Just when you thought things were getting worse, they actually are getting better.
It's so easy to slip into an completely negative stage when you suffer setbacks but if you've taken the cues from Arsenal, that's not what you should do.
Remain positive! And good things will come to you. Or, you can expect the worst and then be pleasantly surprised when the good things come.
Vermaelen didn't break anything in his leg. Which is splendid. I thought it would have been nonsensical if he did after being rested at Stoke so perhaps that tactic did work. We all expected him to be out for a long long time but would you take a look at this? He could even make United if he recovers within 2 days. If you'd compare the 2 injuries the team picked up at Villa, Eduardo is completely out of contention for the United game. Vermaelen with a suspected serious injury could return.
Must be an awesome roller coaster ride for United fans who may have been a little more happy that we lost one of our key players of the season.
Of course, they too think that the FA moves in slow motion. No, they don't. Experiences with Moneybags Adebayor and his stamp on RVP tells me that retribution is swift when it comes to being charge with violent conduct, even if you poach video evidence (from Mascherano) to support your case. You'll see C. Ronaldo and the use of Messi's video to help his case but failing (and in the process, piss off fatherly Xavi). In any case, when the ref puts in his report that he would have sent the player off and awarded a penalty to Hull, that pretty much means that you'll get a 3 game ban, simple as that. Except that he chose to plead 'not guilty' and it's byebye Rio for Arsenal game and 3 more. 1 extra suspension for a 'frivolous' claim. Good thing Adebayor pleaded 'guilty'.
It's really stupid on Ferdinand's part but not surprising. If he were available for United then they'll most probably field their first choice centre back partnership of Ferdinand and Vidic. Good news for us. Vidic should be back though, and partner Evans.
Wenger also stated that Eboue and Song are back in London as planned. I think 2 more days of rest from them till United is a good thing. Had the game been on a Saturday then chances of them featuring will be slim. Sol Campbell has himself fired up to face United and knows that he faces the task of stopping Wayne Rooney. One man does not make a team though, but we still need to stop him. Cut off supply to him and he'll start lumbering back into his own half to try and nick the ball from us and that makes him less effective. We need to keep possession well and get our passing game going. Bendtner's back and despite his inability to shoot, being tall makes a world of difference. We can play the ball off him and bring the other midfielders into the attack, of course, if he doesn't give the ball away as a result of a crappy return pass. We all know what to expect. No other choice though, because he happens to be the only striker left.
If Vermaelen can't play, I'd put Campbell in. Song needs to be in that holding role. If Diaby is scared fit too then it's obvious that he partners Cesc. The front 3 will be Arshavin, Bendy and Tomas. I hope Denilson doesn't play. Every effort on his part to win the ball back from the opposition have been half-hearted lately and it's irritating me. Either you're in or you're out. There's no in between.
It should be a crackin game at United. Maybe a game against Villa didn't fire up the lads as much. United, should.Labels: Emmanuel Adebayor, Man Utd, Sol Campbell, Thomas Vermaelen
A Little Drunken Madness @ 2:06 PM
That was a game that was there for the taking. Unfortunately, Villa and Arsenal played out to a goalless draw.
The difference between a top club and some club who only wants to play for a Champion's League qualifying spot, is that post match, one manager says that we should have won while the other is ever so contented to skim off a point. What ambition?
Maybe he knew more objectively then the scum commentators who claim Villa to be the better team thanks to some 'clear cut' chances that fell to Stewart Downing, in which he screwed wide. At least have the courtesy to say that they weren't on target. Just by those 2 chances alone, they think that Villa should have won. I guess it's worth forgetting that Cesc hit the post late in the first half and Rosicky missed a glorious chance when he riffled the freakin bar. You don't get any more clear cut than that, suckers.
There should be an option to turn off commentary. I don't do that because I enjoy listening to the fans singing, our fans in particular. No one needs to listen to lame ass Villa fans singing 'same old Arsenal, always cheating' when they're the same people who sing about Eduardo's broken leg. People of Birmingham seem to have something screwed up in their brain somewhere.
