A more composed, interlectual and postive analysis of recent weeks

Well the last couple of weeks have heralded some very poor results, that is clear for anyone to notice. Its easy to look back in hindsight and say 'this should have been dealt with in the summer' but at that point in time it could have still ended up as Wenger's greatest and most productive gamble. I'm on about the midfield if you didn't already know and it is concerning many many Arsenal fans, Cesc is looking miserable, Denilson does not complement him and whilst he hasn't done a bad job by any means, the balance is not there. Wenger may just buy in January, but who i don't know.

The most concerning thing of all is the sheer lack of pace, last season we were making quick slick passes, at the moment it is pedestrian level and the players just cannot seem to speed it up. Walcott is our most dangerous player at the moment and has been all season, maybe we will see Traore making a re-appearance come January? We are just lacking that ever present threat of speed that Theo has.

For this stage of the season and in this form we should be far more than 6 points behind, we are lucky that we are only that far behind and that is encouragement to take into the run up to the festive period, games will be coming thick and fast and we will have to get something out of every one. This team rises to the occasion when it really needs too, we have seen this in Europe and our recent record against United in the league is a very good one, i think the team will raise its level at the weekend. It has no option but to raise the level.

The return of Eduardo has been anticipated for many months now and it is only a week or so off now i feel, the team should make it a catalyst to drive on and as he gains in match fitness i think we will see the goal poaching qualities that have made him a firm fans favourite. The players and fans are dejected but if we give them the optimism, courage and belief that they can do things that no other team on this planet can and get their Adrenalin going again, they can still put in a big title challenge. This is a special team, they can be unbeatable and we as the fans have to back them, however hard it may be. This team can be frustrating but when we show our discontent the players can get nervous and when that happens you will not get the best out of them.

Wengers comments have not helped with the criticism of Stoke etc. Teams will try to rough us up because it has been successful against us, we have to face that, Wenger has to face that. This team can take physicality, there is a certain degree of naivety in the team and that has to be addressed.

Id also like to make the shout of Clichy for captain. I don't think that our best player (Cesc) should be burdened with the pressure of the armband, look at all the great players from recent years, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo. C. Messi... None of those are the regular captain of their side, the pressure is on them enough. Clichy is vocal and never ever gives up. Just the attitude we need.

Our defence is curable, the partnership on Wednesday was very assured and i think Djourou has not put a foot wrong whenever he has been called upon, Toure is a great defender but maybe he needs a decent rest after his ACN exploits last season and his bout of malaria. Silvestre is a type of defender that complements fast agile defenders of the Toure mould, Gallas is just....Gallas.This club is a great club, the players are amazingly gifted and with a little more encouragement they can turn the recent struggles around to establish ourselves as the title challenging team we are. Look at the badge on your Arsenal shirt and remember what the feeling of winning a trophy is, want it and encourage the team towards it because I'm sure this season we will get a trophy, its just a case of what one.

Believe Gooners.


Id also like to ask if any readers have any idea how good oleole is for blogging as I'm looking to improve and jump ship to a better blogging service. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Feel free to leave a comment or contact me via the e-mail on the right hand side.

For now Gooners, take care.

You have to earn your corn now Arsene

Time to cut the crap Arsene!

With rumors rife that some sourcey fella heard a massive argument in the Arsenal dressing room, apparently a fair few members of the team are going to be dropped. (Wenger has since denied it of course). I think this is a total and utter fabrication as Wenger will put in taller players to deal with the aerial bombardment we will face from Rory Delap. The chances are that Diaby will replace Nasri and Bendtner may well come in for Van Persie, Gallas is also 'injured' along with Eboue. Maybe Djourou will get a game this time alongside Silvestre or Toure.

I wish Wenger would stop with the whole 'we have great team spirit' and 'we have great potential', 'we showed good strength in character' stuff in his press conferences because after years and years of it its starting to wear a little thin. I would be worried if all the squad were fine after that defeat, they should be having a go at each other because that way we can get rid of this arrogance, naivety and down right complacence. Its about time they learnt something. They are not even learning from the hard way this season.

They are going to need to literally use their heads on Saturday, otherwise this bowl headed mong will cause us all sorts of problems.

Im really looking forward to seeing the team selections because then we will get a real idea of how Wenger feels about 'that' draw, the Spuds loved it so much they are releasing another DVD! Dickheads.

This game against stoke is a real biggie, we have Manchester Utd next weekend and the boss has conceded that he is rotating with that game in mind:

"It is at the moment rotation without being detrimental to the balance of the team. We play again on Wednesday and then on Saturday morning against Manchester United."

I would not be at all suprised to see a very young line-up against Fener in midweek.

Wenger is already saying the big games will decide our participation in the title race this season.

I just want to point to your attention a quite fantastic point made by the 'Le Grove' blogger Pedro. It points out the convienient releasing of financial information and Wenger talking about transfers. Just around the time for season ticket renewals, and club level renewals. Interesting eh?

I qoute;

Do you remember back in February when Danny or Keith came out and announced record pre tax profits? It’s no coincidence that around the time that story came out the club sent out the renewal letters for Club level.

How about late May? Do you remember the stories that came out from the club that we needed a centre back, no more players would leave and the fans wouldn’t be disappointed by this summers transfer activities… well that ties nicely in with normal season ticket renewals.

The next nicely packaged portion of bullshit came from the AGM. Apparently their was such a lack of decent centre backs on the market this summer, AC Milan had to sign Phil (Who I am sure Arsene said was a great player).

I think someone inside Arsenal FC is very astute at spinning stories and is taking the fans for a bit of a ride. Dont bite off the hand that feeds you. Respect it.

Anyways, im not sure if i will be blogging tomorrow but il certainly be back soon.

T'ra.

Still angry, still bitter, still think we need changes.

12 hours on from my blog last night and im still angry, there is an undercurrent in this Arsenal team that just gives opposition confidence. We are far too soft. Its not the result that makes me angry, its the manner of the result.

To have realistic title chances we have to go to January without dropping any points and stay undefeated, we play Chelsea and Manchester United. Do i see us winning both those games?

No.

I think we need a change of formation, we cant have a midfield of Walcott, Denilson, Cesc and Nasri because there is no defensive player protecting the defence, we cant have Diaby in there because he is an attacking player, Bischoff is a playmaker, Wilshere and Ramsey are far too young. Rosicky is not a defensive midfielder and Eboue isnt even a midfielder. Song looks ok but nothing special. Il spell out the point im making.

We. need. a. defensive. midfielder.

We. lack. balance.

We have to face facts, the team needs changing and Wenger didnt do his job over the summer.
One more trophyless season and an ever growing anti-Wenger contingent will get louder and louder.

