1 Day to go: Transfer Talk Round-up 31 December, 2008

Midnight tonight is not only the start of a new year, but more importantly the start of a brand new shiny transfer window. The rumours have kicked off already and the big news today.

The Sun, The Daily Mail and The Guardian are all reporting that we will bid £12m for Mikel Arteta. He would be a great replacement for Cesc Fabregas and would need no time to settle into the league. He’s playing well for Everton this season scoring two goals at the weekend. He’s a free kick specialist and a great passer.

My only worry is would he be content with only being a replacement for our captain whilst he’s out injured. When Cesc returned where would he fit in? Maybe he could be used on the right but I don’t see a Fabregas and Arteta partnership in the middle – they’re too alike. We need a defensive midfielder in there too.

In any case, the possibility of signing Arteta is quite exciting to me. As with all these rumours we’re just going to have to wait and see.

We’ve also been linked with Shay Given this week but Newcastle say he’s not leaving. I don’t blame him really, he’s loved up there and guaranteed first team football. The only way I see him going is if they get relegated.

When I read this story I pretty much rubbished it straight away. Wenger has a lot of faith in Almunia and Fabianski and seeing as Manuel is our stand-in skipper it seems a bit odd to go and sign a ‘keeper. I don’t think we really need one either; I know Almunia’s not exactly the best goalie in the world but he’s a good shot stopper, good in the air and reads the game well. Goalkeeper is certainly not the most urgent of signings at the moment.

Nicklas Bendtner has rubbished reports of him leaving saying he enjoys playing at Arsenal:

“I don’t think about all the rumours because I am an Arsenal player and really love it here. I hope that I can say stay here for a long time because to me Arsenal are the dream club.”

Well there you go. I know a lot of Gooners aren’t exactly Bendtner’s biggest fans but we have to remember the guy is still young. He is frustrating sometimes but does occasionally show that he has got what it takes; we just have to give him time.

Well that it’s it for today and that’s it for 2008. Thanks a lot to everyone who has read the site over the past 12 months. Regulars will know that it’s been an on and off year on the site with me moving away but I do try to keep everything up to date when I get the chance! Thanks for all your support.

Have a good night tonight everyone and a Happy Transfer Window.

I’m hoping/thinking we might get Alonso… 30 December, 2008

I don’t know, but I’m developing a bit of a hunch here. Things are starting to add up. In the summer we came as close as it comes to signing someone without actually doing it and I think this January Arsene will renew his interest.

Arsene was said that he’s looking for a creative midfielder now and the press have immediately started to force the name of Arshavin upon him. His agent has been playing the story up which doesn’t surprise me – he hasn’t really stopped since Euro 2008 and will continue to look for his big pay day.

There’s a £20m price tag on him and I just don’t think we’ll pay that for a 27-year-old. He’s good, but I don’t think he’s really what we need. I mean he’d be a great addition to our squad no doubt about it but if we’re going to spend that sort of money we might as well spend it on someone we need more.

The reason for my new found Alonso thinking is a number of things. Firstly, he was given the penalty to take in Liverpool’s 5-1 thrashing of Newcastle on Sunday – usually the gesture for a man leaving the club. I’m not sure if he was just the best penalty taker they had on the pitch or not, maybe I’m just jumping to conclusions but you never know.

Also, Cesc has been saying Alonso has been calling him every day. Hmmm. Fabregas says that Alonso has been worried about his challenge that got him injured but I mean what have they got to talk about every day?!? Maybe there’s something going on there.

I know Xabi Alonso was keen to come to us in August so I see no reason why he wouldn’t be any more. We’ll see how this one develops.

In other news Jay Simpson has signed a new long term contract. He had a decent couple of games in the Carling Cup this season and is definitely one for the future with him only turning 20 earlier this month. I’ve heard he’s going on loan to West Brom in January, which should be good for him. He did well when he went out to Millwall so he’ll be looking to impress again.

And finally, Almunia reckons Gallas is doing better without the pressure of captaincy. I think he has reacted quite well since Cesc took over, he’s got his head down and pretty much got on with it. It wouldn’t surprise me though if he’s still looking for a way out of the club this, or next transfer window.

That’s all for today, I’m off to play some footy, time to work off all that Christmas food.

Thanks for reading.

Arsenal 1-0 Portsmouth – 28/12/08 – (Premier League) 29 December, 2008

Not the greatest performance I’ve ever seen us put in but three points is three points and that’s exactly what we needed. In fact, it was probably one of the most boring games I’ve been to. There was no creative spark about us; possibly it was fatigue from playing just 48 hours previously.

Adebayor returned after serving a suspension and we lined up 4-4-2. However, Robin van Persie was rested and it was Bendtner who partnered Ade. van Persie had played the lone striker on Boxing Day so you could excuse him being tired.

We were very unimaginative in the first half. We were slow, too patient and lacked ambition to go forward. Portsmouth weren’t playing all that well either. It looked like their emphasis was on defense and we cancelled each other out.

It took nearly half an hour for the first piece of action to come and it was nearly a surprise goal for Pompey. They put a cross in from the right and Crouch rose above Gallas to head it against the post. It wasn’t a very powerful header but I think he had Almunia beaten. A bit of a heart in the mouth moment but it was ok in the end.

It was going to take a goal to get any life out of this game and the visitors found a bit of confidence from nearly taking the lead and tried to commit a few more forward.

It nearly worked in our favor though 12 minutes from the break. Adebayor was stood in line with the defense but unmarked and when we won possession Diaby put him straight through on goal. Ade rounded James who’d come out to block but somehow Campbell got a touch on it to take it away from him slightly and Distin beat him to it to kick it clear. Should’ve really scored from that and on another day I think he might’ve done.

So half time came and it was a very much deserved 0-0. Apart from those two chances above nothing happened. Both sides would need to improve in the second half if they wanted to keep the crowd awake.

We nearly came out with a bang, just two minutes after the restart David James flapped at a corner and it fell to Silvestre who headed it towards goal. It fell to a group of players on the line including Adebayor but he couldn’t finish.

15 minutes it was the same story – James misjudged another ball in and it came to Adebayor to the right of the goal who if he hit it first time had pretty much an open goal. He took a touch though and defenders got back on the line but in the end his shot was just wide.

It still wasn’t really happening for us. We had a few corners and free kicks which were about our only chances but that was all we had and we couldn’t capitalize on them. The crowd was calling for van Persie but Wenger obviously didn’t want to risk him and Carlos Vela replaced Eboue. He injected a bit of pace into the side and was causing their right back a bit of trouble.

We had him on the left, Bendtner on the right and Nasri had been playing behind Adebayor. It was different but it was suiting the players. Oddly I thought Bendtner did ok from the wing, I can’t complain too much. Nasri was offering his creativity from the middle in Cesc’s absence and we had the lone striker at top. It was alright – it was a solution. But it wasn’t really good enough, we still struggled to score.

Nasri had a great chance about 15 minutes from time. He was put through from the right and was one-on-one but with a bit of an angle. David James did well though coming out quickly to block Samir.

It felt like we were getting closer to forcing a late goal and eventually it came.

Vela was fouled going down the right with ten minutes to go and Denilson got ready to swing a free kick in the area. We piled the box and it was a good ball into the penalty spot. Gallas beat James to it and headed in another vital goal.

The ‘keeper had made a series of misjudgments coming out for the ball from crosses and this time he was made to pay for it. Credit must go for Gallas though for being in the right place and it right time and making a great leap to the ball.

