Arsenal and Arsene Wenger - Stick Or Twist

With an hour of Tuesday night's game against Anderlecht gone there was a very positive feeling about how Arsenal's season was progressing. Sure the team still weren't at their best but the attacking flair was returning and they looked destined for their fourth win in a row as they led 3-0. What happened next shows exactly why it is so frustrating to support the current Arsenal team, but I do support them and always will no matter what - they are and always have been my team.

It doesn't mean they're immune to criticism though and for that matter neither is the manager. Arsene Wenger criticised his defence afterwards, but he's the one who had the task of strengthening said defence last summer and failed to do so properly. Mathieu Debuchey and Calum Chambers were brought in while both Bacary Sagna and Tomas Vermaelen left which meant there was stalemate at best.

The thing is everybody knew the Arsenal squad was short of a central defender last season and we were told Vermaelen would be replaced when he was allowed to leave but he wasn't. Chambers was brought in to vie with Debuchey for the right back slot and also with an eye to playing as a central defender or a defensive midfielder in the future and he barely had more than a handful of first team games to his name when Arsenal signed him. If he was bought to play as a central defender then Carl Jenkinson would not have been loaned to West Ham, but he was. 

The way I see it Arsenal almost lost two central defenders because Sagna was so good at filling in there when needed. At the moment Nacho Monreal is being asked to fill in as a central defender and it's not something he's comfortable with or particularly good at for that matter. Arsenal only have two defensive injuries but that has reduced them to playing a left back in the centre and it just isn't good enough.

There are those who defend the manager no matter what and heap praise upon him when Arsenal do well, but then decide it's most certainly not his fault when the players "let him down". I certainly don't fit into that category and neither do I fit into the category of those who blame him for all of the clubs ills and will hear no good about him. I suppose that means I occupy the middle ground and right now that seems to be becoming more and more lonely by the day. 

The same mistakes seem to crop up time and again and the lessons we are told are bring learned just don't seem to be retained. With a defence which has been left short of proper cover and the players in front of them seemingly not capable of shielding them enough to help them with their defending it's very worrying. Arsenal possess some very good players in midfield but so many of them are far too similar and want to play in the same position. 

When it comes to putting in a real shift and sacrifing your own desire to go forward for the good of the team then Arsenal players have been found wanting too often. The tactical awareness of the team and the manager seems to be non existent at the moment and other teams are taking advantage of it. If managers of so called lesser teams can figure out how to make life so difficult for Arsenal then how come Arsenal struggle so often to do the reverse. 

When the team are obviously going wrong the manager doesn't seem to be capable of changing it and I think that's his biggest flaw at the moment. I don't know if it's an absolute faith in his team and/or his tactics or just tactical failings on his part, but it's hurting the team. The manager has to be able to identify where the team are going wrong and change it or it becomes too easy to play against Arsenal. 

If he can't get a hold of where the team are going wrong and get them to start playing in the way they are capable of playing then the tide of opinion is going to turn against him even more. I want Arsene Wenger to lead Arsenal to more glory and make them a force to be reckoned with, but I'm no longer sure he can do it. If he's not the man to do it then the club have to seriously consider their options.

I know the team is missing some of it's best players, but even with every single player available we all know Arsenal are capable of imploding at any time without any notice. There has to be something inherently wrong in the mentality of the team if we all fear the worst almost every time the opposition cross the half way line. Until the players can find the mental strength and togetherness to overcome adversity there will be questions asked of them and the man who sends them out to play with his instructions. 

Arsenal won the FA Cup last season to end their trophy drought but it could have been so much better had they not imploded in the league. When their mental strength was put to the test they failed miserably but at least they managed to finish strongly and claim fourth place as well as the cup. We all hoped that victory was going to be built on but it hasn't been and now it seems the height of our ambitions can only be to match last season.

If I was offered fourth place and the FA Cuo again for this season I would take it right now. That's a damning indictment on the club's ambition last summer and it's yet another season to be written off almost before it began. How long can the club continue to under invest when they have the money available to take the final step to make the team truly competitive again. 

Every summer we think we'll do what needs to be done and then find ourselves scrambling on deadline day to shore the gaps which should have been filled a lot earlier. In the last two summers Arsenal have signed two magnificent players in Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, but they have failed to invest in the rest of the squad properly. If it happens again next summer I think the tide will turn irreversibly against the manager and his days could be numbered.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Season Review 2013/14

The 2013/14 season is over and it ended in glory for Arsenal with a victory in the FA  Cup. It was a season with a lot of highs and lows which promised a lot at times and delivered some silverware in the end. After a nine year wait that has to be considered to be a successful season despite some of the misgivings and mishaps.

Last summer wasn't the greatest for Arsenal in the transfer window as they failed with club record bids for Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Suarez. The world and his wife could see they needed to strengthen their striking options, but they started the season with virtually the same squad as the one which had put a great run together to scrape into fourth place the previous season. The transfer window still had a couple of weeks to run at that stage though and I was still hopeful of some genuine quality arriving.

The league campaign got off to an awful start with a defeat at home to Villa and there was real unrest among many of the Arsenal faithful. With Champions League qualifiers coming up against Fenerbahce there was genuine fear among many fans that Arsenal would miss out on Europe's elite competition. Fenerbahce were built up as posing a very real threat, but Arsenal won both legs with relative ease only for the nay sayers to say Fenerbahce were never any good anyway.

The team had won their second league game in between the games with Fenerbahce and faced the prospect of a game with local rivals Spurs just after the transfer window closed. The final day of the window such much activity in a lot of quarters and news emerged of an Arsenal move for Real Madrid's Mesut Ozil. To sign Ozil Arsenal would have to smash their previous transfer record and they did just that before the day was out.  Arsenal had signed a genuinely world class player and the hopes and dreams of the fans were raised once again. Other parts of the squad still went unstrengthened but it was still a huge step in the right direction. 

Just after signing Ozil Arsenal won their first derby of the season with a 1-0 victory at home to Spurs and it was to be the first of three wins against them. The league campaign continued at a good pace and Arsenal quickly climbed to the top of the table. The Champions League group started off well too with a win away to Marseille followed by a home win against a much fancied Napoli side. The performance Arsenal put on in the first 20 minutes of that game was fantastic and hopes were raised that the team were really going somewhere.

There was a home defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the next Champions League game though and Chelsea knocked Arsenal out of the Capital One Cup at the Emirates just before October ended. Arsenal didn't play their strongest team in that game, but neither did Chelsea and their strength in depth was obviously well ahead of Arsenal's. We had to hope that Arsenal would keep their best players fit for most of the season if they were going to be successful.

November started very well with another fantastic start to the game in a 2-0 win at home to Liveroool followed by a great win away to Dortmund in the Champions League. Things looked very promising ahead of a trip to Manchester United only a few days later, but Arsenal just didn't show up and lost a very disappointing game 1-0. We didn't know it at the time but that was the first of too many poor performances away to the top teams in the Premier League. 

The good league form still continued though and Arsenal went into their final group game in the Champions League knowing they would progress once they didn't lose by more than two goals. If they avoided defeat they would have won the group, but Napoli had beaten the other two teams at home and deserved their 2-0 win over Arsenal. The defeat meant Arsenal would be drawn against one of the group winners in the last 16 to make their chances of progress that much harder.

Only a few days later they were in Manchester again to face City in the league this time and it ended badly again with a 6-3 defeat. Arsenal had looked good going forward, but their defensive display wasn't good enough and it wasn't helped by some curious selection and substitution decisions from the boss. It was a hard task to go to City so soon after the trip to Napoli, but that didn't excuse the performance Arsenal put in. 

Next up Chelsea came to the Emirates and parked the bus to take a point in a 0-0 draw. They were helped by some poor refereeing decisions which saw Arsenal denied a certain penalty and Chelsea finish the game with 11 players when they should have finished it with 10. Arsenal had lost their lead at the top of the table as Christmas approached, but had a run of games coming up which were all there for the taking.

They proceeded to win their next seven games between the league and the FA Cup and kept clean sheets in five of them. Aaron Ramsey had been a revelation and the outstanding player in the league up to Christmas, but he picked up a knock in the first of those seven wins against West Ham. He was projected to be out for a couple of months, but his absence was a lot longer after he broke down in training just as he was about to return. Despite winning all of those games with Ramsey missing the team's performances weren't quite as convincing as they had been.

To add to Arsenal's woes Theo Walcott picked up an injury in the FA Cup victory over Spurs and was ruled out for the rest of the season. The squad was getting stretched and that was one of the main reasons for the performances the team was putting in. Olivier Giroud was the only real striking option in the team and he was looking more and more jaded as each game passed. He had started the season in good scoring form, but the rate of goals slowed down as the season progressed and his opportunities to get a rest decreased.