We have to shut them up Arsene.

4-4 - Our nuts need a little tightening.

For one of the first times in the history of this blog i am going to have a moan at Arsene Wenger. His comments after the game have kind of made my bad mood darker. I'm going to nit pick here I'm afraid, like it or not.

“I believe that we produced an excellent game and the positive side is that we were really superior to Tottenham."

Well going forward we were pretty good, not excellent. I feel we could have been a lot more clinical with our finishing and decision making, again there was just too much overplaying. However now I'm going to get really critical.

"The negative side is that we didn’t win and I believe that was down to a lack of maturity. I would like to keep the positives tonight because I believe we were really outstanding and I don’t believe that the lack of maturity is linked to experience."

So it was down to a lack of maturity, but experience has nothing to do with it?

The meaning of maturity: The state or quality of being fully grown or developed.

Right young players are not mature; as they are young they are not experienced, as they have not played as many games as a 'mature' player. So there is a link Arsene. You just wont accept that we need a midfielder that has grown his pubes and knows how to damn well defend! We have to win something this season Arsene, its time to admit that letting Flamini go was a big error.

Wenger was also critical of our negative approach to the game in the closing minutes of the game,

“I believe we were too cautious, we wanted to keep the ball in a negative way instead of scoring goals number five and six."

Again, excuse making, we had a corner and Sagna wanted to take it short and keep it in the corner, Fabregas told him to go away and delivered it into the box, and Spurs broke away.

Times like that you just need to get to the final whistle, keep it in the corner or buy a cheap free kick, tick down the clock. There is no need to Ponce around weaving pretty patterns! So no Wenger, we lacked experience AGAIN, it was a stupid decision by Fabregas. Would any of the other top 4 teams to that?

I say this now and i mean it. No title for us this season. If we do win i will make a donation to the Arsenal Charity.

Now, the defence;

I could easily blame Clichy's naivety and Almunia's blunders but I'm not going to single them out.

I'm going to rate the defenders 1-10 and go through their game;

Almunia; Poor, poor game. Stark contrast to the Big Al we have seen this season, we was woefully out of position when that comb over cunt hit that 40-yard screamer. That was forgivable though. The second isn't so forgivable. Huddlestone hit a shot and Almunia hit it out into the path of Darren Bent, a schoolboy error for a goalkeeper, it hit him in the face but he should have got hands behind it. It didn't swerve a great deal and it looked like the Almunia of old. Poor. 3

Sagna; Didn’t do much wrong, not much to say really. No moments of brilliance or no moments of poorness. Not up to last seasons standard yet. 6

Gallas; Fantastic game in my opinion, little wrong. Makes a change really. Shows that he and Toure can't play together. Silvestre or Senderos would be his ideal partner. Nice goal. Could have closed down Jenas better if i wanted to be harsh. 8

Silvestre; He is improving every game i think, a good goal and didn't do too much wrong. MAybe could have closed down Jenas too. 7

Clichy; Fantastic until he got naive. Then the shit really hit the fan, he could have pumped it up to the corner but he decided to try and play pretty. He has not learnt from previous mistakes. 5

As you can probably tell i am not happy. For the first time i am doubting our ability to win things, today the team needed to win for the fans, you had your atmosphere at the start Arsene. The place was alive with Arsenal chants but the team didn't deliver until just before half time.

We need to be ruthless, the past 10-11 years has set the standard very high and at this rate we are going to get nowhere near those heights.

We finished teams off in the first 25 minutes of games in the glory years, now we are giving up good leads against our fiercest rivals.

People are getting fed up.

I am a member of the BBC 606 message board and this user has wrote a very good article;

Anyone else a bit disillusioned?

Ok firstly I want to say I love Arsenal and Wenger and would never support another team, even if we became as bad as Tottenham.

However...at the close of the transfer window when our rivals had strengthened and we had seemed to have weakened with the loss of experienced players such as Gilberto and Flamini without adequate replacements (in my eyes) I was absolutely gutted.

However I showed my faith and did my best to be positive that Wenger had something magic up his sleeve. I fear it may have been false optimism.

It annoys me that our fans pay the highest ticket prices in the world and our club are unwilling to spend the market rate for players worthy of our club. I'm totally for the youth policy and i'm glad we're not run like Chelsea/Man City but I think that our fantastic youth need to be supplemented with quality, experienced players from time to time. I know we are paying off the stadium debt but we still have more money than before the move.

Can anyone realistically see Arsenal win the league this year? I doubt it and thats because our strength in depth is so far behind Chelsea's and Man Utds. Our team couldn't win the ball back against Hull because we played WITHOUT a holding midfielder. Our team concedes goals to set pieces regularly because both our CBs are short in comparison to the physical forwards in the PL eg. Didier Drogba and Kevin Davies.

I love Wenger but I feel he is somewhat sacrificing the quality of our team in order to stubbornly prove a point. I just hope that he can strength in DM and CB in the January window as I cannot see a sustained title challenge this year.

Am I the only one who is becoming disillusioned that our great club is not going to see silverware again during Wenger's reign?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Update after 4-4 against Tottenham:

I still find the fact that we haven't got any proper holding midfielders or CBs who are commanding in the air ridiculous and results like tonight's show how bad it has become.

When will we learn to close out matches?

By 'Wengers Magic Hat.'

An enlightening article and i agree with pretty much every word of it.


To be honest I'm gutted we didn't win today. I feel let down, how many more times will we be disappointed?

Right, i apologize for any errors. Blogger is crap.

Anywhoo il be back soon.

Take care.

Ade turns the tide but will he match his ambitions?

Before todays game Adebayor set out his ambitions as clear as day. Win everything.

Now i not only think that is ambitious, i believe it is a pretty stupid thing to say, heaping attention on himself and with that attention expectations will follow.

But those comments must mean there is confidence in him and in the team, that is a good thing until it becomes over-confidence, arrogance and down right disrespect. Its good to see players confident but it has to be just right or the defeats by Hull and the likes will become more common. And by that i do not mean any disrespect at all to Hull.

It seems that faith in the team, by the players, is running high so lets hope that turns into those big silver things they call trophies.

Now, to the game. 65 minutes or thereabouts had gone, we had caused West Ham problems and their defence had been in pretty decent nick, Theo threatened and had gone close and Bendtner had had a decent effort clawed away by a brilliant Robert Green who always seems to up his game against us.

Then Diaby and Adebayor came on for Nasri and Theo, giving Van Persie the license to hover and pop up wherever he pleased. He hit a fantastic effort on goal that produced a splendid save from Green, he kept popping up on the edge of the area, causing big problems. Cesc was then fouled and VP hit a pile driver that smashed off the post, we were getting closer and closer.

