Today's blog is a little strange as I prepared it in the afternoon but only managed to post it during the game against Everton. The title comes from our need to "Catch" the teams ahead of us and therefore to win tonight. Ahead of tonight's game away to Everton the only real team news from the club is that Gallas might be recalled to the team. This means that Kolo or Djourou will drop out and I can't see the sense in that as Kolo is our current captain and has somewhat recovered his form over the last few games and Djourou should be first choice as Kolo and Gallas, by the manager's own admission, don't play well together as they have a heigth issue and in my opinion they are too similar in style and they both need a Djourou style player alongside them.

The boss has been saying that he won't break our wage structure and that January buys take time to settle in and I imagine this is being said to let the fans know that any deal for Arshavin is looking less likely now. It could be for Arshavin's benefit too as he could be telling him to lower his asking price. I don't think that we will sign anyone at this stage as the boss is probably happy with our current run of results. It's a very dangerous game to play but I hope it works.

In tonight's game Everton will have their very tall Belgian midfielder Fellaini back from suspension and he could cause us a lot of bother along with Cahill & Arteta. Everton are on a very good run at the moment and they are not conceding many goals. We will have to be at our very best to get the win we need tonight. I am going for 2-1 for us with Adebayor & RVP scoring as long as we play our strongest team. That means no Song or Eboue but I fear that they will play.

The boss says Rosicky is about 8 weeks away from returning and he also says that RVP's fitness is priceless to us at the moment. I hope he can stay fit as he is our most important player at the moment. I will leave it there as work calls.

Here's a clip ofa very young Cesc scoring after being set up by Bergkamp.

 http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=FLuQARgAZc0

And to finish the title track from The Cure.

 http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=FOGVBN3Ph6Y

Have you ever had that feeling in your life that they're all out to get you? I have that feeling at the moment as things just can't seem to go right for me. I played football last night and opened up a deep cut on my right knee for the third week in a row. After that I managed to get the ball in the eye from point blank range and after that again I took one for the team and counted 3 Adam's apples for a while. I was like the walking wounded this morning and of course I had to work on a Saturday for the first time in 2 months. It was a long hard day and when I came home I couldn't get on to my computer as my teenage daughter had her friends(all male) over for a bit of a party. Thankfully they are gone now and I can get back to my obsession whilst drinking myself silly.

Anyway enough about me and on to Arsenal news. To be honest there is very little to talk about that hasn't been said already and I'll preview the Cardiff game in the morning when I sober up. There is more talk of the on/off Arshavin deal but I couldn't be bothered giving my opinion any more as it is becoming a pain at the moment and we are also linked with Micah Richards And Niko Kranjcar again. There is also some more talk about Arteta joining us and I have always said he was my first choice to sign as an attacking option in the transfer window. He wouldn't need time to adapt to the English game and he is a very good player who could take Cesc's place for the moment and maintain his place in the team when Cesc comes back. He has played down reports linking him with us but that is to be expected(I hope).

Our youth team managed a 5-3 win at Southampton today after being 2-0 down. I hope toI'll be watching the match tomorrow with the Wicklow Gunners supporter's club in The Strand in Bray but at the moment that is all up in the air. I have to see what else I have to do tomorrow as I wasn't home from work until after 7 this evening. That's the lot  for today.

Here's a clip of what that man Arteta can do.

 http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=7yxEyjsQJVM

 And here's today's title track from The Beat.

 http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=fCaaxYKbAyY&feature=related

See You Tomorrow.

Today's blog gets it's title from the great song by The Specials and from our managers stereotypical way in which he is handling our quest for new players in the transfer window. I fear that we will have to wait until the last minute so that Arsene can try to save us a few quid as clubs get desperate to sell as the window closes. It's a dangerous game to play and it didn't work in the summer. The player we did get was bought a long time earlier and has worked out very well so far. Maybe the boss should learn a lesson from that and go out and get his man immediatly. The fans will not be happy if he let's more targets slip through his grasp over a couple of million quid(like Alonso in the summer).

Anyway enough of that and on to other matters of the day. The rumours about Arshavin joining are increasing all the time. I have read today that he will be in London tomorrow for a medical and that he is threatening to go on strike if he is not sold also. Correct me but is it not the Russian off season at the moment and therefore he is on a break anyway. Which would also mean he might not be fully fit if he joins us. Arteta has also come out and said that he is happy to stay at Everton and he has pledged his future to them. So I expect him to be sold within the week.  We are again linked with Martins of Newcastle but we don't want or need him. We are also linked with a young player who hasn't played a lot called Modibo Diakite who had a song in the Sound of Music or was that Flyakite ?

