Now that Sp*rs had won the UEFA Cup, John could put away his Wii and go outside again

I hope Emmanuel Eboue spent last night with his head hung in shame.  To get booked for failing to shut the f*ck up was bad enough, but to then get sent off hardly 15 minutes later for a petulant kick out was beyond defensible (is that even a word?).  He hadn't looked too bad but once he got booked for slabbering at the referee and still didn't shut up you just knew he was going to see red, especially when you add into the mix the fact that Mike 'It's all about me, so what if I was bullied at school' Dean had sent off more players than any other ref.

His goal which was disallowed should have stood, Mike Dean seeing Woodgate fall over and the perfect opportunity to give a free kick to Sp*rs.  He gave Arsenal nothing all day.  Adebayor was as lazy as he has been all season, so lazy in fact that when he actually ran for a ball he pulled up with what looked like a hamstring and had to be stretchered off - he couldn't even walk off the pitch.

Sp*rs should have won, but as bad as we were they were 100 times worse.  Bendtner replaced Emmanuel F*ck Up Number 1 and actually had a good game, almost winning it at the death with a powerful drive which Cudicini tipped over.  A cultured curler from Van Persie might just have been what was needed.

Alumumia saved well when Modric should have scored and then it was all over and we were left to count what Emmanuel F*ck Up Number 2 has cost us.  Two points, at least.  Champions League football at most.  I know it's a bit much to put it all on one player, but when a player gets booked within the first 15 minutes of a match and you're thinking the manager should sub him cause you know he's gonna go you really, really, REALLY have to question his place in the team.

Eduardo and Arshavin were on the bench, but apart from Bendtner and Gibbs for a bloodied Clichy we played with the same 10 of the 11 that started.  We came out in the second half looking to play like Bolton, defend, defend, don't lose, don't lose, and maybe, just maybe, we might get a chance.  Even with 10 men, had we taken the game to Sp*rs we might just have nicked it.  They really are that bad

But we didn't.

Where we go from here who knows, but it has to be without Eboue. It has to.

I was going to save this blog until after the match this afternoon but then it dawned on me that I might not have anything to blog about tomorrow so I thought I'd better get something done now and save the match report til then.

A few sources are saying that should we fail to finish in the top four Van Persie, Adebayor, and Fabregas will leave. Cesc, off course, has moved to deny these rumours, but if there is any of this coming from either Van Persie or Adebayor they need to have a good hard look at themselves.  Van Persie has been fantastic this season, but he has only been fit for about a fifth of his time at the Arsenal. Adebayor has done nothing to justify his huge pay rise last year and if we fail to make the top four he should be looking at how he contributed to the failure of the team not looking for an exit strategy.

You'd like to think £80,000 a week would generate some amount of loyalty but it seems Adebayor only plays when he want more money, then he is happy to plod about until it's time for negotiations again.  I said a while back that if we fail to win anything this year (or miss out on fourth spot) I could see Cesc giving us one more year and I've no reason to doubt that.  I also said that I could see Adebayor going at the end of this season regardless of what happens, and if we could get £20M+ then I'd take it and put my faith in Vela, Eduardo, Van Persie and a new guy.

It looks as though Chelsea are the team we can catch now with Villa winning their seventh away match in a row, and are now unbeaten in thirteen league matches.  With Chelsea slipping up again yesterday three points against Sp*rs are an absolute must.   What has been interesting to see is the banners calling for 'Scolari Out' at Stamford Bridge.  I guess he doesn't carry the faith and good will that Arsenal fans have given Wenger, but for all our crises this year, there has never even been a hint of an 'Arsene Out' banner at the Emirates, and just right too.

Chelsea seem to forget where they were only a few years ago.  How can they not see that chopping and changing managers when your owner is refusing to spend does not lead to a settled and successful team.  It's not just love money can't buy as Chelski are finding out.

