Arsenal's pressing game has suffered since the start of the season mostly due to a matter of distances.
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Shortened names are all the rage these days. From Subo (Susan Boyle), R-Pat (Robert Pattinson) and Brangelina (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie), it's a wonder they still haven't thought of one for Babyshambles front man Pete Doherty.

...but off it, the football world celebrates complete incompetence and negligence.

Following the defeat at Chelsea I decided to give myself a little time to mull things over. A chance to let the hysteria die down. Losing the last game before the international break gives everyone two weeks to dwell on the shortcomings – in our case that we're still unable to rough it against tough tacklers, that we flatter to deceive against the Mancs and Chelsea, and that Wenger's refusal to ‘buy big' means we haven't won a trophy in five seasons, obviously.

According to Sky with its story, "Wenger steps up preparations" Arsenal are going to have to sell players to make space in the squad, because of the 25 player rule. They say, Meanwhile, Wenger has hinted that he may look to move a few players on this summer, with new Premier League regulations stipulating that [.

Written by SharkeySure

Whilst still marvelling at the eloquence of yesterday's post by charybdis1966, I have to disagree with what I think is its central theme, namely that Chelski and Man IOU sit back in the belief that we can't really hurt them.

The game on Sunday kicked off in a very end to end fashion, with both teams attacking with abandon.

Let's be clear about this. We didn't deserve to win this game. But, equally, we didn't deserve to lose.

And what struck me most about the game was what a pathetic bunch of cheating babies the United players are.

More about that in a moment, but first a word for Howard Webb:

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By Tony Attwood I pointed out in part 1 of this article that Wenger brought to Arsenal a new approach to football, not just in the style of playing, but also in the style of coaching, of economics, and of running the club. However the world changes, and football was not blind to what Wenger [...]

Written by RockyLives

In a game of many villains for us it may seem odd to pick out one, but I'm sad to say that Denilson does not belong in the Arsenal first team.

Before I elaborate, it's worth having a quick word for each of the other villains of the piece (and some heroes):

Alex Song: idiot for the first booking (he was carded for the dissent, not for the non-foul).

I make no apologies for continuing the navel gazing that has set in following our defeat at the weekend. It's the International break and things are slow. So I will continue regardless with the one topic that still doesn't quite sit well with me and that is the criticism of Wenger for the tactics he employed against Chelsea.

I was staggered to read Ryan Shawcross's contribution to the discussion about dangerous tackling. In the week in which Bobby Zamora and Hatem ben Arfa both suffered very serious injuries caused by so-called ‘full blooded' tackles, Shawcross had this to say:

"The likes of Henry and de Jong, I'm sure, didn't go out to injure another player on purpose.

Being Arsene's number one apologist there is a question that has been floating around out there that has been bothering me for a while: why did Wenger play a weakened side against Shakhtar and Braga away? His critics accuse him of arrogance and obstinacy; the fall out of these decisions being that we came runners up and now, unnecessarily, have to face Barcelona.

I've just heard an interview on talkSPORT with the Spanish football pundit, Guillem Balague. It's basically curtains for Cesc Fabregas' 7 year stint with Arsenal as it looks like he has told Wenger that he wants to leave now, rather than later, with Barcelona being his preferred choice.
Now, if this report is true, and I presume it is, it looks as though Cesc has finally given up on the Wenger Project.

This Arsenal team matched the champions in every department except finishing, yet as far as I'm concerned they are still in disgrace.

Why?

Because if they had shown just 50% of yesterday's commitment, concentration and skill against West Bromwich Albion eight days earlier we would now be only four points behind Chelsea and level with the Middle Eastlanders.

League positions usually go out of the window when there is a local derby, and West Ham who had fared quite well against us in recent years came with the obvious intention of not losing. Expectations were high amongst the home supporters after seemingly scoring for fun whoever we played in the last few weeks,yet it soon became apparent this was going to be in the main an all out attack against a resilient defence.

Damien Comolli is headed back to England. Comolli, the former Arsenal scout and director of football at Tottenham Hotspur, has been appointed by John Henry and his ownership team as director of football strategy at Anfield. The Frenchman, who was most recently the sporting director at Saint-Étienne, has established himself as a talent evaluator that thrives on finding undervalued players.

