Archive for the ‘Arsenal’ Category

In the last week or so, our inabilities to pick up points during the Christmas period has left a lot of us quite disheartened. Coupled with Tottenham’s good form, the top four is looking like a target that is slipping away. Under the Wenger era, we haven’t finished outside of the top four yet, despite a few close shaves, and it’s something that we have always targeted as a minimum requirement for the season. At the moment, the table looks like this:

It doesn’t make for good viewing. We’ve scored less than the top four, conceded more than he top four, and therefore, in theory, deserve to be in fifth. My good friend Tottz82 mentioned that he believes we have a better squad than Chelsea or Liverpool, which when all players are fit is probably true. However, one thing to consider is that we have a lot of key players out for the foreseeable future in Sagna, Santos, Gibbs, Vermaelen, Diaby, Wilshere and also Gervinho and Chamakh away on International duty. As I said a few days ago, we are one Van Persie injury away from being average. I’m not trying to be negative, but there is a worry. With Chelsea, they have gone through their bad patch and I think they’ll get stronger in the second half of the season. Their manager will impose his style more and players like Mata & Torres will start contributing more.

With Liverpool, despite quite a bad spell of form, only 18 goals scored this season and some bad losses – they’re only 2 points behind us – which means despite all the furore of their season, they’re not “super bad”… So whilst, I think we have a very good chance of the top four, we definitely need to step it up a gear or two. We can’t presume Liverpool and Chelsea will be as bad as they were in the first half of the season. We can’t presume the top three will suddenly crumble – although for the first time in many, many years, Manchester United actually look like a club in a bit of a crisis (despite being 2nd, 9 points ahead of us and three points off the top)…

Arsene Wenger had his Friday match press conference earlier today, and let’s have a look to see what he said:

• “We still feel that we produced the needed performance against Fulham – mistakes cost us.”
• “Thierry was very happy with Leeds. It’s a big gamble when you come back like that and he qualified us.”
• “Mertesacker and Rosicky I will make a decision about tomorrow. They have not re-joined the squad yet.”
• “Swansea have the quality to play in the Premier League because they play positive football”
• “Henry is ready to start a game. He can win us games off the bench or from the start. He just wants to help”
• “I always said February for Wilshere. If he makes that then I am happy”
• “There is still a long way to go this season. Tottenham are a good side but nothing is decided yet”
• “Sagna is on the way back but Gibbs may be before him. End of January”
• “Thierry could play out wide because he still has the reflexes of a winger”
• “He has come back better than I thought, physically. His enthusiasm every day is a top-level attitude”
• “Swansea play without fear anywhere. They do not look out of place in the Premier League at all”
• “I don’t look at Tottenham. You look at the potential we have and make sure we do everything to fulfill it”
• “This year we are still in three trophies and we will try to do as well as we can. We will fight to the end”
• “At the moment, nobody has achieved anything. A few weeks ago everyone thought Man City would dominate”
• “I bought Ramsey because he was quality. What people forget is that this is really his first season”
• “He has a sense of personality and responsibility. Ramsey can take pressure”
• “I am closer to a full-back, but only a tiny bit”
• “Henry and Van Persie have a good understanding. They can make each other stronger”

Those are the quotes published by Arsenal, just after the press conference and they do contain a lot of information in them – for starters, we are apparently closer to signing a left back, albeit on loan, well, “a little bit closer”. Arsene may be able to drag this out a little longer until the full backs are back.

Also, some interesting news is that Arsene thinks Henry is ready to start – personally, I saw him get knackered after about 10 minutes on the pitch. I think we need to understand that the boy is now 34 and hasn’t played at this level for quite some time. Coming on at home, for 20 minutes against a non-Premiership team is one thing – but starting away in the Premier League is another thing. Arsene has to make a decision on Sunday of who to start the game. I’m sure Van Persie & Theo Walcott will be named in the starting XI – but the left wing position may be filled by one of Arshavin, Rosicky, Benayoun, Henry or Oxlade. I think it will be the little Russian, but if he doesn’t improve, then perhaps Oxlade Chamberlain will get a run out.

Arsene did touch on the possible of AOC playing soon:

“He is very close now and he will be used in the next six months for sure. He is working on [his defensive side], his urgency and his committed level as well. When you are a young, talented player you have to experience that talent is good, but that commitment at the top level is highly needed too. He is an intelligent boy, he understands that, and I am very happy with him. I am confident that in the next few weeks he will play.”

