These games are coming along rather fast and this is another game i am confident of winning, but as we know Hull can pull off suprises.

Just remember back to that very, very dull September evening.

It is the FA cup so Almunia will be on the bench, (he is injured anyway after that goal molester nearly snapped his ankle), Gibbs is set to start with Ramsey not being involved due to tiredness. At his age they really do have to watch out for that, it does sound a bit of a ’soft’ excuse but from personal experience pushing yourself too far in your younger years can hold you back for the rest of your life.

Eduardo misses out again due to that groin injury which is a shame.

The biggest doubt is over Arshavin who had to have eight stitches into his foot at half time against Blackburn, apparently he is ‘desperate’ to play:

“Arshavin had eight stitches in his foot but he is still in the squad we will make a decision tomorrow. He is desperate to be involved. He just wants to play. He couldn’t practice today but we’ll assess him tomorrow morning.”

I have a feeling he will start, he comes across as a player that would play with one leg if he had too. Injuries like that tend to be alright after 24/48 hours and by tomorrow night the pain should have subsided almost entirely, they can always give him an injection to make it a little less painful on the off chance it could still hurt.

One player that will probably shine will be 20 year old Theo Walcott and Wenger has been singing his praises from the rooftops. There have been times when his development has really had question marks over it but at the tail end of last season he really started to shine and that England hat-trick has transformed him into a hell of a player. It really is amazing what a little confidence can do and this Arsenal side are buzzing with it at the moment. Back to Theo, and Wenger said:

“Compared to one year ago there is no comparison,That is what people have problems to accept because at that age every three months you improve. You can never predict how much he will improve but there is still a lot more to come from Theo. He had a good start [against Blackburn] and he became stronger and stronger,” continued Wenger. “He gives us something which is important as well when we play at home when he goes behind the defenders. He creates room and has a direct game. We need that. I don’t know [how big a player he will be in the rest of the season] but it’s important to have him back because he gives you something that can make a difference in any game.”

His pace gives defenders nightmares and in a one on one situation there are two outcomes, Theo goes flying past the defender or the defender clatters Theo and takes him down. He is a player that defenders do not like to see on the teamsheet.

One rather amusing comment by Wenger was on Diouf’s attempted assault on Almunia with Wenger admitting if it had been Jens in goal he would have headbutted Diouf:

“I spoke to him about it at half time of course. I had some experience with Jens Lehmann before – I think he would’ve headbutted him [if he was on the end of that sort of tackle].

That would be one thing i would have paid to see, this moment still cracks me up!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNHOBdHyRfM]

Good ‘ol Jens, a legend!

Just before i leave you there is some sad news about Thomas Rosicky who has suffered another two week setback. He is due to be back after two weeks after the two weeks after the two weeks. Another two weeks after that he will return to training. Seriously, i hope he does recover because he is a fantastic player and it would be a real shame for everyone for his career to end on such a sour year.

Good luck Thomas, you can return.

Right, heres to a good win tonight and our boys visiting the overpriced show ground in the West for the first time!

Up the Gunners!

’til tomorrow.

Arsenal 3 Burnley 0

FA Cup 5th round – The Grove

I have the copyright to all Carlos Vela’s chipped goal finishes. From now on they are known as VelaChip©.

Sorry, awful isn’t it? This is my second attempt at writing the blog after 600 words somehow got deleted due to my Internet being of the equivalent speed of a mouse running on a wheel.

I’m sure you all know about the game so i will swiftly dodge that part and its  a fantastic result for us.

What can i say about Eduardo’s goal? it was sublime and i for one couldn’t believe what he managed to do, he knew what he was going to do from the instant Song played that lovely ball and he finished it with amazing accuracy. We really do have a hell of a striker on our hands here, hes not flamboyant in the slightest but he has so much talent and the most fantastic mentality to boot. A fitting captain for the day.

It means that we are one step closer to Wembley which will be a first for this side, Hull are up next but we really should beat them with comfort considering their current form and they will be concentrating on survival instead of the FA Cup which means it is even more in our favour, no excuses for not getting to the Semi-Finals. Then, anything can happen.

