When all things are considered I suppose yesterday's 1-1 draw with Liverpool was about as good as we could wish for. With Cesc getting injured in the first half and Adebayor getting sent off after more or less an hour we have to be happy that at least we didn't lose. It means we go into Friday's game at Villa 3 points behind them and a win would be great but we must avoid a defeat at all costs. I still maintain that we are out of the hunt for the league and I want the boss to treat the FA Cup with the utmost respect in January as it is our main hope of a trophy. We need Villa to start feeling the pressure of being in 4th place and put a good run together from here on in. At least we are 4 league games unbeaten at the moment and that is something to build on.

As for the Liverpool match I didn't think it was a particularly good game but we were doing well enough until they equalised and then we seemed to lose confidience. We could have gone behind and when Adebayor got sent off I was really worried. However the 10 remaining players stepped up to the plate and performed very well. It was good to see a couple of players take yellow cards for being professional and bringing their man down when they were beaten. To be honest I don't think Liverpool really went for the game when we had 10 men and they seemed happy enough with a draw. I was delighted that RVP scored with his chocolate leg again as he did against Chelsea. I did say yesterday that I thought he might do just that. I thought that Diaby overdid it almost every time he got the ball. You can see teams are using 2 or 3 players to tackle him when he has it as they know he won't pass and they will win it off him.

I watched the game in my local pub with some Liverpool supporting friends and us Gunners were outnumbered by about 10-1 but we still made ourselves heard when we scored. Mind you the roar was deafening when Liverpool scored and various people told me they knew Keane would score. These were the same people who groaned when they saw he was playing. I stumbled home afterwards and I have another big night tonight with my work Christmas party on and then work in the morning.

As we stand there is no definite word on when Cesc will be back from his injury but the club have said there will be word on the web site tomorrow afternoon. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it's only 2 or 3 weeks as we need our captain in the side. Adebayor doesn't think he should have been sent off as he reckons he went in to protect the ball and the player made a meal of it. However once you are on a yellow card you have to be carefull, especially when the referee doesn't actually understand the game. I can see why the referee sent him off even though I do think that it was harsh. We won't have him for the trip to Villa on Friday which means that Bendtner will probably play. God help us !

The boss has said that Vela is going nowhere on loan and that he is not interested in Tevez or Arshavin. I'm not interested in Arshavin either as I heard it leaves a nasty rash. It's all a bit too David Beckhamesque for me. In transfer news there isn't too much out there. Wayne Hennessey is mentioned again and not much else. That's it for today.

Here's the highlights of yesterday's game(thank you Boxofficefootball again).

http://www.boxofficefootball.com/2008/12/21/arsenal-vs-liverpool-live-game-now/

And to finish some Music from an old favourite of mine - New Model Army.

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

Here we are again. Our most important match of the season is upon us again and we go into it hoping that we can show up with our heads right and knowing that nothing less than a win will do. Don't get me wrong, if we draw it won't be the end of the world but if we can win today and then beat Villa and Portsmouth there might actually be light at the end of the tunnel. If we lose I think that the light will have gone out as we will be 11 points behind Liverpool but also we will be too far behind United, Chelsea and maybe(although I think we can catch them) Villa.

We need to play the game like we played against united and Chelsea and we need to take our chances. If we get a lucky win it doesn't matter, so long as it's a win. I'm going for 3-1 to us with 2 goals from Adebayor and 1 from RVP. Call me optimistic or foolish but I don't like Liverpool's style and I can see them losing their place at the top of the league after Christmas. As I said yesterday, how can a team with Dirk Kuyt in it be on top of the league ? I gave my thoughts on the possible team yesterday and my 2 biggest wishes are that Nasri is back and Song doesn't play.

Danny Fiszman has been quoted as saying that we have begun talking to Usmanov but that he will never let Arsenal come under foreign ownership. Elsewhere both Usmanov and Kroenke have appearently said that they don't want to take over the club. There is an awful lot going on in the boardroom at the moment but I'm sure it won't effect the team. As long as the money we need is there in January they can do as they please for the moment.

RVP has said it is a miracle we are still in the title race and he wants to shoot Liverpool down like he shot Chelsea down. Let's hope that he can put away any chances he gets with his chocolate leg today because he has missed quite a few with it since that goal against Chelsea. At least he is shooting with it now as he always used to try to work the ball on to his left previously. I hope he can get the Christmas miracle he wants.

In transfer speculation we have been linked with a host of players today which is to be expected when the board say we have money to spend. According to a few reports we are trying to sign Carlos Tevez from United or whoever owns his registration. We are also linked with the following players again - Andrei Arshavin of Zenit St. Petersburg, Gokhan Inler of Udinese and a new one on me - Steve Finnan. There are also reports that Real Madrid are trying to tap up our boss but that is a non runner. I'll be in the pub with some Liverpool fans watching today but I hope I'll be going home happy and not them. Either way we'll all be going home drunk. That's it for today. For anybody going to the game I hope you have a great day and enjoy another great win. Sing as loud as you can and keep the faith no matter how hard it is do so.

