The Goon Blog

Happy bank holiday, but this won’t make for happy reading.

As we already guessed, William Gallas will be out for the season after that accident against Villarreal. It has been confirmed that it is indeed medial knee ligament damage and that is not a few weeks on the sidelines, its months. As it turns out we have also lost Almunia for what looks like three weeks with an ankle injury that was originally sustained from that despicable excuse for a human being…El Hadji Diouf.

Gael Clichy is also going to be on the sidelines for a couple of weeks with a back injury sustained in Tuesday’s game as well…  At this rate Bakary Sagna’s head is going to fall off after the Wigan game whilst Kolo Toure suffers an influx of Gout after next weeks return leg in the Champions League.

Wenger said this at his press conference yesterday:

“Gallas is a quick recoverer but we think he will be short to come back before the end of the season, It’s a big, big blow but that’s where the squad come in. I believe as well we have lost Manuel Almunia for three weeks and we lost Gael Clichy for two weeks with a back problem. We lost three players on Tuesday night so we have to once again rely on the depth in the squad – that is quite strong. As well we have to rely on our mental strength because until now we have dealt well with all our injury problems. Robin van Persie and Eduardo will have tests tomorrow morning. They might be available. And of course we have Andrey Arshavin available for Saturday.”

This could not come at a worse time. We could face Man United potentially FOUR more times this season, add that to two clashes against Chelsea (exc. CL) and a game against Liverpool (exc. CL), it means we need our strongest defence out there. With all due respect to Kolo, Sagna et.al. Gallas is our best defender, he is better than Kolo, better than Bakary, better than Gael, Djourou and Silvestre. Its a massive loss. In my view no player has redeemed himself more this season than Willy Gallas.

Take a look at the oncoming fixtures:

If I was offered 1-1 after the first 45 minutes i wouldn’t have just bitten your hand off, id have probably kissed you. The first half was worrying, we lost Almunia and Gallas to injury and went a goal down, albeit a rather good goal from ‘Spazillian’ Marcos Senna but still, things were not looking at all good. But, one thing we have learnt over this season is that when Arsenal are down, they sure as fuck are not out.

Highlights | Wenger’s thoughts

It was the typical game of two half’s and as soon as the kick off was taken in the second you could see the lads intent, we had been lacking the final ball as we so often have this season but when the ball fell to Fabregas in a similar position as to where he found himself at the weekend for the second against Citeh, he floated in a similar ball to the Tognator who chested it up and hit a magnificent bicycle kick into the far corner. It was truly magnificent and there will not be many better goals scored this season, there is one thing you can’t deny about Adebayor and that is that in the big games he really turns up. The first half passed him by but the second was when he really came alive.

Adebayor has admitted that he didn’t really have a clue what he was doing, to be honest, I don’t care. It was genius:

“I’m really pleased with how I played – I don’t even know how I scored, but the most important thing is that the ball went in the back of the net. The most important thing is to play and do something good here and I think we have done that quite well.”

I’m sure he is head over heels with that goal.

Next week Villarreal will be looking to return the favour with an away goal but at the Grove you will always fancy us to score at least one, van Persie should be back along with Eduardo meaning our attacking threat will have doubled. We must be favourites to go through now but remember, we are only halfway and there is a lot more time left in the tie.

On the injury front we couldn’t have had a worse night, Gallas looks like he is out for a long time, along with Almunia who has an injury knock. Wenger said this about Gallas after the game:

“With Gallas, it looks quite serious and could be a medial knee ligament injury,” said Wenger. “We will have to assess it. I am not a doctor, but the first signs do not look too good.”

The diagnosis looks slightly better for Almunia:

”Manuel is a reoccurrence of an ankle injury, which probably will be a couple of weeks.”

That is a massive blow for us, the defence is not rock solid but the experience of William Gallas is vital, not only to the defence but the team too. You just have to wonder if he might have played his last game for Arsenal after the events of this season. We should get more information on Gallas over the next couple of days.

