Bolton 1 Davies
Arsenal 3 Eboue Bendtner Denilson

Arsenal went to the top of the Premier League with this comeback victory at the Reebok Stadium against what used to be their bogey team, Bolton Wanderers. It was a delight to watch the slick passing of the Gunners overcoming direct football deployed by the home team who relied on dead ball situations to pose problems to the Arsenal defence.

Despite using the direct route for most of the time, there were some moments of flair from Gary Megson's side. Kevin Nolan's long range effort in the 3rd minute ensured Manuel Almunia was on his toes throughout the match.

The visitors created a host of chances but much to the delight of the majority in the crowd, Bolton went ahead in the 14th minute through Kevin Davies who capitalised on some loose marking in the Arsenal defence from a Joey O'Brien's corner. It was a typical Bolton goal against Arsenal.

Then Manu Adebayor and Alex Song hit the post as Arsenal pressed forward for the equaliser. Then Kolo Toure saw his effort went just wide after Nicklas Bendtner had chested down the ball for him.

The Danish striker played a huge part in the equaliser by threading the ball for Manu Eboue to shoot home past Jussi Jaaskelainen. Replays suggested that the Ivorian was offside when the pass was made but this time the decision went Arsenal's way.

Barely a minute later Bendtner got his name on the scoresheet when another sweeping move on the left saw Denilson sprinting clear before delivering a low ball into the box. The tall Dane attacked the near post and managed to connect with the ball and turned it past Jasskelainen.

Toure and Almunia then combined to prevent Bolton from going to the interval on level terms. The Ivorian defender clean tackle robbed the ball from Ricardo Gardner who was poised to pull the trigger inside the box. Then Almunia dived to his left to push away Nolan's effort after the midfielder was set-up by Joey O'Brien.

Then a hard tackle on Gael Clichy by Davies saw the France international being taken off during the interval and Johan Djourou came on for the second half at the right-back spot while Bacary Sagna moved to the left to take Clichy's place.

Song nearly made the contest over in the opening minutes of second half with a good shot from outside the box but Jasskelainen denied the Arsenal midfielder with a good save.

As expected, Bolton would always be a threat with a single goal lead and they came close in finding the equaliser a number of times in the second half. However, Arsenal defended stoutly and when substitute Theo Walcott's pace led to another quick counter-attack Bolton were exposed.

The youngster found Adebayor who ran to the right. The Togolese delivered a hard low ball across the face of the goal and Denilson who came in from the blind side side-footed the ball home to ensure the three points going Arsenal's way.

For the moment, Arsenal are on top and hopefully they would remain there.

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Dynamo Kiev 1 Bangoura
Arsenal 1 Gallas

Arsene Wenger expected a point from the trip to Kiev and a single point was what Arsenal got. The first half suggested that the trip back to London would be a jovial one as Arsenal stamped their authority all over their Ukrainian opponents.

Robin Van Persie came close but the biggest miss of the night surely had to be attributed to Manu Adebayor who shot high and wide with only the goalkeeper to beat after a mistake by the home defence.

Had Arsenal be more clinical in their finishing it would have been a different story altogether and continue Dynamo's run of defeats in the Champions League. Last season the Kiev side finished bottom of their group without a single point.

Perhaps the capital of Ukraine held a curse on Arsenal as the Gunners never get the right result there. But a point is definitely better than none though for a long time after going behind, Arsenal did not look like scoring at all.

Of course the penalty decision was very harsh and I thought the Dynamo player induced the penalty by pulling Bacary Sagna to fall with him. However it would not have come to that if William Gallas had not misjudged the flight of the ball which led to the break by Dynamo.

I was mouthing all kind of bad words to both Gallas and Adebayor when the two of them played quite a significant role in bringing the score to par. First the Togolese found the unmarked Theo Walcott wide on the right. Good for him.

Then Gallas popped up at the end of Walcott's low hard ball across the Dynamo's goalmouth to divert it into the net though there was a hint of offside (I think...) when he connected with the ball.

