Six Years Going On Seven… What needs to change?

As at the time the final whistle went at Craven Cottage, we have gone over half a decade without a change to our trophy cabinet. Not that we have not challenged in those 6 years, we have come close to ending this drought a few times but for one reason or another we have come up short.

The closest we came to winning a trophy since 2005 was in the Carling Cup final against Birmingham earlier this year. We came up against a side in the other half of the table and yet we fluffed our lines and gifted them the trophy in the dying minutes of that game. I have had a lot of bad moments as an Arsenal fan, but this was a new low. I actually wept, not because we lost to Birmingham, but because of the manner in which we lost the game. I thought the club was under some kind of spell.

We have had a lot of sad moments this season but on a lighter mood we were actually involved in a lot of classics. I mean, which top club can draw a game after going into half time four (4) goals up at Newcastle, or lose at home to Spurs after going 2 goals up, or draw a game after taking a 95th minute lead (Liverpool)? This is not the Arsenal we all are used to, so what needs to change?

I’m not one of those people who think Wenger is god, he’s definitely human and obviously fallible as well. But I doubt I’ll be comfortable with this club in the hands of someone else. I think about the games we’ve had this season and I am quickly reminded that this is the same manager who took us through an entire season unbeaten. Yes, this is history, but it only points to the fact that with the right players, he’ll get things right again.

One of the main problems we have with the team is a winning mentality; Arsene has identified this for the first time last week and he has “promised” to get players with experience of winning trophies, I say let’s see what he has in mind. I mean, we’ve endured 6 seasons, one more season of experimenting and probable success won’t kill anyone, will it?

Our ability to score goals has never been in doubt, even Van Persie who started his season fully in January has over 20 goals already. But keeping the opponent from getting goals against s has been our Achilles’ heel. Even when we are cruising to victory, we still manage to concede the odd goal. Take a look at last week’s game for example, we would have won that game had we not conceded two avoidable goals in quick succession. The same thing can be noticed in games like Stoke away, WBA home and away, and the away game at the Reebok. Anytime we had momentum, we get pegged back by conceding a goal. How do we solve a problem like this?

There’s really nothing wrong with Sczezsny in goal, all we need is a defensive leader. Someone to lead the team from the back, someone to help out when defending set pieces; hence the cry for Sakho,Cahill or Samba. Knowing prudent Mr. Arsene, he’ll probably go for Samba which would annoy me seeing how we could have had him in January. Clichy is still stalling at the moment which has led to reports of a ‘sign or be sold‘ ultimatum from Arsene, an able replacement must be signed because Gibbs is not ready in my opinion

Further up the pitch, the injection of direct pace and steel is needed and Scott Parker has been touted with Hazard rumoured as well(don’t hold your breath, Arsene won’t pay 20 million, so expect some unknown or Nzogbia whom I fancy). No word yet on whether Fabregas & Nasri would stay. Even if they stay, we need to sign two new midfielders and then replace Bendtner who looks to be on his way out.

The cry for big names and big fees to be spent is at an all time high. So here’s my suggestion based on Arsenal’s prudent ways.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN:

IN : Scott Parker, Samba, Grameiro (in the absence of an accomplished finisher), Nzogbia(some unknown instead of the electric Hazard that can play anywhere in the middle and behind the striker) and maybe Baines

OUT : Denilson, Bendtner, Arshavin, Eboue, Vela, Clichy(maybe)

WHAT FANS(ok maybe just me) REALLY WANT:

IN : Scott Parker, Benzema, Baines, Cahill, Hazard.

Simply put, leader at the back, leader in the middle of the pitch and goalscorer who can deliver on his own and compliment Van Persie, who at the moment has over 20 goals since January. If only we had two of him, one from August – December, the other from January – May.

No one is asking for expensive signings, just the right players in the right position and maybe a tactical shift and change in the backroom staff and just maybe we can win something.

It was a season that promised a lot but delivered nothing, nothing but heartbreak, sadness and a feeling of emptiness. Inspite of all this, the fact that we put up this post and you read it, and that we’ll still be gooners come next season just shows how much we love this club. We were there during the glory days, we want to be there when those days finally return.

