1 minute, 19 seconds – the time on the clock when Van Persie scored his first goal. It was a goal that oozed relief. It was a goal that oozed skill, pace & confidence. Theo Walcott has had a rough ride over the last few weeks but he really had his A game with him yesterday. His decision making was spot on – and his cross from the right byline was the most pinpoint cross to the Ducthman possible. Kudos to our skipper for the run, and it was 1-0 to the Arsenal.

It was a good start and we looked like we had anger in our eyes and looked like we were going to do anything and everything we could do to take the 3 points. Oxlade looked very dangerous on one flank and Walcott looked equally dangerous on the other. With the emergence of Oxlade, the attention has come away from Theo a little bit and it’s helped him – allowed him to focus on his game. Chance after chance…

So as usual, being on top, against the run of play… yes, you guessed it, the opposition equalised. Morten Gamst Pedersen with a free kick. 32 minutes into the half. Normally, we’d go into the half 1-1. But the team just wiped off the goal and carried on. Before we could get too annoyed by the equaliser, Van Persie scored after a great run down the wing through Walcott who cut the ball back into his path. Another goal for RvP and another assist for Walcott, but it was Alex Song with an excellent through ball to start it all off. And Van Persie soon took the assist mantle as he moved into midfield and put an excellent ball through to Oxlade who rounded the keeper to make it 3-1.

Oxlade has been playing so well, it’s been a revelation – he really does look like he can be something special – people call him Theo with brains, but that’s not fair on the boy – he’s a unique type of player, he has everything in is locker and I think it’s just a matter of time until he becomes that player that all people get excited over.

3-1 at half time, but Blackburn had a man sent off for a two footed challenge (Givet on RvP), and we had the capacity to make a difference in the game in terms of goal difference and confidence.

And for once, we got to see the Arsenal in full flow…

And it was the return of Arteta to the first team that showed throughout the game and it was fitting that he got the fourth, again, from season for the fourth of his season. The fifth came through Oxlade, but a lot of credit to Theo Walcott for a marauding run through the middle of the box and he teed up the Oxlade for his second goal of the game.

Van Persie soon secured his hat trick after good work by Coquelin – standing in at right back – and playing very well. In fact, he has been playing so well recently, I have to admit that Arsene has unearthed a gem in the French midfielder. He really does give his all  in every game, is technically astute and has a brain about him.

And then to top it all off, an Emirates farewell from the former captain, Henry, as he got on the end of some great interplay from himself and Van Persie. Although Henry will still be around for Sunderland and Milan away, it was his last game at the Emirates in his current loan spell and very fitting that he got on the scoresheet…

The manager said after the game:

I felt that recently we had quite good performances but did not get the results. Today we got the performance and the result, which is ideally what you want. I do not give much importance to the seven goals, it is just important we won and played well.

And he has a very valid point there. No need to get too carried away through the result, it’s the three points that matters. We need to follow up the game with another performance next weekend.

And then spoke about Walcott and Oxlade:

As you know, they are English! I feel providing today was as important as scoring. The flanks provided very well and scored through Alex. Robin is an exceptional football player and you could see that with his movement in the box, which could be shown in every football school. When you feed him in the box, he is deadly

The two are in decent form, both playing well off each other. I’ll be interested to see how Gervinho gets back into the team when he comes back, but it’s a problem worth having, for sure.

For today, that’s it… I’ll be back tomorrow with more as usual, but until then, enjoy the win!

We feel we have dropped two points because we had chances to win the game. But we produced a decent game against a difficult opponent who gives you the ball, marks tight and waits for their chance. We took all of the risks and we were a bit unlucky as well because we hit the bar, the post and missed some great chances. In the end we took a gamble to play four strikers and we nearly got caught in the last five minutes from a Bolton chance. But I cannot fault the effort, the commitment and desire to win the game. On the positive side we haven’t lost and we haven’t conceded a goal. Of course we have regrets because we did not take our chances tonight.

You have to expect the manager has to say that. He can’t really come out and say that we’re not good enough. But you have to look past this game and take a look at the last four games and of course generally at the season. Have we been good enough? I don’t think so – not off the pitch and not on the pitch. Right now, I have two options – either I launch full depth into a critical analysis of the team, the players, and the management or I take a step back and figure out where it’s all gone wrong.

The stadium shouldn’t be an excuse, but it’s the only viable excuse that we’ve got.

