Arseblog

Liverpool preview - time for Arsenal to react

blogger@arseblog.com (Arseblogger) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:15:47 -0500

The last week or so has not been much fun for Arsenal fans. In fact, I would liken it to being made prisoner in Guantanamo, shackled to a stinking, piss stained hobo, being force fed nits farmed from the head of a crusty, dreadlocked anti-globalism campaigner, locked in a damp room with posters of nude Teddy Sheringham all over the walls, having a really slow dial-up internet connection which half loaded every page you tried, all the while being blasted with that fucking Wet Wet Wet song that was number one for half a year.

I don't want to even contemplate defeat to the Mugsmashers tonight. It would be like all of the above with added enjoyment of being digitally violated by Hellboy. So, losing tonight is simply unthinkable. And while we're content to wallow in our own crunchy-nitted misery, it can't be much fun for the players either. They'll know they've failed two rather important tests and the ambitions they have of winning the league are fading fast. They will want to react tonight to stay in touch, just about, with Chelsea and United, but to at least maintain the gap we have over 4th place.

We don't have much in the way of the team news, which is a bit depressing, but unsurprising. There's no Eduardo, he might be back for Porto so his 'small, small, small' hamstring problem was a bit more than that. Nicklas Bendtner is considered a bit too unfit to start the game, which again is a disappointment, meaning we'll be trying to out-titch Liverpool up top. It hasn't exactly produced results in the last two games but we've got to hope for third time lucky.

In the very cold light of day I suppose you can look back at the Chelsea game and think that both the goals we conceded were preventable. If we had defended better. If we hadn't made stupid decisions and mistakes. I know, if my Aunty had balls, and all that, but that is the truth of it. If it were me picking the team tonight I would inclined to change things around at the back a bit. I wouldn't be surprised to see Eboue start at right back anyway. Sagna is carrying an injury and didn't last the 90 against Chelsea or United. Either way though I think Gael Clichy needs to spend some time on the bench, so with that in mind I'd be inclined to bring in Sol Campbell at centre-half and move either Gallas or Vermaelen to left back.

People might think 'But they're so good together! They make a fantastic couple!' but while both have impressed individually at times this season, particulary through their contribution to the goalscoring, it's not as if they've been rock solid as a partnership. Both of them have played at left back before so it wouldn't be asking them to do something new and perhaps the experience, organisation and stature of Campbell might shore things up at the back a bit.

The Mugshmashers are coming to the Grove tonight with us clearly in their sights. A few weeks back that was unthinkable which is, you have to say, a sign of how quickly things can change this season. A win for them (no, Hellboy! Noooo!), would leave them just two points behind us. Steven Gerrard says we are a wounded animal. I'm hoping we're one of those wounded animals that is lying pitifully on the road, limp, barely breathing, a trickle of blood coming from its ear and/or nose, and when a kindly motorist stops to offer it help, the animal comes to life and goes 'Raaarrrggghhhh' before eating the most of the motorists face with one savage bite. I'm glad they won at the weekend, the last thing we wanted was them coming to play us on the back of a Merseyside derby defeat, having to react to that. Not that they'll be complacent, they're beginning to find some momentum, it's up to us to stop it.

I grow tired of saying we need a big game from Andrei Arshavin, I'm hoping that the Russian will find some kind of form tonight, but if he doesn't somebody else is going to have to step up and find the goals. Just one in our last three Premier League games, Vermaelen's deflected effort against United, and we need to start scoring again. Perhaps it's down to the lack of a striker, but a tetchy Arsene Wenger spoke yesterday in his press conference about this. He said he tried to sign new players (although denied reports about Thomas Sorensen) and looked a bit cross when he insisted our problems in recent games were more 'defensive than offensive'.

That is certainly true but defensive mistakes are easier to cope with when you've got more of a threat up the other end of the pitch. Nevertheless, we'll have to take him at his word. He at least tried to sign players. How serious our efforts were nobody but those closest to the action will ever know and enough has been said about it already. He has called for solidarity and we know he'll never criticise in public players who make mistakes. He won't be blind to who made them, and how, so hopefully his team selection tonight will go some way to addressing that.

As I said yesterday, a win for us and one or both of the other two slipping up would be the ideal outcome tonight and would make everything a little better. The most important thing though is for us to win, any benefit from the other games is just a bonus, but we have to get ourselves back on track, it's as simple as that. The players need it, the manager needs it, the fans need it, and whichever XI goes out there tonight has to collectively give everything they've got to make sure our season doesn't continue to be bombarded with Wet Wet Fucking Wet.

In other news there are all kinds of reports that we have agreed a 5 year pre-contract deal with Marouane Chamakh. I have to say at the moment I'm more than underwhelmed by the news. He's not arriving till next season, if he does come, so there's not much point in talking about him now. It is worth considering though that his arrival would almost certainly mean the end for one of the strikers already at the club. Who that might be remains to be seen but I suspect it'll be one of our left footed players.

According to Chairman PHW the board would be more than willing to accomodate a request from the manager to break the 'over 30s rule' and offer William Gallas a two year deal. So far that request has not been forthcoming. Personally, I think Gallas will leave in the summer.

I mentioned Arsene's press conference yesterday. It's as irritable and grumpy as I have ever seen him. There was a strange atmosphere, you could sense some of the journalists really wanting to stick him with negative questions about his policies and so on, but they were a mix of too afraid and too respectful to do so. The manager was clearly upset that his post-match comments had been taken out of context, allowing the response from Ballack etc, was often on the defensive, and there was nothing like the usual banter and wit going on. Clearly it is linked to the results of the last few games and the criticisms from far and wide of which I'm sure he's well aware.

There's only one way to make that better though, improved results. A win against the 'smashers tonight would make his next press briefing a much more relaxed affair. Here's hoping they're all friends again soon.

Come on Arsenal!

Rambling, man

blogger@arseblog.com (Arseblogger) — Tue, 9 Feb 2010 03:07:06 -0500

Morning folks, it's difficult to know what to write about this morning. Subjects I'm pretty much choosing to ignore are:

Michael Ballack - Firstly because he's a big, woolly headed Chelsea prick, but secondly because what he's had to say about Arsene Wenger is hard to defend. Don't want to go there.