Anyway, what we should be most concerned about is the injury to Vermaelen. It doesn't look good and he's going to have lots of scans to determine if it's a nerve problem or a broken leg. This is highly unfortunate. Just when the players are miraculously returning to fitness for once, 2 more get crocked. With dudu it was always going to happen. After his broken ankle you'd expect him to suffer niggles like that. But a broken foot for Thomas? Don't think it's expected at all. It's really stupid that the manager decided to rest him at the weekend, essentially giving him one week off to rest up and he gets injured on the subsequent game back. Makes you think that you should have played him anyway, and perhaps the result at Stoke might be a wee bit different. Now we may not get to test that theory this season because he might be out for the rest of the season as it stands.
Also, it's funny to note how Sol Campbell is ahead of Silvestre in the pecking order. I guess he does realise what a lame prick Silvestre is. I think Arsenal should do more to sign Chris Smalling. If he chooses United then fine. But we do need more cover at centre half and he's actually featured in the league already for Fulham so he will create an additional option. Who faces united though, remains to be seen. Campbell has been out of action for a long long time and is now thrown right back into it but I think it's a challenge he relishes. He sure looks a whole lot better than the Campbell of old actually. He is committed and has no room to be conceited and is working hard. It's a competition of places, even though you don't really have to do much to bump Silvestre out of it. Even after all these time, he is still twice the player Silvestre is.
Right so we'll await further news on Vermaelen. Looking at the injury list, it is looking pretty bad. Only Diaby and Eduardo are short term injuries. We knew for sure that Van Persie, Gibbs and Djourou are out till next season. It's good to shorten the damn injury list but it ain't cool to add more. They're playing tag team here where ones comes out, another will go in. Arsene Wenger certainly will not be signing a striker because he prefers to collect interest at the bank. Makes perfect sense actually, since our crazy run of games have already started and by the time reinforcements arrive they can't actually be thrown into the fire immediately. At least no one available is of that standard. We need a big squad with sufficient depth to challenge for honours and there is no harm keeping 4 strikers. We have 3 and 2 are out while 1 just came back from injury and I'm not sure if he's a striker because he gets into good positions in the box (WITH THE BALL) and doesn't shoot. Tell me that he's finding his way back from fitness. Oh yes. Then why is he doing the same old thing as before? The same old frustrating shit. When he had to come on to replace Eduardo he brought a glimmer of hope that he soon extinguished when you see him back to old ways. Nicklas Bendtner, messiah. Drives me nuts as usual. At least now with only ONE striker left Wenger's not going to put him on the.....right.
Lastly, it's always news when Rosicky isn't the one who is crocked. He's putting a decent run of games now so, you know it's coming. Prove me wrong, baby. And I hope Song is back for United. It'll restore balance to the team and then Denilson can be dropped. What kind of stupid holding midfielder slips here and there and allows the opposition to go past him that easily? It ain't protecting the back 4. It's just maybe slowing down the attack for half a second. And he doesn't look quite up to it fitness wise because somehow, it seems that every player manages to outrun him. Cuckoo. I want Song back. Denilson can sit on the stupid bench. Even Diaby does the holding role better than him. In fact, he attacks better too. If Denilson can't hold and not attack without passing the ball back, what is his true purpose? This knowledge is beyond my understanding, just like how Bendtner refuses to shoot when in the penalty box WITH THE BALL in a GOOD POSITION. Is he a striker? If he's not that what is he?Labels: Neves Denilson, Nicklas Bendtner, Sol Campbell
A Little Drunken Madness @ 1:28 PM
Aston Villa tomorrow.
Team news is out. I think the main highlight is Samir Nasri is back. I mean, not too long ago he was supposedly out for 3 weeks. And he's back, waaaaaay ahead of expectations. I think Arsene Wenger's repeated investigations into his team's injury problems have scared everyone fit.
Joining the list of returnees is Nicklas Bendtner. He's been out a long time and he definitely will feature tomorrow, without a doubt. Whether he'll start remains to be seen. Ramsey made his return at the weekend so we do have quite the full squad, on the attacking side of things at least. Nasri returning does make our bench a whole lot more pleasing where we have quality to call upon, quality we can actually depend on. Vela and Walcott at the moment look out of sorts and I don't think their current abilities allow them to come on when the game needs changing and do us a favour. So, welcome back Sammy.
Personally I'd opt for Arshavin-Eduardo-Rosicky as the front 3. They do combine well and the last time they did, 2 out of the 3 of them had goals to their name. I think with every game, dudu's growing into that frontman role and he deserves his place to keep on going. Of course, Bendtner scaring him into action isn't too bad a thing. Let's hope the boss does not play him on the right. He's our tall centre forward and if you ain't gonna sign one, you gotta play him.