A whopping £400m debt to figure out is a huge deal. Add in extra banky-type things and you’re probably looking at £500m. No matter how you put it, which way you structure it, paying £500m from somewhere is going to take a toll on your finances. However, Arsene Wenger has known that for a while and therefore put in the youth policy that we have at the moment. More on that later – but whereas we’ve spent £500m of our own money (well self sustainable money), Man City have spent £500m of someone else’s money to get where they are.

The difference between Arsenal and Man City has been £1 billion.

Because we’ve decided to spend £500m on the stadium, in a way, it’s like deciding NOT to spend £500m on transfers. So our transfer spending has therefore taken a £500m hit whereas Man City’s has taken a £500m bonus. It makes sense. And for that matter, some may say it’s admiral where we are considering. Out of the top 7 teams, of which, yes, we are now 7th, the others, have millionaire / billionaire owners. The top five biggest spenders in the Premiership are Man United, Sp*rs, Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool. So with more money, more spending, does come a degree of success, of course. Sp*rs have been spending shed loads for the last 15 years, but it’s only the last two that there signings have actually come together. Liverpool have also spent a hell of a lot of money under Hodgson and then Daglish, but are pretty much on level with us.

Why are fans finding it tough?

Well two reasons.

Firstly, we’re used to caviar, we’re used to challenging for titles, since George Graham and Arsene Wenger (in my lifetime), challenging for titles is all we’ve known. We’ve won so many titles and cups under Arsene. We’ve played good football, had great games, and basically always been on top of the pile. Arsene did warn us that we wouldn’t be challenging for quite some time after the stadium was bought – but soon after, we still were – we’ll up until March anyhow and we were still playing good football. But as we’ve lost the edge, we’re now playing worse, and that results in worse results. So what am I trying to say? Well, it’s all about expectations. And we expect to be finishing in the top two every year, but accept finishing in the top four – the problem is that it doesn’t look likely that we will finish in the top four.

Secondly, we think we could have done better in the transfer window. When you see Arsene splash the cash on players who we don’t rate, or we don’t think can cut it – cite Park, Benayoun, Mertersacker etc from this summer – or insist on playing (or paying) players like Denilson, Bendtner, Vela, Almunia, Diaby etc – it’s makes you think, could the manager do better? It’s dangerous territory for us to think we can do better, but surely looking at players like Demba Ba, Gary Cahill,

But with every singing comes an issue – for example, Demba Ba has been plagued by injuries, in fact, has failed a plethora of medicals in his career, not someone worth taking a gamble on. Especially when you have players at the club such as Chamakh who you don’t think are necessarily as useless as they have been. Gary Cahill has commanded a salary of £120k – something we have not been prepared to pay and something that other clubs such as Liverpool and Sp*rs have baulked at.

Give Arsene some flack, surely?

But surely, if you look at it from Arsene’s point of view, he’s had it tough – in fact, he did say that summer was his hardest summer. Losing Cesc and Nasri so late on in the transfer window and not actually knowing that they were both going until very late on, did not allow Arsene to buy before and then had to buy in a hard market. The desired replaced for Cesc was Mata, but instead we had to promote from within. And then late on in the transfer window, we found out that our best remaining midfielder (Jack Wilshere) was going to be injured for pretty much the season, which led us to the hurried transfer of Mikel Arteta.

From Arsene’s point of view – Cesc, Nasri, Diaby and Wilshere all removed from the first team and only Arteta brought in – why? Surely it’s down to the fact that it happened all too late in the window? Yes, we’ve had the transfer window come and go, and no further action was taken, but again, Diaby and Wilshere were supposed to be back and Eisfeld and Henry have supplemented areas of the pitch that were lower. Yes, I know I said Eisfeld but he’s actually tipped to play in the second half of the season having been named in our Premier League registration for the second half of the season.

Can we finish in the top four?

Where we are now, it’s tough. We are 5 points off fourth and we’re in race with 4 other teams. It doesn’t sound great. But there is always hope. There is always hope that we go on a run of winning games. Arsene, I am sure, is keen to fix what is wrong. Against Blackburn, we suddenly have two fit full backs in Gibbs and Sagna, on either side of Vermaelen and Koscielny. Throw in the excellent talent of Oxlade Chamberlain, who has proved that he is now first choice and replace Ramsey with Rosicky and we can win on Saturday. A win can inspire a win which can surely perpetuate?

Where do we go from now?

