Everything Gooner

Strikers Sign

2007-05-27T18:31:00.000+01:00

Well, I'm afraid it's no new players but two of Arsenal's young strikers have signed new deals at the club. The latest players to put pen to paper are Emmanuel Adebayor and Nicklas Bendtner, who has recently returned from a successful loan spell at Birmingham. They join a list of players who have commited themselves to The Gunners over the last year, including Cesc Fabregas, Kolo Toure, Johan Djourou and Emmanuel Eboue. Due to Adebayor signing this new contract, the speculated interest of Manchester United and Juventus has been washed away. And the promise Bendtner has shown over the past year, has caused excitement from Arsenal fans about next season.

Roll on 07/08

2007-05-17T18:44:00.000+01:00

After a disappointing season by Arsenal's standards, The Gunners will be looking to start fresh next season. But there is nothing to worry about. We have an extremely talented squad and I genuinely feel we will be strongly challenging for honours next season. Don't believe me? Well let me explain...

Ok, let's start with the business in the transfer window. We have sold Fabrice Muamba and brought in Polish goalkeeper, Lukasz Fabianski. It is highly likely that Jose Reyes and Julio Baptista's Arsenal futures are over as well as Mathieu Flamini who is also likely to go this summer. There is also the inevitable sale of Jeremie Aliadiere, who would have departed in January had it not been for injuries to Thierry Henry and Robin Van Persie.Then we could have seen Freddie Ljungberg's last season at Arsenal. Like every gooner, I love Freddie but I think it is time to move on. He has lost that pace and is a completely different player to that of 2 or 3 years ago. So with all due respect, I think we should say goodbye to the Swede, while we can still get some money for him. Plus there are rumours going round about the possible sale of Phillipe Senderos, who has had limited chances this season. But when the Swiss international has played he has failed to impress and could also be on his way out of Ashburton Grove. Now, we also need to bring some players in. We have already captured Fabianski but I think we need that little bit extra to complete the squad. I have said all season that we need an out and out winger, but someone that can score 10+ goals as well as create them. The three main candidates for this position at Emirates Stadium are: Robinho, Ryan Babel and Franck Ribery. Now Robinho would be top of my list as he has all the qualities to make it at Arsenal. Quick, skillful, good finisher and a good creator. But the price would be a problem and I think Real Madrid would be reluctant to let him go. Perhaps use Reyes as a makeweight? But I can't see the Brazilian coming. Next up, Ryan Babel. Comparisons have been made between the young Dutchman and current Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry. Babel would be ideal but he has recently signed a new deal at Ajax, meaning that the chances of him coming are very slim. But Franck Ribery is a different story. The Frenchman is fairly likely to come to The Emirates, if Marseille don't qualify for the Champions League. He said that if his current employers don't meet his expectations, he will move on. And Arsenal seems to be the likely destination. He is good friends with Arsene Wenger and Thierry Henry and would fit in well with the rest of the lads. So I think he will be a gooner by the end of August. Now, another possible target is young Manchester City defender, Micah Richards. The Englishman is a fascinating prospect and has also stated a love for the North London club. I would love to see Richards in the famous red and white but I think the price tag will scare us off.

So, now let's look at our potential squad in detail. Mad Jens Lehmann is still a top notch keeper but his temper can get the better of him and I wouldn't be surprised if he is replaced by Fabianski later in the season. Almunia and Poom, if they stay, will get limited opportunities. I still believe our best back four is: Eboue, Toure, Gallas, Clichy. They will have a full preseason together to know eachother better and to keep out the big guns next season. Then we have Hoyte, Djourou, Connolly, Traore, Senderos if he stays and possibly even Richards. All of these are capable of filling in, so I don't think the defence is a problem.

Then we move onto the midfield. Ok, I think we need to try a new formation. We need Gilberto as the holding midfielder as he was, in my opinion, our player of the season. So important to us these days. Then ahead of him Fabregas and Rosicky. Both similar players who can do magical stuff with a ball. I feel they will score lots of goals next season, to make up for a below par total from last year. This formation I am planning will se Alex Hleb drop to the bench, but I think that is when he makes a big impact. I admire Hleb but he can be annoying when he makes the wrong decision and with no disrespect I think it is fair to say that Fabregas and Rosicky are both better players than the Belarussian. Also we have Diaby, Denilson and Song who are great prospects and will easily fit in.

And finally, the strikers. With everyone fit, we will have surely the meanest bunch of forwards in the country. Don't believe me? Well check out this list: Thierry Henry, Robin Van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor, Nicklas Bendtner and Theo Walcott. A lot better than that of Chelsea or United's. And I can see these five players racking up over 50 goals between them. Henry leading the line with Van Persie on the wing opposite Ribery perhaps. Then the backup of Adebayor, who will just get better and better, teenager, Nicklas Bendtner, who has a bright future and of course, Theo Walcott, dubbed "the new Henry". Well, I can't wait for next season! Come on you Gunners!

Possible Team Next Season:
----------------------------------Lehmann------------------------------------
Eboue-------------------Toure----------------Gallas--------------------Clichy
-----------------------------------Gilberto------------------------------------
------------------------Fabregas--------------Rosicky------------------------
V. Persie----------------------------------------------------------------Ribery
------------------------------------Henry-------------------------------------

SUBS: Fabianski, Djourou, Diaby, Hleb, Adebayor

Fab New Keeper coming to Arsenal

2007-05-12T19:23:00.000+01:00

Arsenal are close to completing the signing of young Legia Warsaw keeper, Lukasz Fabianski. The deal seems to have been done, with the transfer fee believed to be £2 million and the Polish international will join up with the squad soon.

When asked about his new signing, Arsene Wenger said: "That will be done. He will be our new goalkeeper. He will join us next year, be in the squad and compete for a position.
“He is one for the future. We have identified him as having all the qualities to challenge here and be one of the future great goalkeepers for Arsenal Football Club.” Fabianski, 22, is likely to feature in this summer's Emirates Cup as well as the other pre-season friendlies. And judging by this video, it looks like Mr Wenger has done it again!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEIdZORCJ9c

Birmingham Sign Muamba

2007-05-11T18:50:00.000+01:00

Birmingham City have completed the permanent transfer of teenage midfielder, Fabrice Muamba. The England youth international is highly rated by Blues boss Steve Bruce: "This is a great signing for us and I'm absolutely delighted that Fabrice has agreed to join us. When he first arrived here I said he would be a big, big player for us and a crowd favourite, and as the season went on that was exactly what he proved to be." Muamba has signed for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £2 million. Arsene Wenger felt that it was the best for him: "He is a highly-rated player but he has a lot of competition and he is in a position that if he comes back straight away it will be very hard for him to play." I am sad to see him go, but Mr Wenger has a point. So Best Wishes to Fabrice in what should be a brilliant career at St Andrews.

Match Review: Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea

2007-05-07T10:41:00.000+01:00

So the title race is over. As much as I hate to say this: Congratulations to Manchester United and I think it's fair to say the best team won.

The game started with literally no chances whatsoever, leaving many fans on the verge of falling asleep. But The Emirates woke up after a delightful Arsenal move. Some brilliant, one touch passing found Adebayor on the edge of the box, but the Togo striker's shot was poor and was saved by the legs of Petr Cech. Then two minutes before the break, Julio Baptista outmuscled Boulahrouz, before being hacked down by the Dutch defender. The referee pointed to the spot, and Arsenal had a penalty! Then Alan Wiley called Boulahrouz over, and sent him off! Probably because he was the last man and was preventing a goalscoring opportunity. Gilberto confidently stepped up and you could sense there would only be one outcome. The Brazilian sent Cech the wrong way and Arsenal were in front. The half time whistle blew and The Gunners walked in happily. Chelsea, down to 10 men, were anything but happy.

In the second half, Arsenal started brightly and Chelsea were on the backfoot. Denilson floated in a freekick that fell kindly to Adebayor. He took it down well before firing it across the face of goal. A touch from Gallas at the back post, and Arsenal would have been 2-0 up. Then a few minutes later, a crunching, late, bad tackle from Ferreira left Denilson injured and the Brazilian had to be stretchered off. Sympathetic applause from the Arsenal faithful showed the pain around the stadium. Alex Hleb replaced him. Cesc Fabregas received a standing ovation as he jogged over to take a corner. The Spaniard whipped it in and Gallas was unmarked but headed over. The ball dipped perfectly for him, so he didn't need to jump. But from then on, Chelsea started to up the tempo. A corner was comfortably headed away by Gilberto, but it found Frank Lampard, 25 yards out. He sprayed the ball wide to Shaun Wright-Phillips, who skipped past Clichy before sending in a super cross, which was met by a brilliant diving, glancing header from Essien. Chelsea were back in it. As it stood, United would still win the title but you just felt Chelsea had the ability to go on and win. And they turned the game around and were dominating. A good move found Joe Cole on the edge of the box, and he fired a sublime shot into the top corner. But the celebrations were dismissed as the goal was ruled offside. And replays show the officials got it spot on. The fourth official held up 4 minutes. Then, Arsenal had a decent chance. Substitute, Alex Hleb found himself free on the left but fired his shot straight at Petr Cech. Subsitute Scott Sinclair was away on the left, but cut the ball back for Salomon Kalou. The Ivorian hit a sweet strike first time that was destined for the net. However, Jens Lehmann produced a wonderful save, to show why Arsene Wenger was desperate to keep him for another year. It was a golden opportunity for Chelsea. Then in he dying seconds, Emmanuel Eboue beat Bridge and blasted a tremendous strike onto the bar. Cech was beaten. But it wasn't the winner. And with that, the referee blew the whistle, to end a magical second half.

Match Ratings:
Lehmann: Super save that really denied Chelsea the title (7)
Eboue: Unlucky not to score and dangerous going forward (7)
Toure: Surprisingly easy game for the Ivorian (6)
Gallas: Dealt with the Chelsea attacks well but was fairly quiet (6)
Clichy: Quiet but looked an attacking threat when he was running with the ball (6)
Fabregas: Didn't realy get involved. But can't blame him. The kid must be knackered (5)
Denilson: Solid and creative in the middle until stretchered off (6)
Gilberto: An absoloute star. Kept Lampard at bay and held a young midfield together. No better than the Brazilian (8)
Diaby: The same as last week. Anonymous. You can't play him on the left (5)
Baptista: Quiet but finally showed us some physical strength when he won the penalty (6)
Adebayor: Poor performance. His touch was bad and seemed to waste the ball (5)

Hleb: For god's sake! Why does he never bloody shoot! Such a good player but so annoying (6)
Hoyte: Didn't make an impact (5)

MAN OF THE MATCH: Michael Essien

Match Preview: Arsenal v Chelsea

2007-05-05T20:31:00.001+01:00

So, Arsenal have the power to decide where the title goes. Following another victory for Manchester United, Chelsea come to The Emirates needing a win to keep their slim title hopes alive. Arsenal will be looking to take advantage of Liverpool's defeat to Fulham and jump into 3rd.

The return of Ashley Cole will be an intersting affair, but the greedy little so and so has "an ankle problem" so is unlikely to play. Chelsea are also missing Michael Ballack while Andriy Shevchenko and Ricardo Carvalho are major doubts. Arsenal are without Henry, Van Persie, Walcott and Ljungberg, with Tomas Rosicky being rated as 50-50. If the Czech International is available, he is likely to start on the bench.

It should be a good game, remembering that these two are fierce local rivals. And if you don't believe me; look at the Carling Cup Final. We could see another bust-up, especially if Gallas and Cole are playing. Both sides have little to fight for but will still be out to win. I can see a thrilling match on the horizon.

Form Guide:
Arsenal: WDWWD
Chelsea: LDWDW

Last Encounter:
Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal (Drogba 2, Walcott)

Team Prediction:
-------------------------------Lehmann---------------------------------
Eboue-----------------Toure-------------Gallas-------------------Clichy
Hleb-----------------Fabregas----------Gilberto------------------Diaby
---------------------Adebayor----------Baptista------------------------

Score Prediction:
Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea (Adebayor, Gallas, Drogba) [Late Gallas winner to really wind them up!]

September 17: Ade's Lifeline

2007-05-02T18:58:00.000+01:00

It really is amazing. How you give a player 12 months and he is transformed from zero to hero. And Emmanuel Adebayor is the perfect example. He started brightly with a debut goal but throughout the whole of last season, Ade looked clumsy, weak, slow and a rubbish finisher. He was almost hated by the fans and they simply wanted him out. But on Sunday September 17 2006, he wrote his name in the record books; by scoring a late winner at Old Trafford against fierce rivals, Manchester United. And since then, Emmanuel has never looked back.

He then started to find his shooting boots and won over the Arsenal faithful with his tremendous workrate. When Ade came to England, he was dubbed 'The New Kanu'. But the Togo Striker has proved he is already much better than his idol, Kanu, by giving us some outstanding displays. Recently we have seen Ade have so many attributes that are bound to make him a hit in the next few years. Comparisons have been made with Chelsea's Didier Drogba and they are quite accurate. Ade has now shown us that he has great physical strength, decent pace and add to that his unbelievable workrate and his ability in the air and you've got one hell of a player. If he can score a few more goals, then he will be huge and he will be; his finishing has improved massively over the last 6 months. So a message to all Premiership clubs:

Watch out! Ade's About! And we are coming to win the title next year - UP THE GUNNERS!

Match Review: Arsenal 3-1 Fulham

2007-04-29T21:01:00.000+01:00

We always have to do it the hard way. Again Arsenal dominated but left it late to get the 3 points. Despite having very little to play for, Arsene Wenger's side want to end the season on a high and although the win was not very convincing, it will still help this young team's confidence.

Emirates Stadium was looking at it's best. Shining in the sunlight with the seats packed with Red and White; a beautiful sight to behold. And The Gunners started brightly and for a change, were the first to score with a great early goal. Adebayor clipped a cross in, for Julio Baptista to plant a super header into the bottom corner. It only took 4 minutes and it was just the start the Arsenal faithful wanted. This was to lead to many half-chances as well as a few efforts from the goalscorer. But the best opportunity came on the half-hour. Cesc Fabregas tried to place the ball into the corner but was denied brilliantly by the strong palm of Antti Niemi. Then, just minutes later, the Finnish keeper made another great save, this time denying Adebayor. So for the first time in a while, The Gunners walked in at half time, happy with a lead.

