Keep calm and carry on...

Ho Ho Ho!! The holidays are here! Five days into my extended break and I’ve already been into the office, twice. That’s dedication for you.

Since my last update, Arsenal have played four games; Wigan (A), Olympiacos (A), Everton (H) and Manchester City (A).

As I predicted, we beat Wigan comfortably with an impressive performance at the DW Stadium. Wigan had become a bit of a bogey team for us of late, a 2-2 draw last December, a 3-2 defeat in April 2010. On both occasions the Gunners were in front, only to let crucial leads slip. To win 4-0 this year shows progress and the score made it a thoroughly enjoyable away-day for the fans. Despite the great result, my most memorable moment was at the final whistle, when Szczesny walked over hushing the crowd only to start up the chant, ‘And its Arsenal… Arsenal FC! We’re by far the greatest team.. the world has ever seen!’ Ledge. On our way to the railway station, some of the players got the opportunity to meet me, with my friend Dan lucky enough to get The Ox’s shirt!

Arsene decided to rest the majority of the first eleven as we travelled to Olympiacos in a pointless match. Pointless, because unlike our Premier League rivals, we had already qualified, as group leaders, for which we were rewarded with a mouth-watering tie against Italian giants, AC Milan. Two massive clubs, two amazing football arenas - this is what Champions League football is about.

The game itself was almost unbearable to watch. Hilarious goal-keeping, calamitous defending, schoolboy midfielding and nothing up front. If ever there was a sign to Arsene that our second string needs massive reinvestment, this was it. Having assessed the season thus far and as we rapidly approach the next transfer window, I think we could do with (in no particular order), a good backup goalkeeper, a versatile full-back – someone who could play either side and would happy to be a squad player – similar to a John O’Shea, a creative midfielder who should replace Arshavin and a top draw centre-forward. Personally, I’d like to see Arsene make a sneaky bid for Fernando Torres. Always been a big fan of El Nino and think he would be explosive in our system.

David Moyes brought his Everton side to town in the shape of a bus and parked it firmly in front of the goal at the Emirates. After a very sluggish start the game had 0-0 written all over it. A tight game, on a cold winter’s day, was graced by a sensational goal, courtesy of our captain, Robin Van Persie. A great passing move ended by RVP smashing in a volley from Alex Song’s chip pass. That’s 46 goals in 54 games for club and country in 2011. Phenomenal. And on the weekend of the club’s 125^th anniversary celebrations, how fitting that the result was 1-0 to the Arsenal, a result so synonymous with the club.

Yesterday’s SKY Super Sunday saw us travel to Eastlands to take on current league leaders, Manchester City. In all honesty, I’d written this game off and thought we were in for a hiding. Upon reflection, to lose 1-0 considering our performance is probably a disappointment. I felt we had the chances to score and perhaps on another day, we’d have netted to get a point from the game.

I’m all set for my first trip to Villa Park tomorrow. Not sure if I’m more excited about visiting the Colonel with the usual suspects at Newport Pagnell or the football! The team must take positives from the game at City and if we can carry these into our next five fixtures; Aston Villa (A), Wolves (H), QPR (H), Fulham (A) and Swansea (A), 13 points should be attainable, if not the maximum 15. Time to keep calm and carry on..

Meanwhile, the FA Cup has paired us with Leeds United in the third round on a cold January Monday night at the Emirates. The clash of the round is of course, Manchester City v Manchester United.

And finally, just hearing news about Luis Suarez’s eight game ban for racism. That’s Liverpool finished for this season. Let’s just hope the FA throw the book at John Terry too. Happy days!

You get what you pay for...

The commentator’s curse struck this week as we dropped two valuable points at home to Fulham on Saturday. I wrote in my last update that we were now faced with an attractive run-in to Christmas. In all honesty, I thought we’d beat the Cottagers but our recent run of 9 wins from 10 had obviously caught up with us. You could tell that the players were lacking energy following the disposal of Borussia Dortmund earlier in the week. The first half may as well have not occurred – dire as it was. And despite starting the second half brightly, Fulham took the lead against the run of play, courtesy of Tommy V’s own goal. We tried to get back into the game and Arsene gambled by replacing the BFG (big fucking german) with a BFUO (big fucking useless object) that is, Abou Diaby. We stepped up the pace a little and it was eventually Tommy V who nodded in our equaliser from Theo’s cross. Alas, it was too late to rescue the three points.

On Tuesday night we hosted Manchester City in the Carling Cup Quarter-Final. An almost full-house at the Emirates - the majority of whom were newbies. One fan even asked me to sit down during a corner. What is the world coming to? I wonder if I will have to ask permission to sing next time!

