The Goon Blog

Hello all, big day ahead.

We have a very good squad out there in Rome but how much will this be a factor?, Arsenal have been delayed and only arrived at 20:00 GMT meaning they have not had a chance to train out on the Roma pitch.

Wenger therefore missed the pre-match press conference but managed to talk to UEFA.com, saying:

“You want to go to Rome and play your own game. What is very important for us is to focus on scoring and going forward because they are a team who are very good going forward. If we allow them to spend 90 per cent of their time doing what they like to do, we expose ourselves. So let’s go there and focus to dictate our game. I think its part of a personality of a team and let’s show that. They will go for it because they know they have to score at least two goals and put us under pressure. It’s down to us to be well-organised and to come out and play our game.”

We have to play to our strengths and use the pace of Walcott to scare them into not throwing everything forward, they are not the most ‘Italian’ or Italian teams because they do like to attack. If we get the first goal i think we will easily go through though i do not want to jinx it!

Wenger seemed pretty cool about the delay and its possible the team had a training session whilst the new jet was being flown in from Paris, there was a 3 hour delay for them. Wenger said:

“We waited for two hours at our training ground, we were not at the airport. At the moment we are still trying to travel but up to now it’s not been too disturbing,”

Hopefully it won’t be a factor, the Roma pitch should be pretty good.

The squad for the game is as follows:

ALMUNIA (GK),DIABY,SAGNA,TOURE,NASRI,EDUARDO,GALLAS,VAN-PERSIE,VELA,WALCOTT,DENILSON,RAMSEY,SONG,DJOUROU,FABIANSKI (GK),CLICHY,BENDTNER,EBOUE,GIBBS

I am not too sure who will start but one of either Eduardo or Walcott is likely to start, preferably Theo because his pace will always be at the back of their mind, though he could have a big impact off the bench with 30 minutes to play. Al,Sag,Clich, Gallas, Toure, Denilson, Nasri, Bendtner and Van Persie are probably all certain starters, ive said Bendtner is because he was rested at the weekend and would have played a part if he was going to bench sit in Rome.

I think we will go through, it might get close and a little squeaky bum like at times but im confident. Lets hope the real Arsenal stands up and gets counted.

Sadly i will miss the game, i will try and catch it in a pub or something but i can’t hold out for it. Im gutted to be honest.

Gooner14 will be here with tomorrow’s update and match reaction.

Right, all you travellers please do take care and heed the warnings, stay safe. It really is dangerous out there.

Til Tomorrow (with Gooner14 at least!)

UP THE GUNNERS!

That’s my thinking on it and i think it will be Theo Walcott.

Before i continue i want to apologise for the shortness of this post, I’m tired after 5-a side and mightily pissed off at a crap referee – anyway back to Arsenal.

Eduardo will not start two games in four days, Wenger would just not risk it, but Walcott only got around 25 minutes on Sunday so if any of those will start it will most likely be Theo and with Roma chasing the game, his pace will be a massive threat to their back line and he will force them back. It would be a risk but one worth taking in my opinion, just knowing how fast he is will play on the defenders minds.

Emmanuel Adebayor is out of the Roma game so that means we will probably see Eduardo in a substitute role as Van Persie and Bendtner were rested at the weekend in preparation for this game, they have the potential to cause the Roma defence a lot of problems without the shielding of De Rossi who is a big part of the system they play. I will go into this in more depth tomorrow.

Wenger has spoken about Eduardo’s form since his return and i have been as impressed with his attitude as his finishing skills, i really do think we have a hell of a player on our hands here because he is such an intelligent player, Theo Walcott agrees with this:

“I have learned from watching him while he has been injured, how well he took everything in and how he smiles when he comes in every day. So I am happy for him. As for his finishing, that is ridiculous. It is unbelievable to watch in training. He hasn’t lost his touch and he never will. He is going to score many more like that one on Sunday I hope. He’s a brilliant finisher and we’ve missed that. I think that goal was the best finish I have seen this year so I am very happy for him.”

If every member of that Arsenal squad learnt from Eduardo’s attitude we would have one hell of a squad let me tell you, no moaning, just get out there and get the job done. Football does the talking.