The first dropped points of the new year were in a 2-2 draw away to Southampton when Arsenal only played well for 10 minutes early in the second half and were lucky to take a point despite having a 2-1 lead at one stage. They bounced back in their next game, but that was followed by a truly awful performance away to Liverpool which resulted in a 5-1 defeat. Arsenal were four down inside the first 20 minutes in that game and were again undone by a poor performance and bad tactical decisions.

February was a tough month and the defeat to Liverpool was followed by another disappointing performance in a 0-0 draw at home to United. One of the really disappointing things in the season was Arsenal's failure to beat the worst United team the Premier League has seen. In two games against them Arsenal couldn't even muster a goal when other teams were beating them for fun.

They bounced back to knock Liverpool out of the FA Cup a few days later and then faced the reigning champions of Europe in the last 16 of the Chamoions League. Arsenal started the home leg against Bayern Munich in great form and had the ideal chance to go ahead, but Ozil missed a penalty and the game turned in Bayern's favour. When Wojciech Szczesny was given a red card Bayern took control and eventually won 2-0 to put one foot into the last eight.

February finished with a comfortable 4-1 win at home to Sunderland in the league and Arsenal were still in a very good place in the league and through to the last eight of the FA Cup. The Champions League looked like it was over with a two goal deficit to overturn away to Bayern. The worrying aspect was the inconsistency the team were showing without some of the players needed to drive them forward. 

March started with another very disappointing display and a 1-0 defeat away to Stoke before Everton were beaten rather fortunately 4-1 for Arsenal to reach the FA Cup semi finals. Some pride was restored in a 1-1 draw away to Bayern, but Arsenal had exited the Champions League in the last 16 yet again. Only a few days later they travelled to Spurs in the league and beat them for the third time with Tomas Rosicky scoring a great goal early on for a 1-0 win. It was Arsenal's third win of the season over their local rivals and they hadn't conceded a single goal in the three games. The game away to Bayern saw another crucial player pick up an injury as Ozil was ruled out for the next month. 

After beating Spurs their next game was a crucial one if they were going to stay in the title race as Arsenal made the short trip to Chelsea. It was like the Liverpool game all over again as Arsenal found themselves 3-0 down inside 20 minutes and down to 10 men too when the referee farcically sent Kieran Gibbs off after mistaking him for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The mistaken identity didn't change the outcome of the game, but it certainly highlighted the need for TV replays to be used at certain times.

In the end Arsenal were humiliated 6-0 and it was Chelsea's biggest ever league win under Jose Mourinho. Yet again Arsenal had completely and utterly failed to show up away from home to another title contender and paid another very heavy price. I've supported Arsenal for nearly 44 years and it was one of the very lowest points as a fan in all of those years. It's hard to comprehend how a team challenging for the title can be utterly taken apart away from home to each of the other three challengers in the manner Arsenal were beaten by City, Liverpool and Chelsea.

Only three days later Swansea came to Arsenal and the team were clearly suffering the effects of the mauling by Chelsea. They went 1-0 down and didn't look like getting back into the game until two quick goals turned the game in their favour. A win would have just kept Arsenal in the title race with a home game against City coming up followed by a trip to an Everton team pushing to finish fourth. Just as it looked like they had turned things around the lack of confidence was highlighted and Swansea scored a last minute equaliser to deny Arsenal. 

City came to Arsenal four days later and started off by far the better team, but Arsenal gradually got back into the game after going 1-0 down. They equalised early in the second half and Lukas Podolski came agonisingly close to winnng the game for Arsenal, but they had to be satisfied with a point. The league looked to be gone after taking only five points from five games in March and the trip to Everton was now a must not lose game for Arsenal to stay ahead in the race for the final Champions League place.

The team needed to show some backbone and fight, but yet again they were abysmal away from home and were lucky to only lose 3-0. They were completely outplayed for almost all of the game, but they did show an awful lot more in the closing stages when Ramsey and Chamberlain made their comebacks from injury. There were five league games left and Arsenal were now in a dog fight with Everton to finish fourth.

With the team at a real low they faced Wigan in an FA Cup semi final at Wembley with their whole season riding on the outcome. The nine year wait for a trophy depended on the FA Cup and when Wigan went ahead it looked like that wait wasn't going to come to an end. Thankfully Per Mertesacker levelled with less than 10 minutes to play and Arsenal went on to win the game on penalties. 

There were five league games to go before the cup final and it looked like Arsenal might have to win them all to finish ahead of an Everton team who were stringing a fine run together. It was Everton who cracked under the pressure though and Arsenal had fourth placed tied up well before their final game of the season which was a pleasant change. They did win those final five games to set themselves up nicely for another trip to Wembley to take on Hull City.

Arsenal went to Wembley knowing a win would equal United's record of 11 FA Cup wins and give Arsene Wenger his fifth FA Cup win as Arsenal manager. They were very strong favourites going into the game with most of their best players back from injury and surely it was time for the drought to end. In true Arsenal style though the game was far from what was expected when Hull went 2-0 up inside the first 10 minutes.

Arsenal were in disarray and almost went three down before they got back into the game thanks to a great free kick from Santi Cazorla. They just needed to equalise and surely the game would be theirs as Hull worked harder and harder to try to stop them. The all important second goal eventually came when Arsenal's "fox in the box" Laurent Koscielny stabbed home to send the game into extra time. 

There was only going to be one winner after that and Hull held on in a desperate attempt to take the game to a penalty shoot out. It was fitting that the winning goal would come from Ramsey after he was set up by a sublime back heel from Giroud. Right at the end Lukasz Fabianski raced from goal in Manuel Almunia style, but thankfully Hull narrowly missed taking advantage of his lapse and the game was won for Arsenal.  After nine long years of hurt there was eventually a shiny trophy to adorn the cabinet in the Emirates stadium. 

It was a season of ups and downs and I would certainly have been happy with fourth place and the FA Cup at the start of the season. Arsenal finished with their highest points total since 2005, but 79 points was only good enough for fourth place. They will be in the Champions League yet again next season if they can make their way through the final qualifying round in August. 

Of course our hopes were raised when the team spent so much of the season on top of the league and the collapse in February and March was very hard to take. It was partly down to the injury problems the team had at the time and the lack of real depth in the squad was exposed. The 17 goals conceded away from home in three games against City, Liverpool and Chelsea were incredibly hard to take and the lack of lessons learned in those games was a real low point.

If the team can learn from those games and the boss can add some genuine quality this summer then the future looks really bright. With Ozil and Ramsey in the team Arsenal can be a force to be reckoned with next season and hopefully we will see an awful lot more of Walcott too. Giroud is a good striker and he did well to score over 20 goals, but the team needs a world class striker in my opinion. There has to be some real investment this summer and a top class striker has to be the first item on the list.

As well as a striker a defensive midfielder will be needed and a right back too to replace the departing Bacary Sagna. I would like to see a pacy winger who can take on defenders and beat them as well as chip in with his fair share of goals too. There's probably an urgent need for another central defender and it looks like it could be a busy and expensive summer for the club. Hopefully they can bring those players in and set the team up to challenge at the top next season. 

That's it for my season review, but I will be back with a run down of how each of the players performed through the season. I'll also be updating with my thoughts on transfer news and targets every so often and I'm sure the fantasy football will return once the World Cup is over.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

The Sweet Taste Of Victory For Arsenal

It's been two long days since Arsenal won their last trophy, but there's no talk of impatient fans demanding change if they don't break that run. On Saturday evening they broke their nine year trophyless streak with a fantastic come from behind victory over Hull City in the FA Cup final. It was a roller coaster ride for Arsenal fans after going 2-0 down inside the first 10 minutes, but they won 3-2 after extra time to spark wild celebrations.

I made the trip from Dublin to a pub near the Emirates to meet some very good Arsenal supporting friends for a day we hoped would end in glory. Before the game the only talk was of an Arsenal victory and there were no dissenters to that train of thought. We all hoped for the team to come out and take Hull apart in the fashion we knew they were capable of, but it turned out to be very different.

The shock of going 2-0 down so early on was hard to take for some and some doubters thought the game was all but over. I was worried about how the team just weren't looking like getting back into the game and a goal line clearance from Kieran Gibbs prevented Hull from increasing their lead. They eventually started to show something approaching a comeback though and the first goal followed shortly afterwards.

I can't remember the last time I saw Arsenal score directly from a free kick and I didn't hold out much hope when Santi Cazorla stepped up as the latest Arsenal player to attempt to do so. His sweetly struck effort sailed into the net and the celebrations were wild in the pub as well as the stadium. There was loads of time to go and the momentum was now back with Arsenal.

They didn't equalise before half time though and as the second half ticked by the nerves of all Arsenal fans started to fray. We shouldn't have worried though as Arsenal's own fox in the box stepped up to bring the sides level with 20 minutes left to play. I have rarely seen anything approaching the euphoria all around me when that goal went in and I can remember seeing one fan's pint of Guinness getting capaulted towards the ceiling. As the game wore on I couldn't help myself occasionally looking up to see the stain left by the darkest of drinks.

