When The Supporting Gets Tough, The Tough Get Supporting.

We love you Arsenal, we do.

We love you Arsenal, we do.

We love you Arsenal, we do.

Oooohh, Arsenal, we love you.

Club or Country?… Oh Yeah and Today We Play the League Leaders.

Today we play the Chavs, is anyone feeling confident?

I was okay until I heard the news yesterday about our dear striker Robin van Persie who now is out for the rest of the season or as Talk Shite said “ he could even miss the World Cup” who cares about Holland if he plays he will probably not play for us again  until 2011 as he will no doubt get  injured again.

It is a real shame for the lad as his career has been 50/50.  Half the time playing and the other half in the treatment room, I wonder if he regrets playing for his country? He does seem to pick up the majority of his injuries doing so.

In any other business you only work for one employer, in sport it seems there are different rules, a business puts 5 years into a player only to get him to a stage where he is one of the best 11 in his particular country, then that country can say “WE WANT YOU” and there must be a major draw in representing your country because there is only a handful of players I can think of who have ever turned the request down.

Now I know that if you play for your country you can add value to your worth, but that can work both ways for a club.. If they wanted to sell him he would fetch a greater transfer fee, but on the flip side the player can demand higher wages, if he doesn’t get his rise there are plenty more clubs out there who will want an International player, eh Mr Agent!

So is there  an answer to this problem.. Stop the players playing for their country, put a clause in their contract.. What player would do that when the club around the corner will take them on and not put such restrictions on him.

The players are so powerful now, they can command £100k per week, play for their country (for nothing in the case of England) get injured then creep back to the hand that feeds them for their wage packet.
Playing for England and the exposure  for marketing  is a far better way to get rich than anything you can buy off Ebay for a fiver.
Okay what about compensation?  Well I was told only the English FA pay compensation to English clubs, foreign football associations don’t do this for us. Even if they did pay the players wages in January we need another striker now Robin is belly up, so if we sign Chamakh for instance, what do we do with him at the start of the 2010 season? Oh yeah sit him on the bench for 2 ½ years and pay him £70k a week. And what player would want to sign knowing that they will be collecting splinters when our darling is back?

I know it’s down to the player to make the spot his, but we could end up with a situation that Chelsea found themselves in with Wayne Bridge, paying the best two English full backs top dollar.. only one can play in that position.

So if we want the best players to play for us we have to bow down to there needs, there hands are squeezing our proverbial nuts..

We could do a Pay as you Play contract, but Rosicky would have to register as a charity to pay his mortgage. What can you do???

I am hoping that all this RvP news hasn’t done the same for the players moral as it has to some of us fans, I am still going to go with us winning 2-1 as Jonjon said yesterday a draw is okay for pride, but it isn’t going to help us catch the Pensioners at the top.

I have a feeling that we will outplay them like we did in the Carling Cup final all those years ago, only I want us to come away from the game with a different outcome, I am sure there are a few players who have memories of that day and hopefully they will want revenge.

As a great man once said – ‘I have a dream’……………

Today is one of the most exciting days I have had for many a year. While you are all getting out of bed and getting ready for your day ahead, I will be setting off to collect the two new additions to our family. Am I excited? You bet I am!

I do realise though I will have been back home for many hours before our illustrious leader joins us, in fact I bet I will be home before he even stops snoring!!

I know I have already mentioned this, but – a couple of weeks ago I had a dream, a dream that we were playing the Chavs – we lost 4-1.

Eduardo was our goal scorer, but I haven’t a clue who scored theirs, and I don’t really care!

As I said then; dreams really don’t come true, do they?

Football is a funny old game, we laugh at some results, we cry at some of ours and we get wound up and stressed about so much – sometimes we even fall out

This weekend we play the Chavs at our Fortress and all I can think about is what emotion will I be feeling come 6pm on Sunday night. Will we be thinking that’s it, title challenge over, could it be ok a draw is not a bad result, or will it be – that’s it, win our game in hand and we can bloody win the premiership this season.

