The North Bank – “It’s got va-va-voom” (An Arsenal blog)

Hello again from Yokohama. Thankfully the deadly dull international week is over and we can now concentrate on Arsenal for what will be some key games over the coming weeks. But, before we can even think about games against Barcelona and Leyton Orient, there is the not so small matter of a game against Wolves this afternoon. Well, it’s in the afternoon for you folks back in Europe, it will be a midnight kick-off for those of us here in Japan. That said, that last sentence may only apply to myself as I have no idea if anybody based in Japan actually reads the blog.

I won’t go into the debacle that was the 2nd half against Newcastle because, well, what can you say? Yet again, Arsenal make history. Unfortunately it wasn’t the kind of history that we would generally like to make, but history nonetheless. That ManUre and Chavski both lost and we ended up actually gaining a point on top spot did help to reduce the pain.

Today’s game is massive and three points are needed if we are to continue a serious challenge for the title while also giving ourselves some much needed extra confidence ahead of the massive mid-week game against Barcelona.

I haven’t seen or heard it just yet, but I am steeling myself to seeing the words ‘Cesc’ and ‘DNA’ being mentioned umpteen times between now and the week of the second leg against Barcelona.

Anyway, back to today’s game and both Song and Djourou should be involved in the squad. However, I think that the latter will be on the bench for this one as the manager may want to protect him ahead of the Barcelona game. It’s Wolves, they are bottom of the league although they are playing decent football, but if you can’t beat the team that is bottom of the table without Djourou then there are serious issues with the central defensive element of the team. That serious issue takes the form of Squillaci and we will have to hope that if he does play that he will suddenly find a bit of form and play well.

If the past twelve months have taught us anything about this team it’s that no lead, no matter how great, is good enough and that this team is more than capable of blowing even the most unassailable of leads. This team doesn’t do easy. It doesn’t shut up shop. It can’t shut up shop because it doesn’t know how to. Here’s hoping that Vermaelen returns sooner rather than later to help shore things up a bit.

I have a feeling that the defence today will be Szczesny, Sagna, Squillaci, Koscielny and Clichy. Not a massive amount of speculation there as the only position that is really up for debate is whether or not Djourou or Squillaci will start and as I said above, I think Djourou will be protected ahead of Barcelona.

In midfield we will be without Rosicky due to a groin problem and Diaby due to his suspension, though Denilson and Song return. So, we should line up with Cesc, Song and Wilshere in the middle with Walcott and Arshavin ahead of them and RvP leading the line.

If we start with that team, we should be more than strong enough to beat Wolves, regardless of whether or not Djourou starts. That said, Wolves will be up for this game, as they are fighting for their lives, and we will have to match their hunger in order to secure the 3pts. The manager has himself hinted that it will be a strong team as there is no need for rotation due to the Barcelona game being on Wednesday evening and today’s game being at 15:00. He was quoted in The Guardian as saying:

"The best way to be in a good position to beat Barça is to beat Wolves. That game is, in my opinion, more important by far. We started in August to fight for every single ball to be in a position to fight for the Premier League and now is the time of truth. We are in a strong position. It would be absolutely stupid now not to prioritise the Premier League."

Wolves have the worst away record in the league. Of the twelve games they have played so far, they have lost ten, drawn one and won one. Our game at Molineux earlier in the season finished with a 2-0 win for Arsenal following goals by Chamakh in the 1st and 89th minutes. Another 2-0 today would do nicely. We haven’t lost to Wolves since September 1979, though I am not really sure how a stat like that has any real relevance today what with Wolves having been out of the top flight for much of that time.

A more interesting statistic is that Arsenal have taken 37pts from a possible 42pts against the teams currently sitting in the bottom half of the table. The dropped points coming in the 3-2 home defeat to West Brom and the 2-2 draw away to Wigan. We’re also unbeaten in seven games in all competitions now, irrespective of how much like a defeat last week’s result felt.

Today’s stats came from a variety of sources: the Soccerbase & Statto websites and also via @Orbinho on Twitter.

In other news, Vermaelen is reported to be doing better and is possibly two or three weeks away from a return. Diaby has some kind of injury following the Barton tackle last week and would perhaps have been a doubt for today even if he wasn’t suspended. Nasri revealed on Twitter yesterday that he has started running again and is feeling good. There are rumours that he may well be involved in the squad for the Barcelona game.

UPDATE: Almost forgot, our game is live on J-Sports 2 and coverage begins at 23:54, followed by Sunderland vs Spuds from 02:24. The Manchester derby is on J-Sports Plus from 21:39 and is followed by Liverpool vs. Wigan at 23:54. Plenty of games on the box today! All of those times are JST.

That will have to do for today. I will be crossing my fingers that Karl Henry doesn’t break any legs today.

Take it easy.

Greeting Gooners. This week has been quite a week in terms of what other club’s have spent and the resolve that our own manager has with regard to his belief that the squad he has is good enough to challenge on all four fronts. As frustrating as it is to see another transfer window go by and see no quality central defender or defensive midfielder being signed, when you see the crazy money being splashed around, like jizz on an adult film actress’s face, it makes you glad that our club stayed away from that madness. There wasn’t a whole lot of value to be had.

