Arseblog

Man City 3-0 Arsenal: Slack defending the root cause again

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 06:59:54 +0000

Firstly, let's remember this was the Carling Cup. For many seasons now it has provided us with a glimpse of Arsenal's future and some very enjoyable nights as young players go out and beat teams older, wiser and more experienced.

Last night they came undone against a team which has cost hundreds of millions to put together. English football's biggest mercenaries against a team of callow youth and dubious experience - whose combined cost doesn't even come close to that either of City's strikers. I don't understand why anyone would suggest we should have 'gone for it' or played more 'first team' players. We know what the Carling Cup is about and how the manager views it. He says:

You cannot say we develop the players ... and then never give them a game.

So while defeat is always a pain let's not go too overboard here. The game itself was relatively tight in the first half. We didn't necessarily create a great deal, they had the best chance when poor defending allowed Shaun Wright-Phillips to square it for Craig Bellamy whose shot went just wide. There wasn't anywhere near the same flow to our game as their was in the previous round against Liverpool but then City played their first XI, Liverpool had a Carling Cup team out. As such guys who shone, like Eastmond and Merida, found the going a lot tougher. And understandably so.

The goals we lost the game to though are ones I hope the manager makes the players watch again on video, because there are lessons to be learned. For the first Rosicky lost the ball carelessly on our right hand side, City cleverly blocked him off although he might have done more to get back, and after that we made it easy for Tevez. Eboue never got close to him and Alex Song made the basic mistake of going to ground in the area, they teach you not to do that in under-12s football. Tevez drove on and mutanted a shot right into the top corner which gave Fabianski no chance.

The second was another belter. Sylvester backed off Wright-Phillips, he never even tried to get a tackle in, and when the ball ended up in our net, with a great finish it has to be said, you could see what a mistake that was. He had a funny game Sylvester, he did some things very well, but made some awful howlers. He ended up on his arse trying to shield the ball out which resulted in Bellamy's chance in the first half, the ball just bounced off him a few times, his passing was careless, and Alex Song was lucky not to get a red card as last man from a card happy ref after another Sylvester cock-up saw Stephen Ireland go through on goal.

That he is our third choice centre-half scares the ever loving shit out of me. There was no Senderos last night, it seems his Arsenal career has come to a rather sad end. The official word was that he 'picked up a bit of a knock' but I'm doubtful that's the case. He's frozen out and for everyone's sake he should be allowed move in January. He should have been allowed go in the summer when the Everton deal was agreed but what's most clear is that Arsenal need to buy a centre-half when the transfer window opens. I would go so far as to say our need for a defender is more pressing than our need for a striker.

The third City goal came when Wilshere and Song got too close on our right allowing Bellamy to skip past them both, he crossed and some cheapo cunt I'd never heard of got the third. I think our only shot which in any way troubled Shay Given came in the last minute when Merida crashed one off the bar from range. So, overall a disappointing but not wholely unexpected result and for me the Carling Cup will always be about the youngsters.

Some nights will be epic and awesome, other nights not so much. Last night was one of the other nights and I pretty much agree with the manager when he talks about the relative importance of this competition. I suppose if I had to criticise anything it'd be the decision to play Song whose physical presence would have been required against a very big Stoke team this weekend, the booking he picked up last night means he misses the game, but if we can't beat Stoke at home without him then maybe our troubles go a lot deeper than we think.

The other main talking point involved Arsene Wenger not shaking hands with Mark Hughes at the end of the game. Wenger said afterwards:

I am free to shake whose hand I want. I had no professional courtesy to shake his hand.

If people want to label Wenger a sore loser then fine. Frankly I thought Hughes behaviour on the touchline was appalling all night. Like a big blustering bully he prowled around, baiting Wenger, swearing at him, and basically behaving like an oaf of the highest order - then he complains at the end when a handshake is refused him? What a cunt. Honestly, if you behave like a cunt then people will treat you like a cunt and Hughes got exactly the kind of respect he deserved - none.

People talk about it being etiquette and all that but if you show someone discourtesy for 90+ minutes and behave like an oik why on earth should they feel obliged to shake your hand just because it's custom to do so? I'm with Wenger on this one, Hughes was a prick. The easy option would have been for Arsene to shake his hand, with cameras looking on and pundits and columnists ready to have a go it's a more difficult decision not to. For me the bottom line if you behave with even a modicum of respect and manners then you will get a handshake at the end of the game - from Arsene Wenger or any other manager. If you don't then you're nothing more than a hypocrite if you complain afterwards. Like Hughes did.

Anyway, there's too much bollocks in football about shaking hands, as if it's the be all and end all of sportsmanship. You shake hands in the tunnel, you shake hands in the line-up with the shitty music before the game, shake hands after the game. Fuck that. There's no need for it all, FIFA/UEFA forcing this veneer of 'We're all super friends!!' to make the game more advertiser friendly. A load of septic horse minge is what it is. I want less handshaking, more kicking people right up in the air. That's what football is really about, not touchy-feely shite like anthems and pre-game embraces.

Ok, a quick round-up of some other stuff before I go. The Sun has started the inevitable 'Let's link every striker in the world to Arsenal now that they've said they're going to spend some money' stuff. It's Wolfsburg's Edin Dzeko, who was linked to us in the summer. He looks good on YouTube. I mean, that's as much as we need to scout him, right?

Alex Fynn, co-author of 'Arsènal: the Making of a Modern Superclub', will be doing a signing along with Alan Smith in Waterstones in Enfield tomorrow. For more details check out the Online Gooner. And the official site is giving away a chunk of the Arsenal TV online stuff for free this weeekend, including the match day show against Stoke. More details here.

And that's about that for today and that is most certainly that from me until Tuesday of next week. I'm taking a few days off and heading to Barcelona. I've got Barcelona DNA, you see. And with Tom away on his holidays too there was the very real possibility of no blog at all until I got back.

But fear not, with you in my absence is the most excellent Goonerholic who will ensure you get your daily dose. One of the things I like about being away is reading Arseblog when I don't write it, and with 'holic on board I'm definitely looking forward to it. As well as the mojitos and beers and tapas and all that.

So, until next week, take it easy, have a great weekend and I'll blog you soon.