Suddenly it looked as if there was only one team in it and Hull were hanging on desperately for extra time. The quality Arsenal were able to bring off the bench was a big factor in their dominance and Hull were even more desperate to hang on in extra time. They knew they had a 50/50 chance if they could just hold on and take the game to penalties. 

Arsenal pressed forward in search of what would surely have been the winner and came close through an Olivier Giroud header in particular which hit the bar. It was that man Giroud who played a huge part in the goal which eventually won it for Arsenal when his deft back heel set up Aaron Ramsey to stroke the ball home with 10 minutes remaining. I jumped up and down again and again and hugged friend and stranger alike for what seemed like seconds but probably lasted minutes.

We sang our collective hearts out and couldn't wait for the final whistle to blow so there could be no more talk of how many years it had been since Arsenal won a trophy. There was an awful scare in the final moments when Lukasz Fabianski raced from his goal after a Per Mertesacker slip and missed his clearance right on the sideline. The Hull player in possession went for goal and our hearts were in our mouths as the ball flashed across the goal and Gibbs swung his boot at it to try to prevent a goal. Thankfully Gibbs missed the ball as I could see him putting into his own net if he made any connection and the ball passed to safety. 

It was all over within moments and Arsenal had their hands on a trophy for the first time in nine long years. The celebrations from the fans bordered on delerium with the players and manager looking almost as happy as their supporters. I have vague memories of the trophy bring lifted and a lap of honour, but at that stage I was almost lost in pints of San Miguel and £40 bottles of champagne. 

As the evening wore on some of those fans lucky enough to have been at the game made their way back to the pub and shared their experiences with us. We celebrated until it was time to try to find our hotel and wandered around the streets of Finsbury for what seemed like an eternity until eventually we found it above a local pub. Our take away food had gone cold and we were so tired that sleep was all that was left despite the lack of air conditioning in the room. 

Unfortunately we couldn't attend the parade the next day as our flights home were too early, but we had been there when it mattered most and the trophy was won. It's been a long time coming and it was a sweet sweet feeling when that winning goal went in. There's a lot to be done this summer to make the team even better for next season and hopefully that work will begin right away. 

Arsenal can at last bask in some glory though while teams like Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs finished the season with their cupboards bare. Make what you will of the value of the FA Cup but it is still the second most important domestic trophy in England after the Premier League. When all is said and done Arsenal have now won the cup 11 times and matched the record of United while Arsene Wenger matched the record of five wins for a manager in the competition. 

Next season can't come quickly enough, but until then there's still the knowledge that Arsenal finished their season on a real high at long last.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Hull City: FA Cup Final Preview

It's been nine long years since Arsenal last won a trophy and they have a great chance to put an end to that wait this Saturday in the FA Cup Final against Hull City. Arsenal's season promised an awful lot but they finished fourth in the league yet again and the cup is where they can now find some glory. There are only three domestic trophies of any worth available in England and Arsenal can take the second most important of those after Manchester City have collected the other two.

In the nine years since Arsenal beat United on penalties to win the FA Cup there have been a few close calls. Who can forget the Champions Lesgue final of 2006 when 10 man Arsenal came so close to holding on to beat Barcelona, but lost 2-1 in the end. There was a Carling Cup final defeat to Chelsea the next season when Arsenal again took the lead and ended up losing by the same scoreline. There have been semi final defeats in all three cup competitions too and a couple of times when the Premier League challenge fell away just as us fans had got our hopes up.

I won't harp on about the league campaign or lack of squad depth and striking options which eventually put paid to it this season, but most of the players who were missing at crucial times are back for the FA Cup. Both Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil are players who can and do make a real difference and having both of them fit to face Hull is a massive boost for Arsenal. Their worth has been shown in the last few weeks with the team winning their last five league games to secure fourth spot with relative ease compared to recent seasons.

When it comes to the FA Cup only United have appeared in more finals than Arsenal and only United have won the trophy more times than them too. Arsenal will match United's record of 18 appearances against Hull and they can match their record of 11 wins too. At the moment their record stands at 10 wins and seven defeats in FA Cup finals.

I've been lucky enough to be around for an awful lot of those finals in nearly 44 years of supporting Arsenal. It started in 1971 but I only have vague memories of beating Liverpool with a Charlie George screamer when Arsenal won the first of their three domestic doubles. Thankfully my memories of the following year's final are vague too as Arsenal lost 1-0 to Leeds.

After a six year break they then played in successive finals from 1978 to 1980 with the only success of the three coming against United in 1979. I can remember all three finals very well back in the days when I was in my early teens and Chippy Brady was my hero. The defeats to Ipswich and West Ham in 78 and 80 hurt but at least there was the satisfaction of beating United sandwiched between them.

There were no FA Cup finals after that until 1993, but there was a horrendous Milk Cup Final defeat to Luton Town that will haunt me until the day I die. Think of the Carling Cup final defeat to Birmingham three years ago and multiply the pain by a factor of 10 at least. 

In the 1990s George Graham won his only FA Cup as Arsenal manager in 1993 when they did a domestic cup double by beating Sheffield Wednesday in both finals and followed it up by winning the European Cup Winners Cup the next season. We thought they were glory days no matter how the style of play grated or how defensively minded the manager became before his eventual departure. 

The Arsene Wenger reign started off with a League and Cup double in his second season in charge as Arsenal beat Newcastle in the final to secure both trophies together for the second time in their history and surpass their local rivals. Wenger has gone on to win three more FA Cups as Arsenal manager and the only FA Cup final loss under him was against Liverpool in 2001 when some pathetic refereeing and a late Michael Owen brace saw a far superior Arsenal team lose a game they should have walked away with.

They made up for it the next season by beating Chelsea in the final to secure their second double under Wenger and their third overall. They held on to the trophy the next season by beating Southampton and then two years later came their most recent win against United. It's a pretty good FA Cup record since I started supporting Arsenal as a five year old back in 1970.

This will be their 12th final in those years and they had only played in six in the previous 86 years since the club was founded. I've been very lucky to live through the club'a best years in the cup and to have seen six league titles come our way too. Hopefully my record will read eight wins and four defeats when the game is over.

It's often been said Arsene Wenger doesn't treat the cup with the respect it deserves, but Arsenal have won four of their five finals under him and he has won more FA Cups for the club than any other manager. They haven't reached a final in nine years though and that's probably why those accusations have been aimed his way. It's been a difficult nine years for the club as they have looked to pay for the magnificent new stadium while still trying to challenge the newly rich clubs like Chelsea and City. A win against Hull would be the first trophy since Arsenal moved to their new stadium and hopefully the first of many if they can win the game.

The game itself is there for Arsenal to win with the array of talent they have available to them. They have played Hull twice in the league this season and won both games scoring seven goals in the process. I'm not trying to be insulting towards Hull but there's a very good reason why Arsenal are the strong favourites to win.

From a team selection point of view I want to see the strongest possible Arsenal team which means Lukasz Fabianski and Yaya Sanogo should really be on the bench. They have both been constants in the cup this season though and there's a very good chance they will get the nod ahead of Wojciech Szczesny and Olivier Giroud.

The rest of the team more or less picks itself with the exception of the battle between Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal for the left back slot. I think the boss would prefer to pick Gibbs but he's only just back from another injury which might tip things in Monreal's favour. Both players offer a fair amount going forward, but I think Gibbs is a better defender.

I would love to see Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain play to utilise his pace in the wide open spaces of Wembley, but I think the game may have come just too soon for him to start. If he's fit to make the bench he could be a great weapon for Arsenal to have in reserve. Since Theo Walcott got injured in the third round defeat of Spurs Chamberlain has been the only player with real attacking pace in the team.

Wembley has a very big pitch and Arsenal have the players to use every inch of it to tire the Hull players. If they can play their swift passing game and make the Hull players chase them they could be facing a very tired team before the end. It looks like it's going to be a very hot day and possession of the ball is going to be very important.

When the two teams played at Hull a few weeks ago Hull tried to press Arsenal and close them down all over the pitch. The tactic backfired though as Arsenal had too many good players on the pitch and found their way past them to win 3-0. Hull had their chances of course, but it was a well deserved win and more of the same would be very welcome.

I think Hull will be a lot more defensive though and hope to frustrate Arsenal and maybe try to score from a set piece or on the break. They were very good defensively earlier in the season and they might just try to rely on that defensive ability. With Ramsey and Ozil in the team Arsenal I think Arsenal will quite simply have too much quality for Hull. To add to Hull's woes their two best strikers were signed in the January transfer window and can't play because they're both cup tied.

I would love Arsenal to come out and play in devastating style from the start like they did at home to Liverpool in the league and Napoli in the Champions League this season. If they can do that against Hull I think the trophy is theirs, but it won't be easy to do so. I'm predicting an Arsenal win though and I'm fairly confident they will win. I just can't imagine them losing and I dread to think what the reaction might be if they do lose. 