Back the team. What else can we do? Arsene out isn’t the answer. More funds from the board isn’t the answer. Releasing available funds from areas around the club coffers perhaps could be an option. There is more money to spend, and there are options of making money. The club need to re-address the balance of the squad. At the moment, we’re not good enough and even if we do manage to correct the first eleven, we have to look at the rest of the squad.

But back the team.

We have to back the team – we have to stop booing and give the team support – cheer when we win, but cheer the team on when we’re not winning. The talent is there, but there is too much self doubt and it comes from within, it comes from lack of support, it comes from booing.

We are the Arsenal. The only team with a “the” in our name. We are united together in our efforts – it may not be going to plan, but never wane in your support. We will be back. We are the Arsenal…

At 1645 on Sunday afternoon, the last thing I wanted to do was write this blog. With the amount of negativity surrounding this club, this team and our manager; going out of the club was unthinkable. However the team and the manager were not finished yet and the produced a comeback even the most positive me couldn’t even have believed.

Calling it a turning point would be too easy and lazy. Calling it a potential catalyst is fair but whether this is the pivotal moment for the season we will only find out in May. The first half on Sunday was unfortunately all too familiar. The team lacked drive, creativity and were lacklustre in their general approach. Villa scored their goals through a clever corner routine and a lightening breakaway goal. The mood at half time had gone beyond anger and the faces in the crowd were etched with the resignation of, ‘we’re out the cup’. Even though I was shown on the big screen indicating a 3-2 score line with my fingers, I didn’t truly believe this team had what would it took to turn it around. I reminisced about that match at Highbury in 2001 where we turned around a 2-0 deficit to Villa in their silver shirts, but that team had Henry, Vieira, Bobby, Wiltord and Freddie; they knew how turn games like this around. This team didn’t.

Ye of little faith.

The team responded with the fight every fan would have wanted them too, and with a little help from Villa, we pulled off a fantastic cup comeback. I’m not going to re-cap all the events of Sunday but two things caught my attention.

Firstly, Arsenal pressure on Villa in possession in the second half. Too often we are prepared to let teams have the ball and play a game of ‘you play, we’ll play’. Unfortunately the opposition rarely enjoy playing that game as they end up losing the match, so instead they suffocate us into our own mistake leading to goals. Incidentally we have conceded the highest number of goals through ‘unforced errors’ in the league.  However, in the second half we closed down and pressured Villa all over the pitch and were able to force mistakes, allowing us to turnover possession. If you’ve ever watched Barcelona you will have noticed them pressure the opposition all over the pitch in order to regain possession. It works, no player likes to be chased down and harassed for the ball. We need to continue that kind of work rate in other games, not wait until we’re losing to increase our pressure.

The knock on effect of the players increasing their work rate to stifle the opposition is that the crowd react to it and want to get behind their team. The atmosphere in the second half was the best it’s been for a short while. It was apparent that the players were feeding off it as must as the fans were driving the team. Amazing what happens when we all pull together in one direction isn’t it?

Next up Bolton away, this is now a massive fixture. Results last night mean only a win will do, unfortunately I’ve said that for every game on 2012 so far. Win’s for Liverpool and Tottnum, a draw for Chelsea mean we currently sit 5^th but with 4^th place still firmly in our sights.

With a number of returning players, we are slowly getting back to our ideal first team. Sagna is back, Arteta is back, Gibbs in back in full training, Diaby is expected back from rehab work soon and Henry is ‘ready’. Bad news continues to loom about Wilshere but we need to forget about that and get back to winning performances.

In Bolton’s last league game they defeated Liverpool, they won’t be pushovers so we’ll need ‘second half’ Arsenal from the first minute.

Come on The Arsenal!

Comments welcome – @Tottz82

Bolton have completed the signing of Arsenal winger Ryo Myaichi, who will spend the rest of the season at the Reebok Stadium.
Wanderers boss Owen Coyle has fought off competition from Fulham to land the talented 18-year-old winger who will get a chance to shine in the Premier League between now and the end of the campaign. Arsene Wenger was impressed with the development that Jack Wilshere made during his time at Bolton and the Gunners chief will be hoping that Myaichi will make similar progress.

It’s an interesting one – if the below noise about Arshavin is true, then that will be two wingers out of the club – but I suppose the way to look at it is that Oxlade is ready for the first team and so replaces Arshavin. Henry is available until Gervinho returns, so again, we will have options. From a footballing point of view, a few months with Bolton playing regularly will go a long way in the progression of Ryo as a player, and if Jack Wilshere is anything to go by then we will see a better and adapted Ryo next year.

