It’s a tough decision to make about who you want to win the Champions League. If Chelsea win, then Sp*rs are demoted from the Champions League next season to the Europa Cup… which will be funny considering they actually finished in the top four.

However, the problem with Chelsea winning the Champions League is that they’ll become the first London based team to do so. So it’s quite clear in my head. Bayern to win the Champions League. Sp*rs to qualify to the group stage and then get knocked out!

Back to all things Arsenal and it’s that time of year when we should be thinking about who is coming in, but in all honesty, we’re worried that we’re going to lose our best player. It’s a bit of a tough one, by now, Robin should have signed a contract and the continue delays can only point to one thing… that he is leaving this Summer. Despite his wife saying they’re planning to stay in London, you can’t take anything for granted nowadays and for the first time in a quiet a while, I think he’s planning to leave.

After all, he’s got the captain’s curse.

He did say in his post match interview after the West Brom game… “Whatever happens, I’ll always have Arsenal in my heart”… surely the sentiment of the statement is that he’s off. Patrick Vieira has been in the press talking about what will happen if he leaves – yes we will survive, but no we won’t challenge for the title.

“I think losing Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas last year was a big shock for the people who love Arsenal. If they lose Van Persie it will be a drama. With Samir and Cesc you could say, ‘OK those two are gone, but there is Jack Wilshereand Van Persie still at the club’. But if Robin leaves who is behind? If he leaves it’s going to be difficult for Arsenal to keep the top players, next year it may be Theo Walcott, then Jack Wilshere. But if they keep Robin they’re going to send a positive message to all the clubs and to all the people around. It’s really important to keep him.”

The fact  that we’re here again and we have a top player entering the last year of his contract absolutely sucks. Why do we let this happen? Well, it’s probably about money. Every time we re-sign, we have to pay a sign on fee and astronomical wages increase to even more astronomical wages. From a club’s point of view, by not signing last summer, there was a massive saving.

Signing now is perfect, as the club has already saved the money – but the problem is this.

If you are a football player and you’re offered an increased contract, you’d sign it. Why? Because you’d get paid more money. It’s a no brainer. If Robin is on £80k a week and his new contract is £120k a week, then bot signing it would mean that you’d lose out on £40k a week, which is £2m.

The only time you’d not sign and risk losing out on £2m is if you were planning to leave in Summer.

Think about it boys and girls, it’s getting pretty obvious.

There has been much debate about what to do now. Just as we have lured Podolski, taking him from £40k to £60k and the Champions League, there are clubs who are above us, who will be able to pay us what we want for Robin and pay Robin want he wants.

Michael on Football365, summed it up:

“Take the money, thank RVP for the transfer fee and his immense contribution to CL qualification and not waste the summer trying to convince him to stay. Use the WHOLE summer to build a team for next season and not wait until transfer deadline day.”

Planning is key, filling in the missing gaps is key. If all of this nonsense about Robin is going to end up blowing up in our face, and we’re going to lose him anyway, we might as well lose him now and then focus on the next step.

I really hope Arsene has learnt from last season. Don’t get me wrong – I will jump for joy if Robin stays, but I just don’t see it happening….

There’s a long road this summer, it can be protracted, long and painful or short & sweet and to the point. I’d prefer the latter, no matter who comes in and who leaves.

Here’s to a Bayern win tomorrow….

Adios for now…

Never in doubt right? Sure!

Sunday’s game against WBA brought down the curtain on what has been the most ‘rollercoaster’ seasons in recent memory. A much needed first win in five against the Baggies meant we successfully limped over the line for 3^rd place.

The game itself was consistent with recent performances but it really didn’t matter. In the end it was only the result that mattered, we needed a win and we got it.

I didn’t get much sleep the night before, probably less sleep than any cup final I’ve been to, including Paris in 2006. There felt like so much was riding on this one game; automatic Champions League qualification, not being directly affected by the Champions League final, ability to attract players before the Euro’s and finishing above Tottnum. Plenty to play for!