I'll be in London for the game but I won't be at Wembley as there wasn't a hope of getting tickets. I'll be in a pub close to the Emirates with hundreds of other Arsenal fans singing our hearts out to support our team. I can't wait to get there for what promises to be a great day.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Finish Their League Campaign On A High

Arsenal played their final league game of the season yesterday when they travelled to already relegated Norwich City. Arsenal came into the game on a run of four wins in a row and wanted to finish their season with 15 points from their last five games and their highest points tally since 2005. Despite Norwich already being as good as relegated they have proved to be a tough team to beat at home this season and weren't going to lie down and play dead.

I expected Arsene Wenger to make quite a few chances to the team with next week's FA Cup final against Hull in mind. There weren't too many changes though as the boss chose to pick a strong side and keep the team's momentum going. The team he picked proved to be far too strong for Norwich and Arsenal ran out 2-0 winners. 

Lukasz Fabianski was picked in goal which denied Wojciech Szczesny the chance to run up the most clean sheets of any keeper in the Premier League this season. With Szczesny not playing I think he might be the keeper to get the nod for the cup final next week which would be the correct decision in my opinion. It's a possibility that Fabianski was played because he will be the one to play in the cup final next week and it was decided to give him a game the week beforehand. 

Fabianski has played in every other round but he's set to leave in the summer and surely Szczesny has to be the man for the cup final. Fabianski had a very good game though and he showed he will be a big loss to the squad when he does leave. He had his problems when he first got into the team, but he probably would be Arsenal's first choice right now if it wasn't for a series of unfortunate injuries at exactly the wrong times for him.

In defence both Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson came into the team with Nacho Monreal dropping to the bench and Per Mertesacker getting a day off. It meant Bacary Sagna played as a central defender, but I have no doubt that Mertesacker will be back in the team next week. Gibbs got the chance to prove his fitness after his latest injury and it's going to be a very close call between him and Monreal next week.

In midfield Aaron Ramsey and Tomas Rosicky came in for Mathieu Flamini and Santi Cazorla but their additions certainly didn't weaken the team. Ramsey has had a great season and Arsenal's fate in the league might have been a lot different if he hadn't missed over three months due to injury. If he can stay fit for the whole of next season his influence could be what the team need to get even closer to winning the league than they did this season.

I was surprised to see Olivier Giroud starting as I thought he would be rested for next week after playing so many games this season. He is Arsenal's top scorer this season despite the misgivings I have about his goalscoring ability and it's important for the team that he is fit for next week. He went close on a couple of occasions, but again showed he doesn't have the killer instinct associated with a top class striker.

Norwich started well but Arsenal gradually took over and should have been ahead by half time, but a mixture of John Ruddy saves and some poor finishing kept Norwich in the game. With Ramsey and Mesut Ozil running the show in midfield I was confident the goals would come in the second half. 

It didn't take too long for Arsenal to go ahead in the second half and it was no surprise to see Ramsey get the goal. Just seven minutes in Giroud clipped a ball to the far post and Ramsey met it with a sweet volley into the top corner of the net. It was a fantastic finish from a player who's goals from midfield have been a revelation this season.

Only 10 minutes later the game was over as a contest when Jenkinson poked the ball home for his first goal for the club. He was thrilled with his goal and who can blame a player who has been a life long Arsenal fan. With Sagna also leaving this summer he might expect to play a lot more next season, but it does look like Arsenal are hunting for a new right back.

With Arsenal looking good for the win Jack Wilshere came on for Ramsey just after the goal and he will hope to at least make the bench next week. Like Ramsey his season has been interrupted by injury and that was his first appearance in 10 weeks. Arsenal have so many midfield options for next week that the boss will have a tough job picking the right combination.

With 15 minutes to go Giroud and Rosicky were replaced by Yaya Sanogo and Abou Diaby. It was great we too see Diaby back after a 14 month injury absence and on his 28th birthday too. It's impossible to know how his career might have gone if he didn't suffer that horrific injury in 2006 and hopefully he can put all of those injuries behind him now. Sanogo has been the striker to lead the line in the FA Cup this season, but it's difficult to imagine he will get the nod ahead of Giroud next week.

Arsenal went looking for more goals and could have had a few but Ruddy was at his best to deny them. At the other end Fabianski did his best to keep Norwich out and he did very well to keep a clean sheet on the day. The win saw Arsenal finish the season on 79 points in fourth place and qualify for the final qualifying round for next season's Champions League yet again.

They finished 15 points ahead of last season's champions and it's strange to think that tally only brought them fourth place. At the start of the season I would have thought finishing 15 points ahead of Umited would have been enough for any team to win the league. I would also have thought a final tally of 79 points would more than lithely have seen any team finish second in the league.

The season isn't over for Arsenal though with the FA Cup final to come next week and it will be judged as a successful one if they win the cup. The league campaign might be one full of what might have beens, but the thought of playing for a trophy next week is one all Arsenal fans are looking forward to. Let's hope they can continue the vein of form they're in at the moment and lift that trophy at Wembley next Saturday evening.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Trip To Norwich Previewed

Arsenal play their final league game of the season away to Norwich on Sunday afternoon. It's a game with very little significance for either club with Arsenal secure in fourth place and Norwich all but relegated. Their is still a mathematical chance of Arsenal overtaking Chelsea for third place and Norwich have just as much chance of clawing back the gap between them and West Brom to stay up. 

In fact Norwich's task is slightly easier than Arsenal's as they only have to make up three points and a 17 goal advantage in goal difference. Arsenal also have to make up a three point gap and need to overcome Chelsea's goal difference which is 18 better than theirs. In reality neither of those things can happen though and Arsenal will have to settle for fourth place while Norwich will be relegated.

Arsenal have a far more important game the following week when they play Hull in the FA Cup final. With that game in mind it's hard to imagine Arsene Wenger will put his strongest side out in a game where the outcome will change nothing. A few of the most important players are bound to be rested ahead of the cup final and one or two fringe players might get the chance to impress.

I don't know if a decision on the cup final goalkeeper has been made yet, but I think Wojciech Szczesny should get the nod. I know Lukasz Fabianski has played in all the other rounds so far, but he is leaving this summer and Szczesny should play as the club's first choice keeper. For me he is the best keeper at the club and the best team has to be picked in the final regardless of any sentiment. I can understand Fabianski wanting to leave to play first team football, but the needs of the team have to be of paramount importance in the final rather than a sense of loyalty to a player who will not be an Arsenal player next season.

If Szczesny plays against Norwich I can't see him playing in the final and I hope we see Fabianski in goal for that final league game. In defence I wouldn't be surprised to see Thomas Vermaelen play what could possibly be his last game for the club if he decides he wants first team football next season too. There's every chance of Carl Jenkinson getting a game too but it's hard to know who will play at left back with Kieran Gibbs returning to the squad.

In midfield both Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere will be available again but I'm not so sure if either of them will play. I don't know if Ramsey will be risked ahead of the cup final and I think it's too soon for Wilshere to start a game after his injury. There are plenty of other options available to the boss out of players who probably won't start in the final. I wouldn't be surprised to see Tomas Rosicky, Mathieu Flamini, Abou Diaby and Kim Kallstrom all playing from the start.

I think Yaya Sanogo will possibly lead the line, but it's not so easy to know who the other player might be in a wide role. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is still injured and it looks like he could miss the final too which would be a big loss. He has the genuine pace which could make a big difference on the Wembley pitch and which Arsenal lack when Theo Walcott is injured.

I suppose there's a posfibility of some of the younger players getting a run out but I suspect a couple of the cup final team will be risked. I could have it all wrong with my opinions on the team selection and the boss might put a strong team out to make sure Arsenal finish their league campaign on a high and go into the cup final on the back of five consecutive wins. 

A win would see Arsenal finish the season on 79 points and that's a very healthy return for any team. It would be Arsenal's highest tally since 2005 when they were runners up in the league and of course they won the FA Cup too. Maybe they should have finished on more points but that can't be changed now and it can be gone into in more depth when the season is over. 

Norwich's approach could have a significant bearing on the game and it's not easy to know what it will be. With relegation a certainty they might see the chance to at least go out on a high with a win over one of the big teams. They could well think Arsenal's minds will be elsewhere and could see this as a chance to finish their season on a relative high.

Since Chris Hughton was sacked five games ago Norwich have only taken one point and that decision was the one which sealed their fate. They have found goals very hard to come by all season long but they have a good defensive record at home. They managed a 1-0 win in this fixture last season and would love to replicate that performance on Sunday.

To be honest it's a bit of a dead rubber of a match and those games are very difficult to predict. It could go either way or end up being a 0-0 draw or maybe even a high scoring thriller. As always I want Arsenal to win but the most important thing is that they don't lose any of their most important players for the cup final. Hopefully it will be a thriller and Arsenal can finish their league campaign on a high.

