Isn't it just typical, you book yourself a little holiday only to find yourself home one week before the Arsenal head to Alkmaar which is just up the road from where you were and you miss what is for most a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, and that is seeing Arsenal in an away Champions League match. To be fair, Alkmaar aren't really all that unmissable, and we booked our holiday long before the match I cannot mention in last years Champions League, so had no clue that Arsenal would be in the Netherlands in October.

Anyway, it goes without saying, that I'd far rather be in Alkmaar (or Amsterdam or anywhere) than Belfast, but you have to be wherever you can make the money, so Belfast it is. For now.

We head into this match with quite a few injuries, Eduardo, Denilson, Theo, Rosicky, Bendtner and Djourou are all out, but Clichy is back. Will Almunia remain on the bench? I think he should if his grumpy-ass face was anything to go by on Saturday. Would his demeanour change if he was playing? I don't know, but he had quite a few games this season in which he had the chance to seal first choice beyond a doubt, but chose to play like a man who had no real competition and thus confirmed his place as no more than a number two who’s standing in. If you giggled when I said number two you are officially six years old.

Almunia has never, and will never, be more than an adequate second choice keeper. When he replaced Lehmann during his injury he played out of his skin in a bid to secure the number one shirt, but I fear that the level he reached then was the maximum he was capable off. I know others think we need to strengthen in defence and/or midfield, but I feel (and have done since Mad Jens left) that we need a goalkeeper first and foremost. If the back four and midfield can't trust the man behind them, it unsettles the entire team. Regular readers of this blog will know what I’m going to say next - BUY AKINFEEV!

Alkmaar haven't had the greatest starts to their first ever Champions League campaign but we underestimate them at our peril. If you had asked me when the group was drawn who was a bigger threat between them and Liege I would have said Alkmaar, and we all know what happened when we went to Liege, sub-standard start, a touch of misfortune, and a mountain to scale to win the game.

But win it we did and we should have enough in the proverbial locker to push past a side which is managed by a man who has an infuriating habit of frustrating us with negative tactics. That being said, there are teams out there who can only get points by playing that way and we must endeavour to break them down consistently. Get one and they have no choice but to come out and attack. Given the fact that we are the highest scorers in the league but have failed to net a single goal in the first 15 minutes of a match, it's safe to say we are due an early goal. Score in the first 15 minutes tonight and I fancy we'll win quite comfortably.

Jamrock predicted 3-1 and I find that hard to argue with.

Mr. ‘You’ve only come to see’ Eboue has been on Sky Sports saying thank you to the Arsenal fans for their patience with him and it’s great to hear him acknowledge both his role in our reaction to him last season and the fact that attitudes of most fans have changed. This is a man who at times I have huge admiration for and then, at others, extreme frustration. The way he applied himself and recovered from Boo-gate demonstrated a strength of character absent in all but a few professional players. How many others would have been out the door at the first opportunity? He stayed, he worked hard, and while he is still prone to the odd bout of insanity, he is the perfect example of why the ex-25 is talking out of his overpaid arse when he criticises Arsenal fans for their treatment of him when he was at the Emirates. The ex-25 never generated the frustration and anger in most that Eboue managed so would have only had to put in a fraction of the effort to win the crowd back. He chose not to, and that’s why he’s at a club which has won nothing for 26 years while Eboue is enjoying cult status and the Champions League at The Arsenal.

I may or may not be on Twitter later. My brain is slowly grinding to a halt, the result of working full-time with a 5am start and then trying to get a business up and running means I have been operating on at most 5 hours sleep a nite for the past few months. For someone who is used to a minimum of eight this is quite a shock to my knackered system. That's probably the reason my blogs have been a bit on the bland side lately as well, that, or there hasn't been that much to be getting worked up lately, and I need something to rant about to get into full flow.

So, til tomorrow, or later on Twitter, whichever it is, wherever you are, make sure it's a good one :)

Jessica wondered why Arsenal kept dropping points...Until she realised it was because they had their hands full carrying Eboue and Bendtner