We could’ve added a second late on but with the Villa comeback still fresh in the memory all we wanted now was the final whistle to go. When it did, it was relief all round the Grove and it felt great to have three points back in the bag again.

Not the best performance ever but there’s not really any point going into it. We’d played just two days previously and all we set out to do was win. I don’t think anyone cares how we achieved it but all that matters is that we got there in the end.

That win puts us level on points with Man United and Aston Villa now, but United have three games in hand over us and Villa just the one. ‘Boro go to Old Trafford tonight looking to do us a favor and Aston Villa travel to Hull tomorrow.

The next game is in the FA Cup in the new year. A well deserved rest for the players now but it’s time for the manager to get busy, the transfer window opens in just a few days time. More on that later. Thanks for reading.

Aston Villa 2-2 Arsenal – 26/12/08 – (Premier League) 27 December, 2008

Yet again we are disappointed. I thought I was getting a nice Christmas present from Arsenal when we went 2-0 up but you just can’t trust this lot to hold the lead.

We played a 4-5-1 or a 4-4-1-1 with Diaby playing the attacking midfielder. In defence we were missing Gael Clichy and Djourou who was due to start but was injured in the warm up. That meant Silvestre and Toure came into the side. Alex Song looked poor again but had to come off just before half time meaning Aaron Ramsey was given a chance.

We started the game badly. And continued that way. In the first half Aston Villa hit the woodwork 3 times, had countless chances and were controlling the game. They should’ve had this one wrapped up by half time but they were punished for not scoring and ended up going in at the break one nil down.

The goal came in the 40th minute completely against the run of play. Nigel Reo-Coker had the ball outside his own box and took a touch to clear it but Denilson charged down on it and got himself one-on-one with the ‘keeper. Credit to the Brazilian it was a cool finish under Brad Friedel and we found ourselves somehow 1-0 up.

Aston Villa’s was misery was made even worse just before the break when Agbonlahor’s looping header looked destined for the open goal but Sagna managed to get back and acrobatically cleared the ball off the line with an overhead kick.

I checked the stats at half time and that was our only shot. Aston Villa had 9 shots and 4 or 5 of which were great scoring chances.

We looked terrible defending the set piece and there was not a single person who could believe we were leading at the break. In fact Arsene Wenger had it all to say in the half time team talk, O’Neill would’ve asked for much more of the same.

However we came out better in the second half and enjoyed our best spell of the game. Three minutes after the restart we had double our lead.

It all started with a great piece of skill from Diaby on the right wing back in our half. He was surrounded by two players right on the touch-line but did a little back heel flick to put it past his man and send himself free down the right. He sent Eboue running towards goal and continued his run. Eboue played a little ball back to Diaby in the box and he finished well over Friedel.

A great goal and it looked like he really enjoyed it from his celebration. In fact that’s the first time I’ve seen Diaby show a bit of emotion this season. Just goes to show you what he can do if he applies himself.

2-0 up and we kept on going. We should’ve had a third in the 56th minute when there was a bit of a goalmouth scramble. Ramsey miss-kicked but got it to van Persie who had a simple shot but managed to hit the post. The re-bound wasn’t converted either and Villa must’ve felt like they’d been handed a lifeline in the game.

Somewhat against the run of play Villa found themselves just one goal behind us instead of what should’ve been three. I had a feeling that missed chance before the hour would haunt us and it did. Agbonlahor was sent down the right and it caught us out Gallas tried to catch him but in the end stupidly slid in from the wrong side and ended up bringing him down in the box. It was an awful decision from Gallas in what otherwise seemed an ok game for him.

Gareth Barry converted the penalty and it was 2-1. I think ever Arsenal fan knew what was next.

The home side bombarded us for the final half an hour and we were hanging on for dear life. We had brought on Clichy for Nasri and had a sort of 5-man defence but with Clichy playing the proper wing back. It wasn’t particularly defensive. We resorted to just keeping the ball away from our goal and up their end of the pitch and it looked like it was going to be enough when the 4 minutes of extra time were announced.

But Villa broke and they ended up equalizing though Zat Knight who blasted it in from the edge of the box. Absolutely gutted. We just couldn’t hang on those few minutes longer and we’d lost the chance to get an incredibly valuable three points.

I suppose after that first half we should be happy with the draw. The most important thing yesterday was not losing and we were very lucky not to have done so.

There’s no real time to go into much detail with this game and attention now turns to the Portsmouth game tomorrow! No time for a preview but expect Clichy and Adebayor to return. Song and Djourou look like they will miss out.

Pompey aren’t on great form and we just have to capitalize on that. Nothing but a win is acceptable.

Thanks for reading, speak to you soon.

Merry Christmas from The Cannon 24 December, 2008

Merry Christmas everyone and I hope you all have a great day. My top tip for a happy Christmas: Don’t think about Arsenal.

I’ll try do a write up tomorrow previewing the Villa game. If not, speak to you in a few days.

Have a good one, don’t get too pissed. No wait actually do.

Cesc injured – Buy the bloke that broke him 23 December, 2008

“The news is not good because it is a partial rupture of the medial knee ligament which is taking three to four months injury time,” revealed Wenger at his pre-match press conference. “We count four, we know he will be working very hard to come back earlier but I count four months.

How much [we will miss him] is difficult to say, the only thing we can say for sure is that we will miss him of course. We have to find a way to compensate for the fact he will not be on the pitch, and give everybody a bit more. I am sure we can deal with it. When he comes back he can help us to get over the line in the final months.

It is a blow of course, but we can show we have the strengths to deal with it. Of course it is a blow to lose Fabregas in the middle of the season – for four months – but it is a good opportunity to show we can deal with it and have the needed strengths.”

Those, the dreaded words from Arsene Wenger this afternoon. Last night I joked to my brother that Fabregas was out for the season but it’s come back to haunt me as he could now be out for four months.

There’s not a lot else you can say apart from this is a massive blow. In fact this is the worst thing that could probably happen to us. Cesc is the only thing keeping us together and makes our midfield problems even worse.

Wenger admits that he is now likely to buy after this but still says that we have quality in the side. I’m glad that Arsene has finally shown intent to buy, because now we really are fucking desperate. Before we needed a decent midfielder to partner Cesc and control the midfield. Now we need one of them plus a good creative midfielder.

I say we should buy the guy who injured Fabregas – Xabi Alonso. We were heavily linked with him over the summer and I’ve even heard he went as far as signing a contract but the fee was not agreed.

I think we should go in for the kill this January. He might not be as cheap now Benitez seems to have him back in his good books but I think if he is still keen to come we should do it. He and Cesc are good friends off the pitch and he might even be the deciding factor for Cesc staying at Arsenal. He says he went to see Cesc after the game and they knew the injury was bad, he says he also spoke to him yesterday about it. There was no way this was intentional, it was a 50:50 challenge.

I think Alonso would be a great replacement for Cesc whilst he’s out, then hopefully a good partner for him when he returns. I don’t know, we’ll see.

In other transfer news Arsene Wenger says there have been no bids for Kolo Toure and Nicklas Bendtner. They’ve been linked with Manchester City and Spartak Moscow respectively in recent tabloids but the manager has denied any approach. Both moves do seem like they could work but I think we need to concentrate on keeping players at the club at the moment with our squad so thin. I know there are some calling for Bendtner to fuck off to anyone that’ll take him but I think we need to keep even the most frustrating players. The emphasis should be on buying in January, not selling; we don’t want to make things worse.

