I’m sat here in my living room glued to El Classico as Barcelona take on Real Madrid in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup. Cesc Fabregas is sat firmly on the bench, possibly wondering how he will oust Xavi or Iniesta for a starting berth in the Barca line-up. I will miss Cesc, he was my favourite player. Disgusted to hear some people question his loyalty, effort and attitude. Let me tell you, Cesc Fabregas gave absolutely everything for us in over 300 games. Cast your minds back to that goal against Spurs, the match-winner at The San Siro, the cameo appearance versus Villa, the penalty equaliser (with the broken bone in his leg) at home to Barcelona, spitting on Phil Brown and scoring at Anfield. When you look back at those moments you can see how much Arsenal meant to him.
Take a moment to view my special tribute video to Cesc Fabregas.
Take a moment to view my special tribute video to Cesc Fabregas.
Closer to home, a brand new Premier League season is well and truly underway. First on the agenda, a tough opener away at Newcastle United. Being the season opener and having been addicted to Byker Grove as a kid, it was only right to reunite the famous five; Dan, Dimi, Joe, Yeamilson and FK for a road-trip. Finally, after a long summer of trepidation, the big KO had arrived. All the transfer gossip, politics, spin and frustration could be forgotten albeit for 90 minutes.
Charged with excitement, off we set to St. James’ Park. There’s something about away-games – they seem to be more satisfying than trips to the Emirates. Perhaps it’s the gradual build-up of emotion and excitement during the journey or maybe it’s the on-the-way-home visit to the Colonel at Newport Pagnell Services..
Truth be told, none of us knew what to expect – that’s right, nobody could predict that we’d be greeted by an army of orange women, all absolutely smashed before 4pm on a Saturday afternoon! Lovely. Come kick-off, we were excited but incredibly nervous. Nervous because we had a weakened first team due to the absence of Cesc and Nasri, injuries to key players like Wilshere and not to forget the debut of Gervinho - how can it be possible to be bald and have dreads at the same time?
The big talking point will be Gervinho’s red card following an unnecessary tangle with Joey Barton. For me, it’s simple. I’m not convinced it was a penalty and despite Barton being in the wrong for dragging Gervinho up from the ground, he had no justification to slap Barton’s head. It’s disappointing that we don’t seem to have learnt our lesson from last year when Abou Diabolical saw red for reacting to Barton’s wind-up antics. The performance itself was quite flat, lots of possession but a distinct lack of creativity to penetrate a stubborn defence. Contrary to popular opinion, I was very pleased with our defensive performance. Vermaelen and Koscielny looked in control and it did make me wonder what could have been had Tommy not been injured last season. Furthermore, Szczesny dominated his area very well and I think he looks the real deal. The famous five had discussed possible results on the way up to Newcastle and we were reasonably pleased with a 0-0 all things considered. Finally, a quick note on St. James’ Park – an absolutely incredible stadium, a must-see if you’ve never been.
Arsenal were also in action in our Champions League qualifier against Udinese earlier this week. A massively important game against a team that finished fourth in Serie A last season. Despite the sale of some key personnel including Alexis Sanchez to Barcelona, the Italian outfit still posed a serious threat. Being the first game to be played at the Emirates this season, the night marked the reunion of the usual suspects; Mark, Demetris, Yeamin, Janine, Nathan, John R, John K, Kevin and Sam Bartle, Keith & Callum and The Suttons. All fuelled with their own conspiracy theories and tales of frustration, pre-match debate was colourful to say the least. From the outrageous, ‘I HATE Wenger. He must buy a goalkeeper, at least three centre-backs, a couple of midfielders and a world-class centre forward or be SACKED’ to the more sensible, ‘We’re OK, just a bit of fine-tuning, maybe one or two additions and we’ll be fine!’ arguments. It is amazing how people are so divided in opinion but I suppose that’s why we all love the game.
We went on to beat Udinese 1-0. A flying start with the winner being netted by Theo Walcott in the 4th minute. However, Udinese offered noticeable threat all throughout the game and I’m not overly confident of the return leg next week!
Back to the Premier League on Saturday in what will be a tough encounter against a new Liverpool side. It says a lot that I’m not at all optimistic about this game. We’ve far too many absentees and Arsene has not acted quickly enough in the transfer market. My heart of course says we’ll win 1-0 but my head suggests a score-draw, or even dare I say it, a scrappy win for the scousers.
Whatever happens, it’s good to be back. COME ON YOU GUNNERS!
