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.

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…

Team news ahead of the game is that we don’t have any of our full backs yet and Vermaelen is still injured – the versitile Coquelin is out, Mertersacker is ill – but on the flip side Djourou may be back. Before I look at the team in more detail, let’s have a look at the project line up:

If Djourou & Mertersacker are available, then they should and will probably both play:

Szcznesy

Djourou – Koscielny – Mertersacker – Miquel

Arteta - Song 

Walcott – Ramsey- Arshavin

Van Persie

If Djourou & Mertersacker are not available, then we’ll be forced to move Song to the back:

Szcznesy

Yennaris – Koscielny – Song – Miquel

Arteta – Ramsey

Walcott – Rosicky – Arshavin

Van Persie

If one is available and another not, then you can mix & match the above two teams!

On Sky Sports News this morning, they did a montage on Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and to be honest, his highlights was pretty damn good – for me, the boy is in better form than Arshavin and should have a few more starts. We can’t write Arshavin off, he has more to offer than he has offered this season. And he can produce “the moment” in a game that makes the difference.

He will be on the bench of course, no matter who we start and he will be along side Thierry Henry. Lee Dixon thinks Henry can make a difference when he comes on to help us going forward…

If the game is locked at 0-0 with 30 minutes remaining, who you gonna call, Arsene? Well, there is only one man and his first name is Thierry. It would take a brave man to say Henry will do to Swansea what he did to Leeds, but I can’t resist!

And whilst Henry’s return has caught our eyes and the media’s attention too – one man who we can’t forget about is “that man”, the 21 goals this season man… Robin Van Persie… who hasn’t had any press coverage in the last few days, but is by far our biggest threat of the game. The goalscoring hero is in fine form and perhaps with the media away from him, he will get a bit of a break on the pitch and get a few goals… he is due another one or two isn’t he?

On the transfer front, Henry’s arrival has kept the papers and fans busy and it doesn’t look like we’ll get any other players in, which in reality is quite worrying considering our squad depth. We’ve more recently been linked with another left back, despite Arsene saying that nothing is happening – although on Friday, he did say he was a “little closer” to something. Whether or not Oman’s Saad Al-Mukhaini is the answer, I don’t know… I suppose we’ve got to trust the manager about this, as we do potentially have Gibbs & Sagna back next week… fingers crossed…

Back to Swansea tomorrow and as I’ve said many times – it’s a MUST win game. We simply cannot afford defeat. United at the Emirates is next Sunday… wins inspire wins… Come on you Gooners!

@worldofarsenal.

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…

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!

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!!!

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…

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!

Against Everton, we need a fast start, an attitude of closing down and a desire to win throughout the team. We do have a slight injury problem as all 4 of our wing backs – Sagna, Jenkinson, Santos and Gibbs – are all ruled out with injury. Arsene summarising the injury crisis:

Santos has an ankle injury so he is out. He will see a specialist in the coming days. Mannone and Fabianski are both out. Mannone has a shoulder problem, he saw a specialist on Thursday night. Fabianski has a nasty cut on his knee. Almunia will be back in the squad. Everybody else who was out there in Greece looks available, and the players who stayed at home are available as well.

We do have 6 fit and raring to centre back though, in Vermaelen, Koscielny, Mertersacker, Djourou, Miquel and Squillaci and it would seem to me that we’d look at playing 4 out of the 6 of them… The big question is who will start… the two combinations that may work are:

(Right) Djourou – Metersacker – Koscielny – Vermaelen (Left)

or

(Right) Koscielny - Metersacker – Vermaelen – Miquel (Left)

The question comes down to who you’d rather have at the back, Djourou or Miquel. Personally, Djourou has been a liability this season (still no idea where his awesome form from last season went)… whereas Miquel has actually played quite well. Playing the latter four would mean keeping Koscielny at right back, where he has played very well and keep the Mert and TV5 together in the middle where they have also been decent…

So, my hopeful line up is:

Szcznesy

Koscielny - Metersacker – Vermaelen – Miquel

Arteta – Song

Walcott – Ramsey – Gervinho

Van Persie

With a bench of Almunia, Djourou, Squillaci, Frimpong, Rosicky, Arshavin, Benayoun, Chamakh

It’s a shame that we can’t have 12 of the bench, I’d like to see a place for Oxlade-Chamberlain, as to be totally honest, I think he can do a better job than Arshavin or Benayoun coming on to change the game if required. Let’s see what Arsene does, but it would be smart to reward him of a place on the bench due to his recent good performances.

Talking about good performances… today Arsenal unveiled the best accolade to a player who was full of good performances… the one and only Theirry Henry, the legend himself was award an amazing accolade in a statue of himself at the Emirates…

Pretty amazing hey! There were three statues – one of Henry, one of Tony Adams and one of Herbert Chapman.