Carling Cup preview - Transfers - Arshavin - iPhone app

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 07:53:07 +0000

Good morning, plenty to be getting on with this morning.

Obviously there's a bit of football on tonight which could help people's mood or, perhaps, make it worse. We know there's going be a fairly young team out there tonight - it doesn't look as if the boss is going to risk anyone who might be needed for first team action although I'd be tempted to use Walcott and Eduardo to give them the minutes and sharpness they need.

We will see Jack Wilshere, which is good, while at the back Senderos and Sylvester will provide experience in the centre of defence as they come up against that bloke, you know, the one who used to play for us and who turned out to be a colossal cunt. As I said yesterday City are desperate for a win, Hughes will say 'Look we've beaten Arsenal!' if they win, despite the youth of our team, so it's going to be a big, big test.

The last time we played City in the Carling Cup we beat them 2-1 with a late goal from debutant Danny Karbassiyoon, after an assist by a young(er) Cesc Fabregas. Sadly Danny's career was ended by injury but if you look really hard you can find him on Twitter. And the goal, oh go on then ...

As with all the Carling Cup games it's a great chance for some of the young players to show what they can do. In particular I'm looking forward to seeing Wilshere. I know he's still only 17 but from the bits and pieces we have seen of him he's a game changer, a guy who can make things happen and with first team places up for grabs it's a chance for him to shine. It's another opportunity for Aaron Ramsey as well. He played his way into contention this season then started at Sunderland where he played himself out of contention. Perfectly normal for an 18 year old, we cannot expect real consistency at that age, so he'll be keen to put that performance behind him.

We know City are an expensively assembled team, on paper it should be no contest, but thankfully football doesn't work like that. It's going to be tough but I have no doubt we'll go there and make a game of it tonight.

Now, leaving that aside there's loads happening. Firstly Arsene Wenger has said we'll be active in the January transfer window. Interesting. Normally his cards are so close to his chest they fuse with his skin, 'Arsene 10 of clubs nipples' they call him, but with van Persie out injured it looks as if he's going to dust off the chequebook and bring somebody in. I assume this will kickstart all kinds of rumour and speculation, already van Nistelrooy is mentioned again, but I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping that he's got his scouts scouting players in other positions too.

As mentioned on the Arsecast yesterday the need for a centre-half is pressing should one of Gallas and Vermaelen get an injury - and when you consider how much they've been playing it does increase the chances of that happening - and with Alex Song away to bless the rains down in Africa you might suggest we need someone to step into that role too. Let's hope Arsene has the right filters on his searches too:

Search for: CB, ST, DM - Height: > 6' - Strength: > Godzilla - Skillz : Awesomez!!!

It'll certainly make life that much more fun as we wait until 11.59 on January 31st to make those signings, oh yes.

One man who would like to see new players come in is Andrei Arshavin. He says:

Arsene Wenger needs to buy new players - and expensive ones too. Why? Because all the talented and inexpensive players are already with us at Arsenal.

I could be wrong but I do remember that quote being around before now but maybe he's just repeating himself. He does talk a lot, Arshavin, and has expressed concerns about the team as well, saying:

What I feel bitter about is that we lose in all the big matches. That is disappointing and lets doubts creep into my mind.

Maybe he's just one of those people who says exactly what he thinks, ruling a career in diplomacy in his later life, but his honest assessment of things doesn't mean he can't cast a critical eye over himself. Of his own form this season he says:

Only sometimes have I shown my full skills and I'm not sure why that is. It doesn't matter where I play, on the right side or the left, I don't think I've played that well.

Which is probably right. I don't think we've seen anything like the best of him this season. When he has sparked into life he has been creative and dangerous but he seems to spend too much of games on the periphery. Whether that's to do with fitness or just poor form I don't know but at least he's aware of it himself. That said, when we're without our main striker, it's not unfair to look to one of our most talented and experienced players to do a little more and to help get us through, so hopefully he can step it up a bit in the weeks ahead.

Elsewhere Denilson's attitude in this interview is exactly right - the young Brazilian still doesn't always convince everyone, myself included, but that is exactly the kind of mindset we need right now.

Arsene Wenger complains about the rules regarding players being away on international duty and he is dead right. Abou Diaby was injured going away with France and should never have been called up. Instead of being at the club who pay his wages for treatment, he was off with his national team when there was never any chance of him playing. That cannot be right and something has to give. Unfortunately, as long as Twatter and Splatini are in charge of things I don't see anything changing.

The boss also says we were misled by the Dutch FA over Robin van Persie while Samir Nasri talks about how great he feels at Arsenal.

Finally for today, if you're one of them kool kidz with an iPhone, I'm glad to tell you the Arseblog app is back on the iTunes store. Big thanks to Rocky - you might remember him from such other awesome things as this - who has been through the mill a bit to get it accepted, but it seems everything's ok now and you can get your daily dose of Arseblog via your little piece of Appley technology by clicking here.

So, that's that, here's to a good game tonight, a win for the young guns and a broken spineatarsal for you know who.

Till tomorrow.

Picking up the bits and pieces + Arsecast 141

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 08:10:57 +0000

Morning all, a bit of time has passed now since Chelsea which might enable us to look at things with a bit more perspective. Lots of reaction from our players, the gist of which is that we need to pick ourselves up and get on with things.

Andrei Arshavin:

We haven't stopped fighting for the championship. I think that if we manage to win the next couple of games, then everything will fall into place. After all, Chelsea can stumble, too. But we have to win ourselves

Tomas Rosicky:

The next match is vital. After a defeat like this, you need to have a good reaction, if not it will be even more difficult. The only thing you can do is carry on and try your best again.

Bacary Sagna:

There is a lot of disappointment but we can't remain focused on that, otherwise we could sink lower. We have a postponed match that we must win. Then, the situation could quickly change

From Rosicky and Sagna there's also the opinion that Chelsea are going to be hard to catch, which is undoubtedly true, but football is a funny game. This time last year Chelsea were 5 points clear of Man United and we know what happened in the end. What we have to do is ignore them, ignore everyone, and just concentrate on our own form. December is a month in which 18 league points are up for grabs, take the bulk of them and things could look an awful lot different, so let's try and do just that.