And now we finally figured out why Wenger did not feel the need to sign another defensive midfielder. Hoho. Cameroon dropped out of the ACN despite being one of the favourites to win the tournament. The downside is, that yesterday's game wasn't as straightforward as we might have liked. If Egypt has beaten them in normal time then fine, but they were made to play an additional 30 minutes, and even Le Boss has admitted that Song looked a little bit tired. The team will travel back to Cameroon from Angola and then he will make the trip back to London. The earliest he'll reach is right after Villa on Thursday. Considering the amount he has played and the travelling he has to do, Wenger warns that he may not face United on Sunday. I suspect he might anyway, or otherwise be benched. His importance to the team can be seen quite clearly. I hope Cameroon does better at the World Cup. They probably failed so badly at the ACN with so many Gooners rooting for their downfall lol.
So, the back 4 will be restored tomorrow. The ideal, first team back 4, of Clichy-Vermaelen-Gallas-Sagna.
I think for the first time in a long long time, we're going to have most of the first choice players taking the field. In contrast to the team fielded at Stoke, tomorrow's team is going to be a strong one that isn't lacking in experience. Nasri entering the fold could well mean Rosicky playing a little deeper, partner Cesc in the centre of the park with either Denilson or Ramsey holding. (If only we had Song) Cesc and Tomas are the best of buddies off the pitch and it's highly rare that they get to play together in the same team thanks to one of them who gets crocked on a regular basis. (No more, thanks TR7) They're going to have so much fun together. Their understand of each other's runs are second to none.
Here's to a great great game tomorrow. For many, they're going to be starting their day at 4am. For me, I think I'll sleep after the match.
I bring you the only positive from the game at Stoke:
Labels: Alex Song, Andrei Arshavin, Nicklas Bendtner, Samir Nasri, Tomas Rosicky
A Little Drunken Madness @ 11:29 PM
I need some cheering up.
3-1 it ended, us on the side of the 1. The most in-form team in the league has lost.
There are positives despite all that.
We never looked like winning, even when we threw Arshavin, Eduardo and Ramsey. At 1-1, you'd understand why Wenger would want to go for the win. At that moment, the thought of scheduling a replay in the midst of our congested fixture list was just plain bad. DNW is the phrase. At the end of the game though, I don't know how many of us would have taken that 1-1 scoreline instead of being greedy.
It was all not meant to be because the 3 that came on didn't really impose themselves on the game enough to turn the game around. Instead, our lacklustre attack left us more exposed at the back, and we couldn't deal with it. As it was, the back 5 weren't the first choice first teamers you would have liked and they were always going to have problems. I thought Sol Campbell did well with what he was given to do and Silvestre did ok. Stoke rarely threatened in open play. When we could deal with their long throws and high balls the defence did fine, up until they were left wide open with unsuccessful attacks.
The youngsters did as well as they could. I though fielding Fabregas was a statement of intent and he worked tirelessly for the team but things just didn't fall into place for him. This game ain't a bad thing really. Gives our young captain a little bit more experience. Things will never always be smooth-sailing and you gotta learn how to react.
All in all, either you go through to the next round, or you don't. It's one trophy lost. We're still in the running for 2, the 2 that aren't the most straightforward. Hopefully this doesn't result in a bad run of form and the depth of the squad was tested and they failed. There's still time for that to change but I doubt it, with Bendtner due to return at Aston Villa. Not a lot of time between then and the end of the window for him to screw up just in time for Wenger to realise that he really needs to buy. And this probably gave us a glimpse of how diabolical it'll be if one of Vermaelen or Gallas has to be replaced.
Games are going to come in thick and fast now so there's not time to mope but to look to the Villa game. Till then.Labels: Cesc Fabregas, Sol Campbell, what kind of fuckery is this
A Little Drunken Madness @ 11:28 PM
Sooooo. I bet you peeps who have Facebook would have added Arsenal FC to your watch list.
And they came up with something utterly hilarous.
I can't stop lol-ing at it. Here's the description:
Are you Arsenals No. 1 fan? Well this little fella is! He sways, waves his scarf and sings five famous Arsenal terrace chants!
HEH.It looks so retarded.
