An impassioned defence of the superb Crozillian is not the point of this little diatribe. I think our squad needs this sort of persecution. All the best squads have a togetherness born of adversity. This is precisely the kind of perceptibly anti-Arsenal treatment that will give our young oiks the siege mentality they need. Bring on the prosecution, ban Eduardo, and it will bind the Arsenal dressing room together like never before. Remember how indignant the team was back when Vieira got sent off all the time, they were angry and they used that on the pitch as motivation. That is precisely what we need.  

Changing the subject, the Champions League draw was extraordinarily kind to us this year, and about time too, I was certain we would be facing Kyiv again this year or trudging off to some other miserably cold part of the world to play on a pitch comprising two metres of permafrost with a barely playable toupee of grass. We can look to an early qualification and all the benefits that will bring to our threadbare squad. Having said that, the squad isn’t looking too bad is it. Our current injury-free players are all performing well and we still have Nasri, Rosicky and Walcott to come back.

Tomorrow we play United. I can’t help but feel quite positive about this tie, I realise that uttering such things is tantamount to a voodoo hex, but you know what, our boys are looking sh!t hot and United are still looking to find their feet, despite their flattering result last week. This is an Arsenal Blog, I am a Gooner and therefore I dislike all other teams (with the exception of Brighton & Hove Albion), however, despite them being a team of world class buttmunchers I just don’t hate United as much as Chelsea, Liverpool and of course Sperz. This has nothing to do with the fact that I have started dating an astonishingly pretty girl from Warrington, rather that of all the other top teams, United are most like us. They aren’t obscene like Chelsea, they have decent youth policies, they build teams and they operate as a business, not as a rich twats plaything.

They’re still a bunch of c*nts though obviously!

Burgervan Prediction: Manchester United 1-2 Arsenal (Yes that’s right, I predict a win).

1. Eduardo dived – whether this was deliberate or not.
2. Celtic conceded 5 goals over two legs and had two shots on goal over 180 minutes.
3. Prior to the penalty incident Arsenal were dominating the game as they did the entire tie.

We have injuries to Silvestre and Gallas, both of whom ar out for three weeks, giving a chance to Kolo and Johann to carve out a mean defensive partnership. I am over the moon that the manager has stated that Kolo Toure is not going to be transferred, we owe it to our last remaining Invincible to help him back to the form he (and we) once enjoyed. He also has the added incentive of being Captain in the absence of Fabregas, a job I’m sure that he is very proud of having. Toure and Djourou haven’t had much of a chance to show what they have got playing together so I hope that they prove to be a winning formula. I prefer them both to Gallas and Silvestre and would rather that they played if they are good enough.

Mr Wenger has also said that Eduardo is fit at long last. Congratulations to the little fella, his hard work and optimism should be an example to everyone. He has only played 45 minutes in 9 months though so the chances of him playing any part today look pretty slim!

The manager proved himself expert in the art of the tease yesterday, not in the sexy burlesque sense of the word but in the keep the fans guessing and hoping about transfers sense of the word. Heneither confirmed or denied anything about Andrei Arshavin. Although most who have listened to Wenger down the years will recognise that something is happening with that story. He was also very coy about other transfer targets we may be going for. Aside from categorically denying that we would be bringing in a defender he didn’t say very much at all. One thing is for certain though, the club are trying to bring in one or maybe two established players and damn it I find that very exciting! No doubt more red herrings will abound next week, but maybe, just maybe we might actually see some transfer activity in the coming few days.

Burgervan Prediction: Arsenal 3 – 1 Bolton

The story regarding the rosy cheeked Russian playmaker Arshavin continues to bubble along. It’s a right load of old cobblers with every journalist trying to make something out of nothing and find a new angle every five minutes. The latest on this is that apparently there is a problem as Zenit want the full amount in one payment. Andrei has also said that he wants to test himself at a top club.. blah blah blah. If we are going to sign him, I’d like Mr Gazidis to get the hell on with it so that we don’t get left with nada when the deal inevitably falls through and the player moves to Juventus/Milan/Barca/Madrid.

