I think it's a combination of the hot weather, the other sport on TV and the general need to ignore anything written by the media that makes it so very hard to get any words down in a blog. Anyway after the Lions got beaten at the weekend, Andy Murray is showing us his "Henman" side so far and England are losing to Germany.. it's not a great week to be British! It could all change of course over the next couple of hours but we really don't do winning particularly well.

Watching the U21 game it's interesting to see Walcott operate as a lone striker though there are two obvious problems. Someone needs to tell the England players that lumping up to a small striker playing against some 6ft+ giant is never going to work. Secondly if you play a lone striker you better get support up to him quickly otherwise he'll just be isolated.

Anyone else seem to notice how these U21 players all look incredibly old. I know the rules state you have to be U21 at the start of the competition but even so both sides seem to have some old men playing.

Oh well off to play with my new iPhone now..

The issue of Theo Walcott playing for both the full England side ad then the U21s in Sweden has been written about quite a bit and though Wenger is unhappy about the prospect it will go ahead. He obviously doesn't want to stop the player against his wishes and has tried reason with the 2 managers but they, quite rightly, want the best team for them (just as club managers do).

However, if we look at Wayne Rooney and similar young players who have developed early it seems that managers such as Old Red nose would NEVER have let it happen, even if Rooney himself wanted to play for both sides (as he could of 2 years ago). His record is littered with players not being available for international games, both friendly and competitive, yet he's never questioned by the press about not being good for the Fnegland national side as our manager is (though on a different tact).

I don't think Wenger is wrong to adopt his approach, he has always treated players with respect and allowed them to make their own decisions on many occasions but perhaps this is sometimes at odds with the right decision for Arsenal Football Club.

It seems that by the end of next week we will have little to complain about in terms of injuries and player availability. Let's hope that coincides with a place in the quarter finals of both the FA Cup and Champions League. The potential return of both Walcott and Eduardo at the weekend (though I guess unlikely to both play, if either, for much of the game) is great news. It will, of course, take away our only excuses for our current league position and we mustn't forget that we were losing to Hull and Fulham earlier in the season with virtually a full strength squad. There will also be some downsides as Kolo is likely to miss the game (back for Roma?) and we've yet to hear the realistic date for Cesc but let's stay optimistic.

Anyway must dash as off to the Schwarzwald this weekend and will have no idea of any results probably until late on Sunday so fingers crossed for a decent performance.

Well it's another weekend away from the blog coming up as I'm going down to Nice to catch the Carnival there (I know it's a tough life but someone has to....) and so it's a real shame (though no surprise) that I have to mention poor old Eduardo. I think we all know that recovering from serious injury can often have an impact on other parts of the body for various reasons. It's just a shame that after such a great comeback that this has to happen now, c'est la vie!

Mind you Sunderland and Fulham shouldn't (though this season it's too uncertain to call) pose a problem for the strikers that are fit though Arshavin's fitness (match wise) is still not 100%. However, Eduardo would have been a great player for the Roma game. Though maybe Walcott will do a Bellamy and go on strike for more money - nope can't see that can you but we could still f##k it up as we have doen in the past with extending contracts.

One good thing is that I'm back in the UK for the two games next week so less blogging and more watching will be good for me.

When there are midweek International friendlies and a sort of mini-interlull that takes place just after the TW ends and Chelsea sack their coach it's all a bit weird. From an Arsenal perspective Arsene would love to have some time with his players before next Monday's game against Cardiff (a decision which baffles me despite the fact that it's just for TV as we have no chance of getting a potential 5th round game in next week) especially as some (Eduardo, possibly Arshavin) could do with a work out with the rest of the team.

Eduardo's return, Arshavin's arrival and the potential return to fitness for Theo may mean (and I say this with fingers crossed and a large dose of optimism) that we can head into a run of fixtures in February/March with the opportunity (last chance saloon??) to resurrect the season. Our league games are against teams we should (or in the past should of, this season it's anybody's guess) beat plus the FA Cup game(s - hopefully!) and the Champions League returns. The CL will be difficult since we are playing the form team in Italy but we have much more of a chance with these players in the squad and Adebayor's injury has saved the manager the decision of dropping him, which on his recent form would have been the right one.

Meanwhile, we can sit back and watch how a true classy club like Chelsea manages itself in in its self created mess of a situation that it finds itself in...

We've all made a few jokes about the fallibility of our players to injury during pointless International friendly weeks and as sure as eggs is eggs we've got one already. We're so good at this that we even get players injured before the games have taken place. I suppose the worrying thing is how susceptible Theo is to this particular injury. I'm not an expert on these matters but I've heard that a dislocated shoulder (or other joint) never really heals properly and can be liable to go at any time - ask Bryan Robson.

So after a great start to the week what injuries or fatalities can we expect during the actual games and why can't Arsene learn from the masters of this game. Strangely there seem to be a lot of injuries that have forced Gerrad, Rooney, Lampard etc all to miss tonight's match. I might be missing something but I'm sure players from these clubs have a little history in such matters - let's see who actually manages to recover by the weekend. They then have  the cheek to moan when Capello quite rightly asks to see these players - he's not a fool.

My money's on Aaron Ramsey getting crocked as he's only playing because the rest of the Welsh midfield have all got Ryan Giggs type injuries.

Hum Ho....