But in the second half, Arsenal looked really tired, clumsy and careless and weren't playing their usual passing game. It wasn't very good for the neutrals and the first bit of action came on 78 minutes. A poor punch from Lehmann went only as far as Simon Davies on the edge of the box. The Welshman then lobbed the keeper and watched it nestle in the back of the net. You could call it flukey but it didn't stop the celebrations of the visiting fans. You could see what it meant. But the goal was probably a wake up call for the home side as they started to go on the attack and worry the Fulham defence. Fabregas slipped a pass through to Adebayor, who cut inside before delightfully curling the ball into the bottom corner. With 5 minutes to go, it sent The Emirates crazy and got the fans singing again. And the win was secured when former gooner, Moritz Volz brought down Hleb in the area. Gilberto stepped up an confidently converted, for his 10th goal of the season.

Match Ratings:
Lehmann: Very Suspect and cost us a goal (4)
Eboue: Very quiet down the right (5)
Toure: An easy game for him (5)
Gallas: See Above (5)
Clichy: A real threat going forward, and not bad defending! What a star! (8)
Hleb: Fairly quiet but used the ball well ad won the penalty (6)
Fabregas: Not his best game but still overpowered the Fulham midfield (7)
Gilberto: Very poor. Not like him at all. Lost the ball too often (4)
Diaby: Was he playing? Probably did well with his handful of touches (5)
Baptista: Scored a great header. However he is a waste of space and can't pass to save his life. OUT! (5)
Adebayor: Scored a magnificent goal and worked his socks off again. This guy has the lot (9)

Denilson: Didn't make an impact (5)

MAN OF THE MATCH: Emmanuel Adebayor

Match Preview: Arsenal v Fulham

2007-04-28T10:56:00.000+01:00

After being cruelly denied of 3 points last Saturday, Arsenal will be out to get them and secure that Champions League spot. But it would need a miracle for The Gunners not to qualify as they are 9 points ahead of Bolton and Everton with 3 games to go, meaning Arsenal would have to lose all their games and Bolton or Everton would need to win all of theirs; so without being too cocky, let's face it, it's not gonna happen. The Gunners will also be hoping to catch Liverpool to get 3rd place, but that looks unlikely as well, with the men from Merseyside being 4 points clear.

Fulham are still not safe from the relegation dogfight, so new manager, Lawrie Sanchez has a lot of work on his hands. But The Cottagers did beat Arsene Wenger's side back in October so anything is possible, especially with a few Arsenal absentees. As well as the long-term triple, Freddie Ljungberg and Tomas Rosicky have both been ruled out of tommorrow's clash, perhaps giving the visitors a chance. Jimmy Bullard is still out with knee ligament damage and is joined on the sidelines by Franck Queudrue and Ian Pearce.

Form Guide:
Arsenal: DWWDL
Fulham: DLLLD

Last Encounter:
Fulham 2-1 Asenal (McBride, Radzinski, Van Persie)

Team Prediction:
------------------------------Lehmann------------------------------------
Eboue--------------Toure-----------------Gallas--------------------Clichy
------------------------------Gilberto-------------------------------------
Hleb--------------Fabregas--------------Denilson-------------------Diaby
------------------------------Adebayor------------------------------------

Score Prediction:
Arsenal 7-0 Fulham (Adebayor 3, Hleb, Diaby, Eboue, OG)

Duo Commit Future to Arsenal

2007-04-28T10:39:00.000+01:00

Arsenal duo, Justin Hoyte and Jens Lehmann have both signed new deals at the club, much to the delight of Arsene Wnger as well as many gooners wrldwide. Lehmann looked likely to leave, as he wanted a two year deal, but Arsenal's policy only allows one year extensions to players over 30. But the Mad German 'keeper has put pen to paper and will remain Arsenal's no 1 for another year, much to the anger of the interested Hertha Berlin and Sevilla.

Justin Hoyte has also commited himself to the club, by signing a long term contract. The young Englishman has been a star for The Gunners this year and is probably the most improved player at the club, even ahead of the likes of Hleb and Adebayor. The versatile defender had to fill in when Laueren and Eboue were injured, but excelled in his run of games in the first team. And the sale of Lauren came as a compliment to Hoyte, meaning that he won't be 3rd choice right back, and is likely to get a lot of games next season too. Justin has also capped this great season with a goal and I can't wait for next season, when all our young players have another year's experience under their belt. Well done Justin, you've been a star and deserve your new deal.

Ball Passes Away

2007-04-28T10:31:00.000+01:00

Alan Ball has sadly passed away at the age of 61. I am not going to pretend I know everything about him, because I know very little, but it is still very upsetting when someone's life comes to an end. Alan was the youngest member of the 1966 England World Cup winning squad and also became Arsenal's record signing, costing £200,000. Ball was also given an MBE. But it his his kind heart that will be missed. He is believed to have sold his World Cup medal, in order to help his family. A great player, a great smile and an even greater heart.

R.I.P. Alan Ball

Match Review: Tottenham 2-2 Arsenal

2007-04-21T16:40:00.000+01:00

It was another good performance by the gunners, but somehow, they didn't come away with the three points. And the draw means that even before Liverpool have played, we are still 4th. The doubtful Fabregas was left on the bench, but Freddie Ljungberg returned to the starting XI. The stage was set. Despite the match being played in such a rubbish 'stadium' the atmosphere was great and you could tell it was going to be another classic North London Derby.

Tottenham started well creating a few half chances, but the first bit of action came on 10 minutes. Ljungberg brilliantly flicked the ball into the path of Adebayor, and the big striker thumped the ball past Robinson and into the net. But the goal was deemed offside, Freddie Ljungberg being the culprit. Replays showed it was tight and perhaps a little harsh on the visitors. Adebayor was looking high on confidence, despite not scoring for over 2 months. And the two men involved in the previous move, swapped roles for this one. Adebayor delightfully flicked it on but Ljungberg sent the ball flying over, pulling his hamstring in the process. He battled on but was suffering. On the half hour mark, Tottenham had a corner. It was whipped in but the referee blew his whistle and booked Berbatov, Lehmann and Diaby for a shoving session in the box. The corner was re-taken, and typically ended in a goal. Dawson knocked it down and Keane was at the far post to nod it through the gap between Eboue and Lehmann. And it got worse for Arsenal. Ljungberg signalled that he couldn't continue and was replaced just before the break by Fabregas. And the Spaniard made an immediate impact. Down the right, Eboue played him in, and Fabregas superbly returned the favour, before the Ivorian right back thumped a super effort onto the post. The rebound found Adebayor, but he sliched his effort as it sailed over the bar. It was an entertaining first half but the home side had the lead.

Cesc Fabregas was at the heart of many flowing moves and played a ig part in the first opportunity of the second half. The Spanish midfielder floated a dangerous corner into the box, and Kolo Toure rose above the defence before firing a bullet header on goal, only for it to rattle the post and go out for a goal kick. And within minutes, Arsenal had another chance. Clichy galloped down the left before chipping a cross into the box. The ball was behind Adebayor but somehow he managed to get a firm head to it and saw it bounce off the bar; the third time The Gunners had hit the woodwork. It was coming and on 64 minutes, it arrived. A Fabregas freekick wasn't dealt with and Kolo Toure was unmarked at the back post to poke it home, via Robinson. It was just the breakthrough Arsene Wenger's team needed. Then, just over 10 minutes from the end, The Gunners took the lead. Another wonderful Fabregas freekick was whipped in and Adebayor leapt well and steered a header into the top corner. White Hart Lane was stunned and the roar from the Arsenal faithful said it all. Substitute, Baptista could and should have wrapped it up, but fired a simple header well wide of the target. The fourth official said 4 minutes were to be added on, when only 2 or 3 were necessary. And in the 5th minute of 4 injury time minutes, Arsenal were dealt a sucker punch. Jermain Jenas decided to have a go from 20 yards and saw his shot fire into the bottom corner. White Hart Lane erupted and it had cost Arsenal two precious points in thee race for third.

Match Ratings:
Lehmann: Starting to get annoying with his constant bookings (5)
Eboue: A real threat going forward. Unlucky not to score (7)
Toure: A rock at the back. Plus he scored and hit the woodwork. Top Dog (8)
Gallas: Looked a bit shaky early on but grew massively as the game went on (6)
Clichy: Good going forward despite being quiet (6)
Hleb: Very quiet, but looked good when he got the ball (6)
Gilberto: Was immense in the second half. Controlled the game like a true captain (8)
Diaby: This guy has huge potential. Another fine display from Vieira II (7)
Rosicky: Very quiet down the left.Perhaps we expected too much (5)
Ljungberg: Started brightly but was replaced due to a hamstring problem (6)
Adebayor: Thoroughly deserved his goal. Outstanding from the big man (8)

Fabregas: Stole the show. Pulled all the strings in an unbelievable display. And he's only 19! What a player! (9)
Baptista: Lost my patience. Should have wrapped it up. No more excuses - he's crap (4)
Senderos: Didn't touch the ball in his 30 seconds on the pitch (5)

MAN OF THE MATCH: Cesc Fabregas

Match Preview: Tottenham v Arsenal

2007-04-21T11:47:00.000+01:00

Yes, folks its that time again; North London Derby Day has arrived. And if The Mighty Gunners avoid defeat today, then it will time to celebrate the already inevitable St Totteringham's Day. Arsenal have started to find some form, with two wins on the bounce against Bolton and Man City respectively. Spurs on the other hand are slipping further down the table. A good run a few weeks back has turned into disaster for our neighbours, as they need a win to stay in contention for 7th place, the final UEFA Cup spot.

And there is constant good news on the injury front for Arsene Wenger's side. Potential doubts: Freddie Ljungberg, Abou Diaby and Cesc Fabregas have seemed to have shaken off their knocks, as the gaffer has named the three midfielders in the squad. Of course, having Fabregas back is a huge relief. He has been instrumental for us this season and has also bagged two goals in his last two games. The same goes for Tomas Rosicky who is blossoming in the limelight at the moment, and is showing why Mr Wenger was so keen to sign him. I always knew Tomas would be great for us and he is starting to properly find his feet in the Premiership. Tottenham will be relieved to have inspirational captain, Ledley King back, as well as promising midfielder, Tom Huddlestone. Robbie Keane is a doubt, so Martin Jol (aka Shrek) is likely to choose Jermain Defoe to partner Dimitar Berbatov up front.

Despite constantly praising Fabregas, I think the poor lad needs a rest - perhaps revealing a starting place for 19 year old Brazilian midfielder, Denilson. I think our current 4-5-1 formation is working, as Adebayor is proving to be such an important player, as he excels in that lone striker role. But the Togo striker is well overdue a goal so could get one today. On the other hand, Ade has scored in 2 of the last three meetings between the North London rivals. Both goals coming at The Emirates, in wins in the Premiership and Carling Cup. But Julio Baptista will be pushing for a starting spot, after coming off the bench and bagging a goal on Tuesday. Who would have thought we'd have so many options; even without Henry and Van Persie.

Form Guide:
Tottenham: DDLLW
Arsenal: WWDLL

Last Encounter:
Arsenal 3-0 Tottenham (Adebayor, Gilberto 2)

Team Prediction:
----------------------------------Lehmann-----------------------------------
Eboue---------------------Toure-----------Gallas----------------------Clichy
----------------------------------Gilberto------------------------------------
Hleb---------------------Denilson----------Diaby---------------------Rosicky
---------------------------------Adebayor------------------------------------

Score Prediction:
Tottenham 2-3 Arsenal (Berbatov, King, Adebayor, Hleb, Eboue)

Dein Departs

2007-04-20T20:24:00.000+01:00

The Takeover Tale took another new twist, as Arsenal announced some shocking news. Vice-chairman, David Dein has resigned from the Club, much to the astonishment of many football fans. The apparent reason for this parting of the ways, is "irreconcilable differences" between Dein and other members of the board. It is believed that the majority of the Arsenal board were against a possible takeover from American billionaire, Stan Kroenke, but David Dein, the man who brought Arsene Wenger to the club, disagreed. It is thought that Dein and Kroenke were good friends and will help eachother in order to help the club.

So here's the "plan". Kroenke now has a 12% stake in Arsenal but needs 29% to take control. Dein has 14% and is likely to let Kroenke "borrow" his stake in order to complete a takeover. If this is completed, then it is more than possible that Dein will be back at Arsenal, possibly as chairman. I am all for this and in these circumstances would be happy with a takeover from Kroenke, as it seems he wants the best for The Gunners. David Dein is an essential part of the club so we need him back. If it requires members of the board leaving; so be it. I would love to see Kroenke own the club as he seems like a nice, genuine guy who has a love for Sport. I feel he will help us on our road to glory but we also need 'DD' back. With Dein as chairman, and with the backing of Kroenke's money, we could be a real force to be reckoned with.

But let us not forget this may not happen. Even if Kroenke does obtain Dein's shares he does not have enough. So what if Fiszman and Lady Bracewell-Smith (major shareholders) do not sell? It could all go wrong and without his friend Dein, it looks unlikely that Wenger will sign a new contract. However, I am optimistic and hope to see no problems in the future.

Match Review: Arsenal 3-1 Man City

2007-04-20T19:41:00.000+01:00

Again, apologies about the lateness but I still must express my delight at this victory. The Gunners were full of confidence, after ending a horrific run with an impressive win over Bolton. Arsenal started the game in their usual fashion, playing good football and putting the opposition on the backfoot. An after 12 minutes, Abou Diaby battled well and shifted the ball to Eboue on the right. The Ivorian full-back whipped in a fierce cross and Tomas Rosicky, scorer of Arsenal's first at the weekend, was first to react as he poked the ball past Isaksson. It felt good to get an early goal, and it was a rare occasion that Arsene Wenger's side didn't concede the first goal. But there were few chances and you had to credit City's defending. On the half-hour mark, Abou Diaby got caught in the head and had to go off for treatmant. The Frenchman tried to battle on but only lasted 2 more minutes, before he trudged off with bandages round his head, and was replaced by Julio Baptista. And the burly Brazilian made an immediate impact. His freekick was deflected and just whistled over the bar. Replays show that had there not been a touch, Arsenal would have been 2 up. But then Emirates was silenced on 41 minutes. A simply awful, scuffed clearance from Lehmann landed at the feet of Joey Barton who knocked it to Michael Johnson, before the latter squeezed a ball in behind the defence, for DaMarcus Beasley to slot home. So The Gunners had threw away an important lead.