Johann Djourou thinks he can cement a place in the starting eleven after being likened to a ‘young Sol Campbell’ by Kolo Toure. I think he can be that good but the lack of first team action is probably hindering him a bit at the moment. He said:

“Sol was a fantastic player for us, but I think I can do a bit more in terms of being comfortable on the ball and going forward – I’d say the kind of player I could develop into is more like Marcel Desailly. But it’s very nice of Kolo to say that, of course, because Sol Campbell is just a legend! He has everything you need to be a top defender, and he was exactly that for this club. He’s got that aggression and tactical ability, is good in the air and is very strong.”

It is really good to see he is aiming high and he has the potential to be a great defender. The key in that setence is the word potential. I do admit, he will make it if im honest with you. He continued,

“I told myself at the start of the season that I have to work hard even if I’m not first choice because I’m still young, but I think I’ve shown to people that I’m ready for this.”

Experience is key in defenders, lets not forget he is a fully fledged international player and has been for some time now, he is set for big things but i see him waiting behind Gallas and Toure for a while, especially after the run of clean sheets they have had before the WBA game.

This guy needs to shut up and go away, he is pesky, annoying and his bias is so strong its beyond belief. Just put his name into YouTube and you will see what a berk he is.

Transfer speculation about Barnetta.

Thats the lot, Til Tomorrow

Hello from a very snowy Northamptonshire

I swear that this country is allergic to snow, its bedlam.

There is not much kicking around today after a manic few days late last week and early this week, there have been a few amendments to the Champions League squad, Fabregas has said that the media stop him from going to watch his own club play, there is a specialists view on our new man and there is a report on Wenger looking at a 23 year old French midfielder. It sounds more than it really is. Honest.

Lets start with the Champions League squad and Amaury Bischoff has been added along with Frimpong, Henderson and James Dunne, whilst loanees have been taken out the squad such as Jay Simpson, Rui Fonte, Gavin Hoyte, Rene Steer, Abu Ogogo, Paul Rodgers and Henri Lansbury hare all withdrawn. Francis Coquelin has been turfed out the squad as well and i think that could mean he will go out on loan at some point because i can’t see any other reason for him being excluded.

Bischoff puzzles me, i was expecting him to go out on loan for a month or so, just to see what he really is made of. He has a horrific injury record and if we are not careful he will go and the money invested in him will be pretty much wasted with no return. Its a tad confusing.

We are apparently eying up French 23 year old midfielder Yohan Cabaye. He is a Flamini type player but he would command a hefty fee. I can’t believe that about thirty hours after Andrey has signed we are already being linked with players? Wenger is always linked with players like this and i can’t see it happening.

Cesc Fabregas has been talking about how he can’t go and watch Barcelona games whilst he recovers through fear of media speculation,

“I’d have liked to have gone to watch Barcelona in the Nou Camp, but I wanted to avoid all the speculation on my future, Now my only worry is that I recover as soon as possible to return to Arsenal and help my team.”

Its pretty sad to be honest, he is a committed Arsenal player and the media cant seem to accept that for whatever reason. They will end up chasing the country’s best players away if they are not careful.

The club website has got some ’specialist’ to comment on the Andrey transfer and how he will fit in at the club, the only thing is i recon i have seen more of Arshavin than this man has. All he bangs on about is three games at the EURO’s.

“He was pretty keen to leave last summer after he had those two great games against Sweden and Holland at Euro 2008. I think he realised then just how good he was. Before that, I don’t think he was aware that he could do it on a European scale. So I think he was looking for a move but stayed because of Zenit’s Champions League campaign.”

There have been a few rumours that he has only just started really maturing in recent years, hence why he has only really just appeared on the scene. Wenger was watching him for three years so obviously sees more than those great performances at the EURO’s. This hack however, has really hyped him up, something that worries me,

“I keep hearing people say that ‘he’s only played two good games’, referring to Euro 2008, but the fact is he was brilliant in those games against Sweden and Holland.

“He only played three games in total at the Euros and, OK, he was disappointing against Spain in the Semi-Final. That was partly because Marcos Senna marked him very well but it was also because Spain played 4-1-4-1 when David Villa got injured and managed to push back the Russian full-backs. Part of Russia’s game had been the way the full-backs got forward, and playmakers need players moving around them. Arshavin was clearly restricted by Senna but, equally, he didn’t have those players moving around him. It’s very easy to blame the playmaker for what is actually a systemic failure in the team.