It says a lot that both Arsenal and ManUre didn’t get involved, yet you see a club like Spuds try for basically every striker that plays in La Liga and fail miserably on all counts, therein making themselves look like amateur bellends.

Speaking of bellends, David Moyes has been busy taking away the focus from his own team’s capitulation at the Emirates by trying to manufacture an incident wherein he initially zzzzzzzz. The fact that he referred to himself in the third person tells you all that you need to know.The North Bank blogger doesn’t like that kind of third person self referencing, not at all, no siree.

Anyway, getting away from bellends and on to today’s game which sees us travel to Newcastle to take on a team shorn of first team strikers, through both the transfer of Carroll for a ludicrous sum of money and Ameobi to a fractured(?) cheekbone. Given this mini crisis up front there have been rumours that they may turn to former Gunner and the man that makes goalkeepers look prolific in front of goal, Jeremie Aliadiere. An interesting move if it happens and although he was never the prolific striker we would have liked him to be, having him there would be better than nowt. It would be nice to see him get another shot at a big club and see if he can get his career back on track. If they don’t sign him up, we may just see Gazza swing by with his fishing rod and a six pack to see if he can help out.

As for team news, Szczesny is set to continue in goal as Fabianski is out for the season after it was confirmed that he must have surgery on his shoulder. In front of him, the defence will most likely be Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou and Clichy. As we have been hearing pretty much since his injury occurred way back in early Autumn, Vermaelen remains three to four weeks away from a return. Sometimes it feels like Arsenal have found some way to break the rules of the physics of time. We should get Stephen Hawking in to have a gander at the state of the space time continuum around Colney.

In midfield, we will be without Song and Nasri. So, in the middle we should see Cesc, Diaby and Wilshere with AA23 and Bendtner playing ahead of them and RvP up front. Though there is a fair chance that Walcott may start ahead of Bendtner, I think that the boss may be a bit cautious with him given his injury record and the fact that he is recovering from a knock. If Diaby does start ahead of Denilson, hopefully he will put in a good shift and not just amble about the pitch.

Starting with Bendtner out right and RvP up front would allow the two of them to interchange positions fairly easily and give the defenders something more to think about.

Although AA23 hasn’t put in his best performances away from home, he is showing signs of coming back into some good form and his stats don’t lie. He deserves a starting place, especially as we will lack the creativity of Nasri who is out until after the first leg against Barcelona.

Away from today’s game, I think that the massive overreaction by some people towards journalists on Twitter following the Cesc thing was a bit out of order. I’m not saying that you need to agree with their views or suck up to them or anything of the sort. However, if you disagree with them, there are other ways to voice your dissatisfaction aside from sending them a message calling them a ‘cnut.’ Having a good disagreement is part of what makes the interaction on Twitter interesting. But, when you turn that anger or disagreement into some kind of slanging match, well, it doesn’t really reflect well on yourself and the club you support. It also gets all Arsenal fans tarred with the same brush.

If anyone has read my blog for any period of time, you will know that I am not averse to using a plethora of swear words, but the readership of my blog is quite small compared to the number of people that will see your Tweet as journalists tend to re-Tweet the abusive messages that they have been sent. By all means disagree with someone, have an argument with someone if you like, but try to at least keep it respectful. I don’t mind Arsenal fans complaining amongst themselves about incidents or what has been said, but when that gets directed in a disrespectful way at people outside of the Arsenal family, then it gives us a bad name. Just because Twitter is not face to face doesn’t mean that what you say has no ramifications. I suppose what I am basically trying to say is be aware of just how public an arena Twitter is.

While I am on my Twitter rant, please stop messaging players and asking them to re-Tweet your message. That is neither smart nor cool and it is more likely to get you added to someone’s blocked list than for them to follow you. Crikey, that rant makes me feel a bit old, but it’s something that I just wanted to get off my chest.

Today will be the first game ever that I will be able to watch at home in HD, can’t wait! Hopefully the lads will reward me with a few goals, but more importantly the three points. My upgrade to HD came through yesterday, just in time to discover a bikini bowling show on TV. It gave a whole new angle to the idea of a one-ten split.

Finally, check out Szczesny’s interview on ATVO and also in The Guardian. He comes across as a really nice bloke. Also, if you don’t already, follow him on Twitter at @53Szczesny53 as he is pretty funny.

You can also follow me on Twitter at @colm_smyth.

Right, that’ll have to do for today. Take it easy.

Hello again from a busy blogger in Yokohama. It’s been a few weeks since my last post because I have been busy trying to make serious headway on my dissertation whilst also working. Whether or not I have managed to ‘smash’ the back of it remains to be seen. It is due in March, so posts will be intermittent between now and then, as you may have already guessed due to the dearth of posts since early December.

I’d like to say thanks to those who #ff me on Twitter (@colm_smyth) even though I haven’t been able to write as many posts here as I would ideally like to. Thanks for keeping the faith. I guess that that’s the beauty of Twitter, even though I don’t have time to write a blog post, I can still stay involved in bite-sized chunks there.