In the second half, City were attacking strongly, just as they were in the last 5 minutes of the first period. But it wasn't exactly a spectacle and the first chance came just over 20 minutes from the end. Tomas Rosicky was clear, one-on-one with Isaksson, but made the wrong decision in unselfishely cutting it back for Adebayor, who's shot was eventually blocked. But a few minutes later Ashburton Grove woke up. An unconvincing clearance was set up perfectly for Fabregas, to fire a sublime long range volley into the corner. It was the Spaniard's second goal this week, showing his blossoming confidence. And with 10 minutes to go the game was wrapped up. Hleb slipped a pass into the path of Baptista, who neatly placed the ball past the keeper. It was a convincing win and a relief for many gooners.

Match Preview: Arsenal v Man City

2007-04-17T19:29:00.000+01:00

At last, The Gunners have a win under their belt and will be looking to end the season on a high with a string of victories, starting tonight. Manchester City travel to The Emirates this evening on a good run themselves as they look safe from the relegation dogfight. On paper, it should be an easy win for the home side but football is not played on paper, so don't be too surprised if City pull off an upset.

Arsenal have Freddie Ljungberg missing due to a hamstring injury but he is the only new worry for Mr Wenger. Abou Diaby is likely to deputise in a 5 man midfield with Adebayor up front. The other option is a 4-4-2 with Julio Baptista partnering the Togo striker. Cesc Fabregas will be full of confidence tonight, after hitting the back of the Premiership net for the first time this season, in the 2-1 win over Bolton on Saturday. The Spanish mifielder has also been nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year Award. Man City have in-form Belgian striker, Emile Mpenza doubtful but no more injury news for Stuart Pearce.

Form Guide:
Arsenal: WDLLL
Man City: DWDWW

Last Encounter:
Man City 1-0 Arsenal (Barton)

Team Prediction:
-----------------------------Lehmann-------------------------------
Eboue----------------Toure-----------Gallas------------------Clichy
------------------------------Gilberto-------------------------------
Hleb----------------Fabregas---------Diaby-----------------Rosicky
-----------------------------Adebayor-------------------------------

Score Prediction:
Arsenal 7-0 Man City (Adebayor 2, Fabregas, Hleb, Gilberto, Clichy, OG)

Match Review: Arsenal 2-1 Bolton

2007-04-14T19:39:00.000+01:00

At last we can celebrate but more importantly breathe a sigh of relief. A convincing victory over our bogey team combined with Liverpool's draw at City means that we are right back in contention for 3rd spot. And all of a sudden, a Champions League place seems in the bag, as we are 5 points clear of Bolton with a game in hand.

The only change from the draw at Newcastle, was Tomas Rosicky replacing Abou Diaby, who dropped to the bench. Emirates Expects. That must have been in the players minds as the game kicked off, but The Gunners still got off to a bad start. Nicky Hunt's long freekick was misjudged by Toure and Nolan was in. The Bolton skipper's header was palmed away well by Lehmann, but Nicolas Anelka was lurking and the Frenchman tucked it away. The former gooner seems to love scoring against Arsenal, and that goal meant that the home side had a psychological mountain to climb. This was the fourteenth time Arsenal had gone behind at The Emirates and their confidence must have been so low but they still responded with lots of chances. Just minutes later, Ljungberg played in Adebayor, but his effort was saved by the legs of Jaaskelainen. The Togo striker still looking to end his goal drought. Kolo Toure was trying his luck with a couple of 30 yard screamers but was denied both times by the Trotters' keeper. Freddie Ljungberg's freekick went just over the bar before Lady Luck finally shined on The Gunners. Adebayor played in a seemingly harmless cross, but Hunt was caught daydreaming and Tomas Rosicky nipped in and stabbed the ball into the net. Game on! The Czech interanational's goal was also overdue, this being only his second Premiership goal for the club. So an early equaliser for a change, meant that Arsene Wenger's side went in at the break happy and full of confidence for the second half.

In fact, they were so high on confidence that it only took 44 seconds for another goal to come! Gilberto put the Bolton defence on the back foot, with a lovely neat ball into Fabregas. The Spaniard cut inside, kept his cool and delightfully found the bottom corner. At last! It was the Spaniard's first goal since his brace in Zagreb, in the Champions League qualifier. He was pleased but Emirates Stadium probably more so, due to the eruption when Fabregas scored. Since then Arsenal had a pretty easy ride and with few clear cut chances it was a time to relax. And then Bolton's hopes were well and truly gone, when Ivan Campo's late challenge earned him a second yellow and an early bath. But substitute, Abou Diaby could and probably should have scored another. He was one-on-one with Jaaskelainen but sidefooted straight at him instead of playing in Julio Baptista, who had an open goal to aim at. But luckily, it was unimportant and The Gunners have surely secured a place in Europe's top competition next season.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Cesc Fabregas

Match Preview: Arsenal v Bolton

2007-04-14T13:56:00.000+01:00

So, after a boring 0-0 draw at Newcastle, The Gunners return to The Emirates still low on confidence, trying to end the run of 4 games without a win. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that Arsenal's recent form has been shocking, but on the other hand, we haven't played that badly. Look at the West Ham game. We created numerous chances but just couldn't find the net, partly due to Rob Green playing the game of his life.

We are overdue some goals and what better time to score than against our bogey team, Bolton. Just remember we still have our annual 7-0 thrashing to come so the goals will start banging in. And Arsenal have good news on the injury front. Putting long term absentees; Thierry Henry, Robin Van Persie and Theo Walcott aside, Arsene Wenger has a full squad to pick from and with not much left to play for, may shuffle his pack. Cesc Fabregas looks jaded and desperately needs a rest, and we can't risk losing him to injury as well. Young Brazilian midfielder, Denilson will be pushing for a start after warming the bench on Monday, and with Tomas Rosicky returning from a virus, Le Boss has plenty of options. Bolton welcome back skipper, Kevin Nolan from suspension but Tal Ben Haim is a doubt with a hamstring problem. But like Wenger, Big Fat Sam Allardyce has a variety of players to choose from.

I'm beginning to regret the post I made a few weeks back, saying that this hasn't been a bad season, as it has been really. And it shows. All we have left to play for is 4th place - not good enough for a team of Arsenal's calibre. Bolton are not to be underrated. As boring and ugly as they are to watch, you have to admire Allardyce for taking them from relegation candidates to contenders for European spots. This will be a tough one but if the Gunners fail to win, the rest of the season will be a real worry, with Bolton, Everton and even Tottenham beginning to close the gap.

Form Guide (Last 5 Games):
Arsenal: DLLLW
Bolton: DWWLL

Last Encounter (Premiership):
Bolton 3-1 Arsenal (Anelka 2, Faye, Gilberto)

Team Prediction:
----------------------------Lehmann-------------------------------
Eboue----------------Toure---------Gallas-------------------Clichy
----------------------------Gilberto--------------------------------
Hleb---------------Denilson---------Diaby------------------Rosicky
----------------------------Adebayor-------------------------------

Score Prediction:
Arsenal 2-2 Bolton (Adebayor, Rosicky, Nolan, Anelka)

Match Review: Arsenal 0-1 West Ham

2007-04-08T13:15:00.000+01:00

Same old story. It's frankly getting quite boring. "Arsenal create several chances but are denied by poor finishing and sublime goalkeeping." So the unbeaten home record has gone. Great. Just what we needed. A real confidence booster, eh?

But this is the thing, putting last week at Anfield aside, I can't think of many, if any, bad performances this season, we just haven't had Lady Luck on our side. And this encounter was a perfect example of it. It took just 90 seconds for the first chance to come. Tomas Rosicky flicked a ball through and sent Fabregas one-on-one with Robert Green. The Spaniard picked his spot but was denied by the legs of the West Ham keeper. Just minutes later, Emmanuel Adebayor raced down the left flank, cut inside and fired a shot on goal, only for Green to save well. Then another stunning pass from Rosicky sent Ljungberg through. He just had Green to beat but he panicked and released a poor effort that was easily saved by the England shot-stopper. This was followed by more magical stuff from the home side, looking a completely different team to that of last week. Eboue and Hleb exchanged passes down the right, and the latter fired in a low cross for Rosicky. The Czech International saw his shot whistle inches wide of the post and you could tell that The Gunners were in for another frustrating day. On the half-hour, the impressive Rosicky fired a shot in from distance, but his strike was saved brilliantly by Green. Then on the counter-attack, Tevez was away. The Argentine cut inside well but fired a tame shot straight at Lehmann. Then in first half injury time, Lucas Neill played a long ball forward from the back. Kolo Toure was in no man's land and Bobby Zamora advanced on goal and lofted a sublime shot over the on-rushing Lehmann, and into the back of the net. Emirates Stadium was in shock. There was suspicions of offside but the goal stood. And as the half time whistle blew seconds later, the faces on the Arsenal players said it all.

In the second period, Arsenal were still dominating. Gilberto fired in an impressive strike but Robert Green produced a magnificent save, as he got down to palm to Brazilian's effort away. But a few minutes later, the former Norwich keeper produced another unbelievable save, but this will go down as one of the best ever. A Fabregas free kick was swept in, and Adebayor was unmarked from 6 yards out. The Togo striker thumped a great header on target, it was a certain goal. But Green did the impossible. He somehow managed to thrust out a hand and divert the ball over the bar. It was a simply magical instinctive save, worthy of keeping West Ham in the Premiership. The Gunners must have wondered what they had to do to beat him. But then, Green was beaten. Fabregas unleased a stupendous effort from 30 yards, but the frame of the goal saved The Hammers. It deserved to be a goal, and especially due to Arsenal's dominance, the crossbar was still shaking. Five minutes from the end, Gilberto slipped a shot past Green but the post came the the visitor's rescue again. It was simply unbelievable. How did we not score. It is almost impossible. We had endless chances but none were converted. But in injury time, West Ham nearly made it two. Subsitute, and former gooner, Luis Boa Morte, clipped the ball over Lehman but saw it fly past the goal and out of play. If that had gone in, it would have been more than unfair on Arsene Wenger's side.

But it already was unfair. Arsenal had dominated and kept banging on the door, but couldn't find the net. But then again, I put my hands up to admire a goalkeeping master class from Rob Green. In my opinion, he should be in strong contention for the England No.1 jersey. He was simply brilliant and had ended Arsenal's unbeaten run at their new home. A few weeks ago, we were stating that we could get 2nd, now we might not even get 4th. With a win at Wigan, Bolton are breathing down our necks, so next weekend's clash could prove vital. But next up is Newcastle on Monday. Another difficult trip, but let's hope we can finally get a win.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Robert Green

Match Preview: Arsenal v West Ham

2007-04-06T19:11:00.000+01:00

Arsenal will be looking to bounce back from Saturday's humiliating defeat at Liverpool, with a win at home to Premiership strugglers, West Ham. But the Hammers shouldn't be underestimated. They're in good form and Carlos Tevez is starting to live up to his reputation. On the other hand, The Gunners are at The Emirates, the stadium they have made into a fortress. Nobody has won there yet but could West Ham be the first.

Football is a very ironic sport, and strange things do happen. What I am thinking is this. West Ham were the last team to win at Highbury and could they be the first to win at Ashburton Grove? Another few examples are: Liverpool, the first and last team to win the FA Cup at Cardiff, Man Utd, the first and last winners of the Premiership sponsored by Carling etc, etc. I am quite worried about the game but my heart is still pumping positivity around my body.

The Gunners are boosted with the return of Gilberto, Aliadiere and Eboue who has passed a late fitness test. Theo Walcott, Thierry Henry and Robin Van Persie are set to miss the remainder of the season. West Ham welcome back Yossi Benayoun but Callum Davenport, Nigel Quashie and former gooner, Matthew Upson are all injured. I hope to see a 4-5-1 today, with Cesc getting a rest: Hleb, Gilberto, Denilson, Diaby, Rosicky in midfield, with Adebayor up front. But knowing Wenger, he will probably stick to a 4-4-2 and to my disappointment, start Baptista up top with Ade.

Form Guide (Last 5 games):
Arsenal: LLWDW
West Ham: WWLLL

Last Encounter:
West Ham 1-0 Arsenal (Harewood)

Team Prediction:
------------------------------Lehmann-----------------------------
Eboue-----------------Toure-----------Gallas----------------Clichy
Hleb-----------------Gilberto----------Diaby---------------Rosicky
---------------------Adebayor--------Baptista---------------------

Score Prediction:
Arsenal 1-2 West Ham (Adebayor, Tevez [2])

NOTE: As the game is a 3:00 kick off, it is not on TV and I'm not going to this one. Therefore, the Match Review will be limited to what I know from Soccer Saturday etc. I'd also like to wish you all a very happy Easter. So until next time: Up the Gunners!

Wenger snaps up Portugese youngster

2007-04-06T10:19:00.000+01:00

Yes, fellow gooners, Mr Wenger has done it again. From under the noses of Premiership rivals, Liverpool, the Gunners boss snapped up young Portugese defender, Yago Fernandez. I'm afraid I don't know much about him but you will know when information comes through. Yago is 19 years old and he is a giant for his age, standing at 192cm! He weighs 78kg and plays as a centre back. Apparently he is unbeatable 1 on 1?! Sounds pretty good! We have signed him on a pre-contract and he will sign a 5 year deal in the summer. But could this spell the end for Senderos? He has been poor all season and with Djourou, Gallas and Toure ahead of him in the pecking order, as well as Fernandez and Connolly coming through, it might be the end of his Arsenal career.

Kroenke buys stake in Arsenal

2007-04-06T09:59:00.000+01:00

American billionare, Stan Kroenke (above) has purchased a 9.9% stake in our beloved team, Arsenal Football Club. His company, Kroenke Sports Enterprise (KSE), have bought the shareholding interest from ITV and could also purchase 50% of Arsenal Broadband Limited, with the combined total costing £65million if completed.

