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 v Chelsea Preview

The Festive Programme hasn’t gone too well for Arsenal so far as they have lost a little ground on the other teams chasing a top four spot this season. They have only won two of their seven league games since the start of December, but alternatively you could say they are unbeaten in six league games. It depends on how you look at it I suppose, but personally I think the current spate of draws does not auger well for us.

We drew away to Southampton, West Ham and West Brom and all three of them are struggling at the wrong end of the table. While the point at Southampton was welcome as we hardly deserved it we should have taken full points against West Ham and West Brom. We can point at the referee all we want for the ridiculous last minute penalty he gave West Brom, but we didn’t create enough good chances in either game for my liking.

The draw with Liverpool was a trifle fortunate too as we were awful that day except for the five minute spell where we got our three goals. A return of 10 points from seven games isn’t going to keep pace with those chasing a top four finish and we need to turn some of those draws into wins. I commented earlier this season on how the amount of defeats we had suffered was being offset by not drawing other games, but now it seems we have lost the knack of winning tight games.

Speaking of tight games the game with Chelsea should be just that and we really need to come out on top. Our home record so far this season has been very good with eight wins  in our 10 games, but the two games we didn’t win were against teams above us. We conceded three goals against both United and Liverpool at home and we cannot concede that many agsinst Chelsea or we will lose.

We have big problems with injuries going into the game with Nacho Monreal, Sead Kolasinac, Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud and of course Santi Cazorla definitely out and Laurent Koscielny almost definitely out too. Mesut Ozil is still a doubt too and it leaves us with what could best be described as a depleted team. Arsene Wenger has some big decisions to make before the game and those decisions could have a big impact on our display and the result.

I’d take a draw if you offered it to me right now even though we badly need the three points. Chelsea won’t be far from full strength and they had the luxury of leaving Eden Hazard out of their 5-0 stroll against Stoke on Saturday. They have had a day longer to recover and that can make a difference at such a busy time in the season. So many factors point to Chelsea getting the upper hand in this game and we will have to be at our very best to get anything from it.

Speaking of which it’s been a very long time since we were at our best against anybody and doing so with so many players out is a huge ask of those who will play. I hope Ozil is fit because we lacked so much creativity against West Brom without him and Alexis Sanchez tried to drop back and fill that role, but we need Alexis in a more advanced role getting on to passes from Ozil. Whatever our issues might be with two players who will not sign contracts they are still the best players we have.

I would assume the manager will go with three at the back and that would mean Ainsley Maitland-Niles coming in on the left and either Per Mertesacker or Rob Holding as one of the three central defenders if Koscielny doesn’t play. We coped with similar problems defensively against Chelsea when we beat them in the Cup Final in May, but we had more attacking options in that game. We need to get our midfield spot on tonight and that’s a difficult task with the personnel we have available. A win is not beyond us though, but it will take one of those once or twice in a season barnstorming performances we used get so regularly in the past to get the three points. 

On a side note the manager looks like he will probably get a stadium ban for his comments about and to the referee after the West Brom game. I know there are many who would like to see him permanently banned from the stadium, but I can’t see it being of much benefit. I can understand his reaction, but did he really think his comments to the media and the referee would go unpunished and you have to think he is feeling the pressure of expectation. 

When he extended his contract in May or June there were promises of taking the club forward and building for the future, but it’s surely clear to one and all that we’re heading in the opposite direction. For me the only solution is changing the manager because the ownership won’t change and even if it did I can’t see how that would improve what the manager does now. He was a great manager in his day, but for me that day has well and truly passed and if he loves the club as much as he professes to he should open his eyes and do what is best for the club.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Trip To West Ham Previewed

It's only been a couple of days since Arsenal got a rather fortunate point at Southampton and they face another away game tonight. While their home form has been up there with the best of them this season they have generally struggled on their travels. Eight points from eight away games is hardly awe inspiring or the form of a team hoping to challenge for a chance to finish runners up to City.

After the defensive shambles in the opening stages at home to United I expected Arsenal to be a lot tighter at the back against Southampton. The reverse was true though and they were very lucky to be only one down before any semblance of decent defending appeared. Arsene Wenger blamed it on nervousness as a result of the performance against United which is quite bizarre.

If we were to believe that then it says very little for our players or their ability to get over a bad performance. I would have thought a bad defensive performance would have led the players to concentrate harder and make sure they did the simple things properly at the start against Southampton. Instead we were treated to players passing straight to the opposition, failing to track runners and defending as if it was something they had never worked on in training.

We can't afford to defend like that against West Ham despite their lowly league position as they showed when they beat Chelsea 1-0 on Saturday. I've seen a bit of West Ham this season and I have been far from impressed with them, but like any Premier League team they can bite back if they're underestimated. Their home form hasn't been exactly great this season and their performance against Chelsea was by far their best one at home so far.

The manager has a few choices to make before the game with Aaron Ramsey picking up a knock against Southampton and due to miss out as well as Shkodran Mustafi. He has to decide whether he will stick with three central defenders or switch to a flat back four. For me playing four at the back makes more sense and the extra man in midfield might give us more control in the game.

I can understand his desire to stick with a formation which got us out of a tight spot last season, but it's obvious he doesn't have faith in it. As soon as we're chasing a game he switches to a back four and it's difficult to believe it's not something he would like to switch back to on a permanent basis. Our personnel are far more suited to that formation and it's a method used throughout every other level at the club as far as I know. It just doesn't make sense to stick to three central defenders, but when did making sense ever have anything to do with football or Arsenal for that matter. 

If I'm not mistaken Nacho Monreal is the youngest of the three central defenders who started against Southampton and he's 31. Laurent Koscielny has struggled with injuries and it's a big risk to play him twice a week, but it's one we seem happy to take regularly. I suppose we could be playing the three of them together while Mustafi is injured as the manager thinks playing only two of them would be a risk.

In midfield the absence of Ramsey should open a door for Jack Wilshere, but the manager has already said he sees his best position as further forward and I wouldn't be surprised if he's on the bench tonight. Maybe Mohamed Elneny, Francis Coquelin or Alex Iwobi might get the nod alongside Granit Xhaka and all three of them would probably be better suited to the defensive duties that come with the role. It's not as if Ramsey has been ultra defensive though and Wilshere would certainly offer more creativity than the other three in my opinion. 

We will miss Ramsey and I hope it's only a short term absence with so many games over the next few weeks as he has been one of our better players so far this season. That's not to say he has always been good, but neither has anyone else for that matter.

In attack I would hope Alexandre Lacazette will continue to lead the line, but I would imagine Olivier Giroud will think he can't do much more than he has done already to try to get a start. His late goal saved us against Southampton and I would be more inclined to think he should get a chance if he had been better in the Europa League games when he did start. Like so many of the more experienced players he seemed to do little more than go through the motions in those games when he should have been trying to stake a claim for a place in the first team.

We didn't lose as much ground as we might have last weekend with Chelsea and United losing, Liverpool drawing and only Spurs winning, but we cannot afford to drop any more points tonight. Chelsea won last night and I will be very surprised if United, Liverpool or Spurs drop any points tonight so we need to at least keep pace with them. It won't be easy, but we have the players to win the game without a doubt if they would only go out and play as well as we know they can play.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Trip To Watford Previewed

The second international break is finally over and when the third one finishes next month we can actually have uninterrupted real football until next March. It wasn't without it's problems for Arsenal though as Shkodran Mustafi picked up an injury and it looks like he'll be out until December. Despite the club's apparent desire to sell him in the summer he is still an intrical part of our defence and I can only assume we attempted to offload him as we had a replacement lined up.

It's a trip to Watford for Arsenal today in the evening kick off which will of course be live on BT Sports. Live TV games are a part of life for football fans and the switching of kick off times to suit the TV stations. On that point the prospect of Arsenal's home game against Liverpool on December 23rd looks almost certain to be switched to the next day.

