My last post was somewhat pessamistic, however I’m now feeling slightly better about tomorrow. This could be partly down to tthe fact that I know how I’m getting home to London from Birmingham, which was worrying. The reason I’m feeling better is down to a few things, once I understood that Flamini, Adebayor and Gallas would be back, I realised that we’d be a different team to the one that lost to Seville and we’re much stronger with these three guys.

The news got even better today when Wenger announced that Hleb and Clichy have been included in the squad. I’m not so worried about Clichy, I mean he’s done brilliantly, but I feel comfotable with Traore at left back. The possibility of Hleb playing though is fantastic news. He’s been great this season and seems a completely different player to the one I knew a few seasons ago.

It’s not clear whether Hleb or Clichy will play, Arsene’s going to make a late decision on those two. So here’s my guess at the team, one with those two included, and one without, depending on their fitness:

I haven’t picket Walcott becasue Eboue did well for once the last game so I think he should have a chance. I prefer Theo as a sub anyway, that can come on to change things if needed.

I’m feeling confident now. I think we can win this and prove a point to start December well. I would take draw though, I’d have to admit. I’m really exited about this, my first away game since Tottenham. I’ve got to be in London early in the morning to catch my lift so I’ve got to go now. I’ll get a mtach report about my day soon.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the game.

Another game, more goals in the last 10 minutes. It’s very consistent but very annoying for us Gooners! For 83 minutes Wigan held on at 0-0 and as always, I worried that we were going to slip up for us to score late on. With Man United incredibly losing to Bolton we needed the win to go three points clear with a game in hand. So yesterday was a really important win for us to put some distance between us and a Man United side that’s playing well.

We started with pretty much the side I thought, just with Walcott for Eduardo; I said it’d be a good opportunity for one of the two and it was Theo that got the nod. He looked hungry but altogether he didn’t look very effective. I mean he showed us a few times some good skill but he didn’t seem incredibly dangerous to me. Not a too bad game for him, better than other performances recently anyway.

The first half wasn’t the most exiting football game ever. We were by far on top, Wigan only had about two chances, the best being a free header in about the 25th minute in that went just over, Almunia had it covered. We had plenty of attacks but they were either long-range efforts that were way off target or scrambles in the box. I remember Adebayor having a good chance when he got a cute little ball squared to him. He did well to get to it but if his first-time-shot was just a bit more towards to post I think it would’ve gone in.

We showed potential to score but it was still 0-0 and that’s what counted. Half time.

The second half started the same, with us on top, but with more urgency. We were trying and trying but Wigan were hanging on to that clean sheet. This went on and on yet it took until there was 20 minutes to go before Wenger decided to make a change. Eduardo came on for Eboue who hadn’t impressed he again, he didn’t make that many mistakes as he usually does but he was completely anonymous and was certainly not helping. Eduardo added something to the attacking and we were getting closer to that goal.

The crowd’s frustration was not being helped by a terrible set of officials. The linesman on my side was shocking; he couldn’t keep up with fast tempo and was guessing at offsides, goal kicks and corners. At times I thought he was watching a different game, he was not good however, his performance was out-done by the referee himself.

He completely didn’t have a clue and had to control of the game. The players didn’t respect him so the situation got worse and worse. There was a bit of a brawl when Denilson received a terrible challenge, worthy of a red card, if not he would very luckily get away with a yellow. I believe the bloke who made the foul was ex-scum Michael Brown who was already on a yellow. It looked like he was just about to be is missed when the players clashed and right in front of the referee Heskey started shoving Gallas and pushing him in the face. I thought, great, they’ll be down to 9 men. But no, Brown got away with nothing (however it might not have been him that went in on Denilson) and both Heskey and Gallas got yellows. Crazy.