One point to make - Eduardo and Vela have both been disappointing in their recent run-outs up front, but let's remember it took Robin van Persie a good few games at the start of the season to get used to that particular role. I'm not suggesting either of them are as suited to it as van Persie has proved to be but it's worth bearing in mind.

In the meantime there's a Carling Cup game tomorrow night against Manchester City. There'll be a fuller preview in tomorrow's blog, after we get the squad list and so on, but I think this is going to be a very tough test for the kids. We might see a bit of experience in there, Theo Walcott and Carlos Vela to name two who could clearly do with getting some time on the pitch, but for the most part I think it'll be the youngsters. City go into the game on the back of 7 consecutive league draws, their fans must be getting a bit restless, and Hughes is going to play a strong team, I reckon. Anyway, more on that tomorrow.

The FA are set to investigate an incident during the Chelsea game in which a camera, or a fake camera, was thrown onto the pitch as Frank Lampard was about to take a corner. There's no likelihood of serious problems for the club but it's not clever to chuck stuff on the pitch, is it?

Denilson says we have to win a trophy this season and that the manager believes in the players. Obviously Denilson's Brazilian ankles have bewitched Arsene.

Jay Simpson, currently on loan at QPR, reckons he's got what it takes to step into van Persie's shoes. He's got 8 goals so far this season - however, as he's on a season long loan I don't think he can be recalled anyway. The best he can do is have a good season on loan and see what happens next summer. In the meantime though Arsenal might have signed another striker.

Dubai's financial crisis may see Emirates Airline up for sale, according to the Guardian. Quite how that would affect us if it did happen I really have no idea.

Transfer guff? The Mirror links us with Sevilla winger Diego Perotti - obviously our record of buying young wingers from Andalucia would fill one with absolute confidence - while the Express says Celtic want Jack Wilshere on loan.

The club have detailed the payments made to agents in the period from Oct 2008 to Sept 2009 - £4.8m. Agents might well be voracious cunts but they're good at it.

Now, because there's no Arsecast this weekend, here's a midweek Arsecast special kinda thing. In the wake of the Chelsea game I chat with Goodplaya, GilbertoSilver and the man from East Lower about where we stand, how we react and the general state of play at the club at the moment. It's a straight-laced, round-table job, and it might just pass half an hour if you've got nothing better to do.

You can subscribe to the Arsecast on iTunes by clicking here. Or if you want to subscribe directly to the feed URL you can do so too. To download this week's arsecast directly - click here (19mb MP3) or you can listen directly below without leaving this very page.

And that's about that. I bid you all a most splendid Tuesday.

Arsenal 0-3 Chelsea : Brought down to size

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:17:35 +0000

Before the game, Arsene said:

I think for our team this moment has come. We are not any more a team that has to be considered to be young.

After yesterday's defeat I think the uncomfortable truth is that we are a team that has to be considered not good enough to mix it with the big boys. Chelsea didn't really break a sweat yesterday and they dismissed us with consummate ease.

You can say 'Well, how would Chelsea have coped with Anelka, Drogba and Ashley Cole missing?'. That is irrelevant. We were the ones who had to cope with some of our important players being out and we couldn't do it. I don't particularly have any time for Arsene's 'Everything went against us' either. I can almost guarantee if the Arshavin 'goal' had happened at the other end and Anelka had kicked the ball out of Almunia's hands he would be absolutely fuming if that had been given.

Of course he's right to say at 2-1 it would have been a different game but I think pointing the finger at the referee fudges the issue - which is basically that they're a better, stronger team than we are. And it hurts to say that.

It was looking reasonably positive. We had lots of possession, we got in behind their full backs on a number of occasions but we couldn't find the final ball. Our forwards were busy but posed little danger to Chelsea's defence and it's hard to look beyond the fact that we didn't have much of a physical threat throughout the game. Crosses were meat and drink to Chelsea's centre-halves, I'm sure John Terry won't ever have nightmares about playing against Eduardo.

Meanwhile, at the other end, our defensive frailties and inability to cope with Didier Drogba continued. The first goal came from a decent cross from Ashley Cole, he landed it between the two centre-halves and Drogba sidefooted it home. An instinctive striker's finish from a player in exceptionally good form. Annoying, but what was to come just a couple of minutes later was infuriating. We were undone by almost exactly the same ball. Again Cole was free to deliver it unchallenged into the box, this time Almunia was off his line, panicked, and Vermaelen sliced it into his own net.

That we didn't learn from the first goal is a real sign this team has little or no defensive nous and the central defensive partnership did not cover themselves in glory in any way. It was poor all round.

The second half began with the rather curious replacement of Alex Song with Theo Walcott. Song had been one of our better players and was about the only bit of muscle we had in midfield. Theo's introduction helped push Ashley Cole back but little else. Wenger made changes early, bringing on Vela for Eduardo and then Rosicky for Nasri but nothing much changed. Lots of tippy-tappy, not much threat. Did Cech have a save to make in the whole game?

Late on Drogba added insult to injury with a decent free kick but Manuel Almunia ought to hang his head. It was obvious where Drogba was going to put it and for me the keeper should have saved that. Not that it would have made any real difference but still. Full time, 3-0, 11 points behind Chelsea and a lot of very depressed Arsenal fans. We got dismantled, at home, by a team who deserved their win.

Arsene post-game was classic 'It's not as bad as you think', saying the scoreline didn't reflect the game but it's hard to see where he's coming from. They had their chances and took them. We didn't even really have chances. Of course we missed van Persie, Bendtner and even perhaps Diaby, but the fact is the loss of three players turns this team into a very small outfit indeed (headline of the day goes to Goodplaya).

I think we're too small, even with the previously mentioned players available. We lack physical presence and it does make a difference. Ask John Terry or William Gallas who they'd rather play against - Eduardo or Drogba, and you'll find them stumping for the Crozilian every time. When the intricate passing stuff doesn't come off then a bit of brute force is needed, a change of game plan. The Arsenal website doesn't have the height of the players but I'm guessing that out of the 16 outfield players in our squad yesterday only 2 were 6' or over - Song and Sylvester, who stayed on the bench.