It's a decision that takes no account of the wishes of the fans if it goes ahead and it just shows those TV companies care not a jot about about the match going fans. Besides those possibly attending the game I would be surprised if they get a good TV audience on a day when most people in this part of the world already have too much to do. 

Back to Watford and it looks like the bad news about Mustafi will at least be countered by the return of Mesut Ozil, Danny Welbeck and Francis Coquelin. None of them play in the center of defence, but at least our options in other positions will be increased. The manager has a few decisions to make ahead of a game which is a very important one for me. We have recovered somewhat from our poor start to the season and we now need to push on to try to keep pace with the top four.

United and City have started really well and will be hard to catch, but United's season gets underway today when they start to play some of the other contenders. City are a different matter and we need to have as many points as possible on the board before we play them in a few weeks. We need to target three points from today and follow it up with a maximum haul against Everton and Swansea before that trip to City on November 5th.

Watford have started the season very well under Marco Silva and their only defeat came at home to City a few weeks ago when they were thumped 6-0. They haven't won at home yet though and they have conceded more goals at home than any other team too. That statistic is somewhat skewed by the loss to City and as I said already that's their only defeat.

On the other hand Arsenal's turnaround has been fairly impressive and we have managed four clean sheets in a row in the league. It's been a long time since I can remember four clean sheets in a row for Arsenal. That run included an impressive 0-0 draw at Chelsea, but the three wins in it were all at home to teams we would be expected to beat.

Our only away point so far came in that game at Chelsea and we are one of only two teams who have failed to score away from home with the other one propping up the table without a point to their game. Our away form in the second half of last season was just not good enough and if we can't get it right this season we will not finish in the top four again. Only the top two took more points at home than Arsenal last season and we have started this season with four wins out of four on our own patch.

It looks like Laurent Koscielny will be fit to play and if he is the only change from the 2-0 win over Brighton might be a replacement for Mustafi which would be one of Per Mertesacker or Rob Holding. Ozil might come back in too of course which would probably see Alex Iwobi miss out unless Alexis Sanchez isn't up to the task after his late return and World Cup qualification disappointment. I suspect we will see both Holding and Ozil in from the start and we should have a bench with some real quality options. It's going to be a busy few weeks with with Premier League, Europa League and League Cup games to come and the strength of that bench will be tested in those games. 

As good as Watford might have been so far we still have the quality to dominate them and take the three points. I think the first goal will be crucial and I hope we can get it because I'm not sure how we will react to going behind. Besides the defeat to Liverpool we also lost at Stoke and I thought we did well in trying to get back into the game after they scored.

For me the equalising goal was coming until the manager made some quite bizarre substitutions and he should have kept faith in the players he had out there. There's no point in making changes just for the sake of it in a case like that and I hope he remembers that if today's game follows a similar pattern. If we score first and keep up our momentum I think we will win and anything other than three points would be a real blow for the team's confidence and the morale of the fans which is slowly improving. It's never easy to lose, but losing to teams you are better than is very hard to take and I think that's something that has happened too often in this calendar year.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Lucky 13 For Arsenal

Saturday was a very good day for Arsenal when they beat Chelsea 2-0 to win the FA Cup for the 13th time. It was good in so many ways after such a disappointing season and not least because it stopped Chelsea from doing the double. As well as that it meant Arsenal had bagged themselves a trophy while Spurs, despite having their best season in living memory, ended up with their trophy cabinet bare yet again.

Of course Spurs did manage to finish above us for the first time in 22 seasons and that was one of the major disappointments of the season as well as missing out on the Champions League for the first time in 20 seasons. We will miss out on the extra revenue generated by playing in Europe's premier competition and the secondary prize of a Europa League place is little reward. It can't be changed though and we will have to deal with the prospect of trying to attract the players we need to strengthen the team without being able to offer them Champions League football.

Despite those negatives it was still a hugely enjoyable day on Saturday and I can't imagine there were too many Arsenal fans who weren't hugely satisfied with the result and the performance too. We went into the game as second favourites with a defence badly hit by injury and suspension while Chelsea had a full strength squad to choose from. They had breezed to the league title in the end with a record number of wins too and it was all set up for them to complete the double against an Arsenal side who were given little hope.

From the first minute it was Arsenal who were on the front foot though as they took the game to Chelsea. They won the second balls, got their tackles in, pressed Chelsea on the ball while continuing to play good football themselves. Unusually for Arsenal this season they got their breakthrough early when Alexis Sanchez got what can only be described as a controversial goal.

There's no disputing that Aaron Ramsey was in an offside position when Alexis put the ball away and he probably should have been given offside after he looked to play the ball. The referee and his assistant debated the decision for a while and we got the sort of decision which we usually feel goes against us. On seeing the replays I realised how lucky we had been as Alexis had blocked the ball with both hands above his head before going through to score.

They're the type of decisions you need sometimes in football and Chelsea have had them go in their favour against us in the last two seasons. Who can forget the opening goal in the league game at Stamford Bridge this season when Marcos Alonso knocked Hector Bellerin out to score and the goal was allowed to stand or Diego Costa's antics in that game the previous season which got Gabriel Paulista sent off while he somehow or other managed to stay on the pitch.

Anyway we continued to press after we took the lead which was another unusual thing to see this season as we looked to add to that goal. How the lead stayed at only one goal still mystifies me with the Chelsea goal living a charmed life and some poor finishing from Arsemal too. We hit the woodwork three times as well as Gary Cahill managing to twice clear the ball of the line and I just hoped we wouldn't pay a price later in the game.

Chelsea came into it more after the break, but we rode the storm and continued to make our own chances and the game went even more in our favour when Victor Moses received his marching orders. He had already got a yellow card for taking the impressive Danny Welbeck down when he stupidly took a pretty obvious dive in the Arsenal box and the referee had no choice other than to give him a second yellow card. It looked like there would be no way back for Chelsea, but in true Arsenal style they equalised through that man Costa not long afterwards.

I worried for Arsenal and where the game might go for them, but those worries didn't last long when substitute Olivier Giroud put in a cross which Ramsey nodded home to restore the lead. I celebrated louder than anyone in a pub with a lot of neutrals and a few Arsenal fans and patted myself on the back for backing Ramsey to score at any time in the game. Chelsea tried in vain to get back into the game and Arsenal really should have increased their lead before the end.

David Ospina was called upon to make one good save from Costa which made up for how he inexplicably let the goal go past him. He played well enough on the day and the team as a whole were exceptional from start to finish with an extra mention for Per Mertesacker. He had hardly kicked a ball in over a year and he was a brick in defence from first minute to last and an absolute inspiration to the rest of the team.

Alexis and Mesut Ozil both played their parts too and showed how much we need them and how we have to do all we can to get them on new contracts. There aren't too many players as good as them in the league and trying to replace them would be a very difficult task. If we can bring in other players to get the best out of them they are the players most likely to make us challenge at the very top next season.

While the cup win doesn't disguise the failings of our season it is still something that has to be celebrated and revelled in. We have won the cup three times in the last four seasons and more times than any other team and Arsene Wenger has also won it more times than any manager. Our worst season ever under Wenger still brought us a trophy and we won it at Spurs new home too.

There are plenty of challenges ahead and not least of them is whether Wenger will keep his job and if he does can he really get this team to progress. If he goes who knows what the future holds and it looks like we might get our answer to that question very soon. 

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Chelsea: FA Cup Final Preview

With the Premier League season ending in disappointment for Arsenal, despite winning their last five games, they still have a chance of some silverware when they take on Chelsea in the FA Cup Final this evening. It was the first time under Arsene Wenger that they had failed to finish in the top four and they set a Premier League record for the most points of any team finishing fifth. On the surface it looks like things aren't as bad as some would have you believe with that points haul, a cup final today and a blip in their Champions League qualification record.

However that's only scratching the surface of what has happened at Arsenal over the last few years and in this season in particular. The club is being run in a manner which defies belief at times with nobody seemingly responsible for a team which has proven season after season that it just cannot progress under the manager. His influence at the club is so vast that he controls almost every aspect of it and when it all goes wrong the blame has to lay with him.