Zenit St Petersburg are hoping we will make a £20m bid for Andrei Arshavin in January. He’s probably a player we could do with but I don’t see Arsene splashing the cash for a 27-year-old. I very much doubt this is happening but you never know…

Ok that’s enough for this evening, I want to go and cry about Cesc. See you later.

Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool – 21/12/08 – (Premier League) 22 December, 2008

So a point in the end and I suppose avoiding defeat was more important that getting the win. I am disappointed though because I fee this was a game we could’ve won.

We started with the same eleven I expected with Denilson starting on the wing with Cesc and Song in the middle. It was obvious just how important this game was to both sides and no one dared commit and make a mistake in the opening minutes.

Long range efforts were tried in vain and hoping balls were put into the box with no result. It was going to take something a bit special to open the scoring and that’s exactly what we produced after 25 minutes.

Nasri picked up the ball around the half way line and somehow turned and picked out van Persie brilliantly who’d made a tricky run toward goal. Robin took a touch away from the defender, sprinted onto it before lashing it past Reina at the near post.

A great assist and a great finish, definitely one of van Persie’s best considering the difficulty and importance – 1-0 Arsenal.

We took control of things after that goal and the crowd was lifted. Liverpool weren’t getting much out of the game, maybe one long range effort from Gerrard you could call their best chance.
Just as I was thinking right lets take this comfortably to half time and take it from there – Liverpool scored. It all started when Gael Clichy took a series of throw-ins moving further and further up the touchline when Daniel Agger had enough of it and booted it up field. Robbie Keane was quick to react unlike Gallas and Djourou and he burst through and smashed it in the near top corner.

Fuck.

Would have to be that weedy, little, fucking gypsy-looking, caravan-moving, cart-wheeling cunt. Such a silly goal to concede too, no one was tight on Keane and was allowed the space to run onto that ball and equalize.

Liverpool took heart from that goal and had a series of chances before half time. Almunia made a great low save from a long range shot from Kuyt and the Dutchman put in on a plate for Gerrard a few minutes later after catching Clichy in possession and squaring into the empty box but the sliding in Gerrard couldn’t finish it.

So it went in half time and I was gutted that we couldn’t hold on to that lead but in fact we were very lucky not to be 2-1 at this point. I was surprisingly pessimistic at the half time interval and after seeing Fabregas limp off down the tunnel in tears I was worried.

It turned out that Cesc was unfit to carry on after a 50:50 collision with Alonso with seconds to go in the first half. Fucking annoying. He got a scan on his knee today but I’ve heard no news yet. Yesterday is was suspected ligament damage and a possible month out. Diaby came on for the second half moving out wide and Denilson played alongside Song.

It wasn’t a great start to the second half. Liverpool were bossing the game without Fabregas in there and looked the more likely to score. The game was just starting to open up again and was getting exciting when Howard Webb decided to ruin it.

Adebayor was given a second yellow card in the 62nd minute for this challenge, it looks a lot worse in the photo but basically the ball came upfield, Ade got his body around it to shield it and take the ball on. Yes it was physical but this is not a non-contact sport, far worse body-checking goes on when a defender is trying to let a ball go out for a free kick. I’m not sure what the yellow was for, maybe Webb thought he saw an elbow but I can tell you 100% that if there was anything close to that Adebayor wouldn’t have done it on purpose. Some have said that it could’ve been for Ade playing on a few seconds after the whistle went.

In any circumstance it was a very harsh card, as was his first yellow. Webb was very inconsistent – this was a very harsh sending off and the things he had been letting the Liverpool players get away with was unbelievable.

After the game Wenger was furious with the decision and said it’d be great if referees were so card-happy when teams are kicking us off the park. Adebayor also felt it was very harsh and thinks the referee made a mistake.

The Arsenal fans were not happy and showed it for the full remaining half an hour of the game. There was constant booing and chanting for Howard Webb mixed in with powerful singing. It was quite an atmosphere in the stadium. At one point I saw the Liverpool fans jumping around and clapping obviously mid-song but I could not hear a word. Makes you think why we can’t make this noise every game.

That piece of injustice really got the crowd going and it rubbed off on the team. We only had 10 men but the cheer every time we got the ball gave the players confidence. We broke almost every time we had the ball.

Song was doing well in the middle but Diaby was not up to standard again. He gave away the ball countless times and didn’t look like he gave a shit.

With about 5 minutes left Liverpool could’ve scored when Agger blasted a shot from range which went quite close. Nothing would break our spirit though and we were back attacking again.

Both teams gave everything from to the final minute and it was so obvious how badly both sides needed the win. In the end spoils were shared and a point each was probably fair.

So where does that put us? We’re still just sitting behind but I think we missed out on a massive chance yesterday. Next up we have Villa who are ahead of us now. We’ll go into that game with no Adebayor and no Fabregas. Not looking good.

Build up to that one to come. Thanks for reading

Liverpool Preview: Make or Break Time. 21 December, 2008

Well this is it – The most important game of our season so far and the one that could really decide our status the league this season. Win, and we’re only 5 points off the top and well in the pack. Lose and we’ll go an impossible-looking 11 points off the pace.

It’s a massive ’6-pointer’ and one we must come out on top of. Although the Scoucers have been leading the way for a few weeks now they haven’t been on extraordinary form. So just because they’re the highest ranked team in the league right now doesn’t mean they are unbeatable.

We can take heart from our victories over Man United and Chelsea but we cannot become complacent. Just because we beat them two doesn’t mean will we win against Liverpool. We need to show that same determination and that same increase in quality.

I think we can do it, I know they can do it. And I’m not too worried about Liverpool to be honest. Yes they have Gerrard who always seems to come up with the goods. But Torres is still out and will be a massive miss for them.

Looks like they might have to resort to Robbie ‘The Benchwarmer’ Keane up front and I’m sure he’d love the chance to play us. Otherwise they have Kuyt who I think they will want to play out wide.

As for us well Samir Nasri is back, everyone else is still out. So I think the team will be the same as against ‘Boro but with one of Diaby, Denilson or Song being replaced by Nasri:

Almunia
Sagna – Djourou – Gallas – Clichy
Nasri – Fabregas (c) – Denilson – Diaby
Adebayor – van Persie

Possibly Eboue will come in at right mid and Nasri will play on the left but other than that I’d be surprised to see many more changes. Maybe Wenger will insist on playing Song in the middle again, who knows.

I feel pretty safe with that team apart from those midfield issues. I see Adebayor causing some problems for the Liverpool defence and I hope our own back four will be able to cope with Liverpool’s threat.

Cesc’s going to have to be on top form to cancel out Gerrard. He needs to beat him to every ball, put him under constant pressure, boss the middle of the park and now allow him any space.

You might be able to tell, I’m really looking forward to this one. It’s a massively important game, it is literally make or break. My Birthday is tomorrow and the perfect present would be three points this afternoon.

I think a win here and hopefully a signing in January and we are certainly in with a title shot – Presuming we don’t fuck it up between now and January!

I’m sure the fans will create another special atmosphere again today. Red Action are urging fans to wear yellow in memory of Anfield ’89 and to try and raise the atmosphere. So if you are going do try to keep that in mind. I’m going to wear my new away top.

