As a result of the players taking a break from Arsenal I’ve decided that I will too. There’s rarely any Arsenal news during these breaks apart from hearing about injuries so I thought I’d have a rest and use the time to recuperate and catch up on some other work. I might pop on from time to time if some truly sensational news hits the press (”Tomas Rosicky completes full training session!”) but apart from that I’d going to put my feet up and refresh my brain. I hope you can understand.

Before I go, however, I thought I’d compile a list of 9 things you can do during the international break to pass the time and stay involved in all things Arsenal. Enjoy!

(1) Have a read of yesterday’s blog post, entitled “5 things Wenger can do to kick-start Arsenal’s season”.

(2) Read all about Amaury Bischoff and Mikael Silvestre’s respective debuts for the reserve team in their 3-2 win over Stoke. The very excellent ‘Young Guns’ blog has all the coverage.

(3) If you missed it, have a look through the latest issue of The Gooner Gazette, the Arsenal FC Blog’s monthly online magazine. And remember, if you’re interested in contributing to the magazine in the future be sure to contact me on admin(at)arsenalfcblog(dot)com.

(4) Join Pikum! and start playing to win fun money or the real stuff. One of the players of Pikum - reputable UK TV personality Helen Chamberlain - is hosting a massive pot for the England v Belarus game where you can win over £250 on a £5 bet. Remember as a reader of this blog you’re entitled to a free £10 credit to play with so I’d encourage you to get involved and have some fun.

(5) Get on the Football365 website and have a read through their daily mailbox. It’s highly controversial and a great place to waste a day at work.

(6) Become an international correspondent for the Arsenal FC Blog. I want to create a bit of a worldwide information network, so if you live in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, the US, South America or Asia and would like to become a correspondent for all things Arsenal in your area then please get in touch with me at admin(at)arsenalfcblog(dot)com.

(7) If you use Facebook then join the Arsenal FC Blog Facebook Readers group and add me to your friend list. It’s a good way to keep in touch and chat with myself and other readers.

(8) If you’re Australian reader of the blog I’d encourage you to join the Arsenal Australia supporters group. They organise meets at pubs around the country and are an excellent bunch of guys to catch an Arsenal game with in the middle of the night.

(9) Still desperate to read about the latest Arsenal happenings while I’m away? Then read some of the other great Arsenal blogs around like Arseblog, The Cannon, Young Guns, Goodplaya and A Cultured Left Foot.

(10) Check out this hilarious video of Jens Lehmann playing for Stuttgart which shows just why Arsene Wenger was happy to let the German go in the summer. Thank goodness he’s not still here is all I can say.

Heh heh, well that’s about it. As I said I might pop on now and again to see what’s happening but otherwise I’ll be back posting sometime next week.

Adios amigos, and remember that if you’d like to help out with The Gooner Gazette or are interested in becoming an international correspondent for the blog to get in touch with me on the email address I provided above. It’s not a big commitment at all, just an avenue to give those who want to contribute to this community a little bit the chance to.

Cheers for now and I’ll speak to you soon.

Have your say on 10 Arsenal-y things to do during the international break by leaving a comment.

Anyone out there have any idea how Bischoff went? What about Silvestre? Let us know.

But as optimistic an Arsenal supporter as I am, there is no arguing the point that things have just gone a little bit strange in the last week or two. A storming performance in the Champions League against Porto was sandwiched between a shock loss to Hull and a lacklustre draw with Sunderland and it’s pretty obvious things are not going so well after a very bright start to the season.

It’s certainly no disaster at this stage, but I do feel that there are some things that the manager could do to get things heading in the right direction again. As a result, I’ve compiled a list of 5 things Wenger can do to kick-start Arsenal this season.

(1) Bring Johan Djourou back

Defensively Arsenal are looking poor at the moment and in my eyes the only solution is to bring Johan Djourou back into the starting team. Every man and his dog can see that the William Gallas-Kolo Toure partnership is just not working - a lack of height and physical presence the main reasons - and the restoration of Djourou to the side would solve the issue. Whether it is the captain or Toure who makes way I don’t really care, but the longer the manager goes without playing Djourou the longer Arsenal will go on conceding unnecessary goals.