Of course Stan Kroenke had to take his share of the blame too as his complete lack of ambition as an owner has led to the standards which are so unacceptable. It's no surprise that all of his other sports franchises are in a similar position when it comes to delivering everything except the one thing which seems to matter most to him. If he was to sell his shares in Arsenal he would make an enormous profit, but he seems to have no interest in doing so or in the team actually winning anything either.

The fans of the manager will tell you he has us in our third cup final in four seasons and we have the chance of winning the cup for the third time out of four. They will point to our points haul and tell you how close we came to a top four finish, but that hides so much of the truth. We were told that the club had exited from the tight financial restrictions of the stadium building years, but we have actually become less competitive than we were in those years.

We exited the Champions League at the round of 16 for the seventh season in a row and we suffered an embarrassing record 10-2 aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich. Once we hit our first bump in our league campaign we crumbled for months and only recovered when it was too late as we have done so often in the past 10 years. We have reached the FA Cup final, but the luck of the draw played a part with home games against non league clubs in the fifth and sixth rounds.

I don't mean to be all doom and gloom on the day of the cup final, but it's hard to see our season any other way. Our squad is in turmoil ahead of the opening of the transfer window with our two best players going into the last year of their contracts and there is nothing we can do to keep them if they choose to go. Even the manager's contract is up this summer and we still don't know if he will be our manager or not next season.

It's time to look at today's game though and the chance to put some cheer into a season which has delivered so little of it. As an added incentive we have the chance to win the cup for the 13th time which is one more than any other club has won it and we can stop Chelsea from doing the double too. They might have strolled to their league victory, but I still think they're a team who can be made to suffer on their day.

It was only after Arsenal beat them 3-0 that they switched to the formation which won them the league and Arsenal have now adopted that approach too. Antonio Conte has a lot more belief in the formation though and our manager is a lot more likely to switch to a flat back four if things aren't going our way. It's the players who will make up the defensive part of that formation which are causing the most concern for Arsenal ahead of the game. 

It seems Petr Cech has picked up a knock and David Ospina will play in goal which doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. Ospina has been our FA Cup and Champions League keeper this season, but Cech's recent form should have made him the choice for today and I can only hope he is actually injured rather than reverting to the ridiculous tactic of playing Ospina in cup games. There is a trophy to play for today and sentiment cannot play any part in the team selection. I would be very surprised if Ospina was at Arsenal next season and playing or not today would hardly be what he bases any decision to leave on.

We have our injury and suspension worries elsewhere too with Laurent Koscielny out after his rash tackle last week got him a red card and he lost his midweek appeal. Gabriel Paulista went off injured in that win against Everton too and he will play no part today either. There are concerns over both Shkodran Mustafi and Kieran Gibbs too and it seems they will both have late tests before the game.

Right now it looks like our central defensive trio will be Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker and Nacho Monreal and that has to be a little worrying up against the piece of scum that is Diego Costa. If Mustafi makes it we will probably see Mertesacker drop out as he has hardly kicked a ball this season through injury. If Gibbs isn't up to it then we could either see Mertesacker back in and Monreal go to left wing back or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain play on that side.

There's a lot of ifs and buts there, but Chamberlain playing on that side would mean Hector Bellerin would play on the right and it would solve one selection problem for the manager. Outside of the defensive unit there aren't too many worries for the manager, but the wing backs ability to make something happen in the attacking part of the pitch is crucial and he needs to get them right. He also needs to make sure they are up to their defensive duties because Chelsea know how to utilise this formation to it's best.

The rest of the team almost picks itself with the only real headache being who plays as the central striker and I would prefer Danny Welbeck over Olivier Giroud because he offers the pace which can hurt Chelsea. Giroud has proved to be a real asset off the bench so many times this season and he might just be needed in that role today. Despite the perception that we struggle to score goals we have already managed 119 goals this season and that's more than any other season under Wenger.

I don't want Alexis Sanchez to leave this summer, but if he wants out there's little we can do to stop him. If he is to leave surely it would be fitting if he helped us to a trophy in his last game and he's the player most likely to cause Chelsea problems. I have a feeling he will get on the scoresheet today and I just hope it's the goal that makes the difference.

We're going to need the referee to be strong to keep up with the antics we know we will get from Costa and it's about time the officials actually caught up with him during a game. Granit Xhaka has to curb his urge to kick anything that goes past him and both him and Aaron Ramsey have to form a shield for what could be a makeshift defence. If everybody does their job from first minute to last we can win the game, but we will have to do just that. I'm not exactly optimistic about the game, but somehow or other I can't see Chelsea with the trophy and I just hope I'm right.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Rumours Abound But No New Players To Report

The new season is getting so close now and still there's no sign of Arsenal adding the players they need if they're going to truly challenge for the title. We all know a striker is an absolute must while a central defender is a priority too with an attacking wide player well up on my list. There's no doubt that the club are looking to bring players in, but to no avail at the moment.

Of course Granit Xhaka arrived, but that seems like an age ago and since then we have only brought in players for the future. Rob Holding certainly looks like a real prospect at centre back, but he's not the experienced player we need with Per Mertesacker on the long term injured list. As it stands he might have to play an awful lot more than was expected in the upcoming season.

The transfer window doesn't close for another four weeks, but by then we will already have played three games. Unless something in our transfer policy changes quickly it looks like we will be scrambling around in the dying days of the window looking to pick up whatever players might be still available. It's not a prospect I'm looking forward to, but at the moment it seems like the most likely scenario.

The squad are back from their exploits in the States and they have two more games to play before the season starts. There's a game against Viking FC on Friday and then we play City on Sunday in the final warm up game before the season kicks off at home to Liverpool the following Sunday. It's hard to see the squad in a strong light ahead of that game and we might have to struggle through the games against Liverpool, Leicester and Watford before we see the much needed additions.

It doesn't help that Mesut Ozil, Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud won't be available to start the season or that Aaron Ramsey and Alexis Sanhez haven't kicked a ball in anger yet. Added to that Santi Cazorla won't be ready from the start, Mertesacker might not play again this season and who knows when we will see Danny Welbeck again. To top it all off Jack Wilshere has a slight knock to his knee, but we all know just what the outcome can be when Wilshere picks up any sort of knock. 

There isn't a Premier League team with more players unavailable as we approach the start of the season and yet the transfer inactivity continues. I know we can't lay all the blame squarely at the manager's door, but he has to answer for the squad he has put together and all of it's deficiencies. It's not as if this is something new and it's a situation we seem to find ourselves in annually.

There's still time to sort it out of course, but the belief that we will get the players we need decreases by the day. It looks like the coming season is going to be a very competitive one in the Premier League and Arsenal are going to need a stronger squad to compete. There's more money than you can shake a sick at in the bank of Arsenal and now is the time to spend big.

To join my fantasy league go to the official site and set up your team after entering your details. Once you've set up your team go to the league's option and join a private league. The code for my league (Ever Arsenal league) is 64693-22498 and there's already over 500 teams in it.

For my predictions league go to the official site and make your forecasts for the first set of games (you can change them later if you want) and then go to the mini leagues option. Go to the join a mini league option (invitation code) and use the code for my league 64693-215432 to sign up. After that you can join in the fun of predicting every single game in the upcoming season.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v West Brom Preview

The end of the season can't come quickly enough for Arsenal right now as they continue to disappoint in game after game. A couple of weeks ago we wondered if the wins over Everton and Watford promised a strong finish to the season or if it was just a matter of how bad the opponents were. The later has proved to be the case as Arsenal drew their next two matches against West Ham and Palace after leading both games.

The nature of the performances in those games is what has made so many fans deeply unhappy. After leading 2-0 at West Ham the team were taken apart by high balls into the box and they didn't have a clue how to deal with it. They followed that with a truly awful display at home to Palace on Sunday and nobody was surprised when Palace were handed a late equaliser by Arsenal.