Cesc Fabregas - You know, we come through the fearsome foursome with a good number of points and the Barcelona stories are background noise. Now, because we've played poorly, they're in your face going "Nya Nya Nya Nya Nya Nyaaaaaah". The Spanish press are upping the ante with stories about him house-hunting in Barcelona. That old reliable. Cesc is captain of the club, is our top scorer this season, our best player and has comitted himself time and again to us. Until the summer nothing's going to change any of that so I'm not getting involved (not today at least).

Gael Clichy and Theo Walcott - yes, we have to dig in. Yes, we must concentrate and believe. It's just difficult to pay any attention to guys who are talking and saying the right things off the pitch but unable, at this moment in time, to back it up with performances on it.

So what does that leave us with? Not much really. We've got the Liverpool game tomorrow night and we simply have to see a reaction from the players. The possession has to be turned into goals, the defending has to be at least adequate and the tippy-tappy needs to create three points tomorrow night. Whatever vague hopes we have of catching United and Chelsea will be gone if they win their games tomorrow night and we fail to win ours. It will February 10th and our domestic season, bar the scrap for third and the automatic Champions League place, will be over.

From a position that promised so much that would be depressing. Nevertheless, that is the worst case scenario and after a string of disappointing results it's easy to look at things that way. This season has been strange, a win for us, United and/or Chelsea failing to win their games and everything looks a little bit better. And that's what we've got to hope for.

Of course it doesn't address our failings and the decisions the manager has made. I'm not going to keep beating that drum, but in the summer Arsene was quoted as saying something along the lines of 'If this season isn't a success, we'll have to rethink and rebuild'. I suppose it'll all come down to what he considers success. And the fans. Pre-season would we have taken third? Perhaps, but third after where we were will disappoint many.

My feeling is that he is caught between in a rock and a hard place in some respects. What's fairly obvious is that a team with the average age of ours cannot cope with teams more experienced. Leaving aside the quality issue, because in many ways that's tied to experience, we have an average age of 23. We have a group of players around 19-23/24 years of age with a smattering of experience. Some of those players are going to be hitting their prime around 25-26, when they have fully developed. Not all of them will but it's reasonable to assume they'll have the best years of their career from 26-30/32.

It means the manager still has to wait a long time for some of them, yet he's put so much groundwork into them. Buy someone and it hinders their development, sell them off and they take what they've learned with us and go and have their best years somewhere else. In the meantime he has to hope he can stay relatively competitive to stave off pressure from fans who want trophies. There is a bigger picture, of course, but I've always said it's difficult to ask football fans to see it. The joy and pain of football is in the here and now.

Football's finances are up the spout. The game is too reliant on TV money, clubs have overspent on transfers and wages, attendances are falling due to ticket prices that no longer represent anything approaching value for money, and you have to imagine that Portsmouth won't be last Premier League club to suffer winding-up orders and the like (and we'd better hope they muddle through the season because I read last week if they go under we lose the 6 points we've won against them). Arsenal have managed their finances prudently, have always preached self-sufficiency, and it is difficult approach to have taken, I'm sure.

However, there's got to be a balance between successful financial management and success on the pitch. Arsenal have a reliance on corportate income. How long can we continue to sell costly boxes to watch a team of nearly men? Will lack of trophies affect attendances? It sounds poor to say it but ultimately it will. Bottom line is successful team = full stadium. So while I think every fan understands the need to live within our means as we don't have the river of Russian cash that Chelsea have or the Middle-Eastern billions of Man City, I think there's a sense that we're unduly tight with what we do have. We've seen players sold for huge amounts of money yet seen little of that money invested in the squad bar giving long term contracts with pay rises to players who have done little to merit them. Arsene was unwilling to buy a striker in January because he knew he was bringing in Chamakh on a free in the summer, in my opinion.

Nobody, bar the most Championship Manager addicted fan, expects Arsene Wenger to go out and spend what we don't have, only what we can afford, and either we can't afford to spend anything (figures don't back this up however), or we're too reluctant to spend at all. None of us are football managers. None of us have won trophies. Yet many of us share the opinion that the squad has needed improvement in certain areas over the last couple of seasons. Many of us felt that we needed a striker in January, perhaps also a keeper. Do the results suggest that opinion was correct? If so, how can we see it and Arsene, who knows more about football than any of us, not address it? I realise it's not as simple as going to the shops and buying a player but it's not as if Arsene doesn't have the time, the resources, the scouts, the backroom staff, the Chief Executive to do the negotiating, the knowledge and, most importantly, the money.

Anyway, I'm rambling without really knowing where this is going. And perhaps going on about what he should have done when there's no chance of doing anything now is pointless. In fact, it is pointless. All we can do now is concentrate on the next game, then the next one. And the one after that. The game against the Mugsmashers tomorrow is so important, and not just because I'm going to watch it in the Mugsmasher's gaff.

Arsene meets the press today, we'll get team news for tomorrow and fingers crossed we might have Eduardo back in the squad. He's struggled but at least he is a striker and gives us another option, even if it's just from the bench. What he does about the other problem positions remains to be seen but I'll wait till I hear what he has to say today before I give my opinion on that.

In the meantime I'm going to pull the covers back over my head and wait for tomorrow.

Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal : Better performance but the same old problems cost us dear

blogger@arseblog.com (Arseblogger) — Mon, 8 Feb 2010 03:00:24 -0500

A better performance than United, the losing margin still the same. We wanted a response from the team and I suppose we got it, spending large parts of the game in the Chelsea half but over the 90 minutes the difference was Chelsea have a striker who is dangerous and efficient and we ... well ... we didn't have a striker at all.

Over the course of the game I can remember two opportunities for us. The first when Cesc played a beautiful ball over the top to Andrei Arshavin. His first time shot was saved by Petr Cech. To be fair he was a bit unlucky, a couple of inches to the left and that was going straight between the keeper's legs. The next chance came in the second half, Samir Nasri found himself behind the Chelsea defence, with Theo Walcott (I think) outside him. Nasri obviously got caught in two minds. He should have taken the shot. I think Walcott was ahead of him so would have been offside but when you're more or less one on one with the keeper inside the box, be decisive. Nasri wasn't, dillied, dallied and allowed them to get back and the chance was gone.