As an aside, I read a blog yesterday in which the blogger, who is clearly as mad as a march hare, maybe even the Joker himself, suggested that we sign Joey Barton….What the Hell?! I haven’t heard any other nonsense but I’m sure that as the day progresses more craziness will come to light.

The trouble is that if we did sign Arshavin, I can’t imagine that we would then sign anybody else. We have publicly stated that we aren’t looking to sign Inler, despite wanting him in the summer – what has changed since then? Rosina has been told he is going nowhere. Yaya Toure is adamant that he is staying at Barca, although I did hear a rumour that (guess who?!) Manchester City were looking to bid some ludicrous amount for him. West Ham say that Matthew Upson is not going to leave the club, but in reality I very much doubt Mr Wenger has even considered resigning him.

Let’s move away from idle speculation for a moment and look inwardly. Fabianski, boosted by the news that he is in line to play in all of our FA Cup games this year, has claimed that he is happy to work hard and try to displace Almunia as our Number 1 between the sticks. Good lad, I like a bit of hard work. How different the relationship is between Almunia and Fabianski than between Almunia and Lehmann. I hope that we don’t try and sign Shay Given. I don’t think goalkeeping is the weak link in our chain. Definitely not a priority.  Adebayor, a player who loves to talk to the press has been saying that we will fight for every point blah blah blah, I should bloody well hope so as well, that’s your flippin’ job!

There is increasing speculation that Russian playmaker Andrei Arshavin will be moving to the Emirates. They say that there is no smoke without fire, although in this case one would think that the smoke and the fire are firmly in control of Arshavin’s agent. Can anyone really see Mr Wenger spending 20 million on a player?! Still, the Mirror yesterday reported that le Boss has green lighted the deal and circumstantial evidence in the form of Wenger’s statement regarding Champions League-tied players suggest something may be in the air. One cannot deny that purchasing Arshavin is an exciting prospect, however, I have been an Arsenal fan too long to get carried away by things like this. In fact, the last time that we were linked to an established top level player and we actually bought him was Dennis Bergkamp. Another player that we have been strongly linked to in the last couple of days is Matthew Upson, who, predictably West Ham have stated will not be sold. The latest rumour is that we propose a swop deal with Bendtner plus cash for Upson. This is so speculative that one wonders if there is even a mote of truth in the story. For a start, I think Wenger doesn’t believe in going back. Secondly, Upson has a terrible injury record. Thirdly, Bendy would almost certainly refuse to go there. There is also increasing chatter regarding a potential move by Toure to Manchester City. I really hope that this doesn’t happen. Toure is one of the old guard and somebody that I really hope can work back to the once high level of form he displayed. His malaria seems to have drained him of much of his energy levels in games but these illnesses take time to recover from and I am convinced that if he stays he can once again attain his old self. There has been surprisingly little news about Gallas in the last few days. He was the one player everybody expected to see out the door asap. One would think that Wenger is keen to tie up a replacement before considering letting Gallas (or Toure) go. He would very much want to avoid the situation that occurred in the summer where he let Gilberto and Flamini go without being able to sign a defensive midfield replacement. In fact, that also occurred when he sold Vieira. I remember opening the papers each day expecting to see we had signed somebody, but to no avail. I recall even Jose Mourinho saying he thought Wenger must have a replacement in mind. That turned out to be the last time that we won anything. Hmmm.

What would be nice is that if indeed we are to sign anybody we do it as quickly in order that the team can be settled and the new playing staff integrated as soon as possible. We very much want to avoid the situation in the summer where everybody was rushing about like blue-arsed flies in the closing moments of the transfer window, only to be predictably disappointed in the hunt for bargains. The fallacy that one can pick up a player cheap at the last minute has well and truly come back to bite the Arsenal on the backside as now the exchange rate is such that £1 and 1 Euro are of the same value so that the cost of players now as compared to the beginning of last summers transfer window is much higher. Also, the spectre of the Webster Ruling looms darkly on the horizon. A contract will soon be virtually worthless. I wonder who the Arsenal players are hoping the le Boss will buy. We know that Fabregas wanted Wenger to bring in Alonso in the summer, but do you think that the players look at the newspapers and see stories about Arshavin being linked and think to themselves…Hello, that would be good?!

