Arsenal Can’t See The Wood For The Trees As They Lose To Forest

In a season where Manchester City have being breaking records by the week it’s good to see they’re not the only ones. Arsenal have managed to break a record or two of their own as well, but they’re not the sort of records they want to break. If you start at the end of last season we have achieved our worst league position under Arsene Wenger, gone out of the FA Cup in the third round for the first time under him and conceded four FA Cup goals to a team outside the top flight for the first time in over 100 years. They’re not the sort of records you want to set, but as the rot sets further and further in they could easily be added to this season.

The manager made wholesale changes from the 2-2 draw with Chelsea as I predicted in my match preview, but the failure to have any of our top class players on the bench was a mistake. I thought they might be needed to save the game late on or to press home an advantage, but the likes of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Alexandre Lacazette all got the day off. In the end they might have been able to come on and save us, but I doubt it given the defensive performance on the day.

For the first Forest goal I’m still trying to understand how the defence tried to play offside on the six yard line when a two man wall were four yards behind them at the side of the box. A Forest player took advantage of our generosity to head past Ospina, but you also had to question why Ospina didn’t move towards the ball. It was a defensive error a schoolboy team would be embarrassed by and the team we put out had seven full internationals on display.

We equalised very soon afterwards when Per Mertesacker poked home after a Rob Holding header from a Theo Walcott free kick hit the post. I hoped we would wake up and dominate the game after that, but we created virtually nothing despite having the majority of the possession. Forest pressed us on the ball in our own half and we continued to cough it up and give them chance after chance only for Ospina to rescue us.

Forest regained the lead shortly before half time when the same player who scored the first goal planted a shot beautifully in the top corner. The defensive header from Rob Holding which fell to him left a lot to be desired as did the speed of those trying to close him down, but it was an excellent finish. We still had all of the second half to try to get back into the game, but things only got worse after the break.

With 20 minutes of that second half gone they increased their lead to 3-1 when Holding was later than a 46A bus in rush hour to bring one of their players down. That would have been the time to bring the big guns on, but they were probably out shopping with their better halves. We did pull one back when Danny Welbeck took advantage of a slip by their keeper with a little over 10 minutes to go.

Any hopes of a grandstand finish disappeared when Armand Traore ghosted past our defence and was taken down from behind by Mathieu Debuchy for another penalty. There was some talk of it not being a penalty, but it was a tackle from behind and I thought Debuchy made contact with the man before the ball. He could easily have seen red for denying a goal scoring opportunity, but the referee only gave him a yellow card.

Penalty decisions haven’t exactly gone our way recently and the manner in which this one was despatched didn’t do us any favours. The Forest player slipped as he went to take it and the ball hit the foot that slipped after he had kicked it with the other foot which was definitely double contact and the goal should have been disallowed. The referee consulted with his assistant, but they gave the goal which I assume means they didn’t spot it.

We had one last chance before the four added minutes were over, but the keeper saved well from Chuba Akpom with three added minutes still to go. I’m not quite sure how the referee only added four minutes considering all the substitutes and the amount of time lost to the decisions on the second penalty. That’s only a small complaint though and it shouldn’t take from a very good Forest performance and a fully deserved victory for them.

It was yet another low in a season littered with them for Arsenal and again it was down to the manager. We luckily scraped through against Doncaster and Norwich in earlier rounds with a similar team and it was only a mater of time before we were found out. It took a team without a manager and with an awful defensive record in the bottom half of the Championship to do it, but it was coming for our cup team.

I can only presume the first team regulars were left out because they will be called upon in the Carabao Cup semi final first leg at Chelsea on Wednesday night. Playing a similar team to yesterday at Chelsea would be an awful move and it could end in a very embarrassing result for us. It would mean those players will have to play four games in two weeks if that’s the case with a second leg against Chelsea to come as well as league games.

Where to start with yesterday is almost impossible to figure out, but it has to be obvious to one and all that a change of manager has to be the first step. It’s just not working for the manager any more and it’s got worse and not better since he extended his contract. We’re lurching from one crisis to another with the worst ones possibly to come still. 

There doesn’t seem to be a person at the club who can coach the players in their defensive duties and players contracts have been allowed to reach the stage where they can leave for free or attempt to hold the club to ransom. If the rumours are true Alexis could be off to City shortly at a fraction of his true market value and we will struggle to score enough goals to offset our awful defending without him if he goes. What top class player would want to join a club in such disarray and yet we need to make so many signings as soon as possible.

