Tonight is going to be a masive game, with Aston Villa winning last night they’ve gone six points clear of us. We need to win tonight to stop Villa pulling away from us. 4th place is absolutely vital, I hate to think the consequences of us not qualifying for the Champions League.

Everton are not going to be easy to beat though, by no means. In fact a draw against them wouldn’t usually be considered too bad of a result. We just can’t think about that though thanks to the position we’ve got ourselves in and the unbelievable luck Aston Villa are having at the moment.

We’re going to have to be well up for tonight. We didn’t play well enough on Sunday so tonight we need to get things right. We will be 100% full strength tonight, we cannot afford to rest anyone.

Gael Clichy will come back into the defense but will William Gallas? Toure and Djourou have done alright together but I suspect Wenger will rotate a bit and play Gallas. Denilson will come into the starting line-up after sitting out Sunday’s game. I’m hoping that Song will partner him allowing Diaby to take Eboue’s position out wide. Not because I am a big fan of Song and Diaby but because I don’t want Eboue anywhere near the team…I suspect he will be though. If it were up to me I’d have Wilshere out on the right but I just don’t see Wenger doing that.

Here’s my guess anyways:

Almunia (c)
Sagna – Djourou – Gallas – Clichy
Nasri – Song – Denilson – Diaby
Adebayor – van persie

Nothing more to add to what I’ve said above about the team apart from this – I miss Cesc Fabregas.

Everton have quite a few injury problems but are coping well even still. They’re out of strikers and have resorted to using Cahill up top but he has done really well. Arteta has been scoring a few recently too and Lescott had been deadly coming forward. So they still possess a scoring threat. I’m worried that we will concede in this game. In fact I would put money on us not keeping a clean sheet. What worries me is how we will react to that – Do we curl up and cringe or do we stand up tall and fight? It just depends on how certain individuals feel.

We’re relying on Robin van Persie again tonight, he’s going to have his work cut out for him. Wenger planned on only playing him for an hour on Sunday but that wasn’t possible. Hopefully he is fit enough to start tonight, I’d be worried if he didn’t. Samir Nasri is another creative output, he’s been playing quite well recently, especially when he plays through the middle. On Sunday he was kept out wide and I’m not really sure why seeing as we were chasing a goal. I can see him coming inside tonight.

I’m really up for this one – I just hope the players are too. We kick off at 8:00pm tonight but it’s not on TV over here in the UK. Going to have to try and find a decent stream to watch it over the internet.

Enjoy the game people. Thanks for reading.

Today is the day that we set as a deadline for a deal to be done over Andrei Arshavin. The day broke with the news that an agreement had been reached between Zenit an Arsenal for the player and only personal details etc needed to be completed. This, a statement on Zenit’s official website. It sounded quite believable but then with the way Zenit have been over the whole thing I wasn’t expecting.

Lo and behold – it’s a load of bollocks. Arsene Wenger there confirming the story is false and that we are not near to signing anyone:

“There is no news about Andrei Arshavin or about anybody else that is why I cannot give you anything. At the moment it is all quiet.

I believe that we are not close to concluding any transfer, Arshavin or anybody else.
I don’t know [if it will happen] frankly. Time is getting short and at the moment I am more focused to win the game tomorrow. We know we are in front of a big game and the most important thing is to focus on that.

I am only responsible for the statements we make and I cannot be responsible for the statements that other clubs make. Zenit look to have different voices coming out of the club and I’m not sure if it always the official voice. I believe what I see and what I hear directly.”

He also denied that a fee had been agreed between the two clubs.

It’s hardly surprising is it? This whole saga has been a series of ups, downs and massive lies. I, like most, am just fed up of this whole thing now. I just want it to end so we can all concentrate on our lives. Today was the day we set for it all to end but realistically this will carry on until the very last minute of the window…

You can tell this is all getting on Arsene Wenger’s nerves too. Not only does he not like talking about transfers with the press but he probably feels like Zenit are trying to take us for a ride. Wenger is very reluctant to pay over his own valuation on a player and here is a club trying to squeeze every single penny out of this sale.

In my opinion, he won’t go anywhere are Zenit are going to lose out on getting any money and it’ll be all their fault. By the summer he’ll be 28 and his price will have gone down even more. We will not be interested in him by then, Zenit, Arshavin and his agent will have to whore themselves out to another club.

Arsene’s had another say on the influx of money on a transfer window such in the case of Man City. He believes it just doesn’t work. OK, Chelsea have proved that money can get you trophies but they’re in so much debt now. They have risked a lot for some short-term success whereas we have gradually built a team and are doing it the proper way. It’s like playing with a cheat on a game – yeah you can win, and winning’s fun but you will always know that you used that cheat and didn’t do it properly. If an investor said he would come and give us billions of pounds and buy a totally new squad so we can win the Champions League, I’d tell him to fuck off. Where’s the fun in that? Where’s the pride in that?

Arsene Wenger has put a date on Eduardo’s return. He’s said he still needs a few reserve games and he might organize a behind-closed-doors game and then he is scheduled to play for Croatia against Romania on 11th of February. Wenger says he should play in the international friendly and then he will be ready for us. That would mean a possible return game of the FA Cup game vs. West Brom or Burnley if we get past Cardiff in the replay. I can’t wait.

Wenger’s been praising Tim Cahill saying he has done well in Everton’s time of need. They actually have no fit strikers at the moment so Cahill is being played up top acting as their goal-man. He’s done well actually and their lack of strikers doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take extra care tomorrow night – they are still a big threat and are still more than capable of scoring goals.

Just before I go I want to point you in the direction of SoccerPro.com. You might remember me talking about them before, they’re a website dedicated to selling all sorts of football gear. Last week they were kind enough to send me a Nike Premium Fleece Hoody and this pretty cool reversible Nike Arsenal Football Scarf which I’m loving in the freezing weather.

If you get a chance go check them out, they’ve got all sorts of stuff and some things that I haven’t seen for sale in the club shop. You can look at all their jackets and sweatshirts here and all other “soccer” gear here!

Ok that’s it for today. I know I usually do my previews the day before a game but with the tight schedule of matches at the moment I’m going to post it tomorrow morning. Until then.

Not the result we were hoping for but at least we are still in it. Both sides will be looking at the game thinking they could’ve won it with missed chances all round; I think it’s fair to say that the chances we missed were a lot more clear-cut.

We didn’t play that bad against the Championship side, but we weren’t that good either. We were weak in midfield, the partnership of Ramsey and Song was just not good enough – Song had an alright game but the occasion seemed to get to young Aaron and he gave the ball away countless times.

Up front we went for the in-form Robin van Persie to partner Bendtner and rested Adebayor on the bench.

The opening stages were all Cardiff. We took a long, long time to find our stride and on another day we could’ve been a goal down in the opening stages. Their intentions were made clear right from kick off when they attempted to put Jay Bothroyd through from the kick-off but it was offside. The first 20 minutes were almost constant pressure from Cardiff and we did well to stop conceding.

I wasn’t too worried though, I knew we would find our stride eventually and we would be more clinical with our chances than the home side. Our first decent chance came after 20 minutes and we really should’ve scored it. van Persie spotted Nasri in the clear on the left side of the box and set him up. The chance was very similar to his goal at Hull last weekend but instead of getting the shot off quickly with his left foot he took a touch and attempted to curl it in with his right but the time he took allowed for the ‘keeper to get in a good position and the shot was saved.