I’ll be back tomorrow for a Swansea preview, we may have a little more team news by then – until then, have a great Friday night!

Today’s blog is a little late… but as Thierry says… better late than never.

It was an amazing night for all Arsenal fans, and a night to be remembered for a hero’s welcome, the return of a legend and a great inspirational night. Thierry Henry loves the club, he was a quality footballer, and still is. He may have lost some pace and patience, but he still has the class that he developed at Arsenal and still has the va-va-voom that made him the player he was. His movement and goal was reminiscent of the old Thierry and showed he still has talent.

He spoke in length after the game and it’s very much worthy of a read…

“I guess it was always going to be surreal. It was one of the best moments because it is the first time that I wore the Arsenal shirt being a fan.  I became a fan when I left the club so now I know exactly how it feels to score for the club that you support. So, great emotions. As I said earlier on to some of the guys in the dressing room, two weeks ago I was on holiday in Mexico on the beach and here I am scoring the winner against Leeds. Obviously I am going to grab some headlines and stuff like that but Nico Yennaris and Ignasi Miquel at the back, along with some of the other guys, played really well. I was at the end of a great move but as I said many times, it is all about the team. We went through and that is the most important thing. I always want more so I don’t know if it is going to be a goal, a pass or a tackle. I said so many times, I am not here to be a hero. I am here to be another player, to help the squad and that is it to be honest. I didn’t plan a comeback.  I didn’t plan to come on, I didn’t plan to score! That, maybe I did! But joking apart, I never thought I was going to be here, talking to you after a game so scoring a winner for the club that I love, I am actually dreaming right now. It was the first time that I played for Arsenal being a fan. Before, I would have died out there for the club, but now I am a fan it was mixed emotions. It was almost unreal.”

It was very surreal for myself, and I’m sure for all Arsenal fans. Thierry is a true living and playing legend…

Yesterday, I was very happy with what happened, as Thierry’s emotional celebration summed up his love for the club. But on a slightly negative note, it does sum up the lack of strength in depth in the squad and the lack of quality. Chamakh is the player that most papers targeted showing how bad he is in comparison to Henry. Chamakh has 1 goal is something like 429 minutes, whereas Henry has 1 goal in 22 minutes. Interesting stat, but there is much more to the equation than meets the eye. We’ve been lucky to have had a lot of attacking options previously – players like Henry, Bergkamp, Van Persie, Reyes as well as quality reserves & youth. Where we are at the moment is worlds apart – we don’t have a plethora of attacking talent. And the existing squad is quite young and inexperienced. Theo Walcott has been with us for a lot time, but he is not an Henry, a Pires or a Ljungberg.

The fact that Henry, aged 34, can come back and immediately go to #2 in the striking pecking orders basically sums up what I am trying to say. Personally, I believe we need an injection of players, and we’re one Van Persie injury away of being very average. It’s a risk that a club like ours shouldn’t take. The reason that Man City have Aguero, Ballotelli, Dzeko and Tevez is because they need options. If Aguero gets injured, then there needs to be someone who can come in a do a job. Arsene needs to invest in a striker, in a proper player. Theoretically, he should have significant funds available considering our budgets and then sales of players.

Looking at the team that played on Monday – I was surprised to see Benayoun miss out and was also very surprised to see Alex Song and Mikel Arteta play 90 minutes – the latter being an ever present in our team and for me, he was the man of the match. He was good going forward, excellent defending and he link play was amazing. Let’s hope he can stay fit the rest of the season!

We’ve got Swansea on Sunday and that is a huge game for us – it’s away and I don’t think it will be that easy – Van Persie will be back – Theo will start – and Henry will be on the bench…

You’ll get your weekly dose of Tottz82 tomorrow, in the meanwhile, watch this again and again:

Tomorrow, we face Leeds in the FA Cup… and tomorrow also marks the return of Thierry Henry to the playing squad. I am a massive fan of Henry – he is a legend – but I kind of feel that the return of the former hero is overshadowing everything else at the moment. There are a lot of things going on at the club and despite massive attention needed on those areas, the world seems to be focused on the return of the King. Don’t get me wrong – I am eager to see him in action, I am keen for him to help the squad, to fill in the gap. I hope at the end of his loan spell, we see a rejuvenated Chamakh and an exciting Gervinho re-join the squad. I’m hoping our full backs, Jack Wilshere and Abou Diaby return and we have no further injuries for the reason of the season.