Wenger’s reaction to the game was full of praise, its a case of wham, bam, thankyou maam’ for the rest of the season, lets just get the job done and move on, we still have 2 trophies and a CL place to play for and that is more than we had to play for at this stage last season as we were already out the FA Cup.

The whole team did very well against Burnley and hopefully the confidence given to the likes of Song and Eboue will show into what is the most important part of our season, Eboue will hopefully be more composed in front of goal now whilst Alex Song was imperious and it was by far his best performance in an Arsenal shirt.

Sorry for the appalling blog but my internet connection made sure that i lost a 600+ word post! Thank you Tiscali. Cunts.

Roma build up starts tomorrow,

Up the Gunners

Good Saturday evening to you all.

I will start off with an idea that is either plain stupid or fairly good; time will tell i suppose. Anyway, without further a-do here it is.

Basically its just a bit of fun, i want YOUR Arsenal chants that you have recorded. They can be drunken, from the game, random chants or just a big old rant at something; either way i want you to record them and send them to me. Here is how you can do it.

• Record it on your computer with a microphone
• Record it on your mobile phone and upload it to your computer

Fairly simple? I hope so..

All you need to do after that is send it to me via my e-mail which is goonblogger@googlemail.com or upload it to YouTube and send me the link, either in the comments section or through my e-mail.

What i will do then is create a compilation of all the chants, put them into a podcast and post it on the blog. Its not a competition its just a bit of fun. They can be about anything too, Tottenham, Man Utd, any player or game you want. It is entirely up to you!

Please get involved because it will all be good fun.

Now onto tomorrows game against Burnley and it is likely we will see some faces we have not seen for a while, namely Theo Walcott and Eduardo who are in the squad for a game. I’m tipping one of them to start with Van Persie, Denilson, Nasri, Almunia and probably Clichy being rested.

Bendtner is likely to get another start up front with Vela or Arshavin alongside him, though i wouldn’t rule out a start for Eduardo.

It will be a tough selection for Wenger who must surely have one eye on our midweek game with Roma; of course, we would not have to look ahead to that so much if we did not waste chance after chance but that is in the past and we can’t rectify that.

Denilson really could do with a rest because he has made a hell of a lot of appearances this season; the most of any player. I am pretty sure he has not missed a game (in the league) since the defeat to Fulham at the start of the season, that’s quite some run of games!

All in all i expect us to win with something to spare and its a good chance for Bendner to show the form of midweek again against on of the leakiest defences in the Championship, with Arshavin looking for a start as he will be rested in midweek we will have the creativity for sure.

Its a chance for us to get to Wembley for the first time and we really can’t afford to blow it, if we do there are sure to be massive repercussions. We should not even contemplate it.

Stupid bloody FA Cup draw/setup/fixtures. Hull will await us if we win. I think its another home draw but can’t be sure.

Lets get behind the red army tomorrow.

Remember those chants.

Til Tomorrow – Up the Gunners!

“He always wanted more and this guy is small but has the mental strength of a mountain.”

Our man is back, and what a statement he put out last night. Mr Cool, Mr Clinical. I don’t know about you but his return almost put a tear in my eye, the crowd were the loudest ive ever heard and his second goal celebration summed up the man. He is a legend. And in his words, ‘it was the best day of my life’.

It was written in the stars, i did not think he would start but his return gave the team a massive lift by the looks of things, Bendtner was very lively, Nasri was livley, Gibbs was superb as was Sagna and Gallas is in the best form of his Arsenal career. Eduardo picked up where he left off.

I really, really admire him as a player and the personal aspect. The fact that he must have been in such unbearable physical pain when his leg broken, never mind the mental scars he must have. I myself broke my arm badly when i was playing football a few years ago, i still wake up at night and don’t move it as im scared it will hurt, the mental strength to overcome that, and the fear going into tackles is a massive massive thing. His determination and will to come back is truly inspirational and not just to Arsenal fans, not just to football fans but ordinary everyday people around the world. Arsene Wenger spoke especially about him after the game saying,

“I am not surprised he played well tonight. I didn’t play him as a reward for his excellent work; it was because in training over the past few weeks he has done extremely well. He made a big step forward two weeks ago when he found sharpness in front of goal and in his runs and he got rid of his apprehension in the tackles.

