Balotelli's foul on Song would you like a signed cast with that? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

During the Arsenal v Manchester City game yesterday two players' careers at their clubs were almost ended.

Alex Song, who miraculously avoid breaking his led after Balotelli's foul, and Balotelli himself, who should have been sent of for that foul early in the first half and was then eventually sent off in injury time, prompting Mancini to say that he doubts Balotelli will play for City again.

The Deadwood Players Conundrum By: JG Figuring out how to responsibly deal with all of the Arsenal players who are now unwanted, confidence damaged or injured beyond repair has got to be a significant challenge. Some fans would say "just throw them out of a window and be done with them"; but they are laymen.

This game was anti-climatic in some ways. As discussed in the preview, the fighting spirit of a relegation candidate could have been the only factor that made this a compelling contest. It was nowhere to be seen. Wolves started in a somewhat diffident manner and the events of the opening 10 odd minutes virtually killed the contest.

Over the last few seasons Arsene Wenger has gathered an assortment of players, paid them good wages and has waited for them to deliver. Unfortunately, they have not delivered the goods nor have they developed into the world class players we thought they would turn into.

For a few transfer windows we have been expecting these players to be sold, but the ridiculous wages, for their limited wages has meant we have not been able to get rid of these deadwood players.

The big win over Blackburn was immensely enjoyable and has lifted the mood in the Gooner camp to a great extent after an eminently forgettable January. A lot has already been said about the match and I don't want to revisit it in detail but there were two goals in that game that caught my eye.

Both the goals started from the back but were scored in a markedly different manner, each a delight in its own way.

Like all responsible pet owners, we left our snark in the office over New Year. We ensured it had adequate food, water and celebrity list programmes to see it through the night, with the TV turned up loud to avoid firework-related outbursts.

We were concerned that it might be sulking today and therefore refuse to contribute to the first results post of 2012, but you'll be relieved to see it's in fine form and frolicking around our captions like nothing had even happened.

Angry, frustrated, disappointed. Once again Arsenal fans are left let-down, once again we are promised things will change and once again it is groundhog season for Arsenal, and we haven't even entered the annual departures of the close season.

Where do we start? It is obvious that things went wrong in the summer with Wenger anticipating that both Nasri and Fabregas will not leave these were the hopes of a man living in a dream land.

Thierry Henry went from hero to villain in just a matter of days when, following his amazing match winner against Leeds in the FA Cup, he remonstrated with an Arsenal fan to come onto the pitch after the game to have a word with the Frenchman.

Arsenal lost the match 3-2 with Swansea playing some excellent passing football, much in the same style as Arsenal, but won the game following a loose pass from Henry.

1. After the man that should have been sent off for a nasty stamp won and scored a match winning penalty in injury time for Manchester City, you had to wonder whether today was going to be our day. There had been plenty of talk of "revenge" from Arsenal players ahead of kick-off, in reference to the 8-2 battering we dished out at Old Trafford, so we knew they would be up for this game even more than usual.

With Arsenal FC scheduled to take on archenemies Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium in their crucial league match on Sunday, their under-pressure manager Arsene Wenger has told his players not to feel sorry for themselves as such a feeling 'would be criminal' at this stage of the season.

Welcome to the video blog by Jules for Arsenalinsider.com. Jules takes us through the weekend victory over Tottenham.

Tottenham came into this match with a 10-point lead over Arsenal and it is clearly their best start to a domestic season in 50 years. Arsenal on the other hands, are experiencing their worst domestic campaign of the past fifteen years but they were determined to prove that class is permanent and form is temporary.

Thanks to the FA Cup quarter finals the Arsenal players were able to have a weekend off and so should be fully refreshed after the exertions of the last minute smash and grab win over the Magpies.

The same cannot be said for tonight's opponents, Everton, they had to play an exhausting derby game at Anfield, which they lost 3 0, on Tuesday evening as well as an FA Cup quarter final clash with Sunderland Saturday lunchtime which turned out to be a draining 1 1 draw .

By Chris Wright

As part of Citroen's 'The Refined, Redefined' viral push for the new DS5, we see several of the Arsenal first-string we're talking Alex Song, Wojciech Szczesny, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Bacary Sagna limbering up and practising a few pliés and pirouettes before being put through their paces by the girls from the English National Ballet all to the accompaniment of virtuoso classical penis Martin Keown.