It’s not a good time to be an Arsenal fan for so many reasons and it looks like getting even worse. I’ve been through worse, but we weren’t the sixth richest club in the world then and that’s probably what makes it so unacceptable to so many fans. We are boxing so far below our weight that it’s not even funny and there doesn’t seem to be even a semblance of a plan to improve our lot.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal’s Trip To Nottingham Forest Previewed

It’s FA Cup third round action for Arsenal this afternoon when they travel to Nottingham to face managerless Forest. Arsenal are the cup holders and have won it three times in the last four seasons as well as winning it more times than any other team. Add to that Arsene Wenger’s record as the manager with the most FA Cups to his name and it’s obviously a competition which means an awful lot to us.

We face into the game in the middle of a very busy two month schedule which sees us playing almost twice a week from the start of December to the end of January. Our squad is fairly stretched as it is and we have the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi final at Chelsea coming up on Wednesday night too. Chelsea’s schedule is just as busy as our’s and I’m should they could have done without drawing their third round game at Norwich yesterday and adding a replay to that schedule.

With the league already beyond us the cup yet again takes on added significance although we still have the Europa League and the chase for a top four spot to contend with. Of them all I see the Carabao Cup as being the least important, but we cannot take a two legged semi final against Chelsea too lightly with a Cup Final so near and also because of what defeat could do to our already brittle confidence.

I think we could see a fair deal of squad rotation today and I wouldn’t be surprised to see up to eight changes from the team which drew 2-2 at home to Chelsea in the league on Wednesday night. David Ospina will surely start while I would expect Per Mertesacker and Mathieu Debuchy come into the defence too. In midfield there could be starts for Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny with Theo Walcott, Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi all likely to play too. That would probably mean Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Rob Holding and Calum Chambers staying in the team unless the manager switches to a back four instead of the usual three central defenders.

Playing that team would certainly risk our continuation in the competition, but it’s a risk we probably need to take. Forest are sitting in mid-table in the Championship after a fairly unimpressive season so far, but I have no doubt they will relish a home game against on the “big teams” and FA Cup holders. It’s a chance for some of their players to shine and maybe make an impression on whoever their new manager might be.

Despite the Carabao Cup being of secondary importance up to now I think it will take more prominence at this stage of the competition and that’s another reason why so many players will possibly be rested today. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a strong bench though just in case we need to add some firepower late on to get back in the game or go on to win it. It’s certainly a chance for those who start to make an impression, but Maitland-Niles is the only one who has really grabbed that chance when it has presented itself so far this season.

I would love to see AMN in his natural position in the centre of the midfield today and it could happen if we play a back four. The problem would be finding a left back, but I would suggest Debuchy is capable of playing there while Chambers can certainly play at right back if required. With so many changes in the team already I don’t think we will see a back four with those full backs though and there central defenders is the most likely formation.

No matter what personnel have been in our defence this season we haven’t defended well against the bigger and better teams in particular. Forest may not fit into those categories, but one of the reasons we are doing even worse than last season is our comparative lack of goals. We scored so many goals last season that it quite often got our defence out of trouble, but we’re just not scoring as many this season. I just hope we can find our shooting boots from here on in because I cannot see our defending improving judging by what we have seen this season and for far too many seasons to want to remember. I think the chances are we will progress in a tight game today, but we might have to empty some quality from the bench to do so.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Transfers Update

With the new season getting nearer and nearer it finally looks like we could be getting the sort of transfer activity which has been promised since last season ended. So far we have seen the arrivals of both Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac with Wojciech Szczesny eventually departing to Juventus. I'm very happy with the arrivals of both Lacazette and Kolasinac, but I can't say I was overly happy to see Szczesny go.

He's done very well in his two years on loan at Roma and I honestly think he is at least an equal to Petr Cech and certainly better than any other options we have besides Cech. Maybe his bridges were burned along with that cigarette in the showers at Southampton, but I can't help feeling we might have made a mistake. Time will tell I suppose and playing understudy to Gianluigi Buffon at Juventus certainly won't make him a worse goalkeeper.