Adebayor then appeared in the box, beat a defender and aimed a low cross towards Bendtner and the absolute Muppet of a defender prodded it into his own goal. West Ham's work was undone in a second.

Later on Adebayor was freed by a Bendtner pass, he rounded the keeper and finished quite marvelously with two defenders pretty much blocking the majority of the goal, cool, composed and clinical. That's the Adebayor we will need week in and week out to reach those ambitions he set up.

Fire us to trophies Ade, i dare you.

A good, solid and patient performance was praised by the boss. He said this reflecting on a 'big win';

"if we had come out of it with a frustrating 0-0 draw, we would have felt that we had wasted an opportunity

“We knew before the game that we couldn't afford to drop points today but I must say that West Ham can feel frustrated because they defended very well and gave absolutely everything today."

We had to win today, and we did. Liverfluke got very lucky again today, they are having a purple patch and are not managing to look the best team in the league. I doubt they will win the league and i think we will finish above them, Man Utd dropped points and Chelsea are only a point ahead of us now. We have had an inconsistent start and are only 4 points off the early leaders. That is really not bad at all i have to say, we are most definitely in the title race and 3 more points on Wednesday will go a long way to getting through a tricky week.

Wenger was particularly happy with Adebayor's impact from the bench, saying it shows his good attitude;

“What is fantastic is that he is a regular starter in my team and he fights very hard. Today he came on with 25 minutes to go and fought for every ball. That is more than any speech I can make."

And on team spirit he had this to say;

"We have a great spirit in the side and we have great quality"

But the boss was not done yet and gave an opinion on the development of Theo Walcott and how he envisages his improvement over the coming years;

"There is already a lot there but of course there is a lot more to come. We have all been 19, we were not all better at 21, but he will be better. “

He is in fantastic form at the moment and is now a key player in our team, if our team really lacks something sometimes its pace. Clichy and Walcott are our speed merchants and are a threat in every single game. That's why i think it is important to hold onto Armand Traore, he is one quick kid.

Right that's about it for now, onto a new feature i am starting on the blog.

I will sometimes write articles that i cant really write in the detail i want on the blogs. It will not be a weekly thing or anything like that i just want to make some points every now and again, they might not be about Arsenal in particular, they may just be about football and the issues in general. I hope you will read them as i will enjoy writing them. I'l keep you posted.

Thanks for reading.

Edit: First article is up, your thoughts? Click here.

Set the standards, Gallas out. The AGM, and more

In today's blog i will be covering a lot;

• The AGM
• Gallas and the fag
• Beckham training at Colney
• Blaise Matuidi
• And of course a preview of Sunday's London Derby.

The AGM took place on Thursday, (good summary here) and Arsene Wenger made a hell of a lot of points. By now you are probably up to date with what he said but i will go over the important points.

Peter Hill-Wood on squad investment.
Arsene on how to get the fans going.
Video technology is on Arsene's wanted list.
Hunt for the MD

Find all the articles here

Overall it was a positive AGM, Arsene spoke out for the first time about the fans and i feel that part of the lack of confidence is because we don't support them as much as we probably should, I'm not hitting out at the fans i just feel we could be a little more vocal when things are not going our way.

I don't go to many games so who am i to talk about it after all.

Now, the Gallas picture;

It took me a hell of a long time to find that!

Wenger has spoken here and here about it.

Now a captain is someone you look up to, the face of the club in many respects. He is the role model, the father figure.

Look at the picture, is he those things?

Is he heck!!

I call for him to be stripped of the captaincy and dropped, his attitude is a disgrace and I'm ashamed to see an Arsenal player like that, this is a club of class, our players do not stumble out of nightclubs in the early hours with fags in their mouths. I used to support Gallas 100% but now i think he just has to go, he must have lost all of his respect from his fellow players. Come on Arsene, it is a very bad example to our youngsters and it has embarrassed the club. Strip him of the captaincy.

Ive got a few comments of Arsene on the incident here;

“He has a responsibility as captain of Arsenal Football Club and [smoking] cannot be accepted.”

“It is a public job with a public responsibility,” he said. “That is exactly the same for everybody."

He then said this in my previously linked article earlier. Maybe trying to deflect some criticism off him.

Ive made my views clear, i will not comment on them any more unless absolutely necessary. I just hope he wasn't drinking and driving but I'm not going to make assumptions.

Update: This article seems to say its the early hours of the '25th October' and as that day is yet to occur, i am a bit sceptical of the purpose of this picture and whether it is designed to make mischief.

Last year when the MLS season finished in America David Beckham trained with the first team to improve his fitness in hope of England suggestion. This season the tabloids have been doing their usual crap churning duties and Arsene Wenger has said he will help Beckham but he won't take him on loan;

“I wasn't in touch with him at all and I'll certainly not [sign him] as a player for the Club,” Wenger said at Friday’s press conference. “Certainly not.”

“If he wants to be fit and practice, why not? But we have Theo Walcott who plays in this position and Emmanuel Eboue who plays in this position so we are not looking for a right midfielder.”

I don't see why we don't sign him just to have his leadership in the team, the time he would with with us would be important in the season, and with our seemingly lack of leadership, he could have been there to offer his advice and experience.

We have been linked to a January move for French midfielder Blaise Matuidi. I don't think we will sign him, i think there are probably better players out there with more to offer. Saying that, i have never seen him play. We have enough young midfielders and i think it is total and utter cal.

Our dearest Eduardo will be 'back in three weeks' according to Arsene at the AGM. It is truly fantastic news and i will be digging out the best comeback situations for him from months ago now.

Preview: West Ham v Arsenal

This will be a tough game but West Ham are another team struggling for consistently and they will not think twice about sticking balls into (no, not like that), the box for their strikers to get their head onto. Therefore, i think they will score at least one.

I think that we might go for the 5 man midfield again, it would be a good decision, carrying on the momentum from the midweek win and a win is vital to get 6 points from this weeks London derby's as we do play the Sp*ds on Wednesday, a truly stupid day for a derby.

I predict a 1-3 win. I just feel we will have too much in attack but i will be glad of a win, however it comes.

Right, that took a while.

Back soon guys.

0-5-1 - A decent away result

Fener 2 Arsenal 5

Not mixed from the lads, i think Wenger got his tactics spot on with Diaby playing in front of Fabregas in a surprise role, and he impressed. He has fantastic footwork and after a few neat touches he passed to Fabregas who slid Ade though and slotted home.

Moments later Theo was slid through by Fabregas again, he rounded the keeper and finished brilliantly after a bobble off the keeper forced him to an aquard angle. The boy is magic.