My head tells me we won’t be laughing, but my heart tells me we won’t be following the dream, and something, just something tells me to forget all that and have belief in our team. We are never better than when our backs are against the wall and to a degree they are. So many injuries for us, so many ‘injured’ Chavs have suddenly become fit again. But the biggest thing for me is the loss at Sunderland, the rant by Arson, the bookies giving us little to no chance…. That is why I am truly starting to believe we will win.

Anelka, the man who told the world he should never have left us, now says that winning the premiership with his current team would be better than when he won it with us! Well thank you, that is why I believe we will win, Arson made you the player you are and that is how you repay him, which just shows us all what you are really made of!

As Rasp said yesterday, many of Anelka’s family made a whole lot of money… And that was because of Arsenal, not because of the million clubs he has played for since!!

So who do we really need to worry about in the Chav team?????

The answer to me is simple, all of them!

When we play the sides that have weaknesses, our team seems think the game is won before the whistle goes to kick off, and yes I include both Mancs in that statement, but on Sunday we are up against the current leaders in the premiership, there are no weak spots so everyone has to, and will be focused and fighting to the end.

Slowly but surely my belief increases, but Arson has the final say. He has to pick the right eleven, a mix of strong defence and clinical attack. Hit them from the off, put them on the back foot from the moment the whistle blows – Wigan did, Aston Villa did it – so can we!!

This morning I don’t care about rumours, I don’t care about what the Rags write, what I care about most is that our Little Willy gets his swelling down (not what most men want I know) but we need him, we need him alongside Vermaelen and to boss the defence.

If we do that my friends, we will be the ones left smiling……

Don’t forget to have a peep at the new widget …..

Song, Song, Blue ain’t we glad we got one? ……………………..

Well I am glad we have Song and glad he is available for the visit of The Blues, well, we all know them as The Chavs, but it made the title look ok What do you mean, it didn’t????

Over the last few games while Alex Song (now tied down until 2015) was just one yellow card from a one match ban, I just dreaded that he would get booked against Sunderland and miss this weekend’s fixture.

The man has discipline, many ‘bigger’ players who play for other clubs would not have been able to do what he has done. Maybe the tackles he makes just inside our own half are done on purpose and thats why he gets booked!

Maybe he reads the game better than some think, maybe he sees the opposition are gaining an advantage and so he just acts all clumsy and gives away a free kick. That’s how it looks sometimes

Regardless, it usually results in any attack being over, threat gone and we are off again. But when the time came to be careful, he was just that.

Personally, I just think he is under rated, not by me I hasten to add

Alex Song is just 22 years old, there are kids where I live older than him, but still they behave like 10 year olds… Alex, I am glad you are settled in your life and settled at Arsenal, one day real soon everyone else will see that too.

Ok, he is no Michael Essien yet but after Cesc and Vermaelen, he would always be the next name on my team sheet

Cilla Black has arrived at Stamford Bridge with a new version of Surprise Surprise, yep Fat Frank has suddenly reappeared, fit for the game against us on Sunday! No surprise really, I don’t doubt for one minute all their top players will have suddenly recovered just in time.. I don’t care, let’s beat them with their full squad, that way they have no excuses come 6pm Sunday!

Kerrea Gilbert has been put up for sale according to the Daily Mirror, hope the lad gets himself a good side to play for and gets to actually play regular football, he is only 22 years old and has a bright future ahead of him.

Our reserves took a beating last night at home, well they lost 2-1 to Aston Villa and can you believe Fran Merida got sent off. Maybe he did that on purpose just to remind Arson he is about and wants his contract sorted out. Now he has a game or two out, he will have plenty of time!

Good old Theo Walcott has opened his choppers again, this time though is posistive, he says he is over his injury, his knee feels great and he is sharp. He’s also making it known he wants to play in the central role up top rather than on the wing.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him start there against Chelsea either. That for me is the best place for him; stop him running down the blind alleys on the right! At least through the middle he has only got to run, look up, shoot, GOAL

With all our injuries, the last thing we need is another player who needs surgery. Well, one more will be going under the knife, Armand Traore. Before you start panicking, it won’t be until the end of the season and the surgery is to remove his tattoo’s!!