So much has happened since the last blog entry that I could write a novella, but seeing as today is also my first day back at work, I will be a tad more succinct than that. Firstly, I hope that everybody had a good Christmas and a Happy New Year, hopefully Father Christmas brought you all everything that you were hoping for and if he didn’t you were probably on the ‘bad boys/girls’ list and therefore not deserving anyway.

The Arsenal flattered to deceive a bit in their Christmas period games but at least they continued their undefeated run of games. Stopping the rot is still the name of game and the Arsenal seem to be doing it. Draws against Liverpool and Villa were disappointing, particularly throwing away yet another two goal lead to draw at Villa Park. I know that ultimately it was a miracle that we weren’t 4 goals down at half time but even so. To throw away two goals in injury time in a game as important as that was very disappointing. One hopes that come May we don’t miss out on a Champions League place by a couple of points to Villa. But, since then we have come back and beaten Tony Adams’s Pompey and then Plymouth in the FA Cup. The Portsmouth result was less than convincing but it was a win and three crucial points. Its all we can do now to keep grabbing points anyway that we can to ensure that we give ourselves as good a chance of getting back in to the Champions League as possible.

I was very glad to see that le Boss treated the FA Cup with the respect it deserves. I love the FA Cup and I have many happy memories from our victories in the past. Last year’s performance against United was shameful, but it looks as though this year we are really going to go for it. We all know that realistically it is our best chance of silverware so we need to be sensible about it. In the next game we are away to last years beaten finalists Cardiff, so although it may be a battle we should move safely into the next round.

I cannot believe how unlucky we are with injuries It is appallingly bad karma that we have Rosicky, Walcott, Eduardo and Fabregas all out with long term injuries. Add to that ongoing injuries to other players like Toure, Diaby etc and you can see why we struggle. One of the gifts that Father Christmas brought me was the 2007/2008 Season Review DVD. We were astonishingly good for most of last season and you could see us drop when Rosicky, Eduardo and RVP were injured. The balance of the team was lost and we have never got it back. I wasn’t that sad when Hleb and Flamini left in the summer, but after watching the DVD I can see that what they brought to the team hasn’t been replaced. I didn’t understand why Wenger is being linked with attacking midfielders but we do need one, we lack a link between the midfield and the attack. We also lack a midfield but that is something that has been discussed many times before. I hope that Rosicky can play for us again in the future. He is a great talent and with him on one wing and Walcott on the other we have genuine width and pace. Our team at the moment is very unbalanced with under par players playing out of position and no real variation of approach, togetherness, camaraderie or grit. It was a telling moment when I felt a pang of regret that we had allowed Senderos off on loan all season. At least he gave a sh!t. By the way, we will certainly get him back, I cannot imagine AC Milan taking up the option to buy Senderos at the end of his loan spell. I hope that he comes back to us having learned some tricks off Paulo Maldini and co. I wonder if he taught Paulo how to score own goals?

So that brings us on nicely to the transfer window. We are in it and I have the same feeling that I had in January….. namely that we desperately need people in but I cant help feeling that we wont get anybody. Particularly as we are being fed the same Wengorian rhetoric that we had during the summer. I don’t believe for a minute the bullsh!t issuing forth from the Daily mail regarding a split between Wenger and the board regarding Arshavin. I firmly believe that the board would always back Wenger’s decisions even if he wanted to spend big, which I don’t believe for a moment that we will do. Spending 24 million Euros or whatever has been quoted on a player like Arshavin is ludicrous, we have no idea how he will fare in the Premiership and 24 million is a lot of money to risk. Even if the player was a guaranteed success it would still be difficult to justify such a fee, how can the club make money back on a player like that, we’d have to win everything every year and that is just fantasy. I hope that Wenger brings in a couple of 8-10 million level players and secures the contracts of Walcott and RVP.  I wouldn’t mind it if we sold Bendtner also. He has failed to live up to expectations and seems to be a malcontent. We have plenty of striking talent with Ade, RVP, Eduardo and Vela, so Bendy is surplus to requirements. Perhaps offering Zenit St Petersburg a Bendy plus cash deal for Arshavin could be a possibility if the manager wants him. Also rubbish is the story linking Wenger with a move to Real Madrid. Real are the sort of club that are contrary to everything that Wenger believes, he likes to work in an environment where he has total control over footballing matters. That is not the case at Madrid, where transfer policy is dictated by the board and used more as a political manoeuvring tool than to improve the team. If Wenger were to leave, and one hopes to goodness that he doesn’t, then it would surely be to manage the French (or possibly German) national team.