Sylvestre then got in way of Guiza, and it was 2-1. Utter shite defending and Almunia went mental at his defence, it was a shambles. We cant defend like this.

Long ball over top, set Diaby free and he slotted home nicely, a great display by the young Frenchman

Song, after half time, volleyed home, a nice finish, 4-1 and we are sailing! But...

A hoof over the top eluded Alex Song and Daniel Guiza flicked the ball beyond Manuel, again, shite defending. About as good as locking Gary Glitter in a children's home.

But, Ramsey hit a shot just outside the area that pinged in off the post in the dying seconds of the game, 5-2 and a first Arsenal goal for the Welsh hotshot, a fantastic week for him. A fantastic finish by all means.

A good win but not without worry. The Arsenal defence is shocking and the big teams may well be looking at us with relish after seeing how easily we gave goals away, it has to improve.

But, Fener were unbeaten in their previous 15 games at home in Europe and the win was no mean feat and was well deserved in the end, this is a team with a European championship winning coach at the helm, a World Cup winner in defence and a classy striker up front, a team that had beaten Chelsea, Man Utd, Inter Milan to name a few of the top class teams that have gone their and came home with nothing.

A good night, a good win but as i said, not without some defensive worries.

Back tomorrow with the latest.

Take Care out there.

Pathetic, Just Pathetic.

"We were not smart enough to make the difference" - AW

Sunderland 1 - Arsenal 1
Ive just had the dis-pleasure of watching about 50 minutes of total tripe.

I don't know what has happened really, Sunderland are a second rate team and we only just managed to draw with them, it was a brilliant header from Fabregas but this team is packed with creativity but still managed to create very little. I think it is safe to say that until our league form picks up we can kiss the title goodbye.

Loyal fans have traveled for hours on end to watch these so called players win, a minimum expectation with all due respect to Sunderland, and what thanks do they get? A whole load of shite.

I could give a damn about the 'character' that might have been shown be scoring deep in injury time, what i care about is not taking control of the game and finishing it off quick. I wont go into Keane's anti football tactics but we should be winning games like that.

There is also the major point of Van Persie having a totally legitimate goal chalked off because the ball went out of play. Well it didn't, these officials are a fucking disgrace to the game. There, shove that up your wrinkly arse Platini.

Ive said this once and i will say this again, Van Persie needs a spell on the bench because its all well and good doing well in every other game, but what happens in the game that he plays shite in? Bendtner has been quality this season and was good when he came on bar one wild shot. He deserves a few starts.

Is it any coincidence that our best performance of the season against Bolton was without him?

People will say 'if that goal counted you wouldn't be saying this', well i would. Ive thought for a while that Van Persie has been inconsistent, just read my first few blogs. He needs to be aware that Bendtner is pushing him for a start and a few splinters wont hurt him. Actually on second thoughts, he would be out for 3 months of he got one...

As you can probably tell, I'm fed up. I thought our away day blues were over, in the past, finite, caput. But no.

I have just heard Arsene's interview and he is not happy, he feels that Sunderland had a 10 man defence and Cisse and also bemoaned their constant time wasting. But I'm not going to go on about them. True champions win those sort of games, true champions, or potential champions we are not.

The chances are that i will read this later and think 'what the fuck am i on' but i really couldn't give a shit.

Not good enough Arsenal.

Interview with a cultured left foot and a Sunderland preview.

The other day i had a discussion with Jogi's Warrior of 'A Cultured Left Foot'. I asked him about the Financial status of the club, the midfield, the kids and the Porto win.

How do you see Arsenal in 3-5 years time? And in the light of the well publicised 'credit crunch' will Arsenal benefit from other teams lack of profit and financial security?

Financially, Arsenal are better placed than most to ride out the current storm. I think in the short-term it is unlikely that the Board will recommend a sale of the club to the other shareholders, especially if Usmanov is involved. He, on the other hand, will not want to sell his stake unless it is for a profit, an unlikely scenario given that he paid too much for some of his shares.

Once you get to 3 - 5 years, there will be other circumstances to bear in mind such as the directors ages and other financial circumstances - inheritance tax, etc. - come into play. I would not be surprised if after three years, there is a new owner or someone else who has a high % stake in the club, such as Kroenke.

We all know about the fantastic 6-0 demolition job our kids did over Sheffield United, Just how good do you think that win was and who will make the grade at the club?

If you look at the team, few of them will not make it. Fabianski will take over from Alumina in the next two seasons, similarly Song and Djourou in the center of defence. Vela, Bendtner, Wilshere, Merida all have the potential to do so. If I had concerns, it would be over the likes of Hoyte and Gibbs where the current players - Sagna and Clichy - are young, on top of their game with more to come. It will then depend on whether the current 'reserves' are prepared to wait for their chance.

What is your stance on the midfield, its been highlighted as our most thinly covered position, should Wenger have bought or would it be a block for the youngsters coming through such as Randall and Coquelin?

I hope I am proved wrong but I think it is an area where Arsene needs to look at signing someone. Denilson has outperformed expectations - mine at least - but the season is not even a fifth passed so it is far too early to make a judgement on him. Wenger would not buy simply for the sake of it and he must balance the immediate needs against the long-term futures of the young players but if he can get hold of a world class central midfielder now, it is of benefit to them as the youngsters get chance to develop at a natural pace rather than being thrust into the limelight too soon.

What are our title chances, and silverware chances in general? and just how many games can we afford to lose in the league?

In the league, we have as good a chance as any. The team has the experience of last season to draw upon and if they can get some consistency going, they stand a good chance of winning some silverware. Crucial to the league will be the results at Anfield, Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford. Avoiding defeat is key, winning damages your rival. United proved last season that you can lose half-a-dozen games if you keep the number of draws down in the other games. If you win 26, draw 6 and lose 6, that is 84 points and you will be there or thereabouts.

How far does the Porto win go towards making up for THAT defeat by Hull?

To be honest, I don't think it does but then no win ever compensates for a defeat unless it is a two-legged cup tie. The Hull game is over, finished. They played well, got their result. We all move on. It is one less game that Arsenal can lose this season but at the moment, the saving grace is that we are winning all of the rest of our matches. Come Christmas when the top four have all played each other at least once, we'll have a good idea of the context of the Hull game. If they beat anyone else in the top four, people will feel a whole lot better.

I have to say he talks an awful lot of sense and i totally agree with the last statement. Arsenal needed to beat Porto for the fans and their own confidence. We cant get those 3 points back and never will. We just have to be even better in the future.

Thanks for your time Jogi.

