superb volley from Alexis Sanchez and a very tidy finish from the OX should have put the game to bed. The tactics from us were bizzare. Most teams at 3-0 would hold the ball and invite pressure from the opponents then break on the counter. We continued to throw men forward and in the end that cost us. 

Anyway we move back to Premier League football this weekend as we travel to Swansea. We need to put in a solid performance to boost confidence ahead of the international break. A win would send us above West Ham into fourth (it seems so weird writing that). A loss could leave us languishing in the pack and with tricky games against United and Southampton to come some points would be very handy. 

So in team news Jack Wilshere is available for selection after illness, but we are without Arteta who went off midweek with a hamstring injury. Away from home I'm not sure we'll break out the 4-4-2 formation and Wenger may favour the 4-5-1. Theo Walcott will be pushing for some more minutes having returned from injury but I can't see him starting following Wengers comments yesterday.

Swansea are going to be awkward at home and are a team we've struggled against in recent seasons. They're playing well this season and we know Wilfred Bony and Sigurdson will be a handful.The defence will need to be on form in order to keep them quiet. Gary Monk has them playing good football and we need to retain possession well and they are good with the ball.

Tomorrow is going to be a tough game. Things need to to start clicking sooner rather than later cause it still doesn't feel like we've really got going this season and with some tough games and the busy Christmas period coming up we need to hit some form sooner rather than later. 

Sunderland (A)

Posts have been few and far between recently and for that I apologise. Hopefully this post will get this blog back on track this season. 

I'll start with a word on Wednesday nights performance. For 89 minutes we were outplayed and quite frankly looked out of ideas. The only two players whose performances I remember are wonderful Sanchez who at the moment is carrying the entire squad and Gibbs who put in a real shift at left back. We were on the verge of a humiliating defeat and Chambers who had a poor night put in the cross of his life to find onrushing Gibbs who's side footed finish into the far corner was truly top drawer.

Then in a dramatic finale, some fantastic work in box fell to Podolski who had been desperately thrown on for Wilshere and the German turned and blasted the ball into the net sending the travel fans into delirium. It was a great win but it doesn't cover up the frailties and our make shift defence at the moment just looks so weak its concerning and this has been confounded by the news that Koscielny will be out for another month at least.

Anyway we're in Premier League action today away at Sunderland and we're desperate for a win. We've not won in the league since Aston Villa which was weeks ago and Sunderland will be dangerous today following their monumental (and rather suspicious) thrashing at the hands of Southampton. So we should go there under no illusion that they will be playing for everything.

Our team today will be interesting. Arteta is fit and I feel that he will come straight back into the side today. Our back line I think will swap around as it's pretty clear that Monreal isn't cut out to play centre back. As thats the case I expect Chambers to start alongside Mertesacker with Gibbs on the left and Bellerin on the right. That doesn't bother me much as I think Bellerin can hold his own well, he's fast and intelligent. Jack Wilshere starts his ban for picking up too many yellows so I think Ramsey will sit alongside Arteta. Our three behind Welbeck I think will be the OX, Cazorla and Sanchez from right to left.

Sunderland do have dangerous players in the shape of Fletcher the thug upfront and with others like Connor Wickham who every now and then puts in a stella performance. We will face our old keeper Mannone between the sticks who no doubt will still be hurting from last weeks performance and though he's a former player today we need to pile on the misery.

Midweek Gibbs was asked whether that result could be a springboard for this season and he said he hoped so. I think we all join him on that and let's hope it starts today with a nice comfortable win over Sunderland. COYG!  

The last few weeks

Apologies it's been so long since I posted, I've had a manic few weeks at work and just haven't found the time. I was going to post before today's game but never got around to it. So I'm just going to run over the last couple of weeks.

Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham

We went into the Tottenham game with high hopes due to their lackluster start to the season. Wengers decision not to start Alexis was strange as myself and friends assumed it was due to an injury. We started brightly but the game levelled out and shortly after the half Flamini was played into trouble by SZCZ then fumbled to give them possession which Chaldi finished. The goal sparked us on and after pressing and pressing we finally equalised. The thing that concerned me most about this was the fact that it seemed to take a Sp*rs goal for us to actually look like we wanted to win. Still we can only view it as a point gained.