So, it's Sp*rs.  I'm nervous.  I know how these things go.  I also know that we have more than enough to see them off....but we had even more the last time we played and ended up with a 4-4.  Let's hope that breeds a false sense of arrogance within the Sp*rs team and we can tank them like they deserve....I have a funny feeling it won't be quite that easy though.

Til tomorrow Arselovers

"If I had it in my power to introduce a ban on women driving cars and to withdraw all their licences, I would do it without thinking twice."

He continued: "In my opinion a woman and a man are two absolutely different creatures."

Doesn't he know that the stats support the fact that men are actually more dangerous on the roads? 

I don't know what this story is supposed to achieve other than fill pages in the Sun, and I know that a players individual beliefs aren't relevant to his playing ability, but imagine if he had said this about black players? Or Jewish or Muslim ones? It seems in football, as I have experienced in my time, sexism is allowed to proceed without any restraint.  I know because there has been many a time that men have refused to even have a conversation with me about football simply because I am female, even though I had probably been to more matches than they had by a factor of around a thousand, have been a football fan for 29 years, been going to matches since I was 4, and would have been playing football since then too if it hadn't been for the fact that there was absolutely nowhere for women or girls to play football in Northern Ireland until I hit my 20's by which point I had given up on sport and started partying instead.

I'll shut up now, it just winds me up that there are a number of prejudices which are rampant in football and no-one gives a sh*t.

(there really is that little Arsenal news out there lol)

I'm off today but yet I still find myself awake...perhaps that's why I'm grumpy!

On a positive note, it seems that yesterday's meeting of the Premier League has put to bed the grumbles of Arshavin's signing for Arsenal.  He's our player, he was signed in time, and everybody else is just sh*t stirring.

Perhaps there'll be more tomorrow as it's the day before we demolish White Hart Lane.  Until then, I shall fill myself with coffee and look at all the poor sods having to crunch their way through the snow to get to work....it's a tough life!

Is there any news? Nope, there's nothing new floating about at all.  Arshavin is moving his girlfriend to London.  Which she's probably pleased with.  Who knows.  Gazidis is happy to stay at Arsenal, which is also good seeing as he's just arrived.

It's snowing like crazy here in Belfast which is about the most excitement we've had since it snowed last year.

They're making me do work this morning for some reason so if anything new pops up later I'll try and do a proper blog, but as it stands, I have a funny feeling there will only be 'filler' pieces popping up between now and the weekend.

Glad to see Liverpool come unstuck at Everton, and to see Mad Rafa's decision to sell Keane being punished so soon as Gerrard limped off after 15 miniutes with a pulled hamstring.  It's nice when Karma gets it right.

Til later....unless I get snowed in....

After a whole month of spelling his name Andrei, Sky Sports quickly changed it to Andrey after he was officially confirmed as an Arsenal player on the Arsenal.com.  It just goes to show how complicated the whole transfer process can be when names can't even be agreed on, let alone fees.  But at about 4.55pm, almost 24 hours after the transfer window shut, Arsenal were able to confirm that we had indeed signed Andre-with-a-y Arshavin.

Reports on the fee paid are conflicting, but the story coming from Zenit sounds like a whole bunch of crap, trying to make out that they squeezed more than £15million out of Arsenal.  I don't believe it.  They know if a transfer fee is 'Private' Arsenal won't dishonour that so they've decided to take advantage and talk some more bulls**t.  They actually make Real Madrid look like they have some scruples when it comes to transfers and we all know what a bunch of chancers they are.

Anyway, we have our man.  Here's a few more facts stolen from the Arsenal.com website (yes, I'm struggling to find anything new to write about):

FULL NAME: Andrey Sergeyevich Arshavin

NATIONALITY: Russian

BORN:  May 29 1981. Saint Petersburg, Russia

AGE: 27

HEIGHT / WEIGHT: 172cm / 62kg

PREVIOUS CLUBS: Zenit St Petersburg (2000– January 2009) 232 appearances (51 goals)

CLUB HONOURS: 2003 Russian Premier League Cup
                                2007 Russian Premier League
                                2008 Russian Super Cup
                                2008 UEFA Cup
                                2008 UEFA Super Cup

TRANSFER DETAILS: Long-term contract for an undisclosed fee

POSITION: Midfielder

INTERNATIONAL CAREER: Russia (2002 - Present) 41 appearances (15 goals)

INTERNATIONAL DEBUT: May 17 2002 v Belarus (International friendly, in Moscow, Russia) 1-1, Belarus won 5-4 on pens.