This is my first game for a little while and I can’t wait. My record hasn’t been great this season. I’ve seen us lose to Hull, Fulham, Villa and draw to Spurs! Not a good record, in fact I may have seen us drop points more times that we’ve won. So if we get a bad result tomorrow, blame me for being there.

It’s a 4:00pm kick off and live on Sky Sports 1. Make sure you find a way to watch it – this is a big one.

Right, I’m off. Speak to you soon.

Champions League Draw reaction 19 December, 2008

So – it’s Roma.

Not a bad draw, you can’t have too many complaints. There were some big teams in the hat so whoever got was going to be a challenge. Roma are a good side, they’re playing well at the moment and have some technically skillful players.

I think this is a good draw for us. Roma are a bit enough side to rouse our spirits but they’re not exactly the Harlem Globetrotters. We’ve done well against Italian sides in recent years and we beat Roma a few years ago in the competition thanks to Henry that night.

I’m not sure why, but I’m happy with Roma. I don’t feel quite so good now after losing 5-2 on aggregate against them on FIFA 09 this afternoon but that’s fine…we’ll come back from that.

Of course Rome is the host city for the final this year so it will be nice for us to get a feel of the stadium before we return in May. Here’s the rest of the draw:

Chelsea v Juventus
Villarreal v Panathinaikos
Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v FC Porto
Lyon v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Inter Milan v Manchester United

Some difficult ties in there for the English teams. I think the big one is United vs. Inter, I can just see it now Jose Mourinho recreating that celebration down the Old Trafford touchline when he was manager of Porto. Good times. Liverpool haven’t got it easy either and Juventus will be no walkover for Chelsea.

The first leg’s at home on 24th February and the return leg at the Stadio Olimpico is on March 11. I’ve looked at flights and accommodation and I’m very tempted to go. I am a poor student at the moment though and this would be coming right out of my overdraft. Hmm will have to think about it. But if you’re planning on going yourself I’d hurry up about it because those plane tickets will get expensive. I need to make a decision tonight.

Arsene reckons the tie could go either way. It’s certainly going to be a good game, both sides are famous for their football and I can tell it’s not going to be boring. Wenger’s also been saying he wants to win the Champions League for Arsenal. I think that’s got to be the aim really, we’ve won the league and it would be brilliant to win it again but the Champions League trophy is something we would dearly love to get our hands on. We came so close in 2006 and I think every Arsenal fan still looks bitterly upon that and hopes we can right those wrongs.

I do hate this Champions League draw sometimes, because the first leg isn’t for another two months now and I can’t wait. But to be fair, we need as much of that time as possible to find some form between now and then. So we’ll try forget about this for a bit and concentrate on the league.

Tomorrow I’ll have a preview of the massively important game against Liverpool on Sunday. So make sure you some back for that, see you then.

p.s. We’ve been asked to wear yellow for Sunday’s game by Red Action. I’m doing my bit. I’ll remind you again tomorrow.

Board Stuff and more…. 18 December, 2008

There was some significant changes on the Arsenal Board yesterday. Ivan Gazidis, who is our new Chief Executive, will now be the Director taking over from Richard Carr who leaves the position after 27 years of service. Richard is staying with the club though remaining a director and working with the youth and academy.

This is not massive news, Richard Carr is about 70 and Ivan Gazidis is a knowledgeable business and football man who we hope will take us in the right direction.

What does worry me though is Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith leaving the board with immediate effect. Lady Nina has a 15.8% stake in the club and therefore holds a lot of power. It is thought that she may have left with the intention to sell those shares to a high-bidder – A.K.A. Alisher Usmanov. By leaving the board she also leaves the lockdown agreement that shares will not be sold by Arsenal board members.

I’m not gonna lie to you, I’m not an expert when it comes it comes to board dealings, but this does worry me. There was been a lot of departures from the board in the past couple of years and it really does concern me what must be going on behind the scenes at Arsenal.

You will all have your own view of it but I expect to see Lady Nina selling her shares in the near future. Hopefully not to Usmanov but I bet he will be all over it. Kroenke seems like the man to trust with them at the moment, so it might be best for him to take them, but surely a deal would’ve been done in-house before Bracewell-Smith left the board. We’ll see.

On to more footballing matters and there’s a load of fresh stories coming from Arsene Wenger after his recent webchat. He talks about all manner of things Arsenal and Gunnerblog has the transcript.

He talks about the possibility of transfers and it’s the usual stuff from Wenger saying that he thinks we should focus more on what we’ve got because these youngsters have a lot to give but then if the right player comes along he will sign him. Hopefully it’s just him being conservative because I think it’s clear for all to see how much we need additions.

He also talks about Wilshere saying he’s going to be some sort of magical Bergkamp/Rooney/Pele/Jesus superfootballer, which is quite exciting. But yeah, check out Gunnerblog for the full story.

Nasri is 95% for Liverpool but Kolo is a big doubt. That’s the first piece of team news ahead of Sunday, also Nicklas Bendtner has picked up a knock in training and we’ll have to wait and see on him. That’s positive though on Nasri, Not sure I can take another Diaby/Denilson/Song + Fabregas midfield….

More on that sort of thing nearer the game.

Tomorrow it’s the Champions League draw and there isn’t really one team in there you’d ‘like’ to have. These are the possible teams we could get:

AS Roma
Panathinaikos
FC Barcelona
Bayern Munich
Juventus

I don’t really care who we get to be honest, whoever we get is going to be a challenge. Fabregas wants to avoid Barcelona and I don’t blame him, they’re playing very well… I suppose if I had to choose, I think probably Panathinaikos or Juve.

Well I better go now but I’ll speak to you tomorrow after the draw. See ya.

Reserves 2-0 Portsmouth – Eduardo is Back. 17 December, 2008

I don’t know about you, but that photo makes me very happy. To see Eddy back again, playing football in an Arsenal shirt means a lot. The day he picked up that injury was a very emotional day but it seems a long time ago now – it is now time for Eduardo to come back and show us he’s still got it. If you want to see more of these heart warming photos click here.

The Croatian striker got 45 minutes in a ‘Carling Cup’ style reserves side and was taken off at half time as a precaution. He said after the game that he felt something in his hamstring but I am assured that this is quite normal for a players first game back after a long absence. I think the original plan was to only give him the first half anyway to be honest.

If you read the blog yesterday, you’ll know I went along to watch the reserves and support Eddy on his return. And a lot of other fans did the same; I think it was the busiest reserve game I’ve been to. The whole West end of the stadium was full, so was the entire new South Stand and a portion of the East terrace was packed out. Some of the stars of the past had turned out too, in the box up to my left I could see Dennis Bergkamp, Steve Bould and of course Portsmouth manager, Tony Adams. It looked like there was a nice little reunion going on up there.

So, the game. As I said, it was a fairly familiar team so I was expecting a decent display. However the Pompey reserves had not come just to make up the numbers and were making a game of it. We found it hard to get through on goal and at time resorted to long-range shots. With half an hour gone we got the first proper chance when Wilshere showed his quality putting Simpson through but his shot went into the ‘keeper.

Eduardo had been showing his quality when he was given the chance and his skill was summed up just before the break. He took the ball out wide driving inside past a couple of defenders before curling a ball towards the far bottom corner. The ‘keeper just got fingertips on it though to divert it onto the post and wide. It would’ve been the perfect end to Eduardo’s first 45 minutes back to football but it wasn’t to be.