The journey up was a nervous one to say the least, many were prepared for the worst given recent performances and missing players. Dutch courage was needed… On to the Square Peg pub in Birmingham City centre! The meeting point for the away Gooners was awash with fancy dress costumes including, Where’s Wally, Terry Tibbs, Mr T and away day legend, Tim Stillman dressed as Pat Rice. Cones and Sunglasses included with the kit. The underlying feeling of nervousness lay behind the unrelenting chanting that eventually attracted the police to the pub!

Game time and Le Boss had made the decision to bring in defensive cover, dropping Ramsey to the bench and promoting Coquelin to midfield. Santos also replaced Gibbs at left back.

Similar to the Norwich game, we took the lead early with the first of three mistakes from Marton Fulop. Full marks to Yossi for chasing what seemed a lost cause and then tapping into an empty net. The similarities to the Norwich game didn’t stop there as our defence were dissected twice in quick succession to put us 2-1 behind. The first goal was clearly offside but the second was sloppy and lacked the basic defensive discipline. Arsenal eventually settled and Santos picked up the ball from a great tackle by Song to fire us level. While we didn’t create anything further that half, we needed to go in level at half time as the team looked nervous.

We seemed more settled in the second half with Theo coming on for a rusty/injured looking Rosicky. The 3^rd goal was yet again down to the fantastic goal keeping ability of Fulop, who incidentally had been on the books at Tottnum for 3 years! As he came to punch a corner away, he somehow managed to punch it backwards toward a gleeful Koscielny to flick in. 3-2 but we all know what happen against Norwich.

Arsenal again created little else and slowly started sitting deeper and deeper thus inviting WBA on to us. They started peppering Szcz’ goal with crosses and pot shots but it was in the final minute Gibbs, who had come on for Santos, made a season defining tackle. As the West Brom player ran onto the through ball to shoot, Gibbs slid in from no where to perfectly time a tackle that won us the game. Being slightly critical I’d kind of want to know why the left hand side of the area was left unmarked and why was Gibb’s caught infield but I’ll leave it!

The final two minutes were absolute agony, WBA were winning silly free kicks and throw ons on the half way line however they didn’t feel the need to lump the ball into the box for an equaliser. When the final whistle went, the noise from the away section was deafening. 9 challenging months of frustration, public ridicule and uncertainty came out in a primal roar of satisfaction. @Averz86, @Palerme12 and I were standing up on our seats going a little bit crazy. The post game celebrations reminded me of a cup final but this was bigger than winning the FA or Carling cup. Opposition fans will laugh at such a statement but there are plenty of factors that back my personal theory. Firstly, our club needs the financial backing of the Champions League to maintain debt payments for the stadium until at least 2014, when a number of commercial deals expire. To attract the top talent in Europe (albeit on a budget) we need CL to remain competitive and lastly, I’ve got used to St Totteringham’s Day, why change that!!

The players celebrated but also seemed quite confused as they stood the middle of the pitch at the end! Eventually the penny dropped and they came over to thank the fans and bring over a special guest, Mr Pat ‘Arsenal’ Rice. Pat has been a loyal Arsenal servant for 44years and deserved a beautiful send off. Throughout my time so far as an Arsenal fan, I can not remember ever looking at our bench and not seeing Pat. He has been an institution at the Arsenal as a player and coach. ‘There’s only one Pat Rice’. Thank you.

Rumours are that Wenger and RVP will sit down today to start discussing the latter’s future. The press and twitter will spread rumours to second guess what is going on behind closed doors but we won’t truly know what is going on until we are told something official. The fact is anything is possible. RVP may sign a new extension; he may request a transfer to seek pastures new; we may then reject such a request and ask RVP to see out his contract. Time will tell.

As the dust settles on another season I will be back with a fuller season’s review (and there’ PLENTY to talk about) but for now let’s enjoy what many of us thought wasn’t possible. Arsenal’s worst start in 58 years after Selling Na$ri and Cesc, losing 4 of their first 7 games… we not only finished in the top four, but in third place. While many factors/problems need to be sorted on and off the pitch, let’s just appreciate the fruits of our recent hard work.