On Almunia – We can live without him but Fabianski is still yet to convince me 100%, he is a fantastic shot stopper but when the ball is crossed in he has a tendency to flap. At this stage of the season you do wish that we had an experienced number two to rely on…

One thing that i realised when i was watching the game was just how young our midfield was, Walcott 20, Song 22, Denilson 21, Fabregas 21, Nasri 21. I might not be bang on with those but its around the right area…that’s an average age of 21. Name a better midfield, or even a midfield as good as that, at that age, in Europe. I bet you can’t.

One lesson taken from today is that we really need to buck our ideas up in the first half in away ties, against Roma we paid the price for a sloppy start. We did it against Villarreal last night and we only just escaped after Ade’s equaliser.

Last night proved that Villarreal are no soft touch and are in this competition on merit, they were not the only team to prove that either with the Manc’s drawing 2-2 against Porto at home. I’m sure every Gooner will be hoping for a win at home for the red and white army along with a goal-less draw out in Lisbon.

That my friends, would be just perfect.

’til tomorrow.

I tell you what, Arsene needs some new spectacles or a decent pair of contact lenses because one thing is for certain, he is on planet zog when it comes to this team. After the shambolic performance yesterday he said;

“Our attitude was spot on and overall we had great determination and put them under pressure.”

Our attitude was shit, we had no urgency at all. Anyone can see that. We did not want to win that game as much as Sunderland wanted a result out of us, all after it started so brightly with Arshavin getting a start, having a couple of fizzing chances and then Robin Van Persie missing a chance that he would normally have stuck away. Lets just say if it was Eduardo there i would have steaked a hell of a lot of money of the ball ending up in the back of the net.

Moan about their defensive tactics Arsene, moan about the referee, moan about the pitch, moan about the rough tackles, moan about injuries but just accept this.

We. are. not. good. enough.

If we can’t beat Sunderland, West Ham, Hull and Sp*rs at home we don’t deserve to be in the top four at the end of the season, even if we have beaten Man United and Chelsea.What does that count for when we slip up to the (with all due respect), shit teams.

We have a midfield with the creativity of a brick barring Andrey, Our other main creative players simply do not turn up sometimes. Van Persie didn’t really feel like it today by the looks of things, Nasri was anonymous and you would have needed a bloody secret agent to track down Niklas Bendtner.

Our crossing was woeful, Sagna was good in defence but whenever he crossed the halfway like he left his talent in the other half of the pitch. It says something when a central defender is your most attacking forward in the last minutes of a game doesn’t it? Yes, I’m on about William Gallas.

We are looking fine in defence but what good are 0-0’s doing to us? I would much prefer a 3-2 scoreline because we would actually get three points. Its been FOUR games without a win now in the league and in all competitions we have scored five goals in the last six games, with four coming all in one game.

Its truly despicable.

I have been trying to be upbeat but every time i try i get disappointed, sooner or later people are going to snap and Arsenal, there is no point in freezing the season ticket prices for a fourth year running because at this rate, there are going to be spare ones next season if we are not careful. Fans are getting really narked at this team not giving 100% and living their cushy lifestyles with their bleached hair, cars with ‘25′ embroided on their seats, slick motors and pink, orange, green and powder puff boots. Joe Bloggs out there is listening to another six thousand people getting laid off and becoming unemployed, going back to their families saying they might lose the very roof over their heads.

Will they really care about a bunch of overpaid thick twats kicking a football about? Especially if they are not even trying.

Everyone that watches football, be it at the ground, pub, armchair or radio is paying a tiny bit towards these players wages, its escapism, but its getting to the point where people are thinking, you know what. Fuck em!

If they gave away a weeks wages between everyone that has lost their job in the last few weeks they would be much, much more comfortable. For example, if Ade really is earning 110K a week, that would probably keep every family that has had someone laid off in the past month fed for an entire year.

A message to all the Arsenal players.

At least look as if your trying? Please? Hell, you might even need more Mango moisturiser to soften those legs of yours that may get caked in mud?