Kroenke is the owner of MLS side, Colorado Rapids, who recently announced a techinal partnership with The Gunners. But the American's investment could potentially to lead to a takeover of the club. If so, Arsenal will be the fourth Premiership team owned by the USA (Liverpool, Manchester United and Aston Villa are the others). However, this is unlikely due to the current board's love for the club. Vice-chairman, David Dein and director, Danny Fiszman have stated that they have no intention of selling their stakes in Arsenal.

Kroenke also owns other Sports teams in the States, Ice Hockey side, Colorado Avelance and Basketball team, Denver Nuggets. He also is the co-owner of the St Louis Rams. If a takeover does occur, it could possibly be a good thing, as he has a passion for sport and Arsenal, due to the partnership with Colorado Rapids. I personally hope it doesn't take place as we are the only 'big 4' side with English owners.

Middle Muddle

2007-04-03T13:10:00.000+01:00

Probably the most annoying thing about Saturday's humiliating defeat was the performance of the midfield. They were so off the pace it was unbelievable. Is this the same midfield that has carved the likes of United, Liverpool (in previous encounters) and Reading to shreds (well not quite because of Gilberto)?

I have never been quite so annoyed with any player, than I was with Hleb. He was in a word, shit. Every time he recieved the ball, he gave it away or ended up flat on his arse. As for Fabregas, I was astounded at his performance. Of course the lad is still only 19, but he was diabolical as well, his usually sublime passing going well astray. But it was obvious to see that the inspirational Spaniard was jaded and in need of a rest. And perhaps with a home game against strugglers West Ham on Saturday, he could be left to relax on the bench. Another dissapointment was young Brazilian, Denilson. He has impressed immensely in every other game he has played, but was easily shoved off the ball and was incredibly slow. But like Cesc, we can't complain as he has only just turned 19. Abou Diaby has really impressed me. It takes a lot of mental strength to come back like he has after a career-threatening injury. He was one of the better players in a yellow shirt at Anfield. He was strong, creative and kept the ball well. I think he could be a real star in the future and it was incredible that he was our best midfielder, but was also out of his favoured central position.

But the point of this is really to ask: Do we need another midfielder? Rumours are spreading that Mathieu Flamini is wanting to leave in the summer under a special rule. I don't know the full extent of it, but apparently he has to pay the club the remainder of his wages, as he has another year on his contract. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't be devastated if he left, unlike Pires and Vieira. He seems to lose the ball a lot and we all know how annoying that is. But the Frenchman is admired by gooners, for his workrate and versatility. He filled in at left-back in the latter stages of the Champions League, and was a star. But obviously, if Mathieu did leave Ashburton Grove, I would wish him all the best for the future. Another player in the spotlight is Alex Song. He has been at the heart of some harsh criticism, but to be fair, the majority of the performances he has turned in have been simply awful. Having said that, Song has joined Charlton on loan until the end of the season, and has been a revelation for the relegation candidates. This is a good sign for the future but let's think about it. Do we need another midfielder? We already have: Hleb, Rosicky, Gilberto, Fabregas, Denilson, Diaby, Ljungberg and Song (plus Flamini if he sticks around). It is almost essential that Mr Wenger brings i a winger in the summer but in my opinion, we don't need another central midfielder. If disaster strikes next season, and say Cesc, Gilberto, Diaby, Hleb and Rosicky are all injured then we could plunge into the youth team where the promising Mark Randall impresses or even if we are desperate, recall Fabrice Muamba from his loan spell (he is expected to extend his spell to next season). In my opinion, another midfielder would upset the squad and we would have too many players in one position.

So, fellow gooners, keep your chin up and don't worry. After all; The Future's bright, The Future's Red and White!

The Missing Ingredients

2007-03-31T21:11:00.000+01:00

Now, I know this is relatively similar to a previous post but based on recent results we are lacking something - so I ask the question: What are the missing ingrediens? Well, first of all we need a fully fit squad, the main reason behind our downfall is the loss of Henry, Van Persie etc to injury. So let's start planning for next season.

Ok, let's start by shipping out the 'dead wood'. Unfortunately, Freddie is well past his best and to be fair is of no use to us anymore. Plus if we get rid of him now we may get a fair bit for him (around £3m perhaps). Next, Aliadiere. We all know that he has potential but he hasn't lived up to it. He has had his run in the side and has proved nothing - he simply has to go. Mad Jens' contract runs out in the summer and it doesn't look like he is going to sign a new one, so he will go as well. Also, I think we should not buy Baptista. In my opinion he would be a waste of £10m+ due to his bad touch, bad finishing, bad passing etc. And obviously we should get rid of Reyes, we should get a fair price as well for him (£7-10m)

Ok, now let's look at bringing in some fresh faces. Well, let's not forget about Bendtner coming back from his loan spell. That takes our striker tally up to 5 (Henry, Van Persie, Adebayor, Walcott, Bendtner). Now in my opinion, we need one more. A young striker who is established but fairly cheap. One that I have in mind is Arouna Kone of PSV. Young, hard-working, a good goalscorer and Ivorian, meaning he will fit in well with Toure and Eboue. One problem though is Chelsea's link with PSV. They own some rights to the players meaning that it will be hard to lure any of them to The Emirates. If not Kone, I suggest Huntelaar of Ajax, the problem being the price (estimate of £15m). Or if not, perhaps Leroy Lita. A great little goal poacher who wouldn't mind being back up to Henry and Van Persie. Plus he is English and would be available at a reasonable price (estimate of £5m). Now we need a goalscoring winger as we have none at the club - Hleb and Rosicky are both more central and cut inside. Ribery springs to mind but I would prefer either Robinho or this Malouda of Lyon. I have seen very little of him but are hearing good things. And finally a goalkeeper. Again I have seen little of this guy, but Igor Akinfeev of CSKA Moscow sounds like a real prospect and apparently we are close to agreeing a deal for the Russian. My number one target would be Buffon but obviously the transfer fee comes in and will put Mr Wenger off the World Cup winner. People are saying we need another defender. I don't think so. We have 2 RB: Hoyte and Eboue - 4 CB: Toure, Gallas, Djourou and Senderos - 2 LB: Clichy and Traore. I think we are covered in all areas of the back line. Plus, we have Kerrea Gilbert coming back from his loan spell.

With a little tactic tweaking we could end up with a dream line-up that will dominate England and Europe. Here is a possible second string team in the future:

-----------------------------------Almunia-----------------------------------
Hoyte-------------------Djourou-----------Senderos------------------Traore
-------------------------Gilberto-----------Denilson-------------------------
Walcott------------------------------------------------------------------Hleb
------------------------Bendtner----------Adebayor-------------------------

Match Review: Liverpool 4-1 Arsenal

2007-03-31T14:38:00.000+01:00

Well, what can I say? Another poor performance from Arsene Wenger's red and white army. They played us off the park and we looked like we couldn't care less about the result. This dire performance means we drop down to 4th, but don't worry we still have a game in hand (if you didn't know, I am being sarcastic)!

Le Boss decided to play 4-4-2, with Baptista partnering Adebayor up front. Ljungberg and Rosicky dropped to the bench with Denilson and Hleb starting alongside Cesc and Diaby in midfield. Ever since the kick off, The Gunners looked sloppy, tired, unfit and just generally bad. And we got off to the worst possible start. Arbeloa's low cross was turned in at the near post by the long legs of Peter Crouch, after just 4 minutes at Anfield. We were poor. The likes of Fabregas and Denilson were not at their best and Hleb was diabolical down the right, losing the ball whenever he received it. Baptista was slow up front and even the back 4, arguably our strongest possible, were sloppy and mistake-prone. The only positive thing was that the Arsenal supporters were in full voice, and despite being the visitors drowned out the little support from Liverpool (who have arguably the best fans in the world). The first chance from the visitors was quite a good one. A corner flew in and Adebayor, back from suspension, leaped well and headed just over, onto the roof of the net. This was followed by an impressive acrobatic effort from Crouch, with Lehmann saved superbly. On the half hour mark, Adebayor played a neat ball in for Baptista, but the Brazilian completely miscued his shot, and saw it fly miles wide of the target. Five minutes later, a sublime cross from the left from Aurelio, was met by Crouch, who thumped a perfect header past the helpless Lehmann, for his second of the afternoon. It was simply stunning and it had pretty much knocked the stuffing out of Arsenal and it showed as they miserably trudged inside at the break.

Despite an improvement in The Gunners' performance, the home side were still on top in the second period. And they could have put the game to bed. Gonzalez's cross found Gerrard, but he hacked the volley straight at Lehmann. But then seconds later, Arsenal were on the counter attack. Adebayor cut inside brilliantly and fired a shot towards the bottom corner. Reina was beaten. But the post saved Liverpool. It was Arsenal's best chance and the Togo striker was incredibly unlikely, it deserved to be a goal. However, on the hour, the match looked beyond doubt. Aurelio's freekick was launched into the box, for Agger to flick his header past Lehmann. 3-0. It was painful to watch. But minutes later, Arsenal had another opportunity and again it was Adebayor. Baptista's cross was met brilliantly by Adebayor, who powered a super header on goal. But Reina, at full stretch, managed to get his fingertips to it, and tip the ball onto the post. It was a quite remarkable save and if anyone deserved a goal today, it was Adebayor. Finally, The Gunners had a breakthrough. On 74 minutes, a Fabregas corner was flicked on by Toure and William Gallas bundled the ball over the line from close range. You would have thought it was just consolation, but it had Liverpool worried - for 8 minutes at least. It was inevitable that Crouch would complete his hat-trick and he did it in style. He cut inside two defenders before firing a sweet strike into the top corner. 4-1. Humiliation for Arsenal. And despite Adebayor's brilliance it was one of the worst Arsenal performances I have witnessed.

Match Ratings:
Lehmann: Despite conceding 4, they were all unstoppable. Made a few good saves (6)
Eboue: Lacks match practice. Looked stiff and sloppy. Should have played Hoyte (4)
Toure: Completely different player to the Mr Reliable we are used to. Poor (5)
Gallas: Made a few brilliant tackles. One of the better players, with a goal to boot (8)
Clichy: Anonymous. Poor going forward too (5)
Hleb: Absolutely crap. Worst performance I've seen in ages. Needs to up his game (2)
Fabregas: Very very poor. Not like him. Passing was awful (4)
Denilson: I know he's 19 but he was poor. Like Cesc his passing was bad (4)
Diaby: Quite impressive. Skillful and strong. Plus, he was out of position (7)
Baptista: Has a lot of work to do if he wants to stay. My patience is running thin (3)
Adebayor: Worked his socks off, could have got a hat-trick. Sensational. Boy, we've missed him! (9)

Ljungberg: Didn't make an impact (5)
Rosicky: Didn't make an impact (5)
Hoyte: Not enough time (5)

MAN OF THE MATCH: Peter Crouch

Are we in a goalscoring crisis?

2007-03-30T17:27:00.000+01:00

I was just wondering if my fellow gooners feel that we are in a mini-crisis. I mean, where are the goals going to come from? Aliadiere is very poor, Baptista is inconsistent, a goal from the midfield comes around about once a month and we have out top two scorers injured! Just look at these stats for the Premiership - our top 5 goal scorers:

Robin Van Persie: 11 goals
Thierry Henry: 10 goals
Gilberto: 8 goals
Manu Adebayor: 6 goals
Mathieu Flamini: 3 goals

That is not good enough, remembering that Van Persie and Henry are injured. Because you look at Fabregas (0 goals), Rosicky (1 goal), Hleb (2 goals), Ljungberg (0 goals), Baptista (1 goal), Diaby (1 goal) etc. Where will the goals come from? Fabregas, Hleb and Rosicky have played brilliantly and have created chances for teammates as well as themselves but have found the Premiership net only 3 times between them. When we were expecting 5 goals+ from each at the start of the season. But then again, all of them could have 5 goals each, as they have been relatively unlucky. Then we look at Baptista. He took the Carling Cup by storm, netting 6 goals in that competition. But The Beast has only scored once in the Premiership this season, not enough when we were expecting 10+ goals from the Brazilian. But to be fair, he has had to settle in to England and very rarely do players shine in their first season (Henry, Adebayor, Drogba, Ronaldo, Hleb and Essien are all examples). But the majority of his performances have been below par, his touch is awful, his passing is not very accurate and most importantly he can't seem to score. But one positive is his workrate and attitude. He will work hard for the team and as well as being determined to play as many games as possible, he is patient and will not complain.

The problem being that Toure and Gallas have scored the same amount of league goals as Hleb, Rosicky, Fabregas, Baptista and Ljungberg put together! But this lack of goals will not be permenant as next season we will have Henry and Van Persie back from injury, Bendtner back from his loan spell and possibly another striker as well. But lets hope that the midfield can start bangining in some goals to keep us in 3rd for the remainder of the season.

Match Preview: Liverpool v Arsenal

2007-03-30T14:35:00.000+01:00

Finally the Internationals are over for a few months and we are back to business in the Premiership. A huge match for The Gunners waits at lunchtime on Saturday, as Arsene Wenger's young guns travel to Anfield to face Liverpool. This is a big game in the race for 3rd spot with Arsenal having the upper hand going into the game.

The Gunners lie in 3rd, one point clear of Liverpool with a game in hand. So should we win, it would all but secure are spot. Anfield has been Arsenal's second home this season, as they cruised to two victories in Cup competitions. A 3-1 win in the FA Cup and an extraordinary 6-3 win in the Carling Cup. This is on top of the reverse Premiership game this season, where the mighty reds hammered Liverpool 3-0 at The Emirates. This is the Merseyside giants' first game under new owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks. And the return of Peter Crouch will give The Reds even more to shout about.

Arsenal have mixed injury news. Henry, Van Persie and Walcott are all likely to miss the rest of the season but Arsene Wenger welcomes back Manu Eboue and and Gael Clichy from injury and Manu Adebayor from suspension. But Eboue is unlikely to be risked, with Justin Hoyte slotting into the right back spot. Also, Gilberto has a late fitness test after suffering a hip injury while playing for Brazil.

Team Prediction:
-----------------------------Lehmann------------------------------
Hoyte----------------Toure-----------Gallas-----------------Clichy
Hleb-----------Fabregas------Diaby--------Denilson-------Rosicky
-----------------------------Adebayor------------------------------

Score Prediction:
Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal

Scorers: Mascherano and Hleb

Silly Billy?

