Hello all,

And a very fine day it has been in the world of Arsenal. Our 2-1 comeback at the bridge has shown the world something about Arsenal. Just what this is is hard to say. Surely they know that Arsenal, even with an injury-ravaged side are capable of challenging any team in the world and coming out on top. Today's performance was perhaps not the most Arsenal-like game but still a very good win against a strong chelsea team. So we have shown we can beat the top clubs and that we are capable of being a top club. But i feel the overwhelming message being sent is that Arsenal only do well in a match when they give a fuck about the result, or respect their opponents enough to give them a decent game. Losses to Hull, Stoke and Fulham testify for that. But I dont want to be too negative today considering the great win we've just experienced so now onto the match. 

This one was an absolute cracker, both sides playing open football right from the off and Arsenal soon under pressure. This of course would not have been a complete Arsenal game without us conceding first and it took just 30 minutes for the game to start looking normal. Almunia made a rushed and silly throw that found a chelski player, i think it was bosingwa, and then he crosses and Djourou stabbed it into the back of his own net knowing the pressure from the chelski man behind him. So 1-0, and things were starting to look even worse for Arsenal. We were lucky not to go 2-0 down on a number of occasions, namely when Djourou, in a defensive attempt, set the ball perfectly for Lampard on the inside of the 18-yard, but he failed miserably with the shot. So a few reprieves for Arsenal, and then a fantastic bit of luck, and when you've had as bad a season as us, sometimes it takes a little bit of luck to get things rolling. Van Persie was about a full yard offside when Denilson played him through, linesman didn't see it, and RvP smashed home an excellent finish with his weaker foot. 3 minutes later and Arsenal were in the lead. A good floated ball in from Cesc and Adebayor played it down to van Persie who dit extremely well to turn and shoot, stirking the ball beyond the keeper and into the bottom corner. Unbelievable! At this stage there were about 29 minutes left, and I can tell you that was the nerviest 29 minutes of my life, with images of Spurs and Mancs pooping up in my head with their 90th minutes goals. But Arsenal endured, and clung onto a magnificent victory. 

Now we must wait and see. Will this game turn out to be the turning point in Arsenal's season, will people point to this game and say "it all started there, that is why they did so well". Or something along those lines anyway. Or will this game prove to be just another Manchester United game, a good performance against a good team, a win, and then back to crappy inconsistency. Let's hope it's the former. Anyway, we will see, but i think it may well be the former, and this game may also mark the beginning of something else: Cesc's undefeated reign as captain of Arsenal. So far he's captained two matched and we've won those two matches. I think I see the connection here. Soi let's hope for many more undefeats for the new captain, and we may well not be out of this title race just yet. Well, only time will tell. We face Burnley midweek in the Carling Cup, and then we're off to Wigan. Now obviously this is a must win game under any circumstances, so not a great lot of proof here when we win. So i think we need to prove ourselves probably in the Borough game, a win there and we may well be onto a premier league comeback. And i know Borough aren't the greatest of teams, but neither are Stoke or Fulham. So anyway, hopefully, Arsenal have just turned a new page in their book, and we can catch up ground in  the hunt for the title.  Well, we'll see. 

Have a gloaty day and keep the faith,

Asian Arsenal. 

Hello all,

Well, this is it then. This is the first big test for Cesc and Arsenal and let's hope we get through it. The bridge has never been an easy place to play, although liverpool have secured the first win there since ours back a few years ago. This is of course another must-win game for Arsenal, and a loss would see us 13 points of the lead, surely unassailable, however a win would bring us to 7 points of Chelski and then depending on Liverpool's result we may be that bit closer to the top. 

Unfortunately there is still no definitive answer on the prospects of Nasri, Adebayor and Sagna, but hopefully they will all be fit to play Chelski. With the return of all three of them our line-up will probably look something like this:

                                                   Almunia

       Sagna                         Gallas         Silvestre                      Clichy

      Ramsey                       Denilson       Cesc                           Nasri 

                                         RvP              Adebayor

This should be a reasonably strong attacking force with the exception of Denilson, who I still believe is not quite ready for first team football, or at least not this much. It would be nice to see Djourou play again, and hopefully Wenger will put him in instead of Gallas, but considering the need to win this match, Arsene may well have to choose Gallas depsite the urge not to. We are of course still short on wingers and it will be interesting to see how Ramsey, or whoever is played there, copes with Chelski. Considering this lack on the flanks, I would expect us to play a more centred aproach, or at least one heavily involving the full-backs. Chelski have just drawn 0-0 with Newcastle, so let's hope that run of form continues. I would be happy to take anything away from the bridge right now considering ouw own current form, and whilst we will of course aim to win, I think we'll all be satisfied with a draw. And I think a draw is probably the most likely outcome if we can be strong at the back, so I think probably 1-1. There is of course also the hope that we will win here, considering our form against the good clubs and that against the bad ones, so don't be too surprised if we win. A win here would do the team a lot of good, and would renew confidence in all the players. Anyway, we'll see how it pans out, but i would say that a loss here might just force Wenger to rethink that position on Europe, just maybe. 

Have a good match and keep the faith, 

Asian Arsenal.