Something And Nothing.

Thursday, 25 February 10

Last night was a fairly eventful night in the Champions league and the FA Cup and it went very well for Arsenal on a number of counts. The first bit of good news was the red card received by "he who shall remain nameless" for Man City against Stoke in their FA Cup replay. I had also hoped that the game would go to extra time as we have to play Stoke on Saturday evening and that wish came true as well with Stoke eventually winning 3-1. I know that Stoke will probably get a boost from that result but I am also hopeful that their exertions will catch up with them. With any luck their minds will be on their FA Cup quarter final tie with Chelsea next week and we can go there and get the win that we desperately need on Saturday. Speaking of Chelsea they were beaten 2-1 last night by Inter Milan in the 1st leg of their Champions league tie. They will be the favourites to go through to the last 8 though with the home leg in 3 weeks time. However, they did suffer another injury setback as Cech got what looked like a serious knee injury and maybe the gods of injuries have decided to switch their attentions to Chelsea instead of us for a change with Mr Tweedy recently breaking his ankle as well. If that's the case I'm sure LadyArse will be delighted as she enjoys her break in Paris. All we need now is Drogba to get injured and Shrek for Manure too and the league will be as good as ours.

Sol Campbell was speaking on the club site about our chances of winning the title and he believes it is possible if we "fire on all cylinders". Apparently he has a slight calf injury but I sincerely hope he can recover in time for the Stoke match on Saturday as it would seem Gallas will miss out and the thought of Silvestre trying to defend the continious high balls and long throws scares the hell out of me.

According to the Dutch national team manager RVP might be ready to start playing again in early April although with that only 5 weeks away I'd be very surprised if that is the case. I've said all along that I think we will only see him at the end of the season before he goes on to star in the World Cup for The Nrtherlands just to prove there is no justice for Arsenal.

I've been a big fan of Dzeko at Wolfsburg for quite a while now but with the news that they want €40million for him I suspect that Arsenal have been priced out of the market. I'm sure Manure cannot afford him either and the Italian clubs are all broke too which only leaves Chelsea who claim to be trying to no longer make a loss and Man City with their bottomless pockets in the market for him.

There have been a few pictures circulating of the proposed new jersey for next season and it is an homage to our first double winning team of 1971. Whether these pictures are real or not there probably will be a one off kit for next season to celebrate our 125th anniversary as there was for our last season at Highbury.

I'm really looking forward to my trip to the Emirates next week for the match against Burnley and I am really hoping that the weather has changed for the better and I won't be absolutely frozen in the ground. I suppose it can't get any worse than my aborted trip to the Everton game on January 9th when Dublin airport was closed due to less than an inch of snow and my flight was cancelled. Even after booking onto a new flight I still didn't make it as that flight was cancelled too and I hope I'm not tempting fate by booking onto the exact same flight 8 weeks later for the Burnley game. I think I'll be going to the supporters club on Saturday to have a few beers while watching Arsenal as it's on ESPN and I don't have a subscription to that channel. Hopefully we can get the win we need and I'll have an extra few to celebrate with my fellow Wicklow Gooners. That's the lot for today.

I've been posting my blog on the BleacherReport as well recently and I ran a poll asking who is Arsenal's greatest player in the modern era. Here's a little bit of the winner.

And to finish today's title track from The Wedding Present. There wasn't a whole lot to report today but I think I found something even if it was nothing.

See You Tomorrow.

Slowly But Surely.

Saturday, 20 February 10

It's back to the bread and butter of the league today as Sunderland pay us a visit at the Emirates in what is another crucial game for Arsenal. With Manure playing in the early game at Everton we will know how far ahead of us they are before the kick off. I'm hoping that Everton can do us a favour and take a point from them and we can go on to make up some more of the ground that we lost in our defeats to them and Chelsea. Speaking of Chelsea I don't hold out much hope of them dropping points at Wolves but stranger things have happened and their away form in the league has been poor since they won at our ground in November. They have only 6 points from 6 away games in that time and that's hardly the form of potential champions. They have lost at Man City and Everton and drawn at Birmingham, Hull and West Ham in that run and that should offer Wolves and us a little bit of hope.

All that will be of no use to us if we don't beat Sunderland and we couldn't ask for a team in a worse vein of form to be our opponents today. Since they beat us on November 21st they have drawn 6 and lost 6 of their 12 games and it's up to us to make that an unlucky 13 for them. We need to see how much the defeat to Porto meant to the players with a performance from them to silence the critics. Sunderland went to Chelsea only 5 weeks ago and were thumped 7-1 after failing to show up in footballing terms and if they show the slightest weakness today we have to punish them. The defeat to Porto hurt Cesc a lot and that is obvious by the fact that he apologised to Arsenal fans on the flight home. Cesc loves Arsenal and it's good to see how much defeats like that hurt him but my biggest worry is that he will get fed up with the constant mistakes all around him and leave us in the summer. I know everybody makes mistakes and his form has been off in the last few games but I honestly can't recall him actually giving any goals away this season unlike the majority of his team mates.

