Match preview: The Derby is Upon us.

And so just 3 games into the season one of the most important fixtures in the calender if you are a Gooner, the North London Derby is now upon us. A mixture of excitement and Anxiety always grips me every time these games come along. In the past, it was because games between both teams were always tight and never based on current form, making them very difficult to predict. The same goes with this season's. Spurs have begun rather efficiently if not spectacularly, with a defensive resoluteness not often identifiable with them. Their season stats of 2 games played, 6 points, no goal conceded is not to shabby by all parameters. Even though its nothing to roll-out the drums for especially so early in the season. Still, it is a sign that they mean business and would be looking to preserve this decent start. Speaking of Business, transfer business that is- Spurs have also demonstrated a bullish approach that has left the watching public split between admiration and envy. No less than 6  new signings, provides a fulcrum and depth that can rival those of any of the top 3 teams in the EPL. So yeah, they've sure gotten everyone's attention you might say.

On paper, especially with our  inability to strengthen our ranks, many will say that puts them in a clear advantage over us. Coupled with the fact that we have already tasted defeat inside our first two fixtures (at home to Villa) its easy to guess which of the two fans are the ones unsure going into this. But we are not without our Aces.We can be said to have the more cohesive first 11, seeing that the core of the personnel that navigated crucial games last season are still with us. No key player was sold or is agitating to go. They on the other hand, have shipped in tons of individual talents all at once and therefore face the task of blending that motley crew  into some kind of killer team. In addition, its worth nothing that Crystal palace and Swansea the two teams spurs have earned their maximum points against aren't exactly world beaters (All due respect to them) and in Arsenal would be facing their first real test of the season.

So it all sets up to be an interesting afternoon for both fans and neutrals alike come kick off.  The last two fixtures played at the Emirates have ended in 5-2 scorelines in favor of Arsenal. Now much as i would love another encore of that scoreline, it doesn't look likely. We've been spoilt twice in a row and i envisage we will be in for a tough encounter tomorrow. In terms of who we may line-up, our squad is now so predictable, that at this stage even a 5-yr old fan would guess almost  with 100% accuracy those we will field. The only change we may see, is the return of Koscielny. Who after a weeks' rest may be drafted in to resume his Central defensive duties while Sagna moves back to his default right-back position. It would have been nice to have a brand new shiny striker of our own to boast of even if he starts from the bench. But as it is, there won't be any, meaning  it'll be up to Giroud ,Walcott and the others to inflict maximum hurt on Tottenham. The defense should enjoy much better protection this time with the presence of Flamini in the team, compared to the Aston Villa game. For dynamism and balance, i'd opt for the Ramsey,Carzola, Flamini Midfield triumvirate with Jack and Rosicky on the Bench. In my mind, that offers the perfect mix of creativity, hardwork and defensive graft we will need to come out unscathed. Against Aston Villa we were constantly exposed in mid-feild on counter attacks. Such we cannot afford against a team like Spurs. So in conclusion, it really could go either way, but here's hoping it goes our way and we can go into the international break on a high. C'MON ARSENAL!

Champs League draws: Bring it on!!!!!

So the draws were done Today, and not yesterday as i erroneously stated in my last post. Apologies for that. And with Tonights' draws concluded, the table is now set for the the annual feast of football at Europes' high table. We find ourselves in group F alongside two previous champions in the form of  Borussia Dortmund and Marseille while Napoli (yes them) roundup the quartet..Look, i understand the angst and trepidation from Twitter over drawing these teams. Dortmund on their way to the finals last year played some really awesome football. Napoli managed by Rafa Benitez, aren't push overs, as observed from pre-season. While Marseille are dark horses not to be underrated. But c'mon we are the ARSENAL! They should be the ones quaking in their boots. Transfers aside the core of players we have in this club and our style of play will still trouble any team in Europe. Our group certainly could have been a lot worse that's for sure. I had thought before the draws that, with the way ''drama fixtures'' always seem to unfold in the UCL every year, we might have ended up with either Zenith st Petersburg (Arshavin) or Real Sociedad (Carlos ''New improved'' Vela) but alas it wasn't to be. Those ''drama fixtures'' as i like to call them which tend to involve clubs and their ex-players, have been pointers thrown up by cynics as proof that these draws aren't as transparent as they'd like us to believe. But like i always say whenever i meet such people, if you cannot come up with an alternative means of conducting these draws, its best you stop crying wolf.

So its settled then. We know the route we must navigate in our quest for the trophy with the Big Ears. As at press time Mathieu Flamini of the class of 2008 has re-joined for an unspecified time frame (might be 3yrs contract though). He's always been a top guy and at Milan he was an important player. I welcome him (even if i have no choice) and i'm sure he will go into the Derby on Sunday against Spurs barring any hitches. The window is days from being over and the excitement is approaching fever pitch. Rumors of all kind linking us from one star name to the other are replete but it does no good to talk about them at this stage. However what we need to do is trust the manger to do whats right for this team and make the right additions to strengthen. That way, at the start of the UCL hostilities following this draw, we wont end up asking ourselves why the hell we even bothered in the first place. cheers

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Arsenal 2: Fernabache 0 (Match Review)

Morning folks. i'll start by congratulating Wenger and his troops for pulling off a truly remarkable feat which most of you with good memories will agree with me did not technically begin last week in Turkey. This champions league journey which we so magnificently wrapped up last night began in March after that demoralizing defeat to Tottenham at White heart lane. We were in a precarious 10 point deficit from 4th place and it seemed at last Spurs would finally beat us to the holy grail of finishing in a champions league place. I still recall both of those Goals we conceded in that game, just awful and even i believed we didn't look deserving of 4th. But in a remarkable twist of events, Wenger rallied his broken and battered soldiers, charged them to rise from the abyss of that defeat and take their place amongst the best in Europe. Yes there was the small matter of the 10 point gap, but he made them understand that if they could traverse the remaining games of the season without defeat anything could yet happen, knowing Spurs and their habit to self destruct. The rest as they say is history. We fought hard upstaged Spurs, came 4th ,went through a tough Summer with few new additions but still made it to the promised land of Champions league football! Such are the stuff of Hollywood movies i tell ya.

