It's time to go Gallas + Porto Preview

We face Porto tonight at the Emirates and its also a chance to put to rest any demons we may have been carrying around since Saturdays brilliant encounter with Hull. It will by no means be a walk in the park as they are a tough nut to crack and it is going to be a real test of character for
us.

Anyhow, we'll start with the team news first and the highlight of which is that Samir Nasri is back into squad and will be vying for a start. The rest of the squad remains unchanged although Le Boss has intimated that the squad will be rotated. Whilst many of us would be led to believe that this is out of punishment for the outstanding displays on Saturday le boss made it very clear that it was not the issue. He said:

"Punishment? No, you know sometimes you make changes because you consider the other team, you consider the balance of your team, sometimes because one player is not at his best. If a player or two do not play tomorrow it is not a punishment, it is just because of a rotation in the side. You cannot play every single game with the same 11 players."

Le boss has made it crystal clear why the rotation is being taken into effect but I personally believe that he need not hide behind this & just drop those that deserve it however fragile their unwarranted ego's may be. In any case, some big decisions need to be made in terms of who stays and who goes and the biggest decisions need to be made in that of the defence and the striking departments. Arsene needs to ask himself wether he wants to continue playing the highly erratic, lethargic and offside prone Adebayor and RVP or is it high time the hardworking and highly deserving duo of Bendtner or Vela be brought into the mix? If we look at the defence then 95% of the gooners would like to see Gallas dropped in favor of Djourou but as always it will be Kolo Toure who would be the most likely to be dropped.

The game, as I have mentioned earlier is not going to be a walk in the park and tonight is an game we must absolutely win otherwise we'd find qualification into the group stages a little too daunting.

Moving on, William Gallas has pointed out his ambitions for the season ahead whilst speaking to the official website after the Hull defeat and had this to say:

"We have to try to stay in the fourth position. It's very difficult to accept."

This is very ambitious indeed, finish 4th without any trophy is exactly what is required. I have never heard of a more ambitious captain and people like him have certainly put to rest former captains like Patrick Vieira and Tony Adams to shame.

I seriously feel that Arsene needs to get rid of Gallas asap. The centre of defence is becoming a major problem and even so early into the season we have conceded too many goals off set pieces and defensive errors for comfort.

We really miss a strong presence at the back, like Tony Adams or Sol Campbell and in Gallas or Toure, we don't always have that. Why doesn't Arsene Wenger see this? When it comes to Gallas to being out-muscled in the box from set pieces, it's happening far too regularly. If you look at the other top teams in the Premier League, namely Liverpool, Manchester United etc one can see got the commanding centre halves who will not allow you any space to score off against, whatever the situation maybe.

Arsene Wenger after the Hull defeat even came out and said:

"I believe that we have more a size problem than quality in our defending problem. Our centre backs are not very tall. I don't know what we can do. It's not only centre backs who defend. As a team we are a bit short."

I find this statement, "I don't know what we can do" a little hypocritical of Arsene. This isn't something that happened 5 minutes before the Hull game but has been eminently apparent for a long time now. We've had Gallas and Toure our first choice centre backs for quite some time and something could have so easily been done in the summer about this obvious lack of size.

The problem is that William Gallas cannot be dropped. Why you ask? Well its largely due to the fact that Arsene Wenger has made him club captain and not only stuck with him but also made the promise of playing regular games at centre back. What a magnanimous mistake this now looks in retrospect.

However, we must concentrate on the task that lies ahead and hope that Mr. Gallas can keep his act together and not concede any stupid goals as usual.

Here's hoping for all 3 points.

Come on you Gunneerrrssssssssss!!!!

Horrendous

I'm sure all of us are feeling rather gutted after seeing what we did and what hurt more was the fact that we lost at the Emirates, our first league defeat since April of last year. It was a pathetic performance to say the least, one where the enitre team failed to perform and its now the second time in six games we have lost to a team that actually taken the game to us and we've ended up losing. The boss agrees here and says:

"We don't know how costly it could be but they were committed. It was a bit similar to (Arsenal's match at) Fulham."

It really sucks to say the least, I seriously think Le Boss needs to think things through and some of the players need to be given a dressing down. The lack of competition for some positions is insane and hence the procrastinating behavior of some players on different occasions. The Boss says:

"Everything that makes you win football games was not there from the start. The concentration levels were not high enough from the start. When we went 1-0 up our focus dropped and we gave them too much room."

Arsene also thought that we had been handed a good lesson by yesterday's defeat. He also demanded improvement in the overall attitude of the team. He's right as well, we were caught out for our own laziness and also for tyring to score that fucking perfect goal when we really should have been scoring. The boss said:

"We had the chances to win the game. The commitment was on the high side but we weren't completely switched on to the level you need to be to win the game. It was a good lesson for us. We now know that if our attitude isn't right, we can lose games."

No one had the hunger to go out and win the game and it was really disappointing. That said, its not the end of the world, really it isn't. Its not like the other teams will not drop points over the course of the season or its not like we won't gain any. We need to keep the faith and remain hopeful that we don't keep repeating such horrendous performances.

Until next time folks.

What we would we do without you Arsene?

We have Hull coming over today and the anticipation of having some football to watch after a rather long week is very exciting. We are going into today’s game on the back of some cracking performances that has seen us score 14 goals and concede just 2 in all competitions and one must not forget that 3 out of those 4 games were by no means easy. The way we literally tore those teams apart has been a treat to watch. We’ve shown great resilience, composure and never compromised the Arsenal way of playing football. The most important aspect is that you can’t single out one or two players either; the entire team has stood up and come through where it mattered. Therefore, to expect an absolute decimation today would be quite fair.

Onto some team news now, nothing has changed thus far since what I told you lot in yesterday’s blog. To give you a brief overview though, Clichy & Silvestre are fit and apart from Silvestre returning to fitness, the team remains unchanged. Samir Nasri is still out injured. I swear, the left side of the pitch is jinxed for us.

While we are on the topic of left midfielders who are always out injured, one can not help but mention Tomas Rosicky. We were expecting to see his make his way back to the squad (finally) sometime in December but now the club is now rather “speechless” about him. It is not very surprising to hear that they can now not give an exact date towards his return. For a player who has been out since January for reasons unknown and who’d be coming back after Eduardo, you have to seriously think that his days at the club are numbered. This is the season where he has to come out and prove that his sole duty at the club is to not keep the physio’s occupied but also to perhaps sometimes play a little football as well. It’s very frustrating, I’m a big fan of the player but I think the shit has all but hit the fan with him.

In other news, it’s all Arsene Wenger today who has had a lot to say. He speaks about the possibility of packing up and leaving the club by the time his contract runs out in 2011. He says:

“I've not thought about my contract, “I will give myself to the end of my contract in 2011 and then have a serious check-point. You don't want as well to go on too long.”

It would be really sad to see him, should the day ever arrive. I don’t even know who we would replace him with. He’s one of the best manager’s in the world and I’d only place Alex Ferguson in the same category as him. This man is Arsenal, through and through.Its even in his name, Arsen – e. Arsen – al. Its going to be really hard. *sighs*

The boss also speaks about the fact that his upcoming anniversary on Sunday, that will mark his 12th year at the club (amazing in this day and age) is not a time to sit and gloat over past achivements but to remain focused on the future. The boss says:

“I’m not very happy to speak about my anniversary because what interests me in life is what is in front of me and not what is behind me.”

"I also believe that is part of the sickness of this job, as you know what you've done is forgotten and what is important is what happens tomorrow. You spend your life worrying about the future, and are always expecting the next game, the next game and the next game”

"It becomes something almost perverse. It takes over your brain completely and you never take time to look back."

He’s very right at this. The job of a football manager is the most thankless one in the world. No matter how good you are a sudden slip and the world climbs on top of your head and jumps on it. We’ve seen this happen with Alex Ferguson as well. The amount of trophy’s he’d won for United counted for nothing when they hit a barren phase whilst the team was in a state of transition. The club fans were calling for his head and the same has been apparent with Arsene Wenger. People who tend to do this are not fans and are just an ungrateful lot.