The transfer window opens in less than two weeks, trust us to keep you up to speed on anything concerning Arsenal.

From the MG team, do have a befitting season end, next season may just be “that season”!

Cheers.

Follow us on twitter @goonermemoirs

VANtastic performance : Players Ratings + Personal Notes

Okay, I won’t bore you with the details of our game over the weekend, as I expect you must have had more than enough match reports to get a full idea of what Saturday afternoon was all about.

So I’m just going to pick out a few stand out things and make a few points.

– We were at our attacking best and would have posted a cricket score but for an inspired goalkeeper between the sticks. 3-0 still isn’t a bad score. They had no single shot on target, mind you. Yes, we were that good!

– If we are going to have any chance of winning a trophy this season, we have to keep Cesc, Nasri and Van Persie fit for as long as possible. These guys are the difference between an average Arsenal side and a world class Arsenal team.

– We have started the same 11 players in our past 5 League games and kept 4 straight clean sheets. Looks as if we know who our first choice defensive pairing MUST be in the absence of TV5.

– It was good to see Chammy29 get some minutes again and it was more interesting to see that he’s had no issues with coming off the bench in our recent games. He is arguably the reason we are still just 5 points behind United! But with Van Persie’s form, he has to settle for a place on the bench. Poor lad.

– Although he can do no right at the moment, it was good to see a section of the fans give a rousing applause to Andrei Arshavin as he went to take a corner kick…really inspiring stuff! Exactly what he needs at the moment.

– I was a bit baffled to see Cesc looking not too happy on the bench after he was substituted. I was worried he wore that kind of face considering the kind of performance he’d just put in. My fears were however allayed after it was confirmed he was sad only because he had not scored. Pheeeeew…that dude is a winner, isn’t he?

On the whole, it was gladdening to see us put that Wigan team to the sword. Up next Ipswich visit the Emirates on Tuesday in a game which will move us closer to the end of our trophy drought. We win that one and we are in the finals. We are in the finals and I see no upsets. An Arsenal win, a Carling Cup trophy. It’s our chance, let’s take it!

It feels so good to be a gooner right now, we are playing some good footie and things are really fitting into place. Let’s hope it lasts till the end of the season.

Here’s a little transfer news and even thought its not the one we are all craving for, after days of speculation, its been reported that we’ve moved quickly to agree a deal to sign Southampton’s teenage sensation Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Here’s a link to know more about him.
Oxlade-Chamberlain

9jabred signs out!

Escobar has got the ratings:

Chezzer – 6
Was He even on the pitch? Yes it was that bad as the young Pole was rarely troubled and had an uneventful afternoon.

Clichy – 7
Dealt well with the threat of Nzogbia and Stam and did well to join the attack. Good game from the Frenchman

JD – 7
What an easy outing for JD, barely broke sweat as he and his defensive partners were spectators for most of the match if not the entire match

Kozzer – 7
He won’t have it any easier than this, the frenchman could even afford to dribble out of his own half on more than one occasion.

Sagna – 7
The best right back in the League enjoyed another solid game. Had little to do at the back and went forward at ease.

Song – 7.5
Was very dominant from start to finish as he and Wilshere bossed the centre of the park and the assist was the cherry on the cake for him really.

Wilshere – 7
Steady, composed and good passing from the young English man. Rarely had to hit top gear.

Fabregas – 8.5
Captain Marvellous, brilliant display from the Spaniard, ran the show today as his passes were of the highest quality, two assists, winning the penalty and all these despite the roughhouse tactics from the Lactics.

Nasri – 7
Not as influential as he’s been all season, but still tested the goalkeeper on an occasion. Performed pretty well on the left of attack.

Walcott – 7
A lot of running and creating chances that weren’t converted, also had a shot on goal which Al Habsi was equal to. Held off Figueroa better than any target man could have to allow RVP net his treble.

