All photos shamelessly nicked from the Daily Mail, but here they are for your enjoyment:

I hope Almunia isn't offended that Beckham copied his hairdo.

Just wanted to wish everyone (not just Arsenal fans) a Happy New Year! All the best for 2008.

As for the Arsenal fans... well, it's a happy start to the new year.

Arseblog have said that Carlos Vela is in London with the club (the source they've got is 99% legitimate), and it's quite likely that he's going to play the rest of the season, although some are speculating that he's just going to train with the team over the winter break (this would be odd though). Notably, Vela qualifies for his Spanish passport this January, and everyone of course will have noticed the lack of punch in this Arsenal squad when the injuries have been present. At times we've been short a winger, and at other times we've been short a striker, and he can play all across the wings and forward line.

And of course Wenger announced earlier that Johan Djourou would be coming back from Birmingham, so that's two new good quality signings, in addition to Robin Van Persie's return from injury (which Arsene has said "will be like a new signing").

All this in addition to use beating West Ham 1-0 at home in a very convincing performance to maintain our 2 point lead at the top of the table.

Good luck for the rest of the season! 

This one is more speculation than anything else, but he has already been linked to the Gunners, and would be something of a perfect signing.

He's very pacy, very direct, and can dribble, shoot and pass, and is quite a fiery character. He might not be as creative or classy as Hleb or Van Persie, but his overall game is outstanding for a guy his age, and he has an unbelievable work ethic.

He can play up front, or on the left, or on the right, and can do all three very well, so that would be a huge plus for an Arsenal side that lacks genuine wingers, and doesn't have much striking depth, and where players like Eduardo, Walcott and Rosicky are supposed to be versatile, but had proved to be far from effective.

He will also not take time to adapt to the English game, something which has been a huge problem for Eduardo, and for many previous Wenger signings.

He's also a good kid with strong character, an excellent professional, and isn't into the whole drinking & partying culture that so many of the young British footballers are into, so he's an excellent candidate for Wenger, who is in any case biased towards "winger-strikers".

Let's see how the form book looks after the next few weeks, and if the Arsenal have been a bit goal-shy, this might be a move worth making. 

For his first title, Arsene Wenger used a slew of shrewd signings to push Arsenal to victory. He had inherited a solid defensive base, and needed to add the right ingredients, which he did. So Patrick Vieira, Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit and Nicolas Anelka all arrived (amongst other) to complement the legendary back 5, and Dennis Bergkamp. In May 1998, Arsenal were Champions.

Some years later, with his back 4 ageing, Wenger once again made additions in Freddie Ljungberg, Silvinho, Lauren and Sol Campbell. Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Edu, and Sylvain Wiltord all arrived within a few years of each other, and provided a combined exercise of focussed team building and once again buying the right ingredients when needed. In May 2002, Arsenal were Champions.

Wenger had bought very cleverly, and of a good age group, so with just the slightly younger Jens Lehmann replacing David Seaman, Arsenal were the Unbeaten Champions in May 2004, having been boosted in January by the signing of Jose Antonio Reyes.

Since then, Wenger has been building, building, and building, but not purchasing too much. While this was frustrating for the fans, you can't fault the logic behind it. When you are building something, you have to know what you have before you start to make decisions on what to do with it.

So since 2004, Arsene has been carefully building - Cesc, Van Persie, Clichy, Eboue, Toure, Senderos, Flamini, Adebayor, Diaby, Denilson, Walcott and Djourou - they all arrived as promising youngsters, or backup players, but Wenger has gradually built them all into a team, allowing them time to grow into what he hoped they might become, and being careful not to stifle them with a glut of signings.

Hleb was added one year, Rosicky and Gallas the next, and the excellent Sagna this year. They have all complemented and enhanced the fantastic base that was built up slowly, and now Wenger knows what his baby has become. And while this baby has played some excellent football, worked hard, and gotten good results, it has it's failings, and January is the time to address these.

No matter how he chops and changes things, there are two things that Wenger cannot build or adapt to at the moment.

The first, is a lack of punch up front - most of the goals have come from midfield, with Adebayor often erratic and ineffective, and Van Persie injured. Beyond them, there is no one - Walcott is still a long way off, Eduardo is taking too long to adapt, and Bendtner is too raw.