Kay team news see Sagna rested for Stoke from a sore shoulder and Diaby out for at least Stoke and Villa next week with a calf injury. You get the feeling that everytime Arsenal hit highs on the pitch, the injury list lengthens. Either they try too damn hard or they simply need to be bubble-wrapped. Last season it all went downhill as the injuries piled up but this season it's completely different. The squad is going from strength-to-strength. May it long continue while people make it back from the treatment room.
Bolton in the form of Owen Coyle and Paul Robinson are busy whining to the press about that one Gallas mistimed challenge to cover up for the fact that they fucked up a 2-0 lead. Quite rarely are the visiting team gifted 2 goals and they couldn't hold on. Please do not blame it on one Gallas challenge. The bunch of douches had at least 3 men who could stop Cesc from putting the ball into the back of the net but they failed. Not 1, not 2, but at least 3. Who do they have to blame but themselves. Hence. Once again, diverting attention away from their own incompetence. It's just like how the Haiti President is complaining about the slow relief efforts when he should have done a whole lot more for buildings safety that would most definitely lessen the devastating outcome. Never considered that the non-existent infrastructure may be the cause of the delay. I mean, hell, people have to help them repair their ports and run their airport.
Lastly, the tension between City and United is getting to epic proportions. Bunch of petty people aren't they all? You said this, and he did this and then someone gives you the finger. There's still another leg to be played so it'll be better to wait till the end to have the last laugh. Anything done between now and then is pretty pointless because it's the result that matters. Anyway, as I was reflecting, it was a good thing Arsenal were dumped out of the Carling Cup by City. I think 2 games against Man Utd would affect our current run. Our fixtures are congested as hell as it is and if we were in the semis we may not have played out our game in hand and definitely would not be top of the league at the moment. Also, it gave Hughes something lame to hold on to as he got the boot. Oh...I got city into the semi-finals of the Carling Cup yay! And then failed to win a whole bunch of league games.
Going back to laughing at the musical doll who is the number 1 Arsenal fan, probably because he only sings and does not groan at misplaced passes. Heh.Labels: retards paving the way, what kind of fuckery is this
A Little Drunken Madness @ 5:11 PM
So. Arsenal are top of the league for the first time in a long long time. And for once, we're the ones who don't have that game in hand because it is all but PLAYED.
And we've got Bolton out of our system as well. 2-0 at the Reebok, now 4-2 at home. Both results, not without toil and determination, more so for the game at home.
Cesc Fabregas described his team as hungry, and boy did they show it.
Not from the start though. I said earlier that Bolton will come at us once more and they did, this time, they were rewarded with 2 goals. 2 early goals. The only difference was that we always looked like scoring and the second goal, was a gift from Denilson.
Then my Tomas scored a beautiful right-footed shot to pull one back just before half time and that was highly important to keep the momentum of the team going. You always knew that the lads were going to come back and win it. Going into the game, I think everyone in the team knew that they needed a 2-goal winning margin to go above Chelsea. At 2-0 down, you got to be able to summon incredible mental strength and belief to go for 4 goals. Regardless of opposition, pulling back 2 to level terms is difficult enough. Tonight, the lads did 4.
The common misconception about Arsenal is that the team is young and inexperienced. Yes, the team is young. But they've been playing with each other for a long long time and I wouldn't be surprised if part of their belief was built on coming back from 2-0 down at the Reebok 2 seasons ago to win 3-2.
Post match reactions are going to hinge on the Gallas foul on Mark Davis in the build up to Cesc's equaliser. It was a poor foul and shouldn't have happened, but if we're honest, even if we didn't get our equaliser then, it was all the more coming. If that goal was a difference between a Bolton win or draw then I guess it should be open to more debate but we won, hands down.
What teams need to know is that when you play Arsenal, the last thing you should do is to rest on your laurels. Even if you have a 2 goal lead. We'll come right back at you.
And Vermaelen ended his recent goal drought (heh) to make it 3-2 from a corner. He showed real determination to get that in and Arshavin made it 4-2 and sent us to the summit of the premier league. It was more than the icing on the cake. It was everything. Arsene Wenger's 2 signings who made a difference with their goals and their performance.
It's the FA Cup weekend coming up so we should be sitting at the top for a while longer. Heh.Labels: Andrei Arshavin, Thomas Vermaelen, Tomas Rosicky
A Little Drunken Madness @ 5:49 AM
That sure was a tough game.