After that we gained a bit of confidence and were having a good spell. Gibbs was laid off after a smart move just outside the box but his driven shot was just wide. Also van Persie had a decent chance but miss-hit his shot into the ground and it was a comfortable save.

It looked like the game was heading for 0-0 at the break but there so nearly could’ve been three goals in the final minute. Cardiff had a great chance when the ball was loose in the area; a mixture of bad clearances and deflections saw a header towards goal blocked by the head of Kieran Gibbs. The loose ball came to Nasri who set van Persie off on a break. He had Eboue to his right but opted for Bendtner to the left but his shot was narrowed down and put out for the corner. From the corner the ball ended up short of the goal but was flicked back in and Bendtner had a great chance with an unmarked header just in front of the goal. He got his jump all wrong though and it went over the bar.

So 0-0 it was at the break but the game looked like there was goals still in it.

The second half was a lot more open but it wasn’t exactly end-to-end. Both sides were struggling to score. McCormack had a long range shot saved by Fabianski but the replay showed it was going wide and van Persie had a shot saved the other end.

On the hour Aaron Ramsey was taken off and Abou Diaby was brought on. I did not think Aaron had a great game on his return to Cardiff, I think the shock of being booed by his old fans and the pressure of everyone watching put him off. This will all help his development though, he did get a good reception coming off from the home fans but I think he will be well up for showing them what he’s got in the replay on a larger pitch.

With just over 20 minutes to go we brought on Adebayor in the hope of avoiding a replay. He replaced Emmanuel Eboue who put in another clown-like performance. Since the infamous booing, I’ve tried to be positive about him and when I’ve been to matches I’ve kept an eye on him. He’s come out a few times saying he is a stronger player now and is going to give everything he’s got in future games. Well I’m just not seeing it. He is a liability to our team and I see no reason for us to be playing him when we have hungry reserve players who will give a lot more to our team.

He lost the ball, misplaced passes and was at his old diving act again and it’s just embarrassing to watch. I just don’t see why Wenger keeps going with him – it is completely and utterly beyond me. The return of Rosicky can’t come soon enough.

Adebayor didn’t have much of an impact on the game but with 15 minutes to go he should’ve been the name on the score sheet that won us the game. A cross came over the top of everyone and fell to Adebayor lurking at the far post. He attempted to swing a volley at it from 6 yards out but completely fucked it. It was a terrible miss, something even I would’ve been embarrassed of never mind a player supposedly worth £30m and £100,000 a week last summer.

A few minutes later Nasri had a curler saved and although we were getting close I just felt we weren’t going to be able to score.

Cardiff’s final chance of the game came just a few minutes before the final whistle. They won a free kick in a great position and McCormack stepped up to take. He curled a great shot over the wall and towards the top left corner. The shot came off the top of the bar but it did look like Fabianski had it covered if it was going those few inches lower.

In the end it finished 0-0 and you really can’t argue with Cardiff taking us to a replay. They played good football; they took the game to us and didn’t resort to any ‘anti-football’ tactics. We didn’t do enough to beat them, we simply weren’t good enough but I do fancy us in the replay in front of our own fans and on a bigger, better quality pitch.

You can read Wenger’s comments here. He thought we started well…no idea what game he was watching. However he did praise Cardiff’s defending and also admitted the occasion got to Ramsey.

The replay is a week tomorrow, Tuesday 9th February. So that means we have Everton Wednesday, West Ham Saturday, Cardiff Tuesday then Spurs on the Sunday. So a busy schedule coming up.

If we beat Cardiff in the replay we have a home tie against either West Brom or Burnley in the next round. Obviously any talk about that will come after we’ve played Cardiff.

Thanks for reading, speak to you tomorrow.

It’s FA Cup weekend again and everyone will be looking for an upset or two. Not us though, Cardiff will be well up for the game at Ninian Park but we have to show them our class and overcome the challenge.

The FA Cup is a chance for an important piece of silverware. We haven’t won anything since the 2005 victory over Manchester United, now 4 years ago. That’s far too long for team of Arsenal’s quality. We’re not too far off the top of the league table and you never know how things will go in the Champions League but you have to think that the FA Cup is a massive opportunity for us. Fucking Tottenham will have been to the new Wembley twice after the Carling Cup final and we haven’t even set foot in it yet. Fair enough Spurs have got there though a lesser competition, but still.

I think we are well up for the competition this year. Arsene Wenger has hinted a few times that we’re going to put everything into the FA Cup, he knows how important trophies are but does believe they will come.

Arsene said the team would be similar to the one that played in the last round. I’ll remind you of that team: Fabianski – Sagna – Djourou – Gallas – Silvestre – Diaby – Ramsey – Nasri – Eboue – van Persie (c) – Bendtner. Silvestre is still out after picking up an injury in that game but Toure is back in. I doubt that he or Gallas will play left back; so it’s between those two and Djourou as to who gets the two centre back spots.

I would assume that it’ll be Djourou + 1 but Arsene has said he is not afraid to field Toure and Gallas together but admits they might lack a bit of height. He also knows that they might not be the best of friends but he says that shouldn’t matter on the pitch. He’s right, but we have looked more solid with Johan Djourou in the side.

It’s difficult for me to predict who Arsene Wenger will choose to pick and who he’ll choose to rest. Last time around he partnered van Persie with Bendtner; I’m expecting the Dane to start again but he might rest the in-form van Persie and bring in Adebayor. Arsene has described Robin as ‘on fire’, and he is. He’s scored or set up every single goal we’ve scored this year, which is quite incredible. Arsene could even go with the Adebayor + van Persie combination, there’s no doubt that having both of them in the side would help but then we have Everton on Wednesday to think about.

Here’s my guess at the team then:

Fabianski
Sagna – Toure (c) – Djourou – Gibbs
Diaby – Denilson – Ramsey – Nasri
Adebayor – Bendtner

Eboue’s not playing well recently so he might sit out, I think with Gallas only coming back this week he could be rested and I’m guessing van Persie will be saved for the bench and brought on if needed.

I’d like to see Wilshere start on the right wing but there have been no hints on that this week. He played well on Wednesday night so maybe Wenger will be impressed enough with him to give him a game.

As I said earlier, Cardiff will give everything in this game. This competition means a lot to them and they have the belief after reaching the final last year. There will be a hostile atmosphere inside Ninian Park and it’s going to feel a bit like a physical away game up north.

The defense will need to be tight. Our problem this year has been conceding goals and letting teams back in it. For an underdog to score a goal back in the FA Cup gives a team so much confidence, we cant afford to let Cardiff get that chance. The same goes for if we concede first, they will not make it easy for us to get back into it – they will sit back and defend like their lives depend on it. So the defense has to be on form and avoid conceding in any circumstances.

It should be a good game tomorrow and I’m well up for it. Unfortunately I’m not going, but if you are then have a great time. Cardiff have lively fans and we have a decent number traveling to Wales, should be a great atmosphere. I’ll just have to make do with a pub in Bournemouth.

Right, I will speak to you on Monday with the match report, until then.