But, in reality, I doubt that will happen.

I’m an optimist, which means that even now, 12 points of the top, I still have a feint title hope. It’s not like we haven’t clawed back a 12 point lead before. United & Chelsea don’t look great, so there is scope to catch them.

Whilst we look good, it’s obvious that we lack any serious strength in depth – there is a culture of saving the pennies at the club, and this means it’s unlikely we’ll ever sign a player to replace an injured one. Despite the plethora of injured fall backs and the sales of Eboue, Clichy and Traore, there is no desire to purchase a player. Despite the fact that the boss only trusts Robin Van Persie and doesn’t rate Chamakh or Park at all, there is no desire to bring in another forward that can actually compete at this level.

Tomorrow, we will play Leeds and for me, the FA cup could be our only real chance of a trophy this season. We have seen what one win can do to a squad and I’d love for us to start winning trophies again, and soon.

Over the Christmas and New Years period, we played a serious amount of games, but from now until the Champions League kicks back in, we don’t have hardly as many games, going back to one a week – with the next game after Leeds on Sunday at home against Swansea. For that reason, I don’t expect a massive overhaul of players in the first eleven, but I do expect some changes. Robin for example, will certainly be rested, and I think Arteta will be too.

Henry will play, but I’m not sure for how long… Arsene confirming.

“I’m pleased [to sign Henry] because it took a little while to get the paperwork done, but finally it is done. He works hard, but he is a bit behind physically. In one or two weeks he will be fine. He will be involved against Leeds. At the moment 90 minutes is a bit long for him because he has not played for a long time.”

Let’s have a look at a predicted line up:

Szcznesy

Coquelin – Metersacker – Squillaci – Miquel

Song – Rosicky

Oxlade – Benayoun – Arshavin

Park

With a bench of Almunia, Koscielny, Ramsey, Henry, Walcott, Arteta, Van Persie, Yennaris

That would make – resting Van Persie and Arteta, starting with a lot of fringe players, and giving our star of the back line, Koscielny, a rest too. The line up gives us options to change the game if we need to. Walcott, Henry and Van Persie are all good attacking options and Ramsey, Arteta and Koscielny defensive ones if needed. We could have done with the likes of Frimpong, Lansbury or Vela for this game, but hey, they’re on loan and therefore a non-discussion!

Update: Van Persie is actually on holiday in Dubai and therefore will not be at the game.

Mr Keown was in the press earlier today and gave a resounding verdict on Henry’s return:

 “I saw him train with Arsenal on a corporate day and I saw the reaction from Arsene. There was a glint in his eye and I wondered if he would bring him back. At the beginning of the season, Arsenal had lost a gumshield and were lying on the floor on their backs. Now, they’re on our feet and I think Thierry can deliver a knockout punch. He is the best athlete I’ve ever seen with a pair of boots on.”

I hope the former Gunner is right!

Today we have a very tasty FA cup clash up in Manchester when Man United play Man City at City’s ground – kick off at 1pm. Will be a cracker….

Until tomorrow, have fun…

After a period of game after game after game, suddenly, we go a week without a game… personally, I don’t understand why the FA think it’s a good idea to cram loads of games together and then have such a break before the next one. Our point haul of 4 out of 9 has been pretty bad. The good thing for us is that the others around us, with the exception of Sp*rs, are throwing away points just as badly as us.

Tottz gave us a great overview of what the Fulham game meant and an insight into what the current situation at the club is at the moment and I’d have to agree with him. Our first eleven is good, and probably about a top four side. It’s not the best set of players that we have had at our club and therefore, even with our first eleven fit, week in and week out, we won’t win all our games. But as we’ve discussed before, our strength in depth is pretty bad at the moment, in a lot of departments.

Whilst I love the tenacity and play that Gervinho brings to our squad and to our team – his pace and skill are a joy to watch – this type of player would be someone whom we would bring on as a sub for his first season until he refined his skills ready for the Premiership. The thing is that we can’t buy finished articles and can’t afford not to play the rough diamonds as they’re the best we’ve got. (No disrespect to Gervinho, of course)…

If you’ve ever tried playing as Arsenal is a football management game, then you soon realise that there is a lot of dead wood in the squad and right from the off, the assistant manager tells you you need a left back as Santos and Gibbs aren’t good enough, a backup  goalkeeper, as none of the rest are anywhere near the right standard. No backup for midfielder, a new winger and a new striker also required – wow, so you start off with the need for 5 players at minimum… plus another 6 or 7 who aren’t good enough to play for the club.