Good, no offence to any of you out there who have them, but I hate them, they look ugly and I just wish Cesc Fabregas would follow Traore to the treatment room. Oh, and David Beckham, I love him, but I am sure he is to blame for the ‘Tattoo Trend’!

Not a lot else going on, the Chavs won, The Mancs lost and Rafa could get the boot if Everton beat Liverpool at the weekend – now there’s a thought to make you smile!

A Standard Performance.. and the Sales of Aerial Boosters to Increase on Merseyside..

There seems to be two types of match report to do these days. We played well but we lacked concentration and we let in a late equalizer or we simply just played well.
Last nights game was an example of just what a fine line it is between the two.
We started really brightly full of training ground flicks culminating in an unbelievable passage of play on fifteen minutes when the Standard goal was comparable to an Iraqi stronghold with a Cobra gunship peppering it with shots on the first day of the Gulf war. Thanks AA (your forgiven)..

But as the half wore on Liege managed a shot that cannoned of Almunia’s bar.. Then we went into sadism mode.. Gallas nutting Arshavin meant we went down to nine men at one stage.
Then when Gallas came back  on he looked as if he had a session with Paul McKenna and looked well out of it, “When I click my fingers give a penalty away” luckily the ref wasn’t a Lilly Livered Pansy and you had to get a death certificate to get a penalty.

Somehow in all the melee Nasri broke through and put us one up. It won’t be this easy against the Chavs.

Just before half time Denilson must have remembered what country it states on his birth certificate (I know two certificates) and tried a Jairzinho type shot that swerved back and forth and totally lost the keeper.. 2-0 to the Arsenal..

The second half was similar except we created a few chances and they just crept the wrong side of the woodwork.
The highlight was when after getting his shirt half removed and falling to a tackle from behind Captain Cesc went to have a quiet word with Carcela-Gonzalez.  Cesc didn’t turn into Ole Gunnar Solskjar and stayed on his feet. The opposing player got sent off. But Cesc got booked, why??

Anyway 2-0 was the result.. but the funniest thing of the night was, the cash strapped Bindippers crash out of the Champions League.. The press’s darlings.. But we didn’t have Torres.. we didn’t have Alonso… haha good.. Their wasn’t much to watch on a Thursday night, now we can watch you lot get beaten.

Almunia.. 6.5 Strange night for him, sort of just watched any decent shots fly by and hit the woodwork.

Eboue.. 6.5.. I suppose he did okay, never had much defending to do, the diving and sprawling on the deck is getting boring and embarrassing now.

Gallas.. 7.5 Was leading by example, didn’t look well when he came back on after the head injury. Hope he is okay for Sunday.. I like a man who wants revenge.

Vermaelen .. 7.. Done as good as he needed to, he worries me slightly when we was two on two and he didn’t mark the spare man.

Gibbs.. 7.5 .. Nice one Gibbsy.. you are going to make the left back position yours soon.
But as I am writing I have read that he has fractured his foot and will have a operation today (Wednesday)..  2 months out ffs.

Song.. .. 9.. WOW!

Denilson. 7.. Looked okay for his first game back.. Super goal, dare I say a bit like that ex Man U cheating scum bag.. more of please.

Fabregas.. 7 .. Yeah not bad, bit wayward on some of his passes but that could be the new guys coming in, perhaps they need to read Cesc better.

Nasri..7.5 . He did okay, I would like to see him step up a gear soon,  hopefully he has settled into the way of life in England. Good finish for his goal, very cool.

Arshavin.. 7.. A pretty good performance, but a lot of his tricks were not going his way. Had a great chance whistle past the post.

Vela.. 6..very similar to Eduardo, lacks that physical presence that we need to lead the line.. Went missing a bit during periods of the game that Nikki B  doesn’t seem to do.

Silvestre.. 7.. There is hope, isn’t there??

Walcott.. 6.. Failed to shine, he should be running the show.

Rosicky.. Came on a bit late to judge him..