He's the only real departure of any note so far even if it does appear there are plenty more lining up at the exit door. It seems there is no place for Lucas Perez, Carl Jenkinson, Mathieu Debuchy, Jack Wilshere, Calum Chambers, Kieran Gibbs and maybe even a few more before the transfer deadline day. I would have thought David Ospina would be one of those on his way, but the sale of Szczesny has to make that fairly unlikely now.

The future of Alexis Sanchez is still uncertain, but the club seem to be determined to keep him even if it means losing him for nothing this time next year. I hope it doesn't come to that and he can be talked into a new contract, but if he can't I have to agree that it's better to keep him at the club for one final season despite what it might do to the bank balance in a year. He is the best player we have and if we are to make any impression next season we need to keep him and see how he can team up with Lacazette and Mesut Ozil.

There are plenty of rumours of the impending departures of Gibbs, Chambers, Perez and Jenkinson, but it might not be so easy to shift Debuchy or Wilshere. They're all on very good contracts at Arsenal and any team looking to buy them will have to think twice about matching their wages. We could be faced with a few of them not finding clubs because the money just isn't there to pay them.

We need to get their wages off the books though so we can pay that bit extra to the likes of Ozil and maybe Sanchez and the money we get for them would of course go nicely towards any upcoming purchases. The two players most likely to come at the moment seem to be Thomas Lemar and William Carvalho with the team/squad needing strengthening in their positions and both players possibly available. If we could add them to what we have already I think we could be almost optimistic about next season and it's been a while since I felt like that going into a new season with Arsenal.

It's also quite possible that we could lose Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain before the window closes as he doesn't seem eager to sign a new contract with only a year left to run on his current deal. It's a bit like the Alexis situation except Chamberlain isn't quite as valuable to us and we have never really found his true position in the team in his seven years at the club. He's a player who can be so good sometimes and the opposite too often too, but I still think he has a role to play in the long season ahead.

Much has been made of the need to sell Theo Walcott as he doesn't fit into our new formation, but playing with wing backs is hardly set in stone and I think we need to keep him too. He scored 19 goals last season and frustrate us as he might at times it won't be easy to replace those goals. Like Olivier Giroud he still has something to offer and I don't think we should be too quick to offload either of them. I would be surprised if Arsene Wenger thinks differently, but you never know what he might do if the right offer comes in.

With the new season comes a new season of "Fantasy Premier League" and as usual my "Ever Arsenal" league is up and running and there's €50 to the winner from my pocket unless a generous sponsor wants to step in and offer prizes galore. There's been well over a thousand teams in my league for the last few seasons and judging by the early uptake there will be again this season. If you haven't played before you can sign up here and join my league after you have set your team up by using the league code 57957-16522. For those who have been in the league before you will automatically rejoin once you set your team up and you can also find an auto link on my Twitter feed.

I'm also running my Predictions League again this season and you can find the link to join here and join my mini league with the code tq3c5. It's on the Talksport site and anyone good enough to predict all 10 scorelines correctly in a week can win £1,000,000 from them, but taking part in my mini league is obviously a lot more prestigious. I'll be updating the league here every week along with my usual fantasy tips and predictions.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Trip To Crystal Palace Previewed

A season which promised so much has got off to a bad start for Arsenal, but there's still a long way to go. The defeat at home to West Ham last week was a bad way to start the season and the team need to bounce back quickly. There was so much talk of how things were going to be different this season, but the way the game went was all too familiar to Arsenal fans.

Arsenal definitely didn't play well, but neither did any of the top teams with the exception of City. The difference was Arsenal lost while United and Liverpool won and 10 man Chelsea managed a draw. If things are going to be different this season then Arsenal have to get something out of games like that and stop making stupid mistakes to make the opposition's task easier.

It's not the end of the world though and the last time Arsenal lost their opening game at home they were on top of the table within weeks and spent most of the season there. They did blow it and end up finishing fourth of course and the test this season will be if they can stay competitive if they're in with a chance. A win away to Palace would quickly put the West Ham result to bed and give the team and fans some cheer ahead of the game at home to Liverpool next week.

Palace got a good win away to newly promoted Norwich last week and have strengthened a team which was impressive after Alan Pardew took the reins last season. They have been particularly impressive away from home in that time and their home form hasn't been great. Arsenal won there last season in a game where they were more than a little lucky to escape with all three points as Palace opened up their defence time after time towards the end of the game.