RVP – 10
YES!!! 10. For the 2nd league game in a row, we’re giving him a perfect 10. His first league hatrick for Arsenal. He was simply brilliant and clinical and could afford to miss a penalty and hit the post.

SUBSTITUTES

Denilson – 4

Chammy – N/A

Arshavin – 4

From wherever you are reading, keep believing. It will happen this season!

Follow us on twitter at @goonermemoirs

Let’s keep up the pressure and get our revenge.

A very short and concise piece but we all need to be in a right frame of mind going into this weekend.

I guess everyone must be in high spirits now, still reveling in the outstanding performance the team put up against Leeds. Yes, it was a great performance but we must not get carried away. We have another important game coming up this weekend. It’s Wigan visiting the Emirates on Saturday and I do not expect a walk in the park for us.

We don’t need a seer to suggest to us that an early goal will win us this game, let’s rip into them quite early and we’ll have a chance to claim all 3 points. I mean, it worked well against Leeds as Arshavin suggested.

“Ahead of the game, Arsene instructed us to start the game in such a way so that it wouldn’t even cross our opponents’ minds that they can beat us. It reminded us about the accidents in the previous games, so we quickly began to carry out the assignment of our coach. In general, everything was turning out fine, we had several attacks”.

Our games at home this season have shown that if we do not score in the first half against a spirited side, we will struggle to break them down in the second. An early goal puts a hole in their plans and they are forced to “come out” in search of an equalizer. Need I tell you, that’s what we all want to see.

The team virtually picks itself; I expect Cesc, RVP, Clichy, and Theo back in the starting line up. So, Denilson, Arshavin, Chammy29 and Nikky will have to return to the bench. I guess Fabianski is still out, so Chesney starts again, behind the impressive pairing of Djourou and Koscly.

On the whole, anything short of a win will be a very bad result and even a worse one should our rivals win their games. A win meanwhile will put considerable amount of pressure on Citeh and United.

That’s it gooners, let’s continue this impressive run in the League. Our last loss in the League was at Old Trafford and we have to keep that for as long as possible if we are to stand any chance of bringing the title back to N5. Plus, we were unlucky to draw at Wigan, this is our time to take revenge and make things right.

Meanwhile The Metro suggests that we have moved closer to the signing of Bolton defender Gary Cahill. This belief stems mainly from the fact that Bolton recently signed David Wheater from Boro. He is seen as a replacement for Cahill, who is believed to be Le Boss’ main target.

But Arsene’s response to questions concerning the state of our defence suggest otherwise. I honestly feel no one will be coming in this month. I really hope I’m wrong though.

Get in there and support whoever plays tomorrow. Yes, whoever, as long as they wear the colours of this great club. I see a battering in the offing.

See you in the comments!

Have fun wherever you are reading from.
9jabred takes his bow!

THE MOST EXPENSIVE BUS PARKING IN PREMIER LEAGUE HISTORY!

When you spend hundreds of millions of pounds on new players in barely two years, you only expect those players to play some good football. I was understandably sad once the final whistle went at the Emirates, but after a moment of critical thinking, I felt I was consoled by what I saw.

No we did not win that game but it was plain obvious that Man Citeh were scared of going past the half way line. They had no shot on target in 95 minutes of football and you could see the fear in their eyes as they stuck back to defend their goal mouth. They did that very well in all honesty.

We could have been singing a different tune had Van Persie and Cesc not been denied by the same upright. If only Wilshere had dragged his cross backwards by an inch very early in the game; if only Walcott had the composure to make the right decisions when he had early openings. Had all these little things gone in our favour, it would have been another statement of intent from us.

On the whole though, I am more than satisfied with the performance; we gave 100% in terms of movement and technique but a combination of ill luck, some dogged defending and a moment of goalkeeping genius denied us what we deserved. Man Citeh actually played for a draw and you can hardly blame them…afterall we are the Arsenal.