Anyways, i gave some brief team news yesterday and nothing much else has appeared so i take it that its just the regulars out injured. I also expect Song to play in midfield tomorrow, we will need some extra muscle to deal with what is bound to be a physical approach from Keane's men. If RVP didn't make as bigger impression as he did in the week i would have expected Bendtner to get a game but i don't see how he could be dropped now.

I expect an Arsenal win and i have not got one result right as yet so I'm going for a 3-1 win. hopefully.

Arsene Wenger has supported Joe Kinnear in his rage against the scummy press saying this.

Wenger has also talked about the abuse he receives from opposition fans.

Id like to take this opportunity to say this.

You know the 'Adebayoooooor his dad washes........ and his mum's a .............' song?

Well i think that song is racist, saying someones African father washes Elephants for christs sake!

Now, once an Englishman gets this kind of abuse there is outcry! Why didn't everyone kick up a stink about the Adebayor chants? Arsenal fans were going mad but nobody listened, now its an English person everyone is listening. Double Fucking Standards. Totally out of order. I'm against any kind of abuse from fans that crosses the line. The Ade chant and the Sol abuse isn't crossing the line, its about 10 miles over the damn line.

Whats your stance on this? Drop me a line!

Right, il be back late tomorrow, sadly I'm missing the game again but il blog when Ive seen the highlights.

Til then Arses, il leave you with this.

A little bit of team news

There is not a great deal to talk about today. There is however some good news for Eduardo, who is expected back before Tomas Rosicky, Wenger has given us the latest;

"Eduardo is doing very well but is not close to play, Eduardo will be OK before Christmas, of course"

Its fantastic news, when he steps out onto the turf of the Emirates he will get such a good reception, he has handled the challenge that injured him with great grace and humility. He was probably wanting to tear Taylor's eyes out but acted with decorum and class. I for one will be on my feet when he makes his comeback, be it in front of my TV, radio, computer whatever. I will applaud the great man.

The latest on Rosicky was a lot less encouraging, sadly.

but Rosicky is a little bit behind him. [Eduardo]

"I monitor Rosicky's progress very closely but at the moment it is very difficult to put a date on his comeback. We are not pessimistic about the future of his career but we still need more patience. If he comes back before Christmas we have done very well but I think we can achieve that, that in December he can play again."

Well if Rosicky is due(ish) back in December maybe there is a possibility that Dudu will be back next month or there abouts?

Man that sounds good!

Sideshow Song is also expected to be back for the away trip to Sunderland at the weekend. We will need him.

Wenger has also issued some classic comments after Sol Campbell's abuse from the Yids the other night; the discusting sods racially and homosexually abused him.

AW said;

"Sometimes stupidity is contagious as well and sometimes in the crowd there is a competition to see who can be more stupid. That is why you should not let these people be together."

Very true, nobody should have to put up with that abuse. Ever.

I hope they catch the cuntsters.

Til tomorrow peepz.

Post match round up

“I think it was perhaps the most complete performance of the season.” - AW

After the win yesterday Arsene Wenger has praised the teams attitude. I feel it was a much better overall performance, despite the opposition being total and utter rubbish, but you can only beat the team in front of you and thats what they did in style.

Wenger said;

“We were focused. I thought at times we were a little bit too tense, especially at the start of the game. But we were focused and at that level, whether it is the Premier League or the Champions League that is vital. I believe that on Saturday we were caught by a lack of focus.

“I think the team is maturing and there is big potential in the side. We want to be intelligent and in the end you measure that on how well we do together.”

The start was nervy but that wasn't surprising, i feel the crowd didn't help, there were massive groans everytime a player made a mistake and that cant be nice at all. Saturday is done, this was a different game and we needed to get behind the team, im not having a dig at fans i just feel we dont help ourselves sometimes. Liverpool and Fenerbache fans make their staduims a couldron, so should we.

Theo and Cesc were picked out for special praise after a fantastic performance from them. The boss said;

[cesc]“I think he was outstanding tonight. He was good defensively and offensively and overall it was the ‘complete performance’.”

[theo]"Theo was dangerous again and he makes big progress and a big improvement. It was the response I wanted. It is half of the response of the week, the other half comes on Saturday"

The boss also confirmed that Theo is not injured. Great news.

Manuel Almunia has also praised the performance and expects it to be repeated at the weekend, the 'keeper is an important part of our team i feel, he is not experienced on the pitch but he has sat in many dressing rooms many times and offers the experience of knowledge and also experience of life to the younger players, some of whom have not yet seen 20 years of age.

He has though admitted attitude was our downfall against Hull;

"I think Hull deserved the three points because our attitude wasn't very good during the game."

Onto Van Persie now; he seems to have really pissed Sneijder off when he was at the Euro's, apprently their conflict stems from Van Persie taking a free kick 'against his team-mates wishes' Just seems the latest bust up in a long line of bust ups in the Dutch camp.

He has also been spoken about by Adebayor, who believes their partnership can fire us to glory this season;

"We are working hard for the team - he has got the same ambition as me,"

"We are here to help this team, we are here to help win something so I'm very pleased with the way he played against Porto.

"I gave him a pass and he gave me a pass. That shows there is a good relationship between the two of us.

"We are very happy and hopefully we can help this team win something this season."

Why not? on their day they are two of the worlds best strikers so they really should be firing us to glory! I have faith in them.

Well thats about it today. Join me tomorrow for an interview with Yogi's Warrior from 'A Cultured Left Foot'. A link can be found on the links section to his blog.

Thats it from me, take care gooners.

Arsenal 4 Porto 0

Well that was all rather nice wasn't it? A great response from the boys with Van Persie and Adebayor among the goals again, but, it should have been much, much more.

It started off nervy, Porto had some great opportunities that again exposed our very weak defence, Clichy had to clear off the line after Gallas lost his man, again. However, Theo Walcott terrorised the back line of Porto all night constantly running at them, looking for the killer pass and just plain pissing off his full back! I have to mention a stunning save from Manuel Almunia, Gonzalez let off a thunderbolt and he dived full stretch to his left to deny the Porto forward. A magnificent piece of goalkeeping.

The first goal was a very nice poke home for Van Persie after Adebayor slid the ball across the goal, he managed to get the ball out of his feel to slide it in at the near post. 1-0 and the fans wanted more. Much more.

The second was from Adebayor as he headed a fantastic cross into the ground that bounced up and out of the reach of the disparing keeper, Ade and Van are back alright.

Van Persie's second and Arsenal's third was a result of some simply horriffing defending, VP skipped round 2 players, was allowed to stroll past Porto's most experienced defender and prod nicley home. We were crusing and with 43 minutes to go a cricket score was possible.