Sort it out, or fans will vote with their feet.

Sorry, many fans won’t agree with me im sure, not many do. Its what i think, i reckon its true. Do you?

Up the Gunners.

Til Tomorrow.

Alright you lot, fair bit today, makes a change eh?

This has actually taken ages to write because i think my computer has contracted a very fucking annoying virus. If i ever find anyone that has ever sent me a virus i will actually stick a red hot poker up their anal passage, then insert their penis into a food blender. Anyway,

First up the speculation linking us to French ‘keeper Yoann Pele, this has surfaced due to comments from him saying he would like to play for Laurent Blanc or Arsene Wenger when his contract runs out at the end of the season. His words were;

“Working with Laurent Blanc and Arsene Wenger would be pleasant.”

Cue the headlines ‘PELE SET FOR ARSENAL!’ and the likes, quite humorous actually. For what its worth i don’t think we will be in for him because Almunia is firmly our number one, and i don’t think Fabianski will be given up on yet by Wenger, very, very unlikely in my book.

Ivan Gazidis has spoken with confidence about the club not being affected much by the big fat recession we are in the middle of at the moment, he says that our ‘unbelievable assets’ will see us though comfortably in the next few difficult years and put a very positive spin on all things Arsenal before moving on to the Alisher Usmanov issue, here are a few quotes picked out from the waffle of the actual interview conducted by Reuters.

On the club’s assets and future in the current economic climate:

“I believe we are going to be very successful. We have some unbelievable assets that are going to mean that in the environment that we are heading into, which is challenging for everybody over the next few years, we are going to be very successful,”

This may be a hint at dropping ticket prices?:

“We have an incredibly solid fan base, a long waiting list for season tickets. We’ve got our own stadium that holds 60,000 people, so we are very well positioned in relative terms, but that doesn’t mean that we can sail along as if nothing has changed economically because that’s unrealistic,”

Highlighting that we probably DO need to be in the Champions League next season:

“This club has to be in the Champions League, regardless of the business model. Any year that we are not in it is a major disappointment. There is always this short-term pressure, which is right and is part of being in football — we should want to be champions every single year. I think one of the things we believe is that money isn’t the only driver of success on the field,”

How long before a tabloid picks up on that first nine words?

On the job as a whole he had this to say:

“It is not just a job. You have the hopes and expectations of not only so many people, but also history. I feel that on my shoulders. It is a responsibility I take very seriously. If I can walk away someday, hopefully a long time from now, and say I did not let the club down, then I will feel pretty good about myself.”

After the first month of him being at the club it seems he knows how important his job is, and the importance of doing it right. He has talked the talk, i think he will do well. He does not seem like a bullshitter – so far.

On the Usmanov front he was pretty cagey, he was keen to point out that both on and off field affairs are separate, something you would expect him to say in such a situation. What is worrying is that he did leave the Usmanov takeover subject fairly open, saying;

“It is very important to this club that it is run on a self-sustaining basis,” he said. What that does is release you from the day-to-day pressures of anything that may be happening at board level. The club effectively functions as a club independent of what ownership changes may take place.”

That certainly does not say ‘Usmanov will not be taking over the club anytime soon’ or likewise, ‘Usmanov will take over’. Its an answer open to interpretation and interpret it how you will.

The Arsenal PR team are really working hard at the moment, first there was all that Eboue stuff before the Spurs game during which he succeeded in blowing it all apart, now its Nasri’s turn. In his interview with the Independent he comes across as very positive and firmly believing that The comebacks of our injured players will give the team a ‘new face’;

“I don’t think it is a central midfielder that Arsenal have been lacking. What we have really been missing is the injured players and when they come back you’ll see a different face to this Arsenal team.”

He also talks about his ‘celebrity’ status back in France and the bust up between him and Gallas after he sat in Thierry Henry’s seat on the Euro 2008 team coach. Its a pretty good read and worth a peek.