In team news Hector Bellerin is available again and Alexis Sanchez is now considered to be fully fit and ready to play. I didn't think it was the cleverest move to bring a clearly unfit (well not match fit anyway) Alexis on against West Ham last week and it could have gone badly for him. I imagine Alexis will start against Palace even if he's still not quite up to it and hopefully his presence will make a difference.

If Alexis is going to play then someone else has to miss out and it's not easy to know which player it will be. When Arsenal were chasing the game last week Arsene Wenger took Francis Coquelin and Mathieu Debuchey off and the team lost it's shape with the changes. Despite not playing too well the team looked far more likely to get back into the game before the changes were made and I found it hard to understand why the boss did it.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Bellerin back in the starting line up even if Debuchey was by no means the worst Arsenal player last week. I think Debuchey's defensive know how and experience might not be a bad thing against Palace, but the chances are Bellerin will get the nod. I'm not sure what other changes there might be, but Petr Cech is sure to keep his place despite a far from convincing display in his league debut for Arsenal. 

I would prefer to see Santi Cazorla in the role beside Coquelin which would probably mean Aaron Ramsey would be the one to miss out. I would be very surprised if Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was left out of the team after his recent performances even if his poor touch did lead to West Ham's second goal. He looked the most likely to make something happen last week in the first half in particular and this season looks very promising for him.

The biggest question could be who gets to play as the central striker and it's a toss up between Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud. Walcott wasn't exactly impressive in the role in the Community Shield against Chelsea, but Giroud left a lot to be desired last week too. I still think the team needs a top class striking addition and I just hope the boss can bring one in before the deadline. 

As bad as losing at home to West Ham was things will get an awful lot worse if Arsenal lose again. If they find themselves six points off the pace after only two games then there will be an awful lot of questions to answer for a team who were riding the crest of a wave as the season begun. There is no doubt Arsenal have the players to win of course, but those players have to perform an awful lot better than last week.

I would be very surprised if the players were as bad as last week and I think they will go at Palace from the off. They can't come out tentatively showing weakness in their game and letting Palace know last week has affected their form. As bad as the two goals Arsenal gave away last week were it still has to be remembered that Arsenal failed to score and were not going to win the game even if the defence had played better.

They need to find their goal scoring touch again and maybe be a little less intricate in their build up at times. A little more unpredictability in their game wouldn't go astray either and players like Alexis, Chamberlain and Santi all have the ability to score from distance. As good as Palace can be going forward at times I think they are quite vulnerable at the back and Arsenal can and need to punish their defence.

The chances are Arsenal will do most of the attacking and Palace will try to capitalise on set pieces or try to hit them on the break. Arsenal cannot over commit players in attack and will have to organise themselves an awful lot better from set pieces than they did for West Ham's first goal. The first goal against Palace could be crucial and Arsenal need to make sure that goal comes their way. I think they will get it and a few more besides and get their season up and running even if it is a week late.

As usual this season my fantasy league is up and running again and it's open to all comers with a €50 prize (out of my pocket) to the winner. You can join up by using the league code 48497-14043 after you have set your team up here and good luck to all who play. There were over 1,000 teams in my league last season and there's already more than that signed up for this season.

I'm also running my Predictions League again this season and it's very enjoyable even if there's no cash prize for the winner. The code for my league is FD757-ARR after you have signed up here and of course both games are completely free to play. 

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Premier League Trip To Manchester City Previewed

Arsenal have really struggled away to the better teams in the Premier League in the last few seasons and they face a trip to the current champions this afternoon. Arsenal scored three goals away to City last season but they conceded six in what can only be described as a naive performance. They need to find an awful lot more defensively today if they are going to take something from the game.

As usual Arsenal have had an awful season with injuries and the good news of Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey returning has been countered by the news concerning Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Debuchy. Both players have had to undergo surgery on their respective injuries and will be missing from action for the next three months it seems. If there are any further setbacks for either player their season will be as good as over.

For me those two injuries only impress further the need for Arsenal to dig deep into their pockets and strengthen the squad in the January transfer window. As well as Francis Coquelin has done since his recall from his loan spell at Charlton he's still not the player Arsenal need in front of their back four and neither is Mathieu Flamini. Arteta is reaching a stage in his career where his contributions in the first team will decrease and Arsenal need to replace him with a player who is better than him in my opinion. It's not easy to find the right player in January, but the team's chances of finishing the season on a high could depend on the right player coming in or not.