Now, I'm not saying height is everything, but it's something. Football is a physical game and if you have no physical threat then surely you're at a disadvantage no matter how pacey and skillful you might be? Having a small team worked for Spain in Euro2008 but the quality of little guys they have is superior to the quality of the little guys we have - and international football is nowhere near as physical as the Premier League. If you walk onto a football pitch and see big, strong men it gives you something to think about. It's an area I think we have to address. With van Persie out till April, Song going away to the ACN in January only Diaby and Bendtner remain - and that we're now pinning hopes on a player who is fails to convince many and is perpetually injured, and a young striker who is still very much in the learning phase of his career is telling.

So, November ends and there won't be too many unhappy to see the back of it. The mood has changed, no question, and I was curious to see where we stood this time last year and whether or not things were much different.

End of November 2008: Played 15, Won 8, Drawn 2, Lost 5, conceded 19 goals

End of November 2009: Played 13, Won 8, Drawn 1, Lost 4, conceded 18 goals

For all the positivity it's not easy to suggest we've improved, is it? Especially defensively, which is where we all wanted to see things get better. The much lauded partnership between Gallas and Vermaelen hasn't stopped us shipping goals and you have to wonder if the goodwill towards them as a duo was clouded by the fact their goals were so important early in the season. You can't look at those stats and ignore the fact we're defensively worse - after 13 games last season we had conceded 15 to 18 this time around.

I'm not saying it's just down to the centre-halves, defending is something the whole team should be doing but we're just not good at it. We don't have a goalkeeper who provides the base of the spine we need him to, our midfielders switch off allowing service to strikers, and we're vulnerable from set-pieces. The issues from last season have not been addressed and we're suffering for it.

Now, on a more positive note after last November we went on an unbeaten run in the league which stretched to 20-odd matches. Yes, there were some awful 0-0 draws in there, but it's something we need to do again. For all their woes Liverpool, who we play in a couple of weeks, are just 2 points behind us and while I think they're a worse side than they were last year they have enough experience and ability to turn things around and to get themselves out of the run of poor form they're in.

We need to snap out of it and get things moving again. We have players who can win us games, December's fixtures are relatively kind, and despite the points gap it is only the end of November now. There's a long way to go in this season. Hand on heart I can't see us making up 8/11 points on Chelsea but who knows what can happen?

What I do think though is that the manager has got to look at the issues that this side has in terms of our lack of physical power and our tendency to concede goals. How often do we concede to a team's first chance or only chance? Arsene wrote that off as an anomaly a few weeks back, I would suggest it's a bad habit and one we need to sort out quickly.

A season that promised so much a few weeks ago is now depressingly familiar. It's not too late to turn it around, a few wins on the trot and everyone will be feeling a lot better about things, but when you've just been turned over at home like that, you would be unwise to ignore the lessons you've just been taught.

Chelsea preview + Sunday round-up

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:26:22 +0000

Good morning from a very wet and windy Dublin. I'm hoping this is the storm before the calm ... the calm, precise, clinical demolition of Chelsea today.

We know it's a huge game and how much is at stake when it comes to our league title challenge. We haven't had any update regarding the potential involvement of William Gallas so I'm just going to assume he can play. Trying to preview this game without him makes me a bit scared, I have to say. Assuming he does make I think the only choice the manager has to make is who will play at left back. During the week he said he had two options, Traore and Eboue.

I think the Ivorian will start. I just don't think Traore's got what it takes to play in a game like this yet and I think Eboue's experience and greater physical strength will tip the balance in his favour. I think the midfield three will be Song, Cesc and Denilson while the front three Arshavin, Eduardo and Nasri. It means we've got plenty on the bench if we need it too, Rosicky, Walcott and Vela all available if we need to change things.

While offensively this Arsenal team has been almost beyond compare this season I think if we want to win this game we're going to put in a seriously good defensive shift. And that's not just down to the back four coping with the very real threat of Anelka and Drogba, it's got to be a team effort. It means stopping the service to their front two, it means putting their back four under pressure when they've got it. The classic defend from the front thing.

We also need big performances from our big players. Song and Denilson in midfield should give Cesc a good platform to get forward more, Arshavin is a man for a big game. We've seen him score four against Liverpool, he scored away at Old Trafford and in the absence of van Persie we need him to be at his best. The heartache of his World Cup exit is irrelevant now and there should be no hint of that in his performance today.

Eduardo is a lethal finisher on his day but it wouldn't be unfair to say his form this season hasn't hit the level he, or Arsene Wenger, would have liked. Today is a big day for him. The forwards at the club have a month, more or less, to covince the manager that they have what it takes to get the goals van Persie would have got. He will probably struggle a bit playing centrally against two strong centre-halves like the cokelifter and Carvalho but over 90 minutes it's hard not to think he won't have a chance or two, he's got to be clinical today.

A win and we're 5 points back with a game in hand. Win the game in hand it's 2 points. And then, my friends, it is on. Defeat really is not an option today. Hopefully the atmosphere today is appropriate for a match this size. It should be red hot. Those of you lucky enough to be going can play a part, be the old 12th man and all that. Remember who is coming to play. Cole, Terry, Lampard, Drogba, Cole, Cole, Cole, Cole, Cole, Cole, Terry, Lampard, Cole, Terry, Drogba, Drogba, Drogba. Men who have kicked us and cheated us and dived and cheated and kicked and generally been as welcome in our lives as cock measles.

Arsene said it's time for his team to show that they've got what it takes. He's challenged them to do the business - and if we really want to win this league then that's exactly what we have to do. No passengers today. Nothing less than 100% from every player because if that happens Chelsea are good enough and strong enough to exploit that weakness. I'm hopeful we can get a result. There's so much riding on this game and I hope, as well, that the players remember the pasting we got at home from them at the end of last season. That hurt and I want us to put that right today.

-----

Sunday round-up. Arsene is unhappy with the Dutch FA after their misdiagnosis of Robin van Persie's injury. I'd be interested to know what the procedure is there. They say 'X', do we not check or do we just take their word for it? Either way I don't think it's made a huge difference to how long Robin will be out for, a couple of weeks at best, but it's easy to understand the manager's displeasure. For me it also opens up the compensation issue - clubs should not have to suffer the financial cost of a paying a player injured on international duty. There should be a responsibility for the international FA to cover at least some of the wages. They can surely do this via insurance anyway and it's time this was sorted once and for all.