There is loads of news today, typical of a Friday but would’ve been nice if we had something else to talk about earlier in the week.

I’ll get the token Arshavin story out of the way first and it’s pretty big news – Our final offer of £12m + £3m bonuses has been rejected. I’m sure that’s over now, I’m not expecting this story to carry on. We have confirmed that we will not be increasing our offer and I think Zenit did pretty well to get us to £15m anyway.

The Daily Mail today ran a story that a deal would be done shortly as a £15m deal has been accepted by Zenit. There were no quotes and no sources in that article so I immediately declared it to be complete bollocks.

When asked about the transfer in today’s press conference, he didn’t have a lot to say and declared the signing only 2% of his interests. He also spoke about how he was against the transfer ‘window’ and thinks it should either be completely open or closed over the course of the season.

I’m expecting some sort of official confirmation over the weekend that negotiations are dead and buried; I’m sure the manager or a member of the board will be asked about it at some stage. And then, we can finally stop talking about this Owly Russian, his cunt of an agent and the greedy Zenit St. Petersburg.

There’s an odd story on Gael Clichy which I came across earlier today, it is a series of photos of Gael Clichy enjoying his suspension a bit too much! After picking up his 5th yellow card against Hull he had pretty much two weeks until his next game so Wenger probably thought it was a good time to give him a break. However I’m not sure this is exactly what he had in mind… these pictures will probably end up on his desk at some point and I don’t think he will be too happy.

Personally, I think it’s fucking hilarious. But then I am not his manager. If you’re reading Gael – Happy Hangover.

Aaron Ramsey has been talking about his return to his boyhood club this weekend. He’s worked his way through the ranks at Cardiff so obviously the club means a lot to him. Despite this, he’s really looking forward to the game and wants to beat his old club.

Wenger has said that he will not hesitate to play Ramsey if he will add something to the team. Arsene is a big fan of the Welsh midfielder and thinks he is a big name for the future of Arsenal. I would not be surprised to see him start on Sunday; hopefully the occasion doesn’t go to his head.

One more piece of team news ahead of the FA Cup game and Gallas is back in the squad. I think Arsene will avoid making a decision in defence and play Toure and Djourou saying that he didn’t need to rush Gallas back. I dunno, I’m just guessing but now with Gallas, Toure and Djourou all fighting for two spaces we’ll see who is in Arsene Wenger’s favour. I’ll talk about all things regarding the game tomorrow in the match preview.

Just quickly, because this post is getting long now… Arsene has said that Eduardo still needs a few more games before he’ll be back in the first team. The player himself said that he felt ready to return after the Stoke game but it did seem a bit premature. As much as we can’t wait to see him playing we’re just going to have to wait.

The Boss has also been bigging up Denilson saying that the media doesn’t give him anywhere near the credit he deserves. Must say I’m guilty of not giving the Brazilian much credit either but I’m still not completely convinced by him. Maybe I’ll see it in this second half of the season.

Well that’s it for today. Happy Friday everyone, I’ll speak to you tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

Eduardo Da Silva completed his first full 90 minute performance last night since his broken leg last year. The reserves drew with Stoke 2-2, a brace from Jack Wilshere earned us a point. Eddy could’ve won it for us with just a couple of minutes left but his neat finish was ruled offside. He also had a great chance to score when we caught Stoke out on the break but the ‘keeper made a great save.

I didn’t get a chance to see the game but I’ve been told that he did look rusty but showed flashes of skill and grew better as the game went on. All he needs is games now, he’s well on course for his first team return. He says he feels ready to play return to the team and can’t wait to get his first goal. I know Wenger wont rush him but I’m hoping his back on form in about a month’s time.

It has to be said though – Jack Wilshere did steal the show a bit. His first goal was a finish Dennis Bergkamp would’ve been proud of and he was dangerous all game. I don’t see any excuse in him not playing against Cardiff on Sunday – he couldn’t be any worse than Eboue. You can see highlights of last night’s game here.

Of course, a blog post in January 2009 would not be complete without a fresh Arshavin story or two. Today is no different. Zenit claim we are still in contact but things are going ahead without the hindrance of Arshavin’s mouthy agent, Denis Lachter. They say they are talking directly to Ivan Gazidis to try come to a conclusion. However Peter Hill-Wood insists we will not be increasing our latest offer, it’s up to Zenit to accept or decline – quotes also on that link above.

The player himself has turned to God in the hope that a deal will be done. Keep praying, mate.

Nicklas Bendtner has turned a move to German side, Hoffenheim according to his Dad. He says he is glad that there is interest in his son, “But a transfer is not going to happen at this stage”. I know some Gooners would be happy to drive Nick to Germany themselves but he’s scored twice in the last two and you have to remember he’s only 21! He’s got a few years yet to prove what sort of player he can be. He can be frustrating but we just have to give him time. I’m not expecting to see a lot more of him this season with Eduardo back soon – it’s up to Bendtner to get his place in the side.

Right that’s it for today. I’m exhausted. More tomorrow, undoubtedly there will be some sort of Arshavin related material. Until then.

Well it now looks even less likely that Andrei Arshavin will become an Arsenal player this transfer window as negotiations for the Russian have broken down.

What I’ve heard is that we’ve made three offers, the latest one being around £13m. All of which have been rejected because of Zenit making last minute requests right after we’ve made a reasonable offer. If this is correct, I would not be surprised if Arsene Wenger was a bit pissed off about it and was ready to tell Zenit forget about it.

I’ve heard our latest offer has been given to them and it’s a ‘take it or leave it scenario’. If that were the case then I’d expect Zenit to wait out the rest of the window offering themselves up to anyone buying but if nothing came then they might come back to us and accept our offer.

I said yesterday about us apparently refusing to fly to Russia because there was no point in it. Well it all makes a bit more sense now if what I’ve said above is correct. As I say, this is just my understanding of the situation from various sources but it’s fair to say that negotiations aren’t progressing well.

His agent has even come out saying that if it comes to it, Arshavin will buy out his contract in November when he becomes eligible to do so. By November, we won’t really need him anymore; everyone should be back fit and he would be 28-years-old. So if it doesn’t happen in the next couple of weeks I don’t think we’ll ever get him.

I think Wenger will use this time to have a look at what else might be available. If I get any decent stories come my way I will keep you informed but at the moment there are no whispers about anyone.

Eduardo is back in action for the reserves again tonight as they play Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium. Last time out he tweaked his hamstring but this time hopefully he’s a bit more match fit and is well on his way to full recovery.

The game’s already underway, so we should get some reports coming through of how we did in a few hours time. By the way, I’ve just heard that Jack Wilshere has scored a brilliant goal to make it 1-1, about half hour gone now.

That’s it for today… it’s another slow week on the news front. Bits and bobs of team news for Cardiff but it’s nothing major and I’ll go through it all in the match preview. The only big-ish story was Gael Clichy missing out after picking up his 5th yellow of the season against Hull. Kieran Gibbs did well last time he was called upon so I’m expecting him just to take his place.

