Pre-Chavski news

Ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Chelsea, the news that Emmanuel Adebayor, Nasri & Sagna being available for selection is great news.

Arsene Wenger during his pre-match conference had this to say:

"We have no injuries from the Kyiv game and Adebayor, Nasri and Sagna will be available, if nothing bad happens in training tomorrow. They all came through [training] well today. It's good because we were experience-wise a bit short."

A bit short is a bit of an understatement really. Anyhow, this is a significant boost nonetheless. With our attack having looked somewhat toothless in recent weeks, the return of Ade in particular couldn’t come at a better time: when he has been in the side, we have averaged 2.3 goals per game. When he hasn’t been present in our Champions League or Premiership line-up, we’ve mustered a rather miserly 0.76 goals per game.

Chelsea are missing Drogba and we all remember how many problems he's caused us over the years but then again they have an in-form Anelka. I know we can probably up our game but going to Stamford and coming back with a point is a big thing so lets hope we come back with something to gloat about.

Till next time you gooners.

Tas van Danya.

Coming back to life?

After the appointment of Cesc Fabregas, which to my mind was the ideal choice all along and I’m pretty sure he’s the ideal choice for 90% of the fans out there. Despite us hoping that this is when our season officially gets underway, we can be under no illusion that Senor Cesc faces a very difficult time ahead, well for the next few weeks at least. This, as I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, is a step in the right direction, the seed of change, but it is not an instant panacea.

We’re struggling for form and overwhelmed with injuries. Our long term solution lies in Uncle Scrooge taking his cheque book out and injecting some quality into the squad. This can only happen in January and till then; the going is to be very tough indeed.

The team that we do have needs to step up and show quality and repay the belief that the boss has shown in them. We need to be consistent and we need to do that every game, week in, week out. We need to start playing as a team and less like a group of individuals who are having a kick around for the first time.

And this is the main responsibility in Cesc’s job description. He has to somehow unite these players, to make us look like a team again, to function as one. This is by no means a simple task; it’s a lot to ask from anyone one in the world and it’s especially difficult to ask of such a colossal feat by a 21 year old. But this is no ordinary 21 year old, he’s one of a kind, a one in a million type of player and I’m fairly confident he’d be able to pull through. Cesc has never been afraid to speak his mind, to stick up for himself or his teammates, to get involved and he is a winner. He has that drive that we've been missing a bit this season.

Arsene has given him the definitive responsibility as a player at Arsenal, we've asked a lot of him, but the club has to do likewise. As mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the team needs to built around him, he needs players who can deliver instantly, players he can rely on, players who can allow him the space to roam about freely and express himself on the pitch. The boss has to now deliver that set of players and create an environment where Cesc can flourish.

I know he can and will be an exceptional Arsenal captain, ranking right up there with the likes of Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira and we already know he’s a dazzling player and we know what a radiant player he is but it's too much to ask him to be radiant without help. He needs a quality experienced partner alongside him, he needs quality players all around the park, he needs assurance and that will ultimately bring out the very, very best in him. As much as Cesc now has a responsibility to Arsenal, Arsenal has a responsibility to him.

This appointment will be also be extremely popular with the players and that's vital. It's obviously very clear that a few of our players have had some strife’s with Gallas. As unprofessional as it was to point fingers, it was detrimental that Arsene address the root cause and he’s finally done that (no matter how long it took). This decision should have been made a long time ago but it's definitely a case of better late than never.

All hail Fabregas. The new king of Arsenal football club.

Winds of Change

Arsène Wenger announced during his pre-match press conference ahead of the Champions League clash tommorow night that Cesc Fabregas will be the new captain of the club. Whilst speaking at the pre-match conference he had the following to say:

“Gallas will play against Kyiv, but he will not captain the team, it will be Cesc. This is a permanent thing. But I don’t think I especially have to explain why. I have given you information but I do not have to explain to you why I make these decisions. This subject is now closed. You have to respect a little bit of the team’s privacy.”