This was when we had a whole host of chances, Walcott somehow missed an open goal, same goes for Nasri and Adebayor should have made it seven. You have to wonder what this team can be if they are more clinical. Walcott had the defenders shitting their panties and Nasri was a threat from range. Fabregas also pulled a save out the keeper with a shot from the edge of the area. He was truly immense. He cant be 21 can he?

Enter Vela, his first touch was to skip around 3 players, lay it off to Nikki B who just couldnt work the space to shoot. The commontater was shouting 'Watch this boy go' and the nations eyes were fixed on him. what a talent. Bendtner has looked brilliant too.

Adebayor made it 4 after Bendtner was felled in the box, sent the keeper the wrong way, cue dancing and badge kissing and the like. I want to see that more often Ade.

There was even time for cult hero Eboooouueee to do some step overs Ronaldinho would have been proud of, sadly the second time he tried it he trod on the ball. I love Eboue, he has his haters but he never fails to either enrage or entertain!

Overall, a very positive performance from the boys, the same defensive worries are still there but it looks like Wenger is going with the policy; you score more than you concede, you win. I hope it works! Saturday is not forgotten but Arsenal are well and truly mixing the cement i mentioned earlier and thank fook for that.

Take care out there.

Night.

Arsenal V Porto

Well, another Champions League game brings with it the chance to somewhat partially erase the horrors of Saturday evening. We will have to wait and see what Wenger does about Gallas and how dramatic his changes are but right now i think that our midfield frailty is showing.

We have Diaby, Rosicky, Bischoff, and now Song out, leaving us with two natural central midfielders and Eboue who would play in goal if he was needed there. Denilson was probably the best performer from Saturday if ive read correct and i think him and Cesc will again play in the middle of the park. If i had my way Bendtner and Vela would play up front banishing Ade and VP to the bench to smoulder and think about what they did on Saturday, which wouldnt take too long as they did pretty much fuck all. Ive just found this little gem. It looks like Flamini is picking up a few too many splinters on that AC Milan bench. I hope its heated too, it can get a wee bit nippy in those winter months.

Now, back to the game, we have to perform. Thats simple. But todays game isnt the be all and end all, we have to perform and then back it up with performances in the future because we just cannot lose at home again this season, a win today would paper over the cracks created on Saturday, we have to cement them over with the strongest cement possible and thats going on a winning streak and sorting our leaky defence out.

Many people have called for Gallas to be dropped, i have also. But, the most realistic option is for Toure to be dropped, Gallas is captain and Wenger wont drop him in a million years. Djourou will also help solve our height problem that has become so evident over the past few games, Nasri will add more creativity and he is no mug in front of goal either. We have to see a massive improvement today but it will only be the start, we cant afford to rest on our laurels.

We will be the inexperienced side today so no excuses Wenger. A good performance is compulsury.

And no more 'scared' Toure either please.

Right, i bid you farewell.

Up the arse!

(Not Literally)

A change of mentality

Well, that was all rather shite wasn't it! I'm sorry i have not been here for a few days, i will try and get someone to blog when im not available!

First things first, I think we were piss poor, Ive only seen the highlights and it was enough to make me sick, the pints of beer didn't help either but you can see why Arsene Wenger feels sick, i think that players that do not give 100% should be dropped from the squad. And if they do it again just get them the hell out of the team. I don't care if its Gallas, Adebayor, Van Persie or even Cesc, it just cannot be tolerated. They get paid far to much to piss around on a pitch and give 50%, at the end of the day the fans pay their bloody wages so they best sort themselves out or fuck off to Man City. Its Monday evening and im still fuming.

Now, Gallas. He feels that complacency wasn't an issue? It was clear to see the team thought they could smash a few in in the first 20 minutes, run around, look interested and be back home in time for tea and paella. It doesn't work like that in the Premier League. Gallas, sort your damn attitude out and lead the team. But, sort out your bloody defending, its shocking! that's about the third time he has made a mistake that has lead to a goal this season, it cant carry on. We are behind as it is and if we play like that against a Chelsea or Man Utd, we will get torn a new arsehole. The captaincy needs reconsidering because Gallas' attitude is poor, his defending is poorer and his captaincy is just plain crap. If Benitez managed this club he would have been played up front now and who knows, he might be more clinical than Adebayor, its not hard.

But the focus now switches to our game at home tomorrow night and god help up if we screw this one up. The manager has said there will be changes but denies they will be punishments to players. I feel Vela and Bendtner deserve to start up front, Vela has been fantastic since his return from Spain and Bendtner has been scoring also, they have showed commitment, something lacking on Saturday evening. Van Persie is a great player technically but is inconsistent, he has to improve and if he doesn't I'm afraid he may be on his bike. I feel we will go in with a 4-4-2 but whoever makes up the team i don't know, Song is out, Nasri back in and i feel the team will probably be pretty much the same. Maybe Bendtner being started in place of Ade would give him a kick up the arse?

I would love to see Djourou start instead of Gallas but i don't think it will happen, that is the one place that Wenger really annoys me. The partnership of him and Kolo does not work and it will hardly fill the team with confidence!

For once Arsenal will go into the Porto game as probably the most experienced side, no inexperience excuses now please, its time for this team to win something and they had better do after Saturday, and the performance at Fulham.

I am at a loathe to say this but this year, and by year i mean 2008, we have now turned in three totally half cut performances, the defeat at Old Trafford in the FA cup, the Fulham game and now the Hull game, its a habit that is starting to become more and more common and Wenger has to stop it, at the end of the day the buck stops with the players but Arsene has a big influence on them and therefore he has to take some of the blame too as he concedes.

Tomorrow the boys need to step up to the plate, a defeat today could well prove terminal in our Champions League campaign and after we have already flushed half out title hopes down the shitter we just have to win, and win well too. I don't expect a cricket score but i sure as hell don't want a 1-0.

I made the mistake of expecting a cricket score against Hull and i well and truly damaged my credibility as a blogger that talks sense. That was a mistake that wont happen again.

Ive cut the quotes out today as i wanted to add more of my view, the weekend was a step backwards, tomorrow has to be a step forward and its got to be twice as big.

Come on Arsenal.

Please leave your views on the game, your comments are needed to keep this alive!
I will come back to them in the following blogs!


Til' Tomorrow.

Hull preview, Denilson and Wenger on leaving

Arsene wenger has said that he will decide his managerial future in 2011. It will be then when he will have served 15 years as Arsenal manager and even he concedes he didn't expect to last this long;

"To be honest I would have laughed if someone had said I'd be here for 12 years.

“I was lucky in my career. I stayed for seven years in Monaco which is a good record in France, so in 19 years I had two clubs. Just to be a manager for 19 years needs luck.

