Arsenal 3-0 Newcastle – 30/08/08 – (Premier League) 31 August, 2008

We really have reacted well since the Fulham game. Last weekend at Craven Cottage what a reality check, we were shown up and something needed to be done; and something has been done. The team has reacted, come together and started playing football again.

Twente in the week was good, but I didn’t know how much we could judge that as they hardly gave us a game. However yesterday we faced Newcastle and we completely played them off the park. Literally, it should’ve been about 7-0 or 8-0. We missed a lot of sitters and if you’re going to be critical then you could say we should’ve converted our chances. However I can forgive that seeing as we were 3-0 up.

Toure got his starting place back and it was a striker partnership of Adebayor and Robin van Persie. Emmanuel “You’ve only come to see” Eboue started at right midfield, Walcott was rested and on the bench.

We started with a bang. The manager had obviously told the players to go out in top gear and try surprise Newcastle. Within a minute we had a decent penalty shout turned down. Had it not been so early in the game I think the referee might’ve thought twice and given it.

No matter, because after 18 minutes he did point in the direction of the penalty spot after N’Zogbia handled in the area. Before that we missed two chances, one absolute sitter was skied over the bar by William Gallas and Kolo Toure had a brilliant long-range drive expertly tipped round the post.

So the penalty was given and Robin van Persie stepped up to get his account for the season up and running. Given went the right way but van Persie put enough power in it to sneak it inside the right post. 1-0 to The Arsenal after 20 minutes but it could’ve been more.

We didn’t slow down after we took the lead though, we kept on the pressure and we were looking for goals. I like the way that the Arsenal.com match report described it:

It was more than one-way traffic. It was like a motorway heading directly at Newcastle’s goal.

van Persie had a free kick tipped over the bar a few minutes later in the half. His shot was heading just under the bar with pace in the far corner but it was a good save.

After 38 minutes Newcastle had their best (and arguably only) chance of the game. Jonas Gutierrez broke away with the ball down the right and Ameobi and Owen in support in the middle. They caught us out and the low cross went in to back post for Owen who was unmarked. He completely miss-kicked it and it trickled wide. Although we’d battered them all half Newcastle should’ve really drawn level there.

We never should’ve allowed them that chance though and I bet Wenger was furious that we could’ve been level at 1-1 rather than being two or three goals in the lead.

A few minutes later Adebayor broke through one-on-one with the ‘keeper and opened his body to shoot. I thought, ‘this is a goal’ but he just passed it the wrong side of the post. Really unlucky, would’ve been a nice goal but he should be scoring those. There were no ‘boos’ for Ade yesterday, which I was pleased to hear. In fact, his song rang round the stadium which was good, whether you wanted to join in or not it felt good to be getting behind him.

It was nearly half time but we still had our foot on the accelerator, and four minutes before the break van Persie got his second. Eboue started and made the move; he gave it wide right to Adebayor allowing himself to cut inside. Ade took it down the pitch and squared it to Eboue inside the box. He got the ball caught under his feet a little but he still managed to pull-off the back-heel, which went straight into the path of the on-rushing van Persie who smashed it in high with his right foot. A really good goal…well done Eboue!

2-0 up at half time and cruising like Tom Cruise cruising on a cruise liner. Yeah.

Newcastle came out in the second half much better. I can imagine Kevin Keegan wasn’t too happy with his side’s performance, in the first half they were just lying down and letting us trample all over them but they came out with a better attitude in the second half and early into the restart Nicky Butt hit the bar with a header.

Just because Newcastle got slightly better, it didn’t mean that we had got any worse, and after an hour we’d made it 3-0. It was a beautiful and intricate goal that ended in Denilson getting his first League goal for the club. Nasri started the move off and Adebayor saw Denilson’s clever little run and slid a ball through; this, all going on in a very busy area.

Those circumstances happened quite a few times: Busy boxes, clever little passes, but every time we passed it around too much and in the end lost the ball. When we scored the first goal there were only a few touches before the goal was scored, when we had these chances later in the game we were knocking it around for ages. It would’ve been incredibly, incredibly frustrating if we were still at 0-0 when this was all going on. Typical Arsenal trying to pass it into the net, being 3-0 up I could excuse it but it really should’ve been more.

A couple of minutes after the goal we had the ball in the box again and van Persie had it right on the byline to the left of the goal, he lost the chance to pass so had a cheeky shot. From that angle it was almost impossible but he did really well and crashed it against the bar. However the defender trying to block the shot timed his challenge late and ended up stamping on Robin’s foot.

Robin went down and looked in some discomfort. He was replaced immediately by Carlos Vela and I think everyone in the stadium looked on at Robin walked down the tunnel holding one boot in his hand. It’s a sight we’ve seen many times before and I for one feared that he was injured again. Arsene said after the game that he would have a scan on a possible broken ankle. Well today the news broke that he’s going to be ok and that he’ll travel with the Holland squad this international period. Don’t think I’ve ever been so glad to hear that one of our players will be playing for their country!

Robin had a brilliant game and it was just typical for it to be ended by injury. Thankfully he’s ok but it’s just becoming really tiring watching him going down on the floor and just thinking, ‘oh that’s it he’s injured’.

Before the end Clichy had a decent long-range chance well saved. I would’ve gone fucking mental if he scored. Toure got a head onto a cross but somehow Given managed to save from about 2 yards out. Complete luck, there’s no way you react to a header when it’s that close and with good power.

Walcott (on for Eboue after 72mins) had a really good chance to make it two in two when Adebayor gave him the opportunity to shoot on goal. It was at a slight angle but it was a really good chance.

In the end it finished 3-0, but it really should’ve been about seven. We were that good, Newcastle just didn’t have a chance.

We’re officially back on track and with Chelsea and Liverpool drawing today and United not playing this weekend we’re one point off the top of the table.

It was a really good team performance, I could pick out names but I don’t want to take anything away from the team as a whole. Wenger spoke about the team as a whole in his post-match interview. I will say one thing though, Samir Nasri looks like a really good signing.

Well that’s it for a couple of weeks then, next up it’s Blackburn away on the 13th September, but for now we look forward to a long and boring international break. Speak to you soon, thanks for reading.

Champions League Draw & Newcastle Preview 29 August, 2008

It’s going to have to be a quick one today as I’m meant to be leaving to go down to Bournemouth to sort stuff out for my new house. Got to drop some things down and sign some papers etc. The fun stuff. I’m meant to leave about 10, which is in 2 minutes by my clock. Shit.

Anyway, fuck that, we had a Champions League draw yesterday and it came out like this:

Group A: Chelsea, AS Roma, Bordeaux, CFR 1907 Cluj
Group B: Internazionale, Werder Bremen, Panathinaikos, Anorthosis Famagusta
Group C: Barcelona, Sporting Lisbon, FC Basel, Shakhtar Donetsk
Group D: Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven, Marseilles, Atletico Madrid
Group E: Manchester United, Villarreal, Celtic, Aalborg BK
Group F: Lyon, Bayern Munich, Steaua Bucharest, Fiorentina
Group G: Arsenal, FC Porto, Fenerbahce, Dynamo Kiev
Group H: Real Madrid, Juventus, Zenit St. Petersburg, FC BATE Borisov

Initial thoughts are well it could be better but it could be worse. You can’t be too unhappy with it. Some decent sides but none of the really top sides. We wanted to avoid Bayern Munich and PSV etc at this stage and we did that.

Porto won the cup a few years ago but they’re a completely different side now. Fenerbahce did alright last season so they’ll be looking to impress. And out of the 4th seeded teams we drew Dynamo Kiev, they knocked us out in 1998 but they were a top side then and we also had them in our group in the 2003/04 season in which both teams won their home leg.

Danny Fiszman says the main issue with drawing these teams will be the long-distance travel. Porto’s not too bad but Fenerbahce and Kiev are the other side of the continent. I did want to get an away trip in for one of the group games but I might not get a chance. On a side note, Fiszman also says that we’ve got plenty of money to spend, but I haven’t got time to go into that today.

So, next up it’s Newcastle, tomorrow at 5:30pm. We’ll be looking to get back to form in the League this weekend and put that Fulham game behind us. It means we’re already 3 points behind Chelsea and they’re going to be a team hard to catch this season.

Team news, well Walcott and Gallas picked up knee problems against Twente but the manager says he’s ‘optimistic’ about them. He said he’d give us an update later this afternoon on them but I’m guessing they’ll be ok. Samir Nasri had to come off at half time through illness but I’m guessing he’ll be alright for tomorrow.

I would stick with the same team that played Twente, maybe putting Adebayor in. Bendtner had a poor game on Wednesday night, however last weekend he looked lively so you never know with him. Saying that, van Persie hasn’t been playing all too well either. Carlos Vela? That’s a man I’d like to see. I believe Djourou should stay in the starting 11, he’s done well when he’s been given the chance and he and Gallas seem to work well together. I bet Wenger will stick Toure in there though, this is what I think he’ll do:

Almunia
Sagna – Toure – Gallas (c) – Clichy
Walcott – Fabregas – Denilson – Nasri
Adebayor – van Persie

Not a bad side, we’re not suffering too much from injuries at the moment, which is good. I’m looking for Theo to react positively after his performance on Wednesday, there’s no use in him scoring and playing a decent game then going back to being anonymous again. Robin van Persie needs a good game too, for different reasons.