What makes it all the worse is seeing Spurs close the gap on Leicester at the top of the table and we can only hope that Leicrster can hold it together or the unthinkable will happen. Arsenal went out on Sunday after seeing Leicester slip up and knowing they had to win if they were going to at least keep an interest for the last few weeks. They produced an insipid display and bottled it yet again when faced with the chance to do something.

The very next night Spurs went to Stoke and they took advantage of Leicester's slip by tearing Stoke apart. They are now five points behind them with four games to play and the momentum looks to have shifted in their favour. It's been 55 years since they last won the league and it will be Arsenal's fault if they win it this season.

Despite being so poor since the turn of the year wins against West Ham and Palace would have put Arsenal back in the picture and their inability to see both games out speaks volumes for the manager and the team he has put together. If they had won those games a win against West Brom would have put them a point behind Spurs with four games to go and very much in the hunt for second place at worst. Instead we are faced with the annual battle to finish in the top four with United, West Ham and Liverpool closing in quickly on both Arsenal and City.

With five games to go they need to take at least 10 points I would imagine to confirm a top four finish yet again. While this season has been a bitter disappointment it's still crucial to finish in the top four to qualify for next season's Champions League and try to attract the players which the team needs so badly to improve it. The squad needs some major investment this summer and we need every advantage in our favour to try to lure those players.

After the last two displays the team needs some changes against West Brom, but the options are pretty limited. Per Mertesacker could come in for Gabriel Paulista in defence I suppose, but maybe the better move might be to give Calum Chambers a game. The centre of the defence has struggled and he's the only central defender who hasn't been given much of a chance.

I would be surprised if Aaron Ramsey doesn't come back into the team, but who he replaces is the question. He could come in for either Francis Coquelin or Mohamed El Neny or possibly even on the right side of the attacking trio. I have a feeling it will be Coquelin who will miss out and maybe Ramsey can bring some life back into the team.

There's always the possibility of either Olivier Giroud or Theo Walcott playing from the start, but I would be surprised to see them in the team. I don't think there will be too many changes from the team which has disappointed so much recently. I'm not sure that's such a good thing, but what are the options.

West Brom will do what most teams do when they come to Arsenal and pack their defence. They will try to hit us on the break or from a set piece and it's a tactic we struggle to counter. For me there isn't enough pace or urgency to Arsenal's attacking play and that's got to be the way to break down a packed defence.

To be honest I don't know what we're going to get from the team, but I fear it's going to be more of the same. I desperately want it to be different, but my belief in that happening has been shot to pieces by a team who just don't look like a cohesive unit. Maybe they'll come out and play the thrilling football which they are capable of, but equally we could get another performance like the one against Palace.

Arsenal's home form has been their biggest problem this season and the lack of goals at home is a real problem. Nine other teams have scored more home goals than Arsenal and that includes Newcastle who are currently second last and looking likely to be a Championship side next season. They have three home games left and they're all against teams in the lower reaches of the league and surely they can find it within themselves to entertain the home fans and score a few goals in the process.

There's talk of a protest and a walk out on the night and the chances are there will be a lot of empty seats in the stadium. I can't remember a league game being played on a Thursday night before, but the needs of television have to be met. Wouldn't it be a pleasant change if the needs of the fans were met too and the team gave us a performance worthy of the name.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Crystal Palace Preview

With Arsenal's hopes of winning the Premier League all but gone they have to knuckle down to their annual task of securing a top four finish. The prize for a top four finish is Champions League football next season and it's worth an awful lot more than just the monetary rewards. It's a lot easier to lure prospective transfer targets to the club with the carrot of Champions League football unless of course those players would like to advance past the last 16 of the competition.

With four of their remaining six games at home against teams in the bottom seven of the league they should be able to complete that task comfortably. Of course completing any task at all, never mind in a comfortable fashion, is something this Arsenal team are hardly adapt at. Their ability to self destruct has been well documented and they showed it again last week when they drew 3-3 away to West Ham after leading 2-0 just before half time.

With a game coming up on Thursday night at home to West Brom there might be some temptation for Arsene Wenger to shuffle the pack today. The team has been much better going forward in the last few games and I don't think he will make any changes in midfield or attack, but he could be tempted to alter the defence. It's unfair to blame the defence solely for the torture Andy Carroll put them through last week, but they certainly weren't up to the task and didn't know how to handle his threat.

The full backs didn't get enough help from the players in front of them when it came to preventing the crosses Carroll thrived on and the central defenders just couldn't cope with his aerial ability. The fact that the manager said afterwards that he didn't expect Carroll to play had some bearing on the lack of preparation in dealing with him, but the inability to coach from the sideline was a damning indictment on Arsene Wenger. They were his players out there who were not prepared properly to deal with an opponent and he either couldn't get the message across to them during the game or they just didn't listen to that message.

The only real options for him would be to bring in any or all of Petr Cech, Per Mertesacker and Kieran Gibbs. I would be surprised if Cech didn't return, but I don't think the other two will come off the bench today. Mertesacker is getting close to the end of his career and Gabriel Paulista needs to play more games to get used to playing in the Premier League. It looks like Gibbs could be on his way out of the club in the summer in search of more regular first team action and I think that should be enough for Nacho Monreal to keep his place despite a poor performance from him last week.

Palace offer a very real threat from set pieces and it's something Arsenal have to be aware of and they need to be properly prepared to deal with it. We appear to be a team who do not learn from their mistakes and the players have a chance today to show that is not the case. We know what the threat is before the game and every player should be well drilled in his part to play to cut out that threat.

Palace beat Norwich last week for their first win in the league since December and they drew with Everton during the week. They have a midweek game coming up too and an FA Cup semi final to play against Watford next weekend. It's a very busy schedule for them at the moment and the win last week should mean their Premier League position is secure for another season. With all of that in mind their minds could be elsewhere today and Arsenal need to press home any advantage they can get.

Arsenal may be the top scorers away from home in the league, but they have struggled to find the net at home. Their defensive record at home is only bettered by United though which all points to a low scoring game today. Palace might have only won that one game since December, but they are still a difficult team to break down.

I hope to see the attacking flair of the last few games again today with the balance the six players in front of the defence have found. The team have to defend an awful better as a team than they did last week though and they should win if they do just that. They are all basic requirements for any team and it says an awful lot about Arsenal that you can't be sure they will get the basic things in their game right.

There's still an outside chance of finishing second ahead of Spurs and Arsenal need to win today to put some pressure on them before they play Stoke tomorrow night. Two wins this week and anything other than a win for Spurs tomorrow night would leave the team in a much healthier position with only four games to go. I think they will win today's game to start with at least and do their part in trying to make sure their near neighbours finish behind them as they have done every single season since Arsene Wenger took the reins in 1996.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Beat Hull 4-0, But At A Cost

Arsenal went to Hull last night in their FA Cup fifth round replay as they looked to continue their quest to win the cup for the third season in a row. They hadn't lost an FA Cup game since 2013 and the drawn game was the first one they didn't win at the first time of asking in those three years. After drawing 0-0 in the first game it wasn't going to be easy going to a team looking for promotion from the Championship.

As in the previous FA Cup games this season Arsene Wenger made as many changes as he could from the team which fought back to draw 2-2 with Spurs on Saturday. There's a fine line between getting the team right and resting players ahead of other challenges and the boss has just about managed to get it right so far. With a few players unavailable last night he made six changes to that team which had to play most of the second half with only 10 men against Spurs.

With Petr Cech injured David Ospina had to continue in goal while Calum Chambers was the only change in defence as he came in for the rested Hector Bellerin. There was no real choice for him in the center of defence with Chambers playing at full back and Laurent Koscielny injured while Kieran Gibbs got another chance in place of the rested Nacho Monreal on the left. There was still plenty of experience in the defence and I felt confident they could cope with anything a fairly toothless Hull team had to offer. 