Wenger is not a man for the token appearance, he would not have put Eduardo onto that pitch if he did not think he was 100%. He continues,

“Of course it is nearly 12 months out and he has been extremely strong mentally during that time, I could never see one minute of doubt in his mind or one minute where he said ‘no, I don’t want to do it’.

Just highlights what i was saying a minute ago, a truly inspirational bloke and a role model for everyone out there, he is quiet, never speaks out of turn, never turns on his team mates, he has handled this situation with great elegance and dignity.

I would just like to draw attention to the missiles thrown onto the pitch, aimed at Fabianski. I saw a phone and a shoe thrown at him, hopefully they will find the bastards and force them to bow down to Fabianski and lick his shoes clean. Idiots

On a fantastic performance Wenger was proud of his side, and so was i. I have not seen us play like that since the game against Sheffield United in the Carling Cup and boy its good to see. Denilson and Song were strong in the middle and not one single player performed below par. When Van Persie came on we just saw how good he is, a fantasticaly taken goal and he almost set up Bendtner with a ball that is the ultimate strikers wet dream, it was that good. Wenger was in his element,

“We played the kind of football we love to play and it is good to see us play with handbrake off. We are now consistent, we are stable defensively, and we added tonight our drive going forward.”

It looked like it was all coming together and what a selection headache Wenger will have next weekend, its a very nice one all the same!

But our fantastic performance has overshadowed some slightly….darker, news.

Alisher Usmanov has aquired a quarter of Arsenal Football Club, its not good news, does he not get the message?

A statement from Shit and Piss read,

“We are pleased to have now secured over a quarter of the shares of Arsenal.

“We are committed long-term investors and supporters of the club and are comfortable that we are now in a protected position.

“We also welcome the strengthening of the squad and look forward to a successful conclusion to the season.”

Why can’t they go away?? Please, please, please just leave this club alone and stop wasting your money. Whilst you are at it increase the production of oil again so we can have our good prices back.

P.S. – You will not get a seat on the board.

Back to the good news and it looks like Cesc will be back with us very soon, though i doubt he will play against Roma, in the first leg at least. He has said,

“Over the last couple of weeks I have been going up into the mountains to work and it’s been hard but good for my muscles, I’m really happy with how it’s going, it’s looking good and hopefully in 10 days I can start to train with the ball, so it’s going a bit quicker than I thought it would. I can’t wait until I can touch the ball again, because it’s about eight weeks since I’ve kicked a ball and I think that’s the longest time of my whole life!”

He will be back in the changing room from now on as his recovery is in its final stages, its really starting to look like there may be some bright months ahead!

Just a note to you readers; you may have read some of Bendtners ‘comments‘ early on yesterday. If you read them you may have been buggered by some gutter journalism, its really sad isnt it, how they feel the need to screw over youngsters. For the record, Bendtner has denied the comments.

Right thats it, fuck off Usmanov, fuck off crappy journalists and most of all

Well done Eduardo.

Til Tomorrow – Up the gunners.

Its a conundrum that I’m sure will have crossed most Gooner’s minds.

Its one likely outcome, i would rather not contemplate another trophyless season to be honest as much for the weight that would be thrown onto Arsene Wengers shoulders than the fifth season since we last saw a trophy in the hands of an Arsenal captain.

Honestly, i don’t know how i would react, i dont know what i would prefer, a trophy? or the Champions League next season?

I guess i will only know how i feel if it happens.

If we progress tonight our path to the Semi’s is mapped out, after Cardiff it will be Burnley at home, and potentially after that either Sheffield United or Hull – now that would be revenge eh?

We have to win tomorrow and the team will most likely be Fabianski, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Gibbs, Nasri, Song, Denilson, Merida/Wilshere, Bendtner, Vela

Thats what i think it will be as we have tons on injuries, i am probably mistaken though, Wenger will want to rest Van Persie and give Bendtner a chance with Ade out injured. Im thinking that Merida or Wilshere will start because Diaby is out, Eboue is suspended, Vela is needed up front, Denilson is needed in the middle and all our other players that can play there are crocked. Eduardo will play at some point i am sure, i doubt he will start though. And if he does appear, IM GOING TO MISS IT!