I think the team will be really up for this one. I really do feel that they’re sorry about last weekend and they want to make it right. Newcastle will come to give us a game though, they’ve started the season well although needing extra time to see off Coventry in the week, hopefully there’s a few tired legs out there tomorrow.

It’s not going to be an easy game, but it’s won I want us to win. I want to be shown some desire to make it into the title race this season and a win here will put us right back on track.

Right I really must go now. If I’m late I’m blaming you. Match Report probably Sunday evening.

C’MON YOU GUNNERS

Arsenal 4(6) – 0(0) FC Twente – 27/08/08 – (Champions League Qualifier) 28 August, 2008

Much, much better. A very satisfying performance from Arsenal and we’re through to the group stages of the Champions League. It was by no means the best show I’ve ever seen us put on but it was a more than satisfactory performance and that’s just what we needed.

Not being harsh to Twente, they didn’t really put up much of a fight. They had a couple of chances in the first half which where met with large, gay “OOOH!” noises from the travelling supporters. This was probably the biggest game in recent years for those who’d travelled over from Holland and they’ll probably be pretty disappointed that they didn’t give us as much of a game as they did in the first leg.

We started with a changed 11, but one I felt very comfortable with:

Almunia
Sagna – Djourou – Gallas (c) – Clichy
Walcott – Fabregas – Denilson – Nasri
Bendtner – van Persie

Djourou and Gallas did well a few games ago and I thought they should’ve continued their partnership; Toure came back for the Fulham game and our defending wasn’t very tight at all. Those two did well last night though. Fabregas got his first game of the season and did pretty well. Bendtner was awarded a start ahead of Adebayor; I thought Nick was very lively when he came on at Craven Cottage so I was pleased to see him given a game. I would’ve had Song ahead of Denilson but the young Brazilian did well so credit to him, he had a bad game on Saturday and needed to bounce back from that.

We started the game much more positively this time around. We showed signs of hunger and willingness to get forward which was promising so early on. We lacked in the way of proper chances though. I remember van Persie had a go from range but that was about it.

We didn’t have to wait too long for the opener though and it was the same man as our last home game: Supersam. It had just gone 25 minutes when Walcott picked the ball up in midfield in space and had a go at his man charging forward, he made it to the box and squared it. The ball seemed to miss everyone but van Persie managed to slide in and knock the ball to Nasri’s feet on the edge of the box. Samir took a touch, turned his marker and cut inside the box. He shot across goal, which got caught up in the legs of the defender but still managed to cross the line.

That goal ruined FC Twente. They had a mammoth task with the score at 2-0 but with Nasri making it 1-0 on the night they gave up. They made it easy for us and never looked like coming back.

We really should’ve doubled the lead before half time but we couldn’t manage it. We had some decent chances but the best fell to Robin van Persie with about 5 minutes to go of the first half. We broke upfield and had them completely outnumbered. I think it was Walcott up the right, but whoever it was they could’ve taken the shot on but decided to square it for the easy goal. Robin van Persie was at the back post, took a touch and somehow managed to put it wide whilst the defender and goalie where scrambling across the box it get a block on it. Madness. Should’ve been 2-0.

At half time Eboue came on for Nasri which got me worried. Samir had a great first half, he looked confident and was running at players. In Wenger’s post-match interview he explained that Nasri was sick with a stomach bug and didn’t feel well enough to play. Glad he’s not injured but get well soon Sammy.

7 minutes into the second half we had the game all wrapped up. Gallas picked up the ball and started to charge forward with it. It rebounded off the last man as he tried to go through on goal but it bounced up and into the path of Bendtner on the left who was able to cut inside the box to have a shot at the ‘keeper from an angle. Nick’s shot was saved but it went right into the path of Gallas who’d continued his run and it was a simple tap-in for Gallas’ second of the season and Arsenal’s second of the night. Credit to Gallas for following up the shot and reacting to the save, true striker’s instinct…even if he is a centre-back.

It was really easy for us now, we were given a lot of space and time on the ball and it was building our confidence.

After 64 minutes we made our second substitution. Adebayor came on for Robin van Persie. Why is it that every time he doesn’t start, or goes down from a challenge or gets substituted I think, ‘Oh that’s it, he’s injured again.’ Hopefully he’s not but you never know with him.

Two minutes after Adebayor had come on, we added a third goal and it was the best of the night. Theo started off deep on the right wing but showed good awareness spotting the space diagonally towards the goal. So played it into the feet of Bendtner and charged towards that space. I don’t think Nick was quite ready for it but he just managed to get it into the path of Theo and he was through on goal. He took a couple of touches, kept his cool then bent it into the far, bottom corner very nicely.

A well-taken goal and I’m always glad when Theo gets on the score sheet. It does his confidence so much good and hopefully there’ll be a few more of those that season. A think a target of 10-15 goals this season isn’t too much to ask.

After the goal Cesc was brought off for Song and he didn’t look too happy about it. He wasn’t in a strop or anything but it was just obvious he wanted to carry on playing! I can understand Wenger being careful and not risking him for the final 20-odd minutes but it was a good comeback for Fabregas.

Before the final whistle went, we just about managed to squeeze in a 4th. Adebayor was sent down the left and he forced his way into the box. He had to hold it up a bit because there wasn’t much support but he did square it to Bendtner in the end who was around the penalty spot. However he had about three defenders surrounding him desperate to make the interception. Denilson was running in and took the ball while it was loose and quickly back-heeled it back into the path of Bendtner who was able to get the shot away under the ‘keeper. Quick thinking by Denilson and a good goal in the end.

So it ended up 6-0 on aggregate and you can see all the goals from last night here. It was the best performance of the season, however that isn’t really saying much! FC Twente did make it easy for us though and we’ll be facing much harder opposition in our next game against Newcastle. Still, credit to the boys for finishing the game off.

The draw takes place at about 5pm later today for the group stages of the Champions League. I really want to try and arrange an away trip for one of our ties but I’ll have to see if I can. We’ll have to see who we get later first.

Just a quick apology for not keeping the site fully up-to-date recently. I’ve been so busy this week, I’m working loads but I’m also rushing around sorting out stuff for my new house. I’m moving down to Bournemouth in a couple of weeks time and I’ve got to go down tomorrow to move stuff in. I still plan on getting to the games but I’ll just have to see. More on that another day anyway…if you care.

I’ll leave you with my favourite chant from last night:

“You’ve only come to see Eboue, come to see EBOOOOUE!”

Wenger – 7 Days To Sort It Out. 25 August, 2008

I was planning on writing some long rant about Arsene Wenger this afternoon. I’m really not happy with the guy at the moment and there are so many things that have gone unanswered. I’m fed up with all his lies and excuses, I don’t know who he thinks we are, but we’re not stupid. He promised a signing before the Twente game, time’s ticking.

But there’s really no point in me getting started on him. I thought I’d see what he does with the remaining 7 days of the transfer market. If he has no intention of bulking up our squad then I’m going to be seriously fucked off.

But when I clicked onto Arsenal.com this morning I was met by his headline: Wenger – Buying is not always the solution. Which had me fuming.

I’m not obsessed by signings, it’s just so, so clear that we need AT LEAST a new midfielder. Every single pundit on the television knows it, every journalist knows it, every fan knows it and I’m sure Wenger knows it. I want to know why he’s done nothing about it.

The only logical explanation is that we have no money. Which is ludicrous. The board are very quick to say they never deny the manager money and there are funds to spend. We’ve made a profit in recent transfer windows, and there’s plenty of money from sales just this summer to go and sign someone. I know we’re on a strict budget because of the stadium debt, but we still have money to spend on transfers.

The only thing that’s keeping me sane is the possibility that Wenger is scouting the world looking for the right player for Arsenal. Maybe he’s searching every league in the world looking for the perfect partner for Cesc. If this is the case (which I really doubt but I’m trying to stay positive) then why has he taken SO long to sort it out?

He has enquired about Barry and Alonso, which is a start, but if he wanted them he should’ve done it a long time ago before they got cup-tied in Europe. They are still viable options though, Arsene said last week that it doesn’t necessarily matter that a player is unavailable for Europe. They would have a reduced price too. Cesc’s said that he’d like to play with Alonso. It would be a very exciting Spanish partnership, with a lot of quality going forward. It would be a different style for Arsenal though; Xabi Alonso is certainly not a Flamini replacement. However if Arsene thinks it’s alright to play Denilson and Cesc together then why not Alonso and Cesc?

We’re so desperate for someone I’d pretty much take anyone! What we’ve got is simply not good enough and we need something to change it up. I’d just like to see Wenger show some intention in the transfer market.

So I’m just going to sit back and relax and see what the manager comes up with in the last 7 days of the window. We all know he likes a last minute signing, the past few seasons we’ve been frantically sorting out deals with an hour of the window left to go. That’s why I’m just going to leave it for a week and see what happens.

I nothing does, then I’m going to have to seriously question whether I still want this man as our manager. He’s got it all wrong so far this season and I want to see what he can change to get us playing well. 1 week Arsene, prove me wrong.