The second, is a lack of a genuine left-sided player. Rosicky has been there for 2 years now, and looks progressively less comfortable in that position. It's not that he's right-footed (both Pires and Overmars were right-footed, but they were very comfortable in their roles), it's just that it doesn't suit his style. Apart from him, there's no one but makeshifts - Clichy, Traore or Eduardo.

And that is the glaring truth - we have only 2 strikers, of which only one is a really threatening goalscorer (Van Persie), and no left-sided player (although Hleb often roams in that area too good effect). There's no solving these from within the squad (if he could have, Wenger would have tried something other than the 4-5-1), so it's time to buy in January, and I think this is the year that it really might happen.

Wenger has spent sparingly for 5 or 6 years now, and especially with the huge revenue from the new stadium, he is sitting on a large amount of cash (nevermind his "We have no money" protestations). Like I've said, apart from the fact that he's cheap, he's also been mindful of the fact that he wanted the youngsters to achieve their potential, and they've done that. So now is the time to add quality and experience. He only needs two players, and there's a very good chance that he will buy them in January, and that he'll spend good money on them too.

As for who they might be? Well I'd like to hear your thoughts on that!

The big news for the Arsenal ahead of this weekend's game against Wigan is the absence of six first teamers from the Arsenal squad - Alexander Hleb, Mathieu Flamini, Abou Diaby and Robin Van Persie are injured, Gilberto is fatigued from his exertions in South America, and Cesc Fabregas is suspended. Those are all important players, and Hleb, Flamini and Cesc have been Arsenal's best players this season, so it will be quite a test. Luckily, it's against Wigan Athletic. No disrespect to them, but they have been pretty dire this season.

So this means that the central pairing will quite likely be Denilson and Lassane Diarra. The former has been outstanding in the Carling Cup and in substitute apperances, and will be looking to pull the strings in midfield. The latter, a late summer arrival from Chelsea, has looked very promising in his substitute apperances, sometimes playing at right-back, sometimes in his favoured holding position. If Wenger is true to his word regarding the absentees for the game, then this will be the likely pairing in the centre, with Diarra getting a chance to show what he can do. Although Arseblogger feels that we just might see Gilberto starting this game.

The back 4 and goalkeeper should remain intact, and Emmanuel Adebayor will continue as the lone striker, so that leaves 3 positions up for grabs. There aren't too many candidates because os injuries, so it's likely that 3 of Emmanuel Eboue, Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo will line themselves up behind Adebayor in some permutation of 4-4-2, 4-5-1 or 4-3-3, or a Wengerish mixture of all of those. I think Eduardo might be ready for a start tomorrow, especially since Arsene reckons that his performance against England in midweek will have given him some confidence. There is an outside chance that Kieran Gibbs or Armand Traore might come into the reckoning, to provide some width on the left, but it's more likely that we'll see them on the bench.

The big news for the visitors is two-fold. Firstly, Emile Heskey is back in training and likely to be in-line to start now. That's not the greatest news, since he has the potential to be a serious thorn in our side when playing well, and let's not forget his power, pace, and ability to fall down like a newly-born calf in attempts to win penalties.

Secondly, and this is the sort of ridiculous news, new manager Steve Bruce will be travelling with the side, and starting with this game. Bruce, Heskey's former manager at Birmingham, recently agreed to make the switch after Wigan met Birmingham's contract demands, and should finally give the rudderless Latics some direction. This is not the ridiculous news, the ridiculous news is that the actual move of Bruce from the Brum to the Latics was delayed over an image rights bonus issue (which eventually cost Bruce about £100,000). Now anyone who has seen Steve Bruce, will be wondering excactly why he was receiving an image rights bonus, especially since those are generally kept for people like David Beckham and Fredrik Ljungberg. I'm sure you know what i'm getting at... if not, then see below (not intending to go after Bruce in any way, he seems like a nice chap, but it's all quite weird):

Ex-Arsenal "legend" Ian Wright has been talking up Arsenal's chances this season, and about how Thierry Henry's departure was a good thing for the team:

"Thierry had an influence in the dressing room which was becoming too stifling for a lot of people...That showed in the way he played sometimes because he had his arms flailing and was upset with what they were doing. I think his departure was great for the club because a lot of players are coming out of their shells. Everybody's playing with more freedom and they all want to be the man by doing their bit."

Which is all well and good, except for what you said earlier in the season Wrighty:

"However, I think the hole left by Thierry Henry is just too big.

I was obviously sad to see him leave this summer. It’s not just his goals that will be missed but his presence as well. Any Arsenal fans who thought his departure would not cause a problem were kidding themselves."