Arsenal beat Bolton at the Reebok 2-0. Ever since Sam Allardyce left, it seems that Bolton as our bogey team has since passed. Actually, it has passed since that 3-2 comeback win 2 seasons ago in the pouring rain, when Cesc scored the winner.
We came away with the points, but it didn't come easy.
Evidently though, it was Arsenal with the shooting boots on. (Thank God for that)
Cesc got us the early goal. I love early goals. In Arsenal terms, early goals means goals in the first half, not in the first 20 minutes. He was magnificent throughout the game and that was probably the reason why he was getting fouled like nobody's business. Nasty stuff really, from Bolton. He should have had 2 penalties as well.
Eduardo did pretty well today, despite not getting a goal to his name. Both goals were a result of his assists and he is growing into this role. He was always dangerous when the crosses were coming in and that isn't easy especially when you're often the only one in the penalty area. Crossing was much better today, and it was down to Rosicky. He adds so much more to the team and he seems to be like the only one in the team who can put in decent crosses.
Traore was getting owned on the left side by South Korean winger Lee Chung-yong, probably because Arshavin wasn't really supporting him. I suppose that's the difference between playing centre forward and on the wings. You have defensive duties as a winger, even though we all know that Arshavin does what he does best, goal side of the pitch. Clichy then came on and he brought more defensive stability on the left side. A good comeback from him after being out for so long.
Latest injury news see Ramsey and Nasri joining the list. This isn't good because we're wearing really thin in midfield. Diaby sure does look like a 90-minute player now and he definitely is Wenger's starter, making him and Fabregas 2 out of 3 in midfield. Song is the third but he's away so there's a chance for Eastmond and Fran Merida, who did very well to get on the scoresheet. I'd imagine Merida to play higher up in the pitch with Rosicky dropping deeper in the centre of the park. The only problem is, Mr Tomas Rosicky cannot be trusted to stay fit just yet. I'm so thankful he's back, but I feel like it's all borrowed time. Need to get that feeling out.
I think Wenger will sign someone. He knows his team and he has ambitions too. And of course, Sol Campbell and Galindo do not count. We really need someone who can slot right into the team and make an instant impact. Time is running out. We may have beaten Bolton, with another game against them still to come, but I don't think we are able to match Chelsea like for like. That run of games against the big teams is going to shape the title race drastically and might put us out of it so we need reinforcements for this crucial period.
Bolton again on Thursday morning. Owen Coyle hasn't had a chance to bring any of his teams to the Emirates. Make no mistake - they're going to come at us as they did last night.Labels: Andrei Arshavin, Cesc Fabregas, Eduardo Da Silva, Tomas Rosicky, transfer window hoo-ha
A Little Drunken Madness @ 1:57 AM
Sol Campbell hasn't officially signed for Arsenal yet but you'd expect the deal to go through. He has been speaking a lot of Arsenal.com and here's a quote worth taking a second look at:
"Yes [I wish I had never left]
Sometimes when you go away you realise what a top club Arsenal is. Slowly but surely everyone moves on but sometimes you move away and you re-think things."
Don't think he'll be saying anything about Sp*rs. Don't think anyone would feel that way about Sp*rs with the exception of Robbie Keane. Maybe it was because he went to Liverpool.
...that is a club in shambles at the moment and I'll get to that later.
I think Arsene Wenger is awesome. He normally gets the best out of his players before letting them go and this has been the case for almost everyone who has came his way. Campbell may prove to be a little blip to their record but I believe in Arsene Wenger and Arsene knows. There's been much talk about Flamini's return to England and here's a player we would welcome back. He might actually be happier here and partner Cesc again in midfield but Song owns as the anchorman.
On to pool. Ahahaha. srsly. I didn't expect this after the Reading draw and the FA cup replay being held at Anfield. But oh. It did. And now all Liverpool have to play for is 4th spot and a chance to win the first ever Europa League. Rafa Benitez has guaranteed 4th spot. Even Arsene Wenger did not do that last season. And this is probably KARMA for their fans who laughed at our quest for 4th spot. Sheesh man. Karma stings. Won't want to mess with karma.