And from Arsenal's point of view that was as much as we created. There was the Cesc free kick late on also but it's hard to see that we played to our strengths. In the first half we must have got wide and crossed it a dozen times. Hulking centre-forward Arshavin had no chance and it was meat and drink for the Chelsea defence. When Nicklas Bendnter came on I can't remember a cross at all. Typical. Again I come back to the point I made after the United game - we played one of the best teams in Europe without a recognised striker in the starting XI. And we did exactly the same yesterday. Despite the improved performance, how did he think we were going to win that game?

Chelsea's defence is big, strong and experienced. We went at them with a Polly Pocket sized Russian, a French midfielder and Theo Walcott who still looks a long way from a player who can trouble defences at this level. The manager should have had claxons going off in his head when van Persie got injured. The extent of the Dutch misdiagnosis was known on November 28th, giving him the best part of two months to search, prepare and do a deal for a striker. Bendnter had already been out injured since the end of October. He talks constantly about how Eduardo's big injury creates lots of little niggles so must have known he would be without him for periods of time. Theo Walcott has hardly ever been played as a striker, Carlos Vela is another guy who spends periods out with injury, and then there's Arshavin. A creative number 10, a guy you want on the ball feeding the main man, being asked to play a role which suits him about as much as centre-half. That he has one goal in his last eleven games tells you everything about his suitability for that position.

Arsene was rather disingenuous pre-Chelsea saying:

In England, it seems all the problems are sorted out by buying players. But I do not believe that.We manage as well the Club within our financial resources and when you listen to people you always have to buy five or six players.

I listen and read a lot of opinion, on this site from the people who comment etc, to other blogs and websites, and I don't think I heard one person say anything about buying 5 of 6 players. Of course that's ridiculous. Buying one player isn't. Buying a striker when it's blindingly obvious to the world and his mother that you need a striker is not going to bankrupt the club, but it seems that Wenger would prefer to wait to pick up a player on a free in the summer than sort out the problem we have right now. He gambled, hoped he could muddle through, perhaps get a goal or two from Arshavin, a couple from Cesc or one of the other midfielders, Gallas or Vermaelen might save his skin and his wallet, but he lost. And he will be criticised for it.

There's absolutely no guarantee that a new player would have come in and made any difference to the recent results but nobody could ever accuse him of not trying, which is the accusation that will be leveled at him now. Fans know there's money to spend, on Dec 1st he said we'd be active in the transfer market (although there's a nice little caveat in his quote there), yet here we are heading towards mid-February and we've just played our two main title rivals and lost both games. I'm beyond baffled that a man who used to collect strikers for fun would allow himself and his team to be in a position where they're challenging for the title only to see that challenge falter on the lack of a proper forward.

I think he should have bought someone in January, I think he had enough time and resources to find a player who would have suited this team, but he didn't. And it is frustrating.

To be fair to him, he couldn't possibly have legislated for the abject defending yesterday which allowed Drogba to score both goals (although when I re-read that it seems silly, of course he should have expected suicidal defending. It has been our forte this season). His record against us is incredible, but we lubed ourselves up, stuck our arse in the air and told him go at it whenever he pleased yesterday. I don't know what's happened to Gael Clichy but something's got to give. He's costing us goals and was culpable for both Chelsea goals yesterday. Yes, Diaby might have done better against Terry in the air but players win headers sometimes. Yes, Alex Song should have tracked Drogba better, but quite what Gael Clichy was doing is beyond me. It's like he was seeing ghosts. Instead of staying on the post, he started pointing at something nobody else could see, ran off into the middle of the six yard box and was in no-man's land when Drogba had a tap-in at the back post that he should have been guarding. Appalling.

For the second he ignored the man outside him, came inside, realised too late what was happening and got done easily, allowing Drogba to slam home his second. When a guy has the Indian sign over you like Drogba does, the last thing you want to do is make it easy for him. We made it easy for him. And he punished like we were his prison bitch. It hurts.

Afterwards Arsene said he was 'completely happy' with our performance. I can see where he's coming from, we had a spirited second half, but you can't be completely happy when your left back plays like that, when your keeper is shanking balls in the air like a club-footed mule and watching free kicks as if they were works of art, when all your possession counts for little in the way of chances created and when you've lost the game. Here's an interesting quote from the boss though about Chelsea:

They always make the foul when they are caught on the counter- attack, at the right time, in the right place in the middle in the pitch. It is only a little foul, not enough for a yellow card. These are the tricks of a very experienced team and they do that very well.

These are the tricks you need to be teaching them, Arsene. For their second we were watching and imploring somebody to stop the counter-attack in midfield. Take the yellow card even. The last player I can remember doing this consistently was Senderos. For all his faults he had no problem cunting somebody on the halfway line if it would stop a more dangerous situation emerging. We have to learn that. Instead we stand off, allow teams to play, perhaps our purist principles don't allow for tactical fouling, but we get punished time and again. Watch Clichy last week against Rooney for United's second. He could have gone through him, not dangerously, but he could have fouled him, ensured he didn't get a pass away, but stood off him and we know how that ended up.

Arsene called us naive last week, the same applies today, and it doesn't come to down to age or experience. You don't need to be 29 to know it's better to stop an attack as early as possible. Arsene might bemoan the likes of Darren Fletcher but a player like that is a valuable asset. How many times have you seen United or Chelsea caught on the break the way we are? Anyway, that's something for him to sort out.

So, Liverpool up next. The final part of the fearsome foursome which has brought us one point thus far. Are we out the title race? I think so. This league is funny. The midweek games are tough. Chelsea are away to Everton, United away to Villa, there's every chance they might drop points. We could certainly win against Liverpool which would close the gap, but I still think, despite the number of games left, we'll drop more points than either United or Chelsea. I don't think we're a team that believes we can win the title and most unfortunately I don't think we're a team that is good enough to win it. We've got too many areas on the pitch that urgently need addressing and the resources to fix those problems don't exist within the current squad. Clichy or Traore? Almunia or Fabianski? No recognised, experienced striker. You can't win a title with those problems, in my opinion.

As I said though, this season is strange and football is a strange game. You never know what might happen. We could find our form and go on a run but I think the experience and quality of United and Chelsea will see this Premier League turn into a two horse race. Which hurts like fuck.

Final word to Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti. Responding to Arsene comments about how much of the ball we had, he said:

Maybe Arsenal had more possession than us but that is not football. Football is about results.