Ivan Gazidis says success that is built is better than success that is bought. At this moment in time I would be of the opinion that success that is bought is better than no success at all and until we've got trophies to show for our work then it might be advisable not to talk about things like this. I know where he's coming from and all but still ...

The Sunday Times talks to Thomas Vermalen:

Not counting a dead rubber with Manchester United at the end of last season, it is two years and 18 matches since Arsenal last kept a clean sheet in a meeting with a Big Four rival.

Not sure about that stat though. It's a bit like saying 'Not counting the double Arsenal won in 2002, the Gunners haven't done the double since 1998'. I have to say I'm not hugely confident we can keep a clean sheet today though. Let's just hope we score more.

The Guardian on Andrei Arshavin - nothing in there we haven't seen before really.

And that's about that. Time for the papers and to watch the rain until kick-off. Come on you Goooooners!

Van Persie injury shocker + more pre-Chelsea stuff

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:27:01 +0000

Morning, something of a bombshell to start with today - it seems Robin van Persie's injury is much worse than first diagnosed. The club released a statement this morning, saying:

Upon his return [from injury], the Arsenal medical team conducted a thorough review of his scans, his early injury management and the treatment he had received. Having scrutinised these in detail and assessed the response of his ankle, the Club’s medical team concluded that further investigation and opinion was required.

Advice was sought from the leading ankle specialist Mr Niek van Dijk, who confirmed that more extensive damage had been suffered than was first diagnosed. In order to repair his ankle, Robin will undergo surgery next week in Amsterdam to reconstruct the ligaments. The Club’s medical team anticipate that a full recovery will take between four and five months.

Firstly it's awful news for Robin who had been playing so well this season. I've mentioned before how unlucky he is with injuries and it seems the mirror he broke and salt he spilled and cracks on the pavement he stood on and the ladders he walked under are intent on disrupting his career in a big, big way. That it happened in a meaningless international friendly makes it all the more frustrating. All we can do is wish him a successful recovery, and as speedy one as possible. He speaks here about the injury, the placenta treatment and the rest.

For us we have to look at what it means. Our best striker is now out for more or less the rest of the season. The only player we have who can really play the same role, Nicklas Bendnter is out injured as well although expected back reasonably shortly. When he does get back you have to think it's a big chance for him but another injury to him or a run of poor form and we don't have an obvious replacement. I'm sure the papers will be full of speculation in the days ahead but you can't help thinking this is a problem that needs to be sorted with the chequebook in January.

That is unless one of the others really steps up and shows they can do it. As I said Bendtner is the obvious man to fill the gap, but there's Vela, Eduardo and even Theo Walcott who the manager says can be a top striker:

I believe he has all the assets to be a fantastic central player. I'm very conscious of that because of the quality and the timing of his runs.

However, there's still work to be done:

At the moment, his strengths are more central to the counter-attacking role than the distribution role. That's what he has to add to his game.

So while it might be a role he can perform in the future it seems unlikely he's going to be used there at the moment. And with the manager hinting he'll be starting from the bench so as to ease him back into competitive action after his injury then he's really not an option right now.

Ahead of tomorrow's game Arsene has laid down the gauntlet for his players to show that they're ready to challenge for the title, saying:

I think there is a period for any team to come out and show its strengths. I think for our team this moment has come. We are not any more a team that has to be considered to be young. We have the strengths and we want to show on Sunday that we want to beat them.

Winning will certainly show we've got the mettle, going into this game with defensive worries and issues, two of our main strikers missing and our physical threat reduced due to their absences. Defeat tomorrow is unthinkable and we need to be properly switched on. Which is why I found the comments attributed to Andrei Arshavin a bit worrying. He's quoted after Russia's World Cup play-off exit:

I am inconsolable and desolate at what has happened. My family keep telling me that I should forget it as soon as possible, that I should now switch to the club matters and the Champions League but that’s easier said than done.

Nothing revives me so far. When Arsene Wenger asked me what state I was in, I honestly told him that at the moment I just do not want to play football at all. He talked to me for a long time. He said, too, that I need to switch my attention. But I cannot do it yet.

Now, I like Andrei, he's a fantastic footballer when he's in the mood, and while I can understand him being disappointed Russia didn't qualify, he needs to get the fuck over and it and quickly. Arsenal pay his wages, we've got a huge game tomorrow and we need him 100% focussed on that, not moping around like a Smiths fans whose girlfriend actually is in a coma.

The boss is confident he'll respond correctly and I really hope that's the case because if we're to beat Chelsea tomorrow then we need our best players to perform - and he is one of our best players. There's no time to feel sorry for yourself in professional sport, winners react and move on, they don't sit around grieving. Come on Arshavin, snap out of it.

Tomas Rosicky says we can't be afraid of Chelsea's physical threat and suggests we have to get stuck right into them. Yes please. I love when we get stuck in.

There's a great interview with Cesc in the Mail today - well worth a read and the esteem he holds some of the younger players in is obvious. He says:

Aaron Ramsey has really developed. Physically he is bigger and more powerful, as you could see when we played Liverpool in the Carling Cup. If I go to sleep I will wake up and find him in my place. No, it is true. Wilshere will be a top player, too, and when he gets a bit older they will move him into the middle. They just need a run of games to gain confidence and they will be a big part of Arsenal’s future. A future I hope to be part of.

Lots of great stuff in there as Arsenal big up their charity of the season, the Great Ormond Street hospital.

Still no news as to William Gallas's involvement tomorrow, you have to think they're giving him as much time as possible before making a decision. He'll want to play though, considering the opposition, but we'll have to just wait and see.

More on the game and possible line-ups tomorrow. Until then, have a good Saturday and watch out for Italians doing sliding tackles. They'll fuck you up.

Friday guff + Arseblog meets Dara O'Briain - Arsecast 140

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:30:20 +0000

Morning all, still not a lot happening despite the hugeness of the game on Sunday. Lots to come in the next few days though and we'll get a better idea of how injured we are, or aren't, closer to the time.