Anyway, since my last post we have played a plethora of games and are now on our way to Wembley for a Carling Cup final against Alex McLeish’s scumback kickers Birmingham. I will talk more about that closer to the actual final, but suffice to say that it will potentially be the making or breaking of this squad. Winning it could give this team the confidence and belief needed to go on to win more trophies. Losing it would raise questions about the team’s mental strength, desire and ability. Playing Birmingham in the final is certainly not going to be as easy as West Ham, however it is a massive chance to bring home a bit of silverware other than the Emirates Cup!

Looking ahead to today’s game against Huddersfield at the Emirates and the manager is set to make a few changes to the team as he will certainly have his eye on the league game against Everton on Tuesday evening. Also, given that today’s game will be our NINTH game this month I think that there would have been plenty of rotation anyway regardless of whether we were playing Everton on Tuesday evening or not.

I suppose it is only fitting that we get a game against Huddersfield as the club approaches its 125th anniversary, given the Hebert Chapman connection between the two clubs.

Word is that Almunia may start as the manager has confirmed that Szczesny is our new no1 and so he is unlikely to be risked. Given that Fabianski is still out with a dicky shoulder, it seems that, whether he likes it or not, Almunia is going to have to suck it up and do a job for us. It will be interesting to see whether Wenger meant that Szczesny is now our full-time no1, or is he just no1 until Fabianski returns and this is an attempt to put Almunia in his box for being such a reluctant no2. If our younger Pole can sort his distribution out he will be a good keeper for us.

At the back, Sagna misses out due to concussion and so we will probably line up with Eboue, Squillaci, Koscielny and Gibbs. Squillaci is available again after recovering from injury.

Midfield is anybody’s guess. However, I think that we may see Denilson, Diaby, Rosicky in the middle with Walcott and Arshavin ahead of them.

Up front, I think that we are likely to see Bendtner get the nod in order to try and get him another goal or two that would further build up his (already massive) confidence as we head into the final few months of the season.

Hopefully we can avoid the dreaded draw today and the troublesome replay that that would bring with it. We have enough games to play between now and the end of the season without adding any needless extra ones.

On the transfer front, well there isn’t really any kind of transfer front for us this month. There is plenty of speculation over whether or not we will sign Oxlade-Chamberlain from Southampton. It seems that his team are trying to set up a bidding war, so it remains to be seen how that will pan out after this weekend’s FA Cup games. The player would prefer to join Arsenal, so I suppose that it all comes down to how badly the boss wants to sign him. Can’t say that the signing of yet another teenager really excites me anymore.

There were rumours coming out of France during the week that we will try to sign the PSG defender Sakho for around €14m. I don’t know too much about him, to be honest (maybe I could replace Shearer on MotD?) All I know is that I once had him in Football Manager and he was quite good. That last bit of information is about as useless as tits on a bull.

I think that if we don’t sign a central defender during the window it will be a big mistake, especially as the manager revealed yesterday that Vermaelen is at least six weeks away from a return to the team. That means it will be early March at the very earliest before we see him back in the side. Given that he has been out for basically the entire season we can expect him to pick up some small niggling injuries when he does start playing and also that it will take him a good month to get anywhere close to hitting top form even if he doesn’t pick up any niggles. So, to be brutally honest, in terms of seeing the best of Vermaelen (if indeed we see him playing at all), it will be next season.

The other problem with not signing a defender and waiting, in hope, for Vermaelen to play again this season is the fact that Wenger is counting Song as one of the players that can play in central defence in TV’s absence. This just isn’t the way that a top club should be operating. We shouldn’t be having to shoehorn Song into a makeshift centre-half when his best position is as a defensive midfielder and the fact that he is basically our only defensive midfielder makes this more absurd. Signing a quality centre-half can only make the team stronger, not weaker. Squillaci is in his 30s, so the excuse of ‘signing someone now would kill player x’ just doesn’t hold up. Surely the idea is to have players of quality that can spur each other on through a healthy level of competition? Sign a quality defender now and then in the summer show the lesser ones the door.

I also don’t really like the whole ‘most good players are cup-tied for the Champions League’ excuse. The Champions League is just one of four competitions that we are still involved in and the most important one for us should be the Premier League. I know that any team still involved in the Champions League or a title challenge won’t want to sell their best defenders at this stage of the season, but I find it hard to believe that there are no defenders out there that are both available and better than what we already have.

Anyway, regardless of what I think on the matter, I have a feeling that, come February 1st, we will find ourselves in the position of waiting for the return of TV with Song as our makeshift fourth choice centre-half. If the boss does roll the dice, hopefully he will be wearing his lucky suit.

Carlos Vela has gone on loan to West Brom and let’s hope that he can get plenty of playing time under his belt there and that it will help him discover some form and confidence. To be honest, I really don’t see him as being a player that could ever be a regular in our first team. I’m not saying that he is rubbish, I just think that he would be more suited to a team outside of the ‘Big Four.’ Hopefully a decent run of form there would push up his transfer value.