Whilst I understand money doesn’t buy you everything – players like Andy Carroll, David De Gea are prime examples of that – at the same time, there is a need to buy sometimes and increase the quality of the squad. We have the likes of Park, Chamakh etc, but if they’re not good enough, then surely we need to look at getting rid of them and getting in players who can do the business. I am increasing annoyed at the fact we didn’t sign Demba Ba. If Arsene is the king of bargains and there is a French speaking African striker available for free, you’d expect him to jump at the chance.

We don’t necessarily need a Podolski, but we do need someone who can make a difference. We need to be able to play more 4-4-2 when we need to beat a team, not just the same 4-5-1 but with different players. I can think of a lot of players who could do a job in the Premiership – Yakubu, Saha, Ngog, Doyle – surely all affordable? Yes, I know not very exciting names, but you get my point. But a real forward who can play anywhere across the front line would be preferable. Alexandre Pato? Moussa Sow? Ba?

There is a lot of hoo-ha about Thierry Henry’s return and that in itself says a lot about how far back the squad has gone. Szcznesy’s recent comments that we “need” him show a certain worry within the squad about the strength in players. The bigger worry is that I don’t think Arsene will sign anyone else other that the loan return of Henry. After the summer of buying and selling – Ivan Gazidis guaranteed that the club would be active this January – to ensure we bought the players the club needs. Is that really going to happen? At the moment, we have a very genuine possibility of finishing outside of the top four and unless we bring in re-enforcements, then can we really improve in the second half of the season?

I don’t think we have a problem in defence. Yes, we concede goals, but then again, all teams do. Our problem is that we’re not scoring enough goals. Against Wolves, we couldn’t break them down and drew the game 0-0 – at home – and then against QPR, we squeezed out a 1 goal victory against a team that we would normally beat by more a margin in previous seasons. Against Fulham, we had an amazing amount of shots and territorial advantage, but couldn’t score one than one when we were on top.

We have Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby and 6 defenders soon to return to the squad, but up front, we are tired, leggy and have 2 strikers leaving the squad. Please Arsene, sign a forward, a player with craft and skill. Play him with Robin, play him in a 4-4-2, play him whilst Gervinho is gone, play him on the right. He is needed, who ever he may be…

Two games in 48 hours is a usual part of the festive period and we saw over the last few days that this period comes with a few upsets – Sunderland beating Man City and Blackburn beating Man United – two results I didn’t see coming.

The goal that won us the game came through that man, Robin Van Persie, who got onto the end of an excellent ball by Arshavin and slotted past the keeper with what looked like a simple finish. The result at the weekend put us into fourth place in the league and we have been strivimg to get there from the beginning of the season. The job is not done… Chelsea and Liverpool are just 2 points behind us.

Koscielny spoke about the performance:

“It was very important to win [against QPR], because we drew against Wolves and we wanted to win this game and we did. It is good for us that we are fourth, so we need to stay in fourth spot and maybe even get to third. We work every day to get stronger. We know we [still have to] play at home against Chelsea, Manchester Utd, Manchester City and Tottenham, so we have the cards in our hands. We can go higher in the table [if we win at home].”

That’s true, but the real points are picked up against the smaller clubs. The Wolves game was a disappointment of course, but the festive period has brought about the strange results, with Chelsea also losing, at home to the out of form Villa.

Arsenal vs Fulham

Today’s game is vital, Fulham have also played a lot of games, so it will be tired squad versus tired squad. It’s unknown how the manager will play today’s game. We don’t have a lot of players that we can rotate. Injuries to Sagna, Jenkinson, Santos, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Diaby and Wilshere doesn’t leave us with a lot of options to maintain a fit XI other than sticking with the team we have. Of course, with the FA cup coming up next weekend, there will be some rest for the first team.

My predicted line up is:

Szcznesy

Djourou – Mertersacker – Koscielny – Miquel

Arteta – Song

Walcott – Rosicky – Gervinho

Van Persie

With a bench of Almunia, Coquelin, Squillaci, Ramsey, Benayoun, Chamakh, Oxlade

Fulham away is always a tough game, so we’ll need to be at our best… come on you Gooners!