I don’t feel that great after a night when we qualify for the knockout stages  top of our CL group, Sunday will be the decider for me. if we win then I will be ecstatic or ..  well we will win..

Have a good day Roadsters..

Arson – What took you so long?? Oh, and Dear Barça….

There it is – What took us so long?

Ok, not us, but what has taken Arson so bloomin long to get thinking the way we have all been for yonks now?

‘My players cannot think about World Cup’

Arsène Wenger has insisted that for his players this season is about achieving success with Arsenal, not earning a place at the World Cup.

During a press conference at Arsenal’s Training Ground on Monday, one journalist suggested that the current campaign is a crucial one for Theo Walcott because, at its conclusion, England manager Fabio Capello will choose his squad for South Africa.

The reporter did not reach the end of his question.

“I must stop you there,” interrupted Wenger. “The big season is with Arsenal, not at the World Cup.

“We do not pay players to go to the World Cup – we pay the players to do well for Arsenal.

“The first pride of a man is to do well for the guy who pays you in life, not to go to the World Cup.”

Hoo-bloody-rah, at last, get the balloons blown up and hang the bunting out!

Club comes first, club pays players wages, club makes you successful, club teaches you how to grow with the game.

Maybe the injury to van Persie has been the final knock to the nail in our managers wooden head that will from now on STOP players going off on international duties when they are not fully fit, and even more important, stop them playing in meaningless friendlies for their country!

Well done Arson, I am with you all the way!

And yes, I did copy and paste the interview from afc.com, and I ain’t bovvered

And here is another copy and paste….

It begins :-

Dear Barcelona

Fabregas – I am happier than ever here

Cesc Fabregas says he is happier than ever at Arsenal.

Despite consistent rebuttals from the player himself, the Spaniard is still linked with a return to Barcelona and his name has even been dragged into the upcoming Presidential elections at the Nou Camp.

But, speaking ahead of Tuesday’s game with Standard Liege, the midfielder gave all that little credence and once again painted a rosy picture at Emirates Stadium.

“It does not affect me at all because it’s been going for years,” he said. “To be honest I just don’t think about it, I don’t want to and I don’t think I should because I’m at a great club and in a great team.

“I’m very happy where I am and there is very long season in front of us. The last thing I want to do is get disconnected from what I have to do which is to play football for my team and for the Club that pays me. I’m really looking forward to a great season with Arsenal.”

The skipper was then asked if he would like to stay for the rest of his career.

“Why not?” he replied. “I have never thought about it. I’m only 22. You never know what your career will bring but why not? I’m in my seventh season now and I’m really happy, better than ever.”

Fabregas also believes that his desire to win trophies can be satisfied too. Barca’s relative success compared to Arsenal is sometimes cited as a reason for moving.

“We can achieve that here,” said Fabregas in response to the question. “I have played some Finals, fought for Premier League titles.

“It’s true that at the end of the season we have sometimes had some feeling that we haven’t done it but I’m really happy with the way this club focuses on winning things and I’m sure we are more than capable of doing it this season.”

Get the hint Barca – well do you ??

On to tonight, we need just one point to secure a place in the knock out stages and we at our home against a team who threw away a 2-0 lead to let us win 3-2, so in theory; if we approach with the right attitude we will win.

Mind you I thought that before the Sunderland game!!

Anyway, tonight is very different to Saturday, we are at home and we are not up against a manager like Steve Bruce – say what you want about him but his is doing his club proud, making ‘his home’ his teams fortress, just like Arson has done with us so credit to him!

I say we should rest the French boys, rest Arshavin and bring in those who think they are good enough! That’s their words, not my view!!

How many times do we read an interview from one of those on the fringes of the team, how many times do they choose to tell the whole world they should be in our first team?

Well, tonight I think they should have their moment… Get a good mix and match and by 10pm we will be in the next round – then bring on the Carling Cup Kids for the final match

I would go with this team if I was picking it:-

Fabianski/Almunia
Eboue Senderos Vermaelen Gibbs
Ramsey Song Rosicky
Walcott Eduardo Vela

Come on you Gooners, lets score ten !!!!!