Then, with 10 minutes to go Heskey committed a terrible challenge on Walcott right in front of me on the right wing. Theo went down in a heap and it looked like his ankle went underneath him or something. After being let off a red card in the brawl I thought he’d have to be off now, but no. In fact, I don’t think the ref would’ve even noticed there was a foul if it wasn’t for packed stadium screaming. Anyway, Theo got stretchered off with his head in his hands and Bendtner came on. After Wenger says Theo will be alright, which is great news.

These two moments spurred (no, I don’t like that word) drove us on, and it was William Gallas who came up with the vital goal, just as he did against United. Sagna played the cross from the right 7 minutes from time and Gallas had continued a run from deep. He got there first in front of Bramble at the near post and headed home. 1-0 to The Arsenal.

2 minutes later we secured victory with a Tomas Rosicky goal. We broke from our half with Bendtner. Tom was surging through the middle unmarked, as it was three against two. Nicklas played a great ball to him and all Rosicky had to do was take the touch and slot it in the far corner. A nice goal and that completed the win.

It took a while for the goals to come but you have to say it was a good win. Especially with United losing. These are the sort of games we’d have drawn last season and this is why we’re top. Next up it’s Seville, previews to come. Bye.

So we’re back at the top after that 3-1 win. We needed to win by two clear goals to overtake Man United and we did, but it should’ve been about 5. I guessed the team pretty much right, it was just Rosicky in for Eduardo who wasn’t even on the bench, not sure why that was. Hleb supported by Adebayor up top and Rosicky who returned from that slight injury to start on the left wing.

Reading started well and had us on the back foot in the opening couple of minutes but their spell of power didn’t last long. We won the ball just inside their half and Tomas Rosicky sent Adebayor clean through on goal. Ade slotted it to the ‘keeper’s left but the ball struck the post. An early indication that there were goals to come but it was unfortunate for Emmanuel who still couldn’t find the net.

After that good start, I thought we might have a game on our hands. However the home side’s tactics were not positive at all and decided to put 10 men behind the ball and defend, defend, defend. It was not pretty for the (very quiet) home fans but at least they were drawing with the league leaders.

Arsenal on the other hand we playing good football but found it hard to break the thick defence down. It looked like we were going to have to settle for 0-0 at half time but we grabbed the opener in the 44th minute. We showed some of our classic great counter-attacking football last night and the fist goal was a perfect example of this.

It all started from a Reading corner. Flamini started off the move passing it to Adebayor, he sent Hleb down the wing and he cut inside towards goal. Alex had a great chance test the goalie but Flamini had continued his run and Hleb unselfishly squared it. Mathieu was under pressure from a defender but he did well to finish it and we went it 1-0 up at the break. It was a wonderful example of the sort of football we can play and there was nothing Reading could do about it.

After a frustrating first half it seemed that goal gave us the confidence to break the home side down and the second 45 got off to a quick start. Adebayor had a good chance a few minutes in but he only had to wait a little while longer until he could celebrate his first Arsenal goal in far too long. It came in the 52nd minute of the game when we were passing the ball around in the area trying to find some space to shoot. In the end Fabregas picked out Ade who calmly and accurately curved the ball into the far bottom corner. It was a great goal from Ade and one he badly needed.

That goal instantly gave him the confidence boost he was looking for and should’ve got his second a few minutes after. I think it was Cesc who played him a great ball who sent him through and Ade completed another beautiful finish. However, the lino flagged for offside but the replay’s showed that, 1. Manu timed his run perfectly. And 2. That the lino wasn’t keeping up with the pace of the game and it appears he may have listened to a Reading sub warming up on the line rather than trusting his own judgement.

Anyway, it didn’t matter too much. If we were still at 0-0 then I would’ve been screaming and swearing at the television and kicking the pub furniture all over the place.