Finally, young Denilson has been looking to follow in the footsteps of Patrick Vieira & Gilberto Silva. Not the worst of role models to follow are they? Heh! He says:

"He (Patrick) helped Arsenal to achieve beautiful things so it’s an important reference for me. But it’s the same with Gilberto Silva. He is also an example for me to follow.”

"They have both made their mark and now it is my time to write my history in the pages of Arsenal."

We’re waiting as well Denilson. We hope you make 600+ appearances and score 200 goals for a midfielder and help us win a ton of trophies in the process.

Right then, a couple of hours to go till kick-off.

I can’t wait.

Come on you Gunnnnnnnneeeeeerrrrrrrrrssssss!!

You're one in a million Cesc!

Our beloved midfield maestro Cesc Fabregas has vowed that, he will never, never, NEVER EVER quit The Arsenal. Whilst talking to The Sun, the king of Arsenal had this to say:

“I am so happy here that I will never think about moving as long as things keep going the way they are. For me it’s not a problem. My mentality is the same since the day I signed for the club.”

“What’s the point in having millions and millions in the bank if you don’t enjoy playing and you are not happy? I am happy, I love the way we are playing and the fact I’m still here after three seasons’s without winning anything means something.”

“It’s because I love the game, I love the club and I love the way we play football. I really enjoy the way we play on the field and for me, that’s the most important thing.”

An obvious jab was taken at all the footballers who had prioritized money before anything and very openly stated that money wasn’t everything in the world. Footballers such as Cesc don’t come by that very often anymore and I must say I am extremely pleased to hear someone not bleating about money for a change. He is a sublime player and an excellent individual. A perfect role-model for everyone out there who is in need of one.

Cesc also claimed he was “Sleepless in London” because of the up and coming kids at the club. The king even said that he needed to raise his game in light of the snazzy displays by Wilshire, Ramsey & Merida against Sheffield United. He said:

“I was really excited on Tuesday — it was sensational. You can see all the players have ambition; they want to show how good they are. I cannot go to sleep as one day or other they will want to play more and more and the manager will want them to play more.

“I will have to be better and better. Wilshere, Ramsey, Merida — they all play in my position. This is great for me. I love competition. If the players are so young you can feel your place is too secure. So it’s fantastic to have competition — to wake you up and make you a better player.”

For someone as established as Cesc is, for someone as talented as he, for him to be actually talking about how important it was to up his game and make sure he deserved his place in the Arsenal side is truly remarkable. With the truly altruistic way that he has complimented these players, it too shows how down to earth he is and how much he has Arsenal in his heart.

Cesc also spoke about the lack of trophies at The Arsenal and how it didn't bother him so much. He had this to say:

“People can say ‘They will never win’ but it’s not in my mind. I’ll never think we won’t win anything. But sometimes when you feel so good during the game and play the game you enjoy so much, even if you haven’t won anything in the last three seasons, I have felt so good, so free. I enjoy it so much.

“Of course you want to win but when you have this recompense inside that you are playing so well maybe it’s much better than to be in another team that wins trophies but you don’t enjoy it so much.”

He really has the maturity of a 60 year old and it’s just amazing to see a player of his kind. He has all the makings of an Arsenal legend that will fall in a category even higher than that of Dennis Bergkamp or even Thierry Henry. Come on Arsene, make him captain. Make him le captain right now.

We all remember how much criticism le boss faced when the transfer window closed without any player arriving into the club. Football “pundits” as usual wrote us off completely and yet again tipped this year to the year that sp*rs will win all major trohpy’s around the world. Yes, they will win the Bundesliga, the Primera Liga, The Premiership, the Euro Cup, The Champions League, The World Cup and “Go fuck yourselves” award for being the shittiest lot of rejects in the world. Now however, with us being top of the League, Sp*rs being 20th and the children having just hammered Sheffield United in the Carling Cup, the issue all but disappeared.

The pundits are nowhere to be found and Arsene Wenger now finally explains why he did not add to the squad. According to the boss it was last term’s improvement, coupled with the youngsters rapidly rising through the ranks, that helped convince him that a signing was not the order of the day. The genius said:

“I believe we have many good players here and we try to sort out any problems collectively as a team. We lost some top-class players in the summer but we always try to produce good young players and develop them. I always feel with the youth policy, the Club has a security and even if one or two players leave, we are strong enough to cope with it.”

The boss also spoke about going that extra mile this time around to show everyone that we had truly learnt from our mistakes.

“Having been in that position before, our determination not to lose our advantage is certainly greater than ever. We experienced a big frustration last season and, in a highly-competitive league, we want to stay where we are. We were very close last year and it will be close again. We want to show we have learned.”

I have to admit, after patiently watching the boss creating this monster, it would be truly fucking sweet to see these young lads lifting a trophy or two. I swear, would it not be fun seeing Le Boss having the last laugh? I can’t wait. I honestly believe it is coming, we were so close last time around, we could only possibly build on a great season much like what United did last time around. I really can’t wait.

It seems that those utterly despicable cunts, namely Inter Milan are now trying to get their grubby little hands on Jack Wilshire. The only thing I have to say to this is, go fuck yourselves Milan!

Finally for some team news ahead of our clash tomorrow against Hull. As reported in yesterday’s blog, the squad remains unchanged to that which beat Bolton a week before, the only addition to that is of Silvestre. Samir Nasri is still sidelined and I’m really becoming convinced our left hand side of the midfield has been jinxed since the departure of Robert Pires to Villarreal.

Right then, that’s the lot!

Come on you Gunnersssssssssssss!!!!

Bits & Pieces

We’re a bit high and dry in terms of Arsenal news right now but I’d still try my best to put together some meaningful bits & pieces together to fulfill your blogging needs for the day.

We’ll start off with Le Genius heaping more praise on our new Liam Brady. The compliments don't come any bigger, especially if happen to be a 16-year-old chap trying to make your way in the professional game and Arsène yesterday did not hesitate for a second in mentioning Wilshere's name in the same sentence as the words "Liam" and "Brady". The boss had this to say:

"He is a quiet boy, very determined and focused. For the rest, the talent is there. You have seen that again"

He also stressed the importance of taking time to nurture his talent and this is very important in his overall development.

"When you are a manager of a boy like that who has the talent, you are always cautious to put too much pressure on him and too high a level of expectation. I believe it is all in there, but also that I have a responsibility to nurture him and get him in the right development over the next two or three years, that will be vital. From 16 to 19 is a very important age for a football player – and Jack has skipped a few classes.”

Le boss stands true and this is very important obviously; otherwise if we heap too much pressure on any player we can very easily pull a Michael Owen or a Robbie Fowler on them.

AW was also full of praise for Carlos Vela, and said:

“Carlos is a player who has everything in his locker. He is agile, has a good first touch and is very calm in front of goal. Also, he is a clinical and quick finisher and I just think he is top class."

Oddly enough, I think so too. As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, I thought Carlos Vela was top notch, his calmness in front of goal reminds one of Eduardo and yet his finishing is one step beyond that, infact his finishing reminds me of Dennis Bergkamp even. I’m really excited to see more of Vela in the coming games. He certainly special.

Moving on, ex-Gunner, Nicolas Anelka has heaped praise on le boss.

"We are used to watching them play like this. They have always played extraordinary football. They have a super coach who knows how to get the best from his players.”

He himself scored some absolute crackers whilst at the club and it was a shame that he had to be a jackass and screw it all up. On the other hand, we got Thierry Henry and a new training facility, so it all worked out well for us, didn’t it?

Onto some team news now ahead of the clash with Hull, it seems that Mikael Silvestre is available for selection and Gael Clichy after receiving a nasty lump on his shin against Bolton. Alex Song faces a late fitness test and apart from that, the rest of the team is available.

And finally, RVP is on the verge of getting a new contract.

The weekends around the corner and there’s some Arsenal to look forward to as well.

Here’s hoping for a million goals and all three points.

Godspeed.