Adebayor has also been in the media after saying Arsenal need to win something, nothing new there then? We all acknowledge we really do need a trophy and in my opinion, it would be the making of this side. Surprisingly to some of the cynics out there, he also says that team achievement as a whole are far more important than his personal goal tally on what has been a stop start season for him with injuries and that ludicrous suspension he picked up unfairly.

The Mirror have run a NOTW style article on us moving for ‘fed up Real star Huntelaar’. It borders on stupidity, it really does. The guy moved in January and they claim he wants out because he was not in the revised Champions League squad list, the actual reason he is not on the list is because they had to choose between him and Dolphin head.

They then have the cheek to run a ‘10 things you need to know about the Arsenal summer target’. Jesus fucking christ! They really are desperate aren’t they? Its based on nothing and is total and utter bollocks, it will remain so until they have some evidence.

Brazillian striker ‘Nene’ has dismissed speculation linking him to us. Nothing new there then?

Right thats your lot.

Take it easy, up the Gunners.

Alright you lot, lets begin.

The Shite Of The World have released their latest weekly load of bollocks starting with the headline ‘YAYA TOURE FOR ARSENAL’. They have put two and two together and came up with 2000, seriously.

Its all based on this quote, taken about two years ago:

“It would be great to play in the Premier League and to team up with my brother would be just fantastic.”

I think he said that before he went to Barca a couple of seasons ago whilst he was still at Monaco if im not mistaken, its these kinds of articles that really, really piss me off. They have based it on a quote covered in dust and made the wildest accusation without the slightest bit of knowledge. As a matter of fact Yaya said this just a month or so ago:

“There has been talk of money and a longer deal, but at the moment I am just concentrating on working. I feel happy here and what is important is that I want to stay here for many years,”

Do your research you useless bunch of mongrel hacks. Bastards.

Arsene Wenger seems to like the latest few Chelsea managers, first he came out glowing with praise for Scolari, now he has done the same for Guus Hiddink, he said:

“Hiddink has a strong knowledge of the game and strong personality, he has big experience and he always gets his teams to play the kind of football he wants to play. This is the real art of a good manager.”

Maybe its some kind of unlucky vibe he is sending, could be black magic you know. I suppose if its accounted for Scolari why should it not account for Hiddink?

Wenger has also been talking about Andrey Arshavin and how this period of matches he is ineligible to play in could be a blessing in disguise, i suppose it does give him a while longer to get match fit and sharp again after not playing a competitive match since November. He is going to have to be fit to make an impact in the team, especially as the league change may take time to adapt, the climate however will make him feel at home. Apparently he will be ready for the Sunderland game and Wenger has said he was somewhat ‘handcuffed’ when it came to playing him against Sp*rs last weekend:

“I was a little bit handcuffed against Tottenham because we were down to 10 men and if we had sustained an injury then you couldn’t bring on a player who lacks fitness when you are down to 10 men.”

It was a shame he could not play but it was really not worth the risk of injury, can’t wait to see what all the fuss is about though, fuss that i did partake in i hastily add.

William Gallas’ form has also been put under the microscope by the Boss, there is no doubt that of late, Gallas has been a rock in our defence and his form is reflected in our clean sheets of late. Against Sp*rs he was rock solid and at his true best, i have been critical of him in the past but i can say that he has always been a quality player and the removal of the captaincy has let the pressure off, and the sulking period is now over.

“I have said many times that after a major incident he has responded like a real professional and has dealt well with the situation and that is what we want.”

Only conceding three goals in eight games really shows how we have shored up our defence, it is by no means solid, but its not as leaky as it was earlier in the season. Now, we just have to put the ball in the back of the net.

Phil Wilson has written an interesting piece in The Observer chatting about how the top four is no longer. At the moment its a top one, Manchester United, with four followers being Liverpool, Villa, Chelsea and us. The Manc’s im afraid to say, are miles out in front. To think we are the last team that scored against them, its a fantastic achivement.

Not to score against them, to go that long without conceding! No, i do not have my rose tinted specs on this time.

Right, thats the lot.

Til Tomorrow