The Goon Blog

It seems appropriate to mention this at the start, Wendesday night in Mumbai India a spate of horrific and deadly terrorist attacks occured. Innocnent victims were mown down by heartless cowards wielding AK47’s. I think i speak on behalf of everyone when i say, RIP to the innocent victims of these atrocities.

Back to Arsenal, and a lot has been going on with a win against Dynamo Kiev, as unconvincing as it was it will raise confidence ahead of our last chance saloon on Sunday, away to Chelsea. A new CEO Ivan Gazidis, who has been a major part in the success of the MLS in America, find out more about him here and here.

Well, ol pink boots won it for us, as he came on he recieved some horrendous jeers and his celebration showed he was not happy with that, Ive always said that Niklas Bendtner is a fantastic finisher, a bit more work on his all round game and he will be a hell of a player. Hopefully now he has confidence to move on and start scoring.

Cesc made a very good start as captain but its quite clear he is cream crackered. I think Gazidis’s appointment now means we will buy in January with his exprience in contract and player negotiation, i think that was key in him being offered the job. Hopefully we buy a tenacious strong and experienced midfielder to help Cesc because once we have him, we can rotate Cesc to get him the rest he needs to last until the end of the season.

There have been rumours around that Bendtner is on his way out, utter trollop i think, why would Wenger give up on him now? it is ridiculous papers that have suggested it after all!

I also think that Senderos and Traore should return from their loans at the end of the season, Traore offers us a genuine wide option whilst Senderos is a damn good defender when he is confident, i think Wenger sent him to Milan A) because Flamini is there and they are mates, B) its a defensive league and he is learning off great defenders there.

I just hope Milan dont make him an offer afterwards.

Ahead of the Chelsea game Fabregas has said we will go there to attack,

“Our target is to go there and win,” We need to get some points back.

“Arsenal never go for a draw and a club like Chelsea will be the same as us. Every time I have played against them they have gone forward and tried to gain victory. We will expect it will be the same on Sunday.

This lad really does say all the right things doesnt he? his pass to Bendtner was not half bad either!

Its heard that Nasri, Adebayor and Sagna are 50/50 for Sundays game, but it being on Sunday does give them a better chance of playing.

Right, things are really hectic at the moment so il try and blog before Sunday, if i dont manage to then i hope you find a good, clear and lag free stream!

Til then.

Well we face Dynamo Kiev later today and on paper we should win, even though we are missing 9 first teamers. Ramsey is pretty certain of a start i think, with Fran Merida tipped to feature.

I feel it will be a cagey start and if our players get nervous of fustrated we might lose a goal and be right up against it yet again, thats why i feel an early goal is vital. We will probably see Denilson and Cesc in the middle with Merida and Ramsey on the flanks, none of them natural widemen, we could also see Vela start up front and he will probably be key in this match.

we must see energy passion and a will to win because thats what us Gooners have not seen recently, thats why we have been angry, i think we will see it tonight. If we dont i really dont know what will happen and with Chelsea at the weekend things could get a whole lot worse.

Gallas will start today because, quite honestly, we need him. His ‘advisor’ has also said that he is not wanting to leave the club, and the English media have been publishing fake stories. They would never do that! would they?

I think Wenger should re-think the Appiah situation, an experienced, classy free agent. Wengerish isnt it? He must have thought about it and he could probably offer him decent enough wages, i wonder if there may be something going on there.

There is nothing much more to say really, i hope we win well tonight, being through to the next round will be a security blanket for later on in the season, it will also raise hopes ahead of a massive game on Sunday.

Til next time.

Well Fabregas has replaced Gallas as captain as expected. Wenger was rather blunt when he announced it; claiming the matter is now over and in the past;

“Gallas will play against Kyiv, But he will not captain the team, it will be Cesc Fabregas.

“This is a permanent thing. But I don’t think I especially have to explain why. I have given you information but I do not have to explain to you why I make these decisions.

“This subject is now closed. You have to respect a little bit of the team’s privacy.”

Im not to happy about Gallas playing but hopefully Djourou will get to play alongside him, if its Silvestre i think it will be one step forwards and two steps back. For that we will just have to wait and see.

Fabregas was understandably happy to captain a club he feels is a great club, and it might encourage him to stick around for a while yet;

“It is a great honour for me to captain one of the biggest clubs in the world, It is a proud moment. I know it’s a big responsibility but together with my team-mates, I know we have the spirit and commitment to get back to winning ways and fulfil our potential.”

I’m not sure on his captaincy qualities but hopefully he will grow into the role and be inspired to find his best form of which has been lacking this season, its a great chance for him to establish himself as a club legend, a chance i hope he takes. I wish him all the best of British.

Lets just hope he lifts something big and silver this season!

Now onto injuries again with Diaby and Nasri injured again!