Arsenal started the season short of two central defenders and both Debuchy and Nacho Monreal have been asked to move in there from their full back roles at different times this season. With Debuchy out for three months I think Arsene Wenger has to do all he can to bring in some central defensive cover or he is tempting fate. We all know how cruel the injury gods have been to Arsenal and not signing a central defender would be tantamount to mocking them.

In team news for today both Ozil and Ramsey are still available after being on the bench last week (with Ozil coming on) while Kieran Gibbs should be available too. It means the boss will have plenty of options when it comes to picking the team and the choices he makes will be a large factor in how the game goes for Arsenal. If he chooses an overly offensive team it could lead to another afternoon to forget for Arsenal and he has to get the balance right.

In recent away games Arsenal have tried to defend in depth and hit their opponents on the break and have had some success with that tactic. If they play that way they have to be a lot more careful outside their own area where they have been turned over far too much this season for my liking. A lack of concentration in that area has led to far too many chances for opponents in my opinion and it has to be clamped down on. I think Coquelin is more likely to keep his concentration in that area than Flamini and that might just give him the advantage when it comes to team selection. 

 Of course there is a chance both Coquelin and Flamini will play as a double defensive axis and that might not be a bad idea. It would still leave four offensive players in front of them and maybe free those four players from some of their defensive duties at times. City are vulnerable to the counter attack and the pace of players like Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain might just be a deciding factor for Arsenal.

City have a few of their own players missing such as Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri while Sergio Aguero only got a few minutes off the bench last week on his return from injury. Vincent Kompany hasn't played in their last six games either but it looks like he will okay today and he's a very important player for them. He makes their defence an awful lot stronger when he plays, but he can be vulnerable to pace too and has his moments where he looks decidedly average.

I would be surprised if Olivier Giroud didn't play from the start with his aerial ability being very important at both ends of the pitch while both Alexis and Santi Cazorla have to be certain to play. Looking at the attacking options Arsenal have the boss has some very tough decisions to make and those decisions could make all the difference. The team cannot accommodate Tomas Rosicky, Ramsey, Ozil, Walcott and Chamberlain along with the players who look certain to start. 

After seeing United, Southampton and Spurs winning their games yesterday it's vital for Arsenal to get something from this game. A win would be a huge boost to confidence, but a draw would be quite acceptable too considering the opposition and the importance of the game. I always think Arsenal are capable of beating any team they play and today is no different, but I can only hope the players have that belief too.

It could be another high scoring end to end thriller like last season, but if it goes that way you have to think City will make their home advantage count. Arsenal have to keep things as tight as possible and take what chances come their way and only then will have a chance of getting something out of it. I would love to see myself writing about a famous victory tomorrow, but as I said I would be very happy to be writing about a hard fought draw too. What cannot be allowed to happen is what has happened away from home to good teams in recent seasons far too often which is for Arsenal simply not to turn up. It's always a possibility with this team and we have to hope we see their best side today and they put in a performance they are capable of and which makes us fans feel there is real hope for the rest of the season.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Beat Stoke To Go Fifth

Only a few weeks ago Arsenal had an awful performance away to Stoke and ended up losing 3-2 after being 3-0 down by half time. Questions were asked of the players and the manager and they had the chance to make amends in the reverse fixture yesterday afternoon. Stoke came to the Emirates with an awful away record against Arsenal having lost all six of their games since their promotion to the Premier League.

Arsene Wenger chose to keep David Ospina in goal after he played there in the FA Cup victory over Hull last week with Wojciech Szczesny confined to the bench. I can't say I was surprised to see Szczesny dropped after a poor display in his last game when Arsenal last 2-0 away to Southampton. Szczesny has always been better when he feels his place is under threat and he will have to work hard to keep his place if and when he gets back into the team.

Laurent Koscielny and Mathieu Debuchy both returned to the defence with Calum Chambers missing out through illness and Hector Bellerin dropping to the bench. The other players to miss out were Theo Walcott and Joel Campbell who also dropped to the bench with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Olivier Giroud coming into the team. Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Mathieu Flamini also returned from injury to take their places in a strong looking Arsenal bench.

Arsenal came out with attitude and commitment from the first minute and were ahead in the sixth minute when an unmarked Koscielny headed home an Alexis Sanchez cross. Asmir Begovic had already made two good saves to deny Arsenal at that stage and the omens were very good. As always with Arsenal they took a blow just as things seemed to be going so well.