(2) Play Alex Song instead of Denilson

I’ve not always been the biggest fan of Denilson but the season he has surprised me with some good performances and a couple of nice goals. However, he’s just not the right type of player to partner Cesc Fabregas in the middle of the park, lacking both the physical presence and defensive awareness of Gilberto and the raw energy and aggressiveness of Mathieu Flamini.

While Alex Song is nowhere near the finished product yet he is more physical and aggressive, a significant improvement over the Brazilian in my eyes. As a result, Song should be brought into the side, freeing up Denilson to act as Fabregas’ understudy and allowing the Spaniard more freedom to hurt the opposition with his excellent passing and late runs into the box.

(3) Stick to 4-4-2

A 4-5-1 formation in away Champions League fixtures is fine but a 4-5-1 away to Sunderland is not. Quite simply it shows sides that are inferior far too much respect and at the same time takes this group of players away from a formation that they know well and get great results from, something that even the manager admitted after the draw with Sunderland. What’s more, it simplifies the role of the players, leaving the van Persies, Adebayors, Bendtners and Velas of the world to worry about scoring goals and the Nasris, Eboues and Walcotts to worry about creating from out wide.

(4) Pick players on merit and substitute those who aren’t performing

This might seem like a simple one but I haven’t seen it happen all that often this season. If a player puts in good performances one week then - unless they require a rest or the type of opposition absolutely forces a different type of player - they deserve to start the week after. I understand the need for rotation in modern-day football but at the end of the day the players who are in the best form should be playing. That means guys like Samir Nasri and Johan Djourou should have featured against Sunderland, for example.

Similarly if a player is not performing on the day then they should be substituted. There will always be times that a different type of player may need to come on but for the most part, if a winger is having an off day then it’s probably best to pull him off at half-time or shortly after for an equivalent player. The squad has enough depth on the bench to suggest that a player who is not cutting it can be replaced by another who will improve the side. I’d like to see it happen a little more often.

(5) Work on those set-pieces a little bit more

Offensively the boys are not doing too badly of late with Adebayor and Fabregas both scoring from corners in consecutive games. But defensively the concerns remain. Porto very nearly opened the scoring from their couple of early corners in midweek while Hull and Fulham have both scored from a corner on their way to beating Arsenal. I don’t pretend to be anywhere near the manager that Wenger is but it seems clear to me that this side have issues in defending set-pieces and they really should be putting more effort into addressing those issues.

What do you think?

Have your say on the 5 things Wenger could do to kick-start Arsenal’s season by leaving a comment.

I have to admit that although I stayed up until 2am to watch the game, the stream I was viewing was so dodgy that I missed both goals. The coverage buffered just as Grant Leadbitter lined up to shoot and I was mortified to see the ball sitting in the back of the net. A second viewing showed how great the goal was but it didn’t make any easier to take.

I had essentially resigned myself to a second defeat in a row but luckily the boys hadn’t. The coverage cut out again but when it resumed I saw a happy Arsene Wenger, an even happier Fabregas and a marginally more friendly scoreline. Phew.

I said after last week’s defeat to Hull that a couple of losses aren’t the worst thing in the world as long as Arsenal aren’t drawing too many games. This was our first draw of the season but given my statement it hasn’t come at an ideal time. And it’s a little bit of a worry, to be frank.

From what I was able to take from the match - which was very little, given the stuttering coverage - the boys again struggled to take a strangehold on the match in the same way that they did against Porto in midweek. Of course the result may have been different if Robin van Persie’s incorrectly disallowed goal had stood, but that wouldn’t have changed the inconsistent nature of this performance.

Positives? From all reports Alex Song had quite a good game in the centre of the park while it is clear that Fabregas is starting to really hit his straps. Wenger went with a 4-5-1 against Sunderland but in all honesty I would prefer to see a 4-4-2 with Song and Fabregas in the middle used for most Premiership games, at least until Abou Diaby returns from injury.

On another note, you have to feel a little bit for Manuel Almunia in goals. He’s been immaculate this season, hardly put a foot wrong but has still been beaten by two of the goals of the season. It’s a hard life being a goalkeeper and when you’re conceding goals that are just unstoppable it must make it things all the more frustrating.

Anyway, given the poor quality of the stream and the fact that I don’t usually post on Sundays, I’d love to hear what people thought of the game. Something tells me it’s not going to be pretty.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend if you can.

Have your say on Arsenal’s draw with Sunderland by leaving a comment.