As for the game itself it looks like Song might be available after his injury which will be a welcome respite for my nerves as he should play the defensive midfield role and I would imagine that Denilson will continue in the team but a little further forward as we again without the frequently injured Diaby. Cesc will obviously make up the rest of the midfield trio and I think the front 3 from the Porto game will probably start again although Walcott may get a start but Arshavin is still unavailable through injury. At the back with Gallas still out hopefully Campbell will be up to another 90 minutes after Wednesday night's hard work and he should play alongside Vermaelen in the centre. The problem is left back where Clichy just can't seem to find any form at all and even though he was a bit better against Liverpool he regressed on Wednesday night. Hopefully we can dominate Sunderland enough to give him an easier ride than he has being getting recently and he can gradually get his form back. At right back Eboue is pushing really hard for a start as he seems to do so much more in his brief cameos than Sagna does. He is certainly more of a threat than Sagna going forward and in home games like this we need that. That leaves just 1 position to fill and that's the 1 causing us the biggest problems all season. Almunia is just not good enough at this level and is immediate replacement, Fabianski, seems to be error prone in every game he plays. I had hoped he would step up to the plate on Wednesday night and he played very well except for the 2 horrendous mistakes that cost us the game. If Almunia is fit I think he will regain his place but I have no faith in either of them at this stage.

With Sunderland in such poor form we have to get at them from the start and punish every mistake they make. All too often this season we take almost all of the first half to get going but today I hope we can lay down a marker for the rest of the season by putting them to the sword. Despite our injury problems we will still have Vermaelen, Cesc, Nasri and Rosicky in the team and Sunderland do not have any players with their class. They do have Cattermole and Cana in the centre of their midfield and they will look to stifle our play and kick Cesc in particular as much as possible. I hope the referee is strong and punishes them as it's all too frequent a sight to see teams target Cesc for very bad tackles and harsh treatment. After today we don't have a game for another week and the players should be able to give everything they have knowing that they can take it easy for a few days afterwards. I'd love to see Bendtner bag a goal for himself and maybe Walcott get a chance to stretch his legs and actually do something this time. Wouldn't it be great if we could see the Theo that scored a hat trick for England not so long ago playing for Arsenal. If Almunia isn't fit I hope Fabianski can sort himself out and show us the player that he has the potential to be. If he goes through the game with no howlers and gets all his basics right I will be delighted for him. I'm predicting a return to winning ways for Arsenal with a 2-0 win as we continue to chase the teams above us to the best of our ability.

The boss had a lot to say about the various mistakes the referee made in the incident that directly led to Porto's 2nd goal on Wednesday night but I still think he should address the mistakes Arsenal made in how it was conceded. The lack of professionalism shown was unacceptable and the players involved should be told that in no uncertain terms. The boss also spoke about the plight of Portsmouth and how he hoped that they could manage to make it through to the end of the season. From what I understand of the situation if Portsmouth are wound up in their courts all their results this season will benull and void and the team to benefit most would be Liverpool who lost to them earlier in the season. We would lose 6 points and I really hope that doesn't happen too but it is looking more likely by the day.

Giles Sunu has joined Derby County on loan until the end of the season and I think that makes it 13 players we have out on loan. The TV schedules for April have been announced and 3 of our games have been altered. The trip to local rivals the Spuds has been switched from 3pm to 12.45pm on Saturday April 10th and I would hope that by then we will already be celebrating St. Totteringham's day as there will only be 4 league games left after that game. Our trip to Wigan has been switched from 3pm Saturday April 17th to 1.30pm Sunday April 18th and ou home game with Man City on Saturday April 24th will now be played at 5.30pm instead of the original time of 3pm. Finally for today I'm back to my usual blogging time today as I've temporarily sorted out my problem with my laptop and I hope I can sort it out permanently later today. That's your lot.

Here's a look at how we beat Sunderland 4-1 a few years ago.

And to finish today's title track from Eek A Mouse. I'm hoping that slowly but surely we will catch the teams above us.

See You Tomorrow.

Climbing Up The Walls.

Monday, 15 February 10

After a very quiet footballing weekend things should be back in full swing by tomorrow night when the Champions league is up and running again and there's a couple of midweek Premier league games too. Man City will be playing one of their games in hand tomorrow night as they travel to Stoke and they have an FA Cup replay away to them next week as well. Their fixtures are really starting to build up at the moment and we will see if their squad is as strong as they think it is. If they manage to overcome Stoke in the FA Cup they face a trip to Chelsea in the last 8 as the draw continues to favour the holders of the trophy. If their new owners want a trophy this season their only chance is the FA Cup and it will be interesting to see how seriously they take it with 4th place in the league also very much in their sights.