Trés Magnifique

There’s just one word to describe the events taking place at the Emirates last night, and that word is “Slaughter.” Yes, slaughter, a youth team against an experienced Championship side, whose lawyers have been arguing that they should be in the Premier League, were made to look like amateurs by a team comprising eight teenagers with an average age of 19, who put on a footballing masterclass that was a joy to behold.

After a rather edgy start to the game, where the possession of the ball was sacrificed too readily, The lads recovered their composure to put on a mouth watering show, headlined by the Carlos Vela hat-trick and the support being in the shape of a Bendtner brace & a debut goal by Jack Wilshire.

The game started with the first real chance falling to the Blades. Gary Speed found Danny Webber who cut in from the left but failed in his attempt at goal. From thereon in, it was all about The Arsenal. Vela in possession managed to hold off Morgan before finding Bendtner, who calmly stroked the ball past the Sheffield keeper to put our young Arsenal side ahead.

Bendtner got a second, 11 minutes late after, Ramsey found him with a back heal and Bendtner got in behind the defense before finishing past Kenny. Only 2 minutes later, it was Bendtner again who this time put Carlos Vela through to add our third of the night.

Soon after play resumed, Kieran Gibbs got the ball down to the left, and found Vela who cut inside and beat Morgan before lifting the ball over and about the keeper. Sheffield United then went into suspended animation, a quick short corner by Arsenal left Wilshere to pick his spot in the bottom corner Aaron Ramsey got his second assist of the night, once again finding out Carlos Vela on the left who smashed the ball passed Kenny to make it 6 for the night for The Arsenal.

It was an incredible display by the lads, especially by that of Carlos Vela who could more than likely be the 18 yard box finisher that Arsene Wenger has been searching for. Vela showed remarkable composure (very similar to Eduardo) for his 3 goals, I’m certain this lad could find himself challenging the more established players like RVP & Ade in no time. Le boss agrees:

"I think he’s a player who has everything in his locker of a good striker. He's agile, good first touch, very calm in front of goal, clinical and quick finisher and I just think he’s top class."

Not to forget, Fran Mérida also demonstrated the class that has had club insiders purring in expectation for several years, Ramsey taking to the grandeur of the Emirates Stadium like a fish to water and Jack Wilshere, 16, confirming his vast potential with a first senior goal struck from the edge of the penalty area. Le boss was very impressed by Wilshire and singled him out for a lot of praise and even talks of a comparison to Liam Brady were made, the boss said:

"He was 15 [when he first impressed] he’s 16 and last year a few times I integrated him in our [first team] training sessions. He didn’t look at all out of place. Straight away football was natural for him.”

"People tell me he is a little bit like Liam Brady because he has good balance and change of direction. I dont know Liam well enough.I believe later [in his career] he will be a central midfielder or behind the strikers."

Post match though Le Genious, was obviously full of praise, he said:

"I believe every one in his position has done very well. From goalkeeper [Lukasz] Fabianski up to [Nicklas] Bendtner and Carlos Vela of course up front they were great. You know already Bendtner and you discovered maybe a bit more about Vela. He is a clinical finisher. I am pleased as well with our midfield, and our defence was serious and stayed strong - we looked like the complete team and I’m very happy and proud of that.”

He even went onto state that this was the “cream of the youth crop” (sorry, Goon! :P) he’s had thus far, he said:

“Yes [these are the best crop of kids] Yes. Because there is not one player who has not the real quality of the Premier League in any position."

Even Kevin Blackwell, the Sheffield manager was full of praise for the youth side that tore apart his Sheffield United side, he said:

“Life has a funny way of bringing you back to earth, we knew they were a good set of lads, but no one knew quite how good they were. That side could play in the Premier League. It was like trying to swat a fly and we couldn’t catch them. I asked Arsène at the end if I could borrow 11 for Saturday.”

Bearing the slaughter in mind, Phil Brown, the Hull manager would be more than happy to face the first XI this weekend. Heh.

Finally, that sad fuck platini has been bleating on as usual and I find him so nauseating that I don’t even want to divulge into the details. My good friend, The Goon is covering this department and if you want a better look into the details, do so by clicking here.

All Hail Arsene.

Arsenal for life.

All Hail Arsene

We’ll start off today with le boss hailing the gunners for their exceptional performances over the past week. The team, which had been written off entirely before the start of the season, scored 8 goals and conceded only 2, securing 2 wins and a draw over the past seven days. These games were all away and not only required a lot of traveling but also required a lot of character from the lads. We were faced with testing Premier League trips to the outposts of Blackburn & Bolton, journeys that we do not always relish, but eventually negotiated with little bother, securing a 3-1 win at The Reebok and an exhilarating 4-0 triumph at Ewood Park. And lest we forget, a late Gallas goal secured a point at Dynamo Kiev, (another place we seem to have issues) in match day one of the Champions League.

The boss whilst reflecting on these games had this to say:

“We’ve dropped points at teams like Blackburn and Bolton in the past but we have won convincingly at both places in the last week. We had an international break, then three away games, including a Champions League tie in Kiev, so what this team has done in the last week is exceptional.”

The boss also claims he sees vast improvements over the squad from last year and we all remember the squad we had that time around, the boss had this to say:

“This team has learned and improved from last year. Look at my team today. Denilson is 20, Cesc is 21, Song is 21, Theo is 19, Bendtner is 20. When you have players of that age and can still fight for the championship it bodes well.”

This, by no means is an understatement, we do seem much more composed and much more focused than last year and I said yesterday, the team will only improve. If you look at the players who are about to make a return, the quality they have to offer is exceptional. The most important part is that we continue playing as a collective unit, maintaining a single objective with a single direction and this naturally creates the hunger to win. I, therefore, don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be able to bring a trophy or two back to the Emirates. The boss agrees with me on this and says:

"We want to win the title and the Champions League. We have the quality, we are hungry, and we have a good spirit. What I like about this team is that they have a good attitude and share the same vision and express themselves well. We want to win first of all, but if it's possible we want to win with style."

And finally, Le Boss has been full of praise for Alex Song, he said:

"[When I signed him I liked] his personality, his technical quality, his composure, his strength in the one against one, the way he uses his body in the fight and, overall, his intelligence. I believe in him”

When he first came to the club, I have to admit I didn’t like him at all, most of the Gooners agreed with me on this and almost everyone wanted Alex Song to be kicked off the team, much the same case with Almunia, but you have to hand it to both players, they took all the criticism quietly, worked hard, got their chance and now have begun to silently make their mark amongst the best in Europe.

Arsene Knows. There’s no doubting this fact.

All Hail Arsene.

Arsenal is in a state of 911.

After the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal has moved to the top of the table. Add the impressive numbers generated by the football side of the business that were announced yesterday and suddenly the “pundits” who had tipped sp*rs to enter the “big four” at our expense have gone very, very quiet indeed.

Whilst all the pre-season talk was focused on the players we had lost, how we were in crisis, how this was the year the scum that is sp*rs will take over the throne at our expense and the search for a defensive midfielder, a young squad trained hard to improve on a season of missed chances.Both on and off the pitch, there is only one individual with the vision to make this happen but certainly he couldn’t do it alone. Then who can we credit for this resurgence? Can we name one or two players even? No. It is a collective effort. Le Boss, has released the demons, so to speak, in the form of players such as Theo Walcott, Denilson & Carlos Vela and who have electrified the squad into a side with seemingly boundless talent, flair and creativity. Throw in the summer signings of Samir Nasri & to some extent Aaron Ramsey who have both adapted well to the finesse that is Arsenal. Mikael Silvestre and Amaury Bischoff have yet to enter the fray and knowing le boss, I’m fairly confident the change of atmosphere will bring out the very best in both players. Not to mention the return from injuries of Eduardo, Rosicky and Diaby, who with their technical affluence can single-handedly transform the entire scenario. One can only see one way for The Arsenal and that way is UP, UP & BEYOND.

Now, we have a midweek Carling Cup fixture against the likes of Sheffield Utd. We’d undoubtedly get to see our youth team let loose and a chance to see potential Gunners given carve a niche’for themselves. Aaron Ramsey, Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere who have talent oozing out of their feet and enough potential to light up the League Cup and even the Premiership on fire for many seasons to come.