Quickly going back to transfers. My brother asked a question the other day, namely where does all of our money go? I can understand that in times of recession, one needs to be careful, however, on balance Wenger has spent very little on transfers in comparison to other clubs, we have massive gates every week, huge merchandising income, massive sums of money from TV rights, the club get money from using the Emirates for other activities (concerts, friendly internationals etc) and we have some of the highest ticket prices in the country if not the world. Plus we make a lot of money from selling on players that haven’t quite made it. Now, the stadium repayments are set and planned in advance so it can’t all be going on that, our wage bill is high but no higher than it has been in the last ten years or so….. So where is all the money going? Why is so little put aside for transfers? How is it we have less available now than when we were at Highbury? It is curious. There is something amiss. The club is well run, that much we know, and we are in a good position in terms of self-sustainability if the sh!t hits the fan, which it probably will, but even so, what position will we be in if the sh!t does indeed hit the fan? Languishing in the UEFA cup? With Chelsea, Liverpool and United out of reach, with clubs like Villa, Everton etc on an equal footing (league table wise?). I hope that the board know what they are doing, because success breeds success in football and likewise failure on the pitch can spiral very quickly. I guess that we will just have to wait and see.

Hopefully Toure will stay and work hard to regain his previous form.

Nasri: Great potential, could finally replace Pires (maybe) but is constantly getting injuries that keep him out for 3 or 4 games.

Song: Lacks the awareness that differentiates between the top flight and all the rest. Could have made it if he had the benefit of a slow integration into the team with advice and influence from senior professionals.

Denilson: Suffers from chronic confidence crises. Another player who, if integrated into a successful team alongside experienced professionals would probably go to be an excellent player, as it is he is forced to play every week, often out of position and is probably the next candidate for serious injury. Frighteningly Denilson is probably the best midfielder we have left, hard to believe when one thinks back to the midfields of Vieira, Petit, Edu, Gilberto, Pires, Ljungberg etc.

Eboue: Bloody loves playing for the Arsenal and for that alone I like him. He has an unfortunate penchant for cheating and can barely control his limbs let alone his temper. A utility man that provides energy but little else. Eboue is a guy I would want in the squad but one should ask serious questions if he starts multiple games.

Diaby: Had the greatest potential of our midfield. Early signs were that he would be another great Wenger find. Sadly that horror injury has left its mark. He is now devoid of confidence and his game is perpetually interrupted by niggling injuries. Maybe, if he could stay fit, he could still be great, but I doubt it.

Ramsey: Clearly a star in the making but is just a kid. Ramsey mustn’t be sacrificed as the above players have been. What I mean by that is that he mustn’t be forced into playing every game due to injuries and desperation, thereby preventing his learning process and integration.

Wilshere: If Ramsey is just a kid then Wilshire is little more than a toddler. Wonderful potential, England’s next great hope, but way too young to even be considered as a solution to our midfield crisis.

So there we have it. We don’t have the playing staff to cope with one senior injury, now we have three. The answer unfortunately is to buy. It’s sad that we are now a club that buys out of desperation. Not only does it mean that we are unlikely to be able to pick up a bargain, but more worryingly it shows a total lack of strategic planning. Le Boss would no doubt argue that you cannot predict the extent of injuries that we have had. But that’s not the case is it? We have all known for months that our squad was so thin that a major injury would be devastating to our prospects. The simple way to cope with injuries is to ensure that you have sufficient squad depth to cover absentees and more importantly to enable the squad rotation that prevents the sort of injuries that we are suffering with.