At one point, the line-ups were as follows:

21 Fabianski (3m)                                 30 Pantilimon (loan)

06 Koscielny (10m)                               05 Zabaleta (7.7m)

18 Squillaci (4m)                                   16 Aguero (38m)

20 Djourou (free)                                   15 Savic (10m)

49 Miquel (free)                                     24 Onuoha (free)

15 Oxlade-Chamberlain (11.2m)             28 K Toure (16m)

26 Frimpong (free)                                 11 Johnson (11m)

30 Benayoun (loan)                               19 Nasri (24m)

39 Coquelin (free)                                  20 Hargreaves (free)

09 Park Chu-Young (1.5m)                     34 De Jong (15.8m)

29 Chamakh (free)                                 10 Dzeko (27m)

Arsenal total = £29.8m                           City total = £149.5m

Before the game, you would have been forgiven for predicting an away win. For me, it was a case of damage limitation – I would have been happy to avoid embarrassment. As it happens, we were marvellous. It was an energetic performance, full of spirit and desire. The only thing missing from our game was a bit of maturity and concentration – something which cost us dearly in the end. As we played our corner and lost possession, we switched off defensively and failed to track Dzeko as he  played in the impressive Adam Johnson down the wing. With a pirouette, Johnson laid the ball into the path of oncoming Sergio Aguero who tucked it away neatly to send the Blue Moon brigade mental. When you think of Nasri/Aguero/Dzeko leading the line for City and Benayoun/Park/Chamakh leading ours - this was the difference in the end.. you get what you pay for.

The game marked Samir Nasri’s first return to the Emirates as a City player and as expected, he was greeted with angry boos. I must be honest, it felt weird booing him. Don't get me wrong, I was so angry when he left us but let’s get one thing straight... If someone offers to treble your salary and you refuse to move, then quite frankly, you are mad. Greed, my friends, is within us all and human nature is to always want more. Bottom line, I’d have done the same. He has no allegiance to Arsenal so expecting him to stay was unreasonable. I have pleasant memories of him in the red shirt, always trying his best, fighting for the team and leading by example – just cast your minds back to his performances against Barcelona (H), Man United (H), City (A), Porto (H) and even Fulham (H). Almost unplayable at times. Credit to him, he even played well against Liverpool earlier this season knowing full well that he was off.

Tomorrow sees us travel to Wigan. The usual suspects will be back in our starting line-up following a rest this week and so we should be OK for the three points. I've been to Wigan twice now and both occasions seen dire draws, the most recent of which game last season - Seb Squillaci's bullet header own goal. Let's hope for a change tomorrow!

And finally, let’s all laugh at Man United (Palace of Dreams) and the Spuds, humiliated at home in the Europa. Redneck says they can now concentrate on winning the league. Hilarious.

Let's be 'avin ya!

We have top players and sorry if I'm arrogant, now, we have a top manager. I'm European champion and I am the special one. Haha! I’ve always wanted to say that and now I can courtesy of Football Manager. Needless to say, FM has taken over my life. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, I can’t even think straight without it. Thank you very much, Demetris Kyprianou & Joe Husson for ruining me.

Howdy Gooners!

It’s been a couple of weeks since my last blog and I must say, I’m still laughing at the sight of John Terry being left on his knees chewing grass like a donkey. Thanks again to Ryan Sparrowhawk. Ledge:

This month has seen yet another round of boring, meaningless, international friendlies; a period of immense boredom for football fans up and down the country and endless nail-biting as they eagerly pray for a clean bill of health from any returning players. Delighted to say that we seem to have got through OK, though we did pick up unfortunate injuries to Kieran Gibbs and Carlos Jenkinsinho. I do worry about the former. I wonder if he’ll ever complete an injury free spell. No doubt he’s a decent player, with huge potential, but injuries look to be dominating his career thus far. Maybe Arsene needs to part with him. I don’t know.

Normal service is slowly being resumed at the Emirates, not that you’d know judging by the poor media coverage – particularly MOTD – do they hate us or what!? I mentioned previously that the sensationalist headlines during our bad spell were totally unjust yet nobody has mentioned our improved sequence of results since our lame defeat at Ewood:

W W W L W W W W W D W W W

Let's not get carried away like Harry Redneck on an ambulance... we are not challenging for the title at this current time. And no, neither are you, Spuds.

On second thoughts, maybe it’s a good thing to be out of the spotlight – you know, just lurking in the background, quietly going about our job whilst the media tear up AVB, or cover City for being on the verge of being dumped out of Europe or Sir Alex Ferguson who’s cracking up in press conferences!

Since my last blog, we have beaten West Brom 3-0 at the Emirates and Norwich City 2-1 on the road. Our match against West Brom showed glimpses of the old Arsenal. Mesmerising football, some pass and move almost unplayable at times, albeit against lesser opposition. Mikel Arteta, the beautiful man that he is, scoring a memorable third goal which had Arsenal written all over it. Pass, pass, pass, pass, lay-off and BANG. Laaavly.

Thanks to my good friends, Joanne Laura Foster and Tracey Ilett, I was given the opportunity to go to Carrow Road for an away day against Delia’s clowns.