That’s all for today, thanks for reading.

Fulham 1-0 Arsenal – 23/08/08 – (Premier League) 24 August, 2008

Oh dear, oh dear.

What an awful display. There’s no getting away from it, we were terrible. It was waiting to happen really. We’d seen it against Twente and West Brom but this was really bad.

There’s not really much you can say about the game to be honest. We did nothing but gave the ball away, defended badly and lacked any creation up front.

We started with almost the team I expected, except Toure did start ahead of Djourou. The early stages of the game were great. It was he first away game of the season and the fans were in full voice in the east stand behind the goal. I was loving it; this is what I had missed.

On the pitch though it was a different story. We were finding it really hard to get going, but that can be forgiven in the opening few minutes; you have to allow time for the players to find their feet. But they never did.

With 20 minutes gone we had a really good chance to open the scoring, against the run of play. Walcott crossed it in, Nasri missed it but it went straight into the path of van Persie. He was in a great position but he lashed it wide.

A minute later we went behind.

Toure was turned as if he weren’t even there by by Zamora. However he did well to go back after him and slid in conceding a corner. He never should’ve been beaten so easily though; Zamora went past him so easily, awful defending by Toure.

From the corner we showed more bad defensive work when we allowed Bullard to swing in a corner right to the feet of Hangeland to put it in from about 3 yards out.

Look at that picture. What the fuck is Denilson doing? He’s got his back to the ball? And Gallas! He’s nowhere near the man he is supposed to be marking, Hangeland who is on the floor just after he’s poked the ball into the net. Almunia is stranded, nothing he can really do about it from that sort of range, he’s expecting his defenders to clear the danger. You might argue that he should’ve come out.

So, we’re 1-0 down to Fulham with 70 minutes to sort it out. No problem, yeah?

We nearly equalised straight away when Sagna crossed it in from the right. Adebayor rose and met it well but his header came off the post. That was the closest we came to scoring all game.

The first half was becoming more and more frustrating and I just wanted half time to come in the end. I’d had enough of watching us do nothing. I was hoping Wenger would get them in at the break and sort them out.

However it was much of the same shit in the second half. There was no urgency, no creation, and no real quality to be honest. In the centre of the park we had Denilson and Eboue and it wasn’t working. Denilson had an awful game, must’ve passed it to more Fulham players than Arsenal players all game, literally. He was so bad he made Eboue seem good but in truth he was another nothing player. Wouldn’t have noticed if he weren’t on the pitch.

As the game went on…well it was exactly the same. In fact Fulham found more confidence and were having a go at getting a second. They seemed more urgent than us anyway.

With 65 minutes gone Wenger finally realised a change needed to be made. Theo Walcott came off for Bendtner and we went 4-3-3. Theo had another poor game. He looks a totally different player from last season, and it’s not just this game, in all three matches this season he’s been no good. Last year he would take people on, run at them, use his pace and show some imagination. That was exactly what was needed yesterday but he showed none of that.

10 minutes later Toure was replaced by Song at the back.

With Bendtner on, we were finally starting to show some urgency. Someone had told them that they had been an embarrassment and that we were losing 1-0 to Fulham with 10 minutes to go. Our full backs were carrying the ball well up the flanks but I just felt every time they crossed it in I knew nothing was going to happen.

I just didn’t feel there was anyone on the pitch who could do anything to score. When the board went up showing 4 minutes of extra time there was a roar from the Arsenal fans. Not me though, I just thought it was just delaying the inevitable, we weren’t going to create anything.

So we lost one nil and that was that.

After the game Wenger admitted we weren’t good enough. Which is a start. Yes the players weren’t good enough. There were a few players that had really bad games, a few which had completely anonymous performances and then two or three who you couldn’t really complain too much about. I’m not going to name names because I think it’s really obvious.

I do want to highlight one person though. The manger. He said we weren’t good enough, which is true but maybe he should take a look in the mirror. Our squad is so incredibly thin and everyone knows it. Why the fuck hasn’t he signed anyone?!

Is he lazy? No I don’t think so. Have we not got any money? Yes, we do have money to spend. Is there no one out there available? No, there are plenty on players who we can buy.

Arsene Wenger has had months and months to sort this out. This year we’ve lost Diarra, Flamini and Gilberto. He’s known for fucking ages that we’ve needed a signing so why hasn’t he done it? Is he just trying to prove a point that you don’t need to buy anyone and you can constantly use youngsters? OK, he’s signed Aaron Ramsey. Yes he’s a promising star but he’s nowhere near the standard needed yet. One for the future.

We need someone for now. Without Cesc Fabregas we are nothing. And who have we got to partner him? Denilson who couldn’t even kick a football right yesterday. Alex Song? Still unproven and developing. Eboue is certainly not an option.

We need to buy. There’s no point in me repeating it over and over again but it’s so blatant. I’m glad this has happened now, rather than a month or so down the line. Arsene Wenger has one week left to sort this out and at least fill that one void.

Frankly, I’m not the biggest fan of Arsene Wenger right now. It’s not just from this game. It’s something that’s been building up for a while now. I have been very patient this summer but it just seems like Wenger has no intentions in the transfer market. One week to change that Arsene. Just do it.

Right, rant over. Sorry about that. Speak to you in the week,

Fulham Preview: Song’s back & Nasri’s fit 22 August, 2008

You know that your squad isn’t big enough when you’re looking forward to the return of Alex Song so Emmanuel Eboue doesn’t have to play central midfield. Yes, that’s the situation I’m in at the moment. The reality of Eboue having an alright game last weekend hasn’t sunk in, I don’t think it’s going to, so I’m expecting hoping Alex Song gets drafted in. He’s just come back from the Olympics and Arsene says he’ll go straight into the squad.

Song is a player ever improving and Arsene will have been looking at him these past couple of days to see whether he’s up to the task of a start at Craven Cottage. Alex wont have fond memories of that stadium though, a couple of years ago I was at the game when Song got a rare start at put in a terrible performance. The whole team didn’t play well that day but Song was especially bad. Towards the end of the first half fans were cheering for him to go off and with Fabregas on the bench we were losing our patience. He was replaced at half time but that first half will have hurt him.

He’s got the chance to right those wrongs tomorrow. Fulham fans who were there that day might smile to themselves if they see him on the team sheet tomorrow night but they might not know he’s a different player now. He’s much more soid, he knows what he’s doing and holds a good position.

By no means is Song in my preffered starting 11 but he’s a player coming through and I think he should get the chance tomorrow. However, I don’t see Wenger giving him that opportunity to clear his name at Craven Cottage. I think he’ll stick with Eboue and play pretty much the same team as last weekend:

Almunia
Sagna – Djourou – Gallas (c) – Clichy
Walcott – Eboue – Denilson – Nasri
Adebayor – van Persie

Bendtner started against West Brom but I think van Persie should get to start this. When he came on last weekend he looked very dangerous and we’ll need that. I think Djourou’s going to retain his place, although Toure’s fit now I just have a feeling Wenger’s going to keep this Johann in there. I might be totally wrong though. Silvestre‘s got a muscle strain anyway so he wont be making his debut this weekend.

In midfield, Nasri’s fit after a slight problem in the week that saw him miss the France game. I’m not sure how much truth there was in that but oh well! In the centre I think it’ll be Eboue and Denilson. As I said, I’d like to see Song in there but I don’t think he will so soon after coming back. Cesc’s still out but is making good progress and is still on target for Wednesday night’s game against Twente. So we’re short in the centre without Cesc but we coped last weekend.

Wenger maintains he will still buy in central midfield and says it doesn’t matter so much if a player is cup-tied in the Champions League. That hints that he could still go for Barry or Alonso but I think he’ll get someone out of nowhere. He says in that interview that he’s full of suprises and that he might have another one up his sleve. Oh Arsene you tease.

Fulham amazingly managed to escape relagation last season and got off to a bad start this campaign losing 2-1 to Premiership new-comers Hull. So really, this is a team we should beat. If we can carry on our perfect start I’ll be really happy. Yes, we are short in places but we should still have enough to beat Fulham.

I don’t think it’s going to be easy though. We’ve won our last two games but not with the most convincing performances. I think it’s going to be the same story again.

There’ll be strong away support for the boys tomorrow. We always get a few going to Fulham, it’s not too far and they always give us extra allocation. I’m going and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s the first away game of the season and I’m sure our fantastic away support will be well up for it.

I’ll let you know how I get on in the match report on Sunday. I’ve really got to go now or I’m going to be late for work. Enjoy the game and COME ON YOU GUNNERS!

We’ve signed Mikael Silvestre 21 August, 2008

I’m sure you’ve heard already by now, Mikael Silvestre is an Arsenal player. Yesterday morning it started as a bizarre rumour that would never have got any attention if it weren’t for the amount of newspapers and websites running the story.

It started off as a ‘bizarre rumour’, but Arsenal fans gradually started to consider the possibility of this actually going ahead. The story was he was just about to sort out a move to Manchester City when Wenger heard of his availability and snapped him up right under Mark Hughes nose. City have moved quick to find someone else and are expected to sign Vincent Kompany from Hamburg.