At half time Amaury Bischoff replaced Eduardo and his quality up front was missed. There was no one really clinical enough up front to take the ball down and create danger so there was a lot of support from the midfield going forward.

We kept going though and did everything we could to force a goal. The reserves side were very similar to the 1st team in the way they passed and passed it around the box avoiding shooting. This caused a very crowed box and it was very hard to find a pass in there.

The first goal came with 10 minutes to go when Merida proved a great through ball for Randall who finished well into the corner. A decent goal and one that was long overdue.

We killed the game off in stoppage time when Gibbs struck a long range shot firing right into the back of the net. No chance for the Portsmouth ‘keeper and I bet the left back wont score a goal like that again.

So 2-0 on the night, but the real result was another step towards Eduardo’s rehabilitation. He had a decent half, did everything that could’ve been expected of him in a reserve comeback. He wasn’t sprinting all over the pitch, he just did what was needed and applied nice touches when he had the chance. A promising start for him.

A quick mention of some other players from last night. I very impressed with Francis Coquelin who was playing in the unfamiliar position of right back. He was very determined, extremely committed and looked really quick. He performed really well considering he’s usually a central midfielder – reminded me a lot of Flamini when he was forced to play left back in 2006.

It was Ramsey’s first appearance for the reserves and he had a decent game, he looked like a senior player dictating the youngsters’ play, it was strange to think he only turns 18 on Boxing Day. He was combining really well with Jack Wilshere who had another good game. You just watch him and you know this kid is something special. He has a very exciting future ahead of him.

I better wrap this up…You can read the reserve manager, Neil Banfield’s thoughts here. I really enjoyed last night, it’s been a while since I’ve gone to see the reserves and it was well worth it.

Thanks for reading.

Get down to Underhill tonight! 16 December, 2008

Just quick post today because I’ve got to get myself down to Barnet for the Arsenal reserves game. Today is all about the return of one man – Eduardo Da Silva.

Eduardo makes his comeback in an Arsenal shirt tonight, starting in a strong reserve side against Portsmouth.

I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve been looking forward to this game for a long time actually and I know so many other Arsenal (and football) fans have been. Eddy’s back!

Not sure how long he’s going to get, I suspect just a half but that doesn’t matter. There’ll be good support for him tonight, with no mid-week game there’s never been a better time to go and watch the reserves in Barnet.

It’s free and it kicks off at 7 o’clock. So if you’re local to North London why not get down there?

I best be off, I’ll try get my camera out tonight but either way, I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Oh, and if you do go. It’s going to be fucking freezing.

Big four all draw – Are we really still in it? 15 December, 2008

Well it was another disappointing afternoon’s football for us this weekend, more points dropped against a lower team and with United going to Spurs, Liverpool entertaining Hull and Chelsea playing West Ham on the Sunday, you thought we were going to edge further away from the top. Remarkably all ‘top four’ sides drew this weekend leaving us exactly where we left off.

All four team will now be kicking themselves though at a lost opportunity to make ground on the opposition.

Wenger has tried to spin it saying it wasn’t a bad result for us. Well considering we lost there last season going into the game as unbeaten league leaders then, yes I suppose it was an improvement. Arsene Wenger even went as far to say that the draw was a good result for us because we would’ve lost that game earlier in the season. Great confidence there from the manager.

Personally, I wasn’t too pissed off with the result. I listened to the first half on the radio and watched the second half on the TV and I didn’t think we were that bad. I think this may have something to do with me coming to terms with the sort of side we’ve become.

I thought we had a chance to win the game, that’s what upset me. In the second half we had most of the possession and we really should’ve made it count. I think it was van Persie who had a great chance towards the end but then again Almunia made a great save down the other end so it could’ve gone either way. Maybe the draw was the right result.

There is one running trend though in our series of inconsistency. The undeniable need for signings. Our midfield yesterday consisted of 3 players who are not fit for the job: Diaby, Song and Denilson. We’re meant to be title challengers but how many of those players do you think would start in any other Premier League side? I don’t think many would take them. Now I know they are all we have a moment but I’m hoping Wenger will address this in January.

So we’re now 8 points off the lead, 7 away from Chelsea and 2 points behind United but they have a game in hand. We have a chance to reduce the game though this weekend when we play Liverpool. Come Sunday night we could be just 5 points off the top, but then just as easily we could find ourselves a massive 11 points off the pace, which would be a massive blow.

We’ve done well against the top four this season so we have to be optimistic. However Adebayor has warned we must not be complacent; just because we beat United and Chelsea doesn’t mean Liverpool will be a walkover. Ade says from here on out we must treat every game like it’s the game of the season. He’s right; they just need to apply that now.

That possible 5 point gap by Sunday night does look very positive and I think if we were to beat Liverpool then we would be officially in the title race again. Lose, and I think we are definitely out. The Spurs boss reckons we’re already out of it but we’ll take no notice of him…

In the news, well Eboue says he’s going to win over the fans by giving 200% from now on. He’s going about it the right way then because Gooners always applaud commitment and hard work. You wont get booed just because you’re no good as long as we can see you have tried. I don’t think Eboue, or anyone for that matter will receive the boo treatment again. I think everyone feels bad for him. He got a good reception at Porto last week and I’m pretty sure I heard a new Eboue song coming from the away end at ‘Boro on Saturday.

Salamanca are looking to take Carlos Vela back on loan but I don’t think it will happen. I think Arsene Wenger is looking to keep him at Arsenal now but you never know. With Eduardo coming back soon and no Carling Cup to think about maybe Vela will be given football somewhere else.

Talking of Eduardo, he makes his return in an Arsenal shirt for the reserves tomorrow night. We play Portsmouth in Barnet and I’m sure there will be a bit of a crowd turning up for that one. I’m going to try and go, like everyone else I just can’t wait to see Eduardo back playing again.

There’s no midweek game this week so why not get yourself down there too?

That’s it for today. I’ve got Christmas shopping to do. Thanks for reading.

‘Boro Preview: Top Guns set to return 12 December, 2008

It’s back to the league again tomorrow and it’s a great chance to make it an important 3 league wins in a row in what’s been a very inconsistent season. It’s not going to be easy at all though; we’ve really struggled going up to the Riverside in recent years so a result tomorrow would not only be great for our records but also be putting us in the right direction in the league.

The team news is good ahead of the game. Clichy, Fabregas, van Persie, Adebayor and Sagna all missed out against Porto but could all be back in tomorrow. Frankly, its fantastic news because the team put out in Portugal was not good enough. There is a slight doubt on Sagna who is still not 100% from the flu. Toure, Nasri, Eduardo and Rosicky are all still out.

So with van Persie and Adebayor coming back in, it looks like there’ll be no place for Bendtner. The boy has not performed well recently and has taken a lot of stick. I will admit that I have been one of those, he has looked lazy and uninterested but when he has got the ball he touch has been bad. Wenger has defending him saying he has been very good in training. That’s all well and good but it’s no good being the next Pele at the training ground but then not doing the business when it’s for real.

Was confuses me is that he must thrive for 1st team chances. It would make sense him putting in good performances in training to impress the manager. However when he is actually given the chance in the first team he just looks a nothing player. He just needs to learn that once he’s pulled on that Arsenal shirt and playing for real he need to give everything he has. He will get plenty more chances that’s for sure, lets hope we see more of this training ground Bendtner.