Not the best game of football, though we squandered several good opportunities in the first half thanks to some crazy goal-line defending by some fat bloke. Another fat bloke put the Canaries ahead after Big Per scuffed his clearance and did his impression of John Terry. We got back in the game courtesy of some neat work by Theo on the flank. He raced past a poor challenge by a fat bloke to drive the ball across the 6-yard box and RVP tapped into an empty net. The winner came in the second half. Alex Song picked up a loose ball and drove forward to play in RVP on his chocolate leg. One touch, a delicate chip over the keeper and the travelling fans go bananas!

Last night we hosted German champions, Borussia Dortmund. A very flat first half performance by both teams followed by a scrappy, tight second half only to be graced by magic from Alex Song. Allegedly a central defensive midfielder, he picks up the ball and dances past three players before placing the ball perfectly on RVP’s head for the opener. Magic. I remember Fulham away back in 2006, he was described as ‘a fish up a tree’ by pundits on Soccer Saturday and was even boo’d off by sections of support. What a remarkable transformation in five years. Credit to the boy, and to Arsene for believing in him. You know who went on to score another – from a corner! Yes, finally, a goal from a set-piece. And how it reminded us of the old school, Bould near-post, Adams back-post routines! The win sees us qualify (the first English club to do so) as group leaders, which could see us face any of: Napoli, Trabzonspor, Ajax, Zenit, AC Milan (as tables currently stand). Wouldn’t mind any of them but would love to see AC again.

Looking forward to the next handful of league games, I am quietly optimistic. Potential slip-ups at City and possibly Villa away, but home games all look winnable. An intriguing Carling Cup home-tie versus City also lies ahead with the return of Samir Nasri, ‘a Carling Cup player at best now’ (that coming from a City fan).

Onwards and upwards. Come you REDS x

Halloween Thriller: Robin Fang Persie...

There are times in life when you just have to stop and take a moment to think about what has just happened. Today, now, is exactly this time for me. On Saturday, I ventured over to Stamford Bridge, courtesy of my personal banker and now good friend, Ryan Sparrowhawk.

Whilst it was my first time at The Bridge, I’ve been fortunate, or unfortunate depending on how you look at it, to have seen Arsenal play Chelsea numerous times including those painful Carling Cup ties and the defeat in the FA Cup Semi at Wembley back in 2009. Take it from me, it’s a long journey home from Cardiff when you’re on a train surrounded by Chelsea supporters.

I wrote in my previous blog that I would have settled for a draw and that I also thought this team was capable of getting all three points. Now, I’ve seen some games in my time, but this derby was simply extraordinary. With both teams demonstrating defensive weaknesses, there were eight goals scored in 90 minutes of madness and there could easily have been more.

With the likes of Vermaelen, Sagna & Wilshere missing, we named our strongest eleven available. I must admit that the absence of Didier Drogba from the Chelsea starting XI made me feel somewhat at ease although on the other hand, I was slightly worried that my continued praise for Torres would come back to bite me in the bum! Fortunately, El Nino went missing – rumours are that Larry Koscielny found him in his back pocket this morning. Speaking of whom, what an incredible player he’s turning out to be. People forget that last season was his first in England and that he had to get used to three different keepers and four different centre-back pairings. Some also forget his master-class display against Messi when we beat Barcelona at the Emirates. He is a fine young player with all the raw attributes to be a top class defender – and he was nothing short of outstanding on Saturday.

The main man however, was Robin Van Persie (RVP) who bagged a hat-trick, taking him to 28 goals in 27 league games in 2011. Phenomenal. Fingers crossed he can stay away from knocks and that he signs a new long-term deal with the club.

This week sees us battle it out against Marseille in the Champions League and then back to the Premier League on Saturday with the visit of West Brom. Personally, I would rest RVP and give Park a go in Europe and I think we can win both of these games.

And finally, two things:

1. I will never stop laughing at the sight of John Terry being left on his knees chewing grass like a donkey.

  

2. The walk from the stadium all the way home was one of the most satisfying walks of my life. Head high, chest out and cannon showing (err, once I’d got to the station anyway). Untouchable.

Much love x

Days are forgotten...

As the summer draws to an official close this Sunday, I have decided, after much deliberation, that central line women are the fittest of them all. Believe me, I'm right, particularly as I have conducted extensive research in this field – worthy of a PhD. Imagine, Dr. Khanage!

Anyhow, what an interesting month it has been for Arsenal FC. 7 wins from 8 since our capitulation at Blackburn – our only defeat at White Hart Lane and the Club’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) - more on this later.