In our Untold Awards we have looked at which Arsenal players will break through next season and hold down regular first team slots.

So let us start trying to get the list down in size... We are talking of players who will really make some sort of impact next season who were not central this [.

Stop me if you have had heard this story before. An Arsenal players original injury is misdiagnosed and during his rehab, he gets injured again. This scenario almost cost Thomas Vermaelen all of last season, and now it is happening to Jack Wilshere. Its like Groundhog Day all over again.

Wilshere, whose original stress fracture injury was misdiagnosed, underwent surgery in the fall and was expected to make his first appearance in an Arsenal shirt this season in the next few weeks.

It seems that things are looking a bit brighter for Arsene Wenger with news that a few Arsenal players are back in contention after recovering from injury. Kieran Gibbs is not back yet, but Wenger is very happy to know that Bacary Sagna's return will mean that the Gunners have at least one true full-back [.

Liverpool have hit some sort of form since Gerard has returned from injury. Chelsea stole a point late in the game at Swansea and are now six points ahead of Arsenal. This season has always been about a battle for fourth an it's time for the Gunners to buckle up and pick up the points in games like the next one at the Reebok, many much tougher games will anyway see Arsenal dropping points in the coming weeks.

A dictionary definition of "hope" is: "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best."

In recent games there have been certain Arsenal players who, when they receive the ball, induce in me the opposite of hope.

What I mean by this is the very personal effect they have on me when watching the game.

A dictionary definition of "hope" is: "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best."

In recent games there have been certain Arsenal players who, when they receive the ball, induce in me the opposite of hope.

What I mean by this is the very personal effect they have on me when watching the game.

Like Song, Vermaelen will get to play in the middle now

For a short period of time, we turn our attention elsewhere. There will be no worries of long ball tactics or roughhouse treatment or any of those "they don't like it when we get in their faces" attitude. At least not in the next immediate game.

As sieges go, this is a big one.

The Arsenal players, manager, directors and staff have become used to being under attack, but now they truly are under siege.

And who are the besiegers?

Yes, of course, the media, mostly comprised of self styled "good blokes" who love nothing more than a beer with a like minded manager and have never warmed to Arsène Wenger's euro-intellectual aestheticism.

MANU Petit has delivered a verbal volley to Arsenal's under-performing stars ahead of the derby clash against Tottenham on Sunday. Arsene Wenger's men go in to the vital Premier League clash desperate to regain some pride, see off the old enemy and collect points in the race for a top four finish.

One thing that I have noticed over the years is that there are a lot of Arsenal players who have plenty to say.
They talk a great game but they have to start backing it up with performances on the pitch otherwise it will bite them on their pampered behinds.
This Sunday is the the most important North London derby since we won the title at White Hart Lane on the 25th April 2004.

Tonight's game against Jaguares essentially marks the end of the Sounders' 2012 preseason. The team's roster for the start of the season is basically set. Yesterday Sigi stated that tonight's game will be about focusing on preparing for next week's match against Santos Laguna. Time to stop focusing on which players the Sounders will choose and start looking at how the pieces they have fit together.

International watch of Arsenal players by KJ Today the majority of the important mid-week international friendlies took place. There were quite a few sumptuous ties available to watch with Germany taking on France and England playing Holland at Wembley. The Arsenal players among the goals were: Lansbury: Scored two today for England under-21s and his [.

Morning all,

there'll be an early press conference today, I'd imagine, before we make the trip northwards to Liverpool for tomorrow's game. We do have some early team news from the manager, and the good part is there doesn't seem to be anybody banjaxed by the midweek internationals.

There's nothing sinister about van Persie only playing 45 minutes for Holland, according to Arsene:

It was planned by his manager because he knows we have a tough schedule.

It wasn't all bad for Charlie Adam against Arsenal on Saturday—it was only almost all bad. He did, as usual, supply a handful of cutting cross-field passes that effectively switched play. He found Martin Kelly in space on a pair of occasions as Liverpool's fullback joined the attack late and unmarked.

There has been plenty of news this past week following Arsenals impressive win over AC Milan.