FIRST INTERNATIONAL GOAL: February 13 2003 v Romania (International friendly, in Limassol, Cyprus) Scored third goal in 4-2 Russia victory.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Voted Russian Footballer of the Year in 2006
• Started all 30 matches in Zenit’s Russian Premier League campaign in 2007, the first time Zenit had won a league title since 1984
• Played a key part in Zenit’s 2008 UEFA Cup winning campaign
• Came on as a half-time substitute in the 2008 UEFA Super Cup victory over Manchester United in Monaco, in August 2008. Zenit won 2-1
• Three impressive performances earned him a place in the ‘EURO 2008 Team of the Tournament’
• Graduated from the Smena football school. In 1999 – 2000, he played for Zenit’s ‘farm club’, Zenit-2 in the Russian Second Division
• Made his full Zenit debut in England, against Bradford City in the Intertoto Cup at Valley Parade in August 2000. Zenit won the match 3-0
• Is comfortable in many positions. He started his career as a right midfielder, then as an attacking midfielder and more recently has been playing in the ‘second striker’s’ role

RUSSIA IN EURO 2008:

GROUP STAGE:

• v Spain - Lost 1-4 (suspended)
• v Greece - Won 1-0 (suspended)
• v Sweden - Won 2-0 (played and scored)

QUARTER FINAL:

• v Netherlands - Won 3-1 (played and scored)

SEMI FINAL:

• v Spain - Lost 0-3 (played)

Theres a few rumours flying about that some paperwork was not filed in time, but I'm pretty sure the Premier League confirmed yesterday that all the relevant papers had been received by 5pm on deadline day.  To see the Daily Mirror yak on about how the Premier League has bent the rules for Arsenal is just ridiculous.  The deadline was extended for all transfers which were agreed in principle, so it's just bollox.  Add that to the fact that Zenit are groaning on about the fact that Arshavin blah blah blah you just know that this story isn't going to settle any time soon.

That's your lot for today, I think we've covered the Arshavin story well enough, here's hoping there might be some news about the other players we are meant to have in the squad.

It is believed that Arsenal have made a signing, although the press black-out regarding the matter has left it hard to establish exactly who it is.  Unsubstantiated rumours hint that it could be Zenit's Andrei Arshavin.  It is believed that he will arrive at the Emirates on a White Stallion and proceed to score 300 goals between now and May, while he will set-up around 1,000 for his grateful teammates, who, until now, have been unable to do anything for themselves.

The fee, thought to be the highest in living memory, is only a partial down payment on his right foot, with the remainder to be paid in daily installments of £2million for the next 16 years.  It is believed his hands are an optional extra which Arsenal are exploring the true market value of before making a decision.

It is also believed that Zenit have asked Arshavin to return all food and drink he had consumed while at their training grounds, and also asked him to re-lay every piece of grass he may have flattened while he was their player.

The Arsenal fans have reacted in a nonchalant manner, many of then stating they have never even heard of a player named Arse Shaving, believing this was some new meterosexual trend in West London.

Wenger has refused to comment, but stated that it was highly unlikely that Arsenal would sign anyone over the age of 16.

Confirmation of the above to follow

(spot position of tongue-in-cheek in case you missed it)

I thought about doing a blog this morning, but then figured as it was the deadline day for the transfer window I would wait til 5 and do a round up then....but what would I have to put in tomorrow's blog?  Oh, the dilemma!. 