Cesc has described his elevation to the Arsenal captaincy as “a great honour”. Cesc was handed the armband as a replacement for Gallas (Thank GOD). At 21, Fabregas is one of the youngest captains in the Club’s long history and he admits it will be emotional experience to lead the side out for the first time against FC Dynamo Kyiv on Tuesday night. He had this to say:

"It is a great honour for me to captain one of the biggest clubs in the world. It is a proud moment. I know it's a big responsibility but together with my team-mates, I know we have the spirit and commitment to get back to winning ways and fulfil our potential."

This is truly great news. so many of us had been pleading for this very decision and now it seems Arsene has finally relented and made a bold move because players like Gallas have been a very negative influence on the club. The seeds of change have been planted by this decision but this is not the end. Arsene needs to add to the squad in January and must also realise that Song, Eboue, Bendtner and Diaby just aren't Arsenal material whatsoever. they're average players who do not deserve to be in a world class team like Arsenal.

I personally believe we need to buy some quality CB's (think vidic) and a CM (for the love of GOD, get one already) and a genuine wide player and we need to do that now. The past few weeks have been very depressing, so much so, that I was at a loss of words as to what to write on the blog.

Well, lets hope Arsene continues with this trend.

All Hail Arsenal.

Arsenal vs Wigan

Arsène Wenger has named the 18-man squad for tonight's Carling Cup tie against Wigan Athletic at Emirates Stadium. The squad is as follows:

12 Carlos VELA

16 Aaron RAMSEY

17 Alex SONG

19 Jack WILSHERE

20 Johan DJOUROU

21 Lukasz FABIANSKI (GK)

24 Vito MANNONE (GK)

28 Amaury BISCHOFF

35 Francis COQUELIN

39 Rui FONTE

40 Kieran GIBBS

41 Gavin HOYTE

42 Henri LANSBURY

43 Fran MERIDA

46 Abu OGOGO

47 Mark RANDALL

50 Jay SIMPSON

56 Emmanuel FRIMPONG

Bischoff is included in the squad and could perhaps make his first-team debut following his transfer from Bremen. I defintely want to see more of Wilshire, Ramsey and Vela and I hope they come out guns ablazing.

Wigan are a decent side. Amir Zaki is the unsung hero of the Premier League so far with 8 goals, while Valencia, Kapo, Palacios and de ridder all add quality. On the flip side lets not forget they have have Titus Bramble at the back so that's something we should be looking to exploit. Seeing Vela tear him to shreds would definitely make my night. Overall though, it won't be an easy game of football but we have the quality and the reserves have that never say never attitude which should make this a fun game of football.

Here's hoping for all three points.

Come on you Gunnnneeerrrssssss!!!

Roy Keane defends Arsene + News Roundup

There’s a lot to be reported today so I’ll dive straight in, we’ll start this morning with Roy Keane defending Arsene Wenger against the heavy criticism he has received following some bad performances against the likes of Sp*rs, Stoke and more recently Fenerbahce. Keane whilst blasting the TV pundits for their mindless assessment of games and says that they are often trying to 'sell something that is not there'.

"I was asked by ITV to do the Celtic versus Manchester United game but I've done it once for Sky and never again. I'd rather go to the dentist. You're sitting there with people like Richard Keys and they're trying to sell something that's not there.

"Anytime I watch a game on television, I have to turn the commentators off. They say 'he's playing well' and I'm thinking 'no, he's not'. My advice to anyone is not to listen to the experts, just watch the game and gather your own opinions.”

"There was a debate about Wenger on Sky and how crazy is that? People are actually getting interviewed saying he shouldn't be doing this. What that man's done for English football is amazing and will be remembered in 25, 50, 100 years' time. Will those on telly yesterday be remembered for what they've achieved? Absolutely nothing whatsoever.”

"I wouldn't trust them to walk my dog. There are ex-players and ex-referees being given air-time who I wouldn't listen to in a pub. Okay, there will be one or two who've done something in the game whose opinion you would take on board, but I'm on about every Tom, Dick and Harry."