How crap is that? I’m going to be really sad if i do i can tell you.

You never know, Bischoff could get a game in the centre and Denilson can play out wide? Doubt it.

We need to get at them straight away, get an early goal to settle the players as it has been a long time without getting a goal, since Everton away i believe, it will get the fans going and be a bit blow to Cardiff. If we score in the first 20 minutes we will win comfortably.

The team wants this trophy, we can’t throw it away, we just can’t afford it, probably literally as well. Sagna has said he really, really wants to win this one:

“I won the French Cup with Auxerre and I know how great an achievement that is. Every game was a fight, a war on the pitch.”

Our other french full back has spoken about how important it is for the fans, and the players too:

“The FA Cup is really important for the fans and for the club and for us. It is one of the competitions we can win, along with the Champions League.”

Right then get out there, want every ball more than Cardiff do, show your hunger ad determination to the fans because they are not really seeing it at the moment and it is very, very frustrating. Its funny how just a couple of weeks after every Arsenal fan was lifted by the Arshavin signing, they are now as downbeat as they were before. I still can’t believe that we have him as we have not seen him on the pitch yet for one season or another.

When he is on the pitch in the Arsenal shirt, i will then believe it.

I will be missing the game tonight as i actually have a football game myself, its really pissed me off and i bet we will trounce them just to rub more salt into my wounds. I have not seen an easy Arsenal win since the Blackburn game. God, that feels like years ago right now.

Finally, let me know how you think you would react to winning the FA Cup and finishing in fifth place in the league? Im sure it will create some interesting debate amongst you readers.

Right,

UP THE GUNNERS!

Til Tomorrow.

Its going absolutely mental tonight, people texting Lachter, Sky Sports doing their bit to get us all excited then let us all down, commenter’s claiming they have had texts back from Lachter.

Its mad.

Ive tried texting him myself but the message did not deliver, maybe it was user error or a duff number i don’t know, but if you want to give it a bash head to the FIFA Agents List.

Gooner Talk have been up to date throughout the whole saga, passing Russian press information onto us and contacting Lachter himself and getting answers. My advice is if you are hunting for Arshavin information go there.

I did say that i would not keep going on about the deal a few days back but it just cant be helped, transfer deals have dragged on at times but this one is unique. Its utterly mental and to be honest, its not good for the game or player involved. Its probably like this because we go by the rules.

You know what, i am not even going to guess what will happen next.  I don’t want to use my brain power on even thinking about it because ive got a bastard cold, im nackered and quite frankly, i want to sleep and not wake up until Tuesday morning.

I was going to bring you a preview but i have not been able to research too deep into anything. West Ham are on a decent run, much like us and they have that Heskey mach II in Carlton Cole up front. And he has been banging them in recently, the net that is, not the stand like he usually does.

I remember when he used to be more of a threat to birds and UFO’s than the goalkeeper. I hope he has one of those days tomorrow, might get rid of some of those bloody Pigeons around London.

I’m unsure if Wenger will change much from Wendnesday, part of me thinks he will field the strongest team possible and rest players against Cardiff at home, one thing we cant afford is to underestimate one of these two teams.

In a way every game from now on, be it against Manchester Utd, Real Madrid, Roma or Blackburn Rovers, its a cup final. In a blink of an eye this season could be an utter disaster.

Then it still has the potential to be a good one, football is a funny sport isn’t it?

One thing we can put to bed is the Central Midfield area, Wenger has made it perfectly clear he is not looking to add there.

“I believe that we have the needed quality in the middle because [Abou] Diaby develops very well and I think that [Alex] Song develops well. I don’t believe that Denilson gets the credit that he deserves at the moment.

“At the back you can see the quality of players we have like [William] Gallas and Kolo [Toure] and [Johan] Djourou, they are in their national teams and to find better players is not easy.