We share spoils with Citeh and it was the perfect result for United. Fabianski was out of job for most of the game, Koscly and Djourou more than held their own, and bar Sagna’s late moment of madness, the fullbacks played quite well. Song had an amazing game as he bossed De Jong and Yaya Toure all game. Wilshere gave another top performance and the attackers gave their best, all of them. But we stay in 3rd place, 4 points behind United and 2 behind Citeh albeit having a game in hand against the latter. It’s not the result we wanted but we’ve got to accept it and move on.

We have a trip to West Ham up next in the League and I expect us to win that one quite comfortably. Before that though, there’s an FA Cup engagement with Leeds United visiting the Emirates this weekend. That’s another trophy we can ably compete for and all we can hope for is to draw the “right” opponents.

We can take a bit of solace in the fact that the Spuds lost at Everton and Chelski’s woes continued. Chelsea is having an extremely torrid time but Liverpool is in an even deeper mess losing to Blackburn in a game that sort of sealed Roy Hodgson’s fate. All these problems can be traced to mismanagement and silly spending. God Bless you Arsene!

It’s still quiet in the January transfer window as far as Arsenal is concerned. Arsene says he will sign only if TV5 suffers a setback, I really don’t know what to wish for on this one. Vela will most likely be going on loan soon and so might Wellington Silva. Ramsey’s back though and I have been thinking of where he fits in, that is considering Wilshere’s form. Thank God I’m not the man paid to make that decision.

From wherever you are reading, have fun and look at the positives.
9jabred says so!

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Let’s put all these behind us quickly!

It’s the last day the year, and believe you me, it's been an emotion-filled year for me as a gooner.

Okay, we screwed up at Wigan; we had them for the taking and we bottled it. We had the lead at half time; we just lacked the initiative to take that giant and most important step to secure victory. But that’s all in the past now, we have Birmingham next and need I remind y’all that the Brum is never an easy place to go…not for Chelsea, United, or us.

It’s no use crying over spilt milk, all we need to do is get our acts together and give the kind of performance we gave against Chelski. Against Wigan a lot of things went wrong: we defended awfully as usual, we did not take the few chances we had, the senior players, Rosicky especially, failed to lead by example, our midfield three did not impose themselves on the game and the referee had a bad day at office.

We can still turn this around, Man United drew, Chelsea still have some work to do before they can start threatening again. We just need to beat B’Ham and Man City in our upcoming matches. A win against Man City will give us an advantage over them and put them behind us for good.

Since most of the performers against Chelsea were rested for the Wigan game, we should have them at full strength tomorrow. Cesc is also back from suspension but Diaby is out for 3 weeks with a groin injury.
So I expect Wenger to recall Djourou, Clichy, Cesc, RVP, Theo, Song, Nasri and Jackie to the starting lineup.

It’s a tough one to predict, our last two visits have ended in draws, with last minute equalizers from Birmingham in games we totally dominated. But I expect us to nick this one, a 2-0 victory to the Arsenal. And yes, we’ll keep a clean sheet tomorrow. Tough one, eh?

It’s on lads, let’s get in there and show our rivals that we can succeed where they have failed. Let’s show everyone that we still have a say in where the title goes come May! C’mon you smoking gunners!

Keep the faith peeps and from us at MG, a happy new year in advance.

9jabred says so!

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Chamakh is Hot, RVP is Fit and Bendtner Whines. Striking Dilenma, Who would you start??

They are here again, the preposterous International friendlies, FIFA’s way of getting revenues for itself in the name of football. That said, it comes with its ups and downs. The downs being the risk of injuries to players and fatigue on returning to their parent clubs. And then again times like this gives me the opportunity to talk on some important things. This time we are taking a look at the striker situation at Arsenal. I have been waiting to write this piece ever since news broke of Robin Van Persie back in training.

Music to our ears right? Then came Bendtner’s rant, about wanting to leave and accessing his options if he didn’t get much playing which at first I thought was another misquote from the press until it was confirmed he did say it. Say what? This is someone who has seen strikers better than him leave the club, got a significant pay rise and a season later despite injuries and not being fully fit he goes out and says something like that. What a doughnut!!!