The midfield and attacking trio were all as expected with Mohamed El Neny the only player retaining his place from the weekend. It meant Alex Iwobi, Joel Campbell, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud all got a chance to impress in attacking roles while Mathieu Flamini filled in for the suspended Francis Coquelin. 

The first half was a pretty drab affair in the main, but the most worrying aspect for Arsenal was the the knock Per Mertesacker took to his head which saw him substituted on the half hour mark. With Koscielny already sidelined it meant Monreal had to come on and play in the center of defence for the last hour of the game. He spent some time in that role last season when others were injured and he emerged from it a better player in his own position.

The game turned in Arsenal's favour five minutes before the break when a Hull defender played a dreadful ball back into his own box and Giroud pounced to score from close range. Arsenal hadn't looked like creating anything themselves at that point and the gift from Hull was gladly accepted. Hull hadn't conceded a goal at home since mid December and that goal looked like it could easily be the one to settle the game.

Only 10 minutes into the second half Arsenal lost another central defender when Gabriel Paulista went down with what looked like a muscular injury. It has to be hoped both Gabriel and Mertesacker will recover quickly with a game to come at the weekend followed by a daunting trip to Barcelona. With limited defensive options on the bench Aaron Ramsey had to come on in midfield with Flamini going to right back and Chambers going to the center of defence.

Hull took some encouragement from Arsenal's injury woes and began to exert a little pressure. Arsenal held firm though and took the game by the scruff of the neck in the last 20 minutes. They added another three goals, but in true Arsenal style they also lost another man to injury.

The first of those goals came from Giroud again when he connected with a deflected Walcott cross to make it 2-0. The game looked comfortable for Arsenal at that stage, but shortly afterwards they lost their third player of the night to injury. Ramsey had only been on the pitch 16 minutes when he pulled up with a muscle injury and he was replaced by Jeff Reine-Adelaide.

Arsenal were looking comfortable at 2-0 and it soon became three when Walcott got on the end of an excellent Campbell pass to finish calmly into the far corner. The game was over at that stage, but there was still time for Walcott to add to his tally when his shot from an Adelaide pass was deflected past the keeper at his near post. The final result was a pretty comfortable victory for Arsenal and their biggest win of the season as well as being only the second time this season they had scored more than three goals.

In the grand scheme of things it puts us a step closer to an incredible achievement and it will hopefully help to reinstall some confidence too. Both Giroud and Walcott managed a brace of goals and maybe that's what they need to get them out of the rut they were in. Hull may not have put out their strongest side, but they played a similar team in the first game and came away with a scoreless draw.

The performances of El Neny, Campbell, Iwobi and Ospina were all impressive and they showed there may be more strength in depth than we imagine, but maybe not in the places where we imagine it to be. The goals for Giroud and Walcott have to be positive and strikers form can change very quickly once the goals are going in. Monreal showed he can still play in the center of defence too and that could be very important given the injuries currently piling up in that position.

On the negative side the injuries are a real concern and there are now 10 players on the injured list. The boss is most concerned about the injury to Ramsey and it looks like the other two will only be short term. Given Ramsey's history it's hard to say how long he will be out yet, but at least a few others showed they might be ready to step up during that time.

The win means the league game at home to West Brom on Saturday has been postponed and it's Watford at home in the last eight of the cup on Sunday instead. The team are only one game away from a Wembley semi final and the boss needs to think about the team he plays in that game. There's a trip to Barcelona only a few days later, but surely that's a lost cause and the FA Cup is a very real route to a trophy.

There were still plenty of dissenters after last night's win and I fear there is nothing the boss can do to win them back short of taking the Premier League title. At this stage that's a very long shot, but at least the team got a win last night to put an end to a run of five games without one. It will take an awful lot more wins from here on in to bring the success which is what the team has to be aiming for this season. Last night suggested they could at least give it a shot, but it's still a very long shot.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Spurs Preview

The chances to close the gap on the teams above them keep presenting themselves to Arsenal and they keep turning them down. As bad as the defeat to United was on Sunday the loss at home to Swansea on Wednesday night was so much worse. The team have now lost three games in a row for the first time in six years and have only won two of their last eight in the league.

A few weeks ago when we couldn't muster a goal we were at least faring well at the back and drawing games, but the defence has now gone to pieces too. We can complain all we want about the poor decisions from the referee which played a part in both Swansea goals, but Arsenal's complete inability to respond to going 2-1 down was a joke. We have a team devoid of leaders and without the mental strength Arsene Wenger has told us his team possesses in abundance.

Three points on Wednesday would have put Arsenal level with Spurs after they lost to West Ham and trey can still join them on 54 points if they win today.  Of course an Arsenal win would be just what Leicester want and could see them open up a six point lead at the top of the table if they can win at Watford later in the day. I have no doubt that Leicester can be caught, but I'm just not sure any more that Arsenal are the team that can do it.

Any belief I had in the team has been shot to pieces, but I probably still have more belief than the players have in themselves. They don't seem to have a clue what to do to break an opponent down and when they do somehow manage it there's not a man Jack of them I would trust to put the ball away. For me they are paying the price for under investment in the squad when there is plenty of money available.

If this season ends in the abject failure it seems to be heading towards them we could be faced with the very real prospect of Mesut Ozil and/or Alexis Sanchez looking towards the exit door. If either or even both of them were to leave it would destroy all the the "squad building" of the last few years. The best time to strengthen any squad is when they are on a high and last summer was the perfect opportunity. The addition of Petr Cech was no doubt a great addition, but the failure to add any outfield players is surely one of the main reasons for our current struggles. 

Speaking of Cech he won't be playing today after picking up an injury on his way back after going forward for a late corner against Swansea. Laurent Koscielny won't be playing either as he hasn't recovered from the injury which kept him out of that game and we're faced with David Ospina in goal behind a central defensive partnership of Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista. That combination doesn't exactly fill me with confidence and I doubt if it will scare Spurs.

Ospina is a good keeper, but he's not in Cech's class and his howler at home to Olympiacos is what he is remembered for so far this season. I was full of hope when Gabriel signed in January of last year, but he has looked progressively worse with each chance he gets. It almost seems like Arsenal can sign good players and gradually coach that right out of them.

I can't see too many changes from the team who performed so abjectly against Swansea as there are so few genuine options. In midfield the players who might have made a difference (Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and Tomas Risicky) are all injured and both Wilshere and Rosicky seem to be permanently on the unavailable list. There comes a time where you have to question how long you can keep a place in the squad for players who spend so much time injured.

The attacking options are virtually non existent with Theo Walcott so badly out of form that others don't even pass the ball to him. Alex Iwobi was brought on for the last 10 minutes at Old Trafford and I thought his introduction was grossly unfair on a young player trying to make a name for himself. To be thrown into a team playing so badly and expected to try to get them back in the game with 10 minutes remaining was a task beyond a player with vastly more experience than him.

If Arsenal are going to win today and keep their title chances alive there has to be a complete change in attitude and conviction from Wednesday night and the vast majority of this season in fact. The performance needed today is one we have seen on maybe only two or three occasions this season and definitely not at all since the 3-0 win away to Olympiacos. If the boss can somehow get that performance out of his players today then just maybe he still has something to offer, but there can't be too many fans who believe that any more.

This is being billed as the biggest North London Derby in decades and maybe the biggest one since the 1991 FA Cup semi final. That game didn't go Arsenal's way, but they did go on to win the league and I'd gladly take a similar scenario today, but I have no doubt that a defeat will end their title chances this season. With 10 games to go a six point game is certainly not too much to make up and Arsenal have done so in the past, but their current form suggests it's so far beyond them that it's impossible.  

I hope the team show up and play with the confidence and passion required today, but I have no belief that they will. I'll gladly take a lucky win too and hope it's the catalyst the team needs to turn things around, but again my belief in that is virtually non existent. I see myself as an optimist but this team more than any other I can remember has beaten that optimism out of me game by game.