Just before I go… totally irrelevant but I saw this story from Florentino Perez, the ex-Real Madrid president. He’s looking to be re-appointed and has said if elected, he will bring ‘Kaka to the club for around £75m. What the fuck? If Milan couldn’t be tempted by £100m from Man City then why would they suddenly change their mind for £25m less? He also says Arsene Wenger is his no.1 target for the managers job, just weeks after he denied [yet again] that he would move from Arsenal. I wonder how Ramos must feel, he’s been there 5 minutes and there’s already talk of replacing him! Oh it does make me laugh some of the stuff presidential candidates will say.

Anyway, I’m off now. Speak to you tomorrow.

The story of our transfer window goes on and on but today it takes a new twist. Today, it’s looking less likely that he will sign and the deal is now being described at 50:50.

Gunnerblog has an exclusive from a Russian newspaper saying that we are refusing to fly out to Russia and negotiate:

“Zenit are prepared to meet Arsenal to discuss this. We are ready to reduce the fee and accept certain bonus clauses as part of the agreement. But so far Arsenal have refused to increase their offer for Andrei above £12m. If the Londoners come over to Russia to meet with us there is a very good chance they will get Arshavin. But so far that hasn’t happened as Arsenal say they see no point in having discussions in St. Petersburg.”

That’s quite remarkable if true. If we really want the player then of course we should go out there to finalize the deal. It sounds like we are so nearly there. Have we not learnt anything from the Alonso deal in the summer? Our reluctance to pay an extra million or two cost us dear and left us bare for the season.

Now January has rolled around we have a chance to add to the squad. Arshavin would be a great talent to have on board and we’re closing in on him. All it’s going to take is that little push more and he will be ours.

I’m just worried that this will fall through and we’ll end up with no one. Last week Wenger said he has his eye on other people but I’m not counting on that. We really need a big name and if there was anything going on then we probably heard by now. I think we’re being sneaky and we’re going to go in and raise Manchester City’s offer for ‘Kaka. It’s all part of the master plan.

This story is going to go on and on but at least in two weeks time we will know where we stand.

There’s really not a lot going on this early in the week. Wenger’s been talking about Aaron Ramsey saying he’s pleased with his progress and thinks he’s definitely one for the future.

Well I’m gonna leave it there for today, speak to you tomorrow – no doubt with more crap from Arshavin’s representatives.

See ya.

Every few days we get a new statement from Zenit telling us that that the deal for Arshavin is getting closer and closer. At the weekend his agent said a deal should be done this week and today Zenit are saying negotiations continue and he should be at Arsenal soon. It’s getting tiresome hearing all these stories, but hopefully it’ll all be worth it in the end and we can sort something out.

Speaking before the Hull game Wenger reassured us that Arshavin isn’t our only target:

“I don’t think it is worth to talk about [Arshavin] at the moment because we are nowhere near signing him, but he is one of the players we consider. He is not the only one we are on.

But at the moment it is not an absolute worry because we have so many players who will come back soon. We focus on them.

It’s nice to know that he has got others in mind because it does seem to the normal fan that the focus is on just the Russian. The way in which the player is represented it wouldn’t be that surprising for the deal to fall through and I’d hate for us to come out of the transfer window empty handed.

Wenger went on to talk about Arshavin’s playing availability:

Also speaking about a player like Arshavin – he cannot play in the Champions League. If he comes here now he will have 15-16 games and it will take five, six, seven maybe 10 games to adapt. You don’t know.”

I hadn’t really thought about him being cup-tied. So we’re buying this player purely for around 15 domestic games; in Champions League we will have to go with what we’ve got. It might not be the worst thing though, the league is where we are struggling – We’re still in Europe and we’re still in the FA Cup but we are not in the top 4. Arsene sees him as the man to come in and help us get back into the Champions League spots.

Once we have overtaken Aston Villa, you never know… Arsene thinks Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool will all have a little drop in form so if we’re there to capitalize on that, you never know.

William Gallas has hinted he might complete his contract and leave on a free transfer. Many are expecting him to go in the summer but we might be seeing him for a little while longer:

“I am concentrating on my future, finishing my contract with Arsenal and seeing where I’ll go in two years”

Although he might not be the most popular bloke around, it might not be the worst idea to have an experienced defender in your squad for a few more years. I don’t expect Gallas is the happiest man in the squad either so you never know he could just be saying this and then getting the first train out of London once the summer comes. Either way, not really fussed but he will have to be replaced if he goes.

Tomas Rosicky has been talking about his return to football and says he cannot wait to be able to tell the fans that he is fit and ready to play this weekend. It’s been a stressful and emotional time for Tomas and it’s going to take a bit of time for him to get match fit again. Only time will tell whether he’s the same player again once he returns.

Apparently we have an 18-year-old Hungarian defender called Mate Toth on trial at the moment from Gyori ETO. Unfortunately that’s about all the information I have on this bloke, I don’t think you can blame me for not knowing a lot about him. His agent says he has a lot of potential and Tottenham have had him on trial before too. If I hear anything on this I’ll keep you updated but so far, well, he’s foreign and young – so we must be buying him.

That’s all for today. Thanks for reading.

Three points gained up north, one of the better performances this season and Tottenham go bottom of the league. Not a bad Saturday by my reckoning. It could’ve been better though. I checked the scores earlier in the day, Chelsea were 1-0 down to Stoke, United we’re being held by Bolton and Sunderland had the lead over Aston Villa. However by the time our game had kicked off, Chelsea had completed a 2-1 comeback, United got a late winner at Bolton and Aston Villa somewhat controversially came back to beat Sunderland. Some teams just have so much luck.

So it turned out to be a must win at the KC Stadium. It took a while for the game to get going, the only incident in the first half an hour was a van Persie free kick in the 12th minute which was hit low and just went past the post.

Our fortunes suddenly changed half an hour in. We won a free kick to the right of the box, which van Persie stepped up to. It was in a position were a cross or shot was on, if he were to shoot it would have to be some effort. There’s no doubting Robin’s free kick ability though and he smashed it curling into the far top corner. The ‘keeper got a great touch on it to divert it onto the crossbar. Djourou was nearly there to tap in the rebound but he was tackled. What a free kick though – if that went in it would’ve certainly been one of his best.

That chance lifted us and we really turned the pressure on and a couple of minutes later we had the lead.

It came from a van Persie corner from the right. It was a great ball in towards the back post and Adebayor leapt and met it with a looping header across goal into the inner side netting. An unstoppable set piece, great work from both our strikers there who after that goal were equal on 12 goals this season.

We enjoyed having the lead early in the game for once and it allowed us to play our football. Hull just couldn’t do anything and when we had the ball we looked dangerous.

Eboue had a great chance nine minutes from the break when Adebayor squared the ball after a great passing move but he fluffed it at the far post. In the end we went into half time 1-0 up and in a strong position. It could’ve been more but at this point I was just happy to be leading at the break for once.

We came out in the second half and kept the pace up. All we had to do was play out the rest of the game at our pace, and add a couple more goals.

Well that didn’t happen, although we were on top and were looking to extend the lead we still allowed Hull back in it in the 65th minute. Bernard Mendy was out on the right and Gael Clichy backed off and allowed the cross to come in which met Cousin at the near post who headed home. Good goal by Hull but a bad piece of defending from us, Cousin was not marked; he managed to get between Toure and Djourou. However, they might’ve been expecting Clichy to cut the cross out but instead of challenging Mendy he backed off in fear that he might get passed him. A poor piece of defending from Clichy and not the first this season. I’m keeping the faith though.