For the first time in a long while we actually have competition for places up front and in the middle of the park and the thought of having better squad depth than United and Chelski is nothing short of pure excitement. When Chamakh was signed in the summer I wondered how Arsene Wenger was going to play this out. The 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 only allows for only one proper striker flanked by two attacking midfielders or in front of three attacking midfielders meaning somebody will have to play the role of back up striker. Bummer!!! Like we needed any more disgruntled player(s) .

I for one welcome that, we need more competition for places especially as injuries have become a convenient excuse for us over time and if a player is not happy at playing second fiddle or getting subbed a lot he should pull his socks up and win a place in the starting XI. Let’s look at the options available to us and reasons why who should start and who should accept the role of back up.

ROBIN VAN PERSIE

Everyone’s favorite to lead the attack, the injury prone Dutch forward blessed with Van Basten like technique (a little exaggeration here) , quick feet, free kick specialist and a strong left foot. The 26 year old has come of age in recent times, and even though his career has been blighted by injuries, he still puts in a more than solid shift when called upon.

Highly talented and could easily walk into any of Europe’s elite clubs not only is he one of Holland’s key players, he is also vice captain at Arsenal which says a lot about his influence on younger players and the authority he commands in the dressing room. We all hope he could stay fit from now till seasons end to help with the title push. To be honest if he can’t do that, I would say we cash in on him now and buy someone like him that can stay fit and bang in the goals we need.

My Opinion : When fit, he’ll definitely start either upfront flanked by Arshavin and Theo or on the Left of a 4-3-3 formation with Chamakh in the middle and Theo on the right, or a 4-4-2 formation partnering Chamakh/Nikky B. Definite starter.

Chamakh
Less than 20 games in and yet some people are still not convinced about our Moroccan forward. Beats me myself. 8 goals and 6 assists so far, what more can you ask for? Considering the fact that its just his first season and as Arsene likes to point out “it takes 6 months for a new player to adjust” , Cham29 has done it in less than 3 months and yet some fans complain! Why not try put on boots and a jersey and replicate his form?

Granted, he drifts to the wings a lot but let’s not forget his high work rate which shows hunger and determination. Against Everton, he held up play beautifully and defended well at set pieces. He might not have Tevez’s work rate or speed, but he does his best which as of now is paying dividends and making him a fans favourite. If he was signed as back up, AW must have a rethink, now seeing as his 8 goals so far is just 8 shy of his overall tally for Bordeaux last season.

My Opinion :Should start in away and important games ahead of Nikky B due to his experience and goals tally so far, and the quiet way he goes about doing his work. In whatever formation he’ll be back-up to RVP unless in a 4-2-3-1 formation

Nicklas Bendtner
Ah! The cocky Dane who I like personally but has not lived up to his personal billing of a great striker as he called himself. Caught by the media with his pants down after a club party, argued and came to blows with former strike partner Adebarndoor and survived a car accident last year. Lotza issues eh? His goal tally may not be superb but its his knack for scoring crucial goals (Burnley and Hull anyone?). His confidence never wanes. He’s often complained about wanting to play as a centre forward and not on the wings, that looked likely to happen after the sale of Eduardo only for injuries to strike. In his and RVP’s absence, Cham29 has banged in goals and assists and is no longer looking like a back up. Instead of ranting and going to the press I think he should be fit first and work harder in training. Arsene’s response to his complains was that “he’s going nowhere and he’s an integral part of the squad. Now he has to prove it.

My Opinion : 3 goals so far this season doesn’t make him an automatic starter, he’s sure to find himself on the bench more than on the field but nonetheless he’s a great option from the bench and knowing AW, Nikky B will get his fair share of games this season.

Let’s pray all of our 16 players come out unscathed today and tomorrow; especially Gibbs and Theo who I’d be keeping an eye on at Wembley). By the way, 9jabred’s rooting for France tonight, he’s got this affinity for anything French simply because of Thierry Henry. Now, we’ve got Samir, Clichy and Sagna. Great lads eh?
Let’s see which of us is smiling at the end of the game.