We were quite comfortable now and coming up with chances here and there without seeming to break sweat. We were far too good for Reading and their manager afterwards admitted we were a different class and ‘showed them a lesson in football’. We did the same last year; surely we don’t need to show them again? Oh well…

We made sure of the win in the 78th minute with Hleb making it 3-0 to The Arsenal. It was a great goal by Alex ‘George Best’ Hleb and I’m sure he won’t forget this one. The Belarusian seems to be getting better and better and looks a complete different player to the one I pretty much loathed a few seasons ago. Hleb picked up the ball just outside the box, skipped past a couple of players before performing a crafty little pull back in front of the ‘keeper then finishing past two defenders on the line. A fantastically skilful goal and one definitely worth looking up on YouTube.

The result was spoiled three minutes from the end when Shorey grabbed a consolation goal for the home side. There was a little bit of a mix up in defence. Almunia made a good save at him near post but unfortunately the ball came out to Shorey who had a simple tap in with Manuel still stranded on the floor. A real shame we let that one in but we still won by two clear goals so it didn’t matter.

I thought it was a good performance. Adebayor looked sharp and back on form, shame that’s ruined by the two-week international break. Hleb looked great also, lets hope he carries on getting better and better as he seems to be. Eboue once again frustrated me but I’m not going to go into that, there’s no point. Rosicky’s had better performances too but he looked bright at stages. One thing last night did show was that we still need a winger Arsene.

Here’s the manager’s thoughts.

We now have a fully fit squad for our next game but we take another fucking international break now and I’m sure it’ll do it’s best to injure our players again. Should be quite a boring couple of weeks. Well, apart from Steve McLaren getting sacked.

Thanks for reading.

The big news ahead of tonight’s game is that Wenger has said there will be changes. However that’s pretty much all he says and doesn’t really help any of us in predicting a team. It could a change from the first team, a change from the last line up (meaning a stronger side) or it could be a complete change around of the team. I dunno. All we know is there will be changes of some description; it’s just a question of changes from what?

Arsene did also mention that all 8 players he rested against Slavia are available again so that might mean he’s going for a stronger team. He also said that Senderos is back in full training and he’ll be joined by Van Persie soon. Phil is still a bit short to be included in tonight’s squad but at least he’s back now. Both players are expected to be ready for our next game after the internationals.

I’m guessing it’ll be a bit of a mix & match team tonight then. I’m guessing Fabregas will come back in along with Toure and Adebayor. In midfield Flamini could get an extended break or possible we’ll see one of Gilberto, Diarra or Diaby. There’s only one certainty, Almunia will start ahead of Lehmann.

Here’s my random guess at the team then:

Eduardo has to take all the opportunities he can get and maybe this is his last chance before Van Persie comes back. The same goes for Eboue, haven’t been terribly impressed with him and as Rosicky will still be fragile I’d start Emmanuel and see how he gets on.

Team news for Reading is that Michael Duberry is a doubt. The defender will face a late decision of whether he’ll play. Also, Ibrahimo Sonko will kick Adebayor if he needs to according to these quotes in the Mirror. What fantastic tactics. Also, it appears Sonko and Sagna are long lost cousins and will meet for the first time today. How strange.

Anyways I’ve got to be off to work. Then it’s down the pub to watch the game tonight. We need to win as Man United have nicked our spot at the top. Hopefully it’s better than the last game. See ya.

Sorry about the lateness of this report. Simply haven’t had time to do it. I’m sure you’ve all read about the game enough times by now, but what a game it was, so you’re still getting a match report.

We started with Eboue on the right and Hleb in the centre. It was probably the best option to go for but Adebayor was left too isolated and after the game Wenger admitted it was a bad choice and that we missed the 4-4-2 option with Van Persie.

I thought the game would start with both teams being very cautious and it would take a while for it to get going. However the game got straight into action from the whistle, both sides were getting decent possession of the ball and creating things.

In the first half an hour I think I can say we had the upper hand; we were playing decent football and the visitors looked worried. However, United looked dangerous themselves and their counter attacks had me scared.