With just two games left to play this season Arsenal have scored 94 goals in all competitions. It's hardly a huge return from an attacking minded team and they are a long way behind both City and Loverpool in goal scoring terms in the league this season. City have already scored 100 goals and Liverpool are only one goal behind them. City have a better defensive record than Arsenal, but Liverpool have conceded more goals than them.

I'd love to see the team make the 100 goals for the season and I think they will win their last two games if they manage to do so. The thoughts of a trophy, fourth place and 100 goals are quite nice and are certainly ones I could live with. 

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v West Brom Previewed

The season is almost over and Arsenal play their last home game against West Brom on Sunday. It's a chance for the players to say farewell to the majority of the fans and a last chance for most of the fans to see the players playing this season. Of course some of those fans will see the players away to Norwich next week and quite a few of them will see them play in the FA Cup final the week after that.

With Everton playing at home to City on Saturday there's every chance that Arsenal will have fourth place tied up before they play. If Everton have managed to get a result off City then Arsenal will need to win to finish fourth with a game in hand and qualify for the Champions League for the 17th season in a row. It's a healthy position for the team to be in after things looked so bleak following the defeat to Everton a few weeks ago, but it's still another season of what might have been.

With two games to go Arsenal are on 73 points and two wins would see them finish on 79 points which is their highest total since they were last runners up in 2005. They won the FA Cup that season with a victory over United on penalties and the cup is there for them to win this season too. There hasn't been a trophy in the nine years since then and the team owe it to the fans to end that wait.

With the season almost over Bacary Sagna still hasn't signed a new contract and this could be his last game for Arsenal at the Emirates. He has been an excellent servant for the club for the past seven years and I have no doubt that the fans will give him a great send off. He's playing his cards close to his chest about his future plans, but his reaction to those fans might well tell us whether he will be at the club next season or not. If he is to go I wish him all the best, but I hope he moves to another country because I wouldn't like to see him playing against Arsenal in the league next season.

West Brom could well find themselves virtually safe from the threat of relegation before the game starts if other results have gone their way. If both Cardiff and Fulham don't win their games on Saturday West Brom will definitely finish ahead of them and then Norwich could overtake them, but they would have to win at Chelsea later in the day to keep those hopes alive. The game could well have a bit of a strange atmosphere to it if both teams have already achieved their goals before the game starts.

From an Arsenal perspective I would be surprised to see any changes to the team which has won the last two games by the same 3-0 scoreline. With the cup final coming up that starting 11 is the most likely to take the field at Wembley and the more they can play together as a unit before then the better. Players such as Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil have missed a lot of football recently and the more minutes they have before the final the better.

I would love to see Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain play from the start at Wembley as I think he could have a field day with his pace in the wide open spaces. He missed out last week with a slight groin injury and he's not going to be ready for this game either. It would be a shame for him to miss out on the cup final and the team could do with him in the final too.

The only other player who might force his way into the cup final team might be Kieran Gibbs, but he won't be back this week either and will only have next week to prove his fitness. I think he's a better left back than Nacho Monreal and if it's a straight choice between them I think Gibbs will get the nod. 

West Brom haven't looked too bad in recent weeks and have taken eight points from their last five games to ease their relegation worries. They play some good football at times, but they are vulnerable in defence and Arsenal should get plenty of chances to show up that vulnerability. They have only won three of their 17 away games, but they have drawn six games away from home.

On the face of it Arsenal's home form has been very good and they're unbeaten at home since the opening day defeat against Villa. Much has been made of their heavy away defeats to the title contenders this season, but Arsenal have taken more away points than both City and Chelsea. The difference between them and the three teams above them has been the amount of games they won at home.

Those three teams have all won 15 home games while Arsenal have only won 12 games at home. They have drawn too many of those home games with City, Chelsea, Everton and United all coming to Arsenal and taking a point. They were all games they could have won and the only other home draw was a game they should have won against Swansea. The team were missing a cutting edge in those games and that inability to win at home has been costly. 

I think Arsenal will continue with the form they have showed in their last few games as they continue to finish the season in fine style. It has been a season of what might have beens in the league and that's something I'll go into more in my season review in a few weeks. For now though they can get on with the job of beating West Brom and finishing with as many points as possible before going to Wembley.

With three games left to play Arsenal have scored 93 goals this season in all competitions and it would be great to see them reach the 100 goal mark. Besides winning trophies I always think the team should manage 100 goals in a season as well as averaging a minimum of two points per game. Anything above 100 goals and two points per game will see the team at least come very close to winning a trophy.

There's every chance for Arsenal to get a few of the goals they need against West Brom and they should take the three points too. With a send off to the cup final the atmosphere in the ground should be very good and it has the makings of a very good afternoon. Hopefully the team can put in another performance to send everybody home happy and keep their hopes up for the cup final.

That's it for this week.

See you next week.

Arsenal 3-0 Newcastle: Happy St. Totteringham's Day

Arsenal played Newcastle last night knowing that a win would put them within three points of finishing fourth in the Premier League and also guarantee that they finished ahead of Spurs for the 19th season in a row. They came into the game on the back of two wins in a row while Newcastle had lost their previous five games. The scene was set for Arsenal to finish their season strongly after the setbacks of the last couple of months.
Arsene Wenger chose the same team which won 3-0 away to Hull last week and Newcastle's team looked a little stronger than it had recently with Loric Remy and Mathieu Debuchy returning from injury. They also welcomed Alan Pardew back to the sideline after serving his seven match ban for head butting Hull's David Myler. If they were going to cause a shock Remy was the man most likely to deliver the goods.
The game started fairly slowly but Arsenal gradually started to apply more and more pressure as Newcastle showed very little ambition. They took the lead after 26 minutes when Laurent Koscielny got on the end of a Santi Cazorla free kick to slide the ball past Tim Krul. It was the goal of a poacher and Koscielny has shown that ability a few times in the past too.
Arsenal began to turn the screw on Newcastle and it looked like only a matter of time before they increased their lead. Both Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey were putting in very good displays in midfield and showing exactly what Arsenal had missed during their absences. It was Ozil who got the second goal after he tapped home a rebound from a twice saved Olivier Giroud effort.
Giroud had been played through on the right with only Krul to beat and should have done a lot better, but Ozil was on hand at the far post to finish it off. He was in an offside position but it wasn't spotted and Arsenal had a two goal advantage just before half time. There were a few other good chances in that first half too with Ozil, Cazorla and Lukas Podolski all going close at times.
It was more of the same in the second half with Arsenal looking to add to their lead and Newcastle offering very little at the other end. They did have one good chance when it was still 2-0 with Yoan Gouffran getting through on goal but Wojciech Szczesny saved well on one of the few occasions he was called upon to do anything. It was a reminder that the game wasn't completely put to bed though and Arsenal pressed forward to get the all important third goal.
That goal came mid way through the half when Ramsey held the ball up and played it to Ozil who went past him on the left side of the Newcastle penalty area. He had time to pick out his cross and put it perfectly on to the head of Giroud who made a run to the near post and headed it past Krul. It was 3-0 to Arsenal and game over with just over 20 minutes to go. I thought Newcastle were there to be well and truly beaten but the players did enough to ensure the victory without over exerting themselves.
Mathieu Flamini and Tomas Rosicky came on for Ozil and Ramsey and the team lost some of it's attacking impetus. The performances of Ozil and Ramsey showed what the team were missing as their league campaign fell apart and left us all wondering what might have been if they had stayed fit. It wasn't to be though and at least they arrived back in time to help the push for a Champions League place and the FA Cup.
The win puts Arsenal four points ahead of Everton with two games left to play and they will secure the last Champions League place if they beat West Brom on Sunday. In fact that spot could be tied up on Saturday evening if Everton lose at home to title chasing City, but either way it looks like Arsenal will now finish fourth. With two games to go they have closed the gap to the league leaders to seven points and that could be even less by the time the season ends.
If Arsenal finish fourth it will be the 17th season in a row they have qualified for the Champions League and that's a feat all of it's own. Fourth place is not a trophy though and it's even like a trophy in my opinion, but the FA Cup most certainly is a trophy. If they can secure fourth place and beat Hull in the final the season has to be judged to be a success despite the collapse of their league challenge. There are only four trophies available each season and it's been nine years since Arsenal won any of them so taking the FA Cup will be a success and is very very important for the club.
The big celebrations were of course for the arrival of St. Totteringham's Day for the 19th season in a row as last night's win meant Arsenal will finish ahead of Spurs as per usual. It's always nice to celebrate getting one up on Spurs and it was nice not to leave it until the last day of the season this time. They will have to content themselves with more Thursday night European football next season as they scratch about in Europe's second rate competition and Arsenal yet again play in the Champions League as long as they get past the qualifying round.
All in all it was a good night for Arsenal and there promises to be a few more before the season ends. Fourth place should hopefully be tied up for the final home game of the season on Sunday and then there's the small matter of that trip to Wembley. Fingers crossed that the team bring home the trophy before the important transfer business that has to be done this summer.
That's it for today.
See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Get Their Mojo Back

Arsenal played Hull on Sunday afternoon in a dress rehearsal  for their FA Cup final meeting on May 17th and ended up winnining comfortably. Hull had a very good home record in the league but the return to the Arsenal team of both Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil was too much for them to handle. Ramsey hadn't started a league game since getting injured in late December and Ozil was playing for the first time in six weeks.