From an Arsenal perspective there still is very little news to report but it would seem that the link I gave to the possible new jersey for next season was not real which doesn't surprise me at all as it's probably a bit early to see what next season's kit will look like. It's interesting to talk about it though and see how other people feel about proposed changes to our traditional kit. Ahead of the match on Wednesday night there is still no official confirmation on the injuries to Arshavin and Song and whether they will be available to play or not but we can only keep our fingers crossed that Song at least makes it ti keep my favoured starting midfield 3 together. The boss did say last week that Eduardo should be back for this game and his very small hamstring injury has taken a little longer than expected to heal but after all his troubles that's to be expected I suppose. Our Ladies beat Doncster 5-0 in the Ladies FA Cup as they continue their very good season. Their Champions league campaign resumes in March with a quarter final tie against Duisburg and they are now 4 points behind the league leaders with 6 games in hand. Their crucial league game will be against Everton in April as Everton have dropped the same amount of points as them so far this season and ran them soclose last season.

I won't get a chance to see the match on Wednesday night as I'll be working until 9 that night and I won't be home until 10 but I'm sure I'll catch the highlights on Sky right afterwards and I'll be keeping track of the score on my computer in work and on my phone as I travel home. My blogging should return to a more normal time schedule very soon as the part I need to get my laptop working again is in transit since last Wednesday and hopefully it should be delivered today if the kids can get out of bed to answer the door to the postman during their mid term break. That's it for today.

Here's a clip of Arshavin on Soccer AM talking about his team mates.

And to finish today's title track from Radiohead. I am climbing up the walls waiting for my laptop issue to be sorted and with all the work I'm doing at the moment.

See You Tomorrow.

From Despair To Where.

Wednesday, 10 February 10

It's time to get down to the business of winning our last 13 league games and putting pressure on the 2 teams ahead of us in the league tonight. Liverpool pay a visit to the emirates tonight and they have somehow managed to creep up to 5 points behind us in the table. This has led to a few of their players assuming that they have a chance of catching us and that is something that we have to put a stop to tonight. A sound thrashing should see them on their way and knock the little bit of confidence they have regained right back out of them. It should also leave them struggling for 4th place in the league again but at least they will have the consolation of getting their Europa league campaign up and running fairly soon. I hope they do well in it as it would be nice to see if they can win the inaugural Europa league and then retain it next season after finishing outside the top 4.

We know what to expect when Liverpool come calling as they will pack their defence for the 90 minutes and hope to get a goal from a set piece or a breakaway as both Manure and Chelsea were so successful in recently. However, detest both of those teams as I do there is no doubt that they are far better than a very average Liverpool team especially without their very own version of RVP - Torres(all the injuries). So we can expect Arsenal to have plenty of possession and to be kicked ad nausem by Mascherano and Carragher in particular. The first yellow card will of course be given to an Arsenal player for daring to foul poor little Stevie G as he falls over a blade of grass or is knocked down by a gust of wind. I would imagine that we will see a fairly similar team to the one that took the field on Sunday against Chelsea but I do hope that Bendtner finally gets a chance to start. I also hope to see our players going at Carragher with the ball as there is nothing surer than the fact that he will foul them as his inability to tackle fairly grows by the week. Every time we play I say the players have to concentrate for every single minute of the game and time after time they make the stupidest mistakes that cost us goals. I can only hope that they can finally put a stop to it tonight and defend as if their lives depended on it when it's needed. If they can somehow manage to master the tactical foul that other teams employ to great effect against us as well I would be thrilled but I won't be holding my breath.

Even if we're not at our very best we're too good for this Liverpool team and I expect Arsenal to win but I have a funny feeling it won't be as convincingly as I would like. I'm going for a 2-1 win for us with Arshavin being the scourge of Liverpool yet again and giving the fans something to cheer about again. I'll be in the supporters club in Bray watching the game as I have to return the application forms for myself and my wife to go to the Man City game in April and for no other reason at all. I certainly won't be drinking after working 12 hours yesterday and having to do it again tomorrow. Can somebody please explain to me why I have to work longrer hours in a bloody recession?

At his press conference the boss had a lot to say although he did threaten to say nothing at all at some stage if the press keep taking portions of what he says and taking them out of context as he says they did after both the Villa and Chelsea games. He did say that he was never in for the Stoke goalkeeper Sorensen in the transfer window and he said he knew nothing of Chamakh's plans although there are reports he has signed a pre contract agreement with us. He said he didn't want to bring in players on loan in January and he felt our recent problems have been caused by defensive problems and not offensive ones although with 1 goal in 3 games after our free scoring start to the season some may choose to disagree with him. It would appear that Eduardo will be back from his most recent injury to be available to face Porto next Wednesday and Kyle Bartley has gone on a 3 month loan to Sheffield United. I will be very interested to see how he gets on as he looks to be a genuine prospect for the future. I'll leave it there as I'm busy, busy, busy.