So, where is wenger’s head? where exactly is this “crisis” and where exactly are these pundits? Where exactly are sp*rs after spending 70 million pounds on players?

Well, there never was a crisis, the people calling for le boss’ head, the self-proclaimed “real” fans, are just pathetic little ingrates, My personal suggestion to you fine lot is to FUCK OFF to your pathetic existence and go support Chelsea. These pundits, how about back under the rock that they crawled out from? And Sp*rs, well 20th on the table. Wouldn’t it be funny that instead of finishing in the big four, they get relegated. I’m sure Juande Ramos should be able to win them a trophy and enable them to finish in the top four next season, albeit not in this league. Think about it lads. I’ve heard life down there is a lot more fun. At least, you “might” manage to win a “real” trophy and have something “real” to “celebrate”.

In other news, Cesc was pleased that we were able to cope to our yearly trip to Normandy quite well. He said:

"We showed great character and if you are going to win the league you have to win these games. We don't want to stop here. We want to keep going."

He also demanded to know why Kevin Davies wasn’t sent off for that malicious tackle on Gael Clichy. We had Diaby sent off at Bolton last season for a challenge on Steinsson, quite similar to the one we saw last night on Clichy. Cesc clearly felt Davies, who was booked, should have seen red too for his lunging tackle on the full-back.

"Look at his leg! Why not the same punishment?"

Firstly, I’m quite pleased as to how well we were able to step up to challenge and showed absolutely no fear, its something that we have built up quite positively on since last season and while sterner tests are yet to come, these sort of games are where there are no excuses to take all three points and are ones that ultimately settle the title towards the end of the season. Secondly, I agree with Cesc, the difference of attitude is shocking. I’m sick of this biasedness we tend to face everywhere we go.

Le Genious has praised the attitude of the Gunners.

Finally, please take a moment and send out a quiet prayer to those slain mercilessly in the suicide attacks at the Marriott. May GOD grant their families the courage to cope with the situtaion. Terrorists have no religion and may these suicide bombers and the others responsible burn in eternal hell.

That’s the lot.

Godbless.

Live & Let Live

"Look at the shoes your filling. Look at the blood we're spilling.

Look at the world we're killing. The way we've always done before. Look in the doubt we've wallowed.Look at the leaders we've followed. Look at the lies we've swallowed.

And I don't want to hear no more."

A little after the fast broke here in Islamabad a massive suicide truck bomb devastated the heavily guarded Marriott Hotel, killing at least 40 people and wounding another 200. A dozen more are feared dead, trapped inside the rubble including Danish, US, Saudi and citizens from various other countries.

A recent rash of civilian deaths from U.S. airstrikes and military operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan has been feeding widespread outrage and anger in these countries toward the U.S.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned recent U.S. attacks in his country, while the Pakistan government had filed a formal protest. The backlash of these actions to rid their personal problems is being faced by the innocent men & women of these poor developing nations.

To top if all off, the nation's leadership only sits and gives feeble comdemnation statements that anyone least concerned with pakistan would make. When a government official was contacted , instead of accepting the blast as a security lapse, he comforts himself with the thought that no one of "importance" was killed or hurt.

The rest of the people of this country seem like cattle to our honorable leadership. Had that not been the case, concrete steps would've been taken to avoid such a massive loss of life and property. They wage a war which even the US themselves admit is going nowhere, all the while piling the blame on Pakistan. Simply demanding "do more, do more". Pakistan has yet again given sacrifice in the shape of our own citizens being slaughtered by their brethren. How much "more" do you possibly want from us?

Today we have witnessed yet again that Pakistan has suffered the most through cooperation with the US on this so called "War on Terror", which should rather be called "War of Terror" to befittingly describe its impact on our own country and the US Government's image around the world.

We, the Pakistanis, dont know what to do. To mourn the impotence of our government or to condemn US attacks on our soil or to blame the self created " Taliban". For a war that never was ours . We vehemently condemn all forms of terrorism and loss of life. But that is not what this so called "War on Terror" has set out to eliminate. Rather the "War on Terror" is a intelligence-blunder littered mismanaged war to take control of all the worlds strategic assets for the sole benifit of the american agenda of world dominance.

On record , US has always been all-smiles to Pakistan , coining terms like "Non-Nato Ally" just to exploit the current situation , falsly assuring us of not attacking our soil or our sovereignty . We , the Pakistani's, have only one thing to say to "Uncle Sam" or simply "Sam" since we'd never like to consider him as our Uncle.

We want nothing to do with you or your War of Terror. Leave us alone. We hope that atleast these words could affect the mere strands of moral fiber that may be left somewhere in the west. That this message can get to someone who isnt brain-dead or soulless.

We mourn the loss of the lives of our brethren as well as the loss of the lives of foreign citizens, whose protection was our duty once they stepped into Pakistan.

May those responsible, burn in eternal hell.

"War is enjoyable to those who've had no experience of it" - Erasmus

"My hands are tied. For all I've seen has changed my mind, but still the wars go on as the years go by. With no love of God or human rights. 'Cause all these dreams are swept aside, by bloody hands of the hypnotized. Who carry the cross of homicide and history bears the scars of our civil wars"

UPDATE: According to an official statement, the death toll has risen to 53 and the injured at 250. The Czech Ambassador to Pakistan, has also been confirmed as the ones amongst the dead.

Bolton Today

What a tricky tie it is today. A trip to Lancashire has never been easy for us and every victory we have had has been nothing short of a trip to hell and back. It goes back all the way to a difficult cup tie at Burnden Park in the early 90s. The Gunners have always seemed to struggle with Bolton’s tactics, succumbing to a series of tame defeats, the most forgettable of which was a 2-2 draw back in April 2003 which effectively put an end to our title hopes.

There have of course been happier times as well. Who could forget the stirring comeback last season when Arsenal, two goals down and a man down at half time, rallied to a delightful 3-2 victory? The bizarre F.A. Cup Fourth Round replay the season before which saw Arsenal win 3-1 in extra time, two players missing penalties in the process, Bolton having a man sent off and Adebayor missing an open goal & then getting two? And of course the incredibly tight 1-0 victory in March 1998 that constituted part of Arsenal’s awesome 10 match winning run to the title.

Today isn’t going to be a walk in the park either. It’s going to be a hard fought physical battle reminiscent of Normandy. We are going to be kicked about as usual but its now down to our character and how well we respond to the challenge. That said I’m fairly confident we have the quality & the determination to come back with all 3 points in the bag.

Speaking of getting kicked about; Le boss is urging the referees to not allow Theo getting kicked out of football by the games bully-boys. Theo has recently become the target after scoring that sensational hat-trick against Croatia and is now a marked man (as we saw in Kiev). Le boss said:

“Unfortunately for a player who gets a name for being dangerous, the first answer he gets is harsh treatment. We do not expect presents from anybody but we want protection from referees.”

“I thought Wednesday night, for example, the target was not the ball. If a guy plays hard it is down to Theo to deal with it. But if the guy targets Theo, he has to be punished.”

He has a point there as well, if a foul is being committed, deal with it accordingly. The ref’s are exactly like two-faced from Batman, the ugly side is for arsenal & the normal one’s for Chelsea and other despicable clubs ran by *****. For instance, If Theo was a Chelsea player, the Kiev captain would have been sent off, but since he plays for the Arsenal, the ref turns a blind eye and calls it a “part of the game”.

Moving on, Samir Nasri could make his return to the side today.

In other news, Arsene believes Denilson can effectively fill up the void left by Flamini. I had been expecting to hear this since quite some time. Speaking to Arsenal.com, Wenger said:

“Denilson has different qualities to Flamini but if you look at the numbers at the end of the season you will see he is a very good player. You look at the assists he has had since the start of the season, the balls he wins, the interceptions he has and the distance he covers”.

He more in the mould of Cesc but he has the quality and the temperament to succeed at the highest level. He has put in a few good performances (spare the one at Fulham) and my guess is as good as anybody else’s. We’d have to wait and see at the end of the season.