You can’t but agree with Roy Keane on this, I know we as fans have been frustrated by Arsenal this season and that has led to a lot of shite being levelled at Le boss, but what all of us have failed to see is the bigger picture. I remember Alex Ferguson going through the same and look how that turned out. I am not a fan of these so called “pundits” and 90% of them are shite. It doesn’t apply to football in general, but to every other sport as well. I say burn them at stake!

Moving on, Senor Fabregas has been speaking about the win over United. Cesc feels Arsenal went a long way to silencing their critics with victory over Manchester United, whilst also claiming the title is an attainable target.

The title is attainable only if we churn out such performances on a regular basis, we need to get 3 points from sides like Stoke which make 3 points from sides like united a bonus which not only distances your competition from the ultimate goal but also takes you one step closer. Anyhoo, Cesc who heaped praise on Arsene for maintaining his calm inspite of such pressure from the media had the following to say:

“We did it for the manager, because he has believed a lot in us. Without him, probably apart from Gallas and Silvestre, all the rest of us may never have had the chance to play football. We owe him a lot and have to show that on the pitch.”

This is very true, without Arsene having the faith in these players, they would probably still have dwelling somewhere in the reserves of Barcelona and now here they are, at the apex of the midfielder’s hill. Fabregas further added:

“We definitely knew there would be some talk about whether Arsenal were capable of winning anything if we had lost this match. Sometimes we lose playing the same way and everyone says we are not good.”

“Sometimes you are more fortunate in front of goal and sometimes you are not. This is football, this is life. With losers, their heads go down. We have shown we have character. We played against a great team and won under a lot of pressure. So we are happy.”

Let’s hope for our own sake that we can begin to do this on a more regular basis and avoid any more hiccups along the way to the title in May.

Asked for his view on whether Arsenal can win the title, Fabregas replied:

“Oh yes. We have shown we have the qualities to do it.”

Now that’s what I call, keeping the faith.

Now, tomorrow night we face Wigan Athletic in the Carling Cup and its time to bring on the kids. I personally can’t wait to see the kids play, the way they go about their game in that fearless manner with an over abundance of skill is awe-inspiring. A very young and inexperienced team will be put forward and the likes of Bendtner, Vela, Fabianksi, Ramsey, Wilshire, Gibbs etc will come into the team. Players who do not care about who they are facing and I think Wigan are in dire need of being taught a lesson. I can’t wait for Carlos Vela to rip apart our good friend Titus Bramble into tiny little pieces. Should be a laugh and a half. (Excuse the pun). Speaking about the youth, Mark Randall is struggling to be fit in time for the game tomorrow night so lets hope he does manage to play and impress the manager enough to make that transition into the first team.

And finally, Arsenal have opened up negotiations with Theo Walcott over a new contract that has 18 months left with those assholes Chelsea and Real Madrid already sizing up bids. According to the News of the World, Arsene is willing to hand out a £60,000-a-week contract to the wonder boy. Further good news for Arsenal and Wenger is that Robin van Persie looks likely to rebuff interest from Italy in order to pledge his future to the club. RVP is said to want his salary doubled to £80,000-a-week

Right then, that’s the lot.

Tas Van Danya.

Come on you Guuuunnnneeeerrrrssssssssssssss!!

Arsenal 2 - 1 United

Finally, something to celebrate about, I'm esctatic. For now, here are the links to the two goals by Samir Nasri. Enjoy.

1-0: http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/1744141/

2-0: http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/1744208/

Tas van Danya.

A chance to make amends

With the Champions League fixture tonight comes a chance to make amends by giving fenerbahce a well deserved thrashing and regaining some vital confidence ahead of United’s visit to The Grove.

Le Clichy has been speaking to the media and had the following to say:

"We have the quality to do it but it's just a fact of being focused and working as a team because in football when you play a collective game everyone has to turn up, everyone has to defend, to attack and to run for each other."