To the Arsenal, our Arsenal.

Have a great day.

@Tottz82

Happy St. Totteringham’s Day

Indeed, the day where Sp*rs cannot finish above Arsenal…

Van der Vaart: “There is no chance of Arsenal finishing above Spurs. We’re better.”

And today is a great day indeed Vaartmeister…

And another look at the table please….

Now in all this excitement and all of these jokes about Sp*rs, I haven’t really commented on the game yet. A game which actually shows how far we are away from where we need to be. Yes, we without Arteta, Wilshere & Diaby… but there is a lot which needs to be done to this squad to get it competing on with the top two…

More to follow…

It’s a long time since this much was decided on the final day of the season. We’re in 3rd now, but by the end of today, we could finish 3rd, 4th or 5th… Man City or Man United will win the league. The only thing decided already this season is Chelsea finishing 6th, Wolves & Blackburn relegated… We need to beat West Brom, simple as, Sp*rs have a home game against Martin Jol’s Fulham, which I would only expect them to win. Newcastle do face a tough trip to Everton in a game where an Everton win would see them finish above Liverpool, some incentive there.

Today’s fixtures

• Chelsea v Blackburn
• Everton v Newcastle
• Man City v QPR
• Norwich v Aston Villa
• Stoke v Bolton
• Sunderland v Man Utd
• Swansea v Liverpool
• Tottenham v Fulham
• West Brom v Arsenal
• Wigan v Wolves

At the top, you’d have to think QPR would be fighting for their lives. A win at City would see them safe and in the Premiership next season. A loss, and a Bolton win would see them relegated. I don’t want City to win the title, especially Mr Nasri, but this whole league is becoming a lesser of two evils scenario! Today’s game at The Hawthorns is not televised, so it’s going to be streamed or listened to… As mentioned before, there are 3 scenarios of where we can finish in the league… The BBC have some it up perfectly, so here we go:

Arsenal will finish third: if they win; if they draw and Tottenham fail to win; if they lose (by any margin), Tottenham lose and Newcastle fail to win; or if they lose by a single goal, Tottenham draw or lose, and Newcastle fail to win.

Arsenal will finish fourth: if they draw and Tottenham win; if they lose (by any margin), Tottenham win and Newcastle fail to win; if they lose (by any margin), Tottenham lose and Newcastle win; if they lose by a single goal, Tottenham draw and Newcastle win; or if they lose by two or more goals, Tottenham draw and Newcastle fail to win.

The doomsday scenario of Arsenal finishing fifth can only occur if they lose (by any margin) and Tottenham and Newcastle both win; or if they lose by two or more goals, Tottenham draw and Newcastle win.

Ouch would be the order of the day if we don’t finish 3rd. 3 points from 12 in the last four games is a terrible collapse.

Arsene spoke about today and it’s in our hands…

“We have gone through all scenarios. We have the possibility of securing third spot on Sunday and we just want to take it. After that, we will face the consequences. We have a fantastic position, we are switched on and, if we win the game, we don’t have to think about anything else. The rules are the rules, you know them at the start of the season and you have to accept them. But we want to finish third, we have the potential to do it, so let’s do it. The consequences if you don’t, you deal with after the game. You just have to look at it as an opportunity you want to take. For us it is just about finding the right mixture – to be focused, combative and relaxed but especially to be faithful to play our football. Because, at the end of the day, it will be down to playing well, no matter what is at stake.”

True words from Arsene, but today something very big is at stake, a great big whopping £45M of lossed revenue to be precise (yes, some of that can be recouped with a successful Europa League run)… We’ve heard in circles that the club always work out their finances to include the possibility of not qualifying for the Champions League, but in reality, a club like us cannot afford not to be in the Champions League…

• The money coming in from UEFA works out at approximately £27m
• Player retention is increased
• Player attraction is increased
• Match Day revenues are increased
• Additional bonuses and sponsorship comes in from the Champions League

Read more here on the Arsenal Supporters Trust Website – Analysis of The Financial Position of Arsenal Football Club.