So we spend much of yesterday debating how he could actually add to our squad, at what his role might be. A lot of questions were asked, like “Why are we buying a player that’s not good enough for our Premiership rivals?” And more importantly, “I fucking hate Mikael Silvestre, how I am going to feel if he came to Arsenal?”

So I went to work last night thinking about these things and when I came back I saw that he’d signed, and will wear the no.18 shirt. I still felt a bit shocked; it’s all a bit strange really. I think it’s a really odd Wenger signing. He’s 31, way past his peak and he’s a player Man United are trying to flog. I still haven’t heard Wenger’s view on this, there’s nothing up on Arsenal.com yet.

I want to know what Silvestre’s position at the club will be. On instincts, I would say he’s cover for Toure, Gallas and Clichy. He’s experienced and he’s used to the Premier League. Also, he’s still got some pace. So he does make some alright cover in our defence, but would he sign knowing he’s only going to be on the bench.

Or, maybe he sees him as our new defender, to partner Gallas in an all-French defensive four?

There’s some debate that this could be the case with Kolo Toure moving to midfield. Kolo likes to get forward, and has proved he can cut in further up the pitch, but on a more regular basis? I don’t know. He does seem the sort of player that could make that switch from defence to midfield. As I said, we know he likes to attack and penetrate the opposing defence, and obviously, he’s a decent defender too; So you could say he has to ingredients to replace Mathieu Flamini in central midfield.

I think Wenger plans on signing another midfielder though. There’s been talk of that Swiss bloke, Gokhan Inler. Arsene was in Switzerland last night watching the game vs. Cyprus. Maybe he was there to look at Inler; it’s a strong possibility. Djourou got 90 minutes in that game though so he might’ve been there just to check up on him.

I still think he’s going to sign in midfield. We’ll have to wait and see. As for Silvestre, well I’m not sure what Arsene plans for him yet. We might get a clue this weekend against Fulham. With him coming in, it means Armand Traore can go out on loan. It was obvious that he needed that experience but we needed him incase Clichy got injured. Now with Silvestre here he can go out on loan and Portsmouth have shown an early interest. It would be a good club to go to but I wonder whether he’ll get many games there.

Well it was another round of international friendlies last night, and so far I haven’t heard of any more injures, WOO!

Van Persie scored for Holland in a 1-1 draw with Russia. Decent goal too, took the ball on the edge of the box on his left foot and curled one into the far top corner. More of that please Robin.

Three defenders, Sagna, Gallas and Djourou all played the full 90 minutes last night. Hopefully they’ll be alright for the weekend, they should be anyway. The French beat Sweden 3-2 with Sagna’s cross setting up their first goal. Djourou’s Switzerland beat Cyprus 4-1 with Arsene Wenger watching on from the stands.

Bendtner also played a full match for his country, however he lost emphatically 3-0 to Spain with Arsenal-linked Xabi Alonso getting two.

Theo Walcott couldn’t get on the pitch for England’s 2-2 draw with Czech Republic. Personally, I thought England were crying out for a bit of Theo last night. There was no imagination, nothing exciting; I think Walcott might’ve done well if he we awarded the chance. Never mind.

Ramsey played for Wales U21, Fabianski put in a good performance with Poland but lost 1-0 to Ukraine and Carlos Vela played an hour for Sven’s Mexico against Honduras.

So that’s it for news today, hopefully we’ll get Wenger’s views on Silvestre later today but probably tomorrow in his Friday press conference. Thanks for reading.

Boring International Friendlies… [NASRI'S INJURED!] 19 August, 2008

After a summer of no football, you’d think an international break so soon into the new season wouldn’t make any difference to us. However, there’s nothing like a round of international friendlies to clear any sort of Arsenal news. I mean, the summer was quiet, but these periods of friendlies are completely dead. There is nothing…no news. Nothing significant. The headline on Arsenal.com is:

TV Online: Sagna – I’m not surpised by Nasri

They’ve even resorted to making up words. It’s that bad.

I suppose I could tell you who we’ve got going off to get injured play for their countries. Theo Walcott has been included in Capello’s England squad to face Czech Republic. The new England manager says he rates him but is yet to give him a chance in a game. Theo hasn’t had an inspiring start to the season so the call up surprises me, but I still hope he gets a chance to play. A decent performance with England will do him a lot of good.

Samir Nasri’s been called up to the France squad replacing Ben Arfa. I thought he’d be in it anyway but apparently not. Well he is now. Good luck Sammy, don’t get injured now that’s a good lad.

UPDATE: You won’t fucking believe this. Nasri’s only gone and got injured hasn’t he. I don’t fucking believe it! A thigh strain apparently, no idea how long he’ll be out for yet as this is breaking news but I’m expecting him to miss the Fulham game now. More on this tomorrow probably, but the initial reaction coming of of the club is that Bacary Sagna is not surpised. He knows all.

Another player who I’d thought would’ve been in their international squad was Johan Djourou. Well he’s been called up now after the manager found out that Senderos is actually injured, you’d think they’d do some research wouldn’t you? I don’t know much about Swiss football but I thought Senderos and Djourou were the central defensive pairing for the national side. Oh well.

In news closer to home we’ve got a few youngsters going out on loan. Havard Nordtveit is going to Spanish side Salamanca for the season. That’ll do him a world of good. I’m a big fan of Nordtveit, he looks quite a good defender and a leader, yet the guy’s only 18. It wouldn’t surprise me if after this season on loan he comes back to Arsenal looking for a place in the first team squad for the 2009/10 season. Good luck to him.

Nacer Barazite is said to be going to Derby for the season, there’s nothing official yet but Young Guns say it’s going to happen. He could do with the experience in the Championship too, Wenger rates him highly and is not afraid to pick him, so he could be another player in contention for first team football when we returns.

Kieran Gibbs has caught the eye of Reading chief executive Nigel Howe and he says that he thinks Arsenal might be willing to loan him out. Gibbs is another one dying for first team experience and a loan move could do him a lot of good. With Traore at the club he wouldn’t get a chance this season if Clichy were to get injured or something [touch wood]. So maybe a loan move would be good for him too. Nothing official on that one yet either but we’ll see.

That’s about that for news then. Oh, Adebayor’s put pen to paper on that new deal. Cool.

Speak to you tomorrow hopefully. Thanks for reading.

Monday News Update: Nasri / Wenger / Hoyte 18 August, 2008

I’m going to start off with the news that Justin Hoyte has agreed to join Middlesbrough. I know this was announced a couple of days ago but I haven’t had the chance to talk about it with match previews and reports to do.

I’m quite sad to hear that Justin has gone. It’s strange because he was only our 2nd or even 3rd choice right-back, but still I didn’t want him to go. It’s all because he was a true Gooner. The sort of guy you want at the club. You know that he’s not playing for the money, not playing for the fame, not even playing for the Manager, he just wanted to play for Arsenal Football Club.

He’s a local boy and has been a Gooner all his life. His dream came true when he was brought through our academy to become an Arsenal player, but he remained a fan. I’ve been told by someone who works for the club that Justin would join in our songs whilst sitting on the bench. Incredible, I’d never heard anything like that before. He is a rare case of a player who genuinely loves the club and would do anything just for the badge on his chest, that’s why it’s such a shame to lose him.

However he’s 24 now, and we’ve got to be honest and say that he’s not going to make it here. With Bacary Sagna at Arsenal he’s never really going to break in the side. Even if Sagna got injured, we have other players in that position. I doubt we put him up for sale though, but ‘Boro were in the market for a full back and put in a bid for our Justin. We didn’t really have a choice, we let him know that we were going to accept the offer and he had to get on with it. I’m sure Justin was a bit upset but I’m sure he knows that he needs this for his career.

I bet if no offer ever came for him he wouldn’t have left, content with the few appearances he got. I mean, if you or me were an Arsenal player, not a very good one but an Arsenal player nonetheless. We’d be on the Arsenal payroll, and kept up to date with everything going on behind the scenes at the club we love. It would be great!

Anyway, he’s gone now and I wish him the best of luck up north, and I mean it. It’s going to be painful for him when he has to play us but hopefully he’ll score an own goal or two. I’m actually pretty sure that if Arsenal had to beat Middlesbrough to win the title and things weren’t going our way, he’d score an own goal. Sure, it’d cost him his job maybe but fuck it he’s worth it. He could even get a special invitation to the open-top bus parade. Thanks for everything Justin, hope you still sing the songs.

Samir Nasri got his Arsenal career off to a flying start on Saturday with a goal in the 4th minute of his debut and a great performance. Samir says it was a dream to score on Saturday and enjoyed his debut game. He also says that Arsene told him it might take 6 months to adapt to the English game, and that he’s on a special physio course to get him used to the Premier League.

However he says he felt good at the weekend, but that was only one game and he’s got a long way to go yet. Yes, it was a good start for him but we need to see how he copes with the better and more physical teams. He looked great on the ball against West Brom but other sides might not allow him so might time and space.