The unexpected loss at Ewood Park was quickly followed by wins against Shrewsbury (Carling Cup), Bolton Wanderers (Premier League) and Olympiacos (Champions League). Unimpressive performances but the results were most welcome. The irony is that I think we actually played well against Spurs and in fairness, the game could have gone either way. In the end, it was settled by another wonder goal, this time from young right back, Kyle Walker. As expected, I received numerous abusive text messages at full-time and rightly so – if you can give it, you’ve got to be prepared to take it. However, all this nonsense about the ‘shift of power’ and that Spurs are now the ‘force of North London’ is total bollocks. May I remind those fools, that in addition to the fact we have finished above Spurs every season in the Premier League, our club honours also boast the following achievements:

13 League Championships

10 FA Cups

2 League Cups

European Fairs Cup Winners

European Cup Winners Cup

and Champions League 14 years running – a feat matched only by Barcelona and Manchester United

As Kasabian sing, (those) days are forgotten, simply forgotten.

I must say, some of the headlines that have followed our losses this season have been nothing short of hilarious. Claims that Arsenal are finished, or that Arsenal won’t finish top half and my favourite, Arsenal for relegation, are laughable. Such sensationalism is expected from the media but when it comes from the fans, it spreads like a poisonous cancer. Needless to say, this negativity has spread to match-days at the Emirates resulting in hostile receptions for the team every week. This isn’t healthy and must stop. For the record, Newcastle United will not finish top 4, we will not be relegated and we are certainly not finished!

Since the North London derby, we’ve picked up wins against Sunderland, Marseille, Stoke and Bolton. It would be fair to say that we’ve ground out some of these results with less than impressive performances but is this such a bad thing? Considering where we were, we can’t complain and I am convinced the performances will come. As Arsene once brilliantly put it, ‘If you eat caviar every day it is difficult to come back to sausages’.

Incidentally, I must apologise to my fellow Emirati for my outburst at the game against Stoke City. I should not have lost it – sorry. Peter Crouch’s equaliser came as a result of awful defending from a set piece. Ryan Shawcross was left totally unmarked, much to my dissatisfaction (as caught on Sky Sports, below) and he headed it straight across the goalmouth to get an assist.

The club held it’s AGM yesterday and to be perfectly honest, there was nothing of significant interest. We had a few words from Stan Kroenke, the usual polished waffle from the Chief Executive and a rousing speech from Arsene, calling for the club (fans) to be united. The media immediately picked up on some disgruntled supporters outside the stadium who all urged the club to spend millions. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we don’t have the money. Trying to keep up with these sugar-daddy funded clubs isn’t the right path to take. In twenty years we’ll all look back and realise that Arsene was right all along.

Next up, Chelsea. I’m going to the Bridge for the first time tomorrow and am really looking forward to it. Much has been made of their disciplinary problems and JT’s spat with Anton Ferdinand but make no mistake, they will be up for this and will be very tough to beat. I’d be pleased with a point but I think we’re capable of all three.

Oh and guess who’s back… Tommy V = nails.

And finally, an interesting find that has caught my attention. Rambo’s statistics in terms of ball retention, pass completion, goals scored and chances created are on par with David Silva. Of course, he won’t get the same press coverage, but I’ll take that all day long.

Viva Le Arse!

Feature: Joe Husson - Why I love 'The Arsenal'

Hello chums, I am delighted to introduce a special guest blog from a good friend and fellow Gooner, Joe Husson:

Joe has recently turned 21 (much to my disgust... not that he doesn't deserve to be 21, just it makes me realise how ancient I am). Joe lives and breathes football and one day, would like to become a coach at Arsenal - good luck, son! Enjoy..

During the international period, which for the record, is the most unnerving yet boring two weeks of my life, I took it upon myself to do a guest blog on 'Why I love The Arsenal' for my dear friend, the legend that is, Faisal ‘I’ll make a move on anything with a pair of breasts and a heartbeat’ Khan.

Although this is proving to be one of the toughest seasons in my 21 year affiliation with Arsenal Football Club, I think it’s about time someone gave a positive view of our club which has been dragged through the mud and kicked in the nuts repeatedly from all corners of the media since the season began.

Highbury

Where else would you expect me to start? Highbury. This is a place where I spent most of my childhood, come rain, wind, snow, ice or sun. I'd be there with my brother and dad cheering on The Arsenal. This was back in the day when I used to be at school all week, almost wetting myself in pure excitement that I was going to Highbury at the weekend.

Everything about match days back then seemed so much more special. Coming out of Finsbury Park train station and walking down the road, past the four burger vans, the pubs, all the sweet stalls and the 'Away Boyz' selling copies of their CD from outside someone’s house. All the time walking past these houses wondering where on earth a football stadium could be. Standing in the huge queue to get through those old fashioned turnstiles, holding my dad’s hand to make sure I don’t get crushed by all the big old men who looked as though they were in the clouds.

Once the game starts I would stand on my chair trying to catch a glimpse of my heroes over the much bigger man sitting in front of me. Then all of a sudden I’d hear ‘Right Here, Right Now’ by Fatboy Slim and the players would emerge from the tunnel. The likes of Henry, Adams, Wright, Pires, Overmars, Vieira, Petit, Keown, Seaman and Bergkamp... MY HEROES.