Moving On………………..

I am not going to mention our blip at the weekend, what’s the point? Let’s do what the team should do and move on – I hope they all take it as a kick in the doo daa’s and use it to our advantage.

We have another game tomorrow night, win that one and I am sure we will not only qualify, but also secure top spot in our group.

Only when we have done that can we start thinking about our biggest game of the season so far. The Chavs come to The Emirates, and we don’t to give them anything.

Little bit of sad news in the press this morning, this relates to Cheryl Cole. Apparently her husband is a bit of a k**b and a split is on the cards. I don’t dislike Cheryl Cole, she seemed really sincere on Children in Need and she is always good for a laugh on X Factor. Shame for the girl!

Old King Kolo, now referred to as Toure the T****r has followed in the footsteps of his over paid team mate. Having realised that life is not so good up north and has decided to speak out about his previous employer.
He has suggested that our own Little Willy used to tell tales on him behind his back, encouraging Arson to leave him out of the team!!

Why is it that some players can’t just accept they are past it and that’s why they don’t get in the first team?
Move on Toure, go and cheque your bank balance and stop looking back!!

Back to our team and poor old Robin’s doctor has allegedly done a bunk, so I don’t know where that leaves him with his treatment and recovery; it’s all about tax evasion and dodgy credentials according to the papers.

Hopefully we will know more later!

Arson has started talking about contracts with William Gallas, Tomas Rosicky and Carlos Vela..

Gallas and Rosicky will both be out of contract at the end of the season and Arson wants Vela to sign a long-term deal with the Gunners.

He told The People: “I am optimistic to find a solution for both of them. We’ve had no offers for Carlos, and we are extending his contract at the moment.”

What are you doing talking to The People Arson; you should have had those boys in for a good talking to after the weekend!

Gallas wants a two year contract and the suggestion is that the typical over 30 rule will apply and he will only be offered a one year extension.

Why? Gallas is playing the best he possibly ever has done for us why can’t we just break the rules and give him the two years? Add another top class CH to the squad then we have three great defenders. Oh, and we still have Djourou to come back!

I just have a sneaky feeling that a club in France will come calling and he will be off!

That’s about it folks apart from another player from Barca expressing his desire to play alongside Cesc. Well Mr Messi, have a word with Arson….

I am sure he could fit you into the Arsenal team, somewhere!!!

Well: We can’t blame Diaby this time..

After 2 weeks wait our team failed us, what went wrong?  I don’t really know, a slight attitude problem I would guess. We need more desire to win.  We need to believe..

If we still need to find a scapegoat  we cannot for a change point the finger at our favourite villains Diaby, Eboue or Bendtner.
If we were the darling buds of  the media we could blame it on our massive injury list.. But only Liverpool have top players out.. Instead we are just bottlers in their eyes.

I think the finger of blame should go to, well at least to some extent to Mr Wenger OBE, it wasn’t fair on Eduardo to be leading a line with Nasri and Rosicky as his strike partners. Now I love all three of these players but to expect them to lead the line was asking too much.
All three are still trying to recover their pre injury form.

Also with Dudu he is not a traditional no 9 type striker and to have him up top on his own is never his natural position, as I said when he was starting to comeback from his leg break, don’t expect too much from him, he wasn’t a world beater before the injury, but we made him up to be the greatest player on earth because we all wanted him to make a full recovery, but perhaps he became better than he really was in our eyes. Or could the media reaction to his definate penalty against Celtic affected him? He was shaping up okay until then..  I would have liked to have seen AA start even if he was a bit tired, just to take some of the scoring burden away from Dudu’s shoulders.

The other disappointment for me was Aaron Ramsey, we all saw the highlights of him playing for Wales against Scotland last week, he ran the game, but we never see him do the same for Arsenal, wouldn’t it be easier to fit into Arsenal’s sleek system rather than the longer ball way of Wales?  Is it that the Premiership is of a far higher level than the international scene or is he overwhelmed by playing next to such quality players?.. Who knows..