During the absence of Ransey the team continued winning in January but without the attacking flair and convincing performances of earlier in the season. If there was any doubt about his importance to the team it was put to bed with the attacking display he put in against Hull and when he came on towards the end of last Tuesday night's win over West Ham. In less than two hours of league football since his return he has scored one goal and made there more.

He has the ability to break into the opposing penalty area at just the tight time and score goals or set them up for others. He does what is required of him defensively too and there are few players who work harder than him in all of the Premier League. It's that ability to get from the centre of midfield into the opposing area which sets him aside from most other players though and it was what Arsenal mised so badly during his absence. 

Ozil's performance may not have been up to the standard of Ramsey's but he put in a very good display for his first game back after injury. He had a big hand in the first goal and was clearly taken down for a penalty which wasn't awarded when there was no score on the board. He's a world class player who will be a huge asset for years to come as long as he has other players who can perform at his level to play with.

Lukas Podolski was the main man on the scoresheet yet again with his second league brace in a row. He is the best finisher in the Arsenal squad and again showed what he can do once Arsenal can get the ball to his left foot in the opposing penalty area. Those four goals have helped to bring six very important points just at the time the team needed them to maintain their advantage in the race for fourth place.

The overall performance from the team was to be admired as they dug in at the back under a lot of pressure from Hull and played good football in the opposing half. Wojciech Szczesny was commanding in goal and kept everything Hull could throw at him at bay while Mikel Arteta gave his front tooth to the cause in midfield. The contribution of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain when he came on was excellent too and he should have been awarded a penalty late on.

With the FA Cup final coming up next month Hull set out to close Arsenal down and rough them up when they could. I have no doubt it was a practice run for the tactics they intend to display in the cup final, but Arsenal countered those tactics perfectly. If Hull try to play the same way in the cup final they will hopefully find themselves on the end of another beating. It's very hard to put in that much work in the wide open spaces of the Wembley pitch and that space should suit Arsenal with players like Ramsey, Ozil and Chamberlain back in the team.

There are three league games left and they are all winnable for an Arsenal team who have found their form just in time to save their season. They lead the race for fourth place with home games against Newcastle and West Brom coming up and go into the FA Cup final strong favourites to take their first trophy in nine years. It may not be ideal but it's infinitely better than playing in next season's Europa League and letting the trophy drought reach 10 years. Of course it's still possible for both of those alternatives to occur, but the chances are they won't.

It's impossible to know if the team would have continued their title challenge if both Ramsey and Ozil had stayed fit along with Theo Walcott. All of their inclusions in the team probably would have prevented the points dropped at Southampton and Stoke and at home to Swansea too, but their possible influence on the "accidents" against Liverpool, Chelsea and Everton is impossible to gauge. I'd like to think the team would not have capitulated in those games with their best players in the team, but that's a question which cannot be answered.

At the start of the season I would have been very happy to have seen the team finish on an average of two points or more per game and to win the FA Cup too. They're still on course to do just that and their fate on both counts is in their own hands with four games left to play. The manner of how they finished up fighting up for fourth place is what grates and those awful performances in big league games away from home are so hard to take too. 

I would also have been very happy at the start of the season to see Arsenal with an unassailable lead over United while United still have four games left to play. The demise of United has made Arsenal's chances of finishing in the top four so much easier and they look like seeing the job through. If they win their last three league games they will finish on 79 points and that's more points than the team have managed since the 2004/05 season. It will be odd that they only finish fourth on 79 points, but I can't see them finishing any higher.

There are always regrets at the end of any season and I think my biggest one will be for the season that might have been. The league title was a very real possibility until it all went horribly wrong for a variety of reasons which can be discussed in full when the season is over. Hopefully it will end with fourth place and a trophy though and both of those goals look a lot more likely at the moment.

That's it for the moment.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Trip To Hull City Previewed

Fortune took a turn in Arsenal's favour on Wednesday night when Everton lost at home to Crystal Palace. That result meant Arsenal stayed in fourth place with a one point advantage over Everton and four league games left to play for both clubs. It's a far cry from the lofty heights of only a couple of months ago, but it's vital for Arsenal to maintain that advantage until the season ends.

On the face of it Arsenal have the easier run in of the two clubs and they play before Everton on Sunday. To put as much pressure as possible on Everton who play against United it's very important for Arsenal to beat Hull. United have the best away record in the league despite being back in seventh place and they need results in their last five games to try to make the Europa League places.

That shock defeat to Palace will have been a real blow to an Everton team who had won their previous seven league games and an Arsenal win before they play could put another dent in their confidence. Arsenal have a real chance of a trophy with the FA Cup final against Hull in four weeks, but an FA Cup victory would feel more than a little hollow if they missed out on next season's Champions League. It would be a fantastic day for them if they can beat Hull in the Lesgue and lay down a marker for the cup final too. 

In team news Mathieu Flamini returns from suspension, Nacho Monreal might have recovered to take his place at left back and it looks like Mesut Ozil will make the trip too. There's also Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who didn't start in Tuesday night's victory over West Ham, but should both be refreshed enough to take their places in the team. I doubt if Ozil will start but it will be great to see him back in the squad and probably getting 20 minutes at the end of the game. Arsene Wenger hasn't had too many options with his team selection recently, but he will certainly have a headache deciding who should play and who should be on the bench. 

I think both Ramsey and Chamberlain have to come back into the team as they offer the drive and pace this side needs. I'm not too bothered whether Mikel Arteta or Flamini starts in the holding role, but I think Arteta is probably due a rest. It will be impossible to leave Lukas Podolski out of the team after he scored twice on Tuesday night and his inclusion will go a long way to deciding the rest of the team. The other two places should go to Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud who both did well in that win over West Ham.

With that team there is a chance the boss will change the formation to 4-4-2 with Podolski playing alongside Giroud rather than wide on the left. Podolski's two goals on Tuesday came from a very similar position just to the left of the goal and inside the box. He is by far the best finisher in the Arsenal team and is more than capable of getting the goals they need if they can get the ball to his left foot in the Hull penalty area. Arsenal have struggled in front of goal quite a lot in the last few months and having two strikers from the start might just make the difference for them. 

I thought Cazorla was back to his best against West Ham and showed the form which made him so good for much of last season. He pulled the strings in midfield and caused problems for West Ham time and again. He could be the man to pick the passes for the runs of the attacking players in the absence of Ozil.

Hull will have both Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic in attack, but neither of those players will be available to play in the FA Cup final. They were both signed in January and had already played in the competition this season for their previous clubs. It won't be too easy to get an idea of how Hull will play in that final with two different strikers in the league game. 

With four games to go it's still possible for Arsenal to finish the season on 79 points and that would be their highest points tally since 2005. Despite the slip ups by both City and Chelsea in the last week it still looks like 79 points will only be good enough for fourth place. Those games cannot be taken for granted though with Sunderland showing in their last two games just how dangerous teams struggling at the wrong end of the table can be. In their last four games Arsenal have to play three teams who still need points to ensure their Premier League survival and any lapses in concentration in those games could be costly.

The players cannot let their minds drift to the cup final and they have to go to Wembley having booked their place in next season's Champions League yet again. The ideal scenario will be for Arsenal to do what is needed of them to get the three points and then sit back and see how Everton get on against United. It has the potential to be a very good day for Arsenal once they give their all to their game.

Hull are a tough team to beat at home, but Arsenal's away record has been very good against the teams in the lower reaches of the league this season. Hull probably need three more points to make sure they stay in the Premier League and they would love to get those points as soon as possible. The longer they go without ensuring their safety the more nervous they will become as the teams below them pick up points. 

I have no doubt Arsenal are good enough to take the three points and lay down a marker for the FA Cup final as well as putting it up to Everton. Hopefully they can do just that and finish the season strongly enough to dispell the disappointments of the last couple of months.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Premier League Game With West Ham Previewed

With a place in next month's FA Cup final booked it's back to Premier League action for Arsenal tonight with a home game against West Ham. While Arsenal were winning their place in that final they were overtaken by Everton and they're now two points behind them with five games left for both clubs. If Arsenal are going to finish in the Champions League places they are probably going to have to take maximum points from their remaining games.

Saturday was a grueling afternoon for the Arsenal players with the game going to extra time and a few of them must be feeling the effects. It was Aaron Ramsey's first full game of the year and he played over 100 minutes before being replaced by Kim Kallstrom. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has had his injury problems recently too and he gave everything he had for 120 minutes against Wigan. 