So, with all that – this is how I see the team:

Almunia
Sagna – Djourou – Gallas – Clichy
Eboue – Fabregas (c) – Denilson – Diaby
Adebayor – van Persie

Still, I am not happy with our midfield. Eboue has been…well you know. Denilson’s been poor in my opinion – not good enough yet. And Diaby has not been playing his best football. If it were down to me I’d have Ramsey in there with Cesc and then out wide maybe we could use Wilshere or Vela? They both have pace, skill but who knows how they’d perform out wide.

As for ‘Boro, Taylor, Mido, Gary O’Neil and Justin Hoyte are doubts. It would be weird seeing Justin playing against us, and I bet it would be strange for him too. Kind of a shame thought I think that he’s not playing.

Their recent form hasn’t been great, they’ve picked up just one point in their last three: A 2-1 loss to Hull, 0-0 with Newcastle and they were beaten 3-1 by Bolton. It’s well over a month since they won but that was away to Villa, which shows some quality. You could say ‘Boro are quite similar to us in ways, they’ve also been quite inconsistent but they have the quality they just find it hard to get the results out.

So it looks like tomorrow’s game is going to be a case of whose day it’s going to be. I can really see this going either way. I would be absolutely delighted with a win. It would really feel like we’ve actually found some form in what has been a frustrating season.

I hope the players are as up for this game as I am. If Fabregas can rouse them to the occasion we should have no problems. One of our biggest problems this season is finding some inspiration and commitment. Once we’ve found that I’m confident we can do well this season.

It’s a 12:45pm kick off tomorrow so don’t forget to set those alarms. Those of you going – you lucky bastards. So jealous. I’m driving back to London this weekend so my next game will be Liverpool, can’t wait for that either. It seems like ages I last saw Arsenal play.

Right then I have to do some packing. Enjoy the game, speak to you Sunday.

Porto Preview: Seven 1st teamers left behind 9 December, 2008

Tomorrow night is our final group game of the Champions League and thanks to our last victory we’re already qualified, as are Porto. A draw would be enough to give us top spot in the group and Arsene says we want it.

However, he’s left behind seven of what you would call first team members:

Nasri (ankle), Clichy (hamstring), Fabregas (knee), Sagna (flu), Toure (calf), van Persie (thigh) and Adebayor (rested)

Bacary Sagna has ‘flu and Gael Clichy has a hamstring, he has a little chance of playing on Saturday. Kolo Toure has a recurrence of his calf injury, he should not be long but it was not enough to play.

Cesc is a doubt for Saturday, he got a kick on his knee on Saturday. Samir Nasri is definitely out for Saturday, he will be out for two or three weeks. Robin van Persie has been left behind. He will be OK for Saturday, he has a little stiffness in his thigh. Emmanuel Adebayor is rested.”

So Fabregas and Clichy could even be out for the Middlesbrough game, which is bad news. We have won every game since Fabregas has been made captain, lets hope we can still do the business without him.

We have got a couple of players back though. Gallas and Diaby both missed the weekend’s game but are fit to play tomorrow night. I think with that long list of absentees above, they will both be starting. The rest of the squad is made up with ‘Carling Cup’ players.

The team could really be anything. Is Wenger going to get as many kids on as possible to give them some great experience? Or will he go for the best team possible with what he’s got? This is what I reckon:

Fabianski
Eboue – Djourou – Gallas – Gibbs
Denilson – Ramsey – Song – Diaby
Bendtner – Vela

I’m not sure that Gibbs will play, Silvestre’s in the squad so he might play with that whole four shuffling around. Also Eboue could play at right midfield, but what I think is important is that he plays – wherever it is. He needs confidence and I know the travelling Arsenal fans will do their best to give him a good reception after what was frankly out of order on Saturday.

I’m also worried about that midfield I have picked. It’s four central midfielders playing right across the park, which I know Wenger is not afraid to do. If Eboue comes in then it changes the balance a bit but I’m expecting something along those lines.

I have no idea what sort of a side Porto are going to put out. Are they going to go for the win and try top the group or will they be happy with the qualification and rest a few players? Either way, it’s going to be a strong side and a huge test for this Arsenal side.

To be honest, I’m not expecting much of a result. But who cares? Coming 1st or 2nd doesn’t really make any difference to me. Either way you could be drawn with a big side.

And anyway, I’d prefer one of Europe’s best rather than some other team. We dramatically raise our game for the big games and a win against one of the best teams in the world can really propel you for the rest of the competition. I’m really looking forward to the draw.

So I’m just going to try and enjoy the game tomorrow night and not worry too much about what happens. A win would be fantastic though, it would be another confidence boost and a hell of an achievement to go to Porto and get a result with such a weakened squad.

It’s a 7.45pm kick off as usual and it’s on Sky Sports Extra over in the UK. Enjoy the match, speak to you soon.

Wigan, Eboue, Alonso – Discuss 8 December, 2008

Mornin’ y’all. Fucking hell it’s getting cold here. ‘Tis the season to be jolly and all that shit apparently so if you haven’t noticed already I’ve added a bit of snow to the blog. Isn’t that fun..

No match report for the Wigan game I’m afraid, I didn’t see enough of it to properly comment. I spoke before the game about how important the three points were and that was exactly what we came away with. It wasn’t the greatest of performances but we came out 1-0 winners and that’s all that matters at the end of the day. Adebayor’s 16th minute strike the difference between the sides and it was a long journey home for the 30-odd Wigan fans that turned up.

Like I said, the result is all that matters at this stage, so I’m not going to go into the performance so much. We can build upon that now. You could be positive and say we did well to keep the clean sheet and get the goal even when we weren’t playing so well. It’s not up to the boys to pick their game up before the next two league games – away to ‘Boro then the league leaders, Liverpool come to the Grove.

The performance of one man though took all the headlines – Emmanuel Eboue. It was his returning game after being out through injury and should’ve been looking to make an impact. When Nasri got injured with half an hour gone Emmanuel had a solid hour to make an impression. And an impression he made.

I only saw bits of the game and the highlights afterwards, but Eboue was shockingly bad. He misplaced passes consistently, which you can accept a few times but this was like pretty much every time he had the ball – it was getting to the stage where we wouldn’t pass it to him because he kept fucking up. The worst thing about it was, that when he gave the ball away he just shrugged and let Wigan attack. It that was Clichy, or Toure, or Cesc, or maybe even van Persie they would’ve chased the ball down if they had given it away! There was even one occasion when Toure was taking the ball upfield when Eboue literally took the ball away from under Kolo’s feet whilst he was in possession and then gave it away to a Wigan player. Unbelievable.

He was so bad, and everyone knew it. With only just a couple of minutes to go, Wenger had enough and substituted the substitute. There was a roar of approval when the no.27 when up on the 4th official’s board, it was very clear to be heard and it’s not as if they were cheering on the player coming on, Mikael Silvestre. Then the Arsenal fans continued to boo Eboue as he left the field and went straight down the tunnel.

It was embarrassing. I know he was bad, but I thought it was unacceptable. I wasn’t there though, caught up in the heat of the moment. So I can’t judge the situation properly, but watching it on TV was not any fun. Maybe it was just the reaction of all our frustration and Eboue was just the unlucky bloke who had it all let out on him.

It was very loud though and very concerning. I can imagine scattered fans starting to boo him and then everyone joining in. I wouldn’t be surprised if Eboue never wants plays for Arsenal again, he’s got a big case for not wanting to be here any more after that and I feel really sorry for him.

