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.