So, less discussion about the consequences, and more discussion on the game… and today it’s West Brom vs Arsenal. Roy Hodgson has been appointed England manager and today it’s his last game in charge of WBA. I’m sure the players and staff would like to wish him well with a win but we have to ensure that we don’t let that happen.

Team news ahead of the games sees Theo Walcott back in the fold. He’s had an indifferent season, but he does work well with Robin Van Persie, and today, going forward, that could the key:

Szcznesy 

Coquelin – Koscielny – Vermaelen – Gibbs

Song – Ramsey

Walcott – Rosicky – Gervinho

Van Persie

I’ve chosen Ramsey as he’s the only player who naturally fits in here… Oxlade has been knocking on the door, but in reality, all of his excellent performances have come whilst on the wing, rather than in the middle. If we move Rosicky back to help out Song, then Oxlade could fit in in a front four of Walcott – Oxlade – Gervinho and Van Persie – maybe not the ideal time to start trying out new players in unfamiliar positions?

The kick off’s all kick off at 3pm. It’s going to be a crazy & exciting day of football, that’s for sure.

Come on you Gooners!

Szcznesy

Sagna – Koscielny – Vermaelen – Gibbs

Ramsey – Song

Gervinho – Rosicky – Benayoun

Van Persie

My seat was in the North Bank, upper tier, behind the goal and it was a good view of the entire pitch.

And what a great start it was to see Benayoun score in the first minute. No doubt about it, the Israeli was a decent acquisition last Summer. Someone who can compliment the squad. We won’t have him next season, and hopefully we’ll have recruited the world class winger that we all want. But nevertheless, it was a great goal from the Israeli and our nerves were settled.

But then… Aaron Ramsey went nuts. Yes, it wasn’t only his fault – but he was so poor, positionally, next to Alex Song he was non existent. If I had to contribute a bad performance to any player during one game, this was the game, and he was the player. But Arsene didn’t really have a choice with Wilshere, Arteta and Diaby all out injured. But I doubt Arsene thought it was going to be that bad. When you watch the game for the first time, you can instantly see how poor Ramsey was, but it made Song look bad too. He was covering two positions, and it was just too much for one person.

We lost the first goal to a complete lack of midfield and really, we should have had more sense. It didn’t help that our vice captain Thomas Vermaelen decided to run up the field and leave Koscielny and Gibbs to deal with the Norwich striker force and midfield. For me, it was a nervous performance and one that lacked cohesion. Norwich looked like the Arsenal of old, and we looked like the Norwich out of the Championship.

Van Persie came to the rescue and turned 2-1 into 3-2 but even he missed a plethora of chances. At 3-2 up, we lost composure, and instead of keeping the ball, we panicked and before we knew it, it was 3-3.

Arsene spoke after the game, a very disappointed manager, but also acknowledged Aaron Ramsey’s bad performance:

He was unlucky with the first booking, it was a good tackle. It is part of learning your job, you have to deal with all kinds of situations and he will do that. He is very strong mentally and is going through a difficult period at the moment. But he will come off that stronger.

Arsene did go on to talk about how 3rd was no longer in our hands… but thanks to the sensational results today, where Aston Villa head Sp*rs and Newcastle lost at home to Man City, we’re still in 3rd. Something I really didn’t think would happen this time yesterday. It’s back in our hands and we have one game, a game in which we need to win, a game where a win would mean Champions League football, but anything but a win and it’s the Europa League.