The response to the attack on the Togolese team from much of the rabble that constitutes the English Premier League was predictable. The emirs and oligarchs did not say much, leaving it to some of the old fashioned brass merchants to bellow about bringing their players "home".
Arsène Wenger was not of the same mind.

Liverpool have reacted with collective fury after Howard Webb, England's World Cup referee, failed to award a last-minute penalty following a Cesc Fabregas handball.
With only seconds of the match remaining, Steven Gerrard attempted to bend a free kick around Arsenal's wall, only for Fabregas to use his left arm to parry the ball to safety as Arsenal held out for a 1-0 win.

Don't you just love the stubbornness of some men, especially those you view as your enemy? Mr. Wenger has been lambasted in the past for not signing a quality goal-keeper, but we all know how Arsène reacts to criticism.
Let me introduce Manuel Almunia. This man capped off a delightful Saturday for me and possibly the majority of Chelsea, Manchester United and Spurs fans.

When dawn broke on April 25, 2004, Arsenal had yet to lose after 33 games of what would be an historic Premiership campaign. The title would surely be heading to Highbury; it was just a matter of where Arsène Wenger's side completed the formalities.

White Hart Lane would have been the choice of most Arsenal fans and, after second-placed Chelsea were beaten by Newcastle in an earlier kick-off, Arsenal's task became clearer.

Jose Mourinho put together a game plan against Barcelona that left the world's best team with little answers. Mourinho, ever the chess master, had his players so well-drilled that there was no stone unturned.

Tony Cascarino of the Times writes of how Mourinho's tactics could provide a lesson to be learned by managers of the Premier League.

Arsenal Football Club is delighted to announce that Moroccan international striker Marouane Chamakh has joined the Gunners on a long-term contract.Chamakh (26), who joins Arsenal from French side Bordeaux, made a total of 293 appearances, scoring 79 goals during his eight years with Les Girondins.

Why us gooners have much to be proud of Aria Khani The recent world cup final was contested between a technically gifted Spanish side and a very hard working and talented Holland. The Spanish victory was hailed by Alan Hansen and co, as a good result for football. They marvelled over the passing game and [.

By Ollie Irish

A stroll for Arsenal in their traditional pre-season friendly at Underhill. This from Arsenal.com's official match report:

"The tone was set after just 90 seconds when Andrey Arshavin waltzed round home keeper Jake Cole before tapping home. Jay Simpson added two more before the break as the visitors dominated.

By Tony Attwood The supporters' rebellion at Manchester United this summer was supposed to involve season ticket holders not renewing until the last minute. But the trouble with rebellions is that they can sometimes get a bit out of control. I am not sure that the middle class members of the 3rd Estate in France [.

Here's some good news for Arsenal fans! In addition to securing the services of veteran defender Sol Campbell for another season, the Gunners have also received a pledge of improvement from Swiss international Johan Djourou.

While the 23-year old understands that the arrival of Frenchman Laurent Koscienly has already provided a much needed boost to Arsenal's defense, he hopes that this is the year where he rises to prominence in North London.

Didier Drogba has carried on where he left off last season for Chelsea FC

Just three weeks into the new season and it's a case of as you were in England and Scotland as familiar names lie in the top spots in each league. In England champions Chelsea are the only team with a 100% record following their 2-0 victory over Stoke City at the weekend but familiar foes Manchester United and Arsenal FC aren't far behind.

Is this the last season in which Arsenal will buy any player who is above 21yrs of age?? by Dark Prince Now on the last day of the transfer window, lots of questions have arisen on how many more players Lord Arsène Wenger will be buying. But we have to remember that we have a [...]

Jose Mourinho is at it again in the press and letting the world know what he thinks of Arsenal and the new look AC Milan. He is basically pissing off Wenger and putting a big smile on the face of AC Milan supporters. The funny thing is that you know everyone is listening.

José Mourinho does not believe Arsenal are capable of winning the Champions League this season.