According to @DarrenArsenal1 on Twitter, the club have given a ten day trial to a 16yr old Israeli called Gael Margolis, from Maccabi Tel Aviv. According to Darren, the player has risen quickly from his club’s u16’s to their full youth set-up and arrives in good scoring form.

Right, that’ll have to do for today. Here’s to a win against Huddersfield at lunchtime. Kick-off is at 12pm (9pm JST) and due to the FA Cup not being shown on TV here, I will be chasing the stream.

Take it easy.

Once again apologies for a recent lack of posts since the start of December. This is due in part to a wi-fi connection that is on the fritz and also because I have been trying to make some serious headway on my MA dissertation whilst on my winter holidays from work. So, please bear with me for a little while longer as my dissertation is due in March.

Looking at today’s game it is certain that we will see a raft of changes as we see players rested and protected following a tough festive period fixture schedule and also because we have umpteen players that have recently returned from injury. The manager has also said that there will be plenty of changes.

In defence, we should see Szczesny get another chance to impress in goal. Eboue will deputise for the suspended Sagna, Squillaci should step in for Djourou and will likely be partnered by Koscielny with Gibbs starting at left back following his return to fitness.

Midfield is a much harder one to call. I think that both Denilson and Rosicky will start in the middle and perhaps they will be joined by Ramsey who is now back at the club following his loan spell and is in desperate need of some playing time. Ahead of that trio we may see Vela and Arshavin with Bendtner leading the line.

Although the word is that Vela will play, it seems strange to risk his fitness given that the club have openly said that they want him to go out on loan. Vela is a strange one, on the one hand he needs playing time and experience but on the other hand you have to think about how long we can keep sending a player out on loan to get experience before we call a spade a spade and cut our losses on him. He isn’t a kid anymore and either he is good enough to make it with us or he isn’t. You get the feeling that if he was good enough, he’d have played more for us by this stage of his career. Personally, I don’t think he is good enough to ever break into our starting eleven. If the club cuts him loose, it would free up a place in the team for someone like Eden Hazard to be signed in the summer.

According to Young Guns Blog, our young Spanish defender Ignasi Miguel is set to be named on the bench and will wear number 48. Speaking of Young Guns blog, head on over to the App Store and download its brand new and totally FREE app for your iPhone or iPod. It’s the perfect complement to the Arseblog and official Arsenal apps.

This is the first time that I have felt that the Carling Cup is more important than the FA Cup. I know that we have been in the final of the Carling Cup before, but I think that this season more than any other we need to bring home a trophy and the Carling Cup is, by a long way, our best chance of doing that this season. That said, I still hope for a good run in the FA Cup.

Like yourselves, I have been wondering whether or not the club will sign anyone in this transfer window, but I am bracing myself for no players coming in this month. There will probably be a few that go out on loan, Vela and JET spring to mind. The manager himself has said that any signings will depend on the fitness of Vermaelen. I can’t help but feel that the Belgian will be out until March at the earliest and that we should bite the bullet and sign a decent defender sooner rather than later. Even if Vermaelen does recover sooner rather than later, we need to bring in someone that is better than Squillaci and Koscielny. Don’t forget we have already ‘signed’ someone as Ramsey has returned to bolster our midfield options, or at least I am sure that that’s how it will be spun!

Right, that’ll do for today. Here’s to a good performance and a win against Leeds. Fingers crossed it won’t end in a draw.

Take it easy.

Right, seeing as it’s New Year’s Eve I figure that it’s time to start looking ahead and being positive. Time to try and put the clusterfuck that was the Wigan debacle behind us and focus on getting maximum points from our first two games in 2011.

2011, Jesus. Is it just me or does saying that make you feel like you are living in the future? Must mean that I am getting old. Balls.

Anyway, looking ahead to tomorrow’s game I think that we will again see a raft of changes made to the starting eleven. Unfortunately, barring some David Seaman-esque accident at home, I am pretty sure that Fabianski will start in goal despite the fact that his lack of organisational ability and weakness on aerial balls is a big part of our defensive issues. Though, in fairness, the four players playing in front of him don’t exactly do him any favours in terms of offering any form of protection.

I think that the starting team will be:

Fabianski

Sagna      Djourou      Koscielny      Clichy

Fabregas      Song      Nasri

Walcott                                     Arshavin

Chamakh

At least that is what I hope it will be, given the players available. I think that Djourou is better than Squillaci and also that Koscielny looks to be more comfortable playing alongside him. I hope that Nasri will be moved back into the middle as that is where he is most effective as I think that we may see Wilshere getting a rest, though hopefully he will still be on the bench. Moving Nasri into the middle would allow the starting of Walcott and Arshavin out wide. Arshavin is a player  that can deliver a goal or an assist no matter how little overall contribution he makes to the team effort. His work ethic annoys me, but you can’t really say that he doesn’t offer an end product. Walcott’s pace would pose Birmingham a big threat right from the off.