12:37: Russian, Anzhi Makhachkala, in talks with Arsenal over possible purchase of Andrei Arshavin

Anzhi Makhachkala officials are in London and are aiming to pull off some sensational business for the wealthy Russian side on transfer deadline day. It is believed that the Dagestan giants want Arsenal’s Russian schemer Andrei Arshavin.

Probably something that every Gooner wants, although he is a lot of experience leaving (if he leaves), and that’s the only thing to worry about. Oxlade & Gervinho are ahead of the player in the pecking order and his use within the team has diminished. Anzhi Makhachkala can afford his wages, which has notably been an obstruction with players leaving. Let’s see if they’ll give us cash for him too.

11:32: Gazidis defends the Arsenal spending policy

“We’re in three competitions this year. Manchester City would love to be in three competitions. They’re not. So money is not everything in this game. I don’t disagree that it’s important. But we do things based on a value system. We’re about creating star players, not about buying them. We’re about what happens in a team, between players, not individual superstars. And that’s an inspiration to people around the world. We can’t afford to compete with oil money and we can’t afford to compete with super-wealthy individuals from Russia. But the more important thing about our model is that it’s sustainable. Our business model means we can continue to do what we’re doing forever. We’re proud of the way we do things and we’re proud of the results that we’re able to produce from that.”

Something we’ve heard again and again from Ivan G – not exactly what we want to hear – to be honest, I don’t think Manchester City are jealous of us. In reality they have a better team and are challenging for the title and the Europa cup. They’ve never won a title. For us, we used to win titles and now we’re not – on top of that, they signed one of best players from last season in Samir Nasri. I think Arsene, Ivan and a lot of fans are actually quite jealous of the players, the team and money City had. Weird from Gazidis if you ask me!

09:53: Arsenal sign Thomas Eisfeld for an estimated £600,000

Arsenal today completed the £600,000 signing of Thomas Eisfeld from Borussia Dortmund. Standard Sport understands the 19-year-old has signed a four-year contract with the Gunners after undergoing a rigorous medical at the club’s London Colney training ground yesterday. Arsenal’s medical staff wanted to ensure the attacking midfielder had no lasting damage from anterior cruciate ligament damage suffered in 2009.

Eisfeld is a youngster, he has just turned 19. He’s not had much first team experience for Dortmund and the club are obviously happy to see him go, negotiating a relatively low price. They don’t rate him, but Arsene does. We don’t know much about the player, except that he used to be highly rated before a cruciate ligament injury. Dortmund think he won’t recover – sounds like a similar story to Aaron Ramsey – but obviously Arsene and the rest of the team think he will – I don’t think he’ll feature anywhere near our first team this season, but if Arsene is right, he will certainly be an interesting signing for the future.

Previous news:

• Rhys Murphy has joined Preston North End on loan until the end if the season
• Luke Freeman has joined Stevenage for an undisclosed fee
• Chuks Aneke has extended his loan spell with Stevenage until March

This page was last updated at 13:15 on Tuesday the 31st January 2012

Disappointment turned into frustration, which turned into booing at half time, booing at the team and at the manager. Should we boo our team? Personally, I think not, but the debate after the game was focused on whether people should be allowed to vent their frustrations, how do fans show their thoughts? How do they express to the team that they’re not happy. Recently, the desire, the commitment and the individual mistakes have made the fans upset, and the booing at half time, was probably a cultimation of the last 3.5 games. I’m not a booer myself, but can see why some fans have resorted to booing.

Arsene spoke about the booing and said:

“I’m sad we can’t always keep them happy. The only thing we can do is to show the spirit we showed today. I must tell you I just want to do well for this club that I love.  I understand that people question my decisions. I wouldn’t understand they question my commitment and dedication to this club. I understand they’re unhappy sometimes with the decisions I make.”

Going 2-0 down at half time, having lost three games on the trot, has created a sense of crisis amongst fans and the media, and the belief, faith and hope  is very fragile at the moment. The line up yesterday did please the majority of fans – with Arteta, Henry and Sagna all named on the bench and Oxlade Chamberlain named in the starting line up.

Szcznesy

Coquelin – Mertersacker – Koscielny – Vermaelen

Ramsey – Song

Walcott – Rosicky – Oxlade

Van Persie

The line up also saw the return of Coquelin, who does generally seem more suited to the right back role than the hapless Djourou. The second half was going to be one of the biggest tests of the season. 3 losses, 2-0 down, potentially out of the cup. And the second half delivered exactly what we needed. 7 minutes, 2 penalitues and a rather peculiar goal from Theo Walcott and 0-2 turned into 3-2.