Here's Adebayor's goal against them last season.

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

And to finish the title track from above by The Smiths(I like to call it the greatest song ever written).

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

We have Liverpool at home tomorrow in another must win game for us. We need a few "heroes" out there and hopefully our big players will step up on the big occasion. If we can get Cesc, Clichy, Sagna, Gallas, Djourou, Nasri, Adebayor & RVP at their best we can certainly beat them(even with Song in the team). They are at the top of the league at the moment even though their football isn't exactly in the style that their fans were used to in the past. In my opinion they play a rather direct game and home to capitalise on mistakes by the opposition. They play a very high tempo game and close the opposition down all over the field. It's a mystery to me how the likes of Dirk Kuyt can get into a team who are winning the league as he is the exact opposite of what you expect from a Dutch player. However he does have a nasty habit of scoring against us and hopefully he won't tomorrow. It appears that they won't have Torres tomorrow which is great news for our defence as they have found him to be such a handfull in the past. Robbie Keane seems to be out of favour also and it will be interesting to see who plays as a a striker for them tomorrow.

We may well have Nasri back for the match which would be a big bonus as it would give us some width but the problem would then be in the wide right position. The options are Denilson, Diaby or Eboue in the manager's opinion but surely we could play a youngster or play Vela left and Nasri right. We have let Pennant, Bentley & Larsson go in the last few years and to be honest all of them would probably get a game for us at the moment. Our ability to bring youngsters through has always been good but if we let players go that could do a job for us, is that wise considering what we have left.

The boss has said that he will call the shots when it comes to transfers in January and there is an interesting piece on "Le Grove" naming players who the author thinks we could sign to strengthen our team. I may not agree with him on all of them but it shows that the boss was wrong when he said he can't find anyone to improve upon what we have already. The boss has also said that he thinks it will take 78-85 points to win the league this season as it is closer than it has been in a long time at the top. With Aston Villa winning today they have to considered contenders more than we are at the moment and our game at Villa on Friday takes on an awful lot of signifigance for us in particular.

We are linked with Jimmy Bullard of Fulham today and Andrei Arshavin of Zenit St. Petersburg and various others who we have seen mentioned before over the past few weeks. I really hope we can sign some genuine quality as soon as the window opens to try to salvage something from our disappointing season so far. That's the lot for today and I'll give my prediction tomorrow.

Here's a super goal by Rosicky against Liverpool at Anfield.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud4E-VgorlE

And to finish the title track from above by David Bowie.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf5UkdCh5Bw

See You Tomorrow.

The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League has been made and we have got Roma over 2 legs obviously. We play at home first on Tuesday February 24th and then it's another trip to a country where we have done well in recent years - Italy. I must say I love the city of Rome and it's a fantastic place to visit but I hope we'll be coming home with another great victory. It's not beyond us with the team we have at the moment (with Theo & Nasri back) but it would be nice to have some reinforcements in place by then.

I'll be as quick as I can with this post as I have a big night ahead of me. My local pub is having it's Christmas party and I'm meeting a lot of people there for some serious drinking and a draw with prizes like a round of golf for 4 or 100 pints(and many, many more). Hence the title for the blog as I will be crawling home sometime in the morning.

It appears Lady Nina isn't happy about being ousted from the boardroom and it would be nice to know what went on but I don't think we ever will. People with money tend to care about 1 thing only - making more money and I'm sure that is what is at the root of all this. She says she still won't be selling but we'll see what happens if the price is right.

 The boss has said he would like to give us all a late Christmas present next May by winning the Champions League. To be honest at the moment I would snap your hand off if you offered me 4th in the league, the last 8 of the Champions League and winning the FA Cup. I really don't think we can aim any higher unless we spend the money which the club have said is available.

The boss has also said that Song is the most improved player at the club and that could well be true but he's still rubbish. He had an awful lot to improve on and he would have to improve an awful lot more to show that he can play for us. Mind you it isn't easy to think of any player who is better than last season so maybe the boss has a point in so far as he has made an improvement.

Transfer wise we are rumoured to be after Steve Mouyokolo of Boulogne and Juventus are appearently not interested in Gallas. I have to leave it there as I feel a strange thirst coming on me. Before I go it appears that our latest injury prone player (Nasri) is going to be available on Sunday. Let's hope so as it will offer us some width and I think we might just do it.

Here's a clip of Theo's great run against Liverpool last season.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAiyAMU9HBM&feature=related

And to finish the title track from above by The Specials

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTlMTCjW1Sg

See You Tomorrow.

