There was a point yesterday – just before Sunderland scored their freak goal – when I was thinking: we need to change this game from the bench, but who can we bring on? We have no quality on the bench!

Silly me.

All it took was one Ramsey pot shot, one sublime cross from Arshavin and one trademark Henry finish to prove that Arsène Wenger still knows what he's doing.

What a game in store for us this afternoon. As was said earlier this week a barometer game. A resurgent Sunderland looking to continue their very surprising run against an Arsenal team confident as a result of last week's big win.

And yet, in my opinion both appear to be skating on thin ice.

Real Madrid wants Robin Van Persie. Look at my face: I am not happy right now.

Rather than just writing one opinion piece, I typically try to gather as much information from around the World Wide Web and condense it with my own commentary added. This week we've got Real Madrid pursuing Van Persie, Mourinho gunning for Arsene's job, Kieran Gibbs returns from a long layoff to strengthen the defense, and a hobbled Jack Wilshere all torn up about England's national team losing its coach just months before the Euro 2012.

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.

Well, we kind of had an idea that Arsenal were playing well but not getting the results. It was a matter of details according to Arteta, Wenger, and others. It all came good in this one as Blackburn were the hapless victims of a rampant Arsenal side.

Chance conversion was another issue which was put to bed, at least temporarily, with 7 out of 8 shot on target registering on the scoreboard.

How long have we been hoping for a result like this? We said for a long time that somebody will get a hiding from Arsenal sooner or later and today Blackburn – together with a handful of wasted bin bags, filled with nothing but hot air were taken to the Bin-Bangers.

How long have we been hoping for a result like this? We said for a long time that somebody will get a hiding from Arsenal sooner or later and today Blackburn – together with a handful of wasted bin bags, filled with nothing but hot air were taken to the Bin-Bangers.

Football is a funny game. When you predict like a master pundit (read-Carlton Palmer) every thing goes topsy turvy and it actually ends up even more interesting. The past week was no exception and it had everything, I mean everything. For a guy like me the premier league is the only source of joy in what can be called an uneventful life (Yes, what can you do when you are an engineer with a long and winding road ahead).

Perhaps that should be, 2012 HAS to be different. More than some recent poor results, last night's 0-0 with Bolton felt like it signalled the death knell for our season.

I say this because for once we can't hide behind conceding fluke goals or wonder goals. I say this because despite keeping a clean sheet for the first time in what feels like eternity, we could not score at a ground where the likes of United and Chelsea scored five.

Perhaps that should be, 2012 HAS to be different. More than some recent poor results, last night's 0-0 with Bolton felt like it signalled the death knell for our season.

I say this because for once we can't hide behind conceding fluke goals or wonder goals. I say this because despite keeping a clean sheet for the first time in what feels like eternity, we could not score at a ground where the likes of United and Chelsea scored five.

Arsenal can confirm that Jack Wilshere has suffered a small stress fracture to the right foot which is in a different location to his original injury. He will be reassessed in two weeks by Arsenal's medical team. If all goes well (keeping fingers crossed), Wilshere might be back in time for Arsenal's Ides of March schedule.

There is a glimmer of hope amidst the sea of negativity that Arsenal have been swimming in recently. Some players are close to making their return after serious injuries. Of course, as we have seen with Wilshere recently and with others in the past, getting hopes up when it comes to injuries and Arsenal is not a smart choice.

Despite Arsene Wenger making it clear that he doesn't like the January transfer window, there are still lots of Arsenal transfer rumours out there in the ether, but whether any of them are true is another matter. One player who won't be coming to Arsenal is the "German Jack Wilshere", Mario Gotze, who has somehow [.

For the first time in five years we have now lost three Premiership matches in a row.

I am starting this story now Tuesday evening the 17th where the thoughts of last nights radio conversation on Talksports Drivetime between Adrian Durham and Ray Parlour are still fresh in my mind.

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.

Swansea: 61% possession in the first half.

I almost feel like I should just leave it at that. Not often do we have less of the ball than opposing teams. This is what it felt like:

We got to celebrate early, then not so much after that.

I'm not sure I can recap this game. I'll try.

Swansea: 61% possession in the first half.

I almost feel like I should just leave it at that. Not often do we have less of the ball than opposing teams. This is what it felt like:

We got to celebrate early, then not so much after that.

I'm not sure I can recap this game. I'll try.

Match report Video -

Defeat is generally a painful experience. Defeat in circumstances like yesterday's even more so. It was late, very late, and pretty much self-inflicted.

It came after what was a pretty good opening 45 minutes from us. We were energetic, good going forward and while Fulham had their moments I thought we contained them pretty well defensively.

Once more into the breach and our first game of 2012 sees us travel to Fulham.

Coming so soon after the exertions against QPR changes would seem to be inevitable, but I wonder. At the back we have to find a solution to the left back issue after Thomas Vermaelen's calf strain. Many would suggest Ignasi Miquel but given how well he did coming on against QPR I wouldn't be surprised to see Francis Coquelin start there.

Football on New Years Eve!? Do the FA not give any thought to the bloggers having to write match reports?

Anyhow, QPR were the latest visitors to the Emirates during this crazy Christmas period. With Liverpool already picking up 3 points a day earlier against Newcastle, and with United, Chelsea and Spurs all expected to win against relegation fodder (see what I done!

Robin celebrates one of his 35 Premier League goals in 2011, second only to Alan Shearer's 1995 calendar year tally of 36.