“I agree that people always want better players but many clubs when they want better players come to see us so that means our players are good. For example Milan wanted [Philippe] Senderos, Senderos is 22 and Milan have scouts everywhere, so that’s why I believe we have the needed quality.

“Djourou is 21 and you think he will be better and we have to give him a chance.”

Bit of an essay there, cutting the jargon that red highlighted sentence is the most important.

This season is a true test of Gooners faith and Wenger is putting his faith in his youngsters. He has given this club and its supporters great times, we have achieved things that ten years ago would have been laughed at. Wenger deserves the time to try and do this his way with no interference. He will be, and is being criticized but we will have to trust him.

I do.

Right, my two cents on Arshavin. Sod it, why not speak what i think.

Wengers comments that have appeared this evening lead me to think that we will get him, i am being ever so cautiously optimistic.

“He’s a guy who can go past people in the final third, he can have the key, individually and collectively.

“He is an experienced player, 27, a good age and we are a very young side. We will not have Fabregas in the next six to eight weeks, we will not have Walcott in the next five weeks, Rosicky in the next eight weeks.

“You can see with the replay of the FA Cup we have the desire to do well in every competition and one more body could help us.”

He does not say those things about a player that isn’t his very often.

Monday maybe, i will put a penny bet on Arshavin arriving by 3pm Monday afternoon.

There you go, knock yourself out with Arshavin-ness.

Til Tomorrow.

Just to be straight with you, i am a massive fan of Arsene Wenger, i admire him and its not too often i criticize him but today is one of those days I’m afraid. I think he cocked up.

For those of you that don’t know, we had a goal-less draw with Cardiff City of the Championship. The damn Championship. We played poorly and the only player i saw with intent was Van Persie who really did not want to face another game, or to put it another way, he didn’t want another game to drag this team through.

Arsene Wenger has a big problem in the motivation department if im honest with you,it seems the players are never up for the games against opposition that isn’t fellow top four or Tottenham.

Do you remember the days where we could come out of the tunnel trying to finish the game in the first twenty minutes? The times we did that we had someone like Tony Adams or Patrick Vieira who were a massive presence and were very, very motivational players. We lack that kind of player now, and the emphasis of motivating the side now falls on Arsene Wenger because at the moment we really lack that motivation and drive at times we really need to nick wins, save games and end potential bannana skins early.

Another point that i have spoken about before is the decision to give the captaincy to Kolo Toure, i think it was a massive mistake.

The reason is Kolo is not assured of his team place, yes he is one of the most experienced players out there but he has been crap over the past year. Gallas has a big shout to be in the team instead of him as much as i hate to say it. I have covered this before so I’m not going to go over old ground but its just my opinion on the matter.

Today i thought Wenger made a mistake by not giving Adebayor a start today. He has not played as many games as Van Persie recently and he is in desperate need of games, but for some reason Adebayor was on the bench and Bendtner was partnered with Van Persie. I really don’t see Wengers logic here because i accept we need creativity but why not stick Nasri behind the strikers?

If Van Persie gets injured we are royally fucked and we really need him for the next two games that come in quick succession.

Yesterday – and today so far – have been rather silent on the Arshavin front as he gets his inevitable mention here.

I take it two ways – no not like that you dirty minded arsebandits- either the deal is over, kaput, done, dusted and having had a big F slapped on the documents or negotiations are so intense nobody has managed to shout their mouth off. I think it might be the latter as Zenit would have inevitably been mouthing off if the deal was kaput.

Right im sorry its been such a negative blog today, i really do admire the big man Wenger but i do feel he has made a few mistakes recently.

But on the plus side we are still on this unbeaten run, we kept a clean sheet and… and… and… and…

We still look rather tepid, like a wine that has been corked, like a tea bag left in the cup for too long. Like a saggy carrot. We are looking rather anemic.

Just one thing that has rather pissed me off this weekend is the FA are an English association for English clubs. Why are we playing a Welsh side in an English competition? That also play under Welsh FA rules? What do you think of that? Let me know because I’m not so sure i support it.

If they want to play in our competition they should bloody well play under our crappy associations rules!

Thats your lot today from the rambling git i am. Why you read this i don’t know.

Well, ’til next time.