The worst thing is despite the underinvestment in the squad we were perfectly set to win the league at the turn of the year. We were right in there with the other challengers and the list of players ready to return from injury led us to believe the performances would improve once the fit players could hang in there. As those players have returned we have got progressively worse and we're now faced with the FA Cup being our only realistic hope of a trophy if things don't go our way today. 

I'll still support the team for every single one of the 90 minutes today though, but I dread to think what the reaction will be if they lose. They have the ability to win, but it takes a whole lot more than just ability to win a game of football. It may seem a forlorn hope, but I do hope that the players show all that is needed and put in a performance worthy of a team who are still in the title race despite themselves.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Swansea City Preview

The less said about Arsenal's defeat at United on Saturday the better, but it has left a feeling for many fans that the Premier League title is beyond the team yet again. Arsenal are seen as serial bottlers thanks to their ability to implode when well placed and it seems that scenario has reared it's ugly head again. With most of the other "big clubs" doing a Burton the title seemed to be there for the taking, but that's just when Arsenal decided to go missing.

To be honest the team haven't being playing well for a couple of months at least and there hasn't been a convincing victory or display since the turn of the year at least. They had a chance to lay down a marker against a seriously depleted United team on Sunday, but ended up playing second fiddle to a team mainly comprised of youngsters and players who can't keep a place in a team who had only won three of their previous 13 league games. The same old failings were there for Arsenal and the same questions we ask ourselves season after season have to be asked again.

There is a chance for the players to at least partially redeem themselves tonight when Swansea come calling. Swansea are struggling at the wrong end of the table and only just above the relegation zone, but that didn't stop them coming close to taking a point at Spurs on Sunday. Unfortunately for Arsenal their near neighbours came from behind to win 2-1 and will now go to the top of the league if they win away to West Ham tonight.

Spurs look like the team most likely to win the league at the moment with 11 games to go and it's in their own hands now after Leicester could only draw 2-2 at home to West Brom last night. Their next game is at home to Arsenal on Saturday in the early kick off and it's a real six pointer for both teams. Spurs have won their last six league games and are the form team at the moment, but a win for Arsenal tonight and again on Saturday would put them level with Spurs at worst. 

That trip they have to West Ham tonight is no easy task though and West Ham are unbeaten in their last 11 home games in the league. If Arsenal fall away and Spurs end up winning the title I cannot see a future for Arsene Wenger at the club. He's losing the support of more and more fans as each season passes and that shower taking the title when it was Arsenal's to win would be the final straw surely.

I'm certainly not saying it's a scenario I want to see come to fruition, but it's hard to deny that it's a very real possibility. We're forever hearing of the progress of the team and/or squad, but nobody could defend losing a title to Spurs as any sort of progress when Arsenal had their fate in their own hands. We'll have to wait until May to make a final judgement on this season, but a defeat on Saturday would be a devestating blow no matter what the outcome of tonight's game might be.

There's an FA Cup replay away to Hull coming up next week too and I would suggest Arsenal need to play a strong team in that game as the FA Cup could be their best route to silverware yet again this season. It's a very poor substitute for the league, especially if Spurs win it, but it's better than nothing at all. So far the cup has been treated as an outing for the fringe players and those on the way back from injury, but it might just become a priority very quickly.

Swansea come calling tonight in dire need of points and they will be content to sit deep and try to hit Arsenal on the break. They very nearly got something out of their trip to Spurs on Sunday with a similar plan with Lukas Fabianski pulling off some magnificent saves to deny Spurs at times. He did the very same thing when Swansea hit Arsenal with a late sucker punch to take all three points in this fixture last season. He's a good shot stopper, but he can be dodgy on crosses and that will hopefully be where Arsenal can take advantage of their former keeper tonight.

There's a suggestion of plenty of changes from the team which performed so badly against United on Sunday, but I doubt if we'll see too many. Surely Olivier Giroud has to come in for Theo Walcott who created a whole new level of "being ineffectual" in that game. There's some suggestion of Aaron Ramsey moving to wide on the right, but I think Danny Welbeck will play there with Giroud central and Alexis Sanchez on the left again. As bad as Alexis has been since his return from injury he's too good to be dropped and we have to continue to wait for him to find his form. 

Giroud might not have scored in nine games, but he has still contributed far more goals than any other player and we need others to do their part if we're going to improve. We have struggled for goals all season long and we have rarely scored enough to make us comfortable in any game. When you see how far behind Spurs we are on goal difference you realise how few goals we are scoring.

At the back there are bound to be calls for Per Mertesacker to replace Gabriel Paulista who was not at the races on Sunday. Mind you it was Mertesacker who faced those same calls after his performance against Barca and it's probably a fifty/fifty shout between the two of them. Whoever plays the team have to defend better as a unit when called upon and cut out the stupid mistakes.

The season is not lost yet though and there's still time to turn things around. A win tonight will put us three points off the summit with 10 games to play and that's a position we would have been happy to take on many occasions in the last 12 years. If Leicrster and Spurs are the teams ahead of us in that scenario then all cannot be lost and the title is still a possibility.

The chances to sort out the mess are decreasing with each game, but it's still not all lost. As bad as Arsenal can and have been they still have the ability to win the league, but they can't do it unless they improve an awful lot. I won't say I'm sure they will do so tonight, but the optimist in me still hopes they will.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Southampton: Premier League Preview

It's back to Premier League action tonight for Arsenal when Southampton pay a visit to the Emirates Stadium. With the team currently in third place every game could be seen as a must win game, but this one most certainly is. The last three games were all tough tests, but the return of two points from them wasn't good enough for a team with title ambitions.

They have three points to make up on a Leicester side who are facing a very tough three game run which culminates in a trip to Arsenal on Valentine's Day. City are only ahead of Arsenal on goal difference, but with Sergio Aguero back and firing on all cylinders they are title favourites. As good as City can be they still haven't won back to back league games since mid October and it will be interesting to see how the players react to the news that Manuel Pellagrini will be on his bike at the end of the season.

For all the ins and outs of the two teams ahead of them Arsenal's fate is in their own hands and they can go out and win the title themselves. I suppose we have to take Spurs into consideration at this stage too as they're only two points behind Arsenal and City, but surely they're only one dodgy lasagne away from having the bottom fall out of their world or vice versa. To be fair to Spurs they have been very consistent and have looked the part, but I still think they will fall away.

From a selection perspective Arsene Wenger isn't quite spoiled for choice yet, but he certainly has more options than he has had in a while. The returns of both Alexis Sanchez and Francis Coquelin were huge boosts to the team and I would be surprised if they didn't both start tonight. The boss made nine changes for the FA Cup win over Burnley on Saturday and I would expect him to make seven tonight.

Petr Cech, Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellerin will all come in at the back and I suspect Per Mertesacker will get the nod ahead of Gabriel Paulista. Gabriel is certainly the man for the future, but Mertesacker is still first choice for the boss at the moment whether us fans agree with that or not. Gabriel had his dodgy moments on Saturday and Laurent Koscielny wasn't too steady at times either, but it seems Mertesacker is always the one to take the rap when Arsenal fail at the back.

Mesut Ozil will obviously return as will Aaron Ramsey with Olivier Giroud keeping his place down the middle. The last choice for the boss will be who plays in the other wide role and it's a straight choice between Theo Walcott and Joel Campbell with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alex Iwobi as outside bets. I think Campbell will get the nod as he's the form player of the two although I still think Walcott is the bigger goal threat. The great chance he missed with virtually the last kick against Burnley could have been just what he needed if he had managed to put it away.

Southampton are in good form at the moment and they have won their last three league games without conceding a goal including their victory away to United last weekend. If Arsenal are anywhere off their best they could be punished tonight by a team who have already beaten them 4-0 in the league this season. Surely that result must give the players the impetus they need to give it their all tonight and take the three points.