As it stands there's a big doubt over William Gallas whose eye is still so swollen he can't get his contact lenses in. Who knew Arshavin's head was so hard? It must be made of reinforced concrete. Fingers crossed Gallas recovers. I'm hopeful about Sunday but would be much less so at the thought of Sylvester, who appears to be the first replacement for either Gallas or Vermaelen, trying to prevent Drogba from carrying out his usual antics against us.

If he didn't make it you might wonder if the boss would move Alex Song back to centre-half. It'd mean he could play Denilson in the midfield holding role and despite losing Song from midfield it'd be probably be a more secure option overall than the alternative. All the same we'll keep fingers crossed Gallas makes it so he doesn't have that choice to make.

The importance of the game is not in question. Undoubtedly our biggest game of the season and while I'm loath to say it's make or break there's no doubt a result for either side would have a big say in where the title ends up. If we lose it's 11 points and a game in hand. That's a lot of ground to make up and leaves little room for error for the rest of the season. Win and it's 5 points, win the game in hand and it's 2 and everything's looking much better.

After last season this team needs a sustained title challenge, something which Cesc is aware of. He says:

The Premier League is the tournament I really want to win. In Spain, the Champions League is seen as superior to La Liga but here the Premier League is the pinnacle. Of course I believe we can win it. If not, there's no point in playing football. I play to win and that's what Arsenal fans want.

There's always so much talk about how we've never won the Champions League and while it would obviously be an amazing trophy to win I always want us to win the league first. You might meet two or three decent teams along the way to a CL win and I don't know too many fans of top European clubs. I do, however, know lots of Chelsea, United, Liverpool and even Villa fans. Not to mention some Sp*rs supporters and winning the league allows you, as a fan, to bask in that glory for a whole year at the expense of those people. And isn't that what football is all about?!

I think the team's priority every season should be the domestic title, anything after that is a bonus. And there's a real danger of slipping up big time if you prioritise Europe. I think it happened to AC Milan a few seasons back. They were magic in Europe, because that was the trophy they were after, and pretty much rubbish in Italy. So much so they finished in the UEFA Cup places and if it can happen to Milan it can happen to anyone. Wasn't whatsisface from those blue cunts in charge too? Anyway, I'm sure the importance and significance of the game on Sunday is not lost on the players.

Dennis Bergkamp says he'd like to return to England as a coach:

I would like to train and work in England. Only not as head coach but as member of the staff, so I can work with the strikers.

The obvious problem with Dennis ever being a manager is his inability to fly anywhere, which would make like difficult, but the idea of him working with our group of strikers would be tantalising, to say the least. Not only could he teach them how score and how to create, he could teach them how to fling a sly elbow into Lee Bowyer's face, which is a talent sadly lacking in many of today's footballers.

And that's really about that for this morning so it's time to move on to this week's Arsecast. On this week's show I am delighted to welcome, for a good old chat, comedian, TV presenter and loads of other things too, but especially Arsenal fan, Dara O'Briain.

Also in the mix Sylvester, some scientific analysis of Chelsea fans and your chance to win a Savile Rogue scarf as well as the winner of last week's Savile Rogue scarf (and remember, if you're doing to Crimbo shopping you can get 10% off purchases at Savile Rogue by using the code ARSEBLOG at check out before Dec 6th).

You can subscribe to the Arsecast on iTunes by clicking here. Or if you want to subscribe directly to the feed URL you can do so too. To download this week's arsecast directly - click here (25mb MP3) or you can listen directly below without leaving this very page.

Ok then, have yourselves a good Friday. More tomorrow.

Thursday waffle + Chelsea ticket winner

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:57:23 +0000

Hello there, a little bit of calm before the storm kinda vibe going on today. A few bits and pieces around, little of it has to do with the titantic, end of days, armageddonesque warfare that is Sunday's game against Chelsea.

Sorry, just trying to trump Sky Sports by engaging in hysteria and hype before they do. If you can imagine this blog's soundtrack today being some kind of epic orchestral piece with huge drums and occasional explosion sounds you'll get where I'm coming from.

We'll start with Theo Walcott who says he's raring to go and do the stuff that he does and all that. He's over all his injuries and feels good, like a common James Brown, saying:

My knee feels fine. I've been working hard trying to get fit for a long time so hopefully my injury problems are out of the way now and I can just concentrate on playing for Arsenal.

Indeed. Concentrate on Arsenal. Not a mention of the World Cup. Or England. Apart from when he mentioned them but just to say he wasn't thinking about them. Whether he makes the team for Sunday remains to be seen. I rather suspect he won't and will have to settle for a place on the bench, which may not be a bad thing. He's scored a couple of times against Chelsea in his career and both times we've lost the game. But that was when he was starting. Perhaps as a supersub kinda chappy he might have a bit of third time lucky luck going on.

The club officially confirmed that Alex Song has signed a new contract which will keep him at the club until 2014, apparently. 2014 seems like a ridiculously futuristic date to me. I know it's only 5 years away but if I cast my mind back to when I was a lad, kicking a football around Bushy Park in the 80s, the whole idea of 2014 would have conjured up ideas of all kinds of awesome technology - and I don't mean iPhones or really thin laptops. I mean flying cars and robot butlers who can make delicious meals with voice commands and houses that talk to you and transporters like Star Trek. You know, properly cool stuff, and not just regular cars which look a bit nicer and have a bit of a computerised display. Car manufacturers suck.

Another left back is to undergo surgery, but fear not, it's an elective procedure for Armand Traore who is getting all his tattoos removed this summer because his religion tells him he should. Seems like a really painful option, if you ask me. What if he got every single bit of himself tattooed the exact same colour as his skin? That'd cover up the tattoos he already has and nobody would know the difference. Anyway, the lesson here is don't get your old girlfriend's name tattooed in 12 inch high letters across your back. Or the word 'Cock'. No good can come of it.