Players

Now I have a girlfriend, and I worship the ground she walks on - not only because she’s a Gooner. The only other people that come close to worship; the players who pull on that Arsenal shirt.

Not so much in recent times of struggle but, again, those players in the Highbury days and a very select few from the Emirates. Tony Adams, Mr Arsenal, scoring goals, Everton in particular, and putting his life on the line, just to make sure that The Arsenal keep that clean sheet!

Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry who provided me with so many happy memories of scoring goals and making defenders look like blind rhinos on that hallowed Highbury turf. Robert Pires effortlessly gliding past defenders and curling the ball past the goalkeeper from pretty much anywhere he saw fit.

Marc Overmars roaring past defenders like the roadrunner and always providing a pin point cross or composed finish (take note Theo) Patrick Vieira dominating every game from the centre of midfield, roaring his teammates on and wanting to kill anyone who wore any other kit.

Last but not least Mr Cesc Fabregas. Arguably one of our best ever players. Another player who glided across the pitch, making the beautiful game look so very easy. Soon to be added to this list Jack Wilshere and RVP.

Fans

Although The Emirates atmosphere resembles that of a morgue 99% of the time I still think we have some of the best fans in the league. The one night I remember from the Emirates, Arsenal vs. Barcelona, when we beat them at their own game and came away with a 2-1 victory. That night, the stadium was rocking; the atmosphere and noise were incredible! That night showed me the fans were capable of making the Emirates everything it should be! An intimidating arena where The Arsenal can have a 12^th man and destroy anyone who dared to challenge us.

The away fans do our club proud. Myself, FK, Denetris and Yeamilson often travel around England supporting our boys and I think we'd all agree that the buzz we get standing in the away end of a stadium, singing till were blue in the face with a throat lined with sandpaper by far outweighs the mundane match day experience of the Emirates.

Other honourable mentions, people who I’ve spent hours discussing the ups and downs with, my dearest Kaizer Chief who also has to put up with me when Arsenal lose, like it or not. James ‘brick shithouse’ Woodhouse, Evie ‘fat thumbs’ Ranscombe, Ben ‘BA Hons’ Morcombe and many more who all have such passion for Arsenal that their weekend is dictated by the Arsenal result. I salute you all.

Arsene

A man who has single handidly turned our club into one of the elite clubs in world football.
A man who with a transfer budget of peanuts has got us into the Champions League for the past 15 years.
A man who buys young kids with no experience and turns them into world beaters.
A man who created ‘The Invincibles’.

Arsene Wenger has come under a lot of criticism in recent times, something that hurts me greatly, but he is without doubt one of the clubs greatest, and most important figures at any level. He has turned boring boring Arsenal into the second most attractive footballing side in the world, with a much smaller budget than that of those bastards in Spain, and with a lot more class. He has overseen and inspired Arsenals transitions on and off the pitch and I can think of no other manager who has played such a big role in the continued development of a club.

The Cannon

I love the cannon. Simple but effective. It’s not a cock sitting on a ball, a devil, or some sort of wild animal roaring ferociously. It’s a symbol of war and destruction, something I think our current squad should be reminded of. A bird or animal isn’t going to defeat a cannon, if a cannonball is fired at a bird I think we all know what the final outcome will be. Anyone for KFC?

Goals

Is there any better feeling than seeing an Arsenal player sticking the ball in the back of the net? It doesn’t matter whether it’s from 3 or 30 yards, they all make us feel about six years old again! Now everyone has their favourite goals but these are my top three and they're not just based on quality, it's how they made me feel in the moment:

1.    Adams vs. Everton – This goal summed up everything about Arsenal that I loved. What other team would have their centre back charging through the centre of the field to slam the ball into the back of the net with such a composed and accomplished finish? Was there a more fitting way to secure the Premier League title?  ‘Would you believe it!? That, sums it all up!’ 

2.    Henry vs. Man Utd – That volley that flew past Barthez and nestled beautifully in the top corner. It also had Andy Gray spraying his man juice all around the sky studio and covering Martin Tyler from head to toe.  

3.    God vs. Newcastle – I’m sure I don’t need to tell you all who God is but just in case you have inexcusably forgotten who the god of Arsenal was, DB10; St James’ Park was the venue for his phenomenon. We were not worthy. Genius.

I could go on all day and night but I simply don’t have the time. I love Arsenal Football Club and the chances are if you’re reading this you do too. Our club is going through a hard time, truth is they need us now more than ever, the good times are only around the corner, so let’s get behind the boys cheer them on and make sure we turn this season around!

Till next time.

Joe ‘JdotH’ Husson

Pride...