Arsenal 4-1 Galatasaray

In contrast to the Tottenham game, the Champions League game midweek was an outright walkover. With Ozil deployed in the middle where he just belongs, we bossed the game. Danny Welbeck scored his first career hat-trick and Alexis added another. The only sour note on the night was that SZCZ got himself sent off for pole-axing a Gala player. They scored the resulting penalty but overall it was a dominant performance from the Arsenal.

Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal

The game today was a huge game, especially considering what happened last season at the same venue when we went down 6-0. We went out looking to make a statement against the team that I think could go all the way. The game started cagily with neither side really making progress, Alexis shot from 35 yards and it cruised wide of Courtois' post. As the half wore on both sides started to open up when a well worked move saw Hazard blatantly fouled in the box. He stepped up and put his side 1-0 to the good.

We picked up the second half and pressed for the equaliser with no luck. Our fear of shooting meant we ended up going nowhere. It's not we don't have players who can't shoot it's just they really don't seem to want too. Our timidness as always cost us and as Fabregas lofted a ball between out centre backs Costa ran onto it and lobbed SZCZ and the game was done. Wenger made some bizarre substitutions and nothing changed. We lost, that disgusting cretin of a man Mourinho walked off without a handshake. He's a vile human being and the sooner everyone is rid of him the better.

None of that changes the fact that we're 9 points off the chase and our short lived title challenge is over. Even with so long left, we're not up to it against the big teams and 9 points is a huge gap. We can only right it off as one game and move onto Hull which now lies after the tedium of an international break. Let's hope we come out of it unscathed. 

Right I'll be back before Hull with a preview of the match. Until then, enjoy your weekend. 

Leicester + Deadline Day

After a sunny few days in Spain I'm back and annoyingly we've not hit the International break although that may be a blessing in disguise. On Sunday we played out a 1-1 draw with Leicester away on what proved to a thoroughly frustrating afternoon.

After just 20 minutes we took the lead through Alexis Sanchez with his first Premier League goal and his second Arsenal goal following his crucial finish against Besiktas. Cazorla picked the ball up on the edge of the box and scooped it over the defence to Sanogo who through a complete fluke somehow found Sanchez who smashed it past the keeper and defenders. As we looked to build on out lead Koscielny clashed heads and was rushed back on sporting a rather interesting piece of headgear. This decision proved costly bearing in mind it was a head injury. Leicester broke and the defence was at sixes and sevens allowing a simple header past SZCZ. 

The rest of the game was utterly frustrating with Arsenal struggling to get any fluidity going. There were some particularly poor performances from Sanogo who I'll come to in a bit and Ramsey who was definitely off. Chambers who replaced Koscielny almost instantly after the equaliser played well in general but showed a moment of inexperience as instead of standing his man up went sliding in and allowed the player to simply drag it back across him only to shoot into the side netting. SZCZ made a huge save in the second half one on one and we simply failed to create anything.

The frustration on social media was clear to see as people called upon the manager to buy a striker after Sanogo's poor showing. I hate to put a young player down but he's clearly not ready for the step up to lead the line and I can't help but feel he needs to clear his head and get some game time in the so called "lesser" competitions. 

As deadline day began fans were horrified to learn that Arsene Wenger had flown to Rome to referee a charity match. As the day wore on, news of Arsenal moves was non-existant until out of the blue Danny Welbeck was having a medical with us and the move was confirmed for around £16m. I'm not sure what to make of him as a player but United fans were particularly disappointed with the move. His work rate is evident and I do think with the right service when we get going that he could bang a few in for us.

However much more worrying was our lack of movement for a centre half. We are currently just one injury away from being worse than bare bones. Quite how we can go into a season with 6 fit first team defenders is beyond mind boggling. Chambers is the only senior (at age 19) stand in we have. Following that we have nobody. Arguably the player who was most likely to make the step up Ignasi Miquel has been sold, leaving us from either a) a makeshift back four with possibly the likes of Flamini in there or b) promoting a youngster.

I refuse to believe there was nobody available for the manager to sign and we are taking a huge gamble from now until January banking out our defence staying fit which let's face it we don't have the best track record of doing. However it's done now and this is our team so we may as well get behind them and see where we end up. I'll be back next week with a preview of the City game. Until then.        