So then you're not an Arsenal fan? Make sure you have someone to help you clean up the egg off your face.

Remember that old saying - "Empty vessels make the most noise"? Well he's is a perfect example of it (just listen to him on the radio, or see him as a pundit if you need more proof).

The first goal, scored by Eduardo. A cracker after good work by Bendtner, who had a good game without being too effective:

Second goal, again by Eduardo, and a great pass from the youngster Kieran Gibbs. Some of you might remember him from the Emirates Cup where he played very well against Inter Milan. He was on the wing in that game, and Arsene Wenger described him afterwards as a "mini Ryan Giggs". Well, on Wednesday he played at left-back and gave a good account of himself, even though he is primarily an attacking player. Just goes to show the "total football" philosophy that is running through the club at the moment:

As for the third goal, well Denilson had a pop from long range, and it went in via a slight deflection from the defender, although enough to deceive the 'keeper. Denilson had a fantastic game, and this was a great reward for him:

Other honourable mentions go to Theo Walcott, who looks much more confident, and hit the post, and Lassana Diarra, who looks a fearsome prospect (although he hung on to the ball a bit more than he needed do, but he was probably just trying to impress). 

As you all know by now, Arsenal absolutely demolished Slavia Prague on Tuesday. 7 goals, 6 of them were top, top quality, and the football, control and composure on displays were pure class. It was Arsenal's third 7-0 win in the last 4 years, and the Gunners' biggest win in Europe.

It was great to see this new, young team really explode, and stability has really been the key factor. They've all had about 2-3 years of playing together now, and there are options and fluidity in every position. Some of the goals were just stunning, particularly both of Cesc's. You can see all the goals here:

1-0 Cesc Fabregas
2-0 Hubacek o.g.
3-0 Theo Walcott
4-0 Aliaksandr Hleb
5-0 Theo Walcott
6-0 Cesc Fabregas
7-0 Nicklas Bendtner

Hleb was absolutely outstanding all game long, Walcott showed us what he's capable of, Adebayor was a bit useless, but worked hard as always, and everyone else was solid and strong. Eboue is still a bit uncomfortable/wasteful on the wing, but did fantastic well to set up the 7th goal, which Bendtner did showed great resolve to tuck away.

So it's quite a confidence boost ahead of Sunday's big matchup against Liverpool, who along with Arsenal are the only two undefeated teams in the Premiership. Although in many ways, because Slavia were such poor opposition, it wasn't the greatest preparation. Liverpool will be much, much tougher opposition, and will be looking to prove a point after losing to Besiktas yesterday in the Champions League. It's also reaching that stage of the season where they have dropped a lot of points, and they will need to start winning consistently now, especially against the big teams, since they have to claw back points to make up the difference.

Fernando Torres was missing against Besiktas, but will likely be back for Sunday, and no one can really predict what kind of tinkering Benitez will do with the rest of the side. Crouch scored a hattrick against Arsenal last year, so it's quite possible that he will partner Torres.

As for the Gunners, well Van Persie is still missing, and there are doubts over Eduardo. As good and exciting as Theo Walcott was against Slavia, the Liverpool defence are far, far superior, and 4-5-1 is probably the best way to go for this game - Adebayor up front on his own, with Hleb, Fabregas, and Rosicky/Eduardo supporting from deeper positions. Walcott would be a good substitute coming on against tired legs, especially against Sami Hyypia.

They key points will of course be the performances of Gallas and Toure, and how Liverpool deal with Cesc. The two centrehalves were absolutely hammered by Crouch last season, and they will need to do better this year. As for Cesc, well everything good runs through him (and Hleb of course, and Rosicky when he plays), but with options like Sissoko and Mascherano, Benitez will be looking to limit the amount of time and possession that he gets. This is where Flamini becomes important, because he battles and snaps into tackles, and gives Cesc fantastic support. I have a feeling we might see Diaby in there as well, giving an additional option in the centre.

This is the first real test for Arsenal, and they must get it right.

Under Sam Allardyce, Bolton were a dirty, cynical, and dangerous team. In the post-Allardyce era, they are no longer dangerous. And so Arsenal faced a dirty, cynical Bolton on Saturday. With Sammy Lee already sacked (his "more expansive" style of football essentially = crap), coach Archie Knox was appointed caretaker, and he did what so many teams do against Arsenal - clog up the midfield, and get his players to kick and scrap as best they could to keep the scores level.