Nacho Monreal went off injured and he has to be a doubt too, but at least Kieran Gibbs was able to come on for him and should be available again. There's also a possibility of Laurent Koscielny returning from injury to strengthen the defence and Wojciech Szczesny will of course return in goal for Lukasz Fabianski. I can only imagine Olivier Giroud will take over from Yaya Sanogo in the centre forward role and there is a slight doubt about Lukas Podolski too.

I would be surprised if Ramsey and Chamberlain started and they will be missed if they don't play. There would be no point in pushing them to the point where they end up missing the remaining games through injury. If they're not playng it will leave the team short of pace and they have struggled without pace in recent months.

With Mathieu Flamini still suspended it means Mikel Arteta will have to play again and he's another player who gave an awful lot in the 120 minutes on Saturday. There's a chance of Tomas Rosicky returning after missing out through injury on Saturday and surely Kallstrom has to be considered from the start. He was brought in for his experience among other things and he must have something to offer to the team. 

West Ham have done well in recent weeks and they're safe from relegation worries. They will look to put pressure on Arsenal as often as possible and we can expect to see plenty of balls into the Arsenal box at every opportunity. With Andy Carroll up front they will expect to win their fair share of balls in the air and cause trouble from knock downs too. It's hardly an attractive style of play but it's all Sam Allardyce knows and it has worked well for him in the past. 

Arsenal haven't won in their last four league games and it's reached a stage where there can be no more slip ups. Their remaining five games are all winnable and they will end up on 79 points if they do win them all. I can't imagine Everton will finish ahead of Arsenal if Arsenal win those five games considering the opponents Everton still have to play. 

It's simple to say Arsenal have an easier run in but the way they have played recently it won't be easy to beat anybody. I'm hoping the semi final win and upcoming final will give the players the boost they need to overcome their current form. There's nothing like playing for your place in a cup final team to get the best out of players. There's still a few more players to return from injury too and places in the final will be at a premium. 

Despite Arsenal's recent run of poor results they still have a very good home record and haven't lost a home game since the opening day of the season. Only Chelsea have a better defensive record at home than Arsenal and they still have to be favourites to win. West Ham have only won four of their 16 away games and have only scored 14 goals in those games, but only Chelsea and Everton have conceded less goals away from home.

They are sure to try to keep the game as tight as possible and frustrate an Arsenal team which could be suffering from a little fatigue. If Arsenal are without the pace of Chamberlain in particular it will be a big blow as he's the only player available who's prepared to run at defenders and make things happen. They tend to play far too slowly without him in the team and can be far too predictable. 

I don't think it's going to be easy for Arsenal but I do think they have enough to beat West Ham. At this stage in the season it's all about results and Arsenal need to win whether it's pretty or ugly. If they can take the three points the pressure will be back on Everton ahead of their game at home to Palace on Wednesday night. 

It's important for Arsenal to end their trophy drought and hopefully they can do so against Hull next month in the FA Cup final, but it's equally important for them to qualify for next season's Champions League. It won't be easy to attract the quality players Arsenal need to strengthen their squad this summer if they haven't booked a place among Europe's elite for next season. I still believe they will do it and take the FA Cup too, but the time for slipping up is over and it's do or die now.

A win over West Ham is absolutely essential and it has to be followed by victories over Hull, Newcastle, West Brom, Norwich and Hull again. Six wins in the final six games of the season and the season will be judged to have been a success despite the collapse in the league. Anything less and the season could possibly be judged as an unmitigated disaster. It's a very fine line between the two of them and hopefully Arsenal can stay on the right side of that line starting with victory over West Ham tonight.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Plucky Arsenal Knock Out The Holders To Reach The FA Cup Final

Arsenal went to Wembley on Saturday to take on the FA Cup holders in an attempt to reach this season's final. With their league chances gone it was their last chance of silverware this season and they emerged with a win on penalties after extra time. They will face Hull City in the final on May 17 and hopefully end their nine year wait for a trophy.

Arsene Wenger made a few changes from the team which lost 3-0 to Everton the previous week. Aaron Ramsey started for the first time this year after recovering from injury with Lukasz Fabianski, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Yaya Sanogo also coming in. Mathieu Flamini didn't play as he was suspended, Tomas Rosicky missed out through injury and Olivier Giroud dropped to the bench as he had done in the previous rounds.

Wigan may have been the cup holders but they currently ply their trade in the Championship and Arsenal were rightly strong favourites to reach the final. Arsenal hadn't won in their last four games though and their injury ravaged team had struggled for form and confidence in those four games. If they were going to reach the final they were going to have to beat a Wigan team who had put up an excellent defence of the trophy they won last season.

It was far from a classic game and chances were few and far between in the first half with Sanogo and Bacary Sagna going closest for Arsenal and Wigan never really threatening the Arsenal goal. The second half seemed to be taking the same path until Per Mertesacker upended a Wigan player in the Arsenal area on the hour mark to give away a penalty. Jordi Gomez stepped up to put the ball past Fabianski from the spot, but the Arsenal keeper was to get plenty of other chances to deny Wigan from 12 yards.

Arsenal had half an hour left to save their season and Giroud came on for Lukas Podolski as they switched to playing two strikers. As the minutes ticked by they pushed further forward all the time, but it looked like their luck would desert them when Sagna hit the post with just over 10 minutes left. The goal they craved eventually came when Mertesacker got his head to a wayward Chamberlain shot to score from close range. His celebration was very emotional as he was very relieved after giving away the penalty Wigan had scored from. 

Arsenal had their equaliser and the game went to extra time without too much incident in the remaining minutes. In the 30 minutes of extra time it was Arsenal who did most of the attacking as they had done for the majority of the game and they came closest to scoring when Chamberlain hit the post with a fine shot. Kim Kallstrom made a rare appearance with eight minutes remaining as he came on for the fatigued Ramsey.

I thought Wigan were happy to go to penalties and take their chances from 12 yards and that's exactly what happened. Arsenal don't have the worst record in penalty shoot outs in recent years, but statistics like that fade from the mind when your team is faced with a shoot out. Fabianski is a good penalty saver though and I thought he might just be the man to make the difference for Arsenal. 

He proved to be the difference between the teams as he saved the first two Wigan penalties while Mikel Arteta, Kallstrom, Giroud and Santi Cazorla all scored to send Arsenal through 4-2 on penalties. It was tense and nervous but the players just about got the result they needed without ever being really convincing. It doesn't really matter how they won though as the all important fact is that they're through to the FA Cup final for the first time since 2005.

The players celebrated like they had won the cup after the game and it's understandable considering how close they were to going out and how their league campaign has floundered so badly recently. A lot of questions had been asked of these players and a defeat to Wigan would have ended their chances of a trophy. They now have a very real chance for glory at the same venue in just under five weeks and those celebrations had a fair degree of relief in them I would imagine.

With that cup final place booked they can concentrate on trying to win their last five league games to give them a chance of catching Everton and finishing in the top four. While it's important for the team to end it's trophy drought against Hull  it's equally important for them to qualify for next season's Champions League. Everton won again on Saturday and they're now two points ahead of Arsenal and both teams have five games to play. 

On paper Everton have the tougher run in but they have form on their side having won their last seven games in a row. They play at home to both Manchester clubs as well as Crystal Palace and face trips to Southampton and Hull. Arsenal have home games against West Ham, Newcastle and West Brom as well as trips to Hull and Norwich. 

It's certainly an easier run in for Arsenal, but they will need to win all of those games to put pressure on Everton. The first of those games is this Tuesday night at home to West Ham and the players have to put that approaching cup final out of their minds and concentrate on the job in hand. West Ham will be no pushovers, but a win would put Arsenal back into the top four before Everton play at home to Palace on Wednesday night.

It looks like being a very exciting end to the season even if it's only the usual annual fight for a top four place and the added bonus of a trophy to compete for. There should be a few players coming back from injury very soon too with Laurent Koscielny possibly available on Tuesday night and Mesut Ozil possibly returning next Sunday. They are two very important players and their returns will add some genuine quality to the team at a vital time. Let's hope they can help to make the difference that the team need right now.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's FA Cup Semi Final With Wigan Previewed

It's been a very bad couple of months for Arsenal as their title challenge has disintegrated and they exited the Champions Lesgue in the last 16 yet again. All the while though they have steadily progressed through the rounds in the FA Cup as the other big teams have fallen by the wayside. Arsenal have actually put paid to the chances of three of the top six in the league with home victories over Spurs, Liverpool and Everton as well as a home win against League One side Coventry.

You could say the draw has been kind to Arsenal with home games and it's hard to argue with that considering their current away form. With the semi final bring played at Wembley there is a chance for Arsenal to win the trophy without ever leaving London. To do that they need to beat the current holders Wigan and them advance to a final against either Hull or Sheffield United.