Everton (A)

Last night we played out a 0-0 draw with Besiktas in tough conditions. When you factor in the partisan crowd and the appalling state of the pitch it's no surprise than many people are happy with that result. Personally I'm always nervous of a 0-0 away from home, look at Chavski last season, but I'm more concerned about the loss of Aaron Ramsey for the next leg after he got himself sent off with 10 minutes to go. On reflection it looked harsh but with the referee being card happy, Aaron should have known better. Hopefully next week we, on our pitch, in front of our home support we can do the business.

Before that we have another tricky away trip to Everton. I'm worried about this match. Quite a lot. In our first two competitive matches following the silky display in the Community Shield we have really struggled to get going. Yes we have new players gelling with the team and yes we have players out but we can't wait around forever. We need to hit the ground running and if we don't against Everton we'll get punished. So far there have been glimmers of what we can do, but key players so far haven't performed.

Cazorla seems to be struggling for whatever reason at the moment, his delivery against Palace was shocking and he didn't really get into the game last night. I do think that with Sanchez on the other wing, whoever is on the left may be neglected but it's up to whoever is in that position to get stuck into the game. Giroud is another player who hasn't got going yet, he was an improvement on Sanogo against Palace but last night he managed to fluff his lines multiple times and his touch was what I'd expect from a 12 year old. The big Frenchman has a key role to play this season and I do think goals boost his confidence so the sooner he can find that opening goal the better.

In terms of team news we have a number of players out for the weekend. Gibbs is expected to out for the fabled 2-3 weeks so expect to see him by the end of December. Arteta was taken off last night and with only Flamini to fill in or potentially Chambers all of a sudden our depth looks a lot lighter than it was before the campaign. I don't think any of our three world cup winners will take part, the earliest I expect to see them is next week against Besiktas.

Our defence looks very threadbare and we're only two injuries away from being in big trouble. Fans are crying out for a defender to replace Vermaelen and various reports link us with Olympiakos centre back Kostas Manolas. I know nothing about him, but at 23 he has a lot to offer if we are interested in him and if Wenger is willing to buy a player they usually have something about them. However last night the Le Prof stated that we weren't close to signing anyone but he is aware we are light at the back and I suspect we'll bring in at least one more player before the close of the window.

Right, I'm off on holiday tomorrow and will miss our next three matches so until then let's hope we do the business. COYG!

Palace Review and Besiktas (A)

Our season got off to a good start on Saturday against a managerless Crystal Palace side. It was by no means a vintage Arsenal performance and you could tell that it was an early season game, but the result is all that matters and we got the right one.

We got off to a good start and created a few half chances. Our three new boys: Debuchy, Chambers and Alexis (as he prefers to be known) all started and both the boys at the back looked solid. Alexis looked dangerous and creative although he still looks a few games off being fully fit and bedded in with the team. That said Palace marked him off the pitch on Saturday and to be fair to them were very well drilled at the back. 

It came as a bit of a surprise to most when after 35 minutes Palace took the lead. We were undone relatively easily from a set piece and Brede Hangeland flicked his header across goal and in at the far post which had nobody on it. This demonstrates how important Mertesacker is when we defend set pieces, his height is such an important asset in a relatively short team and we looked vulnerable from set pieces all game. Luckily for us 10 minutes later Koscielny spun off his man and headed home to bring us level in the 46th minute.

In the second half we Palace were again solid and it looked as if we'd be denied a victory. Palace had a couple of half chances and we had a penalty appeal waved away. As we pushed and pushed, time ticked on and we looked as though we'd run out of ideas. Jason Puncheon lost his head in the 89th minute and seconds later Arsenal took the lead in the 91st minute. After a scramble of headers, Debuchy's falling volley was saved by Speroni but his parry fell to, who else, Aaron Ramsey who poked home from all of 2 yards. Harsh on Palace but we'll take all 3 points in the opener of the season. The team showed great spirit and grit to earn a result.

We now have a quick turnaround as we head to Turkey for tomorrow nights game with Besiktas. Going to Turkey is never easy for a team and after a few years out of the big time Besiktas will be well and truly up for this match make no mistake. I'm always of the idea that playing away second is a slight advantage but we'll have to make do. We have a bit of team news already and it looks as if Koscielny will be OK to play despite fears that his achilles problem had flared up again. Keiran Gibbs will not travel however after going off on Saturday having tweaked his hamstring. The Germans will not play a part in the match but the rest of the team look set to travel.

Tomorrow night is going to be a very tough one but over the two legs we have the quality to do the business and a positive result tomorrow night will put us in good stead for the return next week. I may post tomorrow but if not there will be an early post on Wednesday looking ahead to the Everton game before I head away for a couple of weeks. COYG!