"I think now it is time to realize that we have got the quality but we need to work harder because football is not only about playing nice football and goals."

An obvious hint towards the fact that some players in the team do not have the focus and think they have it made too soon. Focus is detrimental to any job, anywhere in the world as is determination. If you tend to get arrogant, you’ll find yourself, well, you’ll find yourself in a position we are currently in. And if one is to bear in mind the horrendous trip to Stoke that prompted Le Sagna to comment that we lacked focus, then a bitch slapping is the order of the day.

Moving on, we know the team will be rotated and with the likes of Gallas, Adebayor, Theo and Eboue more than likely to miss the game, a lot of young blood could be drafted in, which could see the likes of Vela, Bendtner, Ramsey, Djourou and even Fabianski making starts. I say fabianksi because Wenger is a bit ticked off with Almunia and unlike Fabianksi; Almunia just isn’t world class material. So we’ll have to wait and see till the press-conference by Le Boss. In any case, I do not want to see Alex Song playing tonight, next week or ever again for the club.

A win tonight should definitely see us qualify for the knock-out stages and it would be a welcome boost for everyone; players, fans, the manager etc. We need to set our agenda right and that is to straight for the jugular from the word go and just hope our attacking play clicks. November is a tough month and we definitely need to straighten out the current train wreck that is Arsenal and get back to the only way we know. And that way is The Arsenal way. The way where we steamroll opponents by playing fast, attractive football, only this time, we end up with a trophy in whichever shape or size.

Here’s hoping for a win tonight.

Until next time.

Tas van Danya.

No Arsenal Today

Hello All,

I seriously don't feel like talking anything Arsenal today, the last two games have been horrendous and its now an uphill task for the manager to get the lads focused and determined to make amends by winning a trophy or two by the end of May. That said, i've decided to post a few "Little Johnny" jokes that would undoubtedly make you feel better, so here you go:

NO BATHROOM BREAK
One day there was this little boy named Johny he had to go to the bathroom so he raised his hand and asked the teacher "can I go to the bathroom." she said no. Then 5 mins later he raised his hand and said "damit I have to piss can I go to the bathroom."She said "no not with that mouth."She said now go to the corner and say your a,b,c's.frontwords and backwords .

He went to the corner and said "a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z"

Then he said "z,y,x,w,v,u,t,s,r,q,o,n,m,l,k,j,i,h,g,f,e,d,c,b,a"

Then she said "Where is the p."

Little Johnny replied "Running down my leg."

DINNER TIME
Little Johnny comes home from school one day and asks his mother what "shit" meant. Thinking fast she replied "food on the table". Next day he comes home and asks his mother what does "son of a bitch" mean. Again, thinking fast again she says "It's a priest". Next day he comes home a asks what does "fuckin'" mean. She says it means "getting dressed".

That same night a priest was coming over for dinner. Johnny is just finished setting the table when he hears the doorbell ring. He yells "got it". He opens the door and says "Hey son of a bitch, shits on the table and mom and dad are upstairs fuckin' ".

DO HEARTS HAVE LEGS
Little Johnny once asked his teacher "Do hearts have legs?."

The teacher answered "Why do you ask that?"

Johnny replied "Yesterday, I heard my dad say sweetheart open your legs."

JOHNNY NEEDS A BIKE

A few months after his parents were divorced, little Johnny passed by his mom's bedroom and saw her rubbing her body and moaning, "I need a man, I need a man!"

Over the next couple of months, he saw her doing this several times. One day, he came home from school and heard her moaning. When he peeked into her bedroom, he saw a man on top of her.

Little Johnny ran into his room, took off his clothes, threw himself on his bed, started stroking himself, and moaning, "Ohh, I need a bike! I need a bike!"

Well, I hope those will have cheered you lot up, heh. Did anyone catch the drama in todays race? Excellent stuff, what a way to win your drivers championship. The look on the ferrari's camp was priceless. I couldn't stop laughing.