Wenger was pleased with him too saying he reminded him of Pires. He has been likened to Zidane back in France but Le Boss thinks he is more like another French star:

“Samir looks intelligent and capable of having good acceleration. He sees a good vision of the game and that left flank suits him quite well. Maybe there is a bit of Robert Pires in him because he looks to be able to change direction very easily and a little bit the same style of run. He is a bit smaller, but there’s a bit of Pires in there.”

That’s a hell of a name to live up to.

The manager’s also been talking about our absences at the weekend but has said how we can benefit from it. Toure and Fabregas were out recently, two players that would’ve been expected to start least season. However Wenger says their absence from the side has been good for Johann Djourou and Denilson. He says that you can only tell how well people play when they get a chance in a competitive game. Those two have impressed well against Twente and West Brom so the injuries have worked in their favour. Djourou has slotted right into the defence and made some great stops and saving tackles. And with no Fabregas grabbing the headlines, Denilson’s had a chance to shine and he’s done well too.

It doesn’t necessarily mean that those players will retain their places when the other players return, but it is reassuring to know that we have more than capable players in reserve. I think Djourou has proven to Wenger that he doesn’t need to sign a new defender. If he and Senderos can get back to their prime form then there’s going to be a real competition for places. Toure was fit for the West Brom game but only managed to make the bench. Even when he came on, he didn’t replace Djourou at the back, he actually played at right midfield.

I hope all this talk from Wenger isn’t just to divert our attention away from the need for a signing. It is nice to see players do well but we still need someone of top quality. Flamini has yet to be replaced. Wenger said we would sign someone before the 2nd leg against Twente. This international break might be a perfect opportunity for him to look into the market.

That’s it for today, thanks for reading.

Arsenal 1-0 West Brom – 16/08/08 – (Premier League) 17 August, 2008

1-0 TO THE ARSENAL!

A good start to the season and a great start to Super Samir Nasri’s Arsenal career.

That’s exactly what we were after on our opening day; yes the score could’ve been a little more convincing which would’ve settled a few nerves but the three points are in the bag and that’s what matters.

Djourou kept his place in the side meaning Kolo Toure only made the bench after sitting out in the week. The Swiss defender had a solid game and made some great interceptions. He really looks like he’s made an improvement and is doing all he can to show Arsene Wenger he doesn’t need to sign a new defender. Toure and Senderos have got some work to do!

Samir Nasri started on the left on his debut and Eboue switched to the middle alongside Denilson. That meant Ramsey lost his place in the side, he was on the bench. Eboue was playing defensive midfield and actually had an alright game. He played there once in pre-season and he did well then too. If at the end of last season someone told me that Eboue would replace Flamini, I think I would’ve cried, however the boy did well yesterday so credit to him. I still don’t think he is the answer though; a strong signing would really boost the confidence.

Bendtner partnered Adebayor upfront leaving van Persie on the bench. I was worried that Robin might’ve picked up another injury so soon but I think he’s ok, probably just getting a rest. He wasn’t in great form on Wednesday night so maybe Wenger gave the opportunity to the hungry Bendtner to impress.

We started the game quite well, and we were putting pressure on West Brom in the opening minutes. I was looking for us to start positively after a not so great performance against FC Twente, and we did.

As I said, we did look lively in the opening stages, but I wasn’t expecting a goal as early as the 4th minute! It was a good goal too; Bendtner sent Clichy going down the left who played it to Denilson who was reaching the byline. He made a dangerous run and cut it inside right into the path of Samir Nasri who simply had to tap it home, 4 minutes into his debut.

The dream start for the young Frenchman and the dream start to our League campaign. That could’ve been anyone on the end of Denilson’s squared ball but I’m glad it was Nasri. That goal will do his confidence good. He took it well too, would’ve been embarrassing if he’d missed it.

Also, I thought it was kind of our players to score right at the beginning rather than the usual closing minutes, saved a bit of nerves anyway.

So for the first time at our new stadium we found ourselves 1-0 up on the opening day, and it was good.

That goal gave everyone a bit of confidence, but more importantly it ruined West Brom. It took them a while for them to find their feet again after suffering such an early blow and we capitalized with lots of pressure.

William Gallas went close with a long-range screamer. He was roaming forward when he realised no one was actually tracking him down. He thought why not, had a shot, and it was a pretty decent one; went just past the post in the end but would’ve been an awesome goal.

West Brom only had a couple of chances in the first half, I remember Almunia making one decent save, but we were by a mile the better team in the first 45. We were all over them. We tested Scott Carson from range a few times, whether that was due to his infamous spill with England, who knows? But it was worth a try and we came close a few times.

In the end we went in at half time 1-0 up but you felt like it should’ve been more. I was pretty relaxed though, I was sure we’d add to that score in the second half. However, once they’d kicked off I had a feeling that our bad luck would be back. West Brom were attacking with determination and nearly equalized early into the half.

Miller went down the left and had a shot, Almunia saved but the danger wasn’t clear. A rebound shot came in to a busy area but thankfully we got men back and I think it was Djourou that cleared it off the line. Phew. After this I knew we were really going to have to add to that single goal.

A few minutes later we had a perfect chance to do that. After many offsides, Adebayor timed it right this time and went through – one-on-one with the ‘keeper. He kept it under control, waited for Carson to make his move, opened his body and shot low towards the far post. It went agonisingly wide. He did everything right but just aimed it the wrong side of the post, really unlucky, should’ve been 2-0.

In the second half the visitors really started to give it a go. They’d finally got over conceding and were working to start a comeback. However down the other end we were proving just as deadly. Whenever West Brom got carried away on an attack, there we were breaking away and coming close. From open play too, we were creating chances to make it 2-0.

However, that killer instinct was missing. Yes we were dangerous, but I have to admit the Baggies’ defence wasn’t great so it was quite easy for us. We did create stuff, but it wasn’t really the best performance when you look at the big picture. On a better day we would’ve murdered that West Brom side. Our finishing wasn’t up to the standard and we messed up a lot of opportunities.

Towards the end of the game tired legs were clearly visible on both sides. We had that extra bit though and is was still helping us break away. We didn’t have that quality needed in front of goal though.

Full time came and it finished 1-0. The win is great but it really should’ve been more. We weren’t at our best but we were still good enough to overcome West Brom. Their fans might argue they deserved a point, but I think they were just lucky that we couldn’t finish off our chances.

Before I go, I just want to comment on Adebayor. Towards the end of the game he was booed after he mucked up another chance. Now, like most people I’m pissed off with Ade, he’s not exactly in my good-books at the moment, but I really didn’t like this booing. It wasn’t because he ruined that attack, that was what just sparked it off. He did a lot yesterday and you could see he was desperate for a goal, for the fans. I can see why he was booed, but I don’t agree with it. I will admit, I did boo a bit when his name was announced at th Emirates Cup, but now is the time to get on with it and jeering isn’t going to help anyone. Adebayor clearly reacted badly to it, he got on with the game but he didn’t look happy and at full time he was straight down the tunnel. All I’m saying is, lets not boo him guys, ok you don’t have to sing his name but I just think booing him is going to get us nowhere. Lets get behind him and give him that chance to get back in our favour again.

So it’s the perfect start so far. Next up it’s Fulham away on Saturday. However before then there’s another expertly timed round of international friendlies giving our players another chance to get injured. Hooray.

Thanks for reading.

West Brom Preview – The Prem is back 15 August, 2008

So here we are again. Back to what we love most. Tomorrow is the opening day of the Premier League season so that means today you get your usual The Cannon match preview.

It’s been a difficult summer for Arsenal fans, but nothing we’re not used to. Full of the usual frustration surrounding transfers and injuries. However, whatever happens we’re all still here on the opening day of the domestic season.

The football has already started for us though with FC Twente on Wednesday night. It wasn’t the greatest performance but we came through with the goods. We had a number of injuries for that game forcing an irregular XI but we should have a couple back for tomorrow afternoon.

Toure and Nasri are in contention for tomorrow’s squad after missing out in the week. Wenger says Kolo “could be” back and says Nasri will “hopefully” be involved. I’m expecting them to be back but it wasn’t 100% answers from Arsene.

That should improve things a little bit. Djourou did the job well the other night but I’d feel safer with Kolo in the side. Maybe Johann with retain his place and Toure will be on the bench but I can’t say. As for Nasri, the new summer signing, I think everyone’s expecting him to come straight into the starting side. He’s only 21, but at Arsenal that counts as an experienced player.

I’m excited by Samir’s arrival, he does look like a dangerous player and I’m expecting quite good things from him. He’s your typical tricky play-maker which we will play on the wing. He’s definitely a direct replacement for Alex Hleb but he offers something more in attack and is not afraid to shoot.

I hope he gets to play tomorrow. As I said above, he will be played out wide this season but with Cesc out at the moment I wouldn’t be surprised to see him play centrally with Eboue retaining his place on the wing.

Everything else is as expected, so here’s my guess at tomorrow’s team:

Almunia
Sagna – Toure – Gallas (c) – Clichy
Walcott – Denilson – Ramsey – Nasri
Adebayor – van Persie

I think if we start with Denilson and Ramsey again, they might be more familiar with each other after their game together on Wednesday. If that doesn’t go to plan then maybe move Nasri to the middle and I’ve always liked Denilson out wide. However, I’m sure Wenger’s strange obsession with playing Eboue might be seen again tomorrow…

West Brom have a few problems of their own. Striker Luke Moore, midfielder Robert Kore are all out. Their new Dutch signing Gianni Zuiverloon is at the Olympics but Abdoulaye Meite who joined from Bolton last week could start.