Up next for us, is NOTHINGham HotSpuds. They have nothing, let’s show them what we have got.

That’s it for today, I’m off to a date.

From wherever you’re reading this have fun
Escobar’s gonna have a ball

It’s either tonight or probably next season, again.

The game at the Molineux tonight is probably our most important match of the season…this tag changes as the season progresses, mind you. Tonight is all about getting our season back on track and proving our doubters wrong. We have been going through a bad patch of late…Birmingham, West Ham, Shakhtar, Newcastle. It is time we turned the corner and respond to all criticisms.

Against the big teams this season, we have not done too bad, a draw at Anfield, a loss at the Bridge and a win at Man City, yes City are a big team now. But winning the league is not all about winning the top sides, we need to consistently churn out results against the mid table and bottom teams. We need to go to places like Stoke, Blackburn and Sunderland with full confidence of getting a result.

Tonight, we’ll be up against a Wolves team on form, a team that narrowly lost to United at Old Trafford last weekend. They are on a good run of form now and it will take a lot to stop that. We will need to be patient in our build up, make our football do the talking, and most importantly be decisive in the final third. No more Chamakh dilly-dallying on the ball in the box. You are a striker mate, get your shooting boots on, we have enough passers already.

Koscly is out through suspension, so Djourou should normally come in for him, Arshavin is in line to start, so is Van Persie and we can really do with their presence, directness and experience. We need the Cesc of old, not the lost fella we saw over the weekend. Nasri’s injury isn’t too serious, so he should start. I expect Nari and Arshavin on both wings with Chamakh in the middle. I won’t mind Van Persie though. Theo, Rosicky, Nikky B, and Vela will be on the bench in case we need more men up front.

Talking serious injuries, Wenger provided bad injury news ahead of tonight’s game. Vermaelen is still having issues with his Achilles hence no return date can be set. Wenger also said Diaby will undergo more tests today or tomorrow and will visit a new specialist if pain persists. More bad news in midfield with Abou Diaby set to undergo more tests today or tomorrow and will visit a new specialist if pain persists. TV5 has been out of action since August and since I know he’s no crock, the injury must be really serious. I do hope he comes back soon to shore up our defence. The same can really be said of a certain Frenchman, can it?

If we do not get maximum points tonight, we will be further pegged behind because Chelsea will most likely beat Fulham, 7 or more points behind the Chavs is not what we need at this stage of the season. We also need to capitalize on the result of the Manchester derby. It sounds weird but see a City win in the offing. It’s not our problem though, let’s get into the battle with the Wolves and show why we are the gunners.

I see a 2 nil win, Arshavin and any other person, and yes a clean sheet! What do you see? Let us know in the comments section.
C’mon boys, let’s do this!

9jabred says so!

WHAT WENT WRONG?

That’s the question I asked myself as Mike Dean blew the final whistle to end what was a miserable afternoon for everyone associated with the Arsenal. We had just lost our second home game of the season, in November, to Newcastle? We cannot blame injuries this time around because for the first time since I can remember, we had over 8 of our starting eleven present on the pitch. Neither can we say it was fatigue because we had all our “best” legs rested over the week. We cannot blame the referee because it’s not like he made a wrong penalty decision, wrong offside decision or that he blew the full time whistle on 80 minutes? So what went wrong?

Le Boss had this to say:

“Overall I still believe we were very unlucky to lose the game. They had one shot on target and that was their goal. Apart from that they defended well and we were not sharp enough to get them out of position quickly enough. We were a bit unlucky because we hit the post two or three times and their keeper made a very good save. We put ourselves in a bad position just before half time with the goal we conceded and after we came close a few times.”

Personally, I feel we underrated them. Yes, we rolled them over last week, away from home, so we are going to roast them at home. I’m sorry guys, football isn’t Math and it just does not work that way. Granted, Fabianski could have done well on the set piece but we had a whole half to turn the result around do or at least grab an equalizer. But NO, we kept playing the ball over the top, playing to Newcastle’s strength.