Finally, Robert Pires thinks we are better than last season despite losing three mid-fielders (Does Hleb even count?) and reckons we can lift a trophy or two this season. He says:

“I think they have moved up a level. The players are much stronger; they are a young side that has gained a lot of experience.

“I have a very good feeling about Arsenal this year. I don't know whether it will be the Premier League or the Champions League but I believe they will win at least one title this season.”

Don’t you just love Robert Pires?

Here’s hoping to all 3 points today.

Cheers.

Ye Olde Arsenal

Afternoon all,

We'd start first and foremost with the team news today. According to le boss:

"The good news from last night is that nobody has come back with any knock or severe injury, we have no injuries from last night and we have no-one coming back as well, so the group will be stable."

This comes as a surprise after seeing the Ukranians trying their best to completely annihilate Theo Walcott. I suspect he's going to kicked about even more at Bolton, but the prospect has not daunted our young superstar, he says:

"It’s a nice feeling when a defender is scared of you straight away. I got kicked a few times in Kiev but I got up and got on with it. I just love playing for this club and for my country."

This is exactly what you want to hear from a player like Theo and how he's ready to step up to the challenge, especially since after scoring that hat-trick, his profile has risen tremendously and it now seems that most defenders have taken the "kicking him to stop him" route.

In other news, it seems that our injured French trio of Nasri, Silvestre & Diaby (remember him?) will not be playing tommorow either. Why am I not surprised? What I would really like to know is why the boss brings in players solely to keep our physio's hands full?

Onto Bolton team news now, Johan Elmander is hoping to feature tommorow after recovering from a hamstring injury, Matt Taylor remains on the sidelines with a broken toe but may get the go ahead following some consultation & Gary Cahill is also missing as he completes his two-match suspension. The rest of the squad is as we remember it. Still a bunch of *****. The game is going to extremely tough (it never is otherwise) and following a long week of travelling about, I really hope the fatigue element doesn't finally catch up with us.

Right moving on, Fergie's been talking about Theo Walcott and has some nice things to say as well. He talks about how important it is that the young lad keeps his head down and works on his football and not on his image. He said:

"It's the first time we have a young Englishman who, having scored a hat-trick against Croatia, will be faced with the same issues we faced with Ryan. Everyone will want a piece of him, agents will fall over themselves to get to the boy."

He also acknowledged the fact that Arsenal was the BE place to be for the young superstar.

"What he requires is one strong manager and Arsenal will give him that, without question. The boy must also have the understanding that what is being done for him is for his own good."

Shocking to hear him say anything nice about Arsenal, isn't it? Whats even more shocking is that Le boss & Alex Ferguson seem to have been singing:

"Strawberries cherries and an angel's kiss in spring My summer wine is really made from all these things Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time And I will give to you summer wine Ohhh-oh summer wine"

No seriously, they really have been. Go have a look.

In other news, Stan Kroenke has joined our board and this is a move to further distance that fat **** Alisher Usmanov from Arsenal Good stuff!

And finally, our financial results have been announced to solidify our financial well being. Right then, lets have those 30 million signings then.

Right then, I had best leave, the game is at 17:30 GMT tommorow and here's hoping to all 3 points and a billion and one goals.

Come on you Gunneerrrssssssss!!!!

Frustration & Relief

Morning All,

We ended up drawing the game 1-1 in Ukraine last night and it came as no surprise owing to our poor record in the former Soviet Union. In the past we've been beaten twice by Dynamo, in 1998 and 2003. We went down 3-0 to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2000, while their record in Russia was also poor, with two defeats from three visits.

We managed to get a bright start to game. In the second minute of the game, RVP got a great pass through Walcott, but his low angled shot was saved at the near post by Stanislav Bogush. In the 19th minute, Adebayor capitalized on poor control by Roman Eremenko & sprinted into the Dynamo penalty area. However he sent his shot wide when he really should have hit the target.

As half-time approached, RVP shot the ball into the side netting following good work from Sagna down the right. We cut out an even better chance when Adebayor fed Van Persie with a ball across goal, which was cut back for Fabregas who could only manage a tame shot straight at the keeper from six yards out.

At the start of the second half, Kiev almost snatched the lead when Eremenko got clear down the right and cut inside Gallas, our brilliant goal keeperAlmunia get a fingertip save. Walcott was soon back in the action as he set up Van Persie down the left, only for the him to skew his shot horribly wide. Fabregas was on target again with a 25-yard drive, but once more hit the ball straight at the Kiev keeper. A mistake by Gallas allowed Bangoura to get away down the right. Although Arsenal tracked back, the ball was eventually played into the penalty area where Ognjen Vukojevic went down under pressure from Sagna. The referee "apparently" had seen enough contact to immediately point to the spot before booking him. It appeared to be quite a dubious call, Sagna himself was not too convinced either and according to le boss', "The penalty was harsh, Sagna is convinced he was pulled with two hands on his own shirt as the guy went down." also seemed to have convinced me even more.

No use crying over spilt milk, Bangoura took the shot and sent Almunia the wrong way. 1-0 to Kiev. We were now chasing a game which we should have had in the bag following all out first-half dominance. Alex Song was then replaced by Nicklas Bendtner. Arsenal, though, still looked vulnerable to the counter-attack as they chased the game, and Bangoura hit the side netting following another quick break down the Dynamo left. Emmanuel Eboue replaced Sagna for the final 13 minutes before a far-post header by Adebayor almost sneaked in. Mexican striker Carlos Vela was then brought on for Van Persie. It was beginning to become quite frustrating and at this point all my friends had gone haywire (you lot need to relax a bit).

In the 88th minute of the game, we managed tol rescue a point when Gallas bundled in at the far post following a low cross by (who else?) Theo Walcott for the skipper's third goal of the European campaign this season.

William Gallas was none too pleased with our performance, Le Captain, whilst speaking to Sky Sports had this to say:

"It was really hard, we played well in the first half and in the second we didn't play at all well. We didn't defend well and conceded the penalty. I think everyone was disappointed with the second half. It's not bad to get a point but we feel we should have done better, because we feel we should have won, it's normal to feel disappointed."

Le Boss too was a tad frustrated and had this to say;

"The game is a mixture of frustration and relief. The game should be over at half-time because we had clear chances in the first half, but it is a relief because with three minutes to go we were 1-0 down. I felt our level dropped in the second half and we did not create as many chances as we would have liked to. We feel we have lost two points today."

And I must say I have to agree, with all our dominance and flash, we were unable to yet again unable to finish what we started and this is beginning to become quite a habit. We need to be more clinical. We miss that poacher's element to our finishing, something Ian Wright brought to us and something that is required on such occassions. We need not be exuberant, just effective. Anyways, we've gotten the haunted former Soviet Union out of our systems, hopefully we can put them back in their place once they visit our hallowed turf.

In other news, it is being said that Stan Kroenke will be appointed on the Arsenal board in order to get rid of that Man Utd supporting ****, Alisher Usmanov. You can read the full report, here.

Right then, I'm off.

Here's hoping for a fantastic display against Bolton this weekend.

Come on you Gunnnneeerrrrsssss!!!!

Kiev Preview

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for not posting earlier, but my final presentation for the damned dissertation is tommorow and as you all are by now well aware of my habit of procrastination, It would come to you as no surprise that I am STILL trying to get the powerpoint presentation sorted out.

Anyways, onto Dynamo Kiev now. It is not going to be an easy task at all. What with fatigue factor and all the travelling and to top of it off, Kiev are a tough nut to crack.Iits going to be quite an iffy affair and the game should be a mid-field affair with lots of hardwork having to be done, if we are to get a decent result out of this. Le boss also agrees by saying:

"For me, Dynamo are a bit of an unknown quantity - it really depends on the quality of the generation of players they have at the moment.They can be dangerous. We know that because we played them when they had Shevchenko, Rebrov and Luzhny, and they were a very, very difficult side."