We continued to push forward but a point from Kiev could be regarded as a success considering previous heartbreaks that we suffered there.

Now, the Reebok awaits and hopefully we could snatch another three points there like we did last season.

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Blackburn 0
Arsenal 4 Van Persie, Adebayor 3

Last season the visit to Ewood Park spelt the end of Jens Lehmann's time with Arsenal after he let slip a long range effort by David Dunn as Arsenal were forced to share the points that afternoon. This time around it was completely the opposite as the Gunners ran out easy winners and by a scoreline which was quite unexpected.

Theo Walcott continued from where he left at the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb on Wednesday with another display of confidence and maturity. Despite not getting on the scoresheet himself, the run that he made which opened the path for Robin Van Persie to score was certainly crucial.

The lead gave Arsenal confidence and despite not increasing the lead until late into time added on at the end of the half, Arsene Wenger's men were never in any real danger as they seized control of the proceedings.

The three goals scored by Manu Adebayor did take a few chunks of my 'dislike' for him. I do not know when it will be completely gone, perhaps it never will but as long as he is doing the job for Arsenal then it is fine by me.

So it is the long trip to Kiev now and hopefully the result there would be great for us Gooners.

...

It was not the best of start to the season, having to miss writing about the opening five fixtures but hopefully I would be able to make amends from now on.

The opening quarter of an hour of the match against WBA had me drooling for what we could expect from Arsenal this season. The rest was a stark reminder that things could go the other way around and we could end up without anything to show again for the fourth season running.

Then came the visit to Craven Cottage when we simply did not do the business on the pitch. It was a poor, poor performance and of course credit must be given to Fulham who showed more willingness to get more out of the match than Arsenal.

FC Twente at the Emirates could be an early season disaster if the necessary result was not achieved. In the end it was back to the old Arsenal and it continued against Kevin Keegan's Magpies on Sunday morning (in Malaysia, that is).

I was urging another goal for Robin Van Persie to complete his hattrick but had my heart skipping a beat when he was seen clutching his ankle after the shot that hit the bar. Fortunately, it did not out to be a major concern. Hopefully he would return from his international duties with the Netherlands in one piece too.

The next three matches are pretty tricky too with Premier League trips to Blackburn and Bolton sandwiching the long journey to Kiev to face Dynamo in the Champions' League. The timing is good though for the Kiev trip as the wheather now is be more tolerable than during the later part of the year.

It seems the Boss is true to his words that there is no player available to strengthen the midfield, experience wise that is. For talents, I really think that we could boast one of the most skillful bunch of midfielders. Heck, if Manu Eboue could come up with the backheel to set up Van Persie's second, who else do you need? :)

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It is indeed a hectic week by all means. The Malaysia Cup has reached the semi-finals with my local team, Terengganu had to endure a penalty shoot-out against Perlis before coming out on top with a 7-6 win. Our young goalkeeper, Mohamad Sharbini Allawee stopped three penalties and scored the winning one himself.

The football season is coming to its end in Malaysia, many Malaysians are relishing the coming of the Barclays Premier League new season. Given the fact that the level is lower than the one that is broadcasted every week from England, but there are those who still go to matches to get the 'live' football atmosphere, something similar to those who follow teams from League 1 and 2 and the Conference.

Arsenal has completed its pre-season programme with fans looking forward to an improved results from last season. But before that, there is the short trip to Eschende to meet Steve McClaren's FC Twente in order to qualify to the lucrative Champions' League.

The current immediate concern of many Arsenal fans is the thin layer of midfielders at our disposal with the departure of Matt Flamini, Alex Hleb and Gilberto Silva. Abou Diaby who was touted as the next Patrick Vieira due to the physical similarities seems to be spending more time on the treatment table and when given the chance on the pitch, failed to grab the opportunity to really establish himself.

Thus, the match in the Netherlands would probably see Cesc Fabregas and Denilson being partnered together. Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri (if he overcomes his injury) would probably provide the thrust from the wings. If the Frenchman does not make it we would probably see Manu Eboue operating on the right though I think Carlos Vela, Jack Wilshere or Armand Traore could be deployed there.

