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The former Arsenal and England striker Alan `smudger` Smith has been writing about his memories of the Gunners and his thoughts on the current Arsenal team. Smith left Arsenal shortly before Arsene Wenger took over in 1996, but he has always followed the Gunners and has suggested that the Frenchman is at a pivotal period in his Arsenal reign and could maybe do with being a little more flexible in his methods.

It is an often used adage in the world of football that goalkeepers have to be a little bit crazy, and the Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny can certainly tick that box on his c.v. You have to love him, though, because he often comes out with things that most other players would not dream of saying, whether they think it or not.

Steve Bould has been taking charge of the press duties for Arsenal this week, apparently Arsene Wenger has not been very well. The assistant is understandably happy about the improved defensive performance in the last three games, because he was a part of the famous Gunners back four that reveled in 1-0 victories.

There was a lot of talk in the build up to Arsenal's trip to White Hart Lane a month ago that the derby could be a turning point. A win for the Gunners would have halted Spurs' run of form and lifted Arsenal spirits after two poor games against Blackburn and Bayern effectively ended the trophy dreams for another season.

If Arsene Wenger holds any serious hope of signing Robert Lewandowski for Arsenal, he had better get his skates on and talk to somebody at the strikers club Borussia Dortmund. The general manager of the Bundesliga team, Michael Zorc, told the Kicker that they would hold on to their star until his contract finished in 2014 if they could not get a transfer sorted out by May.

Steve Bould seems to be in charge of Arsenal at the minute, at least when it comes to facing the media. Hopefully Arsene Wenger is off somewhere sorting out a big name signing, but I may be slightly optimistic. Anyway, Bould has taken the chance to lavish praise on one of Arsenal's most maligned players of the season, Aaron Ramsey.

Bould but Necessary Risks This is a Guest Post by Nilo from A Gentlemen's Arsenal

Having watched the Munich and Swansea matches I realised that the Arsenal team was playing a very conservative game, keeping a compact formation throughout both matches. These performance reminded me of our first 3 draws this season, in the first 3 matches.

Arsenal started off this season looking defensively solid, keeping clean sheets in the first three games and not losing or conceding more than one goal until the end of September. With the former Gunner from the famous Arsenal defence, Steve Bould, working as Arsene Wenger's new assistant it looked like last season's defensive woes were a thing of the past.

Following the gift of two goals to local rivals and direct competition Tottenham at the weekend, the Arsenal defence has come under the microscope again. It is not the first time this season that the Gunners have been shockingly exposed at the back, although the defensive record is actually pretty good.

Arsenal must sort out the defence by JG

The big debate now is the problems with our defence, after a demoralising performance in Europe, in this portion of our team.

Vermailen does not suddenly become a bad player, and you do not play for Germany over 40 times and remain first choice, as Mertesacker has by being a poor player.

Nigel Winterburn's damning verdict on our defence by NS

Tonight, I had the pleasure of Nigel Winterburn answering my email on TV. I am most proud. Basically, it was about our defence. I asked him to make a comeback for the Bayern game. Earlier in the show, Nigel made some brilliant points.

Arsene Wenger expects a few hard questions every now and then, especially when his Arsenal team are in a poor run of form or have suffered a bad result. The calm and collected Frenchman is finding it harder and harder to stay relaxed, however, in the face of increased pressure and what he sees as impertinence and bad journalism.

Former Arsenal midfielder Stewart Robson is in a unique position to criticise Arsene Wenger, having played under the French manager exactly zero times. Despite that, he often gives his opinion on how Wenger does his job, most recently blaming all of Arsenal's problems on Wenger and saying that he runs the club like a dictator.

In typical Arsene Wenger style, the Arsenal manager played down the extreme reactions to the recent poor run of form that has left the Gunners languishing 10th in the table. When all around him are losing their heads and pulling their hair out (not Steve Bould obviously) the Prof is loomking at the problems facing Arsenal in a cool and calculating way, and he is convinced that it will soon be sorted out.

It was left to the assistant Arsenal boss to deliver the dressing room dressing down that the underperforming Arsenal players have been deserving for some time. Arsene Wenger and Thomas Vermaelen are too nice, maybe, and so it was the former Arsenal legend Steve Bould who laid out some home truths after the dismal performasnce against Swansea on Saturday.

At the start of this season, the thing that most Arsenal fans were talking about, other than money grabbing Dutchmen, was the new and improved defence. The appointment of the former Arsenal defensive rock of Steve Bould was hailed as a move of genius and had reformed the usually somewhat shaky Gunners back line into an immovable object.

Arsenal seemed to start the season in good form. Although the first two 0-0 draws were a little disappointing they soon started winning and even seemed to have the upper hand in the 2-1 defeat by League leaders Chelsea. Now it seems that good form has deserted them, with just one goal and one clean sheet in their last three matches highlights the fact there is something wrong somewhere.

Everyone was reluctant to blame the international break for Arsenal getting beat by Norwich at the weekend, pointing to the fact that Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City all managed to win after losing many of their players to national teams.

Another lackluster and uninspiring performance last night has led to Arsene Wenger's assistant Steve Bould to wonder if the break has caused this problem for the Arsenal players.

It is time for Arsenal players to stand up and be counted, and time for Thomas Vermaelen to show some leadership and passion to get the Gunners back on track. The game at the Emirates on Saturday against QPR has now taken on a massive significance and Vermaelen is determined that the players will fight from start to finish.