Quite.

Chelsea preview + Sunday round-up

blogger@arseblog.com (Arseblogger) — Sun, 7 Feb 2010 04:28:54 -0500

Later this afternoon I shall take my tired and slightly *boilked* carcass to the pub where I shall watch us play Chelsea.

At this moment in time I don't know how I feel about it. All I know is my head hurts quite a bit but that's the awesome power of Jameson for you. Pretty much everything that has needed to be said about the game has already been said. We know we need a reaction from the United game, we know we need to work harder and put more effort in, we know we need to be better defensively, more disciplined when we go forward and we know that if and when we create chances we've got to take them.

Knowing is one thing though, doing is a completely different kettle of fish. Chelsea know that if they beat us today the title is essentially a two-horse race. United had a fun day out yesterday against Portsmouth and are now top of the table, 7 points clear of us. We have to be aware that a loss today will see the Mugsmashers arrive at the Grove on Wednesday knowing they could get to within 2 points of us if they win the game.

Massive. Huge. Enormous. Gigantic. Titanic. Supple. All words which perfectly describe the importance of this game. The preview on the official site says Bendtner is not fit to start, which is a disappointment, while Diaby could be 'in the squad'. I worry that without at least some physical presence we'll find today even more difficult than it promises to be. If neither of Diaby or Bendtner are starting then it's going to be essentially the same team that played against United. In midfield though I'd bring in Ramsey for Denilson who, based on his recent performances, really doesn't merit his place in the team. Let him work hard and get his place back that way. To see him line up again today after his pitiful effort last week would be depressing.

Midfield aside, two of the back five wouldn't fill you with much confidence these days but again, what choice does he have? I'd be inclined to play Fabianski, it's clear the manager is not of the same frame of mind, citing the Pole's poor performance against Chelsea in the FA Cup last season. It's curious logic to me and I think the real reason is that despite how poorly Almunia is playing he doesn't think Fabianski is any better. The Telegraph speculates that the player we came close to signing on Monday was Thomas Sorensen. I have to admit that's not the rumour I heard about the player we were after.

In today's Observer Amy Lawrence writes about the keeper situation at the club. Arsene says of Almunia:

I think he puts a lot of pressure on his shoulders. Too much.

So, essentially, he can't handle pressure. Rather a striking admission from the manager. Chelsea are clever. They'll have watched the tapes and they won't give him an easy time. Or Gael Clichy at left back. Bottom line though is that both of them are going to play today and let's hope they can come through their recent troubles and put in decent performances.

Perhaps there might be a start for Theo Walcott whose pace would certainly trouble Chelsea and he's scored a couple against them in the past (although if he puts us 1-0 it's a dead cert they'll score two late on and win it). The manager has been talking up his qualities and his 'strength' and starting him as part of the front three today would allow one of Rosicky or Nasri to move back into midfield. Anyway, whatever team we put out we need all 11 men to perform. And while losing would be heartbreaking and painful, I can live with it if we go out there today and really have a go. If we give everything we've got then how can you complain if you are bettered on the day?

If we're sitting here tomorrow though talking about how somebody didn't track back or made another catastrophic unforced error then it's going to be tough going. However, I'm going to look on the positive side. The Belgo-Francan Arsenal Supporters Club of Andrei Arshavin Sized People is over in Dublin today and I'm taking their entire membership to the pub today as a lucky charm (he's not that small! Ed). A win today would do away with much of the bad feeling and set us up nicely for the midweek game. And I know our recent record against Chelsea has been a little on the ... well ... shite side, but then surely it's about fucking time we won. Time to kick these cunts right in their cunts.

COME ON YOU GOOOOOOONERS.

In a quick look at the other news this Sunday, The Mirror is reporting we're set to offer Cesc Fabregas a new deal to help stave off the advances of Barcelona and Real Madrid. They say £120,000 a week. I say fine, pay him whatever he wants. He's more worth it than all the L'Oreal women in the world put together.

And ... er ... that's kind of about it for the other news. I have coffee, I need bacon and newspapers and a bit of recovery before we have at this lot later on. Fingers crossed for a fun day out folks and I'm sure the away fans will be in amusing voice, as ever. Lots to look forward to.

Till tomorrow.

All I desire ... frustration

blogger@arseblog.com (Arseblogger) — Sat, 6 Feb 2010 03:38:50 -0500

Right, plenty to talk about this morning so let me get me grumble out of the way first. Yesterday, in his interview with the official site, Arsene Wenger said we were 'very, very close' to signing somebody on the final day of the transfer window, but obviously didn't.

You know, I'd rather not know that. I'd rather believe that he thought his squad was strong enough to go win things and that a defeat to Manchester United, after an insipid home performance, didn't make him try 'all day' to bring somebody in. To me that just says he thinks we needed a player - so if we needed the player post-United surely we needed him pre-United. Why would we leave it so late? He spoke all January about the need for a striker, yet nothing happened. To me it shows a lack of understanding about how the fans feel. Then he went on to say this:

At the end of the day we have two kinds of buys. One is the players we can get back from injury and the other is the players we can get from external sources.

This makes my head hurt. Arsenal is the only club in the world who uses its incredible injury list as some kind of positive. "When we get X player back it'll be like a new signing!!!". Head. Hurty. Let's be really clear about this, the only kind of new signing is when you pay money to another club for a player that is theirs and who will become ours. That is a new signing. The return of a bloke who spends half of every season out injured is not a new signing, it is an injured player not being injured anymore. If I hear the phrase 'like a new signing' once more I may well go completely mental in the face.

Now, I'm completely down with the whole living within our resources thing, but not so much with the putting our resources under the mattress. I'm also cognisant of the fact this transfer window has been very quiet and very few clubs have been spending. That is because many clubs don't have money. Perhaps I'm an amateur economist here but wouldn't that make it easier for us to spend less on players, as clubs are short of a few bob and need to sell? I heard him talk about how it's impossible to find players in January, yet the winter transfer transfer window in seasons past has brought Walcott, Arshavin, Adebayor and Diaby to the club. More difficult than the summer? For sure. Impossible? No.