As I write this Eduardo is making his comeback for the reserves against Portsmouth. Let's hope it goes well for him and from a selfish perspective let's hope he's back in the first team soon as we could do with his goals. We are faced with another must win game on Sunday and all our league games seem to be must win games now. Paddy Vieira has said that we lack togetherness and I have to agree with him. However he also thinks that Denilson is a great prospect and can replace Flamini. I get frustrated every time I see Denilson play because he just doesn't seem to know what to do with the ball. I do expect him and Song to play at the weekend and to work hard at closing Liverpool down but without some width I can't see either of them breaking Liverpool down. I hope I'm wrong.

Ahead of that game it has been announced that the players, directors & staff of the club are donating their days pay to the club's charity of the season. If you want to make a donation you can find out how on Arseblogger's blog. I am all for it but I also hope that the players can donate a good display to the fans. Arsenal.com has won an award as UK Sports website of the year which I'm sure will make the club very happy. I must say I've always found the site easy to use and fairly informative in so far as it can go. It's good for wallpapers when we win games. Gavin Hoyte has signed a new long term contract and I hope he goes on to be a great player for us after his tough debut against Robinho. Martin Jol thinks we are no longer guarenteed a top 4 spot and that Villa will beat us to it. I'm sure he has fond memories of the last time we almost lost 4th spot.

There are a lot of transfer rumours about today as the window draws closer. We have been linked with Mark Van Bommel of Bayern Munich(that would be weird), Pato of Milan, Michael Owen of Newcastle & Giorgio Chiellini of Juventus among others. Some of them might be interesting(is Van Bommel still up to it?) and others are non starters such as Owen. Barcelona are supposedly interested in RVP but I doubt if he is going anywhere. That's it for today.

I'll leave you with a piece of Henry magic against Liverpool a few years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouowA4dWnOo

And to finish the title song from above which obviously refers to the suffering I feel we are being put through by our team and manager at the moment. Incidentally it's another song I put on to youtube myself from an old vinyl album in my attic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj9tChuS54k

As the title above suggests there isn't much else to do as an Arsenal fan for the next 5 days but "Stretch Out And Wait". Then we play Liverpool, Aston Villa & Portsmouth in the space of a week. If we can get 3 wins who knows what is possible. What is more likely though is that we will beat Liverpool and Villa and lose to Portsmouth due to a lack of urgency and/or effort on the day. With 6 days to go to the Liverpool game it would appear that our squad will be more or less the same. I think we need to start somebody with some width and pace but I would imagine the team will stay the same unless Nasri recovers. We'll probably play a tight game and hope to edge them out. If Torres isn't playing it will be a huge bonus for us.

I can remember us not winning a trophy from the 1998 double to the 2002 double and it didn't feel as bad as it does now. If we don't win a trophy this season it will beat that gap of 4 years which is why I think we have to treat the FA Cup with real respect. Mind you between '98 & '02 we should have won the double in 1999, the FA Cup in 2001 and the UEFA Cup in 2000 too. We had some great players and the manager built the team up with some great acquisitions. At the moment we have the basis of a really good team in Cesc, Clichy, Sagna, Walcott, Nasri, Adebayor, RVP & Eduardo. The jury is still out on Djourou & Diaby and I hope Rambo, Wilshere & Vela can become great players too. We need to bring in players to bolster the squad and make us a force again. Song, Denilson, Silvestre, Almunia, Eboue & Bendtner are not the future of Arsenal. If the manager thinks they are he is fooling himself. These players are in our starting 11 too often and until we remedy that we cannot be a force.

The manager has 1 week to work with the team and he should have them well drilled in everything that is required for Sunday. If we can beat United and Chelsea then we can beat Liverpool too as I believe they are not as good as the other 2.

The boss has said that what we need is encouragement more than anything. I would beg to differ. What we need more than anything is 3-4 new players in January. Paddy Vieira has said he thinks we can still win the league and if we had a player as good as he was in his prime to play beside Cesc then I wouldn't argue with him. Tomorrow night sees the return of Eduardo for the reserves against Portsmouth at Underhill and a big crowd is expected. Finally we have been linked with Steven Defour of Standard Liege again and he looks like a good player but who knows. I'm sure the boss will have a few aces up his sleeve come January(hopefully). That's it for today.

Here's a good clip of a great win against Liverpool(you have to watch it all).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4CXY6TVBMc&feature=related

And to finish the title song from The Smiths.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGcKPWOo9nk

See You Tomorrow.

ps I said I'd post picture of my trip to The Emirates and there in my photos now. Unfortunately due to a mix up the memory card for my digital camera was left at home(as Shaggy would say "It Wasn't Me"). The pictures I have posted were taken with my phone which has a pretty good camera but not enough zoom. I'll be going back for the Fulham game in February and I'll get more photos then.