A few quick comments as the minutes to midnight tick closer.

Robin rules. It would be impossible to heap too many superlatives on his form this season. He finally got to show what he could do when he could remain injury-free.

New Years Eve brought Queens Park Rangers to the Emirates for the final match of the 2011 calendar year, and van Persie's last chance to match or break Shearer's record.

Wenger rang in the changes to the starting line up from the disappointing draw versus Wolves on Tuesday, with Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott and a surprising Andrei Arshavin getting starts.

The result against Wolves has made this game bigger and tougher than it should have been as there will now be an added pressure on the Gunners. Liverpool's win over Newcastle has also put them above Arsenal in fifth and only a win will see Arsenal climb over the Reds. Arsenal's margin of error was miniscule after the poor start to the season but it's almost vanished now.

The result against Wolves has made this game bigger and tougher than it should have been as there will now be an added pressure on the Gunners. Liverpool's win over Newcastle has also put them above Arsenal in fifth and only a win will see Arsenal climb over the Reds. Arsenal's margin of error was miniscule after the poor start to the season but it's almost vanished now.

There are loads of snippets of Arsenal transfer news about this morning, but most of them seem to be total speculation without any quotes whatsoever, but it is my duty to pass them on to interested Arsenal fans. The first one has Arsenal and just about every other top Premier League club interested in signing [.

By Ref Reviewer 04

Ref Attwell came over to do the game between Arsenal and Wolves. What was his score in this game?

Min Type Foul from On C/NC Comment points weight 3 OTHER Jarvis Benayoun C Push 1 1 7 OTHER Rosicky Hunt C I had the impression Rosicky played the ball [.

Well, what an incredibly frustrating ninety minutes that was. Upbeat start, good goal, cavalier flicks, lucky equaliser, chances, chances, CHANCES, saves, saves, more ruddy saves and Wolves rode their luck to a first point against Arsenal in the Premier League era. You couldn't fault the team's effort, apart from a slight easing off in the first half, and I agree with Arsene when he says that we would have won this game 19 times out of 20.

The second half onslaught was exhilarating but not quite enough to regain the two points that another freakish goal had taken away.

Arsene did rotate some of the players. Djourou came in for Coquelin, Rosicky for Ramsey, and Benayoun for Walcott. It was a strong team and one that should have secured the win with relative ease.

The second half onslaught was exhilarating but not quite enough to regain the two points that another freakish goal had taken away.

Arsene did rotate some of the players. Djourou came in for Coquelin, Rosicky for Ramsey, and Benayoun for Walcott. It was a strong team and one that should have secured the win with relative ease.

Sometimes one huffs and puffs, one huffs and puffs some more, but the house just won't blow down and that's just what happened against Wolves today. There may be an element down to slight weaknesses in our squad, Rosicky and Benayoun are very similar to each other and both started today, but I have to say the main problems today were Wayne Hennessey, bad luck and poor finishing (probably in that

Honestly, despite my reputation as the Negative Nancy blogger, I thought we'd snatch a winner all the way up to the final whistle. Not only did we control possession, chances, corner kicks, free kicks, etc, but we also played the final 20-ish minutes (including added time) with a man advantage.

Well that was frustrating, but not entirely unexpected. Just before writing this post I saw a Tweet by Orbinho (follow him) that summed up a lot of what's been going on with the side over the last year or so: in Arsenal's last 15 home games in the prem, they've only scored more than one goal on 4 occasions.

"The result showed the importance of the squad but also the quality of the spirit," Wenger had said after the match against Aston Villa, "That makes a difference if you have players who come on that have a real desire to help the team. "You always have a chance because teams have to fight so [...]

"The result showed the importance of the squad but also the quality of the spirit," Wenger had said after the match against Aston Villa, "That makes a difference if you have players who come on that have a real desire to help the team. "You always have a chance because teams have to fight so [...]

Season's greetings Arse addicts. It's been an unusual kind of week with two away games yielding mixed results. Yet we've probably found more praise for our performance in defeat at Eastlands than we did for our somewhat serendipitous victory at Villa Park. Football is a funny old, blah, blah, blah etc.

The Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has dismissed rumours linking the Czech Republic midfielder Tomas Rosicky with a move away from the Emirates. "Rosicky is at Arsenal and he remains at Arsenal," he told the club's official website. The 31-year-old was heavily linked with a move to Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg this summer and recent reports suggest [.

Aaron Ramsey has been a prominent figure for Arsenal this season. With a staggering 12 appearances already in the Premier League (out of 13 matches), he has proven to be the key creative force in midfield. Providing a good haul of 1 goal and 4 assists so far in the league, his incisive passes and [..

I was speaking to an old friend recently, who is also a fan of the Arsenal, and he was pleading the case for us to sign Gary Cahill in the January window. An idea which he seems to share with many of his fellow Gooners (or so it seems looking at blog world!), and this got me thinking about the current squad and the strengthening options open to Arsène come January 1st.

By Tony What with our sites going up and down like things that go up and down a lot, we have published one preview of the game on the temporary site, but now lost that again. Anyway I made a mistake on that preview by including Rosicky who is not in the squad, so not [...]

By Tony Attwood

It is one hell of a relief to return to football in the middle of what seems to have turned into a full scale cyber war.

If you want to know a bit of background see the earlier article

Anyway, as much as I have been able to focus on football, here's what's going on.