Nasi has another knee problem and is fast turning into the next Rosicky, there has to be some kind of problem with our medical system when we check the players before we finalise the deal, its the third time this season Nasri has had inflamation of the knee and its two times to many in my view. Shouldnt this have been picked up in the medical? yes it should have. I hope its not going to be a common sight but i think it will. Its exactly the same for Diaby, injury game game injury game game injury… catch the drift?

Im pushed for time at the moment so i cant do a mad long blog, everything is still under construction but should be sorted soon.

Til next time.

Right, to start i would like to state, i am not pro or anti Gallas, i am not anti Wenger, I’m an Arsenal fan. Nothing more or nothing less.

These past few weeks have had some a glorious highs, and some very very very low, lows. Its depressing, disheartening and disillusioning.

On Friday news broke that William Gallas had been left out of the squad and sacked as captain, the club have still not commented on the captaincy issue but he was at the training ground when the other players were on their way to Manchester.

I do not think Gallas was too wrong in saying those things, pressure has to be released after all; for now lets follow Wenger’s words as i think he is right. Im not a member of the AKB but he is the greatest manager this club has seen in its history, lets just put our trust in him that he will do his best. After all, we owe him that for some glorius years he has given us,

“let’s not talk too much and stick together.”

What god have we pissed off, seriously?

Theo has been sabotaged by Parker in Germany whilst “training” with the England squad, leaving us with Eboue on the right of midfield, not the greatest option when we need to score more goals than we concede. I think Ramsey could start coming into the equation as i really dont expect to see much of Wilshere until the new year;

A) As he has not signed professional terms yet

B) He is 16

These injuries are a right kick in the bum-conkers for Theo, he has had op’s on both shoulders now and lets just hope that he isnt constantly worrying about it thoughout his career, i think it is far from the career threatening injuries some crappy tabloids think it is. Wenger has confirmed his long absence;

“Theo had a dislocated shoulder and he had surgery today. He will be out three months,”

There you go, fuck off and back off you dirty tabloids.

We have two new injures this week as well, one affecting the team somewhat and another affecting the reserves;

Toure has pulled his calf muscle and is out of the Man City clash, that means that Eboue will probably go to right back if he is fit, if he is not fit i have not a clue who will play there; we are well any truly fucked. Eboue is out. it really is a sad state of affairs.

Wojciech Szczesny has bust both his arms and will be out for at least 3 months, i hope you have a speedy recovery kid. We can rule him out of playing right back then.

Arsene Wenger should ask for Theo’s wages to be paid for the duration of his injury, as arseblogger said, Wenger has said he is not willing to get compo for his injury as these things happen.

WENGER ASK FOR COMPO, YOU ARE ENTITLED TO UP TO 1.1 MILLION!

You say you have no money Arsene, use that money to fund deals in January. You wont though will you.

Gallas has been talking about trouble in the Arsenal camp and i guess it makes sense really. The players need a bloody reality check and realise when they are well off, most people are living in a recession, worrying if they will be in a damn job in a months time, this team seems so selfish its beyond belief. Take a look on the outside boys, its not all one big happy experience, you have your nice houses, flash cars and home cinemas. We have bills and unemployment. And families to feed.

Gallas says;

“When, as captain, some players come up to you and talk to you about a player…complaining about him… and then during the match you speak to this player and the player in question insults us, There comes a time where we can no longer comprehend how this can happen.

I am trying to defend myself a bit without giving names. Otherwise I’m taking it all (the blame). It’s very frustrating, I’m 31, the player is six years younger than me.”

I believe Gallas, its like in school the kids have no respect for the teachers anymore. No matter what they think of Gallas they have to respect him as a fellow professional and Arsene Wengers decision to name him as captain. I could just imagine some players telling him to fuck off. That’s bang out of order and in order to succeed they must have respect, worrying times.

The manager has to sort it out fast. If it means selling players, do it.

Apparently there was also ructions at half time in the Tottenham game, and it looks like they didn’t listen to him;

“There was a problem at half-time. The only thing that I could say at half-time was, ‘Guys, we resolve these problems after the match, not at half-time.’

“We have to understand that to be champions, you have to play big matches every weekend and fight. We are coming up against teams who are not scared to play football against us, who are not scared to take us on at our place, and this is becoming dangerous for Arsenal.”

I do believe he is getting some undeserved flak, if he does his best its all we can ask for, maybe the problem lies with the other players not having common respect, its one thing you are taught to have at every team you play in, be it a school team or a Sunday team. Respect your team-mates and respect your opposition, no matter what you think of them.

The names Fulham, Hull, Stoke, Sunderland and Aston Villa speak for themselves.

Gallas wants the team to be warriors and they damn well need to be, not run around like a load of wet farts, for Christ sake play for the bloody team;

“We are not brave enough in battle. I think we need to be soldiers. We have to be warriors. There are teams who can do it well against us, and we have to be able to face up to these attacks.”

Make sure they listen you you William, you might not love the club but you are on their payroll, give 100% and try your utmost to get the rest of the team to do so.

I did find this rather funny, but also rather highlighting one of our problems at the moment;

“I have to win something this year. I have to win something, Arsenal has to win something. It’s four or five years since Arsenal won anything – 2004 (the league title). That’s nearly five years, and that’s not good.”