So Man Utd and Liverpool are out of the FA Cup in the first round they played in. Arsenal have Stoke in the way but it's not too shabby to get both teams out of the way. If the FA Cup wasn't that important at all, it sure is a good indication of how the big 4 clubs are doing so far. Man Utd are still challenging for the title and in the Champion's League as well as the semi-finals of the Carling Cup but they've been far from impressive. Liverpool is just, well, Liverpool. They can blame all their troubles on off-pitch shenanigans but truly, they've been poor and the faster they accept it the faster they'll get back on track.
Arsenal always make things tough for themselves but if they manage to produce that something extra they can pose a real threat. The West Ham game is testament to that.
Lastly, Chelsea always have it easy.
Arsenal are the true underdogs here.Labels: Arsene Wenger, Big 4, FA Cup, Sol Campbell
A Little Drunken Madness @ 10:14 PM
The phrase "seeing is believing" is never overrated. Never ever.
There has been speculation, loads of speculation, speculation I chose to dismiss. And then Arsene Wenger proved me wrong and signed the above fellow. "re-signed" to be exact.
Honestly, between Patrick Vieira and Sol Campbell, it's obvious who our choice would be. What remains is that the boss didn't think we needed Paddy but we would have a use for Sol's services.
The period of time of my 'great awakening' as an Arsenal fan was probably right around now. Previously I know I was following blindly at a young age. I was mesmerised by Henry and Pires for the most part (maybe Freddie too). I wasn't conscious of Sol's move from Sp*rs and all the drama that went along with that. But I do like him. Since his departure, I don't think anyone as big as him has been in our defence.
This season is getting interesting ain't it. Paddy's back but with Man City while Sol signs for us again. This could be Arsenal's year in so many ways. If City does do well we arguably have a part to play since they like our ex-players.
Except that one of our ex-players don't seem to possess enough City shirts he had to rope in one of Arsenal's and he did an interview in it.
Nice shirt. It's from 2 seasons ago I think. I liked the polo then. I think we'll all be up in arms if he ever donned the Arsenal shirt again.
Flamini is reportedly unhappy at Milan, probably due to the lack of first team appearances. Last season, we would have taken him back in a heartbeat. It's different this time. I never thought I'd say that Alex Song strikes a far more impressive figure than the combative Flamster.Labels: Alex Song, Emmanuel Adebayor, Sol Campbell, transfer window hoo-ha
A Little Drunken Madness @ 12:04 PM
I said that I wanted a Tomas goal that wasn't for shiok value only. That I got. Except that it wasn't the difference between a win and a draw, but a draw and a loss.
Good all the same, but I would have preferred if we had won.
If you gave the game considerable thought about the manner of our goals, you wouldn't consider them lucky. Yes, both were a result of deflections, but those were clear reflections of the tactics David Moyes set his team out to do.
Defend in numbers. Get bodies in the box. Throw bodies in the line of fire.
And that is what you get really. No clear cut Arsenal goal but deflections.
They could moan and blame their luck but in the spells where we were superior, we deserved to win as much as they thought they did. Their goal from Pienaar was not a result of brilliance but a result of us wanting the winning goal so badly to get the 3 points. Credit to them to know exactly what we wanted and to use it to their advantage but I am not disheartened by the performances of the lads. In truth, they could have been better but the spirit was there.
The headlines all read that Arsenal were lucky but these are the ignorant fools of the press who do not know any better. It was simply down to the way Everton defended. If you put that many things in the way of the keeper, you got to watch out for deflections. I don't need to make myself any clearer than this. Just take a look at the Beach Ball incident at Sunderland. Even a lousy pool beach ball can cause a deflection that great to leave no chance for the keeper. What about men in front of the keeper. The beach ball they could get out of the way. Everton players? They're no better than the beach ball.
At least this time, it wasn't an Arsenal fan who put the Everton player there. The Liverpool schoolboy is probably still living in utter shame.
On another day, if we had Fabregas in the side, this game could have been a done deal. And yesterday, we saw how important Song is to us. Denilson, who got stretchered off injured, is no Alex Song. The key to a successful attack in a 4-3-3 is a good holding midfielder to be there whenever we lose the ball, to shield the defence. Without one, we put our defence in a whole lot of shit. I dare say, that had Song been playing, the Pienaar goal wouldn't have happened. That said, their first goal was from a corner and we didn't show enough desire to close down the ball.
Their goals perhaps could have been prevented had Song been playing but more importantly, a good holding midfielder also holds the key to good attacking play. He is important to the team at both ends.