Onward to team news, we have had a massive boost with Gael Clichy having shaken off the knock he picked up at Blackburn and is now in contention for a starting place tommorow. Samir Nasir & Mikael Silvestre are missing out due to injuries (Welcome to Arsenal lads). Carlos Vela & Jack Wilshire have also travelled with the squad and could feature as subs.

Onto som transfer news now, it seems we have now parted way with Mineiro and we will not be signing him afterall. I just hope this means we land Appiah instead. On the flip side, according to this piece of news, we have been given the green light to go ahead and sign Yaya Toure. Oh well, lets wait and see what becomes of this.

Finally, I was digging around and found this video of one of the most skillful players in the game, a video guaranteed to put a huge grin onto your face. Heh

Right then, I had better run.

Godspeed.

Rags to Riches

A very quick round up of news today as now yours truly has to worry about the final presentation of my dissertation, which by the way I have come to loathe on a basis quite comparable to my loathing for Sp*rs.

The Times has has reported that Arsenal are set to announce record profits this year. According to the article, our annual results (which will be made public Sept 26th), will show that turnover from the whole business has rocketed to about £225m. Club sources say the figures for the year ending May 31, 2008, will also reveal record pretax profits of nearly £40m, while the group’s operating profit is expected to comfortably exceed £50m and therby making us the third richest club in the world behind Real Madrid & Man Utd.

Third Richest you say? But how is that possible? But were we not down in the deep end? Where they'd love to watch us drown? Down with Arsene Wenger I say, what does he know about Arsenal? Lets bring in Jose Mourinho. Yes, now he's a man who knows the way around football. Don't you agree? I am so enjoying this, it was so much fun to stay quiet all summer long, watching, listening, reading up on the "pundits" and their "professional opinions" only to wait for this very moment where I could say, Fuck off you naysayers. Twats!

Ain't this life so fuckin' great?

It has now come to light that Mineiro (Carlos Luciano Silva) took part in a behind the doors friendly with Fulham the other day and also scored. Le boss was present on hand to assess his fitness and wether or not he will be given a contract or not, we'd have to wait and see. He'd be more of a squad player in any case, he'd add depth and the experience factor, but wouldn't Appiah have been a better buy overall?

Le boss thinks Manchester City could muscle in on the top four this season by spending big in January. I don't see that happening this season, but next season, when they have the entire summer to splash the cash and build a team, I can very well see them finishing in the top four. Money does make the world go round, doesn't it?

Finally, a link has been exchanged with Wrighty7 & The Goon and you can view their fine blogs by clicking on their names.

Finally, here's a video, you lot would certainly enjoy;





Here's hoping for all three points at Kiev.

Cheers!

P.S If I sound a bit disoriented today then its because of that @#&@#$@% dissertation of mine. I hope it burns in helllll!!! ARRRGGHHHHH!! (Well it can burn after its been approved & graded :p)

Blackburn Rovers 0 - 4 Arsenal

Emphatic. Resounding. Supreme. Absolute.

We went ahead full guns ablazing. Theo was oozing confidence and it was showing. He helped open our account after a sublime run, which saw him skip past a few challenges and feed the ball to RVP who slotted the ball into the back of the net.

Blackburn too were very lively and we were lucky a few times to not have have seen them level things up. They worked very hard and opened our defence up on a few occassions and more than deserved to get a goal. Their first chance fell to Santa Cruz who scuffed the effort wide. Following which Steven Reid went close and finally Keith Andrew somehow failed to convert a low cross from the right. In the last minute of the first half Santa Cruz nodded over at the far post. What I would like to say here is that the Kolo-Gallas partnership is very shaky and it saw them commit a few blunders which should have been avoided. We were very lucky yesterday, but what happens when the likes of a Berbatov, Ronaldo, Torres or a Drogba are lurking about in the box?

The game moved deep into injury time of the first half and Denilson (who had a really good game) floated over an inviting cross to the far post on to the head of Adebayor, who calmly headed it into the back of the net opening his account in the Premier League this season.
Soon after the restart, Blackburn tried to come back at us but their efforts soon fizzled away and arsenal took complete control over the game.

At one point it began to look more of a practice session rather a top-flight football match and in the 81st minute of the match, all matter were soon resolved after Adebayor converted a penalty after Eboue tumbled in the box and was stretchered off (He had a really really good game thus far and I was of the mistaken opinion that maybe he had outgrown such antics - apparently I was wrong *sigh*).

Jack Wilshire (who became the youngest player to represent Arsenal at the tender age of 16 years 256 days) and Aaron Ramsey then came on for Eboue & RVP and immedieatly we began to see their quality. They showed a lot of promise and were very composed. A lot of promise for the future.

Aaron Ramsey then played a lovely ball onto a well timed run from Adebayor who went past Robinson and slotted the ball home for his hat-trick (his 50th as an Arsenal player). An interesting fact is that we've now put 46 goals past Paul Robinson in 14 games!! HAHA!

The game also saw Manuel Almunia make a cracking save and is improving by the minute, the England callup seems imminent. Overall, spare the defensive frailities that I mentioned earlier, we put on a complete performance and by now I'm sure we have put all the nay-sayers at ease. Again. Its been fun seeing them writhe around after writing us and Arsene Wenger off as well as claiming that it was Tottenham's turn (who by the way were languishing 20th yesterday) to take over us in the top 4. I know its early days but it gives me no end of pleasure when I say this, F*** OFF back to under the rocks you crawl out from you TWATS!!

Onto transfer speculation, we're now being linked with the £16million-rated Portugal star Miguel Veloso and according to this article we'd be facing competition from the likes of United & Sp*rs in order to land his signtaure in the Januray transfer window. Veloso is a highly rated player and is very versatile, he can play as a defensive midfielder, centre-half or left-back. He's a pay for one and get three deal and would add great depth to te squad. Oh well, we'd have to wait and see I guess.

Right thats that then. I suggest you lot gloat about a bit more in yesterday's victory and collectively we can hope for more to come!

Come on you Gunners!!

Arsenal's Back! Hurrah!

Morning Everyone,

The football's finally back. Yay! Its been an awfully long wait and I have to say I didn't enjoy it one bit. But I now thankfully stop ranting and start looking forward towards The Arsenal take on Blackburn.

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, the game is not going to be an easy affair. Its going to be a tough, physical affair and bearing in mind the fatigue factor that most of the squad must be facing, it could prove to be even more daunting. I do however have faith in our quality and thus I see no reason why we shouldn't come back home with all three points in the bag. Le boss says:

"After Mark Hughes, they have another tough boy in with Paul Ince. So we don’t expect any changes. Blackburn is always a difficult game but I believe it is down to us, how good we will play and most importantly how we switch on.”

As for injury news, there aren't any significant changes over what I reported yesterday although I am still hoping that Samir Nasri (who was to have a fitness test yesterday) is fit enough to play today. Especially due to the fact that we have to travelnearly 3,400 miles in eight days, its important the players return to full fitness so that the squad can be rotated as much as possible. Arsene Wenger says:

“This week is a tough obstacle, but I am convinced we can be successful in all the three games. Let’s prove that we can switch on quickly, use the positive experiences [from the internationals] bring them in-house and be efficient at Blackburn."

It is essential we pick up as many points as possible if we are to set any realistic sights on achieving any silverware this season. Therefore, a good start could set the right tone for a pivotal week ahead.

Moving on, AW speaks about the day he knew he wanted Walcott. A one “special” performance in the FA Youth Cup Final was enough to convince him that Theo was an Arsenal player in the making. He goes on to tell us that there was interest in him from Sp*rs, Liverpool & Chelsea but as Theo was not a c***, he chose to sign with the greatest team on the planet.

Speaking of Theo, there's an interview (a slightly oldish one) which you can read here. One can see the makings of a fine, mature player in the making who above everything has his head screwed on right. He is an exciting prospect, he really is. I do hope we get to see him play and he scores 5 fantastic solo goals.

Finally, after AW publically came out and categorically denied he had any interest in signing Ghanian midfielder Steven Appiah, the word around the street now is that Chelsea are set to challenge us in trying to land the signatures of the player. I don't know what to believe anymore, are we interested, are we not interested. I know its typical of le boss to play mind games, but just sign the damn player already. Wasn't the summer enough for such shenanigans?