I think it will be a close game, but Arsenal have the class of Ozil and Sanchez to call on and that should make the difference. If they can make up ground on either or both of Leicester and City that would be great with those two playing each other at the weekend and Arsenal away to Bournemouth. It's getting to the business end of the season and Arsenal need to show that they mean business from here on in.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Premier League Trip To Liverpool Previewed

With a spot in the fourth round of the FA Cup safely secured after beating Sunderland it's back to Premier League action for Arsenal tonight when they travel to play Liverpool. Anfield is traditionally a tough ground to get a result on and Liverpool need the points tonight as they attempt to close the gap on the top four. Arsenal need the the three points too with a two point lead at the top of the table to defend and games at Stoke and at home to Chelsea coming up.

It's certainly a tough run of three league games for the team before they play at home to Burnley in the fifth round of the FA Cup. If they can emerge from those three games still on top of the pile they will have overcome a big hurdle in their attempt to win their first league title in 12 years. There are still plenty of other challenges to come, but the indicators at the moment are that this team is capable of meeting those challenges head on.

Of course we all know Arsenal are also capable of just not showing up and putting on a horror show like they did in the 4-0 defeat at struggling Southampton. Those performances come out of the blue and it's impossible to predict when they will arrive, but they have been against so called lesser teams in the league so far this season. They have been at or near their best in the big tests and have won at home to both Manchester teams as well as drawing at home to Liverpool and Spurs.

The only defeat was at Chelsea who are still a big team despite their current position and that game was ruined by ridiculous officiating. The most worrying thing might be that they have played at home to so many of those teams and face some tough away days in the second half of the season. The first of those away tests is tonight and it would be great if they could pass it with flying colours.

Liverpool have a very busy schedule at the moment with an FA Cup replay against Exeter City to come as well as the second leg of their Capital One Cup semi final against Stoke. They will play an awful lot of matches this month and can't be happy to see midweek league matches thrown into the mix. Those games are taking their toll already with an injury list to rival the one Arsenal seem to have on a permanent basis.

Arsenal have managed to overcome those injuries to keep their season going in the league and cup as well as the Champions League and Liverpool will be looking to do the same. Jurgen Klopp has got very good results away to Chelsea and City since taking the reins at Liverpool and he will want to add Arsenal to that list. They have had real problems against some of the teams they would be expected to beat though and it seems like it's taking some time for the players to adapt to the style Klopp wants them to play.

Their high pressing game isn't so effective against teams who are content to sit back and draw Liverpool on to them and they have really struggled to open up compact defences this season. Injuries have certainly played a part in their problems and they have had to draft Steven Caulker in on loan to shore up a defence which is missing a lot of players. I think they are bound to offer up chances tonight with a makeshift defence and Arsenal need to be clinical when those chances arrive.

Arsene Wenger has a perceived starting 11 with the players he has available at the moment and I expect him to go with that team tonight. That exact team lost 4-0 to Southampton only 18 days ago and yet Arsenal have won their three games since then. I would be surprised to see a different line up from the one which performed so dismally that night, but I do expect a much better performance from them.

In Mesut Ozil they have the player to unlock any defence and I think his set piece delivery could be crucial tonight. Liverpool have suffered at set pieces and their defence could be in for a torrid time if Olivier Giroud, Per Mertesacker or Laurent Koscielny can get on the end of Ozil's fantastic left foot. The pace of Theo Walcott and work rate of Joel Campbell could cause them real problems too while Aaron Ramsey has the habit of popping up in the right place at the right time and maybe he can get a few more goals now after breaking his poor streak on Saturday.

Of course Liverpool will have their moments going forward and Mathieu Flamini has to be disciplined in front of the defence while the more attack minded players need to get back and do their share too. If Arsenal are going to win it's going to take a team effort and this team all know each other very well. When Arsenal win at Anfield under the boss they tend to do so by a narrow margin, but their losses have often tended to be one sided affairs in Liverpool's favour. If it comes to the the crunch tonight I fancy Arsenal to be the ones able to squeeze a tight win out of the game.

When all things are considered Arsenal can't win the league tonight no matter what the result is. They can, however, lay down a marker and show how genuine their title credentials are. A win would be the ideal result to do just that, but it's very important that they don't lose. I think they have the quality in the right places to get that win by a narrow margin and I just hope they can show that quality often enough tonight.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Newcastle United Preview

Arsenal start the new year at the top of the Premier League and they have the chance to maintain or even increase that lead against Newcastle. Despite the 4-0 defeat at Southampton last week they have won four of their last five league games to lead Leicester on goal difference and City by three points. The 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Monday was the result which put them on top of the table and more of the same would do very nicely.

The team started slowly in that game, but they grew into it and again showed their new found ability to put bad results behind them very quickly. Bournemouth were on a very good run before that game which included victories over both Chelsea and United. The trouble they caused Bournemouth from corners was very impressive as was the performance of Mesut Ozil.

I have never thought he was anything other than the best player in his position in the league and maybe even the world too. He has had his ups and downs at Arsenal as well as a long list of critics, but he is the outstanding player in the league so far this season for me and looks set to break the record for the most assists in a season. That record is currently held by Thierry Henry on 20 assists and Ozil needs 5 assists in the remaining 19 games to beat him. It would take a very brave man to bet against him doing so considering how he has played this season.

At the moment it just seems to be a matter of how many of the chances Ozil makes that Arsenal can put away to determine the outcomes of their games. In the first half against Bournemouth he created all six of the chances which the team created, but the other players only managed to put one of them away. He duly stepped up in the second half to score the second goal himself just to make sure of the result.

Arsenal haven't lost at home since the opening game of the season when West Ham beat them 2-0. They have taken 19 points from their last seven games at home with 14 goals scored and only four conceded. 

By contrast to that Newcastle have lost six of their nine away games and are the lowest scorers away from home in the league. They did come from behind to win away to Spurs a few weeks ago though and their defensive record has improved in recent weeks with only four goals conceded in their last five games. They do have players who can carry a threat, but it's nowhere near the threat carried by Arsenal.

In team news the only player to return to the squad will probably be Mathieu Flamini as he seems to have recovered from the knock which kept him out of the Bournemouth game. With three games in eight days I would imagine there will again be some changes to the team from that game. The team which started against Southampton was seen by Arsene Wenger as his current best option available to him, but the players who came in on Monday did well.

Gabriel Paulista did very well in that game and should surely keep his place, but the question is who will miss out if he does. Per Mertesacker has played the last two games while Laurent Koscielny sat out Monday so maybe it's time for Mertesacker to get a well earned rest. I still think the Koscielny and Gabriel combination is the way forward and it's just a matter of time before Gabriel earns a permanent position in the team.

If Flamini does return to the starting 11 then Calum Chambers would be the man to miss out. Chambers did well after a slightly shaky start, but I think Flamini's experience should see him get the nod. The rumours of the imminent arrival of Mohamed Elneny still abound and he could find himself called into service very soon if he does arrive with the amount of midfield injuries at the moment.

I think Nacho Monreal will return after sitting out the Bournemouth game, but I think it's probably a fifty/fifty call between Joel Campbell and Akex Oxlade-Chamberlain for the last place in the team. I can't see the likes of Ozil, Olivier Giroud or Theo Walcott sitting on the bench as their creativity and end product cannot be done without at the moment.

Alexis Sanchez won't be back in time to play, but the chances are he will be back for the FA Cup game with Sunderland next week. I'll be making the trip to London for that game and I'm hoping to see the strongest team possible despite the team having a league game four days later. That game is the first of three very tough league games in a row and the team need to go into them on the back of wins against Newcastle and Sunderland. Having Alexis back from injury for those three league games will be a huge boost and hopefully he won't suffer another setback.

Back to Newcastle and it's a game I expect Arsenal to win as long as they show up without the attitude and performance we saw against Southampton. Newcastle will try to park the bus but the ability of Ozil to break through any defence and set his team mates up could and probably will make the difference. If Arsenal can get ahead hopefully they can press home any advantage they have and finish Newcastle off. They managed to come back late against Spurs and we can't afford to let them get into a position where such a comeback might be on.