Arsenal are overwhelming favourites to win the trophy and rightly so, but Wigan will be no pushover. They were deserving winners of the trophy against big spending City last season and knocked the same team out away from home in the last round too. They were of course relegated last season as well as winning the cup and they're currently occupying one of the play off spots in the Championship.

Their season didn't get off to a great start, but they have looked like a different team since Uwe Rosler took over as their manager. They charged up the league and look likely to make the promotion play offs and they have put up a fantastic defence of the trophy they won last season. I have no doubt they will do everything they can to make things tough for Arsenal and they will think Arsenal are there for the taking.

In team news there will be late fitness tests for Kieran Gibbs, Tomas Rosicky and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and there are no players returning from injury either. Mathieu Flamini won't be available after picking up his tenth yellow card of the season and I think he misses the league game at home to West Ham on Tuesday night too. The squad strength is being tested to it's limit at the moment and it's a test Arsenal are failing.

There are still some very good players available though and I expect to see a team not too far from the one which put on such a poor performance at Everton last Sunday. A lot of those players probably deserve to be dropped after that performance but there are few options to replace them and Arsene Wenger isn't known for dropping players either. I hope those players will have used the last week to reflect on that performance and will be determined to do an awful lot better.

I doubt if there will be any changes in defence unless Gibbs is fit to return, but Lukasz Fabianski will play in goal as usual in the FA Cup. He has done very well in his few chances this season and he should have no trouble finding a new club when his contract expires this summer. It will be a real poser for the boss if Arsenal make it to the final to decide who plays in goal.

In midfield Aaron Ramsey will come back into the team for his first start of the year after recovering from injury. He looked sharp when he came on against Everton towards the end last week and his absence has been one of the reasons for Arsenal's demise over the last few months. Up until his injury Ramsey had been the best player in the league this season and his return is very welcome. 

With Flamini out I imagine Mikel Arteta will play despite looking tired and off his game for quite a while now. Hopefully he can get his game together again and put in the type of performance the team needs. After those two players the fitness tests will have a bearing on which players get to play and which ones don't.

Kim Kallstrom hasn't really had a chance since he recovered from the injury he had when he joined on loan in the January transfer window. He's a player with plenty of experience and he's a pretty good player too, but I just don't know if he will get a chance. I suspect both Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky will play as long as Rosicky is fit to take his place in the team. 

I really hope Chamberlain can play because he is the only player who offers real pace in the team and his inclusion will make things an awful lot harder for Wigan. If he plays they will not be able to hold a high line without allowing room for him to exploit with his pace and Arsenal will have more space to play in if he does play. This Arsenal team needs players with pace in it and has suffered with Theo Walcott injured, but Chamberlain could be the answer to their problems. If he does play it has to be in a wide role where he can get in behind Wigan and hopefully he will have his shooting boots on if he gets chances. 

Without Chamberlain the team is going to be very similar to last week and it's hard to imagine they won't have the same pedestrian approach to the game. Ramsey will hopefully make a difference but he can't do it all and he needs the players who have under performed recently to step up to the plate too. They are all very good players but they need to show just how good they are and can be.

I expect Olivier Giroud to start in attack despite looking tired and off his game for far too long now. The lack of striking options has been a real problem this season and there is no real alternative to Giroud in the squad. There's always a chance Yaya Sanogo will get a game ahead of Giroud, but I doubt it with so much at stake.

There's no doubt that this Arsenal team are better than Wigan player for player, but they have failed to live up to expectations in the last two months in particular. The prize on offer is a place in the FA Cup final next month and a chance to end Arsenal's nine year wait for a trophy.

The team will have a huge Arsenal crowd behind them with up to 60,000 of their fans in the stadium. Those fans will be right behind the team and I expect to see and hear them raising the Wembley roof. If there's something which might just set the team up for their last five league games it could be the prospect of another trip to Webley in mid May.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

What Changes Can Arsenal Make Against Wigan

Arsenal haven't played well for quite a while now and they have an FA Cup semi final coming up on Saturday against Wigan. They're no longer in the title race and even fourth place has become a fight with Everton closing in quickly on them. If they're going to save their season they need to win the FA Cup and to get to the final they have to overcome the holders this Saturday evening.

Wigan were huge underdogs when they beat City in the final last year, but they finished the season getting relegated to the Championship. They didn't do too well early on this season but they have looked like a much better side Uwe Rosler took the reins. They have climbed into the play off places and went to City in the last round of the cup and won again. For all their positives though they are a Championship side and Arsenal are still a top four Premier League club. Wigan will have to play above themselves to get a result and Arsenal will have to put in another one of their far too frequent poor displays. 

For me there almost seems to be a picking order at Arsenal as Arsene Wenger continues to put his trust in players who are letting him down week after week. The team that was chosen against Everton last week was good enough on paper to have taken at least a point, but they failed abysmally both tactically and in their effort and commitment. There has to be other options and maybe it's a time a few changes were made to the team.

In defence I think Bacary Sagna has to play and it might not be the worst idea to switch him to centre back with Carl Jenkinson coming in on the right. If Kieran Gibbs isn't fit to return at left back then maybe Thomas Vermaelen could switch to that role as he must be better defensively than Nacho Monreal. That would leave Per Mertesacker alongside Sagna and Wojciech Szczesny still in goal as he can hardly be blamed for last week's debacle. I know a defence of Jenkinson, Vermaelen, Sagna and Mertesacker might not be ideal but the change might just be what the team needs. Ideally of course Laurent Koscielny will return from injury but that's by no means certain.

In midfield some changes are needed too and there are certainly options to be considered. With Aaron Ramsey back from injury I expect him to come in from the start and there has to be a case for Kim Kallstrom playing too. What was the point in signing Kallstrom if he's not going to play and he has enough experience and quality to cope at this level. I think Mathieu Flamini should be given the holding role and given strict instructions to hold his position at all times to protect the defence.

Mikel Arteta has looked jaded and off the pace recently and it surely has to be time to try to play without him. I know he's seen by many as the engine room of the team as he keeps things ticking in midfield, but a different approach is needed. No player can be immune from losing their place if they don't play well and Arteta is one of many who are badly out of sorts at the moment.

There's plenty of scope for change in the attacking trio too and Arsenal have to start the game with some genuine pace in the team. I think Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has to play despite being a bit hit and miss recently as he had the pace to put Wigan's defence on the back foot. At the moment he is one of the few Arsenal players who look capable of scoring when they play.

On the other side I would be tempted to keep Lukas Podolski in the team for his goal scoring ability, but if he doesn't play I think Serge Gnabry might deserve a shot. Like Chamberlain he offers pace and he has plenty of youthful enthusiasm too. It would be great to see an Arsenal team with a genuine attacking threat and the two youngsters on either side could well be the players to offer it.

The central strikers role is the biggest quandary of all as Olivier Giroud still looks like the best option despite playing so poorly recently. The alternatives are all ones the boss has shown no interest in up to now and they have gotten very little game time between them. Giroud has looked tired for a while now as he has played the strikers role almost single-handedly and he has become too easy for opponents to play against. 

Yaya Sanogo came on late against Everton and wrongfully had a goal disallowed for offside, but an injury plagued season has seen him make no real impression since he joined in August. It would be a big risk to play him in what could be Arsenal's most important game of the season so far, but he has more pace than Giroud and a fresh face could be what the team needs.

Nicklas Bendtner is again persona non grata at the club and the chances of him getting back into Arsene's plans are minimal. I think Chuba Akpom has returned from his loan spell at Brentford but he is hardly likely to get a look in desite impressing in pre season with the first team. It looks like a straight choice between Giroud and Sanogo and I think Giroud will get the nod, but I hope it's Sanogo.

I know it would be a huge risk to make so many changes in a game Arsenal have to win, but the team which has played week after week recently has had it's chances and failed far too often. Maybe a few of the up and coming and fringe players might be prepared to put more in if they get a rare chance and might just make the difference. They certainly can't do any worse than so many of the first choice players who were in the starting 11 last week. 

If the team is going to be different then the tactics will have to change too and Arsenal need to find a way to get behind opponents' defences. They are too predictable and too easy to stop and they have to find a way to get behind the opposition. If Sanogo can sit on the shoulder of the last defender or Chamberlain and Gnabry can break quickly it might just offer Arsenal the space they want to play as Wigan will have to drop off to try to stop them. 

I think there will be a couple of changes but certainly not as many as I have suggested and it would take a brave manager to make so many changes. Arsene is very loyal to his players but he's hardly known for changing his tactics or taking big risks. I wouldn't even be surprised if he decided to go with the same team which fared so badly against Everton if he decides to give them a chance to right the wrongs of that game.

No matter what team Arsenal put out they will be strong favourites to win the game and go on and win the FA Cup. I only hope they can do just that because the alternative doesn't bear thinking of. With their league chances lying in ruins it could well be the last straw if the FA Cup goes by the wayside too.

UPDATE: Flamini is suspended which means Arteta is more or less certain to start against Wigan. Thanks to those who told me in the comments and on Twitter.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.