I’m writing to you from the comfort of a first class carriage on the East Midlands rail service to Derby. May I take this opportunity to inform you that Virgin trains are much better. Kudos to Sir Richard Branson – your trains and broadband are the bollocks. I shall be spending the next two days at Pride Park, home of Derby County Football Club. Sadly, my job has nothing to do with football and so my visit involves massaging the egos of a few senior finance professionals within the NHS. The journey up is a pleasant one, passing through endless, beautiful English countryside and munching on my Pret chicken and avocado sandwich. Who’d have thought, chicken and avocado, together. Genius.

Despite losing at TopGolf to my jungle friend, Katharine, my weekend was far more tolerable than most in recent times. That’s right, Arsenal won. For most football fans, the smug satisfaction of seeing your team win on a Saturday afternoon sets the weekend up rather nicely. And this is exactly what happened – a pleasant change.

Arsenal were home to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday and historically this has been a tough fixture for us. Under Owen Coyle Bolton appear to be slightly less physical than the teams of the past led by Fat Sam Allardyce. God I hate Allardyce, the obese walrus. Quite frankly, Bolton’s form this year has been woeful hence their position at the foot of the table. I must admit, all week I thought this would be a score-draw. Only with the unexpected omission of both Kevin Davies and Gary Cahill from their starting line up (the latter perhaps having a medical in time for his January transfer), I became more confident and so predicted a 3-0 home win – much to the amazement of fellow fans.

You never really know which Arsenal will turn up to games these days. Similar to Blackburn last week, we saw the good and the bad Arsenal and fortunately for us, we missed out on the ugly. The first half was dire. Szczesny produced a magnificent save in the opening minutes to deny Bolton an early lead and we struggled to get going. Lacking sharpness the players looked flat with wayward passes and as far as I can remember, we couldn’t manage a single shot on target. An extremely small minority met the half-time whistle with boos – something which disgusts me and evidently my friend, Dimi, who made his feelings known in no uncertain terms, ‘Don’t f*cking boo the players you useless c*nts!!’. Haha.

My 3-0 prediction seemed highly unlikely at the interval and as the Gunners stormed out on to the pitch early for the second half, I felt confident again. Marching out earlier than required sent out a message to the fans and to the opponents that we had a point to prove. We flew out of the blocks, with two sharp challenges from Rambo and Arteta. Quickly controlling possession we played the ball to RVP who danced across the box before ramming home Arsenal’s first, beating Jussi Jaaskelainen at his near post. His second – touched home after a low cross from the excellent Theo Walcott – put paid to Bolton. To make things worse for our opponents, Bolton were reduced to ten for a clumsy last-man challenge by David Wheater on Walcott.

Only when Alex Song curled home a gorgeous third in the final minute were we able to relax. RVP went off to a standing ovation and the Dutchman celebrates 100 goals for Arsenal Football Club. My personal favourite would be the incredible volley at Charlton – that strike will last in my memory forever. I was disappointed to hear Alan Hansen decry Robin Van Persie as our captain and leader, claiming that ‘he doesn’t lead by example’. Err… Mr. Hansen, RVP has scored 26 goals in his last 31 appearances for Arsenal and apart from Tommy V, he is the first player that you can imagine trying to knock the shite out of the opposition:

What more do you want a captain to do, sleep with players’ wives (Terry), or bash up people in bars (Gerard), or fight with team-mates (Barton)? Meh.

This week sees us pit our wits against Greek champions, Olympiacos. If we repeat our performance of the second half against Bolton, I think we’ll be OK. It’s important we build on our result in Germany and pick up three points. And then, it’s the big one. The North London Derby. There are so many reasons why I hate Tottenham. Their twat of a manager, arrogant and obnoxious fans, dump of a ground and now… Adebayor. If I’m being honest, I think I’d take a draw as we’d have played two big games by Sunday and the twitch-master would have been able to rest their lot for their giant Europa clash against some part-time farmers from the Faroe Islands on ITV7+2. All that I ask from my Arsenal is a performance based on passion and pride. Spurs: forever in our shadows.

Finally, I was pleased to be part of the 47,000 that turned up to watch us beat Shrewsbury in the Carling Cup last week, courtesy of my friend, Joanne Foster - some coverage of both of us on SkySports:

I’ve seen a lot of promising youngsters in my time but last Tuesday night I saw two players that made me feel the same tingle I felt when I first saw Fabregas in his no. 57 shirt. Ryo Miyaichi (31) and Alex ‘The Ox’ Chamberlain (15) look the part, the former will be electric. Mark my words.

Much love x

''I would 8-2 to be Arsenal fan...''

The last time Facebook was inundated with a single status update was when Michael Jackson died. For a few days now, people have been having digs at Arsenal with the aforementioned headline as status updates, tweets and the rest. Needless to say, such comments hurt. It’s been a tough few months for us and as it’s unlikely to get any easier in the run up to Christmas, brace yourselves, Gooners - the abuse is going to get worse!

Having said all this, there’s no smoke without fire. If we sorted ourselves out during the summer and had we not defended like retards at Old Trafford, or at Ewood Park yesterday, there’d be nothing to be unhappy about. The recent criticism aimed towards the manager and players is totally deserved and they have a lot to answer for.