For me it boils down to this - there are positions in the team that could have been improved by spending some money, the squad could have been strengthened. He chose not to spend, which is entirely his right. However, if Arsenal fail to win something this season, and we're already being prepared for it with the 'third is not a failure' stuff, then his decision not to spend will be the stick with which he is beaten at the end of the day. Rightly or wrongly that'll happen. Remember, he promised silverware this season. He said we would win a trophy. His words.

Now, before I'm accused of all sorts, I don't think third would be a failure this season if that's where we end up. It'd be an improvement on last season for a start but I won't sit here and lie to you - if that's where we finish I'll be disappointed given the position we got ourselves into. I don't believe we have any right to silverware. I do believe we have a right to expect us to do our best to win those trophies. I find it hard to believe he couldn't find a striker who could have come in early in the month, be well settled now and contribute to the rest of the season. I can't believe there isn't a goalkeeper in all of the world who would be better than Almunia. And it's a rod for his own back that he's made.

And without wishing to sound too PR savvy or Pravda-esque, I think the official site has got be more conscious of how stories like 'We were very close to a signing' or 'X, Y or Z will be like a new signing' go down with fans. If the manager didn't buy in January we'd like to at least believe that it's because he has faith in his players. A last minute attempt at a purchase, or a loan, smacks of desperation and does little but cause more anxiety. Anyway, Arsene was asked about that and fans frustration at his press conference yesterday, and said:

The best way to keep our supporters happy is to win games, and to turn up with good performances.

And that's the inarguable truth. Nobody will give a shit that we didn't sign anyone if we play well and win games. Simple as that. A win against Chelsea on Sunday would do wonders, as would a win against Liverpool, but at the end of the day, it's an IF. I said after the FA Cup defeat to Stoke that it would not be an issue if we performed in the league. Since then we've drawn one and lost one miserably so naturally people wish we were still in the cup.

It's now down to the manager and, most importantly, the players, to get things going again. This is the squad we have, these are the players who will have to win the games and put in the good performances. I realise we don't know what goes on behind the scenes, that there's a wealth of information and activity we don't ever know about, but I have to say I found that stuff yesterday hugely frustrating to have to listen to.

Now, looking ahead to the game against Chelsea the manager spoke about our form in the last few games against them and United, saying:

I believe this team want to do well but because they haven't won yet they make it harder in their heads than it really is. When we get close to winning we play with the handbrake on. The team is mentally strong and dedicated. I see them every day and wouldn't defend them if they didn't have the right attitude. But they do have to find that final part to win the big games.

Paraphrasing his interview with the official site he said something along the lines of 'We want to do well so much we end up playing badly'. It had me scratching my head all right but clearly there's some kind of mental block. In the P8, W0, D1 run of games against Chelsea and United I can only remember one decent performance and that was at Old Trafford earlier this season. And even then we self-destructed. The game we drew was at the arse end of last season with United already Champions (I think) and looking ahead to the Champions League final. A damp squib of a game. So, I think it's fair to say we've underperformed in those games, or the opponents have been so well set up they've found us out and just not allowed us to play. Add to that individuals who have not done themselves or the club justice with their performances and you're always going to find it tough to get a result.

Tomorrow's game is absolutely massive. It's not win or bust, for me though it's certainly lose and be bust. That fact is not lost on the players. Samir Nasri talks about it, saying:

Defeat is forbidden. That would mean the end of our title chances. But any other result would leave us in the running.

Arsene didn't share that view in his press conference yesterday, saying defeat would not be the end of our title hopes, but then I wouldn't expect him to say anything less in public. He knows the pressure is on his players, he knows they struggle with the big games at the moment, so he's not going to add to that. He's a realistic man though and I'm sure he realises that defeat would leave us too far behind. Yes, Chelsea might well drop more points and they have to play all the other 'big teams' but it'd probably mean us having to go unbeaten and winning almost all of our remaining fixtures to capitalise - and that's lot to expect.

As we keep saying though it's all about the level of effort and workrate. Make no mistake, Chelsea are a very good team with excellent players but they don't think they're so excellent that they don't have to put in the running. Any weak links tomorrow will be exposed. Anyone giving less than 100% could cost us a chance of a result and that's what he has to address before we go out there. Anyone who isn't willing to run so hard they feel like puking can fuck off and play mid-table football for some other bunch of cunts.

On paper I think Chelsea are stronger than us in every area. Thankfully games are not played on paper and if we go out there and really want it, concentrate, put in the hard work and effort, then there's no reason why we can't win the game, or at least come away with a draw. Slack off and/or make the same foolish mistakes we have been making recently and they'll pick us off with ease. Can we learn from our mistakes? Do these players have pride in the shirt, in the belief the manager has in them? I hope so, we'll find out tomorrow.

With regard the goalkeeping situation, AW has confirmed Manuel Almunia will continue despite his shaky form. Personally, I think the only reason he's still in there is due to the lack of a viable alternative. Fabianski has been unconcinving, Mannone had an outstanding performance against Fulham but subsquently looked like the inexperienced young keeper he is. You can't criticise him for that, but it's the truth. I'd like nothing more than for the Spaniard to rediscover some of the form which made us think he was a solid, if unspectacular Premier League keeper, because at the moment he looks like the Spanish 2nd division player bought as back-up that he was when he first arrived.

The manager reckons criticism of Andrei Arshavin after the United game was 'too harsh'. I don't really recall him being overly criticised, really. Yes, he was a bit selfish but at least he tried and he is one of the few players capable of something special to win you a game. I have to admit being a bit underwhelmed at his overall contribution this season but I don't think anyone's been really harsh with him. It was interesting to read Arshavin speak about playing up front though. He said:

If Arsenal want to become champions, how can they select Arshavin as centre forward? I am 173cm (5ft 7in) and it suits me, but next to the big centre halves of United it is very difficult to fight for the ball, especially in the air.

I know we're all hoping that Bendnter will start tomorrow to give the side that centre-forward we've needed. Someone who can compete in the air with the Chelsea defenders and allow Arshavin to be more effective with more of the ball. However, AW was very cautious talking about him yesterday, saying:

Bendtner is ... one or two weeks away from being fully available again but is not completely free in his movement. He's not far.

Which sounds to me like he'll be starting on the bench tomorrow. I hope I'm wrong, the idea of our forward line of eager jockeys starting against Chelsea doesn't fill me with much confidence. With no Eduardo, no Vela and Walcott coming back more slowly than we'd like, I really don't think we've got much choice but to play Nick and see what happens.