One thing is for sure we cannot keep losing games like this.. This is a squad of players that come around every four or five years and we have to make the most of it before they start an exodus one by one, leaving us to rebuild again like we had to when Hleb and Flamini left a few years ago.

But in fairness we were in such control in the first 30 minutes we should have put a chance or two away, the best one going to Eduardo but the ball was too far underneath him and he could not get a clean strike on the bit. But as usual we allowed the opposition to gain confidence and Sunderland were a half decent side in the second half.
Have we heard that before?

Almunia.. 6.. Never had much to do in reality, perhaps he could have come for the corner that lead to the goal, but I doubt if he would have got to it as it was curling away.

Sagna.. 7.. Was our main attacking threat from the flanks, I just wish he would cut inside now and again and do a give and go, his crossing is too predictable.

Gallas 7.5 Our best defender yesterday and he also has the winning mentality, it’s a pity some of our attackers don’t have the same desire.

Vermaelen 6.. A pretty average performance from him for a change, at fault for the goal. He lost a header to Darren Bent then failed to recover when the ball came back in the box.

Traore. 6.5 .. Without knowing it I think he may of put in a transfer request yesterday (Saturday) he isn’t as good as either Clichy or Gibbs so he is probably third in the pecking order unless either of the other two go. He wasn’t terrible (better than Silvestre) but he made some terrible cross field passes in front of our penalty area.

Song.. 7.5.. Played pretty well, The ref didn’t like his style of defending unless the boot was on the other foot and a Sunderland player did the same thing.  Done well not to be booked..

Fabregas.. 7.. Tried to play the captains role but frustratingly started to settle for long-range shots at goal…

Nasri.. 6.5 Tidy, but never really got into the game. He should have been fresh as a daisy after a rest, and with a few matches behind him, looked a little lethargic.

Rosicky.. 6.5.. Same as Nasri.. Never really got into the game as well as he can.

Ramsey. 6.. Forgot he was playing in some parts of the game, it was obvious he was going to be the one coming off first.

Eduardo.. 6. As I said earlier, I don’t think the role suits him leading the line as the sole striker.

Subs..

Arshavin 6.5.. Never really looked too interested after he got dumped on his arse a couple of times, surely it isn’t too cold for him..

Walcott.. 6.5.. Looked lively, but just went through the motions, did a very good ball across the six yard box that no one latched on to.

Vela. 6.. Didn’t really look any different from Eduardo, left footed and a bit lightweight. Sky never managed to show a replay of the penalty shout mmmm.

So all in all a bit of a piss off, I just  hope normal service will be resumed next week.

To Win It, You Have Got To Want It.

How disappointing was that? Made all the worse by the frenzy of expectation that we whipped ourselves into. I’m more stunned than angry, maybe anger will come later but right now I am walking around in a daze.

I reckon no matter what combination of player you hoped to see yesterday, you were catered for: if you were one of those that wanted Nasri in place of Diaby, you got it; if you wanted to see Ramsey given more game time than Denilson, you got it; if you thought that the combination of Fabregas, Arshavin, Nasri, Rosicky would be unstoppable, you got it, if you thought Vela and Walcott would make the difference, you got it; if you thought Song was too important to rest, you got it and if you thought that Silvestre shouldn’t be anywhere near the first team, you got that as well. Which doesn’t leave a lot to moan about  making things even more confusing.

There were, of course, moments in the first half when the quality of Wengerball was so high that you, like me, must have thought that it is only a matter of time before this clicks and it starts raining goals – but as we know all too well that was not to be.

The biggest disappointments for me were Rosicky and Nasri; Ramsey should also be in this category but he is young enough to be excused. Rosicky flounced about; there were flicks, mostly with his hair, but no tricks. Nasri was so ineffectual that I found myself wishing Diaby were out there, need I say more. Players of their quality should have added something magical but they played with the a level of intensity and commitment that we would expect of them in an exhibition game.

The inclusion of Vela and Walcott gave us width and hope but who was going to finish?