Morning Gooners,

In the end there was an inevitability of Arsenal’s inability to take advantage of the Christmas gifts presented to them after yesterday’s results. I have just arrived back from the game and I can honestly say that result has tarnished my Christmas break.

We went into the game knowing that a win would put us into to fourth given Chelsea and Liverpool drawing at home on Boxing Day. Those that follow me on twitter will have seen my pre-game comments stating that this was by no means a home banker and players like Javis and Fletcher would be a threat.

After a tough few games against Man City and Villa, Le Boss rightly rotated bringing in Rosicky, Yossi and Djourou. The team was:

Szczesny, Mertesacker  ,Vermaelen, Koscielny, Djourou, Rosicky, Arteta, Song ,Benayoun,Van Persie, Gervinho

After both teams getting in behind each others defences, Arsenal broke awake from a Wolves attack through Rosicky who brilliantly carried the ball into their half, squared it to Yossi in space who cut the defence open with a ball to Gervinho was beat the keeper and fired it into the net.

A goal in the opening 8 minutes, time to kill the game off early on right? Wrong. We created chances in RVP, Vermaelen and Arteta but Arsenal slowly became more casual / tippy tappy in their play, Wolves picked on these mistakes and eventually got their equaliser during a period of sloppy Arsenal play. A needless corner was headed away but the second ball was picked up by the misspelt Hunt who floated a deflected ball back into the box where Fletcher’s header crept passed Szcz. Much of the crowd screamed for offside but news soon filtered round that Song was strolling out of his right back postion and played Flethcher onside.

Thinking back about the second half right now, it’s a blur of frustration, disbelief and aggression toward Stuar Attwell the referee. I can not remember Szcz having anything to do at all in the second half however it was a different story for his opposite number, Hennessey was continued to have the game of his life. The keeper saved brilliantly from a RVP freekick (twice), Mertesacker point blank header, Vermaelen shot, and a variety of other shots but Arsenal just couldn’t stick the ball into the net.

It was not only the Wolves keeper in the spotlight but Stuart Attwell wanted to make sure everyone knew his name on the way home too. Simply put, the referee lost total control of the second half and this affected both teams. A few of his moments:

• Incorrectly positioning a wall for a free kick then trotting back demanding Arteta to hurry up and take it only to be told by RVP to get out the way as he was taking it.
• Penalty incident number 1 – A very obvious handball and booking Veraemlen for protesting.
• Penalty incident number 2 – The Wolves players hauls down RVP preventing him getting near the ball from a corner. Ref is in line and gives nothing
• I’ve not seen the replay but it looked like the ball spun away from Milijas who then took ball and man trying to win it back, the ref saw it has a red card, Harsh.
• 3 subs in a minute. Instead of demanding all happen at once, the ref stopped and started the game 3 times in order of the subs to happen. Both sets of players and benches were furious.

We threw everything we had at Wolves but in the end they held on for their first ever premiership point at Arsenal.

With 17^th shots on target there is a fine line between being unlucky and poor finishing but tonight we’ve got to be fair sportsman and credit Hennessey for his top keeping.

Wenger was also in reflective mood after:

It is frustrating but I am more frustrated by the result than the performance and the spirit. You cannot fault the attitude or the commitment or the desire to win the game. We missed a great opportunity but we just have to keep going and take the positives out of the game today.

Their keeper had a good performance, they saved a few on the line, they did fight like mad. It was more important for us to go in 1-0 up at half-time because I know with the way they defend they would not survive like that for 90 minutes and we would have much more space in which to play. At some stage they would have had to come out. But I felt we lost our way a bit between 30 and 40 minutes and on that occasion we were caught. The only thing we can learn today is to keep the spirit and when you’re 1-0 up to keep our level up.

Two massive points dropped at home make no mistake. After the hard work at Villa Park we should have finished the job off in the first half. Instead we took our foot off the pedal and became worryingly complacent. However, this is nothing new; we’ve seen Arsenal teams of recent years do exactly the same.

If the newspaper reports are true and Le Boss is giving himself a week to decide whether to sign Henry or others, then surely this result should make his mind up. Do you think the Wolves defence were at all intimidated or worried at the sight of Chamakh coming on? I very much doubt it. We crossed in ball after ball in the final 15mins without ever looking like we were going to score. If Bendtner was coming on, maybe a different story.

