I opened up my preview for this match with the following paragraph:
Back in action at the Stadium of Light tomorrow, for what I expect to be a very tricky match.
Seriously–this match scares the hell out of me. For one thing, it's a road match against a top
half side with a very good home record–those matches are always tough, no matter what.
The final international break of the year is over. How good does that sound?
Real football returns tomorrow, and unlike many Premiership weekends, it is Saturday that looks
the tastier of the days. Liverpool and City play each other at lunchtime, United face Everton in
the evening, Chelsea are involved and we have a very tricky trip to Sunderland to negotiate.
Finishing up our "what did we miss out on?" series today:
FELIPE MELO Arsenal were probably linked with Felipe Melo this summer more than
any other player. The biggest difference between Arsenal's 2007-2008 season and our 2008-2009
season, which saw the club take a large step backwards, was the absence of Mathieu Flamini.
One thing about not blogging for a week is you can sit back and watch the hysterical reactions
going on in the world of football without feeling like you have to dive in and add your voice. It
has been one of those weeks.
First we had the curse of the international break rear its ugly head again, in the form of
injuries to Van Persie and Gibbs.
It's not strictly Arsenal-related, I know, but by now I'm sure you've all seen the controversial
goal which put France into the 2010 World Cup.
If you haven't: there was a cross into the box which fizzed past the far post, and looked like
it was headed over the touchline for a goal kick. But off one hop, it hit the arm of Thierry Henry,
and deflected back into play in a perfect spot for him to center it directly into the path of the
oncoming William Gallas, who headed home the winning goal.
Okay, I know, 3 posts in one day is a bit excessive. But one was part of a planned thing, the
other was new injury news, and there are several things here that I thought you find
interesting.
First, and most importantly, Kieran Gibbs did not break his foot, only suffered brusing, and is
expected to be back and ready for action against Chelsea on the 29th.
Arsenal are seeing the benefits of having a batch of reserve players battling for success,
something which could be vital in their hunt to upset the football odds and secure Premier League
and cup success this season. Their reserve side are currently lying second in the Premier Reserve
League and midfielder Mark Randall thinks the squad [. Click to continue reading...
Part II of our "What did we miss out on?" series continues today:
EDIN DZEKO Arsenal were heavily linked with the 23 year-old Bosnian striker
early in the transfer window. He was coming off of a wonderful season in the Bundesliga, in which
he led Wolfsburg to a surprise championship and led the league in goals, with a phenomenal 26
strikes in 29 appearances.
Well, it never ends. Apparently Aaron Ramsey has also picked up a knock on international duty,
meaning we now have fully thirteen players injured.
If you're curious, we have 29 players listed in our first-team. Which means we are only a few
injuries away from having literally more than half our team injured.
'Fundraising Day', a short film starring four Arsenal stars dressed as animals Cesc Fabregas, Theo
Walcott, Andrey Arshavin and Bacary Sagna is released tomorrow (Wednesday 18th) in aid of the
Gunners' Charity of the Season, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. To watch the film
and to find out more go to beagoonerbeagiver. Click to continue reading...
As you know, we complain about injuries, even though a lot of other clubs (Liverpool, Chelsea)
have plenty of injury problems of their own. But we now have fully eleven players injured, and
crying doesn't help, so why not have a little fun with it?
With the news that Kieran Gibbs has sustained a knock whilst on international duty, Arsenal now
have an astonishing 10 players out of action at the moment. Robin Van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner,
Carlos Vela, Theo Walcott, Denilson, Gael Clichy, Jack Wilshere, Johan Djourou 'keeper Lukasz
Fabianski and the aforementioned Gibbs are ALL injured. Click to continue reading...
Well, I just finished gnashing my teeth, rending my clothes, and dropping down to my knees, head
thrust upward, yelling "Why, God? Why?!" I think now I can almost think rationally about this.
The big news is that the injury is not quite as bad as it had been first thought. Originally,
everyone was reporting 2-3 months, some of the more sensationalist English papers were saying out
for the season.
Did you ever do that thing where you meet a girl (or guy, if you're one of my female or
nontraditional male readers), strike up a conversation, realize she's kind of into you, but then
for whatever reason, you decide not to make your move? And then, a couple months or years later,
you meet a guy who either is dating her or dated her for a while?
Welcome to the first 'Groan in Brief', a look at recent events that may or may not have anything
to do with Arsenal the focus of these pieces will be on any current football stories that I feel
like commenting on. Expect the FA, FIFA, UEFA and Jamie Redknapp to be regular targets of
ridicule.