Right then, that's about that. A bit lengthy for a Saturday morning but what can you do? A final preview of the Chelsea game and the usual Sunday waffle tomorrow.

Early Chelsea team news, George Graham + Arsecast 149

blogger@arseblog.com (Arseblogger) — Fri, 5 Feb 2010 03:16:45 -0500

Good morning all and a happy Friday to you. This week seems to have really dragged, no midweek football after a weekend defeat isn't necessarily a good thing.

All the focus now will be on Chelsea though. Arsene's press briefings will take place today, no doubt the United game will be rehashed but I'm not sure there's much left to say about that, regardless of the questions he'll be asked today. The early team news is out and it's not particularly inspiring. Eduardo's 'small, small, small' hamstring problem is big enough to keep him out of the game which is a bit of a loss. With his Brazilian skin and big brown eyes, we could have slapped a bit of lippy on him and sent him out dressed as Vanessa to distract John Terry.

In seriousness though, it's no real surprise but still a disappointment. Carlos Vela also misses out with an unspecified injury, which could be an ankle or knee depending on who is giving out to me when I suggest he's been left out due to other reasons. The only other question mark is over Abou Diaby who is still not in full training but is a 'maybe' for Sunday. I'd be surprised to see him, I have to say. He picks up this calf injury quite regularly and it's normally 3-4 weeks before we see him again. The manager might risk him, thinking he needs to boost his midfield, but then faces the prospect of losing him for longer when he could prove useful during the run-in. The solution, perhaps, is to get players that don't break as easily as your average Toyota, but that's an argument for another day.

The reality is that with no Diaby his options to change things around in midfield are limited. Will he drop Denilson and play the still raw Ramsey against Chelsea's experience? Perhaps move Rosicky or Nasri in there alongside Cesc. And will last season's FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea have any bearing on his choice of keeper? Hopefully we'll get a better idea after all his talking later on. That he's cancelled the players days off and had them in for extra training is good. I like that.

Former manager George Graham expresses some concerns about this current Arsenal side, the lack of physicality in particular, but he reckons we're in with a shout on Sunday, saying:

Everyone assumes that Arsenal could just be overpowered on Sunday but there are definite weaknesses in the Chelsea defence which they could exploit. Even a draw would be a great result for Arsenal and I really think they can get that. With 13 games to go after that, Arsenal could go on another long run against the weaker teams, while I think Chelsea and United will both drop more points.

I think that is the straw to which we are all clutching at the moment, but for me everything's very simple now: defeat against Chelsea on Sunday would spell the end of our title chances. A draw I can live with but that has got to be followed up with three points against Liverpool at home. Two massive games coming up, and let's hope we've got what it takes to come through these massive games better than the last two massive games.

And while we're all still feeling a bit sorry for ourselves in light of the United game on Sunday, which is perfectly normal and understandable, it's worth having a read of the 'holic today who brings a measure of experience and perspective to things.

In today's Sun a story about Nice striker Loic Remy. His agent says we're interested in him for next season. So that'll be him and Chamakh as Arsene's revolutionary new 2-3-5 formation takes shape. Good job we don't need a striker now though.

Right, in terms of news that's about it so on with this week's Arsecast. Joining me to discuss United and Chelsea and all the related guff is Goodplaya. As well as that we have an update from Andrei Arshavin, The Man in the Bar gives us a sneak preview of his new concept album and there's the usual waffle in between all that with, perhaps, the odd mention of the Chelsea captain ahead of Sunday's game.

You can subscribe to the Arsecast on iTunes by clicking here. Or if you want to subscribe directly to the feed URL you can do so too. To download this week's arsecast directly - click here (24mb MP3) or you can listen directly below without leaving this very page.

Have a good 'un folks, more tomorrow.

Almunia and Bendtner try some confidence boosting

blogger@arseblog.com (Arseblogger) — Thu, 4 Feb 2010 02:41:35 -0500

Still pretty quiet as we prepare for Chelsea on Sunday. There's more crap this morning about Barcelona - this time they want Cesc and Eboue! Talk about hitting us where it hurts. Losing Cesc would be bad, but Eboue too? Worst. Summer. Ever.

As I said the other day though this is the kind of thing we're going to have to put up with as long as this presidential campaign goes on. The funny thing is that the man who wins the election in Barcelona will be the one who has managed to show the greatest and most effective disrespect to another football club. He will woo the voters with promises of big names, have his people tap up players along the way and generally be rewarded for his underhand behaviour. It's like Cunt Idol. A classy way to choose someone to run your club, no doubt about it.

Back to matters Arsenal and Manuel Almunia reckons Arsenal are still in the title hunt. The goalkeeper, who looks like he sees dead people, and scary dead people too, says:

We are on schedule to do good things this season, we have only a little step to get back to the top of the league.

Hmmm, that little step is Chelsea which is more like a whole flight of steps. Or one enormous step. Or one reasonably sized step for a midget. Frankly, I have about as much faith in Almunia's opinion of our title chances as I would in John Wayne Gacy's ability to provide a safe and non-rapey clown experience at a kids birthday party. I will be bitterly disappointed if he plays against Chelsea.

Nicklas Bendtner says he can make a big impact on our season ... when he gets to 'full strength'. He then goes on to talk about how he's not at full strength yet and how the old groin still gives him gyp, which is great to hear. He's got to play from the start on Sunday though. We need his physical presence against a side of Chelsea's size and we've got to hope he can get scoring as quickly as possible and add to his thus-far massive tally of ... three goals.

One area that must improve is our defending. Nigel Winterburn is a man who knows a thing or two about that. This is what he had to say about our United performance:

I was very disappointed with what I saw from Arsenal. I couldn't believe the level of defending for all three of Manchester United's goals.

This is a man who not only knows about defending but who has watched us all season long. He's seen the dodgy goals we've conceded and to say he found Sunday's efforts unbelievable tells you everything you need to know. Work rate, effort, spirit, desire and all those kinds of things have been mentioned this week and unless we up those then Chelsea will score against us. And not just once. It's not just down to the back four either, we have to defend better as a team, from front to back. I'm sure that is the main thing Arsene will have been working on this week and I suspect we're going to hear a bit about it in the days to come as the media briefings take place.