Today my facebook status reads:

Dear Arsenal,

After a poor start to the season, you’ve shown me that you’re actually a decent side. It’s not been pretty all season, and I 8 – 2 say it but we’ve had some bad moments. We’ve also had some excellent moments (AFC 5 – 2 THFC, CFC 3 – 5 AFC)… but after our amazing March, you’ve lost it big time with 3 draws and a loss in the last 4. Sp*rs and Newcastle should have sped past us, butit comes down to the last game of the season. We’re 3rd. All we have to do is win. Win against West Brom and bingo, Champions League next season. We’ve got another chance. It’s a serious chance. Stand up, be counted, make it happen, and keep our talisman, Robin Van Persie… 1 game, 3 points. Fix up, look sharp. Til next weekend…

Regards,

Dev

Basically next weekend is a Champions League qualifier – one game – one win. The question is whether we can sort out the defensive frailties of the weekend and get the goals we’ll need to win. It was interesting how we ended the game, with AOC on the right, Gervinho on the left and Chamakh and Van Persie in the middle. We looked so dangerous.

I really do hope we can use AOC next weekend from the beginning as he really did make a difference. I prefer him on the wing right now – I know Arsene says he can play down the middle, but so can half the other team. Without Walcott, AOC really can bring some pace and precision to the right side. He linked up very well with Coquelin, who stepped in for the injured Sagna and looked very good.

Next weekend sounds like an eternity away now, but right now, we need to focus, prepare and get ready for the biggest game of our season.

Til tomorrow fellow Gooners, keep calm.

Personally, I am absolutely delighted with the signing – he’s proven at various different levels, internationally and at club level, that he has the class that we need at the Arsenal. He’s quick, mobile, ambitious and could really compliment the team.

The player spoke about the move to Arsenal:

 ”The move to Arsenal provides a great opportunity for me to gain experience in international competitions at a top European club. I have made this decision not against FC Cologne but for this great opportunity and the good of my own individual development. This was not an easy decision for me at all, as Cologne, our fans and the city are something special for me. I will always carry FC Cologne in my heart. We need to pool our strengths now and have to be fully focused on our survival in the Bundesliga.”

And I think the player is very excited about playing in the Premiership and playing for a team like Arsenal. I think he’s a perfect fit into our squad and the big question now is how / where he will play – can he play along side Robin Van Persie? What does that means for the formation?

He often plays at a lone striker, and his finishing is Van Persie esque…

But to play along side Van Persie would require a reversion back to 4-4-2 or require either Podolski or Van Persie to play on the wings, which I don’t think either will do with any decent effect. Perhaps the early buy indicates a change of formation, as it will take a lot of pre-season to do this.

Next season’s line up with all our players and Podolski, could be:

Szcznesy

Sagna – Koscielny – Vermaelen – Gibbs

Wilshere – Song

Walcott – Van Persie – Gervinho

Podolski

Could it work? Is it too attacking? Rooney currently plays that role behind Wellbeck, with Nani, Valencia etc on the wings, so why not? Arteta, Ramsey, Rosicky, Diaby, Frimpong offering strength in depth. Benayoun surely won’t be around next season.

Now that Podolski is in the bag where else can we or should we strengthen?

Probably the worst title for a blog ever… or maybe the best title for a blog ever… either way, it’s probably the biggest game of our season today. A win will really push us forward in the race for 3rd place – a loss, and it won’t be up to us. A loss, and we could finish as low as 6th.

I’ll start today’s blog with an Arsene quote:

“Yes I believe we deserve to be third, considering what we have gone through. We haven’t stolen the points from anybody. We have 65 overall right now and if we manage to play well in our last three games I think we’ll get there and deserve to be there.”

My opinion is that we will only deserve to be there if we finish there. In reality, it doesn’t matter what we have gone through – the record books only show the final position. Stoke has not been a great ground for us – we’ve lost a few games there and Aaron Ramsey lost a year of his career up there too. So today, it’s all about ensuring that we’re ready, mentally and physically – both attributes have been waning in the last few weeks, and that’s down to a small starting XI, lack of rotation and an overuse of key members. We’ve lost Arteta and Walcott for the rest of the season, and surely that was down to the over-use of both players.