So we found ourselves chasing the game again after letting them back in it. Bendtner came on to form a 4-3-3; he replaced Eboue who had another bad game. After a series of decent games he goes back to his normal clown-like self. He was diving, complaining, not chasing down balls and when I saw Bendtner coming on there was only one man I knew who would be coming off. I sometimes feel sorry for him that he’s always subbed off when we have to chase the game but yesterday he can only have himself to blame.

We were putting the pressure on Hull and searching for that important goal. I was getting frustrated but for some reason I thought we would manage to score – just as we did against Bolton.

And in the 83rd minute, we took the lead again. van Persie saw Nasri open to the left of the box and put him in, Samir took a touch and finished well with a left foot shot low into the far bottom corner. A well taken goal, a lot of players would’ve panicked in that position but he showed his maturity.

Surely the game was ours now but with the way we’ve been leaking goals recently I wasn’t too sure. With Hull having to come out and attack now I thought our best chance of defense was attack.

We confirmed the three points and made it 3-1 with four minutes to go. It was a nice one-two between Bendtner and van Persie against the thin Hull defense who had been caught on the break and Bendtner made it two goals in two substitute appearances.

He nearly got his second of the game in injury time when his header came crushing off the post. Clichy was on his own down the left and either put an amazing or lucky cross in the fell right onto Bendtner’s head at the near post but unfortunately he couldn’t beat the woodwork.

So in the end it finished 3-1 and apart from conceding that silly goal it was a decent performance. We showed glimpses of our full potential. Scoring first and early on really helped us and allowed us to play the football we wanted. More early goals please.

Next up it’s Cardiff in the FA Cup, build up to that later in the week. Tomorrow, back to the transfer madness. There’s a little bit to catch up on but I’ll save it all for then.

Thanks for reading.

The madness of the short January transfer window stops for the weekend and it’s time to concentrate on the football. Tomorrow we take the trip up to Hull. Everyone remembers the humiliating defeat to them at home this season so there is an extra incentive to take all this points this time around.

Back when we lost to them in September, Hull were on a great run. They went on to beat a lot top sides and pushed their way into the top four. Now though, they’re on a different kind of run; they haven’t won since the beginning of December against ‘Boro, and have lost every game in the league since drawing with Liverpool on the 13th December.

Our fortunes have taken a turn around since September too, but gone the opposite way. We’re on our best run of form this season – unbeaten in the league since losing to City on the 22nd of November.

It might not feel like we’re back to our best but we are grinding out the results and results are what matter. A win tomorrow in any style is all we need.

This is a game we should definitely we winning. I said this last time and we were awful, this time we should be making right those wrongs. We need a win to keep up with Aston Villa, I’d be worried if they opened a gap on us – at the moment they are three points clear of us, they play Sunderland this weekend.

The team news isn’t that different from last weekend. The only possible return is Alex Song who I don’t think will get in the side anyway. I’m expecting the same team as last weekend:

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

I don’t know, maybe Song will come in for Diaby who didn’t look great last weekend. In fact now I think about it, if Song is fit I think he will play.

The front two should be the original van Persie & Adebayor. The Dutchman’s been on great form recently but the same can’t be said for his strike partner. Adebayor’s been pretty anonymous recently and with Eduardo’s return only two to three weeks away his starting position could be in threat. However Wenger insists that he is working hard to improve and re-find that form from last season. I think his lapse may be down to a lack of competition for his place, I’m betting once Eduardo Da Silva is back in fold he’ll pick his game up.

As for Hull, George Boateng picked up a bad injury in the week, other than that they have pretty much all their best players available. Geovanni is fit and the defensive will have to watch out for his long-range screamers this time.

We play in the late, 5.30pm kick off and it’s live on Setanta over here. I’ll probably watch this in the pub, can’t make the trip unfortunately but I bet it’ll be a good one for those going up north.

Better go now, I’ve got important TV to watch. Speak to you later, enjoy the game.

After just watching Arsene Wenger’s press conference I am confident that a deal for Andrei Arshavin will be reached. The manager as usual, gave nothing away but hinted that negotiations were going well. If you watched today’s press conference, and you are used to watching Arsene Wenger I think you will agree that things were going well.

He said there was no news as yet and would not confirm if we had made an improved offer. I don’t expect him to give anything away until the day he signs (if he does). And even then, he won’t disclose any information.

I spoke yesterday about how the threat of Man City could ruin our plans. I said that if Milan don’t get ‘Kaka they will be looking elsewhere for a signing and the availability of Arshavin might interest them. Well apparently the incredible move for the AC Milan star is still on, the player himself has said that he’s happy at Milan and I’m sure the club would want to keep him but the amount of money being offered here might just be too good to turn down.

Arsene Wenger has had his say on the story and described the story as not ‘real’ and ‘in another world’. It’s true, it’s absolutely crazy, I mean ‘Kaka’s a good player but there’s no way you can put a one-hundred million valuation on anybody, it’s just showing off. He’s also said that he is in no way jealous of Man City’s money and I wouldn’t expect him to be. He says that he’s more interested than developing players and teams rather than splashing the cash.

I don’t expect the manager to spend a lot of money this transfer window. In fact, if we don’t get Arshavin I wouldn’t be surprised if no-one else comes in. Arsene has described the return of Eduardo, Walcott, Fabregas and Rosicky as ‘new signings’. It’s an expression he uses a lot and one that does frustrate some Arsenal fans. I do think though that the return of Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo will be like new signings seeing as their recovery itself has been in doubt. Wenger has confirmed that Eduardo is fit and will be back in the first team in about two or three weeks. Exciting times but we have to try not expect too much of him when he does play.

A bit of early team news ahead of the Hull game this weekend and the only possible player back is Alex Song, he’ll face a late fitness test. I’ll save match-talk for tomorrow in the preview- until then.

Well, this transfer window has been pretty boring apart from today when Manchester City apparently offered €100m for AC Milan’s ‘Kaka. If accurate that is just absolutely ridiculous. It’s just stupid how they can afford just to go and make novelty offers like that. I did find it funny for a bit but then it just pissed me off how football can just be controlled by a rich investor.

‘Kaka has rejected the bid and well on him. He’s shown that some footballers are about loyalty rather than the money and has insisted that he wants to stay at Milan for the rest of his career and eventually become their captain. Even still, if someone offers you (the reported) £260,000 a week to do anything, to turn it down does say something.

So City will have to wave their chequebook elsewhere and I fear Zenit and Arshavin will present themselves like a bird in mating season. I’m confident that we are the only team currently interested in him but if City keep working their way down the latest Fifa World Player rankings they will eventually get to Arshavin and place a bid.

Hopefully we can get something done before this scenario will happen. His agent had said that something might happen early next week. You can only guess how are negotiations are going, but what we do know is that it’s only the price that needs sorting. We say £10m, they say twenty – he’s certainly worth a bit more than our first offer but hopeful we can agree on something reasonable before someone else gets interested.