So, i'll do a quick blog at 5pm when the window thankfully slams shut, and we'll see if the Russian weather has brought with it a Russian playmaker.  I doubt it though as Sky bet have slashed the odds of Arshavin (I know I'd been spelling it Arsharvin, it was an 'inside' joke, but apparently it unsettled a few people ffs) joining Arsenal from 1-8 to 6-4, that's a pretty big cut.

Til this afternoon and the end of this madness then....

Toothless.  That's what we were against a West Ham who came to do nothing but defend and try not to lose.  How many saves did Robert Green make? One I think, and that was one I could have made.  Adebayor, again, gave no indication that he was going to score anytime soon, Bendtner was, well, Bendtner (the bad one who starts matches, not the good one who comes off the bench).  Van Persie started on the bench, Djourou got dropped, and we could have played to christmas and wouldn't have got close.

Diaby, who played relatively well (note the use of the word relatively) before being stretchered off with what looked like it might be a serious injury.  Eboue was replaced early in the first half as he damaged a toenail or something and that was a blessing as he was useless.  Will this force Wenger to buy Arsharvin or play Wilshere?  Probably not, we'll just see Song dandering about in midfield until they're back.

But Villa didn't win, and with Liverpool playing Chelsea later, at least one of them will be losing points.  We may not have gained any ground (on fourth, not Utd, they're out of our league and we need to accept that fact), but we haven't lost any and that's been the weird thing this season.  All the top four contenders have dropped points around the same time (we just happen to be better at dropping more).

Here's to a fantastic draw at Anfield later on.

Ok, so it hasn't 'officially' gone through, but it's closer than I ever thought it would get.  When Sky Sports asked Dick Advocaat if they could film Arsharvin at their training camp in Dubai they were told he wasn't there, when asked if they could film him at the hotel Dick's response was apparently along the lines of 'do what you like, he's no longer my player' (source Sky Sports News TV).  Add that to reports that Wenger has confirmed we have applied for his work permit, and that he wants a decision on the player before tomorrow's match, with a little bit of this story with Arsharvin reported to have refused to train with Zenit, you start to think this might actually happen.

But there's football today, and if his signing is announced before the game it can only serve to lift the team and fans.  What effect will it have if we fail to sign him?  It should galvanise the team, knowing that they have to do this themselves, but who the hell can judge how these things turn out.

Ahead of the game, Wenger has hinted that Toure may be back as he looks to rotate the squad.  We all know that the Toure/Gallas partnership just doesn't work, so Djourou should keep his place.  Silvestre will miss most of February, Rosicky is, well, Rosicky, Walcott and Cesc are still some way off, but will Eduardo get a few minutes?  I so want him to play.  NOW.  What a lift to everybody just to have him on the bench, hell, I'd even name him as number 7 sub, the one we never use, just to have him involved.  At this point we need all the help we can get, and anything that helps raise the volume at the Grove, and in turn, fire up the players gets my vote.

So we're likely to see Eboue 'playing' alongside Denilson, Diaby and Nasri in the middle, Van the Man with can't-be-Arsedebayor up front (what effect will Eduardo's return have on the the big man's attitude?  Will he even notice?), and a back four consisting of Sagna, Djourou, Toure, and Clichy.  If you need me to tell you who'll be in goal I'm going to have to seriously question your Arsenal-following credentials.

Away from the football, and back to players who talk too much and improve too little, Bendter has been speaking about why he knew he needed to improve.  That's a tough skill that, being able to watch yourself on TV and see how useless you are, so we should give him credit for all the blood he sweated working that one out. Has he improved?  Time will tell, but let's face it, it would be hard for him to get much worse.

So it's into the breach once more we go.  Anything less than three points will see us confirm that we are destined for the Europa League next year.  Who the f*ck names a competition after the most-bombed hotel in Europe?  Oh yeah, those 'special' people at UEFA.  Idiots.

Can we have three points please.  A performance would be nice too, but I've learned this season not to be greedy so I'll settle for the points.