The penalties were deserved, the peculiar goal too, a reward for our change of desire, change of style and change of attitude in the second half. For me, one change more noticeable was the improvement of Aaron Ramsey, who didn’t have the best first half in the world, but then really did step it up for the second half. Arteta’s return on 71 minutes, Coquelin’s return to the team and Rosiscky’s recent run of games means that we may afford to rest Ramsey a little more now – I think he could do with less minutes, perhaps some sub roles – he always does look tired.

For the manager, the comeback was amazing:

“It was a good test to show that we had the mental qualities to come back. On the other hand it was important that we didn’t panic [at half time]. To concede a goal just on half time for 2-0 was a difficult blow, but we responded very well against Manchester United here [last week] and we did it again today. Overall it was a classic FA Cup tie, 2-0 down and we came back. We had to fight to score three goals and we did it well. I felt it was harsh to be 2-0 down at half time, but Aston Villa are a good counter-attacking team and unfortunately we couldn’t score in the first half. In the second half it was all us.”

But for me, the fact that we went 2-0 down and stuttered over the line still makes me worry, it still gives me a sense that we have not yet turned any corner. Optimist or pessimist, this current Arsenal team doesn’t really allow you to really ever think anything or rest on any laurel.

The major plus was the return of Sagna – having him back in the team, back in defence, will add a lot of balance to our back four. There is also news that Gibbs will return too, and perhaps it won’t be too long until we see two full backs, Vermaelen & Koscielny in our back four. That will be pretty darn good.

There is a bit of debate on Van Persie and whether or not he did one on Cuellar – both players jumping in the air for a head and the Dutchman’s elbow connecting with the Villa defender. It’s a bit of rubbish and nonsense from Alex McLeish and personally very annoying to see such press and noise around it – if you want to read more, click here.

I really do hope that this is our comeback, our turning point and will push us onto turning our season around. We play Bolton on Wednesday at the Reebok and they’re currently enjoying some decent form – having beat Liverpool last weekend 3-1. We’ll need to be on top of our game, and the return of a few key players may be the catalyst we need.

Stay positive, stay Goonerish. Til tomorrow.

The news that Jack Wilshere could be out for the rest of the season is very worrying. He is our engine – and since last season, to lose Cesc, Nasri, Jack & Diaby from a squad would not be easy for any manager to deal with. With Jack in the “red zone” from last season, you have to wonder why he played in the Emirates cup in the first place… We have to hope we get Arteta back soon, as without him, our midfield is very unbalanced. Arsene spoke about Jack and told us that there is no return date…

He has had a little setback that is under investigation at the moment so I cannot give you how long he will be out for. At the moment he is seeing a specialist and as soon as we know more we will communicate. It sets him back a little bit but for how long I don’t know.  It is the same foot but a different problem to the injury he had surgery on back in September. But is it an inflammation? We have to wait a little bit.

The good news is that we do have a lot of players returning – news is that Sagna, Gibbs, Arteta and Henry will all be back after the Villa game, and Oxlade and Coquelin are already back. Much better news. Although, it makes it very confusing to know who will play tomorrow, but let’s give it a go:

Szcznesy

Coquelin – Mertersacker – Koscielny – Miquel

Song – Ramsey

Walcott – Rosicky – Arshavin

Van Persie

After last week, I think Arsene will not start Oxlade, but perhaps give him 30 minutes or so. The fans do want to see him, he is one of the form players at the moment. However, Arshavin is a player that Arsene is keen on getting back to some sort of form. I think the trick for Arshavin is to move him just behind the striker, and allow him a little bit of central action – he has played here before and looked much better than when he is out wide. It’s a little baffling why he’s playing on the left. Perhaps it is his work rate, or perhaps it’s his lack of defensive discipline, but whether he plays on the left or in the centre, he still won’t offer the defensive cover, so what’s worse? No defensive cover for a full back or none in the middle of the park when you have two midfielders covering you?