That would leave the likes of Szczesny, Squillaci, Eboue, Denilson, Wilshere, RvP and Bendtner making up the bench. Quite a strong bench.

Diaby will be out for a number of weeks following the injury he picked up against Wigan. So, we probably won’t see him playing again until mid-February if his previous recovery rates are anything to go by. I’m not all that bothered by his absence, to be honest, and wouldn’t shed a tear were he to be offloaded at some point in 2011. Vermaelen, Gibbs and Almunia remain unavailable.

There are reports going around that Nordveit has joined Borussia Monchengladbach on a two and a half year deal. The initial reports were that he left for a fee of €800,000 but @YoungGunsBlog (website link) is today reporting that the club have foregone any fee in place of getting a hefty sell-on percentage clause inserted into the deal.

Ryo Miyaichi is currently taking part in the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament (全国高等学校サッカー選手権大会) for his school Chukyodai Chukyo Sigh School (中京大中京 or 中京大中京高校) after which he will join up with Arsenal. The games are being shown on Nippon TV (日テレ), ch4, here is the link for the website. It’s in Japanese.

Thanks for reading over the past year. Here’s hoping that Arsenal can bring home some silverware in 2011. Any silverware will do, as long as it isn’t just the Emirates Cup. That would suck balls. Whilst I’m hoping for things in 2011, would somebody please beat ManUre in the league before the season ends? Don’t want that lot calling themselves The Invincibles.

The blog will be turning two years old in March, bloody hell, time flies!

Finally, I have a question that has been bugging me for the last day or so. I have a very hazy memory of being at a game at Highbury in the mid-90s, sitting in the North Bank as usual, Keown and Selley went for the same ball in or around the half-way line, Keown ended up kicking(?) Selley and Selley had to go off injured. Did this actually happen or has my memory been destroyed by the amount of boozing that I have done in the intervening years? I’m not talking about the serious leg break that effectively ended Selley’s career prospects. Neither my brother nor friend that were at the game with me can remember any such incident, nor can @DarrenArsenal1 or @sms_adrian, so it may be that I have gone mad. Tried a Google search last night, but to no avail. Anyway, if you can remember anything about whether or not this actually happened, please stick it in a comment.

Right, I’d best be off. Have yourselves a great New Year’s and I’ll see you on the other side, hopefully with three more points on the board.

Take it easy.

Well, where do you start after that load of rubbish last night? Personally, I lay the blame for last night’s result squarely at the door of the manager. He made some big decisions which in my opinion cost us the game. The first was his decision to make EIGHT changes to the side that beat Chavski on Monday night. Now, I am all for rotating the team, but considering that the team had a good long rest due to the postponement of the Stoke game, there shouldn’t have been a need for so many changes.

Cesc’s suspension and the injury proneness of Djourou, Diaby, RvP and Walcott should have been the five obvious players to be rested. According to @orbinho (on Twitter) the manager has now made eight changes to his side on three occasions in the Premier League, of which one was a draw and two were defeats. However, the team that started last night should have been more than capable of beating that Wigan side.

The team started off slowly and were punished with the awarding of a penalty following a blatant dive by N’Zogbia, which Watson scored. Then Diaby picked up his mandatory injury and was replaced by Wilshere. The young Englishman’s arrival marked a turnaround in our fortunes and we were soon rewarded with a cracking goal from Arshavin who showed fantastic technique to pull of a scissor-kick volley to make it 1-1 following a Bendtner shot that was saved by the keeper. Arshavin soon turned provider for the young Dane and we were 2-1 up going in at the break.

2-1 up against Wigan was never going to be a safe score line and the team really should have pushed on in the second half. But, as the minutes ticked by there was no real sign of a third goal coming, an Arshavin one-on-one aside. Wigan were creating some chances of their own and looked like they might sneak another goal against our porous defence.

At that point I was both shouting at the TV and on Twitter for the manager to make his final two substitutions in order to redress the balance back in our favour. Wenger seemed intent to waiting as long a possible to make any further changes. The only thing missing was the sight of him rubbing his face a la Roy Hodgson a few weeks ago. It also had echoes of last season at Wigan when the substitutions came too late.

N’Zogbia got sent off for a stupid off the ball head butt on Wilshere but instead of any changes being made to put some extra drive and energy into the team and go for the throat, nothing was done. Then Wigan scored after some truly shambolic defending from a corner. Fabianski made a half-arsed attempt to come for it, but if you go for a ball you should make sure you get there or else just stay on your line. This mistake was compounded by Squillaci making a pig’s arse of defending and heading the ball into his own net.

The fact that we should have had a nailed on penalty following a hand ball in the wall from a Nasri free-kick, which was no different to the one that was given against Cesc in the Spuds game, certainly added to the frustration. However, we shouldn’t have been in a position where we were hoping for a late penalty to beat 10-man Wigan. The referee got both penalty decisions wrong.

More annoying still were the post game comments from Wenger where he said:

“As long as we didn’t score the third goal in this kind of game it can end 2-2.”

Which begs the question, why sit on your hands and make no changes until the 83rd minute when Wigan had already been allowed to get back to 2-2 instead of us making some changes and trying to kill them off?