Everyone gave a flat performance and we paid dearly for it. Never have I seen Cesc perform so badly, so badly I wanted him changed for anybody on the bench. It cannot get any worse than this, I thought to myself.

But thanks to the Scousers, we are still 5 points behind when it could have been just 2 points. We are now in 3rd place level with the Billionaires and 3 points behind the Mancs who had possibly their best weekend of the season. The only good news for us is that the Spuds lost to Bolton. They must have been sapped following their heroics against Inter Milan.

We need to stop this habit of keeping it late, get an early goal and rest everyone’s nerves. It neither does nor suits everyone to be on the edge of their seats waiting for a goal that should have come long ago. We lost at home to WBA and now Newcastle, and even though I am optimistic, we seem to be throwing away our chances of lifting the trophy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still well within reach, but performances like this only make it a dream. Let’s hope it does not repeat itself.

I’m done ranting, we have Wolves away in 3 days, and we need a great response from the lads after two really poor performances. We need to show everyone that yesterday’s game is not more than what I think it is…a mere blip. Let’s see what we’ll get.

From wherever you are reading, have fun.
9jabred says so!

Jackie gives ’em just what they wanted: Birmingham thoughts.

Coming in a week when Wenger called for a meeting between managers and referees to look into horrendous tackles, our own youngster gave the press something to throw back in Arsene’s face. Wenger has lost a couple of his players to brutal challenges from opponents and has been on the fore front of a “stop violent tackles” campaign. Yesterday’s events will definitely prompt the press to infer that Wenger has to put his house in order first. I have seen the tackle over and over again, and it certainly deserved a red; whether it was intended to hurt Zigic is something only Wilshere can tell. However, the good thing about the whole issue was his reaction to the sending off.

“I just want to say that I mistimed the challenge on Zigic and accept that I deserved to be sent off…I have no complaints about getting the red card and I will learn from this”.

This is the sort of response we expected from the likes of Shawcross and Taylor, but what we got was a vindication of their actions. Great stuff lad, you are becoming a real man once you can take responsibility for your actions and not run away from them.

The game itself was a beauty as we totally dominated proceedings. We created chance after chance but were very unlucky to go behind in the 33rd minute when Zigic met a Fahey cross with a towering header past Fabianski. Not again…I thought to myself; the West Brom game definitely was not going to repeat itself. I just could not imagine us losing again to a team we would normally beat. My fears were allayed when 4 minutes before the break, a lovely run by Wilshere was halted in the box. Marouane picked up the bits of the loose ball and was felled by Scott Dann. The referee simply had to give a penalty, and up stepped our man of the moment, Nasri to fire past the keeper. One-all, and I knew we were going for something more. By the way, this is like the 6th penalty Chamakh has won for us, not really a bad signing eh?

The second half had barely started when a beautiful move involving Song and Wilshere sent Chamakh free, but he had to do a lot of maneuvering and body positioning to beat his markers, the keeper and slot the ball into an empty net. We had the lead now, deservedly and most of the possession. there was no way we were going to lose this one, not if there was no flappyhandsky moment. Speaking of flappy hands, he seems to have gained some sot of confidence. He was not at fault for the goal, his handling was assured and his decision-making was generally okay.

My highlight of the game was the sight of Nikky B on the sidelines replacing Chamakh for his first game of the season. He was welcomed to a rapturous applause and almost got himself on the score sheet within minutes of coming on. Both Rosicky and Nasri also tested the Birmingham keeper before Wilshere’s moment of craze! I’m done talking about that, so it ends there!

So, it ends, 3 points to the Gunners, and a win for Arsene on his 800th game in charge. On a weekend that both the Chavs and United dropped points, a win is just what we needed. As I type this, the Scousers are losing their derby to Everton. I really pity them now, jokes aside. A few positives, very good games from Diaby and Wilshere, Chamakh giving us just what we lacked upfront. We have Nikky B, Ramsey and Theo back, Cesc will join soon, R.V.P isn’t far away either. We move to second place, ahead of United on goals even a win for Citeh will push us down one more place. Not too bad, considering we were literally in trouble two weeks ago.