We were so close to pulling off what before the match started seemed like an almost impossible task of scoring five goals without a goal from Milan in order to progress into the last eight.

The first half was edge of the chair excitement I have not seen Arsenal play as well as that all season, it was truly fantastic, and on that kind of form they could beat any team in the world.

szólj hozzá: Arsenal vs Newcastle 2:1 GOALS

The Kardiac Kids do it again! Arsenal staged an instantaneous comeback for the equalizer and in added time came up with a late winner just like they did last weekend against Liverpool. The come from behind phenomena includes Sunderland, Spurs, Liverpool, and now Newcastle.

So, Arsenal players took over Twitter yesterday, answering questions from fans from across the globe.

"Lots of gel," was Mikel Arteta's reply to how he keeps his hair so perfect. I think he's being modest. He has been blessed by nature with the kind of hair that simply does not move. Not for him the Nicholas Cage in Raising Arizona or Moonstruck.

Morning all,

a quiet weekend lies ahead. Everton play Sunderland in the FA Cup which means we have to wait until Wednesday to face them in the league. Earlier in the week I was quite glad of the extra few days rest but now, faced with the prospect of an Arsenal free weekend, I'm itchy for football.

I don't care that Bacary Sagna looks like Serena Williams' ugly brother.
And I don't care that, except for Cesc Fabregas' mullet, his hair-style is the funniest I've seen a player in an Arsenal shirt ever have.
Because Bacary is a hero for Arsenal. A proper hero. Like Hercules.
Is it any coincidence, that since his return from a broken leg, Arsenal have shown the kind of fight only ever seen on the battlefields of Scotland by William Wallace and co?

The Telegraph writers give their verdict on whether they think United or City will win the league.

Kissed The Badge shows the eight Arsenal players who have kissed their badge before leaving.

The Mirror looks at the 30 most valuable youngsters.

Follow RoM on Twitter.

"RoM Reads" was originally published at The Republik of Mancunia.

Arsenal plan test-tube footballers to outsmart Chelsea, Tottenham and United - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Plans leaked from Wenger's mobile phone (which also contained some tasty photos that we're never going to share respect, Monsieur Wenger, respect) reveal Arsenal's secret plans to outsmart their rival football clubs by creating test-tube footballers using the finest possible footballer DNA collected over the last decade.

Arsenal fans are so used to seeing Arsene Wenger rage against the referee, the playing area, the fixture list or the fourth official that it is refreshing to hear him actually blame the Arsenal players for a change. The pitch WAS a bit dodgy and everyone was sliding all over the place (especially Vermaelen!

If you ever find yourself incarcerated in an El-Salvadorian prison and forced to watch ITV's football coverage, you will see a man in the studio. A man who seethes with contempt at the inane banality around him, a man whose icy stare at the artificially folksy repartee of Adrian Chiles could freeze magma.

Ahead of Man City's visit to Arsenal on Sunday it was no surprise that Arsene Wenger was asked about whether Man City could make a massive bid for Robin Van Persie if the prolific Dutchman refused to sign a new contract at the Emirates this summer. "They have enough Arsenal players there now," Wenger joked.

This game was anti-climatic in some ways. As discussed in the preview, the fighting spirit of a relegation candidate could have been the only factor that made this a compelling contest. It was nowhere to be seen. Wolves started in a somewhat diffident manner and the events of the opening 10 odd minutes virtually killed the contest.

AAAAHHHHHHHH I AM ARTUR BORUC AND THIS IS A LIST OF THINGS THAT MADE ME ANGRY THIS WEEK:

1. THINKING ABOUT THINGS -- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. ARSENAL PLAYERS DOING BALLET -- SO WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S BEEN SEVERAL YEARS SINCE I COMBINED BALLET WITH MY OWN BRAND OF MARTIAL ARTS TO CREATE A LETHAL YET ELEGANT DANCE STYLE!

Click for bigger view

This was Arsenal's 10th defeat in the league this season. Another win chalked away by a lower league side. This time at home where we've only lost twice all season, one to the team that is looking likely to lift the title and one at a time when we were in shambles. When we were supposed to increase the gap between us and the other sides chasing the Champions League spots, we dropped the ball.