This was followed up with:

“I’m frustrated because it looks like nobody takes responsibility for our organisation on corners.”

Well, you are the manager and it is your job to select people that can do their job properly. To paraphrase @DarrenArsenal1, if you buy bargain basement defenders, you get bargain basement defending. Szczesny would have been more vocal in organising his defence than Fabianski and that is a problem of Fabianski’s that has been highlighted already this season but I can’t for the life of me remember in which game.

Dropping points isn’t the end of the world, it is just the manner in which we dropped them that is so frustrating, especially as ManUre had drawn the day before. A chance to close the gap has been missed.

Beating Chavski didn’t make us brilliant and drawing with Wigan doesn’t make us rubbish. Anyone that has regularly read this blog will know that I have always been pro-Wenger and I still am. However, I think that he got it badly wrong last night and there is nothing wrong with saying that you think that he seriously dropped the ball.

If we can come out of the festive period with ten points out of twelve, then that would be a good return and one we would have gladly signed on for before playing Chavski. The team has to deliver in the next two games. I’m getting sick and tired of saying that and then seeing the team under-perform.

Right, angry rant over. The demons aren’t exorcised but writing this has certainly helped. I know we got a draw yesterday, but it feels like a defeat.

Try and enjoy your day as best you can.We simply must bounce back against Birmingham at the weekend.

Take it easy.

Just like pints to Gazza in a bar, the games are coming thick and fast over the festive period. Monday saw us take on and beat what can best be described as an average Chavski side. That’s not to detract from our own performance but clearly, on current form, Chavski will have their work cut out for them if they are to maintain a title push. That feels very nice to write, although it’d be foolish to write them off just yet as they are still in contention given ManUre’s draw last night.

As mentioned in the title, we are in the midst of nine days that could go a long way to showing whether or not this team will be capable of mounting and maintaining a credible league challenge. The first of the four games in nine days was Chavski, tonight is away to Wigan, Saturday is away to Birmingham and next Wednesday will see us take on Man Shitty at the Emirates. I think that we must get maximum points out of these four games, especially as Chavski have already been successfully overcome.

On Monday, our players stood up to the challenge and showed a lot of energy and drive. They really wanted to show, to themselves as much as to the fans, that they were capable of beating one of the big teams. Cesc picked up his fifth booking of the season and so will miss the Wigan game, but you would be thinking that he may have missed that game anyway as the boss tries to ease him back into things following his long-standing injury problems. So, maybe the suspension is a blessing in disguise at it removes any temptation from the boss to risk our captain.

Our goal came at the perfect time, just before half-time. In truth, a penalty could have been given for a foul on Cesc in the build-up, but Alex Song was able to finish sweetly with a shot across the keeper into the bottom corner of the net. A massive goal that sent the team in at the break on a high.

The game swung heavily in our favour after going three up early in the second half with two goals in quick succession from Cesc and Walcott.

However, Arsenal are not a team that likes, or is able, to do things easily. You could probably add defending to that, too. We were no sooner three goals up when a Drogba free-kick from their left flank was hit into the box and nobody really made any kind of telling challenge on Ivanovic. Koscielny really could have made a better effort at a challenge on that. That brought a period of resurgence from Chavski, but they didn’t manage to find a way through.

There was an incident of customary dithering on the ball by Clichy in the second half which allowed Chavski to regain possession but they failed to do anything with it.

From the moment Chavski scored I was filled with the enormous dread that we were going to blow it big style. I even sat there thinking about what the odds would be on a 4-3 turnaround. However, the depression induced by such thoughts prevented me from checking it out. The team were definitely shaky for a while after conceding, but they held on for the all important three points and the massive psychological boost that that should bring.

As important as those three points were and the morale boost they have given the players and the fans, it will all be for nothing if they don’t now go out and beat Wigan tonight and Birmingham at the weekend. It is important to get some momentum going as we head into the new year and the push for honours.

Which brings us on to tonight’s game. There are sure to be some changes from the game against Chavski, some will be rested and Cesc is suspended.

I think that we may line up with Fabianski, Sagna, Squillaci, Koscielny, Clichy, Song, Denilson, Diaby, Nasri, Walcott and Chamakh.

I don’t want to see Djourou drop down to the bench, however given his injury record the manager may decide to rest him ahead of the game at the weekend. Likewise for RvP, who is so brittle that we shouldn’t risk him playing two games in three days so soon after returning from injury.

The suspension of Cesc should see Diaby get a rare start and I think that the manager may just decide to rest Wilshere as Wigan may be seen as a better game for him to miss rather than miss Birmingham. Personally, I’d like to see Wilshere start tonight. I think that Walcott may keep his place in the side as he offers more in terms of both work rate and his pace than Arshavin.

Apologies for the brevity/accuracy of the Chavski match ‘report’ as I was in Tokyo all day yesterday and am now stuck with a dodgy wi-fi connection and ATVO appears to be down today, so I am unable to access match highlights, interviews or the manager’s press conference. So, this has all been guesswork, blurry drunken memory and very much off the top of my head.