Wenger’s comments can be read here:

“I felt he had completely lost his confidence and could not keep the ball anymore. Of course then he became a danger. I feel it was very sad.

I think when you are a fan you are behind your players and that is what you want them to do. On the other hand I believe that Eboue will come back and show how good a player he is.

He is a sensitive boy who wants to do well and cares about the club. He was tired because he didn’t play for a month and on top of that it is difficult when you have the crowd on your back. You do not want the fans to do it but if you say to do they have the right legally to do it, then of course they do”

Arsene described Eboue as becoming a ‘danger’ to our result and took him off for the sake of the team. Says a lot.

I used to hate Eboue, but he has been very slowly improving. I have time for him, sometimes. I think his treatment was very harsh and we’ll see the results of this in the near future.

The Xabi Alonso story has come up again as January gets closer and closer. I still think that he would be a great addition to the squad and a suitable partner for Cesc Fabregas. I understand we showed a strong interest in him this summer but left the whole deal a bit late. Hopefully we will renew out interest in the new year and splash the cash.

I’m hoping that Wenger will feel the need for signings after what has been a frustrating start to the season. I don’t think Denilson is the answer, yet, and he definitely needs someone else to be giving him competition for his place otherwise he has no motivation.

I’m worried because I know Alonso had a bit of a falling out at Liverpool in the summer but then he’s established himself in the side now. Hopefully he still wants out and we still want him. Do it Arsene.

OK that’s it for this cold December morn’. Thanks for reading.

Arsenal vs. Wigan Preview 5 December, 2008

Nearly a week on from the win against Chelsea and it’s back to the Premier League. Wigan are the visitors and it’s our chance to show that we have learnt our lessons form a few weeks ago. On the 8th of November we had a great victory over Manchester United, it seemed like a turn in fortunes and we were back on track again but then just 7 days later we face Aston Villa putting in an awful display and lost 2-0.

We just expected to turn up and we would win. There was no desire, no commitment like we saw against United the previous weekend. We learned the hard way that whoever we’re playing we need to put in the same amount of effort – we can’t just turn up without really trying and still win.

The scenario looks suspiciously similar going into this game. We’ve come off the back of a great win at Stamford Bridge and now we go into a game against lesser opposition.

Hopefully the players will have learnt from their mistakes a few weeks ago and we will go into tomorrow’s game with the same attitude as against Chelsea. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t put in as good a performance tomorrow as there was last weekend.

It’s Wenger’s job before the game to get the players lively and up for it and remind them not to be lazy. And its Fabregas’ job during the game the keep the players on their toes and not start slacking.

It seems like an important game tomorrow. It’s a test of character and I’m confident we will pass.

The only fresh injury is William Gallas. With Kolo Toure now back and Djourou playing well he shouldn’t be too badly missed. Wenger has been quick to say he still has a place in this side and that we want to keep him. I think if he can come to terms with not being captain anymore and get his head down to concentrate on his football he will be worth keeping.

Eboue is also fit again and he might be drafted in straight away. Arsene was asked whether he was tempted to play the Carling Cup side after they beat Wigan at the Grove just a few weeks ago. “We treat this fixture with the seriousness it deserves,” was the reply and I would’ve have expected anything else. It would be nice if we could play the kids again and win 3-0 again but you just can’t take that risk!

So as for the team, I’m not entirely sure whether Toure and Eboue are ready to go straight into the starting 11 but this is how I see it:

Almunia
Sagna – Toure – Djourou – Clichy
Eboue – Fabregas (c) – Denilson – Nasri
Adebayor – van Persie

I know I’ve said this time and time again, but I’d prefer Diaby in the middle partnering Cesc but I see Wenger going for Denilson again. It’s not a bad team though, is it? I feel quite comfortable with it – it looks more like a team I am used to. Eboue has proved he can play well and not act the clown so I’m looking for a decent show from him. Toure has also got something to prove returning to the side, he has had some dodgy performances this season so a solid game tomorrow will do him some good.

I’m looking forward to this one. Anything but a win will be another massive disappointment however a win itself would make everyone feel like we’re making a step in the right direction.

It’s a 3:00pm kick off so not on TV again. I’ve been using justin.tv to watch all our games this season, just go to sports and have a look around and I can usually find a decent stream. Give that a go if you’re thinking where to watch it.

Thanks for reading. Speak to you soon.

Gallas out, Toure & Eboue back and Eduardo in full training 4 December, 2008

Not a great deal going on today but we have got an injury update from Arsene Wenger:

“We certainly lose Gallas for Saturday but we have of course Mikael Silvestre, who will be available. We have Kolo Toure available again and he is more suited to playing on the right side [of central defense]. We will see until Saturday how well he is. Eboue could be back in the group and Diaby could be available from next week onwards. Djourou is fine.”

So we’ve got a choice of Toure, Djourou and Silvestre for Saturday’s game against Wigan. I’m not really sure who he’ll pick to be honest. By the sounds of that quote above it looks like Wenger will go with a Silvestre/Toure combination. I think Djourou should keep his place in the side though; he did well against Chelsea despite his own goal and showed great character to not let it faze him.

Wenger went on to talk about Eduardo Da Silva’s fitness:

“As soon as possible he will play now. He is joining in full training matches but he needs games now.”

Like every Gooner, I’m really looking forward to Eddy’s return. The reserves are away to Aston Villa on Wednesday of next week so maybe that could be his first bit of football this season. My next match is Liverpool at home on the 21st, I’d love it if he played that day.

The only other bit of news today is Cesc Fabregas assuring fans his future is with Arsenal after he was linked with a move to AC Milan. It’s becoming quite a trend, Cesc denying moves just hours after a rumor has broken and it’s nice to see. This story came from Darren Dein, Cesc’s agent apparently meeting with Milan representatives. Can’t be bothered to even think about whether this could be true or not – Meh.

Right, I’m off. Wigan preview tomorrow night, until then.

Burnley 2-0 Arsenal – 02/12/08 – (Carling Cup) 3 December, 2008

It’s all over for the kids. They got knocked out last night by a strong Burnley side that made them look like the Arsenal reserves once again. They’ve done so well in this competition this season and it’s a shame for them to go out like this.

It was cold night up north against a good footballing side and they just didn’t have what it takes when it mattered. It was the first time they’d gone behind in a match this season so the pressure was on right from the start if they could turn it round.

We had lots of chances but our finishing wasn’t up to scratch which wasn’t helped by the inspired Burnley ‘keeper, Brian Jensen.

It was an odd team with some players getting their first game for the club and some players more used to first team action:

Fabianski
Hoyte – Silvestre (c) – Rodgers – Gibbs
Randall – Wilshere – Ramsey – Merida
Bendtner – Vela

It looked like an exciting midfield with Merida, Wilshere and Merida all in there and then with Vela up top I thought we might be able to get some goals here.

We should’ve opened the scoring after just 4 minutes when Bendtner was put through on goal. He took too long though and his low shot went straight into the ‘keepers possession.

A minute later though, the home side were down the other end and made it 1-0 to Burnley. Under pressure in the box, Fabianski lost hold of a cross from Eagles and McDonald pounced on the loose ball scoring an easy tap in. A bad goal to concede, especially when we could’ve been in the lead ourselves just a minute earlier.

I wasn’t too worried about going behind; I mean this is a team that had scored 9 goals in their last two games. However I was slightly concerned how they’d react after going a goal down for the first time.