It’s a tough set of decisions for Arsene, as we do have a mid-week game – this week it’s Bolton away on Wednesday – so do you risk Van Persie in a cup game? Well, with no real alternatives – Chamakh gone, Henry missing, it may not be a choice that Arsene has – Park did start the Leeds game. But that was more down Van Persie’s holiday than anything else. I wouldn’t mind trying Park out again against Villa and if it’s not working at half time, then put Van Persie on. After Bolton on Wednesday, we have an early kick off against Blackburn on Saturday. Let’s take a look at our next series of fixtures quickly…

• Aston Villa (home), Sunday 29th Jan
• Bolton (away), Wednesday 1st Feb
• Blackburn (home), Saturday 4th Feb
• Sunderland (away), Saturday 11th Feb
• AC Milan (away), Wednesday 15th Feb
• Sp*rs (home), Sunday 26th Feb
• Liverpool (away), Saturday 3rd March
• AC Milan (home), Tuesday 6th March

If you ask me, that’s a pretty tough series of games; and that’s the conundrum for Arsene – he has three priorities – finishing in the top four, wining the FA cup and winning the Champions League. So perhaps tomorrow’s line up may include a few more reserve players, perhaps we will see a start for Benayoun and / or Park? We will have to wait until tomorrow to see how Arsene handles it… I just hope for a good game of football. We desperately need a win, and the best way to win a game is to play your best side – a win tomorrow and it could spark the confidence we need for the next series of games.

The love fest for Oxlade Chamberlain has continued, and this time it’s the gaffer who’s been praising him:

“He looks to have [the same fearlessness as Rooney]. Now he has to show that he can play all the time but I believe he can. We have produced more players in the last 15 years than all of the top clubs in Europe put together and we are not scared to play players when they are of the level. I believe he has [that level]. Oxlade-Chamberlain operated in a wide position for much of last Sunday’s game but he was equally adept when drifting in off the flank. Wenger thinks he can play in a number of roles.  He can play centrally as well but he has grown up as a winger. And now I think as well he can play central midfield because he can produce a long pass, he can dribble. At that age, you know, you start first on the wing.”

He is the one talent who you have a certain interest in, the one who you think could really make a difference, the one who could win a game…

We’ll leave it at that for now – all eyes on tomorrow and the big game… til then, ciao for now.

For the first time in a very long time, most AKB’s are now questioning our performances, our transfer activity and of course, after Oxlade was substituted on the weekend, are questioning our manager’s ability to make substitutions. A few people who wouldn’t say a bad word against Arsene – ever – are now doubtful about whether he’s been on top of his own game for the last 6 months. Whereas I am still a fan and don’t believe it’s entirely the manager’s fault, there are questions about signings and subs which can’t be ignored.

After Arsene subbed Oxlade, we went on to lose the game. Whether or not we would have won the game if Oxlade stayed on is debatable, but the reaction of Arsene post game… stating that he’s made over 50,000 substitutions in his time and the one line:

 ”If I’ve made a mistake, I’m sorry.”

Sums it all up for me – he made a mistake. Following that issue, he did then go on to say that the player was injured… whether or not you believe it. His former coach at Southampton did speak tot he player and confirmed that there was no problems with Alex continuing…

“He said, first and foremost, that he was super happy with his first match from the start, while he was pleased to have played well. I also got confirmation from Alex that he was neither tired or injured.”

Should we trust the manager? Or did he make a mistake? Did he then lie about it? Are we right to question the manager?

Van Persie certainly questioned him Ox was substituted, but since then the captain has released this statement:

I was not having a go at the boss on Sunday — I was just sad to see Alex leave the pitch as he just gave the assist for our only goal. I was not questioning his judgment — I know it’s not my place to challenge what Arsene Wenger does. He is the boss, he makes the decisions and that’s it… end of story. I have worked with the boss long enough to know there’s always a good reason behind his decisions — and there was again on Sunday. When Arsene makes a decision, it is based on a lot of information that everyone else might not know about and he will never betray. I admire him so much for that. As he said after the game, he doesn’t have to explain his substitutions to anyone. He was right to remind everyone that he has been in the job 30 years and made 50,000 substitutions — why on earth should he have to justify each and every one of them? He has all the information, he knows when a player is carrying a small injury, or has been ill, or is tiring. Arsene’s remarkable success in the game is proof enough that his decisions are made from knowledge and experience. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had a calf injury. We did not know that but the boss did and brought Andrey Arshavin on. I have a lot of respect and admiration for Arsene Wenger. He is one of the best football coaches in the world, with a brilliant record of success here at Arsenal. I wouldn’t be here or the player I am without him. The manager and I are fine and my relationship with the club is good. I don’t want anyone misunderstanding the situation here for a moment. There is no problem, there is no conflict and there is no controversy. The boss knows that, I know that, the players all know that. But it’s important the Arsenal fans know that and that people in the game know that. We are all committed to doing the very best we can to bring success to The Emirates. We are not giving up on a top-four finish, no way. Losing to Manchester United was a setback — but it is not a knockout blow. The way this season is going I think it’s pretty safe to say there will be a lot more surprises before the Premier League season is over. There’s plenty of games still left, we have recovered from reverses like this before and we will win again. So anybody writing us off is making a mistake. This could still be a good season for us. We have the FA Cup to look forward to and the Champions League. We will all be giving 100 per cent to make sure we bring one of those trophies home, hopefully both of them.