Young 21 years old Arsenal forward Carlos Vela has a really unpredicted opportunity now to shine for Arsene Wenger's Gunners side in the next weeks.

Vela has missed out so far to earn a starting place for the Premier League side, but with a few players injured actually including Robin van Persie (6 Weeks), Theo Walcott (4-6 weeks), Nicklas Bendtner (3-4 weeks) as well as Andrey Arshavin in poor form, the Mexican will definitely get his chance to join the Arsenal boat for the title race.

Young 21 years old Carlos Vela has sent a message to his home country Mexico today, as he converted calmly and with great composure a lovely Cesc Fabregas delivery to make it 4:1 for the Gunners against the Trotters.

The Mexican has received really bad treating by his fellow natives as well as the Mexican press in the last week , especially the latter ones have produced stories which are really far from reality.

Mexican sensation Carlos Vela scored twice as Arsene Wenger's Arsenal side destroyed Portuguese outfit SC Braga last evening at Emirates Stadium by 6:0. Skipper Cesc Fabregas got two as well with Chamakh as well as Arshavin on the scoring board.

The 21 years old already scored on the weekend against Bolton as he slotted home calmly a fantastic Cesc Fabregas chip pass.

A moment's lack of concentration after ninety four minutes and forty seconds in a game that was supposed to last ninety four minutes cost us two precious points.

Perhaps it is more accurate to say that not only was it the poor time keeping by referee Phil Dowd but also the stupidity of Alex Song and an atrocious penalty miss by Tomas Rosicky that combined to deny us two points that could end up making the difference between winning the league and coming second.

Always good to play a newly promoted team at home after a busy (and triumphant) week. West Brom according to Mr Wenger will be a tough test and one of the best sides we could play. Tosh, I say he couldn't have asked for a better fixture considering the progressive destruction of his squad. If we don't pick up 3 points today we may as well hold up the white flag regarding the title.

As usual, the international break has left a vacuum in the lives of many football supporters. I believe most (myself included) would place club before country and so the major hope is simply that none of our players get injured.

To pass the time, I'd like to offer a few ideas up for discussion.

This excellent post written by RedArse was sent to us over the weekend and continues the discussion about serious injuries. Thank you RedArse for your contribution.

Written by Red Arse

Like most Arsenal fans, I greeted, with relief and joy, the news, that "Rambo" Ramsey was not far from resuming full time training, with a view to returning in the New Year.

Given the choice of players in the Premier League there are few that I would swap for our boys when they are on form, and that is the point of this post .... when they are on form.

What is the difference between Arsenal and Man IOU? It is not the talent of the players, nor is it application, no, it is Consistency.

Written by RedArse

There are only 17 Laws of Football. The one that is the subject of this article and which makes me bristle with frustration and anger is ...... Law 11, The Offside Law.

Before we can rationally discuss the pros or cons of this law we need to know what it says!

Written by Neamman

Back in the 60s, perhaps 66 or 67, we had a young player who appeared in 3 games in a month, I saw his debut. His name was Mickey Boot and he scored 2 goals in those three games, the one I saw was a nice shot from outside the penalty box. Yet he never appeared for us again and soon thereafter moved to South Africa.

It was disappointing to see Cesc Fabregas apparently making the ‘give him a card' gesture to Mark Clattenburg on Sunday.

Only four minutes into the game against the Mancunian lottery winners Boyata was beaten to the ball by Chamakh, who would have been clean through on goal, but the young central defender lunged in recklessley and brought down our Number 29.

In the light of all the positivity following two excellent performances, 7 goals scored and none conceded, it would seem odd to publish this article submitted by Carlito 11, but I think it serves to show how quickly things can change in football. The piece was written after two pretty poor performances and our customary loss to chelski.

We have been through a miserable few games and tonight we have an opportunity to get back on track. Few will fancy us to defeat a team who appear to have transformed themselves from thug tactics to one that played Man Utd off the park at Old Trafford. Let there be no mistake, United were lucky to take the points and had Wolves taken their chances, they would have won, plus (DanDan) United scored on the stroke of halftime and in the 94th minute.