Of course, we should always feel confident going into a game against a team that’s just been promoted. However, they won’t be coming to The Grove just to make up the numbers, they’ll be coming to fight and wont go down easy. They will be well up for it.

They played some nice football last season and won the Championship with it, but don’t be surprised if they change their tactics to something more physical and with long balls being played up top.

Last season our opener was against Fulham, we went a goal down before coming back to win 2-1. The season before that we played Villa, they scored first and we equalised in the second half. I wouldn’t be surprised to see us go 1-0 down again tomorrow, but I don’t see us losing this game, no way. If we scrape a draw then it’s going to be really disappointing. I’ll be really happy if we win though, it’s important to get off to a good start and hopefully we should be able to do it against West Brom.

It’s a 12.45pm kick off tomorrow; so don’t forget to set those alarms. Speak to you on Sunday with the match report. COME ON YOU GUNNERS!

FC Twente 0-2 Arsenal – 16/08/08 – (Champions League Qualifier) 14 August, 2008

Just what we needed, that. Ok, it wasn’t a great performance but it’s the result that counts and those two away goals should make it comfortable in the second leg.

We started with the team I expected with Ramsey and Denilson in midfield and Djourou at centre back. Although this wasn’t at Twente’s home ground, their fans had sold out their allocation and were making some noise (which continued well after the final whistle, so fair play to them apart from singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’), which inspired their team in the opening minutes.

We got off to a bad start, it has to be said. I accepted it though, this is the first professional game after pre-season and you can forgive them not for getting off to a flying start. However this poor form continued for much of the first half and it was starting to worry me.

FC Twente controlled the first half. They were playing a packed midfield outnumbering the inexperienced Ramsey and Denilson combination. However their first chance didn’t come until the 18th minute; Theo Walcott lost the ball in midfield and they broke immediately. Elia was sent through on goal but Almunia did well to get off his line so quickly and dispossessed him. We’d cleared the danger but it was an early scare and an example of Twente’s pace and play.

In the 24th minute they had another great chance to take the lead. Denilson lost his man and Clichy let him slip inside after expecting him to go out wide. He drove through and blasted it high aiming for the near top corner. It was over the bar though and we could breathe again.

10 minutes later they broke through our defence another time but thankfully Almunia was sharp off the line again and it stayed 0-0. A few minutes before this we had our first attempt with Ramsey shooting from range but it was well over.

We created our first decent chance around 38 minutes. Robin van Persie showed some good work up the wing and put a deadly shot across the box but it was cleared for a corner. From that corner it fell deep to Clichy who hit it well swerving inside the post but it was saved. However it went straight into the path of Sagna but he could only send it the wrong side of the post.

Half time game and Wenger had some words to say in the break. We were lucky to not be behind, things had to change in the second half.

However, I didn’t feel like we’d made much improvement. Yes, we didn’t allow Twente any decent chances and we were showing promise going forward but nothing clinical was made. We weren’t playing ‘Arsenal football’ and it was so obvious how badly we were missing Fabregas.

When the hour came at it was still 0-0 with Twente still causing us problems I have to admit I had my head in my hands. I still thought we could qualify for the Champions League but I was just at dismay at how we were performing against a side of this quality.

Typical though, three minutes later we had taken the lead. It was from a free kick out on the right hand side with Robin van Persie to take. He whipped it in to a busy box and William Gallas made a run to the near post and bundled the ball across the line. It wasn’t the best goal technically because Gallas couldn’t get a solid touch on it but credit must go to him for the run and managing to get it across the line.

Once we went 1-0 up, you felt like we’d hold out.

With 7 minutes remaining we added the second. Walcott got down the right, looked up and squared it to Adebayor who just about managed to put it under the ‘keeper. The goalie got a bit of his leg to it but it wasn’t enough to stop it crossing the line.

So it finished up 2-0 and that’s all that we should really be looking at I suppose. No, it wasn’t the best performance ever, and I could pick out some players who didn’t look great but we came away with the 2-0 win and that’s what we went for. Job done.

The second leg is in two weeks time and Wenger says he will add to the squad before then. I bloody hope so. He said he was happy with the team he put out last night but admits he still needs to sign.

Looks like it might be one in and one out though. We’ve accepted a bid for Justin Hoyte from ‘Boro. Nothing finalised yet but I’ll update you on that when I get it.

That’s it for today. The Premier League starts in two days, who’s excited?

FC Twente Preview – Injury Problems Already 13 August, 2008

Today the 08/09 season starts and it’s all very exciting. However once again we’re stuck thanks to a heap load of injuries. Some of them are only slight knocks and some are more long term but this is how it stands going into tonight’s game with my best estimations on their comebacks:

Senderos (2 weeks), Toure (Saturday), Cesc Fabregas (1 or 2 weeks), Abou Diaby (1 month), Samir Nasri (Saturday), Eduardo (December), Tomas Rosicky (2009?), Amaury Bischoff (2009?) and Alex Song (Away at Olympics)

As you can see a lot of those are short-term problems but it still gives us a selection problem for tonight’s game. Here’s what Wenger thinks about all:

“I don’t know if it is the most problematic [I have ever had at the start of a campaign], but it is always tricky when you have players coming back late. You always try to rush the fitness a little bit. When you play a qualifier you are a bit more pushy with players who come back late and that’s when you get injuries. That is what happened with Fabregas.

But I don’t panic because we have worked very hard to build up these young players. For example Djourou will play. He has been with us for three or four years. If he cannot play one game when we need him then we are wasting our time.”

At the end there Wenger has challenged Djourou to step up to the mark. He didn’t have a great season last season but as Arsene says he has to perform now otherwise he is no use to us. With Senderos and Toure out of tonight’s game he’ll be partnered with William Gallas at the back.

Defence isn’t the main problem tonight, it’s midfield. We’ve got Cesc, Diaby, Rosicky and Nasri all out, plus the fact we’re obviously desperate for a signing in the middle. As we stand, it looks like Denilson will be favoured to start with Cesc this season, but with him out it looks like 17-year-old Aaron Ramsey will make his first start tonight. Wenger describes it as an opportunity for Ramsey, and it is, but he never should’ve got this chance in the first place; Our squad is so, so thin at the moment and it’s really worrying. If we get a series of injuries like we usually do then we’re fucked.

I can just about take things as they are at the moment because I know most players are only out for a short time. However if those we’re more serious then I’d be very nervous. The squad is thin as it is, never mind with injuries. I’m still not 100% convinced Denilson is our first choice answer to our central midfield vacancy, I need to see him play more but wouldn’t it be nice to have another top class option anyway?

Wenger promises one more signing but it looks like he’s backing off it now. I don’t for the life of me know why. Everyone can clearly see how short we are going into this campaign, to be honest we need more than one signing but we’re so deprived as it is I’ll be happy if we just get that one. Bischoff isn’t an option, he’s out with a long term injury, he’s a long term gamble basically, I’m not holding my breath about him.

But, I suppose we’re going to have to make do with what we’ve got. I mean, we’ve got talented players, but compared to other teams we’re really, really young and there’s really, really few of them.

This is how I see us lining up tonight then:

Almunia
Sagna – Djourou – Gallas (c) – Clichy
Eboue – Ramsey – Denilson – Walcott
Adebayor – van Persie

We need to win tonight, this is a vital game. Steve McLaren will be looking at our squad thinking he might have a slight chance. More of a chance than against a full strength side anyway. We should be winning this game, I just hope those inexperienced players in the side are up to the task. I’m sure they will be. Come on Arsenal.

I’m Back – Quick News Roundup 12 August, 2008

Hello again. Sorry the blog has had no updates for a week but I had no Internet access over in Ireland so not only could I not update the site, I couldn’t even keep myself updated with the news. I did watch Sky Sports News a few times in my wild craving for any news but it was unsuccessful.

I did manage to watch both of our Amsterdam tournament games. Our first match was against the hosts, Ajax in a game where we went 2-0 down after conceding twice in a minute in the second half. However it was a fantastic second half turn-around to win the game 3-2. A match report can be read here if you want and there’s some pictures here.

It was a pretty much first 11 side we put out with Fabregas getting his first and only game of pre-season. Cesc said after the game that we can’t analyze the game too much and even though it was nice to complete a 3-2 comeback it was the performance we needed to focus on. He’s right.

That result took us to the top of the table with 6 points putting us into a strong position to retain our Amsterdam crown.

On the Saturday we played Seville and we lost 3-1 to them in our last meeting. A draw or a win would pretty much secure the trophy for us with Inter Milan or Ajax otherwise needing a big win in the later game. We fielded a 2nd string 11 for this game and it was going to be a tough test against a decent Seville side.

Bendtner and Vela were partnered up top again and it was the Mexican that opened the scoring after just 4 minutes after some great solo work. I was worried how this game might go but it looked like a positive start. However, we spent much of the rest of the game under pressure from Seville and we were hanging on to that 1-0 lead with everything we had.