If you are bored, you can follow me on Twitter: @colm_smyth where you may find some intelligent comments amidst all the drunken and ranting ones.

Tonight’s game is on J-Sports 2 and coverage begins at 04:39. If you are interested in keeping an eye on other games’ scores, Liverpool vs. Wolves is on J-Sports 1 from 04:54 and Chavski vs. Bolton is on J-Sports Plus from 04:39.

Right, I’m afraid that’ll have to do. Take it easy.

Today sees us take on Chavski at the Emirates in a game that is a must win for the team. The game was already a must win before the results of yesterday, but considering that ManUre, Man Shitty and Spuds all won it has made today’s game even more important. Anything less than three points will leave us five points adrift of ManUre having played one game more.

The team also needs to reverse its horrid run of poor results against ManUre and Chavski. Today would be a good time to start that. Can they beat Chavski? Well, honestly I am not so sure, I no longer feel the same confidence going into the big games that I used to. A run of something like 11 goals conceded and one scored against Chavski in the last four games against them does not bode well.

The team should line up as Fabianski, Sagna, Squillaci, Koscielny, Clichy, Fabregas, Song, Diaby, Nasri, Arshavin and Chamakh.

However, given how horrid that Arshavin was against ManUre I wouldn’t be surprised to see either RvP or Walcott start in his place. Though no matter how many times you hear Arsene talk about Walcott and his future, it is hard to see him as anything more than an impact substitution for the time being. Fingers crossed that we’ll see the good Diaby, instead of the usual Diaby tonight.

To be honest, I would rather see Szczesny start in goal as I think that he would be better at dealing with balls into the box and be a bit more vocal. Hopefully Fabianski won’t revert to his previously flap-happy reincarnation.

It’s strange, but I feel an unusual pessimism ahead of today’s game and I think that that is directly influenced by the (misplaced) confidence that I had ahead of our wretched showing at Old Trafford a few weeks ago. I’d rather go into this game feeling pessimistic than going in optimistic and seeing the same ineffective rubbish that we have become accustomed to in the big games. Time for The Arsenal to come bearing the gift of three points. Time to deliver. How many times have I said that and we then fail to do so?

One thing we REALLY need today is for the fans in the stadium to give some strong vocal support to the team. The team will need to feel that the fans are behind them. We have heard talk of the team and its fear of losing rather than trying to win. It’s time to get over that mental hurdle and the best way to do that is by beating the Chavs today and the fans in the stadium can at least try and play their part in that.

Apologies for the brevity of today’s post. I got stuck in the tax office for bloody ages filing my tax returns for the past two years, only to discover that I am entitled to a massive ¥80 reimbursement. That’s less than £1. Perhaps that has influenced my negativity ahead of the game!

Anyway, here’s to a rare big performance against one of the big teams. The game kicks off at 05:00 JST and coverage will begin at 04:54 on J-Sports Plus.

Take it easy.

Greetings from a mild Yokohama. Christmas here really is a bit rubbish when compared to back home in Ireland. The shop decorations usually start coming down on Christmas Day! At least there is the small matter of a big game against Chavski to look forward to.

Before getting to that in a later post, there was the announcement yesterday that Danny Fiszman has transferred 16.1% of his shareholding in the club to a new nominee company called DF Nominees Limited. On the face of it, this seems like a strange move. However, when you take into considerations Fiszman’s long-running health issues, then move would seem to be a way of preserving and maintaining stability at the club should the worst case scenario happen.

The move also seems to be aimed at keeping Fiszman’s holding out of the hands of Usmanov. The question now would seem to be, does Kroenke Tonk Stan (KTS) have the money at his disposal to be able to make a full takeover move for the club. Should he buy Fiszman’s shares, he would be required to make a full takeover bid and should that takeover bid fail he would then be required, under market rules, to sell enough shares to bring him back down to a holding of 29.9%. That could potentially result in those shares falling into the hands of Usmanov. Therefore, the timing of any such move is critical.

It could be that this new nominee company is some kind of holding company that will retain the shares until KTS is in a position to make a full takeover bid. Of course, that is assuming that KTS actually wants to make a full takeover bid. There are some sections of fans that would like to see Usmanov seize control the club as the perception is that he might bring around an era of spending and a winning mentality. However, I am dead against Usmanov gaining control of our club as he would undoubtedly bring around an era of managerial instability and judging by his comments in the media, he seems intent on just earning a quick buck. He generally just comments on how the share price will continue to rise. It is rare to hear him talk about the actual long-term future of the club.

Now, I know that that last point will be countered with people saying that we never hear KTS say anything. This is true. But, if you look at KTS’s history of investment in sports clubs/franchises, he doesn’t sell. He stays in for the long haul. He also doesn’t spunk away his money through heavy investment in playing staff, which may not be to the liking of those that would prefer to see Usmanov gain control. There are three points to think about here; the first being that Arsenal have never been big spenders and have always lived within their means, so KTS is more in line with the traditions of the club; second, we have no real idea of the intentions of Usmanov, apart from the fact that he wants to turn a profit. Just because he is a rich Russian does not mean that he will throw money at the club and, if he does invest in the club it would be through private loans, which the club would need to repay at some future point. Nothing is for free.; three, the silent approach by KTS is more in line with club traditions of keeping everything in-house and maintaining stability at the club. If Usmanov were to seize control, it would seem inevitable that a lot of our business would be done in public with endless stories in papers and a lot of both managerial and player instability at the club.