Debuchy shielded the ball out of play at the Arsenal end and as he did so he was shoved in the back by Marko Arnautovic. Debuchy was already off the pitch at that stage and the shove saw him career through the gravel and into the advertising hoarding. He had cuts to his face from the slide and it looks like he has dislocated his shoulder from the collision too. 

Just as Arsenal's injury problems seemed to be sorting themselves out it looks like Debuchy now has his second bad injury of his first season with the club. There was nothing made of the incident by the referee and none of the commentators or pundits seemed to lay any blame at Arnautovic's feet. If what he did wasn't dangerous or reckless I'm not sure what is and the consequences for Debuchy were far from nice. I would be shocked if the FA have any intention of looking at the incident at a later stage as they are far more interested in making sure yellow cards are issued for players removing their shirts in celebration and such like.

Arsenal continued to play well and that man Alexis doubled their lead just after the half hour mark after recovering the ball when he had given it away. He dribbled into the Stoke box and beat Begovic at his near post when we all thought he would go for the other corner. It gave Arsenal some breathing space and they kept that lead until half time.

The second half got off to a great start too with Alexis adding to Arsenal's lead only three minutes in from a free kick on the edge of the area. He kept his free kick low and it went through the wall with Begovic failing to keep it out despite stopping it on the line. After that Arsenal rarely looked troubled at the back and they had good chances to add to their lead too.

Bellerin had come on for the injured Debuchy in the first half and Walcott replaced Chamberlain mid way through the second half. I thought Chamberlain had a good game and was a real thorn in Stoke's side with his direct running on the right hand side. About five minutes after Walcott's introduction we saw the return of Ozil to the team after a three month injury absence as he replaced Giroud. 

It was great to see Ozil make his return and we got to see Alexis, Walcott and Ozil on the pitch together for the first time. Arsenal didn't add to their lead but Walcott did miss a great chance after Alexis set him up perfectly near the end of the game. It will be another while before he's back to his best after a full year out of the team, but he is still getting into the right positions which is at least great to see.

With Southampton winning away to United later in the day Arsenal closed the gap on United to one point and remained three points behind Southampton who moved up to third. They also moved ahead of Spurs into fifth place and they face a crucial test away to the champions City next week. It's exactly the type of game where Arsenal have struggled badly in recent seasons, but the returning players have to give them some hope of getting a result.

Arsenal should bring a very strong squad to that game and the likes of Ozil, Walcott and Ramsey will all have another full week of training ahead of the game. The boss will have plenty of options and plenty of tough choices to make in his team selection for that game. If he can get his team right and Arsenal can get a positive result on the day it might just be the impetus they need to finish the season on a high.

I thought yesterday's performance was right up there with their best performances so far this season, but they will have to be even better against City. I was impressed with Alexis of course and it's hard to find words to express his importance to the team at the moment. I thought both Bellerin and Nacho Monreal  had good games too while Francis Coquelin was again impressive in the holding role in midfield.

The whole team did well really and it won't be easy to leave anybody out for next week's game. I would be surprised if there are no changes though with players of the calibre of Ozil, Ramsey and Walcott on the bench and Danny Welbeck possibly available for selection too. Those selection headaches are ones the boss could only have dreamed of a few weeks ago and he will be happy to have them.

There's still no sign of Arsenal signing anyone in the transfer window, but the boss did say after the game that the injury to Debuchy might just force his hand. He sees Debuchy and Monreal as cover for the centre of defence but Debuchy is out and Monreal is needed on the left with Kieran Gibbs nursing a knock. I think he would be crazy not to bring in a central defender if the opportunity arises and I can only hope he has a player in mind and can move quickly.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Injury Update

With the season already a third over it seems like Arsenal have yet again been plagued by injuries to key players. Their form has suffered and they sit sixth in the Premier League with a top four finish as their only real prospect. They also find themselveslves second in their Champions League group and it looks like they will get the wrong end of the stick when they qualify from the group which is still almost certain. 

It's a little depressing in mid November that the FA Cup is their only realistic chance of a trophy but I can't see any other trophy coming their way which means the cup has to be treated very seriously come the third round in January. There is always that top four place to fight for too and Arsenal are only one point behind the team currently in fourth place. There are those who would have us believe a top four finish is like a trophy because of Champions League qualification, but it isn't and it never will be.