In other news Cesc has said that he is enjoying his enforced break from football and he is steering clear of the game in every way except for watching Arsenal. The break is well earned as he has played almost 300 games for us at the tender age of 21 with very little chance for a break over the last 5 years with international duties calling on him as well. RVP has said he understands the fans frustration at not winning a trophy since 2005 and he feels the same way himself. He wants to win a trophy for us and the way he is playing at the moment is the best way he can do that. Clichy says that we are grinding out results at the moment and our form is coming back slowly but surely. I can see what he means about the grinding and I hope he is right about our form but I still feel we are very fragile and a defeat could really hurt us. Kelly Smith has been voted the 5th best ladies footballer in the world and congratulations go to her and our ladies team who had a 7-0 win against Colchester on Sunday in the Ladies FA Cup.

Samir Nasri has been praised by the boss for his contribution against Bolton when he came into the middle and the boss says that this more or less happened by accident. I find that hard to believe as he played there for Marseille and Vela was an obvious choice to play on the left. Surely Arsene knows and believes that Nasri is well suited to this position. There is also a story that Bendtner gave our team to Bolton before the game. I don't know what truth is in it but I named the same starting 11 on Friday night as it was the manager's obvious first choice(not mine). Finally there is some late news on the Youth team. They have won their FA Youth Cup fourth round match against Wolves tonight by 3-0 with a hat trick from Gilles Sunu who came on as a sub after half an hour. Here's the match report as it stands.

Here's a clip of the save of the season so far and it's from one of our players.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxztGDMm93E

And to finish the title song from The Specials which is also the profile name for the writer of a good Arsenal blog here on Oleole.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ4lvUJ39fE

See You Tomorrow.

This is just a very quick post to mention our victory over Bolton this afternoon. With Villa beating West Brom earlier in the day(thanks to a lucky own goal by Scott Carson) it was vital that we won and it was looking more and more like a 0-0 draw until Bendtner came on for Diaby and finished off a cross from RVP much to the relief of every Arsenal fan in and out of the stadium. We are now on a 7 match unbeaten run in the league with 4 wins and 3 draws to our name. We may not be playing at our best but the confidience must be growing just a little. By the way how long can Villa stay so lucky ?

I have been one of the fiercest critics of Bendtner in the past but to his credit that goal today was very important and by all accounts he took it well. Up to that stage we had been thwarthed by a mixture of bad finishing, good goalkeeping, good defending & the woodwork. We have a week before our next game at Hull and in that time I hope the manager will at least have Arshavin added to the squad. He wouldn't comment either way yesterday but the popular opinion is that we will have him in our ranks before the month is out. After that we still need more players but I suppose it depends on who is available. The player I would like is Arteta and he scored for Everton again today with his 3rd goal in 2 league games since he has been linked with us. Is this a coincidence or is sending a come and get me message to us with our lack of goals from midfield. Everton are on a good run and keeping the pressure on us and we need to continue our run to stay ahead of them and catch Villa. By the way I thought Jay Simpson played well against Villa today but he didn't really get the chance to score the goal that we all would have loved. That's it for today and I'll do a full report on the game tomorrow when I've seen more of it.

Here's   the goal from today's game(thanks Boxofficefootball again).

http://www.boxofficefootball.com/ukbox/football-update/arsenal-1-bolton-0-highlights/

And to finish  some Music from The Manic Street Preachers which gave the post it's title as I think getting back to "1-0 to The Arsenal" is a good design for our season until we can get things going at full steam again.

The rumours about Arshavin joining us are gathering pace all the time. If you were to read every article and/or blog he has either already signed or we can't afford the fee and/or wages. I hope that he does join us and I've given the post a Russian title today(or at least a song that mentions Russia and that I love) in the hope it will work some magic. Don't get me wrong - he won't solve all our problems but he might just be the spark our attack needs to get it firing on all cylinders again. We still need a defensive midfielder and a replacement for Cesc but things could be starting to look better if he signs.

I know he won't be eligible for the Champions League but we need to make sure we qualify for next season's competition too. Aston Villa are 3 points ahead of us at the moment and they are having a fair deal of good luck at the moment. Their squad is wafer thin and if they were to lose 1 or 2 more players to injury they would find it very hard to stay competitive. We also have to be wary of Everton as they are coming up behind us very quickly and even though they have a lot of injury problems with their strikers they seem to have sorted their defence out now and they are squeezing out 1-0 wins. The best way to stop them is to buy Arteta from them and he is the ideal replacement for the injured Cesc.