Tonight if, as expected, the average age of the team that takes the field is that of the average GCSE student then most Arsenal fans will be happy. It's the Carling Cup you see and the game is sold out due to low prices, fewer season ticket holders, better atmosphere, the chance to get to a game for many and, possibly more importantly for some, the opportunity to see the next generation - the same generation that saw off a hard northern Sheffield United 6-0 in the previous round. From previous experience we've learnt two main things from the Carling Cup: firstly, many of the kids that make the grade learn from playing in this competition and secondly, it normally goes tits up when we play the experienced players during the final stages. So let's stick with the kids whatever and, tonight, we have a tough task against a Wigan side who have played good football this season with little luck (let's hope they don't get that tonight). 

The other, more controversial, side of Arsene's youth policy is his belief that buying in an experienced player at the expense of the youngsters currently in the side actually harms the development of the younger player. In a recent Guardian piece he is quoted;

"It's not easy. You need strength because the easier part is to take a player of 28 and play him. But we went for this way. You build a player like Fábregas and when he's 19, [if] you put a player in front of him who is 26, maybe in the short-term he will do better but you will lose the player. That's why in this policy we have taken, what you say for one, you have to say for two."

I can really see this point and though there are some contradictions in terms of buying in Silvestre and also the fact that young players would not be harmed by one or two senior, experienced players around them, it's admirable even if it has split Arsenal fans. If, for example, you can beat the current Premier League and Champions League holders with a midfield of players aged 19, 21, 22, 20, & 21 then it can work but we get the inconsistency argument. The hardest part, I believe, is not the manager's or fans' patience but the fact that these days it's so hard to keep a group together for long enough to see the fruition of the development they go through together. We are already seeing the rumours of Cesc leaving if we don't win anything and I even saw some rubbish about Theo being targeted. Whether rumours are true is irrelevant because we all know many other clubs can't be bothered to nurture talent but like it ready mixed and will pay the price.

I've just read the latest comments from Arsene Wenger regarding the game at Stoke and, as is often the case, there is a just argument in there somewhere but it will always get lost in the British media because of the point of the attack. As with other statements he's made in the past (often after a Bolton game!!) the attack will be perceived as an unjust and vile attempt by this foreign manager (who's bloody French for Christ's sake) to get rid of the blood and guts of the good old English game (see this blog for the typical reaction).

In fact I'm convinced he makes these comments for two reasons, one is the pure frustration of losing a game and the fact he lingers over the defeat (these comments are often made 2 or 3 days after the event). The second and more just complaint is that certain players, he believes, make rash and unjustifiable physical challenges on Arsenal players. The problem with this second and valid point is that of proving it to a public who have brainwashed by the media with the "look at how many red cards his teams have" and "he never sees anything when it's his player" campaigns that may have started with rumour but are now perceived as fact. I once delved through the records to look at our red card record and over his first 10 years Arsenal had about the 6th or 7th BEST disciplinary record but the the press never let facts get in the way of a story. On the other point he makes it easy for the media because he does come out with some ludicrous excuses sometimes and, as a result, his good points are missed, never heard or ignored.

Let's just take the challenge on Adebayor on Saturday, the Stoke player did him with a studs up slide on his ankle OFF THE F##KING PITCH and didn't even concede a foul (the ball had long gone out for a throw) never mind a booking, yet neither this challenge or the one on Walcott were discussed on MOTD. Yet in the same game the petulance of Van Persie (and it was f##king stupid) is given a red card. Now I'm not excusing the Dutchman but where's the justice in that.

What I would like Arsene to do is to come to a press conference in a less emotional state of mind and categorically state that he has no problem with sides being physical (a la Bolton /Stoke) within the LAWS of the game but he would just like refs to actually punish (or maybe the FA on video evidence) clear and deliberate fouling (aka Kevin Nolan's "it's all right to give Walcott a kick" comments). 

The other galling point is that he's the most friendly to the media of most of the managers, he always makes himself available (unlike Old fergie) to the press, will answer any question thrown at him, give his opinion and won't eff and blind at reporters when they say the wrong thing (oh that's you again fergie) to him. Of course he makes stupid comments, of course he defends his players when they shouldn't be defended and of course he makes excuses sometimes but then which manager doesn't.

It's 6.30am and I've just got up to get ready to catch a train to Zurich Airport from Basel and then connect with my flight to Luton. In the UK I'd probably never do this sort of connection, too many chances for the rail system to cock it up but in Switzerland you feel secure (touch wood, touch wood!!!).

Anyway I see Walcott has been "rested" for today so that must mean, with all our injuries, that we'll probably have a couple of 12 year olds on the bench today. Maybe Vela will start (but he's been in Canada on International duty) or Ramsey might get a sniff today after his goal in midweek??

Unfortunately it's foggy here so let's hope any flight delays are small!

Hopefully the Europeans can produce something a little better today after their performance at Valhalla (what a name for a golf course) yesterday. Fair play to the Americans who, aside from the rather obnoxious Boo Weekly, played fairly and better than us.

Anyway I'll be watching the Bolton game live over here though it won't be as warm as when I watched the Blackburn game in Singapore last weekend. Despite the fact that BFS(*) has departed long ago you still feel that with the PWSBSOEG (**) in Kevin Davies and our week central defence it could be a struggle and why we always play them on Saturday evening is another matter. Anyway let's hope the ref has listened to Arsene and when Theo is kicked for the umpteenth time that the culprit is actually punished and not just given the "wave play on" treatment. Arsenal should have enough tonight but we need to keep above that Champions League contender Hull City - fair play to them and let's hope they and Spurs stay in the same positions for a few weeks more.

* - Big Fat Sam

** - Player Who Should Be Sent Off Every Game