Injury news, see Walcott (hamstring), Arteta (ankle), Mertesacker (ankle), Wilshere (ankle) Frimpong (knee) all out… which means, it’s a toss up between Diaby, Ramsey, Song & Rosicky for the centre of midfield, and personally, I think we’ll see this line up:

Szcznesy

Sagna – Koscielny – Vermaelen – Gibbs

Diaby – Song

Oxlade – Rosicky – Gervinho

Van Persie

With a bench of Fabianski, Santos, Djourou, Ramsey, Benayoun, Chamakh and Park…

Vice captain, Thomas Vermaelen was in the news yesterday and he was focusing on the defensive part of the game and the key consideration required for corners and set pieces:

“It is always a hard game when we go there, you know it is going to be a battle. If there is a battle, sometimes you have to fight back. But the main thing is to play our own game, with quick passing. That is the way to score.  Of course we must fight for every ball but the main thing is to keep to our own game and score a lot of goals. We always want to defend well as a team, we have to do that on Saturday,” he said. “It won’t be easy, and we have to be focused on set pieces.”

And it will be up to the front three to provide the spark, penetration and goals – Gervinho owes us a game – he’s been pretty ineffective since since the African Cup of Nations, and he needs to get going again – I think we’ll see both Gervinho and Oxlade play the last three games – and in a way, that would make a lot of sense as they are fresh – and considering the likes of Song & Van Persie are running on empty – a fresh mind and body – or two – could really help up front right now.

It’s a 3pm kick off, Game 36 of 38.

All that is left to say is… Come on you Gunners!!!!

It looks like I’ll throw away my country loyalty and become German for the day. Ribery, Robben, Schweinstiger… I’m in. Send me a shirt.

So right now, the emergence of Di Matteo has re-energized Chelsea and it looks like it is having a similar effect to when Guardiola took over at Barcelona a few years back. The enthusiasm shown by  the management rubs off on the players. I look at my beloved Arsenal and wonder where the raw enthusiasm is. We had a lot more fire in our belly when Thierry was around, that’s for sure – but then again, it makes me think, do players need these types of people, or moments to lift them. Especially with the Arsenal – our players are at a certain level, and what Arsene does, and does well is make players better than they are. In reality, would Walcott get ahead of Ozil, Ronaldo, Robben, Ribery, etc, etc? If not, how would a team like us ever get past the “big boys”.

It’s strange to see Chelsea in the Champions League final, especially considering how badly their form has been. But as much as you hate Chelsea, one thing you can’t deny is the quality of players is there. Not exactly dynamic or exciting, but there are a group of players who can play. Pre-madonna’s maybe, but they do have ability. And with ability, you can achieve anything.

Looking at our squad, we have a few key players who we’ve missed this season in Wilshere and Diaby, and unfortunately for us, we never got going after the summer exodus. If I were Arsene, I would be trying my darn best to sort it out this summer. To look at the players that we need and recruit early. One thing United do and do well is buy early, embed in their team and train, so by the time the season starts, they have a solid team who all know each other. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

But down at the Grove, we always seem to start the season without the right players, without the right signings, without half a team due to injury or to pre-season tournaments. And this Summer sounds like it could similar with the Olympics and Euros… I’d really like us to buy early, train early and have a group of players fit and raring to go come August the 8th.

We’ve got a good spine in Szcznesy, Vermaelen, Wilshere & Van Persie and great players in Sagna, Koscielny and Areta – but we are are missing the world class winger, the world class central midfielder and a real partner for Vermaelen. We are missing the strength in depth that allows us to rest players. Our current XI is good, could be better, but it’s good, but if we lose Van Persie or Vermaelen, then the people coming in are not good enough.

Szcznesy spoke about the rest of the season and the ambition for next:

“When you play for this Club you want to win trophies. This Club deserves trophies and we didn’t get any this year so it’s always disappointing. I think the quality is there. We all know it – we have the quality to fight for trophies in Europe and this country. It’s just consistency that has been a bit of a problem for us this year. But the team’s getting more experienced and hopefully we’ve got the experience to win trophies next year. I think if you look over the last couple of months we’re probably one of the best teams in the Premier League. So we’ve got three games to go and we need to win all three and we’ll finish third.”