Dennis Bergkamp has said he’d consider working with Arsenal one day. Talking to Arsenal TV on their first anniversary he said he wouldn’t rule out anything at that he still loves the club and the country. I don’t think there is a single Arsenal fan that wouldn’t appreciate a return by the great man. One day, I’m sure it will happen.

Well that’s about it really for today. It’s all been very quiet recently. I’m currently watching the Southend vs. Chelsea FA Cup replay and with half an hour gone Southend are 1-0 up! It’ll be quite some achievement if Southend manage to hold on to the lead though – Chelsea have their first team out and are absolutely battering them. C’MON SOUTHEND!

Right, speak to you soon – hopefully we’ll have something to talk about.

Not a lot of news-y news for you today, it’s all gone a bit quiet. All I have for you are some quotes from different individuals on different topics – great fun.

Andrei Arshavin has been saying that he thinks he would suit playing for Arsenal. He also said that he knew William Gallas wore his favoured no.10 shirt but he wouldn’t mind choosing a different shirt number – well thank God for that. What number he might go for well I can only speculate, but I’m going to say no. 13.

Negotiations are still on going on his possible signing, they’ve turned down an offer of £10m from us and are asking for double that, hopefully some middle ground can be settled upon. Zenit are trying to claim that other clubs are coming in for him to try and force us to make a bid but we wont buy that.

Speaking in the last weekend’s Bolton programme, Cesc Fabregas says he’s taking a break from all things football and is simply enjoying a well deserved break in Barcelona with his girlfriend:

“To be honest, apart from watching the Arsenal games, I haven’t been following football much lately. I’m not really thinking about football, watching the games, following the transfer market, nothing. Of course I love watching Arsenal, and I will never miss a game when I can help it, but apart from that I’m just forgetting about everything to do with football. Even my girlfriend is surprised because it’s unusual for me, but to be honest when it comes to football at the moment, I am off it until I can start to get fit again.

I just have to be patient and try to enjoy a holiday. In the last five years I haven’t been able to take any type of holiday because even during the summer I have been playing for the national team, so it’s been constant. I think in six years I’ve only ever had three consecutive weeks without football. That’s not normal for a 21 year-old. For Arsenal and Spain at all levels I think I have played 270 games – for a 21 year-old that’s not normal so I guess at one stage this had to happen. I want to relax as much as possible, and I’m sure I will come back stronger.”

He’s right, if you think about it he’s never had any longer-term injuries so this is pretty much his first break since he started. He deserves the rest it and as much as I’d love to have his available for selection I full endorse him just taking some time to chill out.

Since Cesc has been out we’ve been lacking a bit of midfield invention. So Arsene decided to give Samir Nasri a go in his favoured position. Once he’s moved inside from the wing I think we have improved going forward and been more dangerous. He can pick a pass just as well as Fabregas can, for example on Saturday Nasri put an amazing ball through the eye of a needle to Adebayor to put him one-on-one with the ‘keeper. I think he relishes his chances in the middle, you can really see him giving it his best shot. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Nasri in the middle – I think he might just be the answer until either Arshavin or Fabregas are about.

Well that about it today, sorry it wasn’t a very exciting post but I’m not feeling great and I’ve got a heap load of work to get on with. Thanks for reading, speak to you soon.

Well we got there in the end. Bolton came to defend and almost held out but we just managed to force a goal 6 minutes from time through Bendtner.

My day started very early catching the train up to London from Bournemouth. I was there quite early so I got in the mood by wandering around the shops and stalls before meeting Gilbertosilver from Gunnerblog in the pub.

We made our way over the club level where we would be sitting for the game. It was a strange match-day experience, a beautiful buffet was on offer and I went for my typical pre-match meal of Oysters and roast dinner.

We then went out to the seats and it was pretty much the best seats in the house. We were right in the middle, sitting right next to the directors box, Fabio Capello and Ivan Gazidis were sitting just to our right and David Dean was sitting just a few rows in front of us in Club level.

The team came out and it was exactly what I was expecting however Kolo Toure had been given the captaincy. Wenger said the other day that he is our vice-captain and whilst Cesc’s out he will wear the armband. It wasn’t just some plot to counter his transfer request, he genuinely is our vice captain but I wondered if Arsene would still give it to him. He got a good reception from the fans and when he was coming off the pitch at the end he was kissing the badge – for me his future is at Arsenal.

Bolton’s plan was clear from the start, they played a 4-5-1 with a very deep midfield and Elmander as the lone striker to pick up any hoofs or defensive mistakes – they had no ambition to attack.

So most of the game was played in Bolton’s half but we were finding it hard to break down. We missed Fabregas’ precise passing and chances were limited.

The opportunities we did have were not concise. At times we resorted to long-range shooting, van Persie, Nasri and Clichy all had shots hit over the bar.

Down the other end there was not a lot going on and Bolton’s chance of attacking was made even more unlikely when lone striker, Johan Elmander was taken off injured and replaced by a midfielder, Mustapha Riga. Kevin Nolan was moved forward, he was the only player causing us any problems but this was mainly because of his flailing elbows and how Arsene Wenger likes to put it, ‘strong in the challenge’.

It was getting very frustrating watching us failing to create anything. Bolton’s game plan was working. At half time some booed the team off but I went inside to discover why the entire club level disappears in the break… Drinks were waiting at our table for us and we had highlights and Sky Sports News going on around us on the TV. Lovely. The teams started to come out for the second half and I was sitting there in the warm, with my pint, with the game on the TV in front of me and the thought did cross my mind that I could just sit here for a bit…club level had it’s effect on me!

I didn’t though, I ventured back out into the minus temperatures for the second half. The lower tier started off “JUMP UP! If you’re fucking cold! JUMP UP!” It was quite funny watching the entire lower tier including the Bolton fans jumping up in an effort to keep warm!

The game carried on in the same style from the first half. Bolton did have a chance themselves when Matt Taylor headed across goal but Almunia made a great dive and held on.

After an hour it was still 0-0. We needed a change and Carlos Vela was brought on in the hope he might inspire something. It was the Mexican who started off the move that should’ve lead to the opener. He fed it to Nasri in the middle who put an incredible ball through the defense putting Adebayor one-on-one with the ‘keeper. He took to long though and his shot was blocked. Should’ve been 1-0.

We spent the rest of the game battering the Bolton defense. We were throwing everything we had at them. In the 70th minute Adebayor flicked the ball beautifully over the defense, which van Persie met with a touch of Dennis Bergkamp turning the defender to get the shot on. The ball agonizingly hit the post but what a goal it would’ve been if it had come off. Such skill to create the chance but Robin should’ve finished it off.

With 15 minutes remaining Bendtner Replaced Eboue and we switched to a 4-2-4 with Bendtner and Vela playing wide strikers with Nasri and Denilson on the middle of the park. We didn’t really need four defenders, Bolton were never threatening and Toure was doing well when he took the ball forward.

Bendtner almost scored straight from his substitution but the header went straight into Jaaskelainen. He was finding it hard to get into the game and misplaced a few passes; he was cheered when he completed a short pass to Denilson, which can’t have done his confidence any good. He had a great chance to score with 8 minutes to go when Toure set him up – but two minutes later he did have the ball in the back on the net.

It started from van Persie charging down the left and optimistically crossing the ball into the box. It cleared everyone’s head but Bendtner came charging in at the back post and came sliding in to meet the ball on the bounce to squeeze it in the back of the net.