Tony Adams thinks Bould will clash with Wenger by TS

Well now, isn't Tony Adams the bearer of bad news lately. First he laid into Wenger for selling Robin Van Persie, then he criticized Arsenal for not bring in any new players and now the former Gunner is hinting that Bould and Wenger will clash very soon.

Arsene Wenger's new assistant Steve Bould has received nothing but praise recently. He has been given most of the credit for the new solidity in the Arsenal defence that saw us let in just two goals in the first five league games. Both of those cvould be attributed to goalkeeper error so the defence was looking irresistible.

It seems ridiculous when you consider that Arsenal have the stingiest defence in the Premier league so far this season, but the so-called experts have been critical of the zonal marking system that Arsenal are using for set pieces. We can hold up our hands and say that Joleon Lescott should not have been allowed such an easy header from a corner on Sunday that produced the opening goal for Manchester City, but is that a good reason to condemn the system?

Kieran Gibbs Hails the Bould effect by AM

Arsenal left back Kieran Gibbs has come out and praised the impact that Steve Bould has made this season on Arsenal's defense.

Arsenal have conceded just three goals in six matches so far this season (in all competition) and statistically hold the meanest defense in the Premier League along with Chelsea.

Steve Bould's take on Arsenal's strike force by AH

Steve Bould took over the position of assistant manager to Arséne Wenger this summer and he has made a huge impact on the defensive side of this new look Arsenal team.

Seen as a defensively minded person, following his career in the defence position, many doubted his approach to Arsenal's attacking style of football, however he has integrated his defensive work into an Arsenal team that now work hard to defend and attack as a team and not just individuals.

I know the theory that you should not change a winning team unless you have to, but in the modern game there are much more games than there used to be and a certain amount of rotation is normal and necessary. Arsenal travel to the Etihad stadium on Sunday still unbeaten this season and with a great team spirit, but there are signs of fatigue creeping in to some of the players' performances and I wonder if it would be better to rest them against Manchester City.

The young Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has been left in London this week as he has "not been passed fit" to travel to Montpellier for tonights Champions League match, and Arsene Wenger is more than happy to give Vito Mannone another chance after keeping two clean sheets in his two games so far this season.

Former Arsenal defender Frank McLintock has spoken about his impressions of the Arsenal team this season and his optimism about their chances of ending the seven year wait for some silverware. The Scottish international tempered his comments by saying that it was a little early to tell and that a few more games will give us a better idea of how things will progress this season.

There are two records up for grabs at the Emirates today for the Gunners, but only one of them would be welcome. If the Arsenal defence continues it's good form under the tutelage of former legend Steve Bould, and stop Southampton from scoring, it will be the first time ever that the Gunners have begun [.

Season opener

This feels absurd – my first game of the season and we're a month in. Damn you fixture list and blast you international week. Still, here we are and I'm ludicrously excited. So excited I've dusted off the blog! That's a sign that something giddy is afoot, if ever I've seen one.

Vermaelen speaks about Bouldy by TS I love it, I absolutely love it! Rewind a couple of weeks ago and you had everyone, from the fans to the media, saying that Arsenal are looking in bad shape for the season. With no suitable replacement for Sagna and the transfer window closed I'll admit it, I [...]

Ignasi Miquel talks about the influence of Bould and Banfield Young Arsenal defender Ignasi Miquel has praised the influence of Steve Bould and Neil Banfield on his Arsenal career so far. Both Bould and Banfield have been promoted to first team coaching staff this season by Wenger. Bould, who was part of George Graham's famous [.

Don't worry, it is just my little joke. Arsenal have named Thomas Vermaelen as their new captain, after Robber van Persie forced his way out of the Emirates this summer. I do not really think that we will be waving goodbye to another captain next summer( please God). Mikel Arteta has been rewarded for his [.

As most of you will have watched highlights or even the full Köln-Arsenal match, I won't bore you with match details, and will stick to my personal view of the game, and a few bits of information picked up along the way!

Well it was certainly a gloriously day for a game – the sun shining and the wind, which had been gale force earlier in the day, dropped to a gentle breeze.

As most of you will have watched highlights or even the full Köln-Arsenal match, I won't bore you with match details, and will stick to my personal view of the game, and a few bits of information picked up along the way!

Well it was certainly a gloriously day for a game – the sun shining and the wind, which had been gale force earlier in the day, dropped to a gentle breeze.

With the Dutchman announcing he won't sign a new contract and the Giro-Pod flexing its forearms, hell-bent on destroying premiership defences with its bare hands, it's easy to see how Wenger's potential nomination of his successor may have slipped through virtually unnoticed in this turbulent summer.

A provocative headline designed to grab your attention? Yes, guilty but I believe there is a quite a lot of truth in it.

The change of direction that I am talking about is reflected in the kind of player that Podolski and Giroud are. These footballers are big powerful no nonsense types, they signal a change in style, perhaps even a return to the days when Arsenal fielded big strong powerful teams which included the likes of Vieira, Petit, Adams, Bould and Campbell; when those players took to the field the opposition were scared.

A provocative headline designed to grab your attention? Yes, guilty but I believe there is a quite a lot of truth in it.

The change of direction that I am talking about is reflected in the kind of player that Podolski and Giroud are. These footballers are big powerful no nonsense types, they signal a change in style, perhaps even a return to the days when Arsenal fielded big strong powerful teams which included the likes of Vieira, Petit, Adams, Bould and Campbell; when those players took to the field the opposition were scared.