A worrying stat I also read yesterday was that Arsenal have only scored 19 goals in their last 15 home premiership matches and have only scored more that once 4 times in that run. For a team known for their attacking football that is a very worrying stat.

The good news is we don’t have to wait long to right our wrongs, QPR (with Barton and Warnock) are up next on Saturday.

Enjoy your Wednesday Gooners.

Feedback welcome – @Tottz82

Merry Christmas to all… I hope you have all enjoyed the time you’ve had with friends and family and now that the Scrabble, Monopoly or Trivial Pursuit is over… and the Turkey, Lamb or Ham has been eaten, it’s time to focus on a major piece of football, which is Arsenal vs Wolves.

Wolves are no mugs – they do have a leaky defence – but they make up for it in tenacity and energy. In fact, twice when Wolves have been losing matches this season 2-1 and 2-0 respectively, when they’ve looked out of the game, dead and buried, have come back to win them. There is a very good solidarity about the Wolves players and we’ll have to on top of our game to beat them. Doyle hasn’t been as prolific as previous seasons, but the player is undoubtedly talented.

Arsene spoke about the opposition and had praise for Mick McCarthy:

“I like Mick McCarthy because behind his severe outlook he is a guy who plays in a fair way. His teams go for it and he has a positive approach to the game. It reflects his real personality. He is a guy who loves football. He is a fighter and will keep going until the last minute. And that’s what you expect from them against this time.”

Arsene knows this, and I am sure the squad know this too. We’ve had a little bit of a break – an extra day than others to recover and we should be raring to go. Yesterday, Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City all drew. For us, that means a win will bring us closer to the top four – heck, a 5-0 win would see us go 4th… but all we can do is concentrate on our game, focus on what we’re good at, and win every game, one by one.

Team news following the break is that Djourou may be fit enough for a place on the bench, but either Coquelin or Mi,quel may start. Personally, I think Coquelin will get the shout if Djourou is not fit…

Szcznesy

Coquelin / Djourou – Koscielny – Mertersacker – Vermaelen

Arteta – Song

Walcott – Ramsey – Gervinho

Van Persie

With a bench of Almunia, Squillaci, Frimpong, Rosicky, Benayoun, Oxlade, Park

The reason I haven’t got Arshavin or Chamakh on the bench and I have Oxlade and Park on the bench is down to Arsene’s recent comments about both players being ready for first team action.

In fact, Arsene says he is practically ready:

“He is not far. He is a talented boy, it’s all there – he just needs that toughness in the games and because every game for us is so tight… the other night, again, I could have brought him on and you have the hesitation to do it. But you do not want him to be a little bit overawed by the intensity of the game. He is ready to play. He is just missing that experience at the top level. You have to throw him into a few games.”

He was on the bench against Villa, so I would expect the same – but perhaps in lieu of Arshavin, who has been pretty useless to be honest… when he has come on, he hasn’t quite clicked, hasn’t quite managed to keep or pass the ball, and those are two very important parts of the game.

I would like to see Rosicky start ahead of Ramsey on current form, as the Czech midfielder has been very exciting in his cameos this season. Of course, Ramsey is much younger so naturally more inconsistent, but if things aren’t going our way up front today, I would like to see Rosicky on the pitch as soon as possible.

Festive wishes to all, let the 3 points be ours!!!

Now that’s a result that I call “grinded out”. It was a hard, intense and open game. It had everything. Pace, skill, shots, saves, penalties, sending offs and more importantly – 3 points for the Arsenal. After a physical and mental battle against Man City over the weekend and with 8 players out injured, players playing out of position too, it was a game that had draw written all over it. And with the scoreline at 1-1 with a few minutes to go, it looked like it was headed that way. But summer loan signing make it 2-1 from a header in the 87th minute, and the points were ours!

Arsene experimented a bit with the team, mainly because Miquel was out through injury and this meant Vermaelen to left back and Coquelin to right back. It’s been quite a season for Coquelin, and the fact that he slotted in to right back is a testimony to his adaptability. Song was out suspended yesterday, so Frimpong came into the middle of the park and the team line up was:

Szcznesy

Coquelin – Koscielny – Mertersacker – Vermaelen

Arteta – Frimpong

Walcott – Ramsey – Gervinho

Van Persie

But, as predicted Aston Villa did target the full backs, and Coquelin especially. He did look a little exposed, but it’s a newish role for him, so fair enough. If we do need to play Miquel and / or Coquelin for the next couple of games, at least we’ll be at home – first against Wolves and then QPR.