I thought Donovan did pretty well today. For a player to come and slot right in immediately in the league and do well is quite remarkable. I'm wondering why Wenger never considered bringing in players from the MLS on short term loan to provide cover. There aren't many strings attached and Beckham is a good testament to their worth, even though he ain't American.
The good thing is, Man Utd decided that they really do want us to over take them, or at least have the possibility to. So they drew 1-1 with Birmingham. What's left is Chelsea. They are expected to drop more points because their chief goalscorer is currently in Angola. I never realised the Chelsea were pretty dependent on their African players till, well, now. There's Drogba and Essien for starters. A team missing those two could genuinely be short on quality.
What's left to do now is for Rosicky to return to full complete fitness because he was a gem when coming on. It's always an 'all hands on deck' situation at Arsenal so we need everyone. EVERYONE. I don't believe Arsene Wenger is close to signing anyone besides Sol Campbell. I am so not betting on January signings. The minute he excluded Edin Dzeko for being too expensive I stopped praying even. There aren't a lot of tall hitmen around who can slot right into the Arsenal team so that's it. We'll most probably have to rely on whatever we have. Arsenal Football Club is a bunch of scrooges when it comes to transfers. Good thing the window is closed over Christmas or they'll be the red and white grinches stealing our Christmases.
Dream signings will always be a dream. I mourn Dzeko. Chelsea always signs him in FM and he always scores against Arsenal. Booooo.Labels: Alex Song, Man Utd, Tomas Rosicky, transfer window hoo-ha
A Little Drunken Madness @ 1:09 PM
Okaaaaay. I chose to shut up a bit before the game in case it gets postponed.
The Emirates pitch is heated so the pitch isn't a problem, the surrounding area is. And the Bolton game got canceled. I didn't think it was a bad thing really. Bolton are in managerial turmoil and naming a new manager might spark a revival but if you think about it, Arsenal's always going to come out tops. We don't have to rely on Bolton and manager troubles to win the game.
The boss says that the extra rest time was helpful. Hopefully it'll show tonight.
So I guess the top of the news is the gunmen attack on the Togo team bus. What really concerns us is probably Emmanuel Adebayor being on it.
Not that we would want him dead, but I think it's possible that the gunmen were aiming for him but got his teammates instead.
That said, it would be bizarre if that was the case because that would make the gunmen gooners. I do think that only we would have a personal vendetta against one Emmanuel Adebayor.
This is just a speculation of motives. It is from watching too much CSI. I became a Las Vegas fan, and then AXN had to catch me at a bored hour with NY and it's pretty good too.
So, fortunately, MoneyBags is doing fine, except that he claims to not be able to sleep at night. I doubt it. With City's money, I think he'll sleep just fine. Just give him a couple of nights.
The next World Cup, is in Africa. Damn.
On tonight, Rosicky is back. I think he's definitely raring to go with his new contract out of the way. I hope he scores an awesome goal even if it's just for shiok value. I miss that.
And Arsene Wenger. Supreme master of interviews and puns. He made this statement about Chamakh:
"He is a player we have an interest in, but we are focused on short term at the moment."
Which essentially means he's an unpolished gem, and not ready to slot right into the first team and make an impact. If we all knew better, we would never have heard of this dude had he not been linked with Arsenal. Now it seems that Liverpool's interested. If we do table an offer for him in the summer and he chooses Liverpool over us, it's his demise. The last I checked, Rafa Benitez isn't one who does well with unpolished jewels.
So screw it Chamakh. His form at Bordeaux isn't that fantastic anyway and srsly, if not for us no one will know about him.
And now, Andre-Pierre Gignac is good enough for Arsenal now. SUCK THAT CHAMAKH. Ass. You can go to Sp*rs. When Arsenal declares an interest in you, you don't list your options. The destination is obvious.
And we have players to bear testament to our formula that works. My Aaron Ramsey. He chose Arsenal over United and look where he is now. Cesc Fabregas left Barcelona for Arsenal and he's a world class player at 22. When it comes to turning talent into class, there is only one Arsene Wenger to do it.Labels: Emmanuel Adebayor, Tomas Rosicky, transfer window hoo-ha
A Little Drunken Madness @ 12:55 PM
The above left midfielder has signed a new Arsenal deal.
It has been a long time coming, yet I'm still surprised.