The back line showed their usual commitment, nothing wrong with the attitude. I don’t blame Almunia for the goal. We learnt that Gibbs is a better choice than Traore and that Sagna’s crossing is embarrassing, but then again we already knew that. Why he was trying to send over high crosses to the shortest attack in Europe can only lead us to the conclusion that he is definitely a strawberry short of a punnet.

Cesc showed the urgency that we have come to expect of him but he missed RVP more that anyone. Our captain just hasn’t had enough time to work out how to play with Eduardo, this will happen, I mean, if Modric can find a way to play with him to the tune of seventy goals for their former club and country then I am sure Fabregas will be able to. But do we have enough time? Our title hopes have been severely wounded by Sunderland and I fear that if we lose against Chelsea that it wound be mortal.

Time to pick ourselves up, that combination of talent can’t be kept down for too long can it? I expect them to learn from this cruel lesson and come out with a determination that was sadly lacking yesterday and crucify Standard Liege, putting us in the right frame of mind for next Sunday – I hope.

What do points mean? …………………

Prizes, thats what points mean, and today we are going for the Brucie Bonus

I am still smiling from a comment London made yesterday. The wise man had found out that our game against Sunderland was being shown live on Italia television and that all we have to do is find a good Italian bar, sit down with a few beers and watch the game.

Here I am sat in a tiny village; lucky to have a local public house and a post office, and all I now want to do is find a little Italian bar with a television! It just isn’t going to happen, sadly!

You have a good time London, hopefully watching us score a few

What a day yesterday! The Henry debate goes on… and on and on, Arson suggests a replay, as does Thierry – then one of the biggest bullies in the game tells ROI to get over it and me, I’m just bored with it so that’s the last time it finds its way into a post – well one that I write anyway!

What saddens me though is all the lack of football news because of what has been going on.

Wojciech Szczensy’s loan to Brentford is the only bit of news I can find about us, oh and Fat Frank is having the same kind of treatment that Robin is having in attempt to speed up his recovery. I am not sure there is a horse big enough out there!

On to our little game today

Do we think Arshavin will be rested? – I personally can’t understand why he would be, especially as during the last few games for us he has had a gentle work out so he shouldn’t be too tired! I know he played midweek but he is a fit footballer and should be able to manage another stroll around today. Rest him on Tuesday please, not today. Sunderland will fear him and that’s half the battle won.

Same goes for Cesc, Gallas and Sagna, rest them on Tuesday if needed, not today..

But Wenger pointedly said that the mental and physical fatigue of international fixtures had taken a toll on the French contingent and Andrey Arshavin, so my hopes will be dashed when the team is announced

Theo is in the squad, I hope he is a sub and comes on for twenty minutes, against what should be a tiring defence by then

Same goes for Denilson and Vela, if they are in the squad, start the game with them on the bench – Tuesday at home would be a better game for some of these players to start, not today in what could be a tricky trip up t’north and where three points are so so important.

Sunderlands last few results – won one, lost two and drawn three. They beat The Dippers, drew against The Mancs and got beat by the Spuds!!! Work that lot out …

Like us though, Sunderland are having a tough time with injuries. Their keeper Gordon is out and Fulop takes his place, and they are missing Cattermole, Turner, Jones and Anderson.

For them, that must be like our injury list so all is equal!

Last season we drew 1-1, but last season we couldn’t find that small gap between two posts. This season is a different story and we are creating more clear-cut chances and taking them. I honestly can’t see any other result than an away win, but football is a funny old game

Arson says:-
“The game against Chelsea has more significance if we win at Sunderland’.

Of course it will, but if you make too many changes today Arson, we won’t get all three points, the winning run will have been broken and with it will go a little bit of our players confidence.

We have a big week ahead and after the next three games we COULD be top of the English Premiership, top of the group in the Champions League and sitting pretty as we head into December.

Just start with the strongest eleven we have fit and we will win!

I am sticking with

Almunia
Sagna TV Gallas Silvestre
Cesc Song Rosicky
Nasri Eduardo Arshavin

But I don’t for one minute think that I will be right!

Have a great day

A question to leave you with about the ACON – Who would you trust more, Ramsey or Denilson?