We should get some early team news for the Chelsea game a little later on. Hopefully there are no more injuries but that's a bit like being John Terry's wife and hoping your husband isn't a patchy-haired, penalty shanking slut. We'll see what Arsene has to say later.

Young Brazilian striker Wellington stole the show in a friendly against Dagenham and Redbridge yesterday. Central defensive trialist Stevie Savage also played and did pretty well also. Whether he did well enough to get a contract remains to be seen.

More, including the Arsecast, tomorrow.

Wellington boots Dagenham and Redbridge

blogger@arseblog.com (Arseblogger) — Wed, 3 Feb 2010 10:41:44 -0500

As Arseblog brought you the news of Wellington's signing before anyone else, I thought you well informed folks might be interested in his performance in a behind closed doors friendly against Dagenham and Redbridge today.

The young Brazilian was outstanding by all accounts having a hand in all three Arsenal goals as we won the game 3-1.

He scored the first after about 8 minutes, created the second not long before half-time for Emmanuel Frimpong and got the third himself about 10 minutes into the second half. He went off with around 20 minutes to go.

At 17 he's still too young for first team action, he has to be 18 because of work permit issues, but he's certainly one for the future. Perhaps, in a couple of seasons time, he can save us from impending relegation!

Arseblog, first for all your Wellington related news.

Oh hope, why must you tease me so?

blogger@arseblog.com (Arseblogger) — Wed, 3 Feb 2010 03:13:50 -0500

Well, I have to admit I fully expected Chelsea to go to Hull and turn Phil Brown from glowing orange to Avatar blue, such would be the thumping they would inflict. Instead a 1-1 draw means that if we beat Chelsea on Sunday we'd be within three points of them.

If there was any further motivation needed for the lads then this is it. The captain spelt out what was required yesterday and Hull have made it even more important. I thought Chelsea would spank them, I suppose it just goes to show this league is still quite open and if we can take advantage on Sunday then everything starts to look a little rosier again. It's a big if, naturally, but at least it's an if we can care about.

Things have been a bit quiet from the club in the last few days, which I suppose is normal. The official site is full of news about our Vietnamese partners and Emmanuel Frimpong wanting to play for Ghana. I don't know that I could cope with anything along the lines of 'I believe in these players' and 'The reason I didn't sign anyone is because I have statistics which show these are the 18 best players in the world right now'. Sometimes it's best to say nothing.

One man who rarely says nothing is Nicklas Bendtner. Not quite fit enough to start against United on Sunday, we have to hope he's available this weekend. Say what you want about his standing in the game and his relative inexperience, at least he's a fucking striker. Get him up there to jump at Terry and say things like 'Ooooh Vanessa' and make various bridge related puns (I am sending a list to the Arsenal press office today in case punning is not Nick's strong point). Anyway, he talks about being out injured and that, saying:

When people have been out with long-term injuries they say it was hell. I can understand that now. It is difficult to motivate yourself because you come in to training each day doing the same things. But you stay motivated by telling yourself that one day soon you will be better.

You always want to give your best and that is what I will try to do.

Seriously, run the recently torn bollix off him in training and play him through the middle. None of this wide right business. He doesn't really have the craft for it but let me ask you this: when Sagna bombs down the right and puts a cross 50 feet up in the air, who has the best chance of getting a head on it - Bendtner or Arshavin? Precisely. I don't want to make it seem like I'm pinning all our hopes on him, far from it, but I think we have to acknowledge what he can bring to the team. Or should be able to bring to the team. Or what he thinks he's capable of bringing to the team. You know what I mean.

Gunnerblog has an interesting piece on Theo Walcott. He's certainly done nothing to convince anyone this season. On the other hand he's hardly played at all. Is it fair to judge a guy who has made less than 5 starts and 13 appearances in all competitions? I'm somewhere in the middle. I don't think it's unfair to expect more from a player of his reputation and contract status, however it was earned, yet am mindful of the fact some footballers need a run of games, some rhythm etc to be able to perform. As Gunnerblog says the onus is on Theo now to make an impact. The manager said the most important thing for him is to stay fit and get appearances under his belt, then we'll see a 'different Theo Walcott'. Let's hope so.

Stefan Savic is the Montenegrin Stevie Savage. He's a 19 year old central defender and apparently he's signed for us after a successful trial at the club. He told a local paper:

There were offers from Tottenham and Birmingham City, but once a call came from Arsenal, I had no more doubts. A pre-contract will be signed on Thursday and then I will return to Belgrade and join BSK for their preparations. I will be staying with BSK until May.

I know absolutely nothing about this chap at all. My knowledge of Montenegrin football is shamefully poor, I'll admit, but if it's true it's an interesting signing. At 19 he's not someone to go into the reserves or the youth set up, and perhaps it's a sign that the manager is looking to fill the defensive gaps which will surely emerge this summer. Sylvester, I'm positive, will go somewhere else. Sol Campbell is unlikely to be offered an extension to his deal and there's still the very real possibility that William Gallas will decide one final fling elsewhere is the fitting end to his football career, which would leave us very light in the centre-half department. Vermaelen, Djourou (if he can stay fit), perhaps Nordveit and then you're looking at someone like Kyle Bartley. Of course signing a 19 year old is hardly replacing the experience we'd lose but dammit he was the winner of the Football Association of Montenegro Young Player of the Year award in 2009. How much more quality does anyone need?

I was going to comment on the story about Jay Emmanuel-Thomas being arrested driving his £100,000 car but decided against it. Firstly because I haven't been able to find anything to back up the story on Young Guns (not that I'm saying it's wrong, I'd just like to see it elsewhere - Update: apparently it was in the print version of the Mirror before anywhere else. Crediting existing publications is important, trying to pass off stories you got from elsewhere as your own is poor form), but perhaps part of the problem is the exposure these young players get, making them think they're worthy of comment in the real world having done precisely fuck all to deserve it. I'm sure any right minded person is probably of the same opinion as me anyway.

And that, my friends, is about that. I'm sure the regrouping is going on behind the scenes. Arses are being kicked and we're preparing ourselves for Chelsea. More tomorrow.