Arsenal's reserves lost 2-1 to Aston Villa's reserves last night and Fran Merida got sent off, which means he could well miss the Carling Cup game against Man City. I didn't see the incident at all but I blame the Aston Villa player and the referee entirely. It seems the match report bears that out as well and you have to hope there's some kind of appeal procedure, it'd be a shame for him to miss out on the trip to Middle Eastlands but it looks as if that's the case. The game also saw returns to action for Lukasz Fabianski and Jack Wilshere, so that's some good news.

Speaking of our young players Sheffield Wednesday boss Brian Laws has apparently 'blasted' Arsene Wenger for not allowing two of our players go on loan there. According to the Mirror Laws said:

Arsenal haven’t grown their own young players, they have bought them from all over the world, and spent millions and millions of pounds on it. We’ve tried to get hold of them, but Arsene Wenger is going to play them in the Carling Cup. That was a disappointment.

Strikes me the Mirror are shit-stirring a bit here as the two players they mention Wednesday wanted were Craig Eastmond and Jay Emmanuel "Emmanuel" Thomas, two local boys and not bought from all over the world. I'm sure Brian Laws knows that and perhaps he's just disappointed and not being able to boost his squad with good young players rather than actually 'blasting' Arsene Wenger. It'd be interesting to see the full quotes but I suspect some mischief making. If I were that Mirror reporter I'd be wary. Didn't Laws once smash up one of his own players with a plate? Don't make him angry, you wouldn't like him when he's angry.

Gunnerblog has a piece on the Spirit of Highbury, which is not Arsenal's own brand gin, but a giant team photo featuring every player that ever played at our old home. They're still looking for photos of four players, maybe you can help - go read.

Reports this morning say that Ruud van Nistelrooy will turn down a move to Arsenal in favour of signing for Liverpool. Oh no, I am truly gutted. Sadness is oozing from my very pores. I wish we would sign him in January. Then re-sign Patrick Vieira too. Then Paddy can break all his legs in the very first training session which could then be broadcast on Arsenal TV and the images of our players standing around laughing at that horsefaced bollock featured prick while he screams in agony will go in history as a comedy classic. Move over Charles in Charge.

Right then, not much else going on so before I head off into the windy Dublin morning it's time to announce the winner of the Chelsea tickets with thanks to Emirates Airline.

I asked you who scored the two goals which beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last season and the answer was, of course, Robin van Persie. The RNG has done it's thing and the lucky winner is: Steve Thompson. Well done, I'll be in touch today and we'll arrange the whole pick-up/delivery thing.

Thanks to everyone for all the entries, better luck next time, and thanks again to Emirates Airline for the fantastic prize.

Right so, that'll have to do for today. More, and an Arsecast, tomorrow.

Arsenal 2-0 Standard Liege : Victory, but at a cost

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:19:01 +0000

Let's start with the good news and the 2-0 win last night means we've qualified for the knock-out stages and won our group. With games coming thick and fast the manager will have the luxury of being able to rest players for the trip to Greece in a couple of weeks time. I suspect we'll see an almost Carling Cup selection for that one.

We played like a team that wanted to wrap things up quickly. On reflection the chances we had in the first half should, perhaps have led to a bigger scoreline. Samir Nasri chose to pass when a shot was a better option, surprising as he's not afraid to have a go usually and tried his luck before and after. There was a bizarre sequence when the ball seemed to be cleared off the line about 4 or 5 times in a row from a corner, the last time saw Vermaelen's rocket of a shot cannon off Arshavin's head leaving the little Russian on the ground as if he'd been punched by Mike Tyson.

Some lovely play saw Arshavin take a shot on the run which went just wide and Arshavin, who was much busier than in pre-World Cup qualifying games, set up Cesc whose shot went even closer. When it came though the first goal was rather odd. We'd been playing with 9 men after Gallas and Arshavin had clashed heads. The Russian was having his head stapled shut while a clearly groggy Gallas was being reminded where he was, both of them off the pitch.

I think it was Vermaelen who played a long ball forward, the defender slipped and Nasri reacted brilliantly. His half-volleyed finish was absolute perfection and we went 1-0 up. Denilson, playing his first game since Man City away, got the second when he thumped one from about 30 yards. While you can look at the goalkeeper the ball took a weird swerve just as it reached him and flew into the net. Arsene said something about Brazilian ankles, which are obviously different to normal ankles, but it was 2-0 to Arsenal at half-time.

In the second it was really all about containment. There wasn't the same urgency, the players knew that they could cruise it a bit and the second half performance was that of a team with an eye on Sunday's game against Chelsea. Sylvester replaced Gallas whose right eye looked almost closed when he came back on in the first half and while I know he hasn't played much and is probably a bit rusty - I don't think he'll have filled anyone with much confidence. Personally I would much prefer to see Senderos given the nod when we lose one of Gallas or Vermaelen but he's so out of favour he's not even making the squad these days, which is a shame.

And it would be silly not to point out that Standard, who really aren't very good at all, had some good chances last night. They hit the woodwork twice, the bloke with the stupid spirally hair was clean through on goal from a set-piece (more awful organisation and defending) but cocked it up good and proper, while I thought they should have had a penalty in the first half when a post-head clash Gallas knocked their player over in the box. If that had been at the other end I'd have been fuming that we didn't get. I know we had a claim via Eboue but for me that wasn't a penalty. A better team would have punished us last night and Chelsea are a much better team than Standard Liege. We've got to defend a lot better than we did last night if we want to win on Sunday.

The biggest blow of the night came in the final couple of minutes. Kieran Gibbs tried a shot from the edge of the box and as their player came in to block the shot he caught Gibbs on the follow through - broken metatarsal. Bollocks. Of course I blame David Beckham. Until he broke his metatarsal pre-World Cup a few years back nobody apart from foot doctors/fetishists had ever even heard of metatarsals, let alone broken one. The bad news is that Gibbs is set to be out for 3 months and with Clichy out for another few weeks and Traore and Sylvester much less convincing options at left back it's going to make life a bit more difficult in the weeks ahead.

It should also be noted that Gallas picked up an ankle injury as well as a swollen bonce so we've really got to keep our fingers crossed that he recovers ahead of Sunday. If I were the manager I'd be tempted to use one of Sagna or Eboue at left back but we can think about that more as the week progresses.