He has made this club what it is, without him we would be a mediocre mid-table team and with a name like 'Arsene' you can tell he was born to manage this club. The guy is one of my heroes and i will be eternally grateful of what he has done for this club.

He said yesterday that he has not thought about his contract and is just focusing on the job in hand;

“I've not thought about my contract,” he said. “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.

“I don't want to walk away at the moment, but in two or three years things can change in any job.

You just have to admire him, is there any other manager apart from Sir Alex and Arsene that stick to their word and their contracts? I dont like SA but i think he has done a brilliant job at Man Utd and as the two of them grow older i think they are starting to admire what both have done for the clubs, the league and the world of football. Wenger also admits that he is not setting an age to retire, even though he promised his wife!;

"But I said to my wife ‘at 55 I stop, I promise you’. And at 55 I said ‘60’.

“Now I just don't speak about it any more!"

You devil you Arsene!

He also admits that he has only built two Arsenal sides, athough most argue he has built four, i think the 98 double showed that he has the skill to get something out of a team without buying in players, it shows his personal skills along with his teambuilding skills;

“I feel I have completely created maybe two teams, The first one [in 1998] I did not create, I had an exceptional ‘old-guard’ at the back.

“I think I added something to this team and we were successful. But Adams, Bould, Keown, Winterburn, Seaman, Dixon - they were already here. I added the offensive force but Bergkamp was already here when I arrived as well.”

The legend also confirmed that he has had chances to leave Arsenal but never even considered it;

“I was offered the chance to leave but I never considered leaving,

"The longer I stay the more difficult it becomes to envisage leaving. But I know one thing - you have to prepare yourself.

"You have to work inside the Club like you will spend your whole life there. But as well you have to accept the idea it can stop from one minute to the next.

"But that is basically life as well - you expect to live for 100 years but you can die from one minute to the next."

To be honest i don't even want to imagine the man leaving, he is Arsenal and Arsenal will be a totally different club without him!

Now onto Rosicky, the boss has said that it may be two days or two months before he is back, and concedes he is speechless over the niggling injury;

"I believe that all the checks we made are reassuring, but it's difficult to say, It's an inflammation that's going on in his leg that has to settle, to calm down."

“We are a little bit speechless on that at the moment because we feel it is all going well. It is a problem of re-coordinating his muscle with the exercises he does.

"There's nothing really that harms his future, but, as well nobody can tell me on the 10th of December he will play.

“He can be on the 31st of December, he can be on the 10th of November, nobody knows with him. In the next two months he should be back but what date, nobody knows.”

He is a vital part of Arsenal and he improves an already brilliant team, hopefully he will be alright and be back soon!

Young midfielder Denilson has targeted the double this season, pretty ambitious but there is nothing wrong in that. I hope the lad keeps improving because he has the potential to be a hell of a footballer, and hopefully he can fulfill his potential with Arsenal as Arsene watches another of his gems grow into a diamond.

Now, onto the Hull game.

Sadly it kicks off at gone 5 so i wont be able to watch the game, or match of the day later as im out. Meaning i will have to rely on internet highlights!

Anyway i predict we will win 3 or 4 - 0, the strongest team will be out there and i reckon Van Persie and Ade will grab a couple of goals and i wouldn't rule one out for Theo as well. To be honest if we don't get 3 points from this game we shouldn't be in the title race this season. We should batter them.

I will try and put a few streams up for you lot, hope you enjoyed reading.

Back tomorrow evening.

Wenger, tackles, Platini, Cesc and youth

To start with then, Cesc Fabregas has spoken of how the young gunners are keeping him awake at night. No, its not them playing with their little kiddie toys, its their class on the pitch that worries him, he reckons they will be after his first team slot soon and recognizes the fact that he has to raise his game;

“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.”

Well if he raises his game he will be a truly sensational player, and you know what, the guy is years away from hitting his peak and thats a very scary thought for the opposition.

He has also pledged his future to the Gunners, as long as we continue to play football the way we do he will not go;

“It was not a hard thing for me to stay. I was really relaxed during the summer because I knew I was going to stay at Arsenal.

“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 season’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.”

What a legend he is, a truly remarkable player. I hope we get the success he deserves.

He says when this side wins something it will be very, very special;

“I won the FA Cup and that was a great feeling but I won it with Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp – the team was already done.

“To win something with this team that is completely new would be something really special. I really want to do it.”

You know what? i really think we can win any competition, we are good enough and after all, we've got Cesc Fabregas!

Sticking on the subject of youth, Wenger has spoken about why he didn't sign a player on deadline day, the youth we have. 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.

“I was convinced by our season last year that we are strong enough to challenge again.

“Of course it is a long, long race, but we want to show we have confidence and belief in our players plus we have the stamina to do it.

“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.”

Well who could argue with him, we will see if he is right in the last couple of months in the season when the shite usually hits the fan and things get all sticky. I think this season really could be the making of these young players. They have potential that beggars belief.

He also stated his thoughts on what constitutes a tough tackle;

"A defender has to be tough and committed, for me if tough is committed I don’t have a problem with it. If tough is the desire to hurt your opponent it’s not acceptable because that’s not the game.

And thats fair enough, but as he also says, you have to stick to the rules,

"The beauty of sport is to win in respect of the rules. If us as managers start to say we don’t have to respect the rules then it can’t be accepted. That’s in boxing, in football, in every sport. You have to respect the rules.

When you get clubs cheating points off you you have a right to be angry, when your players get kicked off the park its not football, its assault. What happens from this is evident in the injury to the Hull player the other week and our very own Eduardo.

The buffoon at the head of UEFA, Platini, has said that he was a bit harsh on Wenger the other day;

"I was too hard on Arsene.

"My dad [Aldo Platini] told me off. He was the one who gave him [Wenger] his break (at Nancy)."

But still went on to have a moan at Wengers policies;

"When I talk about business, what I am talking about is recruiting players when they are 13 or 14. I can't stand it."

What is wrong in making a childs dream come true Platini? what is wrong in making sure kids become the best players they can possibly be. Just look at Fabregas.

Thats about it for today, take care.

More tomorrow.

O what lovely places we are visiting!

Bolton is one of the worlds most picturesque places. Not.

The squad have already seen the delights of Blackburn, Kiev and are now about to visit the beautiful Bolton. But before i preview the game I'm going to chat a bit about Alex Song, Theo and Denilson.

Alex Song has been earmarked by Wenger to fill in that problem central midfield position, and i think he can do that. He works hard for the team and yes, he does make a few mistakes but he is still very young and doesn't really have much experience so far. When he came off against Kiev we saw how much more vulnerable we were with massive gaps appearing and with Song on the pitch they were not appearing at all. He is powerful and a good runner with the ball, as demonstrated when he played against Blackburn in the Carling Cup last year, he rampaged forward on many occasions leading the commentators on 5Live to describe his runs as 'Beckenbauer like'. Song is also strong in the tackle and i think we will be very important for us this season, i think he will start against Bolton.