Arsenal ease past City + Vermaelen Leaves

We got out first look at what seemed to be a strong team this afternoon as Arsenal breezed past a City team that never really got going. Arsenals line up included 3 of our 4 new signings: Chambers, Debuchy and Sanchez.

Throughout the first half Arsenal were the only side in it. The slick passing game was causing the inexperienced City defence problems. In the middle of the park the gunners bossed the play, preventing Toure and co. from getting going. Then the deadlock was broken. Sanogo played the ball along the front of the box and as Boyata flattened Ramsey the ball fell to the Spaniard Cazorla who flashed the ball past Caballero to put us 1 up.

20 minutes later Ramsey got in on the Wembley action, Sanogo again held the ball up well and slid it across to Ramsey. After a deft touch to lift the ball over the leg of Nastacic, Aaron fired the ball across Caballero again to make it 2-0. City got slightly better in the second half and Arsenal brought on 3 players: Giroud, the OX and Monreal. Sanchez, Koscielny and Sanogo made way. As Arsenal played their way back into control of the midfield the ball broke to Giroud who after teeing up a shot, crashed it past the City keeper from all of 25 yards. A truly great goal which rounded off a very nice performance.

Of course theres little point reading into this game as both sides were without key players, it appears that the only issue is that Koscielny has a minor Achilles problem and may miss the season opener against Palace. Aside from that there were brilliant performances from Chambers who I actually thought should have been MOTM and Debuchy. Considering Alexis Sanchez is still not fully ready according to Wenger he certainly looks like a very exciting player and I can't wait to see him properly this season.

In other news Thomas Vermaelen has left the club for Barcelona. I can't say I'm surprised but it still saddens me a little to think we're letting him go. However the captain featured very few times last season and for a player like himself he needs game time. Whether he'll get that in Catalonia I'm not sure but fair do's to him. He conducted himself phenomenally well over the last couple of difficult seasons for him and his message to the Arsenal fans and family was pure class:

After 5 years at Arsenal - and the last 2 years a proud captain too - it's time for me to move on. The club, the team, the fans, the manager, the staff and other employees, you all made me feel at home at both the training ground and the Emirates Stadium. It was a wonderful time and I feel blessed I've had the opportunity to be a part of such a great club. There have been so many wonderful games and experiences, with lifting the FA Cup as an absolute highlight. I would like to thank you all for your support, it was a huge honour to be a Gunner!

I wish Thomas all the best at Barcelona because a player of his quality and class deserves to play at the highest level for as long as possible. Wenger said earlier in the window is Tommy V left that he'd bring in a replacement so let's hope he does just that. Until next weekend when the Premier League season kicks off, have a great week.

  

Emirates Cup & Community Shield Preview

Our pre-season preparations were kicked well and truly into touch at the weekend as we took part in our inaugural Emirates Cup tournament. This years competitors were Portuguese treble winners Benfica, Ligue 1's runners up Monaco and err 8th placed Spanish side Valencia. In line with previous season each team plays twice and Arsenal took on Benfica on the Saturday and then Monaco on the Sunday.

Saturdays match against Benfica provided something of a spectacle as Yaya Sanogo netted 4 times against the Portuguese side along with Joel Campbell as Arsenal thumped Benfica 5-1. The side was an interesting one with the manager experimenting with formations and positions. Wenger handed new boy Luke Chambers a start at CB along with Nacho Monreal strangely. The loudest cheer of the day was reserved for Alexis Sanchez who came on during the second half and looks like one hell of a player and a very exciting prospect.

On Sunday Arsenal took on Monaco with a totally different looking team to the one that played the day before. There were starts for Debuchy and Sanchez along with Giroud who returned from holidays. We went down 1-0 to the French side with Falcao scoring a header. That said we were denied a clear penalty and were unlucky not to score. However I'd much rather get bad luck out of the way before the season kicks of properly. It's important to remember that these matches are no more than match fitness tools, the results are of no importance, plus Monaco's season kicks off this weekend so it was their last chance to get in some game time. This was reflected in their team which was from what I could tell near enough first choice.