Possibly our best chance came from a free kick out on the right in the 36th minute. Fabregas was getting ready to take when Gallas came over to have a quick tactical word. The captain then took up position in the box and started his run he’d discussed with Cesc. William lost his man and ended up at the near post, Fabregas played the perfect ball in and Gallas got good contact. However Van der Sar got to it with his legs and it looked more and more likely that it would finish at half time level at 0-0.

However Wayne Rooney made all the visiting fans go into the break with a big grim on their faces. Ronaldo got down the right wing well and played a low ball toward the near post. Rooney made the run away from goal and got the ball before Gallas and managed to divert it into the net. Bill was sliding in for the challenge and I think his touch took it away from Almunia as it’s gone down officially as an own goal.

At half time I wasn’t in the best of moods. I couldn’t believe we were 1-0 down. A few minutes ago I was thinking that we’ll score and win in the second half, but now we were losing. After I’d come to terms with going a goal down I realised we’re more than capable of getting more than a goal back in the next 45 minutes.

In fact it only took us three minutes to get the equaliser, and it was Cesc Fabregas again who came up with the goal in the 48th minute. Eboue started off the move feeding Adebayor a good ball whose shot was blocked by Van der Sar who rushed out to collect. It looked like the ball was going out but Sagna hadn’t given up on chasing it and got there first. He found Fabregas unmarked in the box with a ‘keeper-less goalmouth starting at him. Credit has to go to Cesc for his composure and accuracy. He took a touch and then placed it right in the corner leaving the defenders on the line hopeless.

1-1 and the place went wild. The fans from Manchester visiting fans shut up and the atmosphere was incredible. We were right back in this now, Man U looked dodgy after conceding and we were looking to exploit it. The visitors soon got back into gear and this is where the game truly began…

The second half was amazing. Both teams were playing football that perfectly displayed why these two teams are 1st and 2nd in the Premiership. It was end-to-end stuff and great football in between. Both sides were also getting decent chances in front of goal and you just knew there was another goal in this game.

Time ticked on and it looked like it was going to end one goal each, unless someone got a winner late on…

And it looked like Manchester United had done it. With seven minutes left on the clock Cuntiano Ronaldo got United’s second. Saha picked out Evra who made a great run down the left, which we couldn’t defend. Almunia decided to come out to face him which proved the wrong decision as the ball was squared to Ronaldo who finished into the empty net. They went mad as they thought they’d found a crucial winner. I just held my head in my hands and faced defeat.

I thought we’d lost. I didn’t think we’d be able to get past a Man Utd side that was going to defend and time waste the rest of the game. My misery was intensified when 1. Evra’s sliced clearance looped towards goal but hit the crossbar and went over. And 2. when Eduardo was gifted a chance at the far post but decided to put his foot through it and he smashed it high and wide. I shouted many expletives to Eddy at this point and I’d just like to say I’m sorry and I didn’t mean it, I was just upset because I thought we were going to lose. Sorry Eddy.

The board went up for injury time and I prayed for a winner. There must’ve been millions of Gooners around the world begging for a late equaliser and our prayers were answered. William Gallas came up with the goal in a goalmouth scramble. Walcott shot right at the ‘keeper from 3 yards out and if Gallas hadn’t converted the re-bound then I think it’s fair to say I would’ve run on the pitch and slapped young Theo. However Big Willy was on hand and shot well from a tight angle. The ‘keeper got to it but he was way behind the line. I knew straight away it was a goal from where I was sitting and was celebrating like mad. I was just lucky the Linesman agreed with me and a few seconds later those millions of Arsenal fans joined in with me.

It was an incredible moment and the celebrations were almost as wild as when Henry scored that injury time goal last year. After the goal we had the complete stadium singing, “We are top of the league!” It was incredible.

We could’ve got a winner with United still in shock but in the end I have to admit the draw was a fair result. Neither side deserved to win and I would’ve taken the draw before the game anyway. It was a fantastic game and one I’m sure I wont forget for a while. So we kept our place at the top with a game in hand, it’s Reading away on Monday but before that it’s the Champions League on Wednesday. Thanks for reading.