Wenger has pretty much said the same of Denilson too, i like Denilson, i think he could be a class player but i do doubt whether his involvement in the team stifles Cesc's influence, he is still very young and if we had more midfield cover i think he may well have gone out on loan in the summer.

Wenger is definitely trying to boost their confidence.

Gallas has also got Wenger's praise;

"He was a striker when he was young and you can see he has the nose to be where you have to be at the right moment. If it is a corner or a deflected goal, William Gallas is there. He has kept something of a striker in him and that comes out in these desperate situations.

"The biggest quality of a striker who scores goals is exceptional skill or through anticipation and understanding where the ball will be. William anticipates and attacks the space.

"His goals can make the difference. I am convinced that in a game like Kiev it was an important goal, because coming back from Kiev with a defeat or with a point, it is a completely different perspective for the Champions League and the game at Bolton."

I do think his goals are very important to us, every team needs a defender that can pop up with goals and without Gallas we don't really have that as Toure will only get one a season and two if he is really lucky. Saying that, without his goal we wouldn't have got the the champions League Final.

Theo Walcott also needs more protection from those ref cunts according to Arsene, i cant help but agree, Ronaldo gets that protection so why shouldnt Walcott? Kicking players isn't football, its violence. Wenger doesn't want special protection for him but wants him to stop being targeted, defenders go for him, not the ball.

Right now, Preview time.

Today we can open up a gap over Chelsea and Man United as they play each other and we just have to take advantage. Bolton is a tricky place for us, we lost there 3 years on the spin recently and last years game showed just how much character we had and this year its another test. They will kick, there is no doubt about that, luckily Diaby isn't playing but i feel we do need Eboue to keep a lid on things and we need our players to give it right back at the cunts and with Song and Eboue i feel we will. I'm not sure about Bendtner starting up front with Adebayor, Van Persie has had some torrid games against Bolton, i think we all remember this comical moment;



That was very funny indeed but he got a kind of revenge with the penalty last season.

Arsene Wenger wants fatigue to be forgotten about because we just have to win;

“It will not be an issue because we don't put that in our brain, You want just to keep the focus as we had it at Blackburn and Kiev then let's get the maximum out of the game.

“When you are a competitor you want competition so you cannot complain when you have that competition and you are tired. This is a fantastic opportunity because when you are a football player you want to play football matches.”

We also had a similar period like this last season and it probably cost us the title;

“Yes at that stage we played four away games on the trot, We lost in Sevilla but after that we won at Aston Villa.

“At Middlesbrough it's true we were a bit jaded physically. But I don't expect that [again]. We had a bad start up there and, of course, when you are a little bit jaded it is harder to get back into your game. So it's important we have a successful start to this game.”

We have Nasri, Sylvester (again, told you so) and Diaby missing along with of course Dudu and Rosicky.

The game is at 5 or something like that, hopefully we will be alright and not do what we did against Fulham. However i am not overly optimistic.

Prediction: Bolton 1 Arsenal 1

I think Elmander has a point to prove for Bolton and i feel we may be on the receiving end, I also fell Adebayor will get another goal.

The reason i will go for the draw is the we have a dodgy defence and Davies will exploit that and also we were not clinical enough against Blackburn (we did score 4 but had many more chances) and Kiev, that was costly.

Depending on time i may do a match analysis later i may not,

Leave me your predictions here, and keep your ideal Eduardo comeback scenario's coming in! look back to yesterdays blog for ideas.

Contact details are on the right hand side of you need them.

Up the arse Gunners.

Blackburn put to the slaughter by rampant Gunners.

Blackburn 0 Arsenal 4
(Van Persie, Adebayor X3)
Goals here

Brief Summary
A fantastic Arsenal performance put them 2nd in the table after Van Persie and Adebayor put them to the sword. Theo Walcott showed why everyone is raving about him with a fantastic assist for VP to slot home in clinical fashion, Adebayor doubled the lead after a pinpoint Denilson cross was converted home. Later on in the 2nd half Eboue was felled in the box and later stretchered off, Adebayor stepped up and stuck it in the corner past Paul Blobinson. Late on Wilshere and Ramsey entered the fray and it was the latter that slotted a brilliant through ball to Adebayor who rounded fatty and completed the treble to send a message to their title rivals and send the fans into raptures.

Man of the Match: Denilson

The signs are good for Arsenal, the freeflowing football is back, Adebayor and Van Persie are firing, Theo Walcott is more dangerous than ever and confidence is flowing.

Some of todays moves oozed class enough to make you dampen your pantio's slightly and 4-0 was not a flattering score line. If i had to look on the negative side it would be defensive uncertainty, Santa Cruz was getting far too much space and Toure and Gallas were not spectators , they were busy.

Todays performance was certaily a message to our rivals and pundits, we are certainly underdogs this year but thats when this team is dangerous, we were underdogs against Milan and look what we did to them, this team is class and will continue to improve as the players get older.

We were without Nasri today and it shows how good Eboue was that we didnt miss him, i thought he had a great game and caused lots of problems, he certainly has improved and can no longer be used as a scapegoat by disgruntled fans.

Arsene Wenger said after the game;

"I think we did well and it was a good defensive performance. Just because we scored four goals, you may think it was all Arsenal, but Blackburn played well.

"They were dangerous as well going forward and we had to defend very well, especially on crosses in the first half.

"The second goal before half-time certainly was a big blow for them and, after that, three and four came logically."

"I believe that fluency is one of our strengths and to be clinical was very important today," he continued.

"We have found slowly our rhythm and our pace. We scored four against Twente, three against Newcastle and four today and we slowly get confident and physically ready to play."

He makes a good point about Blackburn, they did play well in the 2nd half and that goal just before half time was a sucker punch, it really put them down and after that it was all Arsenal really.

He also said that he considered resting Theo after his England heroics during the week;

"Yes, I rotate the players and I did rest completely Nicklas Bendtner, who didn't play at all.

"He had a little ankle problem and played two games for Denmark. We gave some time to Jack Wilshere, 16, and Aaron Ramsey, 17. It's good we have a young squad, but very talented."

It was good to see Ramsey who looked fantastic in his little cameo and Jack who didn't really see the ball in his 6-7 minutes.

Overall its been a good day for Arsenal Football Club, and a little mention to the match changing substitution of Nacer Barazite who helped Derby end their losing run. Ive heard he was fantastic.

Anyway back tomorrow, spread the word guys.

Til' Then!