Technically from a competitive point of view our season also kicks off this weekend in the Community Shield against Man City but once again I don't think this will serve as much more than a chance to finish pre-season preparations and give players a chance to stretch their legs. Team news ahead of this is that none of our German contingent will be back for this and some may not be back for Palace the week after either. I don't think we'll see Giroud or other players who took part in the World Cup. I think it'll be a fairly strong team that take on the current PL champions but it would be stupid to believe that risks will be taken.

As it's of little importance there will be no preview for Sunday's game, should there be any transfer news of course I will post but if not look our for the preview of the seasons opening game against Crystal Palace. Till then. Up the Gunners!     

The Silly Season Begins

As always, the moment a transfer window opens, Arsenal are immediately linked with a plethora of players and bearing in mind the Premier League season ended four weeks ago we've already been linked with: Aurier, Benzema, Morata, Fabregas, Mandzukic, Remy, Insigne and Eto'o but to name a few. This will of course continue throughout the summer and until the window shuts on deadline day, our job is cipher through the crap and pick out the stories that have some element of truth. Not an easy task.

At the moment I'm not going to attempt to pick out the ones that are truthful because quite frankly I don't think any of them will come to fruition. But what was made clear the other day by Ivan Gazidis is that the club are in his words "deep in talks" with players. Clearly the club are willing to make moves and after all the talk of a £100m "warchest" it appears that the club have instead settled on a a modest £60m transfer budget and I knowing Wenger we won't spend a penny more than that. People linking us with 50 and 60 million pound transfers I feel are well wide of the mark. Personally unless inflation takes hold I can't see us breaking our £42.5m transfer record for a long long time.

As it stands we have no notable transfers of note, we've unveiled our list of players who we released. No real surprises on there Bendtner and others who we just don't use or haven't played. I think the majority of the business will be done post world cup and I'm hoping although not believing that a lot of the transfer hype will die down over this period and we'll get a brief rest bite before the quick fire finale after the World Cup.

This was only a brief post to say that I am keeping on top of transfer news but at the moment nothing has been suggested from papers, the club or *cough* my sources. When this changes I'll be sure to post. Enjoy the World Cup! 

FA Cup Winners 2014

Nine years is a long time. Regardless of how you look at it. In 2005 I was in my first year of secondary school, this year I've graduated from University. In that time period I've watched the club I love come agonisingly close to winning another trophy, pretty much every trophy under the sun. The Champions League final in 2006 which sadly I don't think I'll ever get over. Countless title challenges, League Cup finals. But yesterday all of that became utterly irrelevant.

I stood watching the game tick by having gone two down within ten minutes, seen Santi Cazorla pull one back through a sensational free kick and then Koscielny pivot and fire between the keepers legs. I had the horrible feeling we'd go to penalties and once again hope would be dashed in the cruelest possible way in football. We spurred chance after chance and everyone was fearing the worst. Then, as if written, the man who has changed his career and the clubs fortune so many times this season popped up in the right place at the right time. 

Some neat link up play saw Giroud side on to the goal being hassled by a defender before backheeling it to Ramsey who, right on cue, poked it home sending Wembley, the Emirates and thousands of pubs, bars and supporters clubs around the world into absolute pandemonium. It was a moment I doubt many people who were fortunate enough to experience with other fans will ever forget. The moment was almost coupled with one of pure agony when Fabianki came tearing out of his goal and was easily rounded by Aluko, whose shot seemed to travel forever and I thought was destined to bumble into the bottom corner but bobbled harmlessly wide.

From there we held the ball well and did our job and the outpouring of emotion on the final whistle was something to behold. At the Emirates where I was, there were scenes of joy from the young to had never seen Arsenal win a trophy to the old who had seen many. The girl behind me was in floods of tears, people piled onto the pitch and for myself personally a moment I'd waited for from the day I was 12 years old was one of pure ecstasy.

Watching the team lift the trophy one by one was brilliant but nothing compared to the deafening cheer Arsene Wenger got as he himself lifted old cup. The man who had brought every single player in that team to the club and who has been at the butt of criticism from fans within our ranks and of course those from other clubs, deserved every moment of happiness. As did the players who earned it. It was a day for everyone connected to the club to revel in and enjoy. 

There will be time for reflection this season in due course but for now this is the time for the players, the staff, the manager and most of all every single fan like myself to enjoy and celebrate. For the 250,000 (yes that is a quarter of a million) strong that took to the streets of London today for the parade, soak it up and remember every moment. I tried to find one photo to sum the day up nicely but couldn't so here are three. Till my next post, enjoy being FA Cup Winners 2014!