There are a few other names mentioned in connections with us today but we have heard them all before. Their is more talk also of Kolo & Eboue leaving but our squad is very small at the moment due to injuries so I don't think they will leave. The Ladies will play Doncaster in the League Cup Final on Thursday February 26th at Scunthorpe's ground and let's hope it's the first of many trophies for them again this season. The Spuds seem to have booked their place in the League Cup Final for the 2nd year in a row and I couldn't bear the thought of them winning another trophy(even if it is a Mickey Mouse one) so let's all cheer on United or Derby in the final(I don't like the thought of cheering United either). So, come on Derby - who are winning the first leg as I write this. That's it for today.

Here's a clip of our youngsters beating Cardiff in the FA Youth Cup a year or so ago with Jay Simpson playing well for us and a certain Rambo doing the same for them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN9BGLzi6i0

And to finish the title from above by The Sisters of Mercy.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWvOHT0zfXY

There is a lot of talk about at the moment about Arshavin. According to his club we are in talks with him/them about a move. I have to say that I think he could be a very good player for us and I hope the rumours are true.

We are also linked with a host of other players today. There is more talk of Upson, Yaya Toure, Senna, Alonso, Arteta & Kranjcar. Torino have appearently said that they won't be loaning Rosina to us and Arseblogger has heard a rumour that we are after Jimmy Bullard & Martin Laursen. Inter Milan are reportedly after Eboue and Bendtner is being offered in part exchange for every second player we are after. Man City still want Kolo and they want his brother too if we are to believe what the papers say. 

I could live with Bendtner going if we use him to get a top class player in. We have Adebayor, RVP, Vela, Theo(when he's back) & Simpson(next season) who are all better up front than him in my opinion. I can't imagine that Inter have made a bid for Eboue. Mourinho is a good judge of a player and he can't seriously believe that Eboue is good enough for them. We are supposed to have made a bid for Arteta but had it turned down. If this is true we should come back with a bigger bid and see if the player decides he wants to join us. Kolo has withdrawn his transfer request but it does look like either he or Gallas will leave by the summer at the latest.

In other news Adebayor has won an award as the top African player in the world and Theo's agent has said he will not be leaving Arsenal. I don't think any of us seriously thought he would leave. Cardiff have declared that our FA Cup match later in the month will not be switched to the Millenium stadium. RVP has won the club's player of the month award for the second month running and his 1st goal against Plymouth at the weekend was our 150th at the Emirates. That's the lot for today. All that's left is an explanation of the title. I gave it that heading because I want new signings immediatly or sooner even and of course because I love The Smiths.

Here's a clip of RVP doing his stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u9D0SGzaSs

And to finish the title track from The Smiths/

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRtYNPRXkYU

See You Tomorrow.

First of all today the news that young Jack wilshere has signed his first professional contract with Arsenal. He turned 17 on New Year's day and he has now signed on for us which is great news for the future. Now to the present and there are rumours circulating that we will swap Kolo for Stephen Ireland. I can't see Man City letting their best player so far this season go as they don't need the money. I would also like to see Kolo get the rest he needs and get a chance to regain his fitness and form.

The boss has said he is not interested in Inler from Udinese any longer. The rumours about Arshavin persist and he would be a good signing in my opinion. The title above is about Arteta as I think he would make a good instant replacement for Cesc and he could keep a place in the team in the long term. Go on Arsene - go out and sign him. Never mind what Everton say about not selling.

On a more positive note Silvestre is injured for 3 weeks and we won't have to watch his poor attempts to prove he is not past it for a while at least. RVP says he wants to win the FA Cup and I second him on that one. We are treating it with more respect this season, for obvious reasons, and we must have a chance of winning it. Mind you Cardiff won't be easy in the next round. That's about it for today as I'm back at work and it's bloody freezing here. The heating has been off for almost 2 weeks and the building needs to heat up for a few days before I can feel anyway comfortable.

Here's a clip of Saturday's game against Plymouth(in English this time).

 http://www.boxofficefootball.com/cupbox/arsenal-v-plymouth-fa-cup-highlights/

And to finish the title track from The Smiths.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb70YDbx31c

The draw has been made for the 4th round of the FA Cup and we will be making a trip to Wales to play Cardiff City. It won't be easy as they are playing very well at the moment and they play a good brand of football. As I have said before we need to progress in this competition if we want to win a trophy this season. So lets hope we continue to play a strong team and we bring our best game to Cardiff.