Here's the highlights from the 8 goal thriller at Anfield last season but try to concentrate on Arshavin's 4 goals and not our defending.

And to finish today's title track from the Manic Street Preachers. After the despair of the defeats in our last 2 games where to nex? Joy I hope after tonight.

See You Tomorrow.

ps Did you notice I didn't mention Almunia once? Damn I just did.

Ask.

Tuesday, 02 February 10

The defeat to Manure on Sunday is still fresh in all of our minds and it was a defeat that was very hard to take. I genuinely that at the start of the season that Manure would struggle with the diver but they produced a performance that I hoped they didn't have in them any more and thoroughly deserved their 3-1 win. Of course it wasn't helped by some of our team putting in abject performances and even though it's blatantly obvious to all but the most biased of fans to see the manager will almost surely keep faith with them at Stamford Bridge next Sunday. There comes a stage where the good of the team has to come before the good of individual players and the current pecking order has to be broken. The situation with Almunia has got so bad that the fans are turning on him and he needs to develop another "chest infection" for his own good and the good of the team too. Since he was mysteriously struck down by the Emirates sniper/ninja against Everton Denilson has been awful but he continues to be a first choice and in my opinion he wasn't much better beforehand. He gives the ball away too often and his tackling and awareness on the pitch are just not good enough. The left back slot is a real worry as Clichy's form was poor before his injury and he has come back in even worse form. Manure targetted him on Sunday and got a lot of joy from it but the only other option is Traore and he is even worse at the moment.

I would love to ask the boss if we have a specialist defensive coach and if so does he work on the players positioning with them. Our full backs seem to give opposing wide players far too much space when they receive the ball and the left backs in particular are completely devoid of confidence. When it comes to going forward our full backs seem to be incapable of crossing the ball properly and more often than not their attempts leave us groaning in disbelief. When we are chasing a game like on Sunday all defensive discipline seems to go out the window as players push forward with little or no regard for what is happening behind them. Our defenders need to be reminded that their first concern is to defend and if they won't do that they have to be told to do it. We have being winning games recently because we have scored so many goals but when those goals dry up our defensive frailties are laid bare for all to see.

Can the boss honestly say that he thinks the squad is so good that we didn't need to bring a couple of players in during the transfer window. The recent injury scare to Vermaelen showed how short we are in some positions and even with the addition of Campbell nothing is solved for the long term. We have the money from the transfers of Toure and he who shall remain nameless available to spend and if I remember correctly we had money to spend before that anyway. Surely with £40million plus to spend we could have found a striker to lead the line for us during the month of January. I know Bendtner is back from injury but he wasn't exactly setting the world on fire before that injury and I don't think he has the touch needed to play the game we are playing at the moment. We may be the top scorers in the league but with the amount of goals we concede we need to score even more than we are at the moment. The form of our captain is almost carrying the team single handedly in some games and the big worry has to be that he will get fed up with what he sees around him and decide to jump ship in the summer.

As fans can we honestly say that no matter who the opposition is that we think Arsenal will beat them when we take the field. We never know what team is going to take the field - will it be the one that is switched on or not I mean as it's always easy to predict the starting 11. If we were fully confident in our team we would feel unbeatable against the poorer teams in the league but only on rare occasions this season have we turned on the style for the full 90 minutes. I'm not trying to be overly pessimistic after 1 defeat but the manager said that this would be our season and things are teetering on the edge at the moment in the league and the way we are defending the Champions league is only a pipe dream. Money is tight for fans and they have to choose how to spend their limited income in hard times. It's difficult to see the club turning over such a profit and not investing it in the team while the fans are making sacrifices just to watch them play every week. If this season peters out ahead of it's time there could be a genuine problem with selling tickets for next season. We have some fantastic players and it's up to the coaching staff to instill the passion, desire and playing style in them that will allow them to reach their full potential. If that means that some players who aren't good enough have to go by the wayside well so be it. We all want the same thing and if the fans can see the team's failings then so can the manager. He has a week on the training ground to work with the players and if they can put in a performance that we can be proud of on Sunday then us fans can be very forgiving. I really hope that the real Arsenal turn up at Stamford Bridge and if they do I will be happy whether we win lose or draw.

In other news Chesney has extended his loan spell at Brentford until the end of the season and not a lot else is happening out there so I'll leave it there until tomorrow.

Here's a little bit of how good Cesc is.

And to finish today's title track from The Smiths. I would love to ask the manager a few questions about exactly how certain things are done on the training ground.

See You Tomorrow.