2007-03-29T16:58:00.000+01:00

Internationals. Yawn. England. Yawn. Sack Crap Mac. Yawn. Everybody hates International football. It's boring and painful to watch our overrated, overpaid pathetic nation being embarrassed. This week and half seems like six months and I can't wait until Saturday, to watch some decent footy on the box. The slim piece of news coming out of Arsenal regards Kolo Toure's new partner in crime, William Gallas.

It is believed that the French defender has been criticising his new team. Now if this is true then perhaps it is something to worry about. Billy left Chelsea with a reputation after reportedly threatening to score an own goal. But the press (unreliable thankfully) report that he has been disappointed with his new surroundings. He criticised the medical staff for not dealing with his injuries well, but this story is unlikely to be true as there are few, if any, better staff than at Arsenal. It is also believed he has been slating his teammates for their sloppiness in recent games. One victim that has been highlighted is Alex Hleb, who gave away the cheap freekick against PSV which led to a goal, knocking us out of Europe. But perhaps this is a good thing. Maybe this young team need a wake-up call judging by our recent results. I believe this is a sign of a determined leader and it is good to have three experienced players with different attitudes. Gallas with his aggression and determination, Gilberto with his quiet, gentle leadership and Henry with a bit of both. I credit Billy and hope he willl stick around to play in the future Arsenal team that will dominate the world.

Bad Season? I don't think so...

2007-03-20T17:16:00.000Z

Many gooners and neutrals are constantly moaning at the minute at how 'rubbish' we are. 'Arsenal have had such a bad season,' and 'pretty football doesn't win matches' are some phrases being brought up. Perhaps these are half-true, but if you are smart you will realise we have had far from a bad season.

It was a frustrating start with 2 points from a possible 9, as we settled into our new home. But we turned this early start around didn't we? At a place called Old Trafford? The home of 'the best team in the country?' Yep, if you do need reminding we were and still are the only team to beat United in their back yard this season. Considering we had Henry, Ljungberg, Diaby and Senderos all injured, it's not exactly a bad result. And it was the first time we started to realise the real player in Manu Adebayor. Since then, the Togo striker hasn't looked back and has won over the fans (if you don't believe me, listen to 60,000 gooners bellowing A-DE-BAY-OR! A-DE-BAY-OR! at every home game). In Europe, the gunners qualified from a very underrated group. Porto, winners of the competition three years ago, Hamburg, a strong German side with some top notch players (Van Der Vaart) and CSKA Moscow, they must be good if Arsenal couldn't beat them!

Now we all know that the last two or three weeks have been poor. We lost the Carling Cup Final and went out early in both the FA Cup and Champions League. Hang on, rewind. We got to the Carling Cup Final. With teenagers. We knocked out West Brom, Everton and the scum down the lane with little kids. Oh and we also absolutely hammered Liverpool 6-3, at Anfield! Just look at the youngsters that have impressed this season: Justin Hoyte has improved immensely and is growing in confidence due to his long run in the team. Johan Djourou, dubbed Toure II. Surprisingly perhaps, this is the guy I am most excited about. He is an almost complete defender despite being 19! Just imagine him in 10 years! Armand Traore is another promising teenager. His electric pace from left back is scary. Cesc Fabregas has also improved. He is now stronger and is willing to control the game. Denilson is one of THE most exciting as well. He shined against Spurs with his strength, precise passing and long range shooting. Abou Diaby is also one of my favourites. His immense strength makes him remind you of Vieira as well as the long legs. He also has a few tricks up his sleeve and can hit a thunderbolt shot from distance. Theo Walcott has got his fair share of games this season and despite getting a hatful of assists, couldn't find the net himself... until the Final itself when he cooly slotted past Petr Cech, arguably the best keeper in the world.

Now, you must also consider the injury problems we have suffered. Thierry Henry has been out for 80% of the season while Robin Van Persie has been out since January. William Gallas seems to be injury cursed as well, meaning that he has only played a handful of games. Freddie Ljungberg, Alex Hleb, Manu Eboue, Gael Clichy, Abou Diaby, Phillipe Senderos, Tomas Rosicky, Julio Baptista, Johan Djourou and Theo Walcott have all suffered as well, it's quite an unbelievable list, considering Manchester United have had none, bar one or two.

Don't forget, we drew at Stamford Bridge with half the team injured and beat United again as well as that stunning 4-0 win at Reading. So despite a few early exits it hasn't been an atrocious season at all.

Match Review: Everton 1-0 Arsenal

2007-03-18T18:30:00.000Z

Another frustrating defeat for The Gunners, as they failed to take advantage of Liverpool's 0-0 draw at Villa Park. A win for Arsenal would have all but secured the 3rd place spot, but a late winner from Andy Johnson has left the race wide open. However, Arsenal's slim chances of 2nd place have disappeared after a Chelsea win on Saturday.

The first half-chance of the game was a penalty appeal for Everton. Gilberto flicked the ball away from Johnson, before he chased the ball, only for Lehmann to magnificently palm the ball to safety. On the first view, it looked a penalty, but replays showed that it was just great goalkeeping from the German. And besides, the only protests were from the Evertonian fans. Then on 25 minutes, Lee Carsley rattled the post from 30 yards, giving the sloppy Arsenal defence a wake-up call. Arsenal's only decent chances of the half came right at the end, Cesc Fabregas fired a shot on goal, following a typical, flowing Arsenal move, only for Howard to save well. Then Julio Baptista was unmarked at the back post, but headed over when he should have hit the target.

Arsenal dominated the first half and just before the hour mark, Jeremie Aliadiere fired over after Rosicky's cutback. Ljungberg and Toure also had half-chances before Fabregas fired another powerful, swerving shot, that landed comfortably in Howard's arms. The game was still very dull and then the sucker punch came. A corner was only half-cleared and Johnson steered home impressively from six yards. Despite Arsenal's domination, it was on the cards. This was the sixth Premiership defeat of the campaign for Arsene Wenger's side, and it summed up the entire season.

Match Ratings:
Lehmann: Dealt with the Everton threats well (7)
Toure: Looked off the pace, lacking match practice? (5)
Gilberto: Please Arsene, don't play him in defence!!! (4)
Gallas: Without him, the defence would have crumbled. A rock (7)
Hoyte: Remarkably quiet and did nothing to impress (5)
Ljungberg: Way past it, I'm afraid (5)
Fabregas: Diabolical in the first half, the best player on the pitch in the second (7)
Diaby: Sloppy for the majority but showed glimpses of his class (6)
Rosicky: Off the pace (5)
Aliadiere: Has to go. Awful display. Lazy and useless (3)
Baptista: Average. Like Diaby, sloppy but showed potential (6)

Hleb: Quiet (5)
Walcott: Quiet (5)
Denilson: Not enough time (5)

"One or Two Super Class Players"

2007-03-18T09:37:00.000Z

This week, Arsene Wenger has announced that he intends to sign 'One or two super class players'. This is almost a treat for Arsenal fans (no disrespect to the kids), as Mr Wenger is renowned for buying young players for the future, so a couple of class, established players is a pleasant surprise.

A few players spring to mind, due to lots of speculation from the press. One big target seems to be Real Madrid's Brazilian winger, Robinho (above). The former Santos star hasn't settled in Spain but has shown what he is capable of, and impressed in England, in the friendly between Brazil and Argentina. His quick, magic feet rivals that of Ronaldinho and Cristiano Ronaldo, and is blessed with tremendous speed. He also has an eye for goal, so, should he join The Gunners he would greatly benefit Arsene Wenger's side. Other targets include Julio Baptista, who is currently on loan at Arsenal, Franck Ribery, the French winger who has been heavily linked with The Gunners, due to his friendship with skipper, Thierry Henry, Igor Akinfeev, a young Russian goalkeeper who impressed against The Gunners in the Champions League for CSKA Moscow and finally highly-rated Spanish striker, Fernando Torres. But the latter is very unlikely to join, as Arsenal can not compete with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid due to his estimated value of £30m.

As for me, I would like to see us bring in a goalkeeper, Akinfeev perhaps, as well as a goalscoring winger, either Ribery or Robinho. Maybe a 'goal poacher' as well, someone to finish off great moves the simple way, like a younger Ruud Van Nistelrooy, for example. Players in this mould include Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, the scorer of the first ever goal at Emirates Stadium, Miroslav Klose, the lethal German striker and maybe even Reading's Leroy Lita, a young, promising, English striker who can score all types of goals. Plus, he would be available for a reasonable price. But this is my view, not Le Boss' and we'll just have to wait but don't forget, Arsene knows...

My dream, realistic team for 07/08:

--------------------------------Akinfeev---------------------------------

Eboue-------------------Toure----------Gallas--------------------Clichy

------------------Fabregas------Diaby--------Rosicky------------------

V. Persie---------------------------------------------------------Robinho

---------------------------------Henry-----------------------------------

Subs: Almunia, Djourou, Hleb, Gilberto, Adebayor

I don't know about you, but I'm drooling!

Match Preview: Everton v Arsenal

2007-03-18T08:58:00.000Z

On Wednesday night, gooners were very pleased with the win at Villa Park, despite it not being pretty. It has come to the stage of the season where it doesn't matter how you get results, as long as you get them. And Arsenal proved that, by beating Aston Villa 1-0 courtesy of Abou Diaby's 'fluke' goal. A Julio Baptista shot was heading wide, until Diaby stuck out a foot to divert it home. But The Gunners deserved their bit of luck. Today, they travel to Goodison Park, the home of Everton, which is sure to be another tough encounter.

Despite having a few players back in the squad, Arsene Wenger is still missing key players, especially on the attacking front. Thierry Henry, Robin Van Persie and Theo Walcott are all out for the majority of the season, as well as Emmanuel Adebayor who is suspended for today's clash. Emmanuel Eboue is also suspended but Kolo Toure and Alex Hleb return from suspension and injury respectively. Tomas Rosicky will be pushing for a start after coming on as a sub against Villa, following his injury. So leading the attack, again for Arsenal, are two men with a point to prove. Jeremie Aliadiere, who is likely to be sold in the summer due to his below-par performances, is out to show why Mr Wenger has kept faith in him. His partner in crime is Julio Baptista. 'The Beast' has not yet lived up to his potential, but has shown glimpses of things to come. A four goal haul at Anfield, a brace at White Hart Lane and some impressive dribbling, his mazing run and shot at Old Trafford springs to mind. The Brazilian is on loan at The Emirates and has expressed his desire to stay permanently, but still needs to prove that he is worth the potential £13m price tag on his shoulders, and a goal today might just secure his place at Arsenal next season.

Everton are without key midfielder, Tim Cahill for the rest of the campaign, but still have Mikel Arteta and Andy Johnson who pose great threats. The latter nearly joined the Gunners in the summer, but the price put Arsene Wenger off. Le Boss believes he will be a leading striker for England in the future: "I think Andy is a player who can help England, he is a good striker because of the timing and quality of his runs, his fantastic team ethic and the fact he never gives up. He can be one of the players who can compliment Wayne Rooney because Rooney is more of a second striker who can make the runs and you need another striker who can stretch the defence. Andy Johnson is one of those along with Michael Owen."

Team Prediction:
----------------------------------Lehmann----------------------------------
Hoyte---------------------Toure-----------Gallas---------------------Clichy
Ljungberg----------------Gilberto---------Fabregas-----------------Rosicky
--------------------------Baptista---------Aliadiere-------------------------

Score Prediction:
Everton 1-1 Arsenal

Scorers: Johnson and Ljungberg

Match Review: Arsenal 1-1 PSV (1-2 agg.)

2007-03-14T17:59:00.000Z

Ok, sorry that this is EXTREMELY late, I've been very busy lately, but hey, better late than never! Looks like The Gunners' season is over. Out of the FA Cup, Champions League and have no chance of winning the Premiership title. I hate being negative but I'm afraid it's true.

Like it has been for the entire season, Arsenal dominated. The first chance coming from Kolo Toure, who lashed his shot into the sidenetting. There were not many opportunities, some half chances, like when Fabregas sent Adebayor through, only for Gomes to collect fairly easily, but you could tell Arsenal were in the driving seat. An acrobatic effort from Baptista flew just over the bar, before another overhead kick from the Brazilian went inches wide, even closer than the first one.

In the second half, the breakthrough came. Denilson's corner flashed across the face of goal, for Alex, the rock in the PSV defence, to turn into his own net. The Emirates was rocking. And the fantastic away support was silenced by the brilliant Arsenal atmosphere. The Gunners were flying. Just minutes later, Salcido misjudged a long ball from the back, letting Arsenal's main threat, Emmanuel Adebayor burst through. You would have put your house on him scoring, but the Togo striker fired his volley straight at Gomes. Then, Julio Baptista left the pitch, recieving an ovation in the process. But it was nothing compared to his replacement, Henry's. The crowd showed their appreciation to the skipper by erupting into noise, silencing the few stupid people that doubt the Frenchman's ability. And King Henry proved it. He curled a sensational free kick towards the top corner, only for Gomes to tip over in style. It looked like extra time was coming, until Hleb gave away a cheap free kick out wide. It swung in, past the helpless Arsenal defence for, ironically, Alex to power home a header. He had scored at both ends but that wouldn't bother him, he had secured PSV a place in the Quarter-Finals. The travelling Dutch fans went mental. Thierry and co as well as the fans were simply shell-shocked.

So now, The Gunners have just one thing to fight for, a very unlikely 2nd place spot in the Premiership. It was one of the worst nights I have experienced.

Match Preview: Arsenal v PSV

2007-03-07T15:44:00.000Z

The crunch match. Round II... fight! PSV Eindhoven travel to The Emirates in a huge Champions League clash that will decide Arsenal's season. The Dutch Champions have a 1-0 advantage from the first leg so The Gunners need to win by two clear goals to qualify for the Quarter-Finals.

Arsenal are aided with a huge boost, inspirational captain Thierry Henry is fit to start against PSV this evening. Manu Adebayor and Kolo Toure are also avaliable, as their suspensions only apply to domestic competitions. However, Tomas Rosicky, Justin Hoyte, Phillipe Senderos, Manu Eboue, Mathieu Flamini and Robin Van Persie are all still injured. As for PSV, dangerous striker Jefferson Farfan returns from injury. But they also have injury problems. The hero of the first leg, Manuel da Costa is out as well as former Liverpool flop Jan Kromkamp. Gomes, Cocu, Salcido and Alex all face late fitness tests but are expected to play.