Arsene's post-match reaction is here and the win will certainly help improve the mood and confidence before the Chelsea game. It's the 10th successive season in which we've qualified for the knock-out stages and the manager is confident we can go further than last season, which would be nice. Still, with one more game in the group stage and the knock-out games not till after Christmas we can more or less put the Champions League on the back burner now.

Also, the manager revealed Alex Song had extended his contract, saying it would be confirmed officially soon and youngster Sanchez Watt has done exactly the same.

So there you go. Now we can get back to the meat and drink of the league and start preparing for what is a huge game this weekend. There's plenty of time to preview that so I'll just remind you that if you fancy winning a pair of tickets, courtesty of Emirates Airline, you've got until midnight tonight to enter the competition. See this post for all the details and the Random Number Generator will select a winner who will be announced on tomorrow morning's blog.

Till then.

Standard Liege preview + Time for some small guys to make a bigger impact

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:44:14 +0000

As big teams across Europe face Champions League showdowns this week, we're in the rather comfortable position of just needing a ~~point~~ win from tonight's game to top the group. Of course after Saturday we'd consider that a rather disappointing result. A good spanking of the opposition is required to get ourselves back on track and ready for Chelsea on Sunday.

The team news is that Kieran Gibbs returns and I expect he'll go straight into the team. Other than that it's a Lilliputian XI as our all our Gullivers remains out injured. We know about van Persie and Bendtner and Arsene announced yesterday that Abou Diaby had one of his patented little setbacks and will be out for the next three weeks.

I do wonder if he's going to change things around much tonight. I'm not now convinced he'll change anything at centre-half but I think Eboue will play at right back, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Denilson come into the midfield in place of Song while Theo Walcott will probably get a run on the right side of the attack. At the press conference Arsene was being asked about Theo and one of the journalists suggested it was a big year for him because of the World Cup. There might been an x-rated version but watching the press conference via the official site I didn't see that. Arsene said:

The big season is with Arsenal, not at the World Cup. We do not pay players to go to the World Cup - we pay the players to do well for Arsenal. The first pride of a man is to do well for the guy who pays you in life, not to go to the World Cup.

And quite right too. You get the feeling the manager is still smarting a touch from Theo's involvement with the U21s in the summer. The player wanted to go, the manager was opposed and while selection was out of both their hands Arsene won't have been best pleased that injuries have disrupted his season in a big way.

Perhaps this is a little reminder to Theo about where his priorities should lie. Do well for Arsenal and you might make England's World Cup squad. Let's face it, he's in there on reputation and I don't think it's unfair to expect him to start putting in some performances for us now. He needs to stay fit and show that he has progressed as a footballer for Arsenal. If he does that then he can be confident about the World Cup. Still, there's confidence within the squad that he can do the business. Cesc says:

He is fit, back, and now he can help us. He looks really good in training and he's very sharp. As soon as he starts getting games and minutes I'm sure he'll play a big part in our season because he's a really important guy for us.

Let's see it Theo. Another young man who has to start making an impression is Carlos Vela. AW is talking about extending his contract, despite the fact he seems to spend most of his time injured or travelling to and from Mexico for internationals. Arsene has confidence in him though, revealing he is one of the reasons he allowed Adebayor to leave in the summer:

Vela is a fantastic talent and he is 20-years-old. We have invested a lot of time for him because we put him in Spain for two years, got him back and now we work with him every day.

I believe he is a Robbie Fowler-type. He needs very little time to make a decision in the box. He is relaxed when he finishes and he has very short backlift. He is aswell left-footed and he is a similar size.

At the moment though Vela seems like the post-Liverpool Robbie Fowler, not the amazing player he was at Anfield. It's obvious he's got talent, some of the goals he's scored have been outrageously good. He's got pace, tricks and he can finish, but we've only seen that in the relatively low-pressure environment of the Carling Cup. He needs to step up and start doing that in games that really matter because not only does it provide us with another attacking option but it provides competition for places which as we all know is healthy. At the moment I can't imagine anyone is worried about losing their place to Vela.

I realise he's only 20 but he's been here now two years. He doesn't need any more time to adapt. He's part of a squad with big ambitions and everyone needs to play a part, let's hope he can make the breakthrough.

Arsene wasn't the only one to face the media yesterday. They also had Cesc Fabregas and amidst all the talk of football and Arsenal and things that are actually important the issue of Barcelona had to be brought up. Well, it didn't have to be if you could think of something more interesting to talk about, like the life and times of Johnny Boring, who sat in a room staring at a blank wall for 90 years, but some of the journos are nothing if not hopelessly predictable. Cesc, as you would expect, dealt with such questions with aplomb, saying:

It does not affect me at all because it's been going for years. To be honest I just don't think about it, I don't want to and I don't think I should because I'm at a great club and in a great team. I'm very happy where I am and there is very long season in front of us. The last thing I want to do is get disconnected from what I have to do which is to play football for my team and for the Club that pays me. I'm really looking forward to a great season with Arsenal.

Top answer but it won't stop the press wheeling out the Cesc to Barcelona stories the minute one of their players mentions his DNA but there's not much we can do about that. It's worth having a look at the press conference if you've got Arsenal TV Online to see just how comfortable he is dealing with the press gang, at 22 years of age it's something else.

He'll lead the team out tonight and hopefully we'll see a better display than the one against Sunderland. It'd be nice to tie up the group tonight which means that we can think about resting some players for the trip out to Greece for the final game. I don't expect anything less than a win, I think for the most part we've reacted well to disappointments this season and that should continue tonight.

Not much else happening really. Some reports, although none official, say that Alex Song has been handed a 2 year extension to his contract. It's a measure of how important he's become to the team, I suppose. This time last year he wouldn't have convinced many that he was worth it but since the turn of the year he's a different player. You might question whether or not his development might have been more beneficial to player and team at a slower pace but it's impossible to argue with his form and performance this season.

Stan Kroenke has bought some more shares. I was sure there was an article on the official site about it but it appears to be gone now.

Finally, and without getting ahead of ourselves, I've got a pair of tickets to give away to Sunday's game against Chelsea with thanks to Emirates Airline. See this post for competition details and details of discounts to flights for Arsenal members.

And that'll have to do. Here's to a good result tonight, more tomorrow.