He dominated those games from midfield in a way I haven’t seen anyone do since the days of Michel Platini. To be honest I didn’t think it was possible for someone to dominate like that so I think he really is a very special talent.”

Platini is a bit of a bastard but he was not a bad player at all. All this bigging up really worries me because he will take time to settle in, this increases expectation and a couple of average performances and the press will be on his back faster than he could say ‘owl’. I just hope he is given a chance. His strengths and what type of player he is is summed up here,

“He’s quick, he’s sharp, he reads the game very well, he is a typical Arsène Wenger player in that he seems to have a very acute understanding of where other players are on the pitch. Technically he’s very good, he is diminutive, but he is top, top class.”

Can’t help but agree there.

I would just like to say that ITV are the worst broadcasters since the invention of the television. How dare they claim to offer great coverage when after 157 minutes of nothingness in a game, when the goal occurs, they miss it because of a commercial! Its an utter joke and for all the hate i have for the BBC i wish they had the coverage.

Right, cheers for reading, im going back to bed.

Til Tomorrow

“They [the Board] let me do what I want to do,”

This isnt a dig at Wenger as he is a hero of mine, i admire him, his footballing philosophy and i will be forever grateful for what he has done for Arsenal but could that statement show where we are going wrong?

For many years now Arsene Wenger has done as he has pleased, and he has done it with the interests of the club at heart from his perspective. But maybe it time for the board to say, ‘come on Arsene, we really need to win something this year. Are you 100% confident this team can win something?’. I don’t think he would say yes.

Wenger is a very very clever man, he is astute, faithful and always has the interests of the club at heart as he would not make a club suffer for the sake of his pride. He needs to spend in January to win something and i wonder if someone such as Fiszman has had a quiet word with him, after all, his money is in the club and football is a results business. 5 defeats by the 20th December is not really on for a club of this stature.

I do not for one minute think that Wenger will ever be sacked by the club, the same scenario as Alex Ferguson is in, but i really do think that a little word with Wenger could just persuade him to buy because he already knows some fans support is starting to wane, he has said about it,

“we want our fans and everyone to contribute”

A win on Sunday would undoubtedly win some fans support back, it would put us back in the mix because (Ive said it before and i’ll say it again), with everything that has gone on this season, i.e. the ‘top 4′ being beaten fairly regularly, i would not write Arsenal off winning it. Yet.

The latest transfer news seems to be typically ‘Wengerish’ though, Boulogne defender Steven Mouyokolo has been linked to us in a 4 million pound deal, i have to say ive never heard of this bloke before but his team are sitting second in the French league so he and his defence must be doing something right.

I think what we need above all is some experienced winners in the side, im on about players that have won domestic leagues and cups, and quite a lot of them at that. Not many players have that at the club and i think once you have won something you want it more than someone who has not won something, once bitten, twice as deadly as the saying goes.

Arsenal v Roma

Anyway, onto the main news i suppose, we drew Roma in the Champions League.

One of the best draws there in my opinion, their record in England is nothing short of abysmal and our record in Italy is nothing short of fantastic. Some of our recent results are beating Roma 3-0 at the Stadio Olimpico, beating Inter 5-1 at the San Siro and that memorable 2-0 win over AC Milan. People will say, ‘Oh, i wish we would have drawn Panathinaikos‘, but in my opinion that would be a far tougher game as they are lesser opposition. Funnily enough, thats the way Arsenal operate.

There is a possiblility that all English clubs could be out by the quarter finals if something goes wrong, there are some monster draws and for the first time, Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool are having a dose of what we regually have, a bloody tough draw.

Inter Milan v Manchester United

Real Madrid v Liverpool

Chelsea v Juventus

They are going to be some damn good games, and i can see two of the four English clubs going out, we have the best draw out the lot so we should be going through.

This blog is for all you gooners to read what i say, have an opinion on it and vent your opinion, we have on average over 600 people a day reading this but only a handful of comments. Feel welcome to leave your views, we won’t critizise you, we may argue our point or disagree with you but we will never disrespect you because of your views. This is not like other blogs, you can have your opinion, we are not dictators!

You really are quite welcome to comment!

Until next time, have a great day and don’t spend too much money on pointless Christmas presents, we are in a recession and the government are……. don’t get me started on this!

T’ra

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.