Let’s all stick together and fight

Quite excessive for a substitution right?

Although Van Persie is correct in a few points, I wonder the real reason for sending out this message is – your guess is as good as mine. The worrying thing is that we’ve now lost three games in a row – to Fulham, to Swansea and then to Man United. It leaves is a very dangerous position and the reality is that we have a serious chance of finishing 5th or 6th. The captain goes on to say that we’re still in two competitions – the FA Cup and the Champions League – but will Arsene prioritise attempting to finish 4th ahead of the two trophies…

We do have Arteta back in time for the game this weekend against Aston Villa and we’re hearing that Jack Wilshere is also on his way back to full fitness. Both players will add a lot of depth to our squad – when both fit, will both start ahead of anyone else – and if Oxlade’s cameo’s are anything to go by, then he is a player in the making. Keep the players fit, get some full backs back and there is no reason why we can’t have a better second half to the second that the first. But, without any signings, the risk to Robin Van Persie and / or other key players is still very high.

We’ll do what Robin says, stick together and fight – but it is extremely hard to do so when you don’t see the players doing so themselves… or the manager for that matter.

But victory through harmony is what we’re all about… let’s back the team for the rest of the season. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. I am sure there is more & better to come.

Until tomorrow, stay goonerish.

Arsene last week singled out the individual mistakes, the lack of focus in matches as a reason why we lost the games we lost. When it’s the manager himself who buys the players and trains them, then where does the buck stop? Is Benayoun as a holding midfielder ever going to do what Wilshere or Arteta can? Decisions this season have been strange, to say the least. Decisions in formation, decisions in the transfer market and decisions on the pitch.

Arsene spoke on on Friday and said a lot, but one thing I’d like to bring to your attention is this one line:

“If the players come back, we are strong enough [to make the top four]. If we do not have the players back we will struggle.”

Now that is a line that I’d have to disagree with. With the likes of Nasri and Cesc last season, we we only good enough for 4th – with their departures and the points tally we have now, are we really good enough for 4th with the players we have. Yes, we have a big squad, but how many of them are quality players? How many of them can compare with the old school of Bergkamp, Pires, Vieira etc? How many of our team would get into Man City’s team?

If you recall your minds back to the Blackburn game – we had everyone in our whole squad available, with one exception, Jack Wilshere – and we lost that game 4-3. Whilst I don’t want to be a negative person, I find it hard to believe that the return of our missing players is suddenly going to put us onto the form required to claw back 10 to 13 points. With the other teams in the forms of their season, we will also need them to drop points, and a lot of points.

But in football, there is always a chance.

Whether or not, we live in a dream or not, there is always a chance that something will change, form will arrive, games will be won and points will be accrued.

If we do beat United, and Sp*rs lose or draw to Man City, if Norwich can hold Chelsea or cause them a shock, then suddenly the gap isn’t so big.

Arsene spoke about finishing outside of the top four and said:

“For me it would be [a disaster] because I want to play with the best,” he said. “We want to be in there, in the top four, and to play in the Champions League. Anything else would not be good enough.”

And when your manager says that, you feel that it is still a possibility, that it’s the target. Earlier in the week, we heard that various players would be missing – Vermaelen and Henry suffering calf strains, with Arteta suffering a groin strain. Well, we know Arteta is definitely out – but the good news I’m hearing is that Henry and Vermaelen will be back in the squad and both may start…

A potential line up could be:

Szcznesy

Djourou – Mertersacker – Koscielny – Vermaelen

Song – Ramsey

Walcott – Rosicky – Henry

Van Persie

Personally, I’d prefer to see Oxlade start the game and keep Henry in reserve… but I’d definitely not start Arshavin or Benayoun – they’re both not the players we need to win this game… Now that I’ve said that, I bet you they both will start!

Our come back will start tomorrow.