One good thing coming from the Armsterdam Tournament was the performance of Lukasz Fabianski between the sticks. He commanded the box well against Sevilla with several good takes when dealing with crosses. He also reacted well on one to one situations and showed good agility when required. A stiff competition to Manuel Almunia is foreseen here.

With Arsene Wenger prefers to do his dealings behind closed doors it is a bit difficult to guess who are joining the ranks though the addition of Xabi Alonso certainly would see my optimism rises a bit. Hopefully Arsene will find the time soon.

Astro has been a good satellite TV provider with the match at Huddersfield being telecast 'live' here in Malaysia. It is always good to see a good comeback after falling behind. The youngsters certainly showed plenty of character with the winner by Nacer Barazite indicated that the boy is progressing well.

Another good comeback was at the Amsterdam ArenA against host Ajax. Who would have predicted the two Manus would combine so well to score the first one with Eboue finding the head of Adebayor. The Togolese is trying his best to win back the heart of Arsenal supporters and his determination opened the chance for Nicklas Bendtner to equalise.

Then a good one-two with Denilson led to the winner by Adebayor though he would have to improve his rate of conversion in order to climb the charts of legends that have donned the red and white of Arsenal in the past. During the match alone he had me tearing my hair on numerous occassions for failing to do things that are expected of an Arsenal player.

I am hoping that Fabianski will start the match on Wednesday but I believe it will be Almunia and William Gallas to partner Kolo Toure in defence. Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy will provide the support for Walcott and Nasri respectively. Fabregas and Denilson will provide the openings for Adebayor and Robin Van Persie and hopefully we will come back with one foot already in the pot.

Go Gooners!

...

Finally I got the chance to watch a 'live' Arsenal performance during this pre-season when they registered a 3-1 win at the Mercedez Benz Arena against a VfB Stuttgart side fielding former Gunner goalkeeper, Jens Lehmann in their starting line-up.

A few 'big' names made their return to the Arsenal line-up though I have mixed feelings seeing Manu 'Add-No-Buyer' in the new away kit. Though the feeling was the complete opposite when it comes to Robin Van Persie who I really hope to be able to stay injury free and realise his tremendous potential.

Despite having seen him play before for France, this was the first time I saw Samir Nasri playing in the colours of Arsenal and despite not setting the stadium alight, he showed enough for me to keep looking for more when the real business starts in earnest.

Lehmann certainly did not show any generousity towards his former colleagues, pulling several saves which any goalkeeper would be proud off. However he could do nothing when Arsenal stepped up a gear after falling behind to a Yildiray Basturk goal just six minutes into the second half.

Carlos Vela could be another gem discovered by Arsenal Wenger and his cool finish after shaking off the burly Khaled Boulahrouj and beating Lehmann certainly showed big potential of the young Mexican.

With Nicklas Bendtner continued his fine scoring form with another efficient performance and a sharp finish to put Arsenal into the lead, I really hope Arsene will give the Danish youngster the opportunity to cement his place in the line-up.

A crisp finish by 16 years old Jack Wilshere underlined what Wenger has seen in the youngster, who by being included in this pre-season tour indicated that he could see competitive first team action sooner than his peers. Hopefully he would keep his head firmly on the ground and would not go looking for grandmas in the future.

For the time being there is no indication that the Emirates Cup will be shown on the satellite TV provider here in Malaysia. Last year they did and it was the same for the Armsterdam Tournament. Hopefully this year they will too.

By the way, Chelski dropped by to play against the Malaysian National team and they won 2-0. The goals were scored by two former Gunners in Abdul Bilal Salam a.k.a Nicolas Anelka and by the left-back before Gael Glichy.

It was the second goal scored by the Frenchman, who notched his first during Arsenal visit to Malaysia on 19 May, 1999. The only time that I ever saw the Gunners in action right in front of my own eyes.

...