It's our manager really. He puts faith in his players and make them want to repay him. It seems like all about repayment huh.
I'm happy the deal has been inked. What's left is to hope against all hope that Tomas will make a big contribution in this second half of the season. He has goals in him too and is a model pro and has experience. When he is playing Cesc sparkles that little bit more because he has his buddy on the pitch and their telepathic waves are second to none. Well Cesc is building that kind of understanding with Mr Arshavin too.
Speaking of Arsha, he's going to be on the front cover of the February issue of Arsenal Magazine giving an interview about his first year at Arsenal. Pansing, the company that imports foreign magazines, have significantly lowered their prices. I got my Jan issue for $12.50 which is like 5 bucks less than usual. For once, prices are going down. I don't know the reason why, but it is welcomed.
I've more or less devoured the Jan issue and it's Alex Song on the cover and his cover story gives a few insights on how the players develop. He went on loan to Charlton and I suppose, that really helped with his development. There is a difference when you play regularly as opposed to coming on as a second half substitute. I hope little Jack will be able to go on loan because I think that is the last hurdle he has to cross before staking his claim on the first team.
Bolton in 2 days time. There's a lot going on with Owen Coyle and him taking over as manager at Bolton. If that is the case, it sure does make the 2 upcoming Bolton games more tricky ties. So far, he has masterminded a few upsets against Arsenal and he is a good manager.
Till then.Labels: Andrei Arshavin, Cesc Fabregas, Tomas Rosicky
A Little Drunken Madness @ 1:49 PM
There is only one Aaron Ramsey.
This dude has the fans singing the Arsene Wenger chant with his name in it, and quite rightly so.
It's a classic example of taking chances. The opportunities for him in the first team came and so far he has taken them in style, showing everyone what a big player he is going to be for us.
He became the darling of the team when he first arrived when Alex Ferguson and United legend Welshman Ryan Giggs couldn't convince him to join them and he chose us instead.
Look at how far he has come, this time, popping up at the right time to score the equaliser to set up a grand stand finish for Eduardo's header, which was nothing short of fantastic.
The game was pretty evenly matched from the start. Both sides created very little but eventually, West Ham got the goal they deserved for all their hard work. I'm not sure we needed to give a game to Silvestre who really isn't the player he was at United. He was slow to react and Diamanti managed to keep onside thanks to him and got the goal. I don't see why Traore couldn't continue in the first team since Wenger chose to keep 3/4 of his back four intact.
He shuffled the pack in front of the defence somewhat but Song kept his place to play one last game for us before catching the plane to Angola. Ramsey kept his place too with Merida completing the midfield trio. Up front Wenger brought in Vela and Wilshere but chose to play Vela in the centre and dudu on the left. I think Eduardo should be primarily deployed in the centre. He's not new to playing centre forward and is a natural striker while Vela has been mostly deployed on the wings. If Vela's in the centre because of height then there is not much case for that since there isn't a very great height difference between the 2. Overall, before Diaby and Nasri were brought on, we struggled to get behind their defence to create anything.
West Ham came out after the break and started to settle in a little more. At 1-0 against any Arsenal side there is simply no time to sit back. Behrami and Kovac continued to match us like for like in midfield and were doing a good job at that. Then Wenger, who has been really smart with his substitutes as of late, brought on Diaby and Nasri for Merida and Wilshere. I think before, if you mentioned Diaby as a sub late on to change the game, I would have laughed it off and expected things to stay status quo. But he came on and did really well and if he manages to stay injury free and consistent, he can make a difference this term.
So the draw for the 4th round has happened and looks like we'll be travelling to Stoke City. It's so early in the Cup and we're facing all the premier league sides already.
Sp*rs entertain Leeds United. Heh. I'm wondering if they'll learn from United's lesson or simply be Sp*rs.
So, this was quite the eventful 3rd round of the FA Cup. Man Utd crashed out to Leeds at mighty Old Trafford and Hull City, who created all that drama from nothing last season are out as well.
Ferguson has declared that the peeps who took the pitch tonight are not fit to face City in the Carling Cup semi final coming up in midweek. I think that'll do the youngsters' confidence a world of good. So much for youth development.Labels: Aaron Ramsey, Abou Diaby, Carlos Vela, Eduardo Da Silva, FA Cup, Man Utd
A Little Drunken Madness @ 2:20 AM
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