Shorn of Nicolas Anelka, their only genuine attacking threat, through injury, Bolton never once looked like threating, and although they managed to keep the scores level for an hour, Arsenal were already in their second half ascendancy when they took the lead.

And that moment was all about Kolo Toure. Those who've followed the Arsenal steadily for the last two years or so would have noticed an ever increasing tendency by Toure to take speculative thumps from anywhere between 30-60 yards out. From time-to-time they'd force the 'keeper into a save, often even resulting in rebounds for the strikers. But most of the time it would just leave you wondering why perfectly good free-kick positions were wasted; it was always a familiar pattern, someone standing on the ball, and Toure running in to thump it high, wide, or into the wall. So often the entire sequence was messed up, and there would be missed kicks, or the coordination problems, and he couldn't even get the shot away. Yet Kolo still seemed to be on a mission to thump in a long ranger.

Well, last week against Sunderland he thumped one that came back out off the post, and that was perhaps a sign of things to come.

Yesterday, without the prodiguous left-foot of Robin Van Persie, they needed to improvise for a free-kick outside the box. 3 Arsenal player waited patiently around the ball when the free-kick was given. Then, when the whistle blew, Cesc Fabregas rolled it to Mathieu Flamini, who cushioned it into the path of the onrushing Kolo, who in turn drilled a low hard shot perfectly into the bottom far corner of the goal. It went through the legs of two defenders, and the Bolton 'keeper had no chance.

And that was, as Ian Grant descibred, the "unblocking of the drain". The football flowed after that - Adebayor wasted two chances, one with a poor shot, and the other with an absolutely horrendous messup. Gallas had chances, and Theo zipped past 4 Bolton players before putting in a low cross that no one was alert to.

But the second goal did come, and it was the two substitues who combined for it. Hleb showed great awareness to play the ball to a just-onside Walcott. It was a hard, high pass, and Theo did fantastically well to control it, turn a defender inside out, and then square another low-cross in from the right. Rosicky had made a great run in, and he showed excellent technique to deftly flick the ball across the keeper into the far post with his instep. 2-0 to the Arsenal, and that was the game.

Hleb was oustanding, and the team played well overall. Eboue continues to look uncomfortable on the wing, and Adebayor was extremely, extremely wasteful, but had an immense team contribution over all. 11 straight wins now, but the real tests will come over the next two weekends - with games against Liverpool and Manchester United. 

The big story ahead of this Saturday’s matchup against Bolton is that Manuel Almunia will keep his place in the team, with Jens Lehmann not even making the bench. Wenger also mentions that he has three world class keepers, and that he can’t please all of them. I know that referring to the occasionally walkabout Almunia and the untested Fabianski as “world class” will cause a few laughs, but we can’t really question Arsene’s judgement, especially after this season’s resurgence.

This will all come as a shock to Jens Lehmann though – he’s been progressively getting more antsy and mouthy, and his latest interview is a bit of a shocker and a challenge to the boss. He claims that his absences have been purely through injury (“Did you seen me sitting on the bench once?”), and that he expects to play from now on. Well, this will come as a shock to his system I’m sure.

Arsene is never one to publicly criticise, but he will not have appreciated Jens’ outburst, and leaving him out of the squad when he’s declared himself fit is a strong reproach. Whilst Almunia hasn’t really convinced or done anything exceptional, he has been solid, and the team have won all 10 games in which he’s played. We must remember that it was Lehmann who lost his own place with his errors in the first two premiership games, and it’s only fair that Almunia has gotten his chance.

We need to show a little patience towards Manuel too – after all, this is his first real run in the team in the 4 seasons that he’s been at Arsenal, and he’s not let anyone down. He’s been getting better over the years, and we won’t really see the best of him until he’s had about 15-17 consecutive games in which to cement his place and feel comfortable.

Jens on the other hand, has been “in decline” for a while. There were several errors from him last season, although he redeemed himself with some stunning saves, but the signs were there, and for many his mistakes this year weren’t that surprising.

It’s going to be a tricky situation though, because Jens has challenged the boss, and the boss has responded. He’s said that Lehmann needs to be patient and win his place back, but the harmony of the squad is now at stake. Jens has already made disrespectful statements towards Almunia, and the more agitated he gets, the worse it will become for the team. He’s also got his Euro 2008 place at stake, and the next few months will be very interesting.