Truth be told, I’m not sure what to think anymore. I have consistently delivered a staunch defence of the manager, the club and even some of our players in recent times but now I’m so confused. So many fans have seen this coming for so long that I wonder.. how have I been blind all this time, did I fall asleep on my Arsenal-tinted glasses, has my love for Arsene Wenger faded? I don’t know.

Our last sixteen Premier League games have returned just sixteen points. Only three wins and a severely depleted goal difference. In fact, a measly five points from our opening league games this season has equalled our worst start to a domestic campaign since 1953. Worrying times? You bet.

Our performance at Ewood Park yesterday was just so typical. Mesmerising going forward, opening up Blackburn with ease at times. We had twenty efforts on goal as the away team and managed to score three goals. Our midfield trio of Arteta, Song and Ramsey were top draw and they looked so comfortable on the ball. Unfortunately, the second half highlighted our defensive frailties and we were beaten with ease again. Admittedly, we scored two own goals and Yakubu’s second was marginally off-side, but this is no excuse. We’re simply not ruthless enough going forward and we’ve forgotten how to defend.

I wrote in my first post that we are tactically inept off the ball and that we would need to work hard on our defensive inadequacies during the summer. As good as Per Mertesacker may be in Football Manager, we showed yesterday that we have severe inability when it comes to defending as a team. These are training ground issues and should have been addressed pre-season. The fact that nothing has changed or improved is down to Arsene and his coaching staff. When you consider the fact that Sir Alex Ferguson has had 4 different assistant managers during his tenure, you can’t help but wonder why we have stuck with the same deadwood since 1997/98. Pat Rice has been a loyal servant but surely now, it’s time for change.

Attention turns to Shrewsbury this week in the Carling Cup, more painful memories to banish so lets hope we can progress to the next round.

I've made my feelings known to a few of my close friends and I received the following text message this morning;

‘OMG!, it’s you who keeps us all going when we are down :( xx’

My response? ''I have been to Manchester and to the other side of North London, to Liverpool and to Milan, to Madrid and countless other bastions of footballing excellence and stood on their terraces beating my chest as we destroyed great teams week after week. Arsenal Football Club has given me those memories and ultimately, any amount of bad results or half-arsed performances will never take that away. I support my club because that’s what I was born to do and the shitter we get, the louder I will sing''.

Onwards and upwards...

I am in no condition to write today. It’s GFP week. In layman’s terms, this is basically a week of carnage in which FK (and others) host c100 students on various nights out. Mental.

In fact, I’m so busy that I even missed our opening Champions League game away to German champions, Borussia Dortmund but more about that later. After yet another fortnight of boring international matches, domestic affairs resumed on Saturday afternoon with a 3pm fixture versus Premiership newcomers, Swansea City.

On paper, this would have looked a home-banker but the tie proved trickier than some might have imagined. Armed with new players, fans’ expectations were high and there was a fresh buzz around the Emirates prior to kick-off…

 

Considering our most recent footballing memory was the demolition at OT, I thought we started well. My new man crush, Mikey Arteta, with an almost immediate impact as he played in Rambo for an early chance. Swansea, brave in their play, battled hard and fought well succumbing only to a calamitous goal conceded just before the break. The ball was rolled out by their keeper only to ricochet off a defender’s leg and fall straight to Andrei Arshavin who passed it into an empty net from a very acute angle. The game ended 1-0 and whilst it’s not a convincing score, it’s three points. The same three points you would get for winning 5-0. Don’t also underestimate the morale booster that is a clean sheet!

Tuesday marked the start of the Champions League. Don’t you just love the music? It turns me on. A lot. With Tommy V, Ramsey and Rosicky added to our injury list there was a very welcome return to action for discipline-dummies, Alex Song and Gervinho. Dortmund were going to be tough and according to match reports from friends, they ran us ragged in front of 79,999 fans and one Arsenal nutcase – my mate, Dimi. Respect, my little Greek/Turk friend!

I was surprised to see Yossi Benayoun in the starting line-up and apparently he wasn't of much use. I would have liked to see Arsene try:

 

 

In the little I have seen of Emmanuel Frimpong thus far, I am impressed with his energy levels, work-rate and body strength. He and Song could form a strong, combative partnership enabling Arteta to roam further forward. Just a thought.

Very much against the run of play, we took the lead through yet another sublime finish, courtesy of skipper, Robin Van Persie. His form has been scintillating since the turn of the year and one can only wonder what could have been had he not been so injury prone during recent seasons. Dortmund kept knocking and knocking and we defended very well until the 88^th minute when substitute, Perisic, blasted home with an unbelievable equaliser. All in all, a fair result and a good start for us.