Henry was down at the Emirates and spoke of his delight at the statue, but in the most humble of ways, to the man he is today, he credited his team mates for the accolade:

“I want to insist how important how important it was for me to play with some great players. Without them I wouldn’t have been able to play there.  When you look at the likes of the back four – Martin [Keown], Nigel [Winterburn], Lee [Dixon], David [Seaman], Lauren who came after, [Sol] Campbell, [Ashley] Cole – I am going to name the whole squad – Patrick [Vieira], Sylvain [Wiltord] too, who was underrated at the time because he was an amazing player. Robert [Pires] as well. Without them I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did – we went through a season unbeaten. I wanted to say that again – without your team you are nothing. It would not have been possible without them so I want to thank them too.”

He also spoke on how much he has been taken aback about the statue…

“When I left Arsenal [was the last time I was that emotional]. It’s part of the past now, but when I did leave Arsenal, yes [I cried]. The guys might be thinking that I’m saying this because I’m here right now but I love Arsenal, I’ve said it so many times.I support the Club now and I always come back. There’s something about Arsenal Football Club, it’s a family club. Every time players want to come back to train, to feel it, the vibe of the dressing room, to see the boss again and all the people at the training ground. There are great people all over the stadium. ”I’m more than proud – honoured, privileged. At the very beginning I honestly thought it was a joke, until I realised it wasn’t. As I said out there, 125 years of history, when you know the players that have played for Arsenal Football Club and I was chosen to be out there next to the stadium.  I always have something to say usually but I’m kind of speechless. The way the statue is with me leaning in front of the stadium is a great one – it’s exactly how I feel about Arsenal Football Club. Also facing not just the Emirates, but Highbury. It’s amazing. I never thought I’d be out there like that.  I was fortunate to have won a lot of stuff in my career but that tops it all. You don’t dream about that, it doesn’t ever come into your head. Like I said many times, I always went out there in the Arsenal shirt and played 100 per cent. I can only embrace it right now and what the boss said in his speech about me was overwhelming to be honest.”

And very deserved… Mr Arsenal…

He’ll be in the crowd against Everton, and I hope the team are inspired by him…

Come on you Gooners…

Boys & girls, ladies & gentlemen… we are about to play Fulham at the Emirates, which, if we won the game, could see us jump into the top four. With Man United playing Newcastle and Liverpool playing Man City, some one up there is going to drop points!

We have no new injury worries or concerns ahead of the game, with Diaby coming through unscathed from his mid-week outing. Koscielny was a little bit tired by the end of the game and was substituted due to fatigue. Up front, Gervinho has been very good, but there is a little bit of a worry about him in front of goal. We may see Arshavin play against Fulham – most likely because Arsene has been keen to stress that he is a key member of the squad – not just backup…

Team news may see this line-up:

Szcznesy

Koscielny – Mertersacker – Vermaelen – Santos

Arteta – Song

Walcott – Ramsey – Arshavin

Van Persie

With a bench of Fabianski, Djourou, Diaby, Frimpong, Gervinho, Benayoun, Chamakh

In his press conference, Arsene confirmed his faith in Chamakh and Park and said that both are very good players and are good enough to stand in for Van Persie if the Dutchman was injured or rested. Personally, I’m not sure – but against Man City in the Carling Cup next week, we should see a bit more of both.

With Jack Wilshere returning, there has been a lot of debate about who he would replace in the line-up for our best XI – many thinking Arsene may drop Arteta in favour of a Wilshere – Ramsey – Song partnership, but when asked about Arteta’s contribution, the manager heaped praise onto the Spaniard.

“Mikel is an extremely important player in our team because he has both sides that make a team good. He is consistent going forward, technically fantastic and he works very hard for the team. He is an organiser too and does the job defensively in vital parts. We look solid at the moment and he has to take a big part of the credit because he does both jobs offensively and defensively with quality. I am very happy with his defensive job and he is rewarded for it because he plays. If I play him it is because I am happy with the job he does and if he had not done such a consistent job defensively he would not be in the team. I believe that Mikel Arteta is a winner and on the pitch he does what is needed to help the team win. That’s what I rate.”

You can see it in every game, the player gets up and down the pitch, spreads the ball nicely, defends well, attacks well and retains possession. He reminds we a little of Jack and a little of Xabi Alonso mixed into one player. He has proved his worth to the team for sure. When Jack gets back, I am sure it’s going to be a tough decision.

The Fulham game is the most important one – and Arsene has been talking about taking one game at a time, and that’s exactly what we have to do. I’m very excited this weekend, I think all the players are looking forward to the game and if results go our way, it could be a very good weekend for us…

Come on you reds!!