We did start brightly, but it was obvious to all that we were jaded. Tired from the weekend’s exertions and thread bare due to the copious amounts of injuries to midfield and full backs. Even though we haven’t had a lot of games, due to those injuries, the players don’t get a chance to rest. Arteta is a prime example, he has played every game this season.

The first goal for us came through some excellent play through Walcott, a great turn and into the penalty box, before being dragged down in the box – penalty awarded and Van Persie dispatched with aplomb, for his 34th goal of the calender year and 21st goal this season. Amazing stats to be honest… 2 more goals before the end of the year and Van the Man will match the record of 36, held by Alan Shearer.

Aston Villa came out in the second half and really started well, put us on the back foot. We did well to hold off, until a mistake from Mertersacker allowed Albrighton in to score the 20000th goal in the Premiership. We turned it up a level and the introduction of Rosicky and then Benayoun was excellent – changing the game for the better. Rosicky looked sharp and has done for a while. It will be interesting to see if Ramsey is rested in the future and Rosicky started – with two home games coming up, that may not be a bad idea – the Czech midfielder certainly adds some creativity to midfield.

Arsene spoke after the game:

Villa were dangerous but first I must say two things. We had two difficult away games where we had to give absolutely everything just over Christmas, physically. In the first half we controlled the game quite well and in the second half when they came back to 1-1 we had quite a difficult period. Then we stabilised the game and in the last 15 minutes you could feel we were on top again.

I can only congratulate Villa – they played well, gave everything and again it was a very intense game. In the end we got three very late points that are vital for us. We were a bit unlucky on Sunday and today maybe a bit lucky. Overall it was important to re-start with a win tonight. But if Villa continue to play like that then they will go up in the table, they had an outstanding game.

Finally, the Wolves game has been moved from bank holiday Monday, Boxing Day to the 27th. This is due to tube strike action, which means we’ll be on catch up by Tuesday as everyone else will have played by Monday.

It’s Sp*rs vs Chelsea tonight, scum vs scum… I want them both to lose – they’re both ahead of us in the league table, but as that can’t happen, I suppose a draw is the best result for us. And lots of yellow cards, red cards and non career threatening injuries (because that just wouldn’t be nice to wish for)…

We got the three points, and that’s all the matters right now… Roll on Christmas and very soon, roll on the mid-season review from JAT… all the way from his new found home in Aussieland….

Til tomorrow…

Afternoon all…

It seems a long time since we played Citeh but at the same time, it’s 2 days in 4 days… the team exerted a lot in that game and it’s very important for us to ensure we’re in the right mental condition to play what is a vitally important game.

It’s a difficult time for Arsenal full backs at the moment, with Sagna, Jenkinson, Santos, Djourou and Gibbs all ruled out through injury and when it rains, it pours. Ahead of tonight’s game, Arsene confirmed that it is likely that we may buy in January for that position. Unless a loan can do..

“It depends now on Gibbs. He sees a specialist again today [Tuesday] and if something happens there that he has had a real setback then possibly, yes. It is not a shop, you just take a good opportunity that is on the market when you can. Overall that’s what we are doing at the moment. We are starting to look at players if Gibbs is not back. On the other hand we have good news on Bacary Sagna because he has started to run again yesterday and today.”

It’s a tricky one – I wouldn’t really look at buying as we do have the numbers and players like Miquel, Vermaelen and Koscielny can fit in around the full back positions, but then again, how thin would that leave our back line? One more injury to a defender and that means we’ll start seeing Squillaci and Song deployed at the back. The question is who to buy, who would be available, who would be good enough but at the ssme time second fiddle to the other four injured full backs? Of course, another question altogether is whether we should look at loaning out Gibbs for a season to gain experience when or if he returns from his injury…

An interesting piece from Arsene more recently, whereby he talks about options:

“I can use Squillaci, I can use Miquel and I can use Coquelin [as full-backs],” he said. “But let’s be frank and honest, no solution will be ideal because whatever we do, two players will have to play out of position. At the moment we are coping well with it and that’s why inside the team we have to work as hard as possible so we do not suffer in this period.