Arsenal continue with their training in Austria with a match against a Burgenland Selection on Monday. Interestingly, from the photos taken by the club photographer Manu Adebayor has joined his team-mates in training and presumably already had handed down his 'ultimatum' to Arsene Wenger (note the word presumably).

Obviously Arsene still rate him though he could take a chance on Nicklas Bendtner who stated that he really would like to improve on three fronts - goals, games and silverware. I could not see no harm in agreeing with the big Dane since I already penned him in my fantasy football first eleven.

I really believe that Bendtner would improve more if he is given the chance to start in more matches this season. A decent return of 9 goals from 17 start and 23 substitute appearances last season certainly had me thinking that he would be better this season if given the chance. For me there are not a lot to choose between him and the Togolese though I believe Bendtner possess better first touch and a bit pacier than his team-mate.

Another player who I believe would be an asset to Arsenal is Samir Nasri who is ready to play across the middle for Arsene. With his ability to play on either flanks and also the middle, Arsene will have the choice to tinker with his formation even though the French youngster stated that who would be deployed on the wings with the license to come in a-la Thierry Henry. Hopefully he will find the net frequently a-la Thierry too.

Now, that would be the talk of the season, wouldn't it?

...

It is indeed very interesting to predict on how the coming season will turn out for us Gooners. I would not go into predicting of who is going to win what but rather how the new season going to turn out for some of the Arsenal players.

Perhaps it is pretty obvious that I like Lukasz Fabianski and would like to see him between the sticks for Arsenal. The boy certainly has the confidence despite conceding five down the road last season. But his displays in the last few matches last season were certainly enough to convince Arsene Wenger not to shop for a new goalkeeper.

The Polish stopper would warm the bench again this season with Manual Almunia is keen to show he is worth wearing the number one on the back of his kit. But do not be surprise if Fabianski would be given his chance if the Spaniard drops a few clangers the way Jens Lehmann did last season.

Defensively, there are a lot of uncertainties in regard of who would partner who in the middle and most importantly, who would protect them in midfield to ensure the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Tomas Rosicky are free to go forward without having to worry too much about what's happening at the back.

With Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy are set to be the first choice full-backs this season it would be interesting to see whether Arsene is going to stick with the Kolo Toure and William Gallas partnership. While I do not that much problem with Kolo, I am having a bit of a doubt with Gallas.

We have a number of players who can slot into the central position but we certainly do miss someone who has the towering presence to deal with high ball pumped into our half, such as the one that we conceded against Liverpool when Peter Crouch won an aerial duel to set up Dick Kuyt with the chance.

Unless Arsene brings in someone who meet the criteria I would be forever biting my nails whenever we face teams which possess physical forwards such as Chelski with Dogba and Portsmouth with Crouchie.

With Fabregas is expected to be running the show, many Gooners will be particularly curious to see whom Arsene going to partner the Spaniard with. Remember, prior to last season almost nobody would have thought the departed Matt Flamini would become the almost perfect defensive foil for Cesc.

So, there are a long list of names that Arsene could choose from. My favourite would be Abou Diaby if he can step up his awareness to the surrounding as he has the tendency to be robbed off the ball by opponents coming from the back. He also has weighed in with a number of wonderfully taken goals such as against Derby County and Liverpool last season.

Others would be Denilson if he can be more physical in his approach but the dark horse for me would be Alex Song who displayed a quite competent performance in defence during the last few matches last season. His passing has improved and certainly looked comfortable in the air as well.

As for the foward line, in the wake of his protracted transfer saga Manu Adebayor (if he stays) would have to really step up his finishing touch. As I have stated before, with the number of chances created by the midfield he should have kept pace with Ronalfoo all the way for the topscorer award.

It is hoped that Robin Van Persie would have better luck injury wise and if he is, I believe Arsene would partner him with the Togolese. My preference would be Nicklas Bendtner to partner Van Persie as it is time that he proves his is as good as what he said before. Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri would have to be content with attacking roles from the wings.

I really believe that more youngsters should be given the taste of the Premiership every now and then with many of them are ready to push themselves to be part of the first team this season, according to Arsene.

Any feedback guys?

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