Right then, here's hoping for all three points and a billion goals!!

Come on you Gunners!!

Blackburn Preview

Hello Everyone,

Its been two weeks since the mouth watering thumping of Newcastle United at the Emirates when at that point Kevin Keegan was in charge, we were hoping for a signing and Manchester City were a normal average football club (that's how long its been!) The wait is almost over boys & girls. The real football is back as Blackburn Rovers host Arsenal tommorow at Ewood Park at 1500 GMT.

Our boys, spare Almunia, Denilson & Adebayor (who refused to play), were all away on International duty and therefore the fatigue factor of travelling about & playing has to be taken into consideration. The game, by no means, is going to be a walk in the park. Blackburn play a rough physical game and Paul Ince's men cerainly have a point to prove after the embarassment they faced at the hands of West Ham. That said, I personally think we should be able to cope with their direct physical approach by playing our usual game. The confidence is high, after the Newcastle drubbing and I'm hopeful we should be able to bring all three points home albeit not with the glitz & glam we saw a couple of weeks ago.

Moving onto team news for tommorow, it seems we're waiting on a fitness test on our creative wizard Samir Nasri before he can be declared fit to play. Carlos Vela also looks set to be given more recovery time following a late return from international duty with Mexico. Silvestre is still out injured and we may also rest Theo Walcott as le boss had the following to say:

"Will Walcott play? I don't know. I will have to rotate the squad now, You can't expect the players who have played for their national teams to play three times in a week."

Speaking of Theo Walcott, AW believes that Theo has it in him to be as good as Thierry Henry, but cautioned that time and patience is required and one should not overburden him with expectations, he says:

The potential is there - but do not make him Thierry Henry before he is Thierry Henry, one game is one game, a career is something different, it is consistency. I am convinced it is in him, but let it get out and give him time."

I agree with the boss a 100%. He has the class and the quality, time is of essence here.

Moving on to other fitness news, it has now been revealed by Petr Rada (Czech Republic's head coach) that Tomas Rosicky's comeback has suffered some sort of set back (suprise, surprise). Petr had the following to say:

"Tomas has started another stage of recovery, including training with the ball. But recently his knee reacted badly to that. It is very difficult to predict if he will be ready for the World Cup qualifiers against Poland and Slovenia in October."

I know Rosicky's a great footballer but truth be told I'm beginning to get sick and tired of all this and I think he'd be better off plying his trade where the demands aren't as high as England.

Onto Blackburn now, Paul Ince has handed a three-month performance-related deal to Robbie Fowler. The former Liverpool striker, a free agent after leaving Cardiff, will come straight into the first team and his first match back into the prem will be against us. I haven't seem him play for some time now but on his day he can put in some good performances. He is well past his best now though and even if he does eventually deliver the goods for Blackburn, I doubt it will happen as soon as tommorow.

Finally, there's a bit of news regarding Giovinco. Have a read yourself and make what you will.

Here's to all three points & a million goals by The Arsenal.

Come on you Gunnneeerrrssssssssssss!!

Ladies & Gentlemen, Theo Walcott

Following last nights sensational display by our 19 year old winger, Theo Walcott, has seen everybody talking about how he'd pull England out of the "dark ages" and how he will be the "saviour" of English football. He's been displaying his class ever since he burst onto the scene and even has inspired the nickname "The-orry" and such a performance was to come out sooner or later.

The hat-trick was stunning, it was incredible watching the 19 year old darting about, playing some of the most sublime football I've seen him play in a long time. Even David Beckham, was amazed by the display, he said:

'If he plays like that every week he can put any defender in the world to shame. Everyone saw how fast he was, the speed of him is incredible.'

This is obviously what the influence of people like Arsene Wenger have on your career when they very patiently develop you and don not over burden you with expectations. David agrees when he says:

'I don't have to say anything to keep him calm. He is at the right club [Arsenal] and under the right manager [Arsene Wenger], everyone knows Arsene Wenger looks after his players. The only thing I would say to him is to enjoy it.'

I have been a long term fan of this lad and the stunning display last night can only mean no end of good for us.

That said, what I do fear is that owing to a couple of snazzy displays by the young man would have no doubt raised a lot of expectations over in England (especially since the latter involved Croatia). If he fails to perform in the next few games, the ever vulture-esque press would undoubtedly be all over him and I'm not sure how he'd be able to respond to that pressure.

Thats what I hate the most over in England, the hype the press tends to create out of absoulte bollocks is very frustrating for both fans and the players. I mean, they are human beings too for f*** sake, can't they have an off day? In any case, I hope things don't come to that and Theo instead puts in week-in, week-out displays like the one we saw last night.

Onto premiership news now, Blackburn's defender, Andre Ooijer will miss the game against the Gunners due to an injury he picked up whislt on international duty. Silvestre should also be back and wether he's in contention, we'd have to wait and see.

Speaking of injuries, Mr. Metartarsal made it back unscathed and seriously its only a matter of time now before he sneezes and pulls his hamstring. Its very frustrating, every year we go, this will be the year, but every year is the same sad story. Oh well, there's always hope.

Philippe Senderos, our soon to be ex-gunner, said he was disappointed by the result on his debut. Get used to it mate, Not everything is as good as Arsenal.

It was recently reported in the news that Henry & Gallas had a bust up after France’s 3-1 defeat in Austria at the weekend but Henry insisted:

'The news is wrong. There are no tensions, just discussions, like every other team after a defeat.

This is sad, really, no, not this but the fact that there's actually so little of Arsenal news left that I'm forced to add this to the blog!!

Right, I'm off, Real footy's back in 2 days and I can't wait!

Come on you Gunners!!

Wednesday Roundup

Good day to you all.

The Blackburn game is still 3 days away and the ever annoying meaningless,fruitless international break is gona be over tonight,hurrayyy,yeah its true damnnn true infact. As you can well imagine not much is happening Arsenal wise these days.

But still a few bits and pieces to share.

I’ll begin with the news that our Crozilian goal poacher Eduardo is doing well in rehablitaion process and he hopes to make his long awaited come back in the Xmas period. Now that’s quite a miracle given how horrible the extent of his injury really was. Pre-Birmingham,we were on a roll and comfortably atop of the table and Dudu’s remarkable lefty goals was a treat to watch. But the nightmare struck that day at St.Andrews and we all know what happened next…………….We were pissed off, so went Dudu so went the title aspirations. We are well aware that our frontline is one of the besties in the league,I mean Ade and RVP forge a real decent partnership upfront ,theres Bendtner who is a useful sub and theres Mexican whiz Vela who I must say is a Dudu CC. But Dudu gives us something extra special,and owing to RVP’s suspect fitness, we gona need his repertoire of skills. I must admit the comeback will be tough for him as little niggles can bring back to the stands but then again hopefully we will see the Crozilian we all know!

Moving on to ever intensifying Arsenal transfer’speculations:

The Italian wonderkid Sebastian Giovinco is going to sign a new contract. Not a surprise,even though loads of bollocks were put in by the tabloids about the guy and we were told that Wenger is a big fan.

Stephen Appiah is anxious to solve his future out. I have already voted for this guy ,so don’t need to say much yet again.

The internationals are rounded up tonight and we got the clash of the night Croatia vs England (Theooo.....after having a blinder vs Andorra , I hope does it again and i just sense hes going to score ), Euro champions Spain take on Armenia(Oleee Fabregas), France face Serbia(Nasri has some knee pain so hes not featuring lets hope its nothing serious and we see him on Saturday) and finally for those of you anxious to watch RVP break his infamous metatarsal theres Holland vs Macedonia.

Hope you enjoy the internationals (yea right).

Godspeed!

Yawwwnnnn!!

Yours truly is back from the brief hiatus which I was forcibly made to take. I'd put it all down to my procrastination and therefore putting my dissertation all down to the very last minute which still hasn't been completed. Anyways, my compliments to Gooner7 for coming out with yesterdays blog. Trust him to save the day. Our Hero! Yay!