So we are back in business it seems, more point dropped by any of our rivals can only help our cause. But for now, we need to keep our side of the bargain and keep winning our matches, starting with a whitewash of Shakhtar on Tuesday.

C’mon Gunners, let’s do this!

From wherever you are reading, have fun.
9jabred says so!

Shawcross runs his mouth, Ade needs to shut it…so does Cesc!

Hiya gooners, how good has this week been? Very, i guess. The international break has no doubt made it a bit tougher to come up with regular Arsenal stuff, but no matter how dull things are, the word Arsenal will always attract headlines. Most of our players flew to help their countries in the the qualifying campaigns. The likes of Nasri, Sagna and Clichy were on duty for France and lost to Belarus over the weekend. Only God knows when that team will get it acts right and start winning again. Cesc and Theo were on winning sides though, while the likes of Van Persie, Bendtner and Ramsey, who is recovering from a broken leg, did not participate in any of their national team’s engagements.

Speaking of broken legs, Ryan Shawcross, remember him? the “committed” dude form Stoke City who broke Ramsey’s legs, Yes! him. He has accused Le Boss of “having a personal vendetta against him”. That guy needs to give me a bit of what he’s been sniffing because he certainly should not have his voice heard on matters concerning tackles. Granted, Arsene likened the way Shawcross and fellow Stoke player Robert Huth played against the Spuds to playing a rugby game but I am pretty sure anyone who saw that game will agree with Arsene’s assessment. They practically took out spuds goalie Gomes from the game and still claim they did not go near him. He should be asked one question though; hey mate, did you go near Ramsey? Hindsight still, you could bet his answer would suggest the opposite.

There is a certain man who lost everything after he left Arsenal, i mean everything apart from money obviously. His place in football, the goals, the dance and the media. He has realized this and understands that the only way the world will listen to what he says or does is if it has to do with the Arsenal. The City player that made headlines after he was photographed in an Arsenal shirt, the same man who was in the news for inciting Arsenal fans after his goal, the same dude who never stops talking about what happened to him at Arsenal. “Adebarndoor” is at it again, but this time his comments on border on the heights of lunacy and plain stupidity.

The latest of his crap is the suggestion that Shitty will surpass Arsenal if they win ten straight games. First, it will never happen, Citeh will never gain that level of consistency; even Man United and Chelsea will struggle to do this. Even it does happen, the mere fact that they win ten games in a row does not rank them on par with Arsenal not to talk of rating them above us. Ade needs to shut it and concentrate on getting into his club’s starting eleven rather than moan about what Arsenal can and can not.

Talking about people who need to keep quiet, i think it’s about time Cesc put the issues of the summer behind him and concentrated on winning leading our team’s assault for the League title. Even after the transfer window ended, Cesc is still reported as speaking to journalists on how he was “made” to stay…more like forced to stay.

“Barcelona did all they could to sign me, but Arsenal told me I had to stay, that there was no way they were going to let me go….in the end I had to stay, but the contents of my conversation with (manager) Arsene Wenger will remain private.”

We know this Cesc, we know we begged you, we know Arsene probably asked for one more season but you do not have to rub it in our faces. All this talk of Barca being your future should stop, at least for now for the sake of this team. We need to get our acts together and do away with any form of distraction.

Meanwhile, reports today indicate that Van Persie’s ankle injury has proved worse than first feared and he has now been ruled out until at least the middle of October. Bad news for us right? Nah not quite, we are used to him now.

More seriously though, England’s game tonight saw our man of the season so far Theo Walcott stretchered off with what looked like a terrible ankle injury. He’s been rushed to hospital for x-rays but beleive you me, it does not look good.

Here we go again, our injury carnival begins:RVP, Nasri, Nikky B, Denilson, and now Theo. The club is cursed on the injury front aren’t we? Let’s just hope it’s not as serious as it looks…fingers crossed it just one of those short term injuries.

From wherever you are reading, inspite of the bad news, have fun still.
9jabred says so!