It’s time to shake off the negative vibes and focus of the players we have at our disposal… a win tomorrow, and we will be back on track to our target…

Come on you Gooners…

“That’s now twice – at Swansea and at Fulham – where we have given the game away. At our level that is frustrating and not good enough. It is down to a lack of composure and the right decision-making. It is alarming because at Fulham we were 1-0 up and we lost the game. Today we came back to 2-2 and straight away we gave the third goal away. It is really a concern. It is a massive opportunity [next Sunday] because you feel we have given six points away in the last two games in a way that is unbelievable. It is time for us to wake up and be focused – we have a good opportunity to do that against Manchester United.”

Having read that quote first in Sky Sports and then again on the official Arsenal website, I find it refreshing that Arsene is actually saying what we feel… It’s strange though, because he obviously feels like he is not getting enough from these players, but refuses to buy new ones – yes we have a lot of players coming back from injury, but who is to say that they will stay fit – we have 4 full backs, a central defenders, 3 midfieldsers, Gervinho & Chamakh to come back… But that still leaves us short if Van Persie gets injured on February the [insert Henry's last game date in here].

The worry is the final position and we’re getting further away from 4th than we’d like – and most fans are genuinely worried that we’ll finish behind Sp*rs and outside the top four… I am an external optimist, but even for me this season has been tough… I really do hope Arsene has something up his sleeve, or if not, that our injured players come back and make the massive difference that is much needed…

Tottz is back in the AM for a proper blog, but I thought I’d just leave you with that quote… something to mull about…

As always, stay positive…

The 7 losses this season have been:

1. Swansea 3 – 2 Arsenal
2. Fulham 2 – 1 Arsenal
3. Man City 1 – 0 Arsenal
4. Sp*rs 2 – 1 Arsenal
5. Blackburn 4 – 3 Arsenal
6. Man United 8 – 2 Arsenal
7. Arsenal 0 – 2 Liverpool

Despite having injuries to various left backs and right backs, the core part of the squad – the likes of Van Persie, Walcott, Song, Koscielny, Szcznesy and Ramsey are all first choice and good enough to make the team tick. That was the negative part about the result – that we do have talented players, but they are not good enough.

Out of all the missing players, I think Arteta was the key one – Song is used to having the Spaniard next to him and today, it was clear that Benayoun and Ramsey weren’t working as well with him as Arteta would have. We lost the calmness in our midfield and that caused us problems throughout the game.

Our line up was:

Szcznesy

Djourou – Mertersacker – Koscielny – Miquel

Benayoun – Song

Walcott – Ramsey – Arshavin

Van Persie

The missing players, just in case you’d like to know were:

Fabianski, Sagna, Jenkinson, Vermaelen, Santos, Gibbs, Coquelin, Arteta, Wilshere, Diaby, Gervinho, Chamakh

For the goals, Van Persie’s was excellent – the little Russian putting him through and the Dutchman opened the scoring with a sublime right footed shot – but we got instantly complacent which let the home team back into it – and a very strange decision to award Swansea a penalty saw then equalise from the spot – Dyer actually stamped on Ramsey and then was awarded a penalty. Swansea went ahead in the second half when some very good play saw Dyer in and free and he smashed the ball past Szcznesy. We equalised with half an hour to go, through Theo Walcott, good finish and good through ball from Djourou – but seconds later an excellent run from Graham saw Swansea go 3-2 up. Having put Henry, AOC and Rosicky on, we did look much better, but were unable to find the equaliser.

Losing this game was a game we could simply not lose. Arsene needs to have a deep look at the squad and if decide how we can improve. Whether it’s more players, or whether it’s a different approach on the pitch, formation, style, design. We need to do something different. We’re battling it for a Europa spot at the moment with Liverpool and Newcastle and that’s not exactly where we’d like to be.

Arsene seems to be lost at the moment to understand how we’re not performing and spoke after the game:

“I still don’t understand where the referee found the penalty [for Swansea's equaliser], then we defensively made some mistakes that we should not have done. When it was back at 2-2 we knew we could score a third but it was important not to make a mistake. But in the last games we have made mistakes that are difficult to explain. It is unbelievable, it happened at Fulham the same and again today.”

It’s a little worrying when the manager doesn’t quite have the answers.

We’ve got United next week and it’s important to focus on getting our injured players back and looking at our defensive organisation. There are 7 days until the next game, which will leave plenty of time for discussion.

Stay positive.

Til tomorrow.