Team Prediction:
--------------------------------Lehmann----------------------------------
Djourou----------------Toure-------------Gallas--------------------Clichy
Hleb------------------Gilberto-----------Fabregas--------------Ljungberg
---------------------------------Baptista----------------------------------
----------------------------------Henry----------------------------------

Score Prediction:
Arsenal 2-0 PSV

Scorers: Hleb and Henry

Lupoli is off while Bendtner stays put

2007-03-06T16:39:00.000Z

Two of Arsenal's most promising youngsters have announced where they hope their future will lie. Italian striker Arturo Lupoli (left) will return to his home country to join Fiorentina, as his current contract at Arsenal runs out in the summer. Lupoli has been on loan at Derby this season and has helped them climb up to 2nd in the Championship. It is a shame to lose him as in the reserves and Carling Cup games which fans may have seen, the Italian has looked good. In 2004 he netted two against Everton in the Carling Cup, showing the huge potential that he possesses. Defrby's promotion rivals, Birmingham also have an Arsenal loanee on their books. Danish striker, Nicklas Bendtner has revealed that he intends to stay with The Gunners when he returns from his loan. This is good news as Bendtner is as good if not better than Lupoli, so Arsene Wenger will have an army of strikers next season, including: Henry, Van Persie, Adebayor, Bendtner, Walcott, Aliadiere and Baptista as well if his move becomes permanent. Bendtner quoted: "This is a fantastic experience for me, but I'm an Arsenal player, it is still my ambition to break into the Arsenal team and I hope to do that next season. "I believe I could play in this Arsenal team, otherwise I wouldn't be going back. It's going to be tough, because there are some great strikers at the club, but I can compete for a place."

Match Review: Arsenal 2-1 Reading

2007-03-03T20:30:00.000Z

Arsene Wenger's side are back to winning ways, but it was a tough encounter at The Emirates. Reading put up a real fight and it was a pleasant surprise to see a team play 'real football' or the free-flowing attacking style, whatever you want to call it. This win was just what Arsenal needed, three points and a big boost for Wednesday's Champions League showdown with PSV.

The Gunners started brightly. Theo Walcott had an effort saved within a minute and looked really lively, partnering Julio Baptista up front. Then on 13 minutes, Baptista swiveled and fired a low shot just wide of Marcus Hahnemann's post. Arsenal clearly had the upper hand and showed it with lots of quick, neat passing through midfield. However, just before half time, a huge chance went begging. Baptista surged into the box, shrugging off defenders in the process, and had only the keeper to beat. The Brazilian unselfishly passed to Fabregas who, unbelievably, miscued his shot and wasted a golden opportunity. The goal was gaping. A simple tap-in, but the young Spaniard had made a hash of it. However, this had overshadowed another stunning performance by the midfielder.

And he proved it early on in the second period. He had a magnificent, curling shot saved brilliantly by the Reading keeper, Hahnemann. Just minutes later, Gael Clichy galloped forward from left back and was clipped by Andre Bikey in the area. Penalty! At last a decision had gone Arsenal's way! Stand-in skipper, Gilberto stepped up and cooly slotted the spot kick into the bottom corner. Then, 10 minutes later, Denilson sprinted from inside his own half before finding Baptista. He outmuscled Murty before poking his shot home to make it 2-0. You could tell by the Brazilian's recent performances that he was going to score. Finally, The Gunners had time to relax.

Until the 86th minute. A corner was flicked on by Ingimarsson for Cesc Fabregas to turn into his own net. The pressure was on. And in stoppage time, former gooner, Steve Sidwell nearly equalised. His shot was saved remarkably by Lehmann to ensure that Arsene Wenger's men would go home happy, with three points in the bag.

Match Ratings:
Lehmann: Not tested until the end. Super save to deny Sidwell (7)
Djourou: Looked comfortable despite being out of position. Solid at the back (7)
Gallas: Brings vital experience to the defence. A rock at the back (7)
Gilberto: Placed his penalty perfectly but was rather quiet during the game (7)
Clichy: Made some brilliant runs from the back, such an attacking threat (8)
Hleb: Excellent first half, faded in the second (7)
Denilson: Showed glimpses of his class but was very quiet (6)
Fabregas: Despite two major errors he was superb. Pulled all the strings from midfield (8)
Ljungberg: Worked his socks off. Fantastic display (8) MAN OF THE MATCH
Baptista: So pleased for him. Turning into a very good player (7)
Walcott: Was brilliant early on but eventually faded (7)

Diaby: Showed some sensational footwork when he came on. A huge prospect (6)
Aliadiere: Struggled to get into the game, but then again, had little time (5)
Senderos: Not enough time. Perhaps at fault for the goal? (5)

Match Preview: Arsenal v Reading

2007-03-03T10:07:00.000Z

Another game, another big game in a roller coaster ride of a season. The Gunners really need a win to get their season back on track. It was all going so well until three defeats on he bounce left Arsene Wenger's side in big, big trouble. Today is a real test of the kids' confidence. Are they mentally strong enough to put the previous games behind them? Can they maintain the unbeaten record at The Emirates? So many questions, so little time to think.

You would have thought being unbeaten at home, against Reading, the team we thrashed 4-0 at The Madejski Stadium, would be an easy win, but you would be stupid to write The Royals off. They nearly came back from 3-0 down in midweek against Manchester United, showing that they have character. Plus there is the small problem that half the squad are unavaliable for the game due to injuries and suspensions. The only good news being that Abou Diaby and Johan Djourou are back.

3rd place Liverpool entertain league leaders Manchester United this lunchtime, a game in which Arsenal will be paying close attention to. The Gunners are 4 points behind Liverpool with 2 games in hand, so should both United and Arsenal win, it would boost Arsenal's chances of finishing 3rd or even second dramatically.

Team Prediction:
---------------------------------Lehmann--------------------------------
Gallas----------------Senderos-------------Djourou----------------Clichy
Hleb-----------------Fabregas-------------Gilberto------------Ljungberg
----------------------Aliadiere-------------Baptista----------------------

Score Prediction:
Arsenal 2-1 Reading

Scorers: Baptista, Hleb and Lita

Match Review: Blackburn 1-0 Arsenal

2007-03-03T08:56:00.000Z

Well, it left us shell shocked. It was the third consecutive match which The Gunners dominated but lost. So what are we left with now? 4th in the league, we lost the Carling Cup Final, we're 1-0 in the Champions League and have just been dumped out of the FA Cup. It's amazing how a season can change in a week, isn't it?

It was another frustrating game, but the same old story for the unlucky gunners - dominating the match only to be beaten by constantly fantastic goalkeeping and a late winner. Yep, not surprisingly Brad Friedel was on form and The Young Guns couldn't beat the American keeper. The first chance came after 26 minutes, when Ljungberg sent in a deep cross from the right. The Blackburn defence misjudged it and Baptista opted to chest the ball down instead of planting a firm header on goal. The Brazilian made a hash of it, and it proved to be costly. Then Arsenal had two big penalty shouts turned down. Jeremie Aliadiere rounded Friedel before being brought down by the keeper. But Graham Poll gave a goal kick. That was followed by Freddie Ljungberg being bundled over by Brett Emerton. The Australian was pulling Ljungberg down as well as having a kick at his legs. Any other decent ref with a brain would have agreed that this was a penalty. But no, this was the fat, hopeless, brainless idiot we call Graham Poll so we might as well have not complained. If you could not tell by my anger, this was not Mr Poll's first mistake in his refereeing career. To be perfectly honest, I don't know why this guy still has his job!

Julio Baptista was again at the heart of another Arsenal chance. A free-kick was swung in but The Beast headed over when he should have scored. It was not going to be his night. This was followed by another half-chance. Denilson slid a great ball through only for Ljungberg's touch to let him down and the ball rolled into Friedel's arms.

Despite Baptista not being at his goalscoring best, it was clear to see that he is adapting to the English game brilliantly. His awful first touch has improved and his ability to drop deep and dictate the play has made him become a crucial part of the side. This has all come down to Arsene Wenger's faith to give him a long run in the side. And he proved that he, like any Brazilian, is a showboating king. A lovely 'roulette turn' left the Blackburn defence for dead. He then fired a serving shot from 40 yards but Friedel matched this piece of excellence by tipping it past the post. Both managers made changes. Wenger brought on Theo Walcott for Eboue and reshuffled his pack with Gilberto moving to centre back, Senderos filling in at right back and Hleb slotting into central midfield. Blackburn boss, Mark Hughes replaced Nonda with McCarthy and Tugay with David Dunn. This was the turning point.

Arsene Wenger seemed to have made one of his extremely rare tactical mistakes. Phillipe Senderos had looked shaky all night, so switching him to right-back wasn't wise. With less than five minutes left, Blackburn went on the attack. Subsitute Benni McCarthy cut inside Senderos too easily as the Swiss defender slipped over. Then the South African striker fired a stunning strike past the helpless Almunia, into the top corner. That was it, the FA Cup dream was over. And now The Gunners need a miracle to turn their season around. A huge game against Reading is next followed by probably our biggest game of the season - the Champions League return leg at The Emirates. So let's hope and pray our season doesn't end in tears come May.

Match Preview: Blackburn v Arsenal

2007-02-28T17:48:00.000Z

After the dull 0-0 draw at The Emirates, it is time for the FA Cup 5th Round replay at Ewood Park. Despite being knocked out of Europe, Blackburn will be on a high after beating Portsmouth 3-0 at the weekend. Arsenal on the other hand, will be short of confidence after two consecutive defeats against PSV and Chelsea respectively.

The Gunners have almost enough players out to make an injured XI! With Henry, Rosicky, Van Persie and Diaby injured as well as Walcott, Hoyte and Flamini who are major doubts. Plus, Toure and Adebayor will play out their three match bans following the dismissals against Chelsea. Blackburn have Benni McCarthy back, another worrying sign for Arsenal. But with such a small squad avaliable, Arsene Wenger might have to play some almost unknowns on the bench. Mark Randall is likely to be one of a few lucky kids to be in the squad.

Team Prediction:
----------------------------------Almunia------------------------------------
Eboue-------------------Senderos----------Gallas---------------------Clichy
Hleb--------------------Denilson----------Gilberto----------------Ljungberg
-------------------------Aliadiere---------Baptista--------------------------

Score Prediction:
Blackburn 0-1 Arsenal

Scorer: Baptista

Match Review: Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea

2007-02-25T19:19:00.000Z

Today, many gooners and Chelski 'fans' witnessed arguably the best game played at The Millenium Stadium. Yes, it ended in defeat but we can be proud of the fantastic spirit of our rising stars, besides the outfield players had an average age of 21! It was a game that had pretty much everything: injuries, red cards, bust-ups and some cracking goals.

The game started well, The Gunners looked comfortable, passing the ball around well, making Chelsea do all the work. The first shot was a Cesc Fabregas effort which was easily saved by Petr Cech. Then, Julio Baptista's stinging shot was well saved by the Czech international as he tipped it round the post. A goal was coming. You could sense it. And after 12 minutes, there was a moment for all gooners to cheer. Theo Walcott picked up a loose ball from a cleared corner, before playing a neat pass to Abou Diaby. The Frenchman then returned the favour, by shrugging off a defender and slipping an exquisite ball through for Walcott to curl past Cech. It was the 17 year-old's first goal for Arsenal, and boy, what a time to score it! Then a few minutes later, Walcott raced down the wing, skipping past Bridge in the process, before cutting it back for Baptista. The Brazilian was brought down in the box by Diarra, but the ref waved away the protests. In all honesty, there wasn't much in it. That was followed by another controversial decision. The in-form Didier Drogba latched onto a through ball, before cooly slotting past Manuel Almunia. But the replays showed that the Ivorian striker was possibly offside. Another tough call but again it was six of one, and half a dozen of another. Chelsea were looking promising. Diarra and Essien were constantly attacking down the right, trying to take advantage of Arsenal left-back, Armand Traore's inexperience. But the young Frenchman coped brilliantly and even started some attcks of his own. Kolo Toure was preventing all attacks from the men in Blue, it was a fantastic, open game.

The second half started brightly too, with Denilson and Diaby bossing the midfield, life was hard for Chelsea. Cesc Fabregas saw his shot, from an acute angle, flash inches past the keeper's post. But then the game turned ugly. The ball was thrown into the Arsenal box and Chelsea skipper, John Terry was ready to nod the ball home. But a super challenge from the star of the show, Diaby prevented the England captain a goal. However, Diaby's boot had caught Terry in the process. The inspirational Chelsea centre back was left unconcious and the unfortunate guilt of Diaby was there for all to see. The Frenchman's foot was high and he had accidently kicked Terry in the face after making the challenge. A touching shot of the distraught Gunners midfielder summed up the sportsmanship in the Arsenal camp. Even Arsenal physio, Gary Lewin was on hand to help the flattened, Terry. So any abuse against Diaby would be extremely unfair as it was clearly an unfortunate accident. Thankfully, the Chelsea defender is now conscious and in good shape.

Then Frank Lampard's 30 yard screamer rattled the crossbar and from then on, Chelsea were dominating. And their patience paid off. Substitue Arjen Robben's cross was sublime and Drogba leaped brilliantly to thump a powerful header past Almunia. This was immediatly followed by Andriy Shevchenko hitting the bar, when the Ukranian probably should have scored. With seven minutes of added time, there was time for a bust-up. Jon Obi Mikel tugged Toure's shirt and war broke out. The ref brandished three red cards, with Toure Mikel and Adebayor all being dismissed. So a bitter end to a great Arsenal performance. But we'll get em next time!