I don’t know about you, but I know which of the two main protagonists that I would like to seize control of the club, were it to be sold. I also don’t agree with the idea that Usmanov would instill more of a winning mentality at the club more than KTS would. There is simply no evidence to back up that argument.

Anyway, that’s about that for today. I’ll be back at some stage over the weekend with a look towards the Chavski game.

Hope those that have been travelling back to England and Ireland from here in Japan made it home safely and without getting stranded in an airport!

Until then, take it easy and Merry Christmas!

First off, apologies for the lack of posts of late. I am trying to balance work, a MA dissertation and drinking, all of which leaves precious little time for writing a post. Though if you follow me on Twitter, @colm_smyth, you can stay abreast of my thoughts, rants and witticisms. (Disclaimer: witticisms may be sporadic.)

Anyway, late in the day I know, but the only thing that I really have to say about the ManUre game is that we offered absolutely nothing from an attacking point of view and also we really have to get rid of Clichy, he is an accident that just can’t wait to happen. No waiting there, no siree. I’m not suggesting for one minute that Gibbs is ready to step into his shoes. If sold, we would certainly need to buy a left back, or else buy someone like Chiellini that could play centre or out on the left, which Vermaelen could also do.

Yesterday saw the draw for the Champions League group stage take place and the draw was as follows:

AS Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan v Tottenham
Valencia v Schalke
Inter v Bayern Munich
OL v Real Madrid
Arsenal v Barcelona
Marseille v ManUre
Copenhagen v Chavski

Personally, I can’t wait for the game against Barcelona. It will be the ultimate test of the intelligence and growth of this squad. Have they learned from the games against Barcelona last season? Will they be able to match the work rate and pressing of Barcelona?

I think that drawing Barcelona is better than drawing Real as their style of play will offer us more space and, in theory, they should be easier to open up than the likes of Real who Mourinho would have been set up to be tight and stifle our play.

Playing a team like Barcelona is what the Champions League is all about. Already I have been checking my working schedule for those days and trying to figure out whether or not I will be working, or taking a sicky the next day. Hehe.

Another upside of drawing them in the first knock-out round is that we now have two months to prepare, get our house in order and there is also a transfer window in which investment can be made, should the manager wish to do so, in order to give us the best chance possible to progress to the next round. I don’t know about you, but I am excited already at the prospect of coming up against Barcelona again. Yes, Chavski got the easier tie of the English teams, but they don’t get to look forward to  truly massive game for the next two months. We do. Enjoy it. Don’t fear it.

Looking at today’s game, RvP, Walcott and Cesc are available to start, though there is still a question mark over whether that will happen or not. I have a feeling Cesc may get the nod. Fabianski is still a doubt, though apparently he is 80% ready to play. Bendtner may not be part of the squad as his partner is due to give birth to the couple’s first child. Almunia has a twisted ankle. *cough cough* Diaby will be a bit short for the weekend. Though word on the street is that being a bit short isn’t a problem that Wilshere suffers from…

So, assuming that Fabianski doesn’t pass his fitness test, we will probably line up with Szczesny, Squillaci, Koscielny, Clichy, Cesc, Song, Wilshere, Nasri, Arshavin and Chamakh.

At least I hope that Szczesny will start as he seems better on crosses than Fabianski, although his kicking needs a bit of work judging by his performance at Old Trafford. I think that having a keeper that is solid on crosses (and throws) will be important against Stoke. After Arshavin’s performance against ManUre, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him ‘rested’ today and Walcott get a start. I’d also like to see Djourou get the nod ahead of Koscielny, but I think that the manager will stick with his summer signings in central defence for this one.

Shawcross returns to the stadium for the first time since trying to rip Ramsey’s leg off, here’s to a very hostile reception for him. However, we should give Whelan a warm welcome for his part in trying to comfort Ramsey as he lay stricken on the pitch. We should not forget what Whelan did, just as we will never forget what Shawcross did. When Whelan’s name is read out, he should get a big cheer, or applause, from our fans.

The game is live on J-Sports 2 and coverage begins at 23:54. The game will be followed by Liverpool vs. Fulham on J-Sports Plus at 02:24, in case you need something to help you sleep.

I the manager’s press conference it was interesting to hear that he will listen to what Almunia wants to do with regard to a transfer. Not exactly a big vote of confidence with regards to keeping the player. I think he is on his way out the door in January.

Finally, cheers to the folk at the Three Up Front podcast for giving me a mention at the start of this weeks podcast, although they mispronounced my surname, I can let them away with that.

Right, I’m off out for a night of beer and karaoke in Shibuya, Tokyo.

Take it easy!