Ecstatic cheers of relief ran around the Grove. After half an hour of constant pressure we had finally forced the goal.

We had to concentrate now; to concede now would be a disaster. We almost let one in straight away. Bolton went up the other end and we allowed them to have a clear shot on goal. Luckily Almunia made a great save but I feel against a better striker we would’ve been back at 1-1.

We had to hang on a few minutes longer but in the end it finished 1-0. An important result with Villa winning earlier in the day. Liverpool drew with Stoke and with Man Unite vs. Chelsea today we have a chance on making some ground on the top 3.

Got to wrap this up now, so much work to do today. Next weekend we play Hull at the KC Stadium, we owe them a beating after they outclassed us at the Grove. Three points there again, vital. Build up to that one this week. Thanks for reading.

First off let me just get you quickly up-to-date on our transfer dealings, there was the press conference today so a couple of stories from Wenger. He has denied a move for Upson or any defensive player saying we are not looking at anyone nor do we intend to.

This will come at a bit of a shock to most Arsenal fans. At the beginning of the transfer window we were all hoping that signings would be made to bulk up our tiny squad and defensively would’ve been the area we most needed to add to. Going forward we’ve been alright, we’ve been scoring goals – it hasn’t been the biggest of our problems. It’s at the back where we’ve conceded more than most teams in the league, thrown away leads and let in sloppy goals. Surely this is the area where we need to add to.

Well Wenger seems to think we are ok there. I’m going to stand by him on this one. I don’t know where he’s going with it but for now I’m going to just let it go. However I do see this being another one of Wenger’s great mistakes.

He’s also been talking about the Andrei Arshavin latest. Basically he’s not giving anything away and he’s said that when pursuing a transfer we like to keep quiet until the deal is done. So still no update but it still looks like a deal is being negotiated. I’m expecting this to be finalized wither way next week.

We need to forget all the transfer nonsense now and get back down to the football. We’ve got Bolton at home at 3:00pm tomorrow afternoon. It’s the first league game of 2009 and a chance to get things on the right track with a win. 3 points here and a win at Hull ext weekend and I will feel really confident we are back. They are 6 points we should be taking and we have to make the right start tomorrow.

We used to be able to count on us slipping up against Bolton a few years ago but we seem to have corrected that since Sam Allardyce left. However, now under Gary Megson they’re a different side. In recent games they’ve lost a few but over the season they have played some good games. They will come to the Grove tomorrow and I’m expecting them to give it everything. They will make life very difficult for us and it is up for the lads to show them our class.

We’re missing a few for this game. The injury list in full is: Fabregas, Rosicky, Gallas, Silvestre, Eduardo and Walcott. A few key players there, Arsene is expecting Walcott to be back end of February/early March. We’ve really missed him; hopefully he makes it back for our game against Roma on the 24th February. Arsene’s also been talking about Eduardo saying that he’s in a difficult stage of his recovery because he’s pretty much match fit but he lacks the top-flight match practice and sharpness. Apparently he’s raring to go and eager to get playing again but Arsene is refusing to rush him and will bring him back into the first team slowly.

Toure, Clichy and Denilson are back from injury and Alex Song returns from serving a suspension. Right, here’s how us see us lining up:

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

If I’m right, it will mean Kolo Toure’s first game back since he handed in that transfer request. I bet he’ll get a great reception when his name is announced and I’m expecting too see nothing but jumping around to Kolo Toure’s name from the RedAction corner. I don’t know how Kolo will react to it, he’s expressed that he wants to leave a club but maybe after a bit of nice treatment from the fans and a few games whilst Gallas and Silvestre are out and he might have a change of heart.

That midfield I’ve selected allows for Nasri to switch with Diaby which is what I expect will happen at some point in the game. Since Fabregas has been out Samir’s been given the license to play the creative role in the middle and he’s done a decent job there. If he doesn’t start in that position tomorrow I definitely think we will be playing it at some point in the game.

I’m travelling up from Bournemouth for this one and I’m hoping my poor record will not continue. I’ve seen some terrible games when I’ve come the 90 miles to the Grove this season – Hull, Spurs and Villa. In fact I’ve only seen us win once and that was against Everton. Hopefully I’ll get to see another tomorrow. I’m up in the Club Level for some reason tomorrow, I’ll try get some photos from there for my match report.

There’s not a lot more else I can say apart from simply: C’MON ARSENAL.

Thanks for reading, speak to you soon.

It’s all gone a bit quiet this last couple of days, which is strange. Either a transfer is being sorted and we’re all busy doing that, or simply there is no news. Both are equally as likely. The main news today is Gallas joining the injury list. Arsene predicts he’ll be out for three weeks along with Silvestre. That almost puts us on the verge of crisis in defense but luckily Kolo Toure is returning to the squad, as is Denilson. Toure was reported to have cleared out his lockers and said his goodbyes earlier this week but Gallas’ injury just shows how much we need Toure and we how we can’t afford to be selling him.

So it looks like Toure will start with Djourou on Saturday against Bolton and I’m sure he’ll get a great reception. Toure might want to go and find first team football elsewhere but Arsenal fans love him. Hopefully a good three weeks in the side whilst Gallas is out and he’ll be fighting for a starting spot again.

There’s a bizarre story that’s come from Emmanuel Eboue claiming he was wanted by Inter Milan. Yeah, he really did say that:

“I have been linked with Inter before, but at the moment I am happy at Arsenal. I am fighting to reach the level I was at in 2006. I have been the victim of many injuries and that is why I have not been consistent enough. But I will fight and prove my worth to the fans.

I am happy at the club. Inter are a great club as well, but I don’t know what will happen. Let’s wait and see.”

Well, that was unexpected. I don’t know what Jose Mourinho sees in Eboue…maybe it’s the same as what Wenger sees in him. Or maybe Eboue’s just made this up; I don’t remember any link. I think I would actually miss him if he left – wouldn’t be the same without him!

Eboue’s best mate, Adebayor has said that we won’t give up on the title yet. He knows we are 10 points behind but is determined to keep going and fight until the end. He’s just, we shouldn’t give up and I know we wont. We are just taking each game at a time and if we can find some form and put together a string of results together you never know. The next game to focus on is against Bolton at home on Saturday. I’ll preview that one tomorrow. Until then.

The top story today is the news that we are in talks with Zenit St. Petersburg over Andrei Arshavin. The club’s general director has told Sky Sports that we have enquired about the Russian playmaker and a deal could be done in the next two weeks.

Well that’s a big development. The rumour has always been there and Wenger hasn’t denied anything so it was a big possibility. Now we have confirmation that this one’s more than just a rumour. Whether or not a deal can be done though is a different matter. Everyone knows that Zenit are very keen to get their asking price of £20m, and everyone knows that Arsene Wenger is reluctant to pay big money for just one player. So we’ll have to wait and see how these talks go.

In other news Cesc Fabregas has followed van Persie in saying he’d love to go all the way and play at Wembley in May. He also says that he hopes to make it back from injury around the time we would go into the semi finals. I don’t know about you but all this talk of going for the FA Cup is making me quite excited. It was quite upsetting watching us just give up on it last year. I think it is a trophey that we do have a realistic chance in and I don’t care what anyone says it is still a big cup. We can’t think too far ahead though, first we must take care of Cardiff at Ninian Park.