United fallout continues as Barcelona's press vultures circle

blogger@arseblog.com (Arseblogger) — Tue, 2 Feb 2010 03:01:15 -0500

Well, the transfer deadline came and went with nothing happening at Arsenal. It wasn't really any surprise. If the manager was going to buy somebody he'd have done it before now. The United defeat wouldn't have made him think 'Oh goodness, I DO need a player or two after all'. You know what I think, I'm frustrated because I really feel bringing in one or two players in this transfer window would have made a difference.

Despite the performance and the result against United, and the depression it sparked, I genuinely don't think we're that far away. Which is why not adding to the squad and insisting he hasn't been able to find anyone better than we already have makes no real sense to me. Still, there's nothing we can do about it now. The group of players we have are the ones who will take us through to the end of the season. The only rational explanation is that Arsene thinks they're capable of winning a trophy. He might be in a minority in that regard, based on the considered reaction and opinion of many Arsenal fans, but if he and they prove us wrong by taking home a trophy this season then there won't ever be as many people happy to eat a big slice of humble pie.

As I mentioned yesterday the only thing we can change now is our attitude and approach to games. An interesting point that was raised in a number of places yesterday is how different our work ethic is compared to the start of the season. Back then we were all lauding the new system because of how well it suited the players and how we played a high tempo pressing game. When the opposition had the ball we worked our bollocks off to go get it back. Compare and contrast to Sunday against United. They had as much time and space as they wanted and it contributed significantly to the defeat. Even leaving aside the individual errors the United back four were not pressed at all by our front players.

Perhaps that's a consequence of asking midfielders to play there. There's a natural inclination to drop deeper to where they feel most comfortable but I can't imagine they weren't told to make life more difficult for the United defenders. They didn't. So the first thing we need to do is sort that out. It's really not very complicated at all. Work hard when you have the ball and work even harder when you don't so you can get it back and to prevent the opposition cutting you open like a hot knife through butter. If players can't, or are unwilling to work that hard, then you've got to question their worth to the team. Are they fit enough? Some might say the injuries we have don't allow enough rotation to keep players fresh. I don't buy it. If you've got the desire and spirit to go and win things then heavy legs can be overcome.

It's very simple. Either the attitudes of certain players change, and fast, or we're going to drift backwards and our focus will be on staying in third and avoiding the dogfight for 4th place rather than the top of the table. The pessemistic side of me tells me that any chance of the title is gone now. We don't look anything like a title winning team at the moment. On the other hand though there's the part of me that remembers the 3-0 defeat at home to Chelsea, the way we were written off, how the gap was even bigger then and how we managed to claw it back. Can we do it twice? I doubt it. But maybe we can. It's not impossible. Unlikely, yes. Impossible, no. And it has to begin at Chelsea on Sunday.

Captain Cesc Fabregas says:

We are still there, definitely. But I'm not going to lie to myself: Chelsea were better than us, United have been better than us.

And he spells out exactly what is required on Sunday:

We have to beat them to stay in the title race. We have to bounce back straight away, in a massive game. If you don't believe, you don't win things. We have to learn from what went wrong, think about them and make sure they don't happen again. We have to be positive, strong and together more than ever. It's up to us to show what we can do.

And it really is that simple. We have to go to Stamford Bridge where Chelsea have not lost a league game since November 30th 2008, when Robin van Persie's two goals gave us the three points. That is the size of the task ahead of us. If we want to stay in the title race we have to beat Chelsea then, just three days later, beat Liverpool at home. Our record in 'big' games recently has not been great. As the Man from East Lower points out our record of P8, W0, D1, L7, F5, A18 in our most recent meetings with United and Chelsea says it all.

So Sunday's game is as big a test as you can possibly get. Win it, and perhaps it instills the kind of belief that can pick a team up and allow them to get momentum going until the end of the season. After losing to Chelsea in November we then went 10 unbeaten in the league. We're going to have to better that to realistically have any chance of winning the league. Ultimately it will all boil down to how much we want it. If it means that little to you that you can't be bothered chasing an opposition player with every bit of effort you can muster then you're not going to win the league. It's up to the manager, and the captain in a smaller way, to ask questions of the players and to decide which among them can contribute to the kind of performances we need to put in. It's a time when we need the experienced players to show the way.

The first thing the boss has got to do is freshen things up. Fabianski might scare us but there's no way he scares our defenders as much as Almunia. Give the Pole a chance. Denilson has to spend some time on the bench. If Diaby is not fit then get Ramsey in there who, although still quite raw, brings energy, enthusiasm and spirit to the midfield. The manager talks about his great engine. Let him have a go. Chelsea might be a tough game for an 18 year old but what choice do we have? Anyway, more on that and the potential team for Sunday later in the week.

Typically, in the wake of the defeat, Barcelona have got their press corps on the case with regard to Cesc Fabregas. You can see the headline El Mundo Deportivo is running this morning and their story claims that Cesc has decided to go to Barcelona because of the defeat on Sunday.

While I'm sure he was disheartened, like many of us, I sincerely doubt he made a cast-iron decision about his future which was then transmitted to the Spanish press. Let's go back to what he said in December:

There has been talk about Real and Barça since the summer and the only thing I am doing is thinking about my club, Arsenal, and seeing how I can help my team mates. I have a cool head, I am very happy at Arsenal and in England and there is still a lot for me to do. That's all I can say. I am not thinking about anything else. I am very content and have a good deal still to do in the Premier League.

Let's not forget either that this summer will see a Presidential election at Barcelona. You can be quite sure the candidates will all use Cesc as a way of enticing votes. Remember, Laporta got elected on the promise of bringing David Beckham to the Camp Nou when that was never going to happen. The whole system is scurrilous, underhand, mischievous and downright disrespectful to both the player and our club but that, sadly, is the nature of the beast. There's fuck all we can do about it other than be aware of why it's happening.

In the dark moments its easy to think of reasons why he might decide to go back to Spain but perhaps that's underestimating the man himself. He's commited to the club, I'm sure he desperately wants to win things here and feels like he still has work to do. Nevertheless, he's ambitious and wants to win things. It's up to Arsene Wenger to make him feel like he's in a team capable of doing just that. And as long as Arsenal remain trophyless, the easier it is for El Mundo and their ilk, to stir the shit.

And that's that for today. This feels like it's going to be a long, long week until the Chelsea game.