The injury situation at the club has been hampering the team's progress for a few years at least and it just doesn't seem to want to go away. I know there are other reasons why Arsenal have under performed, but it's hard to believe those injuries haven't Been a telling factor far too often. With a few very good players looking to return to action soon hopefully those injuries will abate and Arsene Wenger will have a full squad to choose from.

Theo Walcott picked up his injury in the FA Cup third round victory over Spurs last January and he hasn't started a game for Arsenal in almost 11 months since that day. He's been on the bench for the last few games and came on towards the end of the defeat to Swansea in a desperate attempt to save something from the game. It didn't work and we will have to wait a little longer to see what we have been missing for almost a year now. There is a chance Walcott will play for England against Scotland in their "friendly" game tonight, but I would be surprised if he started considering he hasn't started a game for Arsenal. 

Olivier Giroud has divided Arsenal fans since he joined with a case for and against his ability to play the game at the highest level. The boss was prepared to go into the season with him as the only real striker at the club and only went out and bought Danny Welbeck when Giroud injured himself against Everton. He had just scored a very good equaliser to help Arsenal to an unlikely draw after yet another below par performance from the team. 

His injury was a very unlucky one and amazingly he is back in full training ahead of schedule. I'm still not fully convinced by Welbeck or Giroud for that matter, but hopefully the competition they provide for each other can spur them both on to better things. They're both capable of scoring their fair share of goals and Giroud's return can only be a goodt thing for the team.

Laurent Koscielny is the rock on which Arsenal's defence is built when it is at it's best and his absence has been sorely felt by the team for the last month. He went off on international duty with France in September and they sent him back without kicking a ball telling Arsenal his tendinitis was so bad he couldn't play. I don't know how long Koscielny had been playing with the problem, but his national side certainly brought it to the fore and I would hope Arsenal weren't making the injury worse by playing him when he should have been sidelined.

It seems rest is the way forward for him and it won't be too long before he's back in the team, but this Saturday's game against United will come too soon for him. If Arsenal are going to get over their defensive problems it's vital to have Koscielny in the team and the sooner he returns the better.

At the start of the season Arsenal only had six defenders to speak of and Mathieu Debuchy was the first of them to pick up an injury. His ankle injury was a very unfortunate one and it has meant Calum Chambers has had to play more often than was anticipated. Chambers has done well in the main but he was badly exposed in the defeat against Swansea and he showed he still has a lot to learn.

I wasn't overly impressed when Arsenal signed Debuchy, but I thought he did very well and his performances eased the pain at the departure of Bacary Sagna. The chances are he won't be back until the new year, but he will hopefully help to make the defence a much stronger unit when he returns. Until then Chambers is going to need more help from the rest of the team at times than he got against Swansea. 

Mesut Ozil is Arsenal's record transfer purchase and one of the most expensive players ever in the Premier League. He's a proven star of the game who was a very important part of the German team which won the World Cup last summer. That victory meant he missed Arsenal's pre season and still hadn't fully found his feet when he picked up his injury against Chelsea.

Ozil has had plenty of criticism from all corners this season as his performances didn't meet the expectations of a player of his undoubted ability. Maybe the rest from his injury will be just what he needs and he can come back stronger to help Arsenal in the second half of the season. It looks like he won't be back until early in the new year and his return can't come quickly enough for me.

Arsenal signed David Ospina to vie with Wojciech Szczesny for the goalkeeper's shirt after a very good performance for Columbia at the World Cup. Unfortunately he came on after Szczesny was sent off against Galatasaray and his lack of a proper warm aggrevated an injury which put him out for three months. At the moment Szczesny needs some competition to improve his performances and it's a shame Ospina can't provide that competition.

What I have seen of him so far has been impressive and I think he has a good chance of making the goalkeeper's shirt his own if Szczesny's performances don't improve. It can't be easy for Szczesny playing behind a dodgy Arsenal defence at the moment, but he has to take his share of the blame for the team's defensive weaknesses. I have no doubt about his ability, but I think he can possibly be a little complacent when he has no real challenger for his place.

That's a pretty long list of players who could all make a very real difference to Arsenal's current performances. With all of them available there would be some incredible strength in depth and surely the ability for the boss to rotate the team and rest key players when they need to be rested. I haven't totally given up on the team turning the corner this season and playing some really good football and hopefully the return of those injured players will help them to do just that.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.