7 days until the transfer window opens.

With the horrifying news that Fabregas could be out for up to 3 months some transfer activity is vital. It’s sad that we all said in the summer that if we suffered a serious injury to Fabregas then we would be fucked. Well, now it has happened and not only that we have lost Walcott and also suffered injuries to numerous other players. 2009 is looking extraordinarily ominous. If we don’t get into the Champions League then we are in serious trouble. Really serious trouble. Financially and in terms of our playing staff.

Let’s head upstairs now to the board room. Many people will be encouraged this morning to hear that Alisher Usmanov has no immediate plans to increase his stake in the Arsenal. Usmanov has told the Guardian that he has not held any negotiations with Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith saying: “I haven’t seen her and so far she has not announced that she wants to sell………there is no point in discussing something that doesn’t exist.” However, that doesn’t sound very convincing to me. It does appear that Usmanov is as baffled by the shenanigans at board level as the rest of us. Let’s not forget, whatever one thinks of Usmanov, he is a highly accomplished businessman. He has tasked his London based partner Farhad Moshiri with finding out just what the hell is going on. Usmanov said: “What has happened in the last year poses questions…..When in the space of a year four members of the board of directors are sacked, when the general director whom everybody had praised is changed, we consider that to be a huge matter – just to sack a major shareholder without explanation…Mr Moshiri is now in London and is trying to find out the reasons for these sharp changes and according to what explanation we get, we will decide our strategy.” In short, Usmanov is unwilling to get involved in what he outwardly perceives to be the mess of the Arsenal boardroom.

Fabregas is set to undergo medical tests on his knee today, but admitted last night to Spanish Radio that he is concerned about the injury, which is the same knee that caused his recent absence. Le Boss seemed to think it wasn’t too serious however, confirming that it was a medial knee ligament injury that could keep the boy wonder out for 1 to 3 weeks. One cannot but help think that an injury like this in a young player could have been caused by the incredibly high number of games he has played at a young age.

Robin van Persie played excellently yesterday. His touch, although not quite as silky, reminded me of the great man himself – Dennis Bergkamp. RvPs goal yesterday was an incredible piece of individual skill. If we can have a bit more like that then the future isn’t as bleak as we all fear it could be. Unfortunately Keane’s (scripted) goal was equally incredible piece of bad defending.

Yesterday I was watching a freeview music channel Christmas Songs special. Winter Wonderland came on and I was cast back into a fiery pit of Bergkamp nostalgia. Sweet baby Jesus, Bergkamp was so f*cking good. I remember belting out ‘there’s only one Dennis Bergkamp’ with a gusto that I have never experienced with any player before or since. When I thought about it some more I realised that our teams of the past had so much more in terms of personality than our current bunch of rather bland individuals. All we do now is churn out or snap up incredibly technically gifted players with nothing else about them. No tenacity and no character. Basically our team is very boring and just aren’t as much fun to support. There are no hilarious shenanigans like there used to be, no on pitch antics, no players that whip the fans up into a frenzy. It’s a shame. The team is as bland as our performances. It’s weird. Generally the character of the club has been systematically eroded over the last 5 years, unintentionally, but as a result of policy decisions made by the board and the manager. In hindsight it is obvious that not enough consideration was given to heritage, tradition and atmosphere in the design of the new stadium. In essence they have gone for functionality and capacity. We are paying for that lack of foresight now. It just feels like you are visiting a car park with a football pitch tacked on. Likewise the loss of key figures at board level is eroding the traditional links to the past that made the club sophisticated and separated them from the other sides. Soon overseas additions to the board will provide the coup de grace to our traditions. And for what? The self-sustainability model that has made our on pitch performances as generic as the rest of the club? It seems like we, the fans, have got a bum deal.