The international break seems like a good time to start, given that there's no Arsenal news
filtering through, at least until the matches themselves leave the whole squad crippled, so let's
get on with it.
This happened a couple of days ago, but, you know...(shrugs). 15 Arsenal players have been
called up for duty over the international break. The entire list can be found here.
Of the 15, only 5 Diaby, Gallas, and Sagna for France, Arshavin for Russia, and Song for
Cameroon are playing in meaningful senior international matches, as all of their nations are trying
to qualify for the World Cup.
There's no Arsenal news today. So this will be a very very short one and it's only a hint of
Arsenal related stuff. A toast for my shortest ever posting.
First, Yaya Toure's agent wins my Hero Of The Day award for his wonderful response to
Man City's pursue of the unsettled Barcelona midfielder.
Just hours after picking up the voted Danish Footballer of the Year gong, Arsenal star Nicklas
Bendtner revealed to reporters in his homeland that he will have surgery on his troublesome groin
problem this Wednesday. The Dane will go under the knife after aggravting a groin problem during
the Gunners' terrific win over Tottenham in the North London Derby [. Click to continue reading...
Chelsea defender Cashley Cole may not be fit for the Blues' derby game with Arsenal at the end of
the month, after aggravating a leg injury against Manchester United last night. The 28-year-old
former Gunner who left the club over a £5,000 dispute in his contract required an injection to
face United last night [. Click to continue reading...
The Offside's Main Page decided to compile a list of the "100 Best Players of the Decade." I
thought it might be of some interest to you, especially since Arsenal is out of action for a couple
of weeks. It was voted on by all of the Offside's bloggers, as well as readers. I will say that I
thought the criteria was a little vague it was simply to name the 20 best players who played in the
decade.
Or should I saw Wolves 3-Arsenal 2? We come away with 3 points on a scoreline which flatters us
a little bit, on the back of 2 early Wolves own goals which put us up 2-0, a vantage point from
which we never looked back.
Wolves strategy was pretty obvious, and wasn't a bad one as far as these things go.
Aaron Ramsey has been rewarded for his superb Carling Cup performance against Liverpool — by
being handed a start against Wolves this evening. Gunners striker Eduardo is also given a chance
upfront alongside the in-form Robin van Persie, while Kieran Gibbs continues at left back due to
Gael Clichy's stress fracture. Click to continue reading...
Are you concerned about the possible future takeover of Arsenal from majority shareholder Stan
Kroenke? Do you have questions that you want to be answered? Gooner Talk have planned an exclusive
Q & A session with Colorado Rapids blogger Nick Thomas, who not only has the latest info on the
American side, but possesses a wealth of [. Click to continue reading...
Away to the midlands tomorrow to face Wolves at the Molineaux. Wolves are a solid side I picked
them to stay up this season, and I actually hope they do.
The 4-1 thumping of Alkmaar in midweek was an immensely satisfying affair, a triumph of
footballing philosophy over the defensive nous of coaches such as Ronald Koeman, and yet another
demonstration that this Arsenal team is serious about combining footballing beauty with tangible
success.
But prior the the match, there was a definite sense of relaxation amongst the fans, as if the
game really didn't matter, so assured was our progress regardless of the result.
It's now or never for Arsenal Football Club. Â Stan Kroenke has been mopping up small
shareholdings over the last couple of weeks to raise his share in the club to 29.8%. He is a
fraction below the mandatory bid figure of 29.9%.
It was rumoured that he bought 100 shares from Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood; this is the
same man who famously said, "We do not need his sort at this club.
There's not much else to say other than that that was a sublime performance by Arsenal. The
trophy draught is frustrating, but honestly, when Arsenal plays like they did last night,
dominating another club through sheer skill, technique, and teamwork, it just reminds me how lucky
I am to root for Arsenal.
Literally, Nope, not drink induced, although that's how it feels. I have an inner ear infection
which basically means I can't move without falling over. Under Doctors orders I'm confined to bed
to keep my head as still as possible which in itself is causing problems as my neck stiffens up and
threatens to bring on a full blown migraine.
Apologies all, I've been moving house today and cannot get near to doing a full preview of
tonight's game, which starts in a matter of minutes. Suffice to say that a win is actually quite
important given Chelsea's qualification last night (we play Chelsea after matchday 5, and they can
concentrate entirely on that one), and I think we'll get it, 2-0.