With City facing a tricky trip to Watford later in the day there's a good chance for Arsenal to put some pressure on them before they play. The next three games are very tricky ones as I said above and a six point margin over City ahead of those games would be very handy. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that they can do their part and Watford might just help them a little too.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Game With Sheffield Wednesday Previewed

Things are going pretty well for Arsenal at the moment with the win over Everton on Saturday keeping them second in the league. They're only behind City on goal difference after the Manchester derby bored us all to death on Sunday afternoon. There's still a long way to go in the Champions League group if qualification for the knock out stages is to be achieved, but the win against Bayern has given us real hope.

For the moment though it's a game in the less glamourous Capital One Cup with Arsenal making the trip to Sheffield to play Wednesday on Tuesday night. It's been quite a while since they played Wednesday that I can remember at least, but there was a time when the games were a permanent fixture in the top flight of English football. The most memorable encounters were probably the meetings in the FA Cup and League cup finals of 1993 with Arsenal coming out on top in both.

Arsene Wenger usually gives his fringe and reserve players a run out in this competition and this game should be no didferent, but his options are somewhat limited. The players who have played so many games in recent weeks are in need of a break with a tough week coming up after the game which includes trips to Swansea and Bayern as well as the North London derby. His problem is injuries have deprived him of many of the players who would have played and he has loaned out most of the others.

The only goalkeeper available besides Petr Cech is the untested Matt Macey and it would certainly be a gamble to play him. The defensive options are much easier for him and I would expect to see Mathieu Debuchey, Calum Chambers and Kieran Gibbs play from the start. Per Mertesacker has returned from the illness which saw him miss Saturday's game and I expect him to play from the start too.

In midfield Mathieu Flamini is bound to come in to play the defensive role which saw him score twice against Spurs in the last round and nearly do the same when he came on late on Saturday, but Mikel Arteta is again unavailable through injury. The only other player certain to start is Joel Campbell while I doubt if we'll see Theo Walcott in the team even if he was an unused sub against Everton. I think the most likely option on the right will be Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who still looks like he needs more game time to me.

After that it's a matter of which players will be chosen from the ones who played on Saturday and I suspect Olivier Giroud will be one of them considering how often he has been on the bench recently. He has done very well when he has come in from the bench and led the line well when he started against Everton on Saturday. I wouldn't be surprised to see him play tonight and then play alongside Walcott on Saturday with Walcott taking over the striking duties away to Bayern next week.

It's anyone's guess who the other two players to make up the team will be, but the chances are they will be first team regulars. The hopes of dipping into the younger players have diminished with so many of the more advanced ones out on loan, but it's not impossible to suggest he might play Alex Iwobi. He's already made his full debut for Nigeria and didn't look out of place in pre season games in the first team so he's probably the most likely to play if any of the youngsters get a run out. 

Wednesday are sitting in mid table in the Championship and they're not too far off the play off places at the moment. I have no doubt they would like to get one over on the team who are joint leaders in the Premier League and it would be a huge boost for them if they did. I'm no lover of this competition and the team could probably do without a game this midweek, but a win would certainly continue the current momentum.

A loss won't be the end of the world either and at least the game will give our back up defenders a chance to show what they can do. It's an opportunity for all of the players who aren't regulars to remind the boss of their abilities and let's hope they take it with both hands. Arsenal have a pretty solid first choice 11 at the moment and a few of the players on show tonight need to try their all to changes minds on their current situation. 

The one thing we really don't want is extra time followed by penalties and we can do without any more injuries too. Let's hope the fringe players decide to remind the boss of their abilities tonight and help the team through to the quarter finals. It's been a long time since Arsenal won the league cup and they have never won it under Wenger, but who knows where it could end up if they reach the last eight.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Trip To Chelsea Previewed

It's never easy as an Arsenal fan as you never know when the team will suddenly decide not to show up. You do know it will happen though and such was the case on Wednesday night when they lost 2-1 away to Dinamo Zagreb in the first game of their Champions League campaign. It won't be easy for them from here on in, but they certainly have every chance of making the knock out stages.

After a bad start in the league they have managed to take 10 points from their last four games and keep a clean sheet in the last three. Those 10 points have moved them into the top four, but they are five points behind City already with City winning their first five games. They head to the champions on Saturday morning knowing they have to get something from the game to make sure that gap doesn't become too wide.

Chelsea have had the worst start to a season of any team ever defending the Premier League title with only four points from their first five games. They have conceded more goals in those five games than any other team so far this season and there are rumours of unrest. They're only one place above the relegation zone, but things will change for them and it's just a matter of when it happens.

They did manage to get their Champions League campaign off to a good start on Wednesday with a 4-0 win at home to Maccabi Tel Aviv, but they still looked very vulnerable in defence. They had the best defensive record in the Premier League last season, but they have looked very shaky at the back this time. If they're going to turn things around they have to sort out their defensive issues and I wouldn't be surprised to see them play a very defensive game against Arsenal despite being at home.

Attacking football is alien to Jose Mourinho, but his team is full of players with attacking flair. He tried to play two defensive midfielders at Everton and they were two down before they even knew they were in a game. He knows Arsene Wenger will attack and that could give him the best hope of getting the result they need to kick start their season. 

It's not all about who plays or doesn't play for Chelsea though because Arsenal have the players to beat almost any team with the right attitude. The boss made six changes on Wednesday night and it backfired miserably, but I don't expect him to take any chances with the team against Chelsea. I have no doubt he will play what he considers to be his strongest team which should see the recall of the six players who were rested on Wednesday night.

There's always the possibility of Olivier Giroud leading the line for his aerial strength in attack and defence, but I doubt if he will get the nod. Besides his stupid sending off on Wednesday night he is struggling with his game at the moment and spends far too much time complaining and practicing his facial expressions of angst. I think Theo Walcott did enough when he came on against Dinamo to keep his place and hopefully his pace will be a real asset.

I'm one of those who has found the frequent exclusion of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hard to understand, but he showed again on Wednesday night that he has a lot to learn about his defensive duties. I don't blame him completely for the first goal Dinamo scored as Mathieu Debuchey has to shoulder some blame too, but Chamberlain wasn't able to get over it afterwards. If he's going to become the player we all hope he will be them he needs to make sure he doesn't switch off when the opposition have the ball.

I think Gabriel Paulista will keep his place even with Per Mertesacker well again as he has done very well since coming into the team. Mertesacker lost his place due to illness and I think he might have to wait until somebody picks up an injury or has a serious lapse in form before he gets back into the first choice team. He will of course get a game in the Capital One Cup against Spurs next week along with a few of the players who didn't look so good against Dinamo.

There's a real opportunity for Arsenal to go to Chelsea and get a win and it's been a while since they won at Stamford Bridge. The boss had never beaten a Mourinho team until the Community Shield, but that victory has put that hoodoo to bed. If he can go to Stamford Bridge and take the three points it will be well and truly buried.

Arsenal have created an awful lot of chances in their league games up to now, but they have scored far too few goals. They need to start taking more of their chances and this would be the perfect game to do just that. Alexis Sanchez had a great goalscoring first season at the club last season, but the chances just aren't going in for him at the moment.

The strikers might be a little goal shy right now, but the rest of the team are even more goal shy. The goals will come though and again Stamford Bridge would be the perfect place for players like Alexis, Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey or Mesut Ozil to open their account for the season. I'm not too bothered who gets the goals as long as Arsenal get them even if they get their third win of the season thanks to an own goal.

A win would move Arsenal into second before the other teams play and only two points behind City before they have a tricky game at home to West Ham. There's nothing like sitting back with the three points and waiting to see how the other teams cope in their games. 

The team owe the fans and themselves a performance after Wednesday night and there would be no better game to come up with the goods. A win that could possibly put Chelsea into the relegation zone would be almost too good to be true and it would heap the pressure on Mourinho too. Let's just hope the players can react positively to Wednesday night and put in a performance to take all three points.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.