On to Blackburn at Ewood Park this weekend. Unable to attend myself due to yet another wedding. Seriously, when will people realise that getting married pre-season is the only time to get married! As for the game, I think it’ll be tough but I reckon we’ll sneak a narrow victory. Lying at the foot of the table, Rovers are already in trouble and their fans are protesting against their manager only 4 games in. If there was ever a time to play them, it would be now. Sadly, something tells me that Arsenal summer targets, Samba and Dann, may just have the games of their lives. Typical.

Until next time, much love my fellow Gooners.

In the Mik of time...

Wow. What an incredible few days for Arsenal Football Club.

It all started in Udine, a battling performance against the second oldest club in Serie A, Udinese Calcio. With Champions League football at stake it was a must-win game. Following the home defeat against Liverpool, Gooners (including myself) were not overly optimistic so the hard-fought victory was very welcome as it marks the end of a month of unrelenting negativity around the club. May I take this opportunity to thank Wojciech Szczesny for a legendary penalty save and the Hussons for hosting us – feasting on the colonel’s finest and cheering on the boys like a family is how it should be. And sorry Mrs H for ruining your toilet.

So, our seat at Europe’s top table has been booked for the fifteenth year running. Quite incredible, particularly as only Barcelona and Manchester United can boast the same feat. The draw will see us host German champions, Borussia Dortmund, French runners-up, Olympique de Marseille, and Greek champions, Olympiacos. Very exciting.

In typical Arsenal fashion, the season then took an almighty turn into darkness. From the highs of securing football with Europe’s elite, to the lows of being destroyed by Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Off we set, up the M1. ‘We’, being the usual suspects; Yeamilson, Dimi and FK along with a great friend, Jimbo, who is one of very few humble United fans – but then again, I am his boss. The M1 was glittered with red scarves hanging out windows and people dressed in red all heading to Manchester. Such a beautiful sight until you realise they’re ALL United fans. No wonder M&S are increasing their presence at service stations – sales of prawn sandwiches have gone through the roof.

I’ve been to Old Trafford several times. Historically, I’ve normally been quietly confident and always full of hope but on this occasion, I felt the writing was on the wall. Our lack of transfer activity during the summer coupled with several injuries and suspensions to key players meant fielding a weakened eleven. Upon hearing the line-ups, our predictions were as follows.. Dimi, possibly the most optimistic Gooner I know had us down to lose 2-1, Yeamilson 3-0 Utd and me, 4-0 Utd. Jimbo says he never makes predictions but headed off to the Stretford End after smugly telling us ‘it was the best possible time to play Arsenal’. Needless to say, he was very confident and we were bricking it.

The game was incredible, almost surreal. We were pummelled and the huge gaps in our squad had been brutally exposed. Despite an abject defensive performance, huge credit must go to our opponents, they smelt blood and ruthlessly ripped us apart. We just couldn’t cope. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Wayne Rooney is an incredible team player. His movement on and off the ball, his unbelievable work-rate is an inspiration to all – characters like this drive the team on and how we lack someone of his calibre.

The vocal support from my fellow Emirati was quite exceptional. The chants of ‘I love you Arsenal’ became louder and louder after every goal conceded. It was one of the most remarkable things I’ve experienced inside a football stadium. We sang our hearts out. I think enough has been said about the performance and result - journalists and pundits have taken this opportunity to really lay into us, as have so many non-Arsenal fans. It hurts. However, my message to those, particularly the latter, if you can give it… be prepared to take it, because we will be back.

The club has offered to reward all those who travelled with a free away-ticket later in the season. A kind gesture but I’d much rather the money is used to purchase new players! I hear Spurs are putting their entire squad up for sale as well as their Championship-class ground to compensate their fans for the past 50 years of failure.

Speaking of new players, Wednesday was transfer deadline day. In recent years, such days have filled us with envy. This time, it was all about Arsenal. I can’t remember a day like it. Why the club left its business so late is beyond me but there was a desperate need to add to our squad. I would have liked a left-back, a centre-back (preferably Gary Cahill), an attacking midfielder and the icing on top being a centre-forward.

As it happens, Arsene has done exactly that, just not with players I had in mind or would have liked. I’m most excited by the signing of Mikel Arteta. Those of you who know me will know that I have fantasized about having him in our team for several years. Kudos to Joe Husson for tipping us off about this deal well before it happened. Mikel will be our new no. 8 and let’s hope he can overcome injury to rescue us.

People say Arsene has panic bought – it certainly feels like it, but knowing that our scouts have watched players like Scott Dann over 50 times, proves to me that those who have come in won’t be impromptu purchases. The signing of Park Chu Young strikes me as an odd one though, does it have anything to do with the tour of Korea the club has planned for next summer? Let’s not forget the fact that he will be summoned for national service in two years’ time! Smells of a commercial ploy to me.

The international break is, as usual, not welcome and a complete waste of time. Roll on the 10^th, Swansea are in for a thorough examination - I can imagine Tommy V and Per (The BFG – Big Fucking German) Mertesacker licking their lips in eager anticipation.