Interesting to see him so honest. I think Villa will be looking at targeting our full backs. Especially without our human shield which is Alex Song, who is suspended for the game. Here is a go at a potential line up:

Szcznesy

Van Persie

With a bench of Almunia, Squillaci, Coquelin, Rosicky, Benayoun, Arshavin, Chamakh

Some may put Le Coquelin in the first XI instead of Frimpong, but I’d like to see Frimmers have a go in the middle as his energy could be what the team needs.

More after the game of course, let’s hope the boys bring back the three points!

Greetings from the wonderful world of Val D’Isere… It’s been a world wind three days on top of the mountains and unfortunately I’ve not been able to reach any source of internet until now… Fellow writer Tottz is with me and JAT has migrated to Australia… So once again apologies for lack of blogship…

In our absence, the biggest thing was of course the game of all games, the Man City game, a game in which we played very well, but in true Arsenal fashion, failed to make our chances make the difference. A bit harsh, maybe. The game itself was pretty even to be honest, and from a neutral point of view, I can only imagine that it was an enthralling game – end to end… chance after chance… But of course for any Arsenal fan, it’s the result that matters, and it wasn’t the result we needed.

The good thing is that we matched the opposition, and considering the amount of players missing, four full backs, our star midfielder in Jacky boy… It wasn’t the worst ever result.

On Wednesday we face Aston Villa away and three points are a requirement, without a doubt. It’s been an interesting season so far with six teams really making an impression at the top of the table. Man City’s win over us puts 12 points in between us, but we’re still only 3 points behind Chelsea and our immediate targets must be Chelsea and of course, Sp*rs…

Talking about Sp*rs, Szcznesy was in the press earlier today talking about how he basically just wants to finish above Sp*rs. A true Arsenal fan, right there…

“Getting above Tottenham is the main target,” Szczesny told the Evening Standard. “We don’t want to finish below them no matter what.

Nice to hear a bit of passion and I’m sure a lot of Arsenal fans can identify with Szcznesy’s statement… But finishing 3rd is also possible, and even if we do get above Sp*rs soon, our challenge is to finish as high as possible…

Apologies for the short blog today, time to eat some food and get ready for tomorrow…

Peace out….

Ladies & Gentlemen, Boys & Girls,

Today, myself and fellow WOA writer @Tottz82 will embark on a mission with  @i_am_jai and @bhavnishpatel to show the world how to ski… the blog, cleverly titled, I’m Off-Ski… getit? Meanwhile, back in the wonderful world of Arsenal… we have drawn Milan in the Champions League… and that’s one of the toughest of the group for sure…

Arsene before the draw:

“You cannot avoid anybody. You would say Basel but they were a very difficult opponent for Manchester United. So you take the draw as it comes, analyse it and plan for the game. The Italian teams have a history but you don’t know how it will go.”

The draw in full was:

• Lyon v APOEL Nicosia
• Napoli v Chelsea
• AC Milan v Arsenal
• Basle v Bayern Munich
• Bayer Leverkusen v Barcelona
• CSKA Moscow v Real Madrid
• Zenit St. Petersburg v Benfica
• Marseille v Inter Milan

Each one of the ties is favoured to one team – I’ve bolded the team I think will win the two legs overall – but for us, it’s a very tough tie. AC Milan have improved a lot in the last couple of years and can now boast the likes of Ibrahimovic, Pato and Robinho up front, with the likes of Mexes in defence, not to forget the likes of Van Bommel in midfield. We’ll have to be on top of our game.

David Miles, club secretary said:

“It’s probably the pick of the round. They’ll be two fantastic games. If I’m being honest, there are some other teams I would have preferred. Last time we played them in season 07-08, we actually went through after winning 2-0 in the San Siro so our recent history against them is good.”

The pick of the round, it is…

With Milan secretary also keen to praise the magnitude of the tie…

“Tie of the round. For the quality and the appeal of the two clubs it is a fantastic tie. Last time we lost 2-0 to Arsenal at the San Siro and we were knocked out by Tottenham last year. We are determined to go through. Last year we had lots of injuries but right now we are in a better status than Arsenal. But lots can change in two months. They have a great player in Robin van Persie and Arsene Wenger is a great coach.”

Lots of things can change in two months, that is for sure… first, we need a good old fashion victory against title rivals Man City, starting this weekend…

But for now, I’m offski…