We will be back in action on Saturday and Stoke away is probably the hardest game we’ve had for a while (strange I say that considering the recent two results), but we will really really really need to be on top of our game if we want to get the three points on the weekend. The team news should be out tomorrow, let’s see who’s fit and available…

Til tomorrow…

The Dutch striker today was named 2012 Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association and yesterday, he was named Player’s Player of the Year 2012. Today’s award is by Journalists and publications and the Player’s Player of the Year Award is by players – winning both, surely shows that he is by far the best player in the league.

Chief football writer at The People and FWA chairman Steve Bates, said:

“Robin was the overwhelming choice of our members this season and deservedly so after a magnificent campaign for Arsenal. The quality of his goals, attacking movement and consistency in a turbulent season for the Gunners has been eye-catching. The considerable size of his majority in the votes cast by our members reflected the general view that he has been the season’s most outstanding individual performer.

And this tops off yesterday’s accolade.

Winning the PFA award, for any player is an amazing feat, and a sign of class & respect from fellow pros.

Van Persie was very touched at yesterday’s award and said:

“If other people are saying it, it is special, but it is even more special if your opponents are saying it. It is very special because you are playing against them week in week out and every single player does everything to win. In the end, if they make up their minds that I am the best player it is a big honour.”

He was also keen to give the thumbs up to his team mates:

“Without them I could not have achieved it. ”For example Theo Walcott, he has given me more than 12 assists and I do really appreciate that.”

In life, you have to realise where you are, how you got there, and who helps you to get there.

And for those of you who love the game, you’ll most likely play the game. Pro Evo, that is… and PES2013 is out soon, and the trailers are out now…

Check it out…

Tottz is back tomorrow for his Wednesday digest – here’s to see Barcelona or Chelsea thump Chelsea or Barcelona (depending on what floats your boat)…

Prior to the Wigan game, we had won 9 out of 10, but throughout this period, we had used virtually the same XI. Plaudits have been coming in about Walcott, Song, Van Persie and Arteta… but as we have got closer to the end of the season, those players have either got injured or are off form. Arteta’s recent injury sounds like a mix of the “red zone”, fatigue, and over-use, a little like Jack was last season. Walcott has been ruled out for the rest of the season now too – and Van Persie and Song are definitely off-form. The tank is empty.

Whilst our tank is empty and it looks like Sp*rs are in a similar situation – Newcastle’s recent addition of Cisse and recent come back from injury for Hatem Ben Arfa – they have two players who are fresh. For Chelsea, they have such a large squad, that they rotated 7 players and still looked very good.

For us, Rosicky has been very good, he has played a lot in the second half of the season, but no so much in the first half. And that’s probably why he stands out at the moment. For the rest of the season, I can only presume we’ll see more of Oxlade and Gervinho, considering the recent injuries. We do have Diaby back and if he can stay fit, then he’ll be a welcome addition considering our recent spout of injuries.

Today’s game showed a few things – we can create openings and chances – but our passing is off, and our shooting is definitely off. Van Persie had a few golden chances, but fluffed them all.

Arsene had a lot to say:

It was a very unfair result but it is a result. I think [we should have had a penalty], I think also we had chances. At the end of the game we had the chances and they had zero. I cannot remember them having one chance. Having said that it was a little bit of a strange game because before the game I thought it would be an open one – we had to win, they had to win. They decided to lock up the game and catch us on the break only, with two wide players who are quick, and Torres.

And on Van Persie’s poor form he said:

He played his 50th game [of the season] today and he gave absolutely everything again today. He was unlucky in the first half, he had a free kick he deflected and it was a clear-cut chance. Then when he was through I think he rushed his decision making a bit, when he took it with his right foot, because he had Diaby coming in completely on his own. It was not easy for him because he was completely on his own at some stages with not enough support. And he was caught offside one time and I am not sure he was.

There are three games left – we face Stoke next Saturday (away), Norwich at home the following week and then WBA a week later. Some would say they are easy games, but in reality, they’re not. We need to cross our fingers that results go our way and we need to find our form.

I’ll be back tomorrow for some more analysis, but for the moment, let’s sit back and watch the rest of the footie this weekend…