Eboue’s been talking about the infamous booing incident and he says that it has made him grow stronger:

“Yes [I feel stronger now] and I’d just like to say thank you to my friends in the team, and to the staff and the boss. They helped me a lot after that game, because I was very disappointed and angry – not with the fans, but with the game itself. I’d tried to give my best but nothing came off for me, and I know these things can happen sometimes.

But I have to thank the supporters – lots of people have said sorry to me and I’ve received a lot of cards and messages over the Christmas period, which has been really nice. So I’m feeling much better now and am pleased to have the chance to play. Against Portsmouth I was a little bit tired but I tried to give my best for the fans.”

Sometimes it takes a set-back to make a person develop and I think this could be Eboue’s moment. If he means what he says about giving 100% every game then he will get a chance – fans love nothing more than a player that gives everything for the team.

That’s it for tonight. More transfer talk and build up to the Bolton game to come in the week. See you later.

Hello from a freezing cold Bournemouth, yet not cold enough to snow apparently, which is really pissing me off.

Top story is probably the professional signing of Jack Wilshere being sorted out. He turned 17 on new years day and was offered a full deal straight away. Usually we don’t turn a blind eye to a player signing a new deal but this could be an important day in our future.

I don’t like to over-hype a player too much but this kids shows blatant potential to reach and top. He is an exciting prospect to have at the club and now he’s been officially tied down to us.

He got a lot of action this pre-season but I don’t think we will see much more of him until next term. He’s still so young and still got so much to learn; he’s an exciting development but we have to wait and give him time.

Robin van Persie wants to reach the FA Cup Final and dreams of playing at the most famous football stadium in the world. Most are saying that the FA Cup is our most realistic chance of silverware this season and I think from what Wenger’s been saying it sounds like we’re going to have a good shot at it this season; although we won’t prioritize in anything…yet. The Premier League looks a long shot, and Champions league – well you never know. Win the FA Cup this year and I think most Gooners would be very happy with that.

Arsene’s been talking about possible signings and was asked by the media whether a potential signing being cup-tied for the Champions League would put him off. Well it wouldn’t:

“I would like to think longer term. If the right player comes in, even if he is not available for the Champions League, his class is more important for me.

At the moment I feel that if we do add somebody, we need to add somebody who has a special class because we [already] have good players. Take a player like Ramsey. They show that they grow. Of course they still show lapses, a lack of experience, but they have quality and they can grow quickly.”

I see what he’s saying. I’m just glad that he does plan to add to the squad. We’re still not sure who it might be, things look like something could happen with Andrei Arshavin but there are a few names in the hat. Wenger has ruled out a move for Inler, we went for him in the summer but Arsene says we are not interested in him any longer.

Things are pretty slow in the transfer market at the moment but it’s early days and I suspect that once Man City start getting properly stuck in then things will start moving.

Thanks for reading.

Job Done. We’re through and that’s all that counts in cup competitions. Maybe not the greatest performance ever but we weren’t bad and that was enough to beat Plymouth on the day. Another win puts us a step closer to finding some form.

It was pretty much the first team that started yesterday. Fabianski has been given the FA Cup this season so he started, Clichy was rested so Silvestre started on the left side. The midfield was made up of Eboue, Diaby, Ramsey and Nasri. Then up front we had Bendtner partnered by captain for the day, Robin van Persie. With no Almunia in the side Wenger had a decision to make about the armband and I think he made the right choice. Robin is in good form at the moment and was the longest serving member of the Arsenal side. He was quiet in the first half but had a good second 45 minutes.

We could’ve killed the game with an early goal when van Persie went through after Ramsey’s miss-shot on 6 minutes but his efforts were blocked. It was a fairly even game in the opening stages. Both sides were creating chances but we were controlling the possession.

On the half hour we had a great chance to make it 1-0. It started from a corner from the left which eventually ended up at Gallas’ feet at the back post. He had a clear shot on goal but by the time he’d struck it, the defense had got in the way and it was blocked. Great chance for Gallas to score again but it wasn’t to be.

A few minutes later Silvestre was taken off and Kieran Gibbs replaced him on the left. I didn’t see Silvestre limping but I was watching on the shittest stream on the internet with some mental bloke recording his television screen, singing and playing with puppets. Mental. But yeah anyway, Silvestre came off, and today I’ve seen he will be out for three weeks with a thigh problem but Clichy should return next week.

In the final stages of the first half Plymouth had a long range curled shot tipped over the bar by Fabianski, Ramsey had a drive blocked and Bendtner watched a diving header got the wrong side of the post.

Both side had decent chances in the first half but we probably should have been leading. So 0-0 at the break and Plymouth would’ve been pretty pleased with that. We had to really turn it on in the second half but I was confident we were going to.

Two minutes into the second half we did take the lead. Nasri put in a good corner from the left and captain van Persie ran into the space and dived low to head it in. A simple but nice goal. I was looking to see how Plymouth would react – would they roll over, or would they put the pressure on and go for a goal?

Well two minutes later it wasn’t looking too good for them as the lead was doubled. Eboue put van Persie down the right and he put in a low cross for Bendtner. The Dane claimed the goal but I think Plymouth’s David Gray got the last touch.

So not even 5 minutes gone in the second half and we were two goals up, that was the start we were looking for. From here you expected us to take the game and finish it off. Plymouth weren’t going to let that happen though and two minutes later they had a goal back.

David Gray made up for his mistake at the other end by putting in a low ball from the right after Summerfield’s free kick was cleared straight to him. Duguid was there to put the ball away and Plymouth were back in it again.

The goal knocked our confidence a bit and we found it hard to create. We brought Carlos Vela on with 20 minutes to go and he inspired us to go forward.

In the 82nd minute Nasri had a great chance when Plymouth’s ‘keeper was forced out of goal to make a clearance but it went straight to the Frenchman. He tried the long range shot but it wasn’t strong enough and it was an easy enough clearance for the defender who had got back on the line.

Since Vela’s introduction you felt a goal was coming. Finally, with 6 minutes to go van Persie did make it 3-1. Nasri started the move off with a great flick over the defense for Robin. He in-turn tried to lob it over the ‘keeper’s head but he got a slight touch. It wasn’t enough it stop it though and it still went through to van Persie who blasted it just under the crossbar. Surely game over now.

There was nearly time for more goals though. Plymouth had a chance when the ball was loose in the box but Djourou cleared it. Nasri hit one off the bar and Ramsey had a shot saved. In the end though it finished up 3-1.

A decent second half performance from us won the game but for a period Plymouth had us worried when they got a goal back. We needed the third to kill them off, it took its time but it did eventually come.

Just a quick mention of a few players, Nasri looked dangerous from the middle again in the creative role, he seems to like it in there in Fabregas’ absence, Ramsey looked promising but tried to do too much sometimes, Gibbs made a pretty good cameo I thought – he really gave it everything but I think he still needs to work on his defensive game.

Wenger’s thoughts are here.

Next up in Bolton the league. Win that and we might feel like we’re getting into some form. Build up to that in the week.

Thanks for reading.