Match Ratings:

Almunia: Could have done better for the first goal but made no clear mistakes. Solid (6)
Hoyte: Fairly quiet down the right. Looked a bit off the pace (5)
Toure: Unlike him to react like he did. Overshadowed another excellent display (7)
Senderos: Solid at the back. Although he scored two goals, he kept Drogba at bay (7)
Traore: Gets better and better. But couldn't cope with Robben (7)
Walcott: So glad he scored. Silenced the doubters with a sublime display (8)
Denilson: It's astonishing the way he has settled in. You'd think he was 28 (7)
Fabregas: Maybe he's burning out? A very average display from the top dog (6)
Diaby: Sensational. Here, there and everywhere. And you could see how upset he was when JT got injured (9) MAN OF THE MATCH
Aliadiere: Didn't see much of the ball but worked very hard for the team (6)
Baptista: Quiet but did well. Could have won a penalty and was only denied a goal by Cech (6)

Eboue: Not enough time (5)
Hleb: Not enough time (5)
Adebayor: I don't know what happened but he must have done something stupid (3)

Carling Cup Injury News

2007-02-25T13:07:00.000Z

There seems to be constant bad news on the injury front for Arsenal, ahead of this afternoon's Carling Cup Final in Cardiff. The news that Chelsea captain John Terry is fit to start, is a real pain as he is arguably the best defender on the planet, meaning it will take a lot of effort from Aliadiere and co to break down the Chelsea defence. Also, there are rumours that today's big cup showdown will be Theo Walcott's last game of the season. The 17 year old has been struggling with a shoulder problem ever since he joined The Gunners, last January. And the News Of The World say that the injury is too big for the English prospect to shake off. Perhaps it does explain the reason for Walcott's recent dip in form. But it would be a huge blow to lose him for the rest of the campaign.

Carling Cup Final: Chelsea v Arsenal

2007-02-24T13:55:00.000Z

So, here we are, the last cup final (we hope) to be played in Cardiff. And what a game it should be. That's right it's Chelsea v Arsenal in the Carling Cup Final. This competition has been known as 'The Worthless Cup' in the past, but suddenly, from an Arsenal point of view at least, it has become an important part of the season. Yep, this is the first League Cup Final to be played under Wenger. But what makes it special, is Le Boss' policy of playing a mixture of youth and fringe players in the competition. And these lads are something special.

The 'Arsenal B Team' have done wonders this season, so let's recap on their journey to The Millennium Stadium. Firstly The Gunners travelled to The Hawthorns, where young French striker, Jeremie Aliadiere netted a brace in a game which Arsenal dominated, finishing in a 2-0 win. Then they went to Goodison Park, the home of Everton. The Young Guns left it late, but deserved the 1-0 win after Emmanuel Adebayor headed home with 5 minutes left on the clock. This was followed by an extraordinary game on the other side of Merseyside. Mr Wenger's side prodced one of the best performances in the club's history, a tremendous 6-3 victory over Liverpool at Anfield. Aliadiere opened the scoring and then went on to play a huge part in the win. Robbie Fowler equalised minutes later, before Julio Baptista's sublime free kick flew past the keeper. Alex Song and Baptista again scored to give the visitors a 4-1 lead at the interval. The Gunners came out strong in the second half, too. Baptista saw his penalty well saved, but did complete his hat-trick by firing past Dudek from 25 yards, after Aliadiere set him up brilliantly. Goals from Gerrard and Hyypia gave the home side some hope, but Baptista netted his fourth and Arsenal's sixth to kill the game off. Then they travelled to White Hart Lane, the home of fierce rivals, Tottenham. An early goal from Berbatov was followed by Baptista putting the ball in his own net, giving Spurs a 2-0 lead and a mountain for Arsenal to climb. But the Brazilian made amends, by netting two at the right end in the second half, to give The Gunners a slight advantage going into the second leg at Ashburton Grove. Emmanuel Adebayor gave Arsenal the lead before a late equaliser from Mido sent the tie into extra time. But goals from Aliadiere and a Chimbonda own goal put them into the final.

So it was a rollercoaster ride to get to the Millenium Stadium, but can The Gunners pull off a win against the Premirship Champions? Well, Arsenal have a boost knowing that John Terry is out and Arjen Robben faces a fitness test. Justin Hoyte also faces a late fitness test afer missing the Champions League defeat at PSV. Chelsea will be playing their strongest possible team, so Arsene Wenger's wonderkids face a really tough test.

Team Predictions:
---------------------------------Cech---------------------------------------
Diarra----------------Carvalho---------Essien-----------------------Bridge
-------------------------------Makelele------------------------------------
----------Mikel----------------Ballack--------------Lampard--------------
--------------------Shevchenko-------Drogba------------------------------

--------------------Aliadiere----------Adebayor---------------------------
------------------------------Baptista-------------------------------------
Diaby------------------------Denilson-----------------------------Walcott
Traore-------------Djourou------------Toure-----------------------Hoyte
------------------------------Almunia-------------------------------------

Score Prediction:

Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal

Scorer: Walcott

The Mystery of Thierry

2007-02-23T17:00:00.000Z

Everybody knows that Thierry Henry is the best player in the world (the Ronaldinho fans should be shot). But recently the Arsenal skipper has become inconsistent. Henry started the season slowly, but who can blame him after a marathon of games the previous year. He led The Gunners to the Champions League Final as well as playing a big part in France's journey to the World Cup final. So Arsene Wenger rested the inspirational Frenchman, on the basis that he was tired and supposedly injured

It took Arsenal time to find their feet without Henry but eventually, a stunning burst of form arrived. The impressive Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin Van Persie were scoring goals for fun, making The Gunners look a better team without their skipper. Then the famous no 14 shirt was back in the team and Thierry returned to the explosive form that us gooners have become to expect. Henry scored goals against Charlton, Liverpool and Blackburn and of course that famous late winner at home to Manchester United, that still sends shivers down my spine. Thierry was back. Another late goal, this time at Middlesbrough, proved that the Arsenal captain had not lost his touch.

However, since that game at The Riverside, Henry was back to his 'start of season form'. Poor, frustrating displays against Wigan, Blackburn and PSV had gooners worrying. What had happened? Well, Thierry has responded to these questions: "I've been playing with a bad foot for two weeks now." But I like to go out there even if I'm not 100% fit. It is affecting me but I want to help the team." Apparently the frenchman has ankle ligament damage. But putting this 'brave soldier' attitude aside, why would he carrying on playing with a bad injury like that? Has he not informed Mr Wenger until now? And there will be much debate about this. Some may suggest it is an excuse but as for me, I am behind Henry all the way. I may criticise his performances but still love him as much as the next gooner.

Match Review: PSV 1-0 Arsenal

2007-02-21T17:26:00.000Z

A night of frustration, pain and embarrassment was experienced in Eindhoven, making it two horrific performances from The Arsenal in just four days. In a game that wasn't a spectacle itself, there were few chances for Arsene Wenger's side to score. The PSV defence was solid. Alex and Da Costa were rocks at the back, and it didn't help Thierry Henry's troops that the Dutch champions had a giant of a keeper that was pretty decent. The keeper, Gomes, was stunning. Making many good saves to deny the gunners.

The game started slowly, and there was no real action until the 12th minute. Tomas Rosicky beautifully exchanged passes with Henry, before firing a low drive on goal, only for it to be saved remarkably by the Brazilian, Gomes. But the ball was still moving and could have gone in, had Carlos Salcido not cleared. Arouna Kone caused havoc with his tireless running and trickery, but never produced a clear-cut chance for the home side. Henry and Rosicky both had close, curling shots before the interval but that was about it.

Arsenal had played fairly well in the first half, dominating and keeping it simple. But it all changed. The gunners came out a different team, looking tired, sloppy and disinterested. PSV looked hungry. Despite being so defensive, they had a brief attacking spell, and for them, it proved to be successful. First, a long ball from the back found Kone, who volleyed a harmless shot wide. But Eindhoven broke through, with Kone not surprisingly at the source of it. The Ivorian striker found Ecuador's Edison Mendez, who fired a low, skidding volley past the helpless Lehmann from 30 yards. The pain was unbearable. But Arsenal responded well, a fierce strike from Cesc Fabregas was well tipped over by Gomes. A tame free kick from Baptista was about the only other chance on a disappointing night for all Gooners.

Match Ratings:
Lehmann: No chance for the goal but was never really called upon (5)
Gallas: Lacks match fitness. Looked way off the pace (5)
Toure: Dealt with the little PSV threat (6)
Senderos: Very poor. Too slow and not strong enough. Cygan II? Let's hope not! (4)
Clichy: Quiet but was so cool on the ball (6)
Hleb: Remarkably quiet. A shadow of the player from The Reebok (5)
Gilberto: Kept the midfield together despite being quiet (6)
Fabregas: Unusually, poor. Not like him. Needs a rest? (5)
Rosicky: The most lively player. In good form at the mo, unlucky not to score (8)
Henry: A few good touches but still not at his best (6)
Adebayor: Was he playing? (5)

Baptista: Unfortunately, just seems to be a Carling Cup player (5)

FA Cup 6th Round Draw

2007-02-19T17:07:00.000Z

After the dull encouter at The Emirates, Arsenal will have to play Blackburn at Ewood Park in an FA Cup 5th round replay. Should the gunners win however, there is a date with Manchester City waiting in the quarter finals. The Quarter final games will take place on the 10th and 11th of March, squeezed in between the games against PSV and Aston Villa.

Here is the Draw in full:
Middlesbrough/West Brom v Manchester United/Reading
Arsenal/Blackburn v Manchester City
Chelsea v Tottenham
Plymouth v Watford

Match Preview: PSV Eindhoven v Arsenal

2007-02-19T17:02:00.000Z

Usually, all gooners would be excited about the return of the Champions League. But this is not the case. Arsenal's hectic fixture list means there are a possibility of 7 matches in 3 weeks! So a big European match is just what Arsenal didn't need.

Arsene Wenger has named an interesting squad for the game, with no recognisable right back included. Theo Walcott and Abou Diaby are also not included, maybe to rest them for the Carling Cup Final on Sunday. Here is the 18 man squad:
1 Jens Lehmann
4 Cesc Fabregas
5 Kolo Toure
6 Philippe Senderos
7 Tomas Rosicky
8 Fredrik Ljungberg
9 Julio Baptista
10 William Gallas
13 Alexander Hleb
14 Thierry Henry
15 Denilson
16 Mathieu Flamini
19 Gilberto
20 Johan Djourou
22 Gael Clichy
24 Manuel Almunia
25 Emmanuel Adebayor
30 Jeremie Aliadiere

But there are some possible candidates for the right-back spot. Johan Djourou, Kolo Toure, William Gallas and Mathieu Flamini have all played there in their careers. PSV have injury headaches though, with Michael Reizeger, Patrick Kluivert and a few others missing through injury. But the Dutch champions should not be underrated. The deadly strike partnership of Arouna Kone and Jefferson Farfan will be a big test for the Arsenal defence.

It will be interesting to see what formation Le Boss plays as well. Will he stick with the reliable 4-4-2 or go back to last year's winning combination of 4-5-1? Well that's for him to know and for us to find out...

Team Prediction:
------------------------------Lehmann------------------------------
Djourou----------------Toure---------Gallas------------------Clichy
Hleb------------------Fabregas--------Gilberto--------------Rosicky
----------------------Adebayor---------Henry-----------------------

Score Prediction:
PSV 1-1 Arsenal

Scorers: Kone and Adebayor

Match Review: Arsenal 0-0 Blackburn

2007-02-17T18:15:00.000Z

Another FA Cup replay is required after a frustrating goalless draw at The Emirates. Blackburn came to defend and credit to them, that's exactly what they did. To the delight of the Arsenal faithful, William Gallas returned to the starting XI after almost three months on the sidelines. The versatile defender put in a solid performance before being substituted on 60 minutes. Few chances came Arsenal's way, especially in the first half when the only notable opportunity fell to Thierry Henry, who volleyed over when he probably should have scored. That was about it for the first 45.

The second half was slightly better with Theo Walcott's low drive hitting the side netting before Blackburn substitute, Matt Derbyshire's lob was well tipped over by Manuel Almunia. Then, Jeremie Aliadiere was brought down in the box by Stephen Warnock, but the referee waved play on. Tomas Rosicky came close when his snapshot went narrowly wide of Brad Friedel's post. But then the American keeper would save the day for Blackburn. Adebayor crossed from the left, for Henry to flick up before executing a lofted shot which was majestically saved by Freidel's fingertips. He then managed to block Justin Hoyte’s follow-up with his legs. But all in all it was a dull encounter, and yet another game to add to the already hectic fixture list.

Match Ratings:
Almunia: Did well to tip Derbyshire's lob over but was never troubled (6)
Hoyte: Unlucky not to score at the end (6)
Toure: Had nothing to do but did make some good runs out of defence (6)
Senderos: Made some good tackles, but he wasn't tested (6)
Gallas: Great to have him back. Solid performance (6)
Walcott: Disappointing. No end product to his runs (5)
Fabregas: Almost anonymous. Had very few touches (5)
Flamini: Also very quiet. Did well when called upon (6)
Ljungberg: Worked hard but saw very little of the ball (6)
Aliadiere: Also worked hard. Should have won a penalty as well (6)
Henry: Very quiet but his workrate improved (6)

Clichy: Dealt with the little Blackburn threat well (5)
Rosicky: Looked mostlikely to do anything. Had a couple of shots but nothing big (6)
Adebayor: Very quiet when he came on (5)

Match Preview: Arsenal v Blackburn

2007-02-16T10:25:00.000Z

After an impressive win at The Reebok, Arsenal entertain Blackburn in the 5th round of The FA Cup. Considering that Blackburn come from oop north, you would think that Arsenal would struggle against the Rovers. But that is not the case. The Gunners have done the 'double' over Blackburn this season in the Premiership, beating them 6-2 at The Emirates and 2-0 at Ewood Park. That said, it will not be an easy game. Gaffer Mark Hughes has created a side with a balance of strength and skill,and their main threat will be the strikeforce of Benni McCarthy and Shabani Nonda.

Arsene Wenger says he will rotate his team a bit and with the depth of the squad at the moment, it will be exciting to see who Le Boss will play.

Team Prediction:
------------------------Lehmann-----------------------------
Hoyte------------Toure--------Senderos---------------Clichy
Walcott---------Gilberto-------Fabregas-----------Ljungberg
-----------------Henry--------Aliadiere-----------------------

Score Prediction:
Arsenal 2-1 Blackburn

Scorers: Aliadiere, Walcott and Pedersen

Match Review: Bolton 1-3 Arsenal

2007-02-15T19:12:00.000Z

Firstly, sorry that there was no review for the Wigan game or preview for this one. Anyway, lets cut to the chase, on a classic FA Cup tie at the Reebok.