Wigan Review

I originally planned to roll this and the West Ham preview into one long-ish blog but decided there was too much to say so it'll instead be two shorter ones in quick succession. So after 120 minutes of football and around 5 minutes of agonising penalties we made it to the FA Cup final. There are plenty of positives and negatives to take from the day. So we'll start with the negatives.

The game itself was one of the most torrid games of football I've ever seen. I said to my friend beforehand that both sides play open, attacking football so it should be a good game. How wrong I was. The game was lethargic, boring and there were few chances throughout the match. We were content to play sideways and backwards and pretty much any way but forwards. Wigan were content to hold and then try to counter. There was no drive to our game whatsoever, it was difficult to see where our breakthrough would come from.

We bizarrely started Yaya Sanogo who showed just why he hasn't opened his Arsenal account yet. To ask a man of 21 to lead the line for Arsenal in an FA Cup Semi-final personally is naive. When he missed the chance after going through one on one the fans were turning quickly inside the national stadium. Now this isn't me being critical about the young lad, his desire was first class, he chased absolutely everything even when it was clearly a lost cause but he's just too raw at the moment. If he's have scored that header that was fantastically saved by Scott Carson then it could have been a different story.

The first half drew to a dull, drawn out close and no matter how many £5 pints of watered down budweiser I could have drunk it wouldn't have improved my mood. The second half picked up much where the first left off. After 60 odd minutes Monreal went down under a challenge and Wigan broke through, Mertesacker slid in late and it was the clearest penalty you've ever seen. Gomez stepped up and hammered it home. At this point myself and everyone around me were fearing the worst. The guy infront of me quite rightly said now is when we need to get behind the team and the fans rallied.

Wenger took off Podolski to a chorus of boos mainly because it wasn't Sanogo being taken off and we reverted to a 4-4-2. Gibbs was brought on and made and instant impact, we looked a lot better with more pace and drive. We then hit the post and I thought that was our chance but the Wigan goal was living a charmed life. Moments later Gibbs thought he'd brought us level only to see his effort cleared off the line. From the resulting corner there was a sliced clearance that fell to Sanogo who controlled well and laid it off to the OX. He hit his shot into the ground and it was heading out of play when Per Mertesacker appeared to nod home cuing utter delirium in the Arsenal sections. I don't think I've ever celebrated a goal like that before in my life. 

As the game rolled on we were in the ascendancy with the OX crashing a shot of the angle. But it was almost destined to head to penalties. Extra time came and went and then it was destined. I don't buy all this penalties are a lottery crap. They are a test of skill and most importantly a test of nerve. I was far from confident that we'd do what we needed too although our record in shoot outs recently is surprisingly good. 

Wigan went first and Fabianski saved well. Arteta stepped up and with nerves of steel scored as he does so often from 12 yards. Collison stepped up and again Fabianksi saved well. Kim Kallstrom stepped up and I was confident knowing his record from dead-balls, I read somewhere that he's never missed a penalty but I can't confirm that. He power his side footed effort into the corner. Wigan then finally got off the mark and Giroud stepped up. Again sent Carson the wrong way and now there was real belief we'd do it. Wigan then scored again.

As I watched Santi Cazorla make the long walk down the pitch, my row in the heavens of Wembley locked arm in arm like the players on the pitch, I had a feeling he'd do it despite my nerves being shredded. The little Spaniard took a long run up that seemed to last a lifetime and then blasted his penalty straight down the middle, sparking more wild scenes inside Wembley. 

I read afterwards that Roy Keane said it was ridiculous celebrating like for beating Wigan. Which a preposterous statement from a bitter man who still feels the shootout of 2005 cut deep and long may he hurt from it I say. It was the celebrations of a team going to the FA Cup final and nobody remembers how you got there if your name is on the trophy come the end of it.

So far from classic Arsenal but we got the job done. I just want to say that we need to enjoy the moment until we take on West Ham tomorrow otherwise what's the point. Also I'd like to say the support on Saturday was absolutely tremendous from our fans, we outnumbered the Wigan fans by something like 4 to 1 and we really made it count. Talking of the Wigan fans I'd like to say they were all fantastic people having met many throughout the day and shared a drink with a number of them, great fans and it was all in the spirit of the day, I wish them all the best for the rest of the season.

Right back tomorrow for what is gonna be a slog of a match.