The star of the show was Lukasz Fabianski. He was phenomenal in our goal and if it wasn’t for his form then it could’ve been a heavy defeat. I’m not sure if we was awarded with Man of the Match but if he wasn’t then he was robbed. He did concede 9 minutes from time, which I’m sure he won’t be happy with, but there was nothing he could’ve done about that goal. He still impressed very well.

So the final score was 1-1 which should’ve still been enough to win the tournament. Inter Milan beat Ajax 1-0 in the later game but that wasn’t enough for them to challenge us and we retained the cup. Pictures here of van Persie with the trophy.

There’s been speculation this week linking Justin Hoyte with a move away from his beloved Arsenal. He’s been at the club since day 1 and at 24 years of age he might have to seriously consider his future. He said earlier in the week that he wants to stay and fight for his place with Bacary Sagna, a tough task but he’s up to it. Arsene insists we’ve had no offers for him however ‘Boro’s chief European scout was seen in the stands at the Seville game possibly to look at Justin. We’ll have to see how this goes but it’ll be a real shame if he goes, he’s a true Gooner and loves the club, the sort of guy you want to keep; but if we have players that are better than him there’s not much you can do.

We’ve been linked with Swiss midfielder Goklan Inler but Wenger says he’s not especially tracking any midfielder at the moment. The search for Cesc’s partner goes on but it does look like we won’t buy as the transfer window ticks away. Wenger is starting to hint we might not get anyone, if you click that link above his quote ends with:

“We are a body short. But do not forget we have Diaby, who is not available, Song who is at the Olympics. We have Nasri and Rosicky, who were not in Amsterdam. Then there’s Bischoff as well [who is currently injured], so we have plenty of players.”

Not too convinced to be honest. Especially now that Diaby has been declared injured, again. He’s going to be out for a month so it looks at the moment like Denilson will start the season with Cesc. Wenger was pleased with their combination against Ajax and says they are likely to start the season together as things stand.

Cesc isn’t in the squad for tomorrow’s qualifier against Twente so it’s going to have to be Ramsey or someone partnering Denilson then. I’ll save all that talk for tomorrow though in the first official match preview of the season. Anyone else excited?

Ok well I’ll speak to you tomorrow then. Thanks for reading.

News update + I’m off for a few days 5 August, 2008

I spoke to you this morning so there’s not really much to update you on, however a fresh interview has come out with Bacary Sagna who talks about a few things including how we can still win the title. He also talks about the new arrival Samir Nasri but he begins with his absence from the team at the end of last season coinciding with our dip in form:

“It was not just because of me. Everything changed, some players were playing not in their positions, and it is always difficult when you change everything. But it was difficult personally to see my team-mates losing games.

This season, we will try to be wiser. We will show everyone we are still the Gunners and that we can win the title. We play to win everything and we will try to do it.

I have not been playing for five months, so it is great to be back here with all my mates. We have been getting better and better. We are playing quite well at the moment, and won on Sunday against a good team. We showed everyone that we can still play well, even if we have lost some players.

I think he [Samir Nasri] can do it and will show everyone he can play very well. Samir is a very good player and we are lucky to have signed him. I have played alongside him in the French national team. I believe he will show everyone he can play very well and will find his place in the Arsenal team.”

In every single player interview this summer, the focus has been on winning trophies next season. It could just be that the interviewer asks them but I do hope that there’s a strong desire to right our wrongs from last season. I like what Sagna says there: “We are still the Gunners” and “We play to win everything and we will try to do it.”. I know if we have fight and determination this season we can win that long awaited title. It’s going to take hard work though.

Sagna seems to know a bit about Nasri and it sounds like he rates him. He does look good but I do think he’s going to take a little while to settle in. Sagna slotted straight into the team and English football but I don’t think that’ll happen with Nasri to be honest. You never know, I’ll probably be totally wrong.

Tomorrow night we go away to Huddersfield Town and the Squad has been announced for that game. It’s pretty much a reserve side with a few of the younger pre-season stars thrown in:

Nacer BARAZITE, Kyle BARTLEY, Johan DJOUROU, Jay EMMANUEL-THOMAS, Lukasz FABIANSKI, Rui FONTE, Emmanuel FRIMPONG, Kieran GIBBS, Gavin HOYTE, Justin HOYTE, Henri LANSBURY, Vito MANNONE, Havard NORDTVEIT, Aaron RAMSEY, Mark RANDALL, Jay SIMPSON, Theo WALCOTT, Sanchez WATT, Carlos VELA, Jack WILSHERE

I reckon we’ll start with a reserves-look XI and then those players with more first team experience will come on as subs. I reckon that those one’s in red will be going to Amsterdam this weekend so we wont want to tire them out.

I’m going to Ireland early tomorrow morning so there’ll be no match report for tomorrow night’s game. I might be able to get onto the blog a few times while I’m out there so make sure you check the site. I plan to watch the Amsterdam tournament while I’m away so should be able to write about that. Normal service will resume in 7 days. See ya.

Robin van Persie vows to stay fit 5 August, 2008

“I have learned a lot in the last two years because I have been injured so much. I learned what my body can take and what it can’t, so it was an interesting period for me.

I hope next season will not be so unlucky with injuries. But at the moment, I just do not want to think about that, the negative stuff. If you think positive, you get positive.

My target is to be as fit as possible after a month because the season is long. We have to build it all up slowly with gym work, cardio work and games. It is really important for me to get a good start.”

This is the latest from Robin van Persie and I think it is what has been on everyone’s mind. Robin is a very talented player, he can do things with the ball most people can’t, he has a killer instinct and a great shot. He is a deadly striker. However, we’ve never seen his true talent to the full extent because his seasons are always cut short by injuries.

Last year we got a brilliant cameo from him early on. I think he had a record of something like 5 goals in 7 and we thought maybe this is the year that he actually made the impact. I tipped him as the one to look out for, for the 07/08 season. To start of with it looked like I was right, he was scoring for fun. Then the inevitable happened and he picked up another long-term injury.

The same happened the season before that, ever since he’s been at the club his time has been blighted by injury.

When I was at the pub the other day for the Emirates Cup, we were talking about the new season and the subject of Robin came up. I was asked what my thoughts on him were for the new season. I said that he’s a fantastic player and one that can be a real match winner for us but he has to stay fit…and that’s a big ‘but’.

If he can stay injury free for a whole season then he is going to be incredible. Better than Adebayor last season. I seriously think this guy is the best player we have at Arsenal along with Fabregas. That’s how much I rate him. He’s just got to stay fit though. For me, it’s make or break for him this season. If he plays a handful of games and gets injured again for the rest of the season then I’m sorry, he has to go. As much as I wouldn’t want him to he just has to. There’s no way we can keep a player who is so unreliable.

Ok, say Wilshere turns out to be this fucking God at football. Better than ‘Kaka, Ronaldo, Fabregas and Henry put together. Scores a hat trick every game and always leaves you stunned at his ability. Well imagine that he could only stay fit for one game a season, his bones were so brittle that he’d get injured just from one game and that was him out for months. We wouldn’t be able to keep him would we? I know that’s an exaggeration but that’s the sort of problem with van Persie.

Anyway…van Persie also says in that interview that he believes that any one of the top four can win the title. He also mentions that we had a good pre-season last year yet after 1 minute of play in our opening game against Fulham we were 1-0 down! So it doesn’t really count for much, just fitness. We probably weren’t prepared mentally for that first game against Fulham, or maybe Lehmann was just an idiot. We’ll never know.

Robin’s also been talking about Adebayor saying that the two can strike a strong partnership this season. They looked good together at the weekend actually and it’s only early days yet. If those two can get even better as a partnership then we’re laughing. Imagine an Adebayor on the form he was last season and a (fully fit) van Persie on top of his game in attack. We’d score so many goals, it’s quite exciting.

And finally, Armand Traore has declared his future to the club after signing a new long-term deal. The left-back come left-winger is a highly regarded prospect at the club and I’m sure everyone is delighted that he won’t be leaving any time soon.

I know he has his critics, some say that his defending isn’t great and his positional work isn’t spot on, but the same could be said of Ashley Cole and Gael Clichy when they first started. Those are two names that Traore has to live up to and it’s a big task for him. I’m a fan of his and I believe he can do it. Gael Clichy is fucking awesome so he’s got some work to do to beat him for a place in a team, however if he did then Traore would be incredible.

He’s got the pace, he can dribble as good as anyone. Defensive work can be sorted out in training but he’s got the natural gifts to take him all the way.

He’s started playing on the left wing recently and I think I remember him saying in an interview that that was his new preferred position. He is quite suited to that role too so he has got a couple of options.

He probably needs to go out on loan next season to gain some experience but Wenger might want to keep him as Clichy’s back up. I suppose we could stick Gallas on the left but he’ll get the hump about that.

Right I suppose that’s your lot, but I’ll be back later. I’m going to Ireland for a few days tomorrow morning so the blog will be quiet. I’ll explain later. Thanks for reading.