Right, err, moving on to all things Arsenal, Adebayor has refused to fly with the rest of the Togolese squad after some row erupted between the players and the board and thus missing out for their World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Zambia. I remember something of this sort happening before and make what you want to out of it.

New boy Amaury Bischoff claims that he'd fit right into our style of play as well as repaying the faith of le boss in him. He says:

'I am not really a dribbler, but I like to get on the ball, to pass and move - the same game as Arsenal really, It is a style I have admired for many seasons. Arsenal play the most beautiful football in Europe. It is the best to watch on TV and for the fans as well. That is why I have come to such a great club.'

Its good to see such hunger by the player. I'm a strong advocate of the fact that nothing is impossible, if you want something, work hard and you'd damned well get it. Here's wishing you the best of luck Amaury.

Finally, Peter Hill Wood has not ruled out a possibility of a takeover, he had this to say:

“If somebody came and made a really huge bid then you cannot recommend shareholders turn it down because we don’t like it. We want the club to stay in its current ownership and, of course, you have some concern that someone will try to buy the club. The directors don’t want to sell but we are a public company. It depends on the price.”

I don't want the club to be sold out, but should it happen (which seems rather imminent) I would prefer having someone with a footballing background (an Arsenal fan will do) of sorts who doesn't just take over the club seeing it as a business. An individual who sees eye to eye with Le Boss and therefore is willing to put in the effort to help the club reach the lofty aspirations that AW seems set out, well, aspire. In short, anyone but those cunts Usmanov & Dein.

I've an idea, lets all pitch in and buy the club!! Fantastic, now I've 30 quid, Gooner7 has about 20, hmmm, this could take a while ..

Right then, I think I've gone on long enough (Did I make any sense?)

Cheers!

Monday Roundup

Morning all,

I'm fulfilling your blogging needs as Gooner14 is struck trying to sort out his dissertation which is due tommorow. Lazy arse. Anyways, hope all you gooners are fine & dandy this lovely morning despite the rather obvious lack of football to keep one's otherwise deteroriating brain stimulated. I know all of you are anxiously awaiting Saturday but it seems as far away as an oasis to a man stuck in a desert fro 5 days without water.

Moving on to all things Arsenal, I'm still trying to find out what actually happened on the transfer deadline day. Its really annoying to realize the fact that Arsene didnt sign anyone despite the obvious lack of bodies in the centre of the field. Every fan expected le boss will pull out a gem like Sagna or Eduardo from absolutely nowhere. A host of names were linked to the club as you all know (those being the likes of Xabi, De La Red & Gokhan Inler to name a few)but ultimately we were left with the highly experienced Denilson, ever-so-fit Abou Diaby, the most versatile player in the squad Alexandre Song to partner the maestro Cesc Fabregas in midfield. Truth be told, I have crapped my pants a little fretting over the issue and it has annoyed me to no ends.

Going back to the transfer deadline,we all know Arsene tried in vain in a last ditch attemp to sign Alonso. Now apparently, another name has been headlined and that is of the Rennes midfielder Stephane M'bia who has revealed that the French side did not let him realize his Premiership dream. You can read out on this story here.

So yet another case of what actually might have been.Meanwhile,we have been linked with Ghanian ace Stephen Appiah,who is attracting interest from clubs in Germany as well as Pompey, Hammers and our beloved Arsenal. In my opinion he isn't a gamble but a jackpot, he's a free agent since leaving Fenerbehce, he's experienced, versatile, 27 and I'm a huge fan of the man. The reason why many fans are apprehensive (as Gooner14 already has pointed out) is largely based on the fact that he's an injury prone playerbut then again we have Bischoff,Rosicky,diaby and RVP so it must not be a serious issue and the gamble is worth taking, so please sign him Arsene for Heaven's sake!

In other news the present backup to Clichy, future sensation Kieran Gibbs says he is honoured to be his deputy and has a great chance to learn from the man. I think gibbs is an exciting prospect, but with Traore currently ahead of him in the pecking order, I'm not so certain as to the extent of his playing chances at the club.

Right then, thats your lot, have a nice one.

Cheers!!

Cesc for Captain!

Morning Everyone,

Our beloved Cesc Fabregas as usual made all the right noises yesterday when he claimed that a move to Manchester Arab would be 'suicide' for his career. Following the takeover at Citeh, Cesc was believed to be amongst the top few on their shopping list but the player made it crystal clear (again) that he is not interested in a move. Whilst talking to the Telegraph he said,

'It would be suicidal for my career at 21 years of age to move to City. It would make no sense.'

This little bit of news further proves what a mature, sensible, committed young footballer he really is and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Cesc Fabregas should be made club captain as soon as possible. Since the Tony Adams & Patrick Vieira days the club has desperately lacked sufficient leadership and when you compare the zeal, dedication & committment of Adams & Vieira to Henry (take nothing away as a player) & Gallas (one can see how disillusioned players are when he's giving those pep-talks before a game) you can clearly see the difference.

As for current captain William Gallas (who really isn't as good as he thinks he is), how many times already have we seen him give away vital goals already just because he's a lazy c***? He should be able to marshall the defence and on mor than one occassion has failed to do so.

I personally don't want him club captain any longer. even since the arrival of Gallas, Kolo toure has also struggled somewhat to perform at the levels he was performing at whilst playing alongside Sol Campbell and I know for a fact that when paired with Djourou, Toure will hit his best again and the problem of giving away those 'I-might-make-an-attempt-at-trying-to-defend-but-I-am-a-lazy-c***-so-why-bother' type goals.

We need someone having the hunger, we need someone to grab the game by the balls, to stand up and be accounted for and the hunger that Cesc has within him is enough to stir the entire squad around him. He's a great influence to all those around him, his astute playing style would clearly transcend into captaincy and that I believe is what we're sorely lacking right now.

Moving along, Danny Fizman was talking to News of The World where he defends the policies of le boss, he says:

'You can understand the mentality of other managers who say they have to buy the finished article because the average 'life' of a manager is so short. But Arsene has not gone down that route. His words were ... ''I want to leave it in better shape than when I came''. Now hopefully we'll have trophies along the way but he doesn't want to buy success this year and next year we have a bad year and the next we haven`t got a pot to piss in. We`ve seen all that too often.'

He added in support of Arsenal being able to compete for big money signings in the market as:
'We are a profitable club, self-sustaining, the cash is there. It's up to the manager. Our repayments on the stadium are under £20m a year and it`s producing an extra £50m a year. Our annual costs are fixed for 25 years. They will not rise. Our income will rise and our gate income will rise. Those payments are fixed. So in not too long it will look like a few pennies.'

The transfer incomings and outgoings were also defended;
'We believe in him but its his head on the block in the end.People talk just because Flamini left. He had one great year - one. Before then, he was just a squad player. And while Alex was a lovely player at holding the ball, there was no end product. We have swapped him for Nasri, who already has two goals.'

Finally about Arsene:
'You either believe in Arsene or you don`t. We do. We believe in the way he manages the club. We have total confidence in him.'

What more could I add to this, every word makes sense and is enough to shut up every cynic out there who just wants signings for the sheer hell of it. They don't realize what a great manager Arsene Wenger is and its only because of him that we're so damn spoilt in the first place. Ever one hits a low once in a while, united went through 3 seasons without a major trophy! Why not stop ranting & start believing?

In other news, Theo Walcott was given a start last night, I didn't watch the game but you can read about his performance here.

We still haven't signed Steven Appiah as of yet, I'm beginning to wonder, after keeping in mind AW's ambition to sign Xabi & Inler to bolster the midfield, does it actually make sense to sign another player in the midfield area who has a penchance for injuries and has not featured very regularly for Fener either? Don't you just think that waiting till January to try and sign some real proven quality (Xabi) would make more sense? Although, if we sign appiah and xabi, I wouldn't mind at all, but if we had to sign him, wouldn't we have done so already? Why the delays?

Finally, there's a great post by Fab4 where he gives a great review of our midfield maestro's, you can read that here.

Right then, I'm off.

Have a great day.

Godspeed!!