Everyone knows Bolton are our bogey team and a win at their place comes very rarely. But the win did come. A 3-1 win after extra time - but it should have been over after 90 minutes. Arsenal welcomed back Alex Hleb to the side and what a difference he made. The Belarus international's quick feet and precise passing gave the Gunners the cutting edge and proved how important he is to the team. Mr Wenger decided to rest Jens Lehmann, Cesc Fabregas and Thierry Henry but we proved yet again that we can win without our talismanic striker.

On 13 minutes, Emmanuel Adebayor's deflected shot flew past the helpless Jaaskelainen, to finish a wonderful Arsenal move. Tomas Rosicky gave by far his best performance in an Arsenal shirt. He was cutting inside, making some delightful passes and linking up brilliantly with Gael Clichy down the left flank throughout the match. The makeshift midfield were awesome. Hleb also had one of his best performances and Abou Diaby was as solid as a rock at the heart of the team. As for Denilson, he just gets better. The kid is only 18 but looks the real deal. Strong, quick and fits in perfectly with Arsenal's flowing football. You just wonder how good this lad will be. But throughout the game, The Gunners were in total control, everyone playing their part.

Arsenal did get a wake-up call on the stroke of half time though, a sweet strike form Stelios left the woodwork shaking before the defence got rid of the danger. Bolton looked strong in the second half, until Tal Ben Haim brought down Julio Baptista in the box, penalty! Ben Haim was booked just before stand-in skipper, Gilberto blasted the penalty over the bar. Then with five minutes left, Adebayor dispossessed Campo before rounding the keeper and hitting the post. A golden opportunity to win it went begging. Then in the dying seconds, Diouf's corner was headed down by Campo for Abdoulaye Meite to steer home from close range. UNBELIEVABLE!

So extra time began, and Arsenal had used all their substitutes: Freddie Ljungberg, Justin Hoyte and Jerermie Aliadiere replaced Alex Hleb, Tomas Rosicky and Johan Djourou. And they made a huge impact. Aliadiere went on a magnificent run before releasing Ljungberg who steered a beautiful shot past Jaaskelainen. But there was still more drama. Ben Haim was sent off for a second yellow before Nicolas Anelka fouled Adebayor in the box, another penalty! Baptista stepped up, but like his fellow countryman, blasted the penalty into orbit. And then to end an action packed night, Baptista sprinted towards the goal, rounded Jaaskelainen and let Adebayor roll the ball into the unguarded net, for his second goal.

Match Ratings:
Almunia: Has become a reliable, consistent keeper (8)
Djourou: Fantastic considering he was injured (7)
Toure: Two words: A rock (8)
Gilberto: Quiet, but solid, despite skying a penalty (7)
Clichy: We've got the best left back in the world, CLICHY! (8)
Hleb: Stunning performance, great to see him back (9)
Denilson: Mark my words, this kid will be huge... (9)
Diaby: Looks more like Vieira every game, another great prospect (8)
Rosicky: Majestic display. Here, there and everywhere. (9) MAN OF THE MATCH
Adebayor: Work rate is brilliant and made up for missing that sitter with 2 goals (9)
Baptista: Made good runs but to be honest waasted the ball (6)

SUBS:
Hoyte: Solid in the little time he had on the pitch (7)
Ljungberg: Super sub! Fantastic goal, we still love you Freddie! (8)
Aliadiere: Changed the game. Please keep him Wenger! (8)

Match Preview: Arsenal v Wigan

2007-02-10T19:05:00.000Z

Relegation candidates Wigan travel to the Emirates on Sunday, following a win over Portsmouth. Despite eight consecutive defeats before that match, Wigan will be up for this, to try and extend the gap over West Ham (who lost to Watford) to eight points. But then again, so will Arsenal. With Newcastle beating Liverpool, The Gunners can significantly close the gap on the FA Cup holders, with a win tomorrow. In their previous encounter, back in December, a late Emmanuel Adebayor goal gave Arsenal the 3 points in a dull affair at The JJB Stadium.

Arsenal have some good news on the injury front, Abou Diaby and Julio Baptista are back in the squad as well as Johan Djourou who replaces the suspended Phillipe Senderos. So Freddie Ljungberg, Robin Van Persie, William Gallas, Alex Hleb and Emmanuel Eboue are the only players left on the sidelines and the latter two are very close to a return to action, so it's all good news for Gooners. As for Wigan, they welcome back Chris Kirkland, Leighton Baines and 'The Donkey' (aka Emile Heskey). I know I'm not the gaffer, but this is my prediction for the team line-up:
--------------------------Lehmann--------------------------
Hoyte-------------Toure-----------Djourou-----------Clichy
Walcott-----------Gilberto--------Fabregas----------Rosicky
-------------------Henry---------Adebayor------------------

And I'm going to go for an emphatic 5-0 win.
Goalscorers:

Henry (2), Adebayor, Rosicky, Fabregas

We've got Cesc Fabregas!

2007-02-10T13:45:00.000Z

There's no doubt that Cesc Fabregas is a good player. In fact you would be mad to name a better teenager than the Spaniard. Despite being just 19 years old, Fabregas is one of the best players in the whole world. I know I am biased, but for me, he is the complete player. He can tackle, play defence-splitting passes, head, shoot and run and run and run. If he could just score a few more goals then he would get even more praise. Anyway, the reason I am writing this is to congratulate him on his latest award: The Barclays Player of the Month for January.

Fabregas has become consistent this season and his stunning displays last month have earned him the award. Cesc put in class performances during January against Charlton, Liverpool, Blackburn, Manchester United, Bolton and Tottenham. But the strange thing about this was that Cesc didn't win the club award but won the Player of the Month for the Premiership! Brazilian, Julio Baptista won the arsenal.com award for his goals in the Carling Cup. With Baptista and Diaby back in the squad, everyone will be confident for tomorrows match with Wigan.

The USA Week

2007-02-10T12:54:00.000Z

This week has been quite eventful. Is it the mid-week internationals? Which included the embarrassing England defeat to Spain? Well that's not the point of this particular article. It is a week when the USA got involved in 'soccer' a lot more...

Over the last 3 years or so, we have seen Chelsea, Manchester United, Aston Villa, West Ham and Portsmouth all become taken over by foreign investors. And there was a new addition to the 'Investment Club' if that's what you want to call it. The team I am talking about is Liverpool. American duo, George Gillett and Tom Hicks have successfully completed a takeover and vow to make Liverpool one of the biggest clubs on the planet. The Reds' gaffer, Rafa Benitez will be given a huge amount of money for transfers, which the Spaniard is likely to waste, like he did with players such as Jermaine Pennant, Craig Bellamy, Mark Gonzalez etc. This leaves us as the only 'Big 4' team which has not been taken over by foreigners.

Then Arsenal were involved with America. The Mighty Gunners confirmed a technical link with MLS side, Colorado Rapids. The American outfit will train in England during March and the two teams will host an annual tournament consisting of themselves and possibly more MLS clubs. Arsene Wenger has dismissed reports of a possible take over and stated that it was just a link to help both teams financially. Arsenal will become popular in the states and can give young players some experience by loaning them out to Colorado. Arsenal have two other 'Feeder clubs' to help with problems: Belgian side Beveren and Spaniards Celta Vigo. So this link is definitely a positive sign for both teams, as long as it doesn't end in the Club being bought.

Justin time to make an impact

2007-02-07T18:29:00.000Z

Gooners have seen that many Arsenal players have improved over the season, such as Alex Hleb and Emmanuel Adebayor. But perhaps the most improved player at the club is England U21 star Justin Hoyte.

Justin has become a solid defender this season, as well as the perfect understudy for Emmanuel Eboue. With the latter being an explosive attacking threat, Hoyte is quite different. Despite having blistering pace, he is a better defensive option, with his ability to make crucial tackles before starting an attacking move. And his sudden burst of maturity and consistency could not have come at a better time. After the sale of Lauren, a crucial part of our recent success, there are only two natural right-backs: Eboue and Hoyte. And after seeing Eboue getting injured fairly regularly, Justin has slotted into that position perfectly.

Hoyte spent the whole of last season on loan at Sunderland, but it looked like the English youngster would be sold in the summer, following in the footsteps of players such as David Bentley and Jermaine Pennant, who went on loan in the past before demanding first team football and moving on. But this was not the case. A mixture of Hoyte's admirable patience and the faith from Arsene Wenger has kept him at the club.

Justin is a perfect example of an unsung hero. Not noticed by many for his superb attitude and commitment to the club, but in my eyes, Justin is an important part of our team. Sure, I'd still put Eboue ahead of him, but I would be upset to see this lad go. He still has lots to learn as well as being an English player which these days are rare at Arsenal. So Justin broke the 'Loan Curse' and looks like a solid, promising defender, so why let him go? Keep it up, Justin!

Unleash The Beast

2007-02-06T17:52:00.000Z

Julio Baptista ('The Beast') has recently shown what he is capable of, with 6 goals in his last 2 starts. That is an astonishing achievement, even in the Carling Cup. And with the unfortunate loss of Robin Van Persie, when Baptista returns from injury in the next week or so, surely he must be given a go.

The Brazilian is a natural goalscorer, telling by his record of 50 goals in 2 seasons at Spanish outfit, Seville. And his recent success in front of goal has given the gaffer a real selection headache. Thierry Henry is still the first name on the team sheet, but Mr Wenger now has the 'trouble' of selecting a strike partner for the Frenchman. With Van Persie injured, Emmanuel Adebayor (based on recent form) seems like Wenger's first choice partner for Henry. The other options are Theo Walcott, Jeremie Aliadiere and Julio Baptista. But despite being a fan of Adebayor's work rate and sudden consistency, I think The Beast should be given a run in the side, maybe him and Adebayor could rotate for the privilege of playing with the inspirational Frenchman, until Rockin' Robin returns.

Henry seems to get on well with Adebayor, judging by the pairs' pathetic dance after either of them scores a goal. But The Beast can only be The Beast if he is given an opportunity. He could be the key to some consistency in the team, maybe by scoring another 10 goals before the end of the season will help us push for 2nd place and maybe the even the title...

2006/07: The season so far...

2007-02-05T18:58:00.000Z

Well, firstly welcome to my blog on the mighty Arsenal. Hopefully you will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.

The Season
Well, what an eventful campaign it has been so far. So many ups and downs throughout these past months that have left all gooners on the edge of their seats. So I suppose we should start at the beginning.

Arsene Wenger opened his cheque book early on in the summer to snap up Czech international playmaker, Tomas Rosicky. He joined the gunners from German side Borussia Dortmund for a fee of around £7m. Rosicky was a hit at the World Cup, scoring 2 wonderful goals for his country in a 3-0 win over USA. So Mr Wenger had done it again. How does he do it?

August 19th 2006 was a big day in Arsenal's history, the first competitive fixture to be played at the brand new Emirates Stadium. Aston Villa were the opponents on the day and it was almost a disastrous start for the Gunners at their new home. Olof Mellberg put the visitors ahead and a poor Arsenal performance made it look like they were heading for defeat. But it was all about to change when 17 year old Theo Walcott came off the bench to make a huge impact. He scared the hell out of the Villa defence with his electric pace and sublime dribbling ability. But his finest moment came 5 minutes from the end when his cross was flicked on for Gilberto to fire past the helpless Sorensen. The rest of August wasn't good either after a defeat to Manchester City and another home draw, this time to Middlesbrough, left the giants from North London in a ridiculous 17th place in the Premiership table. But there was an upside to the month: A Deadline Day Transfer Bonanza. Public enemy Ashley Cole joined Chelsea while French defender, William Gallas went the other way, joining the mighty Gunners. Then Arsenal and Real Madrid were involved in a loan swap: Jose Reyes going to The Bernebeau with Julio 'The Beast' Baptista coming to North London. Pascal Cygan (to the delight of gooners worldwide) joined Villarreal for £2m before Arsenal clinched the signing of Brazilian midfielder, Denilson.

September brought a smile to all Gooners' faces. It all looked over. 2 points from a possible 9, before a game at Old Trafford against in-form Manchester United, surely they were doomed. But no. Step forward Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor. The Gunners controlled the game leaving the home side lost and constantly on the backfoot. Gilberto had a penalty saved early on but still Arsenal kept trying, with United keeper Tomasz Kuszczak making numerous saves. But the moment came. 19 year old Fabregas tackled Cristiano Ronaldo before playing a sublime pass into Adebayor, who cooly placed his shot under Kuszczak's body to win it for Arsenal. The irony of course was that Adebayor had been in awful form and was getting huge stick from Arsenal fans. But now, the hitman from Togo has won us over with a string of tireless performances, sometimes ending in goals. In September the Gunners also notched up wins against Charlton and Sheffield United to send them shooting up the table.

Then the wins were rolling in. Watford, Hamburg, Porto and West Brom all suffered defeats against Arsenal but the best performance was the 4-0 at Reading's Madejski Stadium. The Gunners looked like champions, confidently passing the ball around as well as scoring 4 goals at the place where Chelsea just scraped a win and Manchester United only managed a draw. The goals came from Alex Hleb, Robin Van Persie and two from Henry. After an impressive win over Liverpool at home, Arsenal struggled. Defeats at Bolton and Fulham and a draw at home to Newcastle saw them slip back down the table. But they bounced back with a 3-0 win over Tottenham.

Arsenal's youngsters were looking strong in the Carling Cup and proved themselves in a classic game at Anfield, with the score finishing Liverpool 3-6 Arsenal. Brazilian striker Julio Baptista netted 4 goals, putting an end to the recent criticism he had been recieving. Jeremie Aliadiere and Alex Song grabbed the others in a delightful win. Then the Young Guns travelled to White Hart Lane where they came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2, both of the goals coming from Baptista. The return leg at the Emirates was another classic encounter. Emmanuel Adebayor put the Gunners ahead before Mido equalised late on for Spurs. So it went to injury time. But Arsenal were too strong for their neighbours, goals from Aliadiere and Tomas Rosicky giving them a 3-1 win on the night.

Well, as you can see it has been a rollercoaster ride so far and lets hope it ends in success, come May...