Emirates Cup 2008 & Wilshere new no.19 4 August, 2008

Hamburg’s 3-0 win over Juventus in the first game yesterday was enough for the to take the 2008 Emirates Cup. They lost 2-1 to Real Madrid on Saturday but won the cup on 7 points. In the end, all four clubs won one, and lost one, so it was actually quite a tight tournament but when it’s a point per goal in a competition like this all it takes it one big win.

On Saturday we faced Juventus with a fairly young side. Senderos played his first game of the summer, he was partnered by his Swiss mate Djourou with Fabianski in goal. Bendtner and Vela started upfront and Wilshere also got his start first start in front of the home support in a first team fixture.

Even with that side, we were getting more of the ball. We were getting forward quickly but lacked end product. We had a few shots at goal but nothing clear-cut. Buffon was tested outside the box on a few occasions but he was equal to them.

We’d had most of the attacks in the first half with Juve only managing two or three chances. However it was the visitors who took the lead in the 38th minute. They won a free kick in a dangerous position and Iaquinta stepped up to take it. It looked to me like he missed kicked it but it could’ve been planned, the ball went low across the goal going wide of the left post but David Trezeguet was sliding in at the far post and diverted it in.

It looked blatantly offside too but the goal was given. Haven’t actually seen a replay of it but I was quite close to the action. Trezeguet had a header ruled out for offside a few minutes earlier but he got lucky this time and it was 1-0 at half time.

For the second half we brought on some of the big guns, Gallas, Adebayor and Diaby came on at half time, then Sagna, Nasri and Walcott got a run out after an hour. It didn’t really change much to be honest. We got a bit tighter in defence and we did create a bit more going forward but there weren’t many chances.

In the end Buffon kept his clean sheet and we lost the first game 1-0, leaving it all to do on the Sunday. With Hamburg completing that 3-0 win earlier in the day it meant we had to beat Real Madrid 4-0. I thought it was possible but I didn’t really care to be honest, I was treating this as a separate game and if we won it by any margin I would be happy.

We lined up against Real Madrid (match report here) with a nearly full-strength 11. Toure and Fabregas are still in training after their late starts so they were replaced by Senderos and Diaby. Denilson partnered Diaby in central midfield with both looking to impress to fill that spot next to Cesc in next season’s team; The Brazilian completed two 90 minute performances compared to Diaby’s second half against Juve and only 75 minutes against Real Madrid. Maybe that’s a clue to Wenger’s preference but that could be due to Diaby not playing in Austria.

We went close early on with Walcott forcing Jerzy Dudek into a close-range save. We started this game much better that yesterday’s and that was what I was looking for seeing as we had our preferred 11 out. Adebayor had a good chance after half an hour when van Persie crossed it from the left, he leapt well but the header was off target, should’ve done better.

Just before half time Adebayor had another great chance but Dudek saved well and down the other end Raul broke through but Almunia stood his ground and put off the Champions League top scorer. It ended 0-0 at half time.

We took the lead 5 minutes into the second half when van Persie won a penalty after being pushed in the area. Adebayor rushed straight to the scene and made sure he was the one who got the opportunity to score. He put it high into the top right corner, Dudek went the right way but couldn’t reach it, decent penalty. Adebayor celebrated to the fans behind the goal by kissing the badge on his shirt and thumping it as his ran back in true Thierry Henry fashion, however you knew when Henry was doing it meant something and it wasn’t a lame apology.

It’s going to take more than a badge kiss to earn an the respect of most Arsenal fans. The tabloids today reckon he’s been forgiven after that ‘crucial’ goal against Madid. Rubbish. Wenger has told Adebayor he needs to work hard on the pitch to earn back the respect of the fans. Goals and committed play is what is going to get him back in the good books here, not one converted penalty and badge-kiss.

Midway through the first half Adebayor did do something that looked quite promising. He picked up the ball about 40 yards out and drove past about three Real defenders with skill before putting the ball just inches the wrong side of the far post. It would’ve been a great goal and the sort of thing that’s going to get me warming to him again: Determination and goals.

The game finished 1-0, which I think is something we can be proud of against a strong Real Madrid side. It wasn’t enough to win the tournament but I think I’ll get over it, all the info on this years Emirates Cup can be found here. Wenger spoke about the tournament after the game and he seems pretty pleased with everything. We really are coming on well ahead of the new season and the squad seems full of exciting and improved players.

One of those has to be young Jack Wilshere. He’s had a brilliant pre-season and his hard work has been rewarded with a place in our first team squad. He’s been given Gilberto’s old no.19 after playing in the Emirates Cup under no.55. I was thinking about getting that on the back of my new shirt but now he’s got no.19 I bet lots of people will go for it, still wouldn’t be a bad choice though!

I wasn’t sure what Jack Wilshere’s role was going to be next season but I think this must be a clue. I still don’t think he’ll break into out first 11 but what an impact sub this boy could be next season. He’s just full of energy, he’s willing to take anyone on and can score a goal too. The current youngest goalscorer record belongs to Fabregas at 17 years 113 days, but I wonder what the odds are on Wilshere breaking that next season, who doesn’t even turn 17 until 1st January.

It’s going to be an exciting season for him and an even more exciting season for us. I can’t wait now. Next up it’s Huddersfield on Wednesday evening before the Amsterdam tournament at the weekend.

Bit of a long post today but I haven’t spoken to you all weekend. Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow.

FC Twente in the Champions League & other news 1 August, 2008

The breaking news today is that we’ll be facing Dutch side FC Twente in the qualifying round of the Champions League. Not the easiest draw but certainly a team we should be beating. I heard they got into this stage by beating Ajax in a playoff, however they are an average side in the Dutch league who have done very well for themselves even to reach this far.

A lot is being made of their new manager, Steve McLaren facing us. Frankly, I couldn’t give a shit. After what he did to England I have no interest in that man. Last time he brought a side to face Arsenal we beat them 7-0, the same again would go down nicely. Steve joined Twente because of the prospect of European football, I’m glad that we’re the ones that have the chance to end that dream. I just wish I could’ve seen his face when he was watching the draw. I can imagine a loud ‘Fuck it’ could be heard from his office.

We play them away in the first leg which will be played on the 12th or 13th August and they come to The Grove on the 26th or 27th. I was tempted with the away trip but I very much doubt I will for a number of reasons. Will almost certainly be going to the 2nd leg though. It’ll be our first competitive match of the season, a few days before out first Premiership match against West Brom.

Also in the draw today, Liverpool got Standard Liege from Belgium and Barcelona play Beitar Jerusalem or Wisla Krakow. The one to avoid though was Athletico Madrid who could’ve faced us or any of the seeded teams, FC Schalke get the task of playing them.

We play in the Emirates Cup tomorrow and our first match is against Juventus, and on Sunday we face Real Madrid to defend our title. Should be good fun, I’m just looking forward to be back down at The Grove again supporting the Arsenal. Samir Nasri thinks it’s important to play top sides in pre-season such as Juve and Real. He also says how excited he is to make his first appearance in front of the home crowd:

“I am very excited to play at Emirates and give my all to Arsenal. I have seen in the past weeks the passion this club generates. It is a family. I am very excited and I hope it will be a great season. I am very happy to be an Arsenal player.

I have got to know my team-mates and I have been very happily surprised about the stage preparations have reached. I like very much the way Arsenal play and the team spirit. They are all young players who appreciate each other and that can be felt on the pitch.

As for this weekend, we have every chance to win this tournament. In terms of preparation it is important to be playing top clubs like this straight away at the beginning of the season.”

I’m looking forward to seeing Samir in the flesh for the first time. He looked good on TV the other night against Stuttgart and I bet he’ll be out to impress again this weekend. Gael Clichy thinks that Nasri can cut it in the Premiership. If those two can form a solid partnership on the left wing next season it could be really dangerous for opposition teams.

Clichy’s also been talking about our title challenge. He thinks we have what it takes for us to win our first title since 2004. Gael says we have a great group of players here and we will close in on Man United. He seems really determined for us to win some silverware this season, I know he’ll do all he can in every game, if everyone plays with that extra spirit and determination we might get somewhere.

Wenger has confirmed that William Gallas will remain as captain this season. There was a lot of talk suggesting that he’d lose his position after his mistakes last season but if you think back he was a very inspirational skipper early on in the season. I’m sure he’ll learn from his mistakes and help us next season. I’m backing him for now.

Wenger has also refused rule out signing Gareth Barry and says he’ll sign a good quality central midfielder if he can find one. He says that money is not an issue; it’s just a case of finding the right man. I do hope we find someone but I know we’ll cope if we don’t so I’m not going to get too involved in this.

Now I suppose the top story that people will be looking is about Adebayor.He does some explaining here if you want to read that, most of it is lies anyway so I’m not interested. What he’s done is on par with Ashley Cole at the moment, I don’t want to hate him but I really don’t know what I can do, he’s brought this on himself. Arsene Wenger’s backed him up but that’s what he had to do. He’s not getting any headlines or lead stories from me today anyway…

Happy Friday people, enjoy the match tomorrow. Sorry if tonight’s post seemed a bit bullet-pointy; I wrote a whole post then just my luck: a load of new stories came up on Arsenal.com and I had to try and fit them all in. Anyway, there you go, thanks for reading.