We have been linked to Stephen Ireland in the papers today after Everton said they won't be selling Arteta. I still think we should test Everton with a big bid for Arteta and see if the player wants to join us. As for Ireland I don't think we need a player who has the problems that this guy does. He is a potential powder keg and it could backfire on us badly. We are also linked with Alessandro Rosina of Torino & Matthew Upson of West Ham. What is clear is that we need some top class players right now and I don't think the boss should wait until the end of the transfer window to save a couple of million like he usually does. There doesn't seem to be any progress with regards to Arshavin and I hope there is still a chance of him joining us. There are also rumours that Theo is unhappy about the fact that he hasn't been offered a new contract. I'm sure we won't let his contract run down like we let Flamini's as it would be a disaster.

It was nice to get the win under our belts yesterday and let's hope we can continue in our winning ways at home to Bolton on Saturday. My title above refers to our good win yesterday and ability to keep it going so long as we can bring in the right players to compliment the ones we have available at the moment. Vela & Rambo are getting more game time at the moment and I would prefer them to be in the team rather than Eboue, Song, Bendtner, Silvestre and even Denilson. Let's hope the boss thinks as the fans do that they are looking very good too. Anyway, that's it for today.

Here's the highlights from yesterday with thanks to Boxofficefootball again(check out her profile here )

 http://www.boxofficefootball.com/cupbox/arsenal-v-plymouth-fa-cup-highlights/

And to finish the title track from above by The Wedding Present.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_j8xUZ_3AQ

See You Tomorrow.

Well we are through to the 4th round of the FA Cup after a fairly good 3-1 win against Plymouth today at The Emirates. RVP was captain for the day and he justified the manager's faith in him by scoring a brace. The other goal came by way of an own goal and we did seem to dominate proceedings whilst Plymouth carved out a few chances for themselves.

I intended to preview the game yesterday but I could not get on to my profile and therefore it was impossible. The manager had said that Fabianski will be our FA Cup manager this season and he played a fairly strong team as he is treating the competition seriously. To be honest I have said since August that we need to treat the FA Cup with respect as it is our best chance of a trophy. The manager obviously agree. Ramsey got a chance to start again and so did Bendtner. Clichy was rested and Silvestre came in for him. He had to go off after 30 minutes and Gibbs came in and played well enough. By all accounts Nasri & RVP were our best performersand we need them to perform like that on a consistent basis.

In transfer news David Moyes has said that Arteta is going nowhere but I still think a large bid might persuade Everton to sell. The boss said he has not made a bid for Arteta and he won't be buying Given. He also said there is no progress with Arshavin and I'm not quite sure what he meant by that. Time will tell. He also said he hasn't spoken to Madrid and that he is going nowhere. He also said that we are in a healthy financial position and he won't jeporadise that by going mad in the transfer market. He does intend bringing players in but it will be money wisely spent more or less I would imagine or so he thinks anyway. I'll leave it at that as I have a big poker game in a friend's house tonight and it's going to be a late one I'm sure.

Here's a clip of our latest captain showing his skills in another sport.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtJkfrt1n4c

And to finish the title track from David Bowie which describes our captain of today.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muMcWMKPEWQ

That's what I have to say to Arteta & Arshavin as the rumours mount that they will join us. Get A Job with the best club in the world. Join us and help us to regain our rightful place at the summit of English football. If the boss can sign those 2 and follow them with a top quality defensive midfielder and a centre back then we will have nothing to fear. We will pull away from Villa and maybe even overtake Liverpool in the league. The FA Cup will be ours for the taking and who knows what will happen in Europe. I can dream can't I. Go on Arsene - do it and we will believe again.

I have to be brief again today as New Year celebrations call again. Tonight will be 10 nights out in the last 14. God help my liver and my brain doesn't feel too good either. Last night ended up with Sambukas & Baby Guinness. Who knows where tonight will go ?

Anyway in Arsenal news we are again linked with Arshavin & Arteta along with Alessandro Rosina of Torino, Zoran Tusic of Partizan Belgrade, Adem Ljajic of Partisan Belgrade, Brede Hangeland of Fulham & Matthew Upson of West Ham. I'm sure there are more but that's enough for the moment. I really want Arteta & Arshavin to join as I said above and it would be great to get them in early.

The club have reportedly turned down a transfer request from Kolo and it would appear that his row with Gallas has caused his request. I would sell Gallas instead. He is rumoured to be joining Milan with Senderos coming back to us from his loan spell with them. Nordtviet is back at the club after his loan spell with Salamanca & Madrid supposedly want Wenger & Cesc in the summer. As if that is going to happen. As I said I'm off to the pub now so I have to leave it at that but I'll get back into the groove over the weekend when I am drying out.

Here's a clip of Arsenal winning the FA Cup. Something I would like us to do this season.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2YnsLrLPsU&feature=related

And to finish the title track from The Beat.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjLhVhg-jTo

See You Tomorrow.