Right from kick off we got a positive reaction. Bendtner got through once again from Vela’s flick but made the same mistake of putting it straight into Jensen. It was quite frustrating seeing him making the same mistake twice and I asked how many more chances like this is he going to get?

The Young Guns lost their nerve when the immediate equalizer didn’t come and got sloppy after a decent attacking spell. We kept losing the ball and inviting Burnley to break. They had some decent chances and we could’ve been 2-0 down if were unlucky. Fabianski spilt another shot but recovered it this time but I thought that can’t have been great for him – Lukasz is a player who thrives on his confidence, if he makes one good save then he has a blinding game but if he makes mistakes then it ruins his nerves.

Towards the end of the first half both Randall and Vela went through one-on-one with the ‘keeper and once again it was the same outcome. As did Bendtner, they took too long, tried to slide it under the ‘keeper but put it straight into his body. I thought when Vela went through he might try a cheeky chip over him instead of shooting low but he didn’t…

Four times we went through on goal in the first half and all of them were wasted! You have to give some credit to Brian Jensen but you think the players would learn from their mistakes. At least we were showing the ability to get into a scoring position and I was optimistic going into the second half.

10 minutes into the first half we got a little preview of what Fran Merida is all about. He picked it up on the edge of the box and rounded three defenders in a busy box before curling a shot toward the far post. It was a great piece of skill and what a goal it would’ve been but it went just the wrong side of the woodwork.

Down the other end McDonald did curl a shot inside the far post and did make it 2-0 to Burnley. It all came from a quick throw in to send McDonald clear. I think it was Randall who almost tracked him back and even got between him and the ball at one moment but couldn’t do anything about it. Whoever it was it was poor defending. Then he shot with the outside of his boot curving it into the far side netting – good finish.

We now had half an hour to get at least two goals. I had faith that they could still do it right up to injury time but it just wasn’t to be. Jay Simpson came on, he had one decent chance but Jensen delivered again.

We tried and tried but Burnley proved too strong for us and were never going to give up a two goal lead. It was a sad ending to an exciting Carling Cup run. The players will learn a lot from last night’s game, Arsene agrees this is all part of their education.

Oh well, the good thing is there’s always next year and they’ll all be one year older. So now there’s only one thing for it…

C‘MON WATFORD!

Thanks for reading. Come on you ‘horns!

Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal – 30/11/08 – (Premier League) 1 December, 2008

I don’t know why we deserve this. Every week Arsenal must torture it’s fans at the moment. It’s either an agonizing defeat against some shite or it’s the near heat attack of hanging on to a lead in the final few minutes.

I’m surprised I’m still alive after the recent Man United and Chelsea games, I don’t know whether I can take any more!

In reality though, we weren’t ‘hanging on’ at the end. When we were watching it was the most horrible and nerve-wracking experience but when you watch the game back you see that in the final half hour we dictated play, kept Chelsea at bay and defended our lead solidly.

Once we had a bit of luck with van Persie’s first it felt like everything had changed for us. All we needed was that little bit of luck when we’ve had so little recently and we were full of confidence again.

We lined up with Sagna, Adebayor and Nasri all coming back in which were three big boosts. Gallas was given another start in a game where he’d slated both teams in his recent autobiography but I thought he had a fairly good game, he got his head down and got on with it. It wasn’t an amazing show from him but I can’t fault him for a lot. He was partnered at the back by Djourou who was preferred over Silvestre for his pace.

Chelsea maybe had the edge in the opening stages but we had the clearest chance to take the lead in the 14th minute. Cech blocked Fabregas’ shot straight into the path of Gallas. It came too quickly for the ex-captain though and he just couldn’t get a foot on it. It was so close to being the opener and what a time it would’ve been for him to score.

Chelsea had a few chances in the build up to their goal with half an hour gone, Lampard had a decent headed chance but aimed it straight at Almunia, they had a free-kick just outside the box and then a corner in quick-succession but when their goal did come it was of our making. Almunia collected from the corner and looked to move it out quickly down the left but it was intercepted. Chelsea did well on the ball under pressure and knew exactly what to do sending it to Bosingwa out wide. He sent in a great low cross that was diverted in by the sliding Djourou.

I don’t blame Johan at all for the goal. There was a player in blue coming in behind him and he knew it, he had no choice. You could argue that Gallas might’ve had it covered but Djourou didn’t know that. He took a moment on the floor to reflect on scoring another own goal then shot up on his feet and he never thought about it again – I thought it might really dent his confidence but there was no sign of it.

So it went to half time with Chelsea winning 1-0 at home. A familiar sight and one that is rarely reversed. Liverpool performed the seemingly impossible of beating Chelsea on their home turf a few weeks ago, the first time since we did the same back in 2004. To add to our worries, Chelsea hadn’t conceded a goal in the second half of a game all season and was running the game. The stats were stacked against us.

Just 5 minutes in Chelsea should’ve made it 2-0. Clichy cut out a ball for Anelka on the edge of the box but it just fell for Lampard who is an expert from that range. Luckily though it came to him on his left foot and his effort went passed the far post. Phew.

It turned out to be Chelsea’s last chance of the game.

It wasn’t going right for us, we just needed something to pick us up and we got exactly that with half an hour to go. Denilson put van Persie through on the edge of the box; Robin took a touch sideways and blasted a shot into the top corner with his wrong foot. What a finish it was. However the replay showed that Robin was about a yard offside when Denilson fed him in. The linesman had gifted us something when everything has been going wrong for us recently.

Robin said after the game that yes it did look offside but a few seasons ago when we played Chelsea at Highbury he had a perfectly good goal ruled out for offside so luck has evened itself out. Chelsea fans might be very upset with the decision today but we felt the same way a few years ago.

That goal and that decision lifted us tremendously. We were first to every ball and we were frustrating Chelsea. So much so that Terry lost his head and flew in two-footed on Sagna. Luckily Bac’s legs didn’t take a full blow from that oaf, it was a shocking challenge. John Terry was lucky to only receive a caution but this is the treatment he gets…the pundits afterwards didn’t even brush upon what could’ve been a leg-breaking challenge.

A minute later we took the lead. Fabregas took a free kick deep from the left into the box. Ade knocked it down to van Persie whose touch took him away from goal but he somehow managed to shoot on the turn putting it perfectly into the bottom corner. What a great goal and what an important one. Was it fluke or was it a great piece of awareness? Who cares!

Arsenal would now not be beaten. We had this sudden rush of confidence and commitment and Chelsea could not break it, whatever they tried. It was a very nervous final 20 minutes or so but we did everything we needed to do.

We could’ve extended the lead a few times on the break but it didn’t happen for us. That wasn’t the most important thing though, it was the defense that had been so fragile in recent games, and yesterday they stood up.

So it finished up 2-1 to The Arsenal – what an important result. Defeat could’ve sent us 13 points adrift of the leaders but the win takes us to just 7 points behind now. Wenger rightly pointed out after the game that there’s certainly a long way to go yet but this result should give us confidence.

Hopefully we have learned our lessons from the United game. We got a great win against them at the Grove but we just expected to turn up and win the next game. We have to go into our next game with exactly the same attitude which Wenger has picked up on too. Hopefully Fabregas is the man to rouse the troops and get us going week-in-week-out.

However next up is Burnley in the Carling Cup quarter final tomorrow night. Hopefully I’ll get a preview up in the morning.

Thanks for reading.