Actually, the FA cup was won after that (2005), the players need to know the club they are playing for, they should know the history behind the badge they are wearing.

In some better news it looks like next week Eduardo will be with the rest of the squad in training. Fantastic news!

“Victoria Concordia Crescit” – victory through harmony. Lets have the harmony eh?

Til next time.

As there is only doom and gloom around at the minute i will attempt to lift it slightly by announcing a brand new feature, and as far as i know its the first for an Arsenal blog.

The Ashburton Tavern (see the above navigation bar) started on the BBC’s 606 messageboards, it was mighty succesfull and after talking me and Awaydaygooner have decided to merge.

Basically, its a big daily debate. The topics are all well written and you can debate anything from the colour of your missus’ underwear to Arsenal’s new wonderkid, the blog posts can be debated on the blog still but can also be debated over on the Tavern.
Its early days so things are bound to go wrong, so if they do please feel free to contact me at goonblogger@googlemail.com. Advice is appreciated!

Take a look every now and then, hopefully we will get a good following as its easy to access at work and school so no worries there.

Hope you like it.

Til next time!

Well, to be honest with you im not at all angry so im not going to have an angry rant, im just going to write about how i feel as a fan of Arsenal Football Club.

I think today has epitomised how much we miss a sharp Cesc, this season he has been poor. Im not having a go at him because he is a great player, i think he is fatigued physically and mentally, i know it is only November but he has hardly had a summer break. He has been playing nearly every game since he was 17-18, he is now 21 and after 4 years of solid football it will catch up at some point. His passing is inacurate, he still sees the passes but is getting them a fraction wrong and sadly his passing is the catalyst for all our play, we are not a one man team but i think we are more a one man team than most teams. Giving that he is also the hardest working player of our team, its no wonder he is absolutley shattered, when Milner ran that ball into the corner flag most Arsenal players stood off, Cesc ran from halfway down the pitch to muscle the ball off him and then run with it. The guy is a legend, he is doing his utmost but his body just isnt letting him play his best at the moment.

I’m not going to moan at the defence, i feel for much of the game they did ok, it could so easily have been 4-0 Villa, Almunia saved a penalty that i feel was debatable, and maybe Gallas should have done a little better for the second. I think Clichy could have also done a little better, but the guy is short, Silvestre should have dealt with the ball in anyway.

Bendtner is suffering a crisis of confidence, he is 20 and playing the lone role, that is not ideal, especially against a team that will sit behind the ball. I feel this is where the mistake was made today, but hindsight is a wonderfull thing, i hope he wont leave the club because i feel he has great talent and i do like his attitude, the arrognace he has is a good thing. I feel he is just too young to do the lone striker role, Diaby should have helped him and sadly he didn’t today.

Now to where we went wrong in my opinion. Against Man Utd we went with the 4-5-1, fair enough our two best strikers were missing and against a team that was going to attack us it was a wise move, shutting down the other teams creativity and stopping them getting a head of steam. It worked.

Today we were playing a team that would not attack with the same force, we played a team that would sit behind the ball, defend and attack when they can. They wanted to draw us out and get us on the counter attack, in effect wait for the opportunity to kill. It worked for them.

I think if we had the extra threat of Vela getting in behind with his pace and trickiness we would have won the game, Diaby did not support the demoralised Bendtner who worked but never got any chances at all. You cant shoot a gun without the ammo, the only real moment of class was in the first 15 minutes when a spectacular pass was hit to get Theo in behind the defence and cut the ball back….to nobody. I think it was either Denilson or Fabregas that hit the pass, i couldnt really see clearly as the stream was not the greatest.

This is normally the time when the anti-Wenger brigade come out strong in their ever growing numbers, i ask them to believe in the club, this club has not always been a force in the league, yes we are the longest surviving side in the top flight of English football but we have not always been a great team. We are going through a lull and to be honest with you i was a bit too young to remember the real tough days, Arsenal are my team for life and i will support them non stop. The team will not get better without us, think of the Derby fans last season, think how they felt, we must be in heaven compared to them.

You might reply ‘yes but we have high standards, we have set the bar high’; yes we have but maybe it is time to lower that a bit, i still believe we will win something this season. I think something like that could make this team reach their real potential, it could be the making of them.

We have to keep supporting them, how would you like to be booed by the population of the Emirates Stadium? it would be demoralising to say the least, i know you pay for your ticket but you buy it to support your team, you are wasting your money if you are going to boo them.

I urge you, keep belief. Let the gloryhunters spout off their shit but let the true fans have their say without shooting them down, this isnt pro or anti Wenger, this is an Arsenal blogger, an Arsenal fan talking about Arsenal.

Im Arsenal through and through and whatever the results il still support them, Well played Villa, it was a fantastic performance and you were worthy winners. The true Gooners will admit that and im only too happy to congratulate you on the win.

I Love Arsenal.