I'll be the first to say it wasn't the best game we've played in a while. Nope. It felt like watching a film you had seen a 100 times. Only few exciting moments. However, in fairness it was never going to be one we would put ourselves through undue stress to impress.We were already 3-0 up on aggregate, not necessarily in a position were we had to attack them, instead all the onus lay with them to force the unlikeliest of comebacks. We lined up much the same way as we were against Fulham last saturday, save for the introductions of Monreal at left-back and Wilshere for Rosicky in central Midfield. They started the better and earned a couple of quick corner-kicks which i will say now would have been disastrous had we conceded from. Because at that time we were struggling to come to terms with the pace of the game and had not settled. Fernabache were not so different from the side we defeated a week earlier but seemed like they were after an early goal. Their first real chance came after Jenkinson was robbed at the edge of the box, and then in desperation, Sagna's attempted clearance rebounded off the weird looking Meireles and almost looped over Szczesny. The save he made was instictive and seemed the tonic we needed, as we suddenly sparked to life after that. Walcott and Giroud had shots saved and dragged wide respectively as the gunners attacking machine began to run ominously for the visitors. Ramsey our man of the season thus far has been in lightening form. His game had begun quietly, but he was soon making his trade-mark runs from midfield into the Fernabache danger area. And it was one of those runs that yielded the first goal on 25 minutes. Podolski and Walcott combined to throw the Fernabache defence into disarray and the Welsh man cashed in. I can't tell you where the origin of Ramseys' beef with Fernabache began but he sure likes to play them. 1 goal in 2008, 1 in Turkey and 2 in London in 2013. They won't like to see him again in a hurry that's for sure. With that goal we seized control of the game and didn't look back. The half ended with us in the ascendancy looking to end the tie with another goal but it didn't come.

In the second half, the Visitors tried one last push to change the status quo. Athough they had ended the 1st half with efforts by Emenike hitting the post and Bruno Alvez zipping a freekick just wide. They began the second with Sow delivering a low shot which Szczesny was equal to and  then flattered to deceive with other intricate play around our 18 yard box.
They however couldn't find a headway and allowed us to re-dictate the pace. Walcott fired a freekick straight at the cross-bar and was unlucky not to score his first of the season. Then sadly, our romance with inexplicable injuries continued when we lost Podolski to a suspected hamstring in the 49th minute.Quite a loss you'd agree with me with sunday in mind. All  hopes of any fightback left in Fernabache was extinguished when Ramsey grabbed the 2nd goal in the 72nd minute. Giroud was subsequently rested and Sanogo was introduced in his place. Wilshere got roughed up a lot in the closing stages of the game but it was good to see him get another 90mins under his belt. Carzola thrilled with his awesome array of  ball skills and crowd favorite Ryo Miyaichis's introduction in place of Walcott, was greeted with mass appeal.

Wenger in his post match interview, praised Ramsey and also commented on the injury to Podolski and knocks to Wilshere. He said they were the only negatives of the night. Podolski looks now set to miss the game at the weekend while Ramsey and Wilshere will have late fitness checks. He also spoke of the consistency it required for a club to be in the champions league for 16 consecutive years. While its indeed a great achievement, we should be looking to go one better by winning the damn thing. But i won't go there now, today is about appreciating the kind of hard work we demonstrated to be part of the draws that will be carried out today for the group stages. The team has done well and here's hoping we get a good draw. I like the champions league, for me it feels like being part of a collection of super-powered few looking to test their strengths in an annual fighting tournament. Fingers crossed Wilshere and Ramsey are fine for Sunday and Podolski experiences a speedy recovery. Back later with North London Derby preview.

Match preview: Arsenal vs Fenerbache (Perhaps a Run out for the Young guns)

Hi folks, A very quick round-up today. So this evening we will be filing out to complete the humiliation of the Turkish side Fernabache, as we look to close out the job we began in Turkey. The team should be on a mini-high following emphatic wins last week. The feel good factor from our pre-season that Aston Villa succeeded in spoiling for a while would have returned a bit. In addition, the guys must have watched the dour episode on show at Old Trafford last night between Chelsea and United and wouldn't have seen anything special to be worried about on the basis of what was on show. Arsene says he won't rotate, but i suspect there'll be some measure of changes. This is an opportunity that doesn't come around that often that gives us the chance to field youngsters on a big stage to enable them get experience. So maybe i'm half wishing, but it won't be bad to see Eisfeld, Gnabry and Zelalem again do their stuff on the big stage. I completely understand the need for caution, but in fairness i believe we are already through to the group stages. Fernabache are all but buried, and they know it and listen, if they had a choice they'd have preferred not to make this trip. So lets hope we field a balanced, team that will get the job done. I will personally be looking out for Podolski also. Wenger will want to build on his form on saturday, so here's hoping it goes well again for the smiling German. Tonight's  result is critical for our season and who knows, maybe potential additions to the squad before the window closes. So fingers crossed no unpleasant surprises from our Turkish Friends, and we qualify. Back tomorrow with a review.

Match Review: Fulham 1:Arsenal 3 ( Another Masterclass as Arsenal rains on Fulhams' parade)

At times like this, not only does it feel great to be a Gunner, it feels even better to be a blogger on all things Arsenal. An evening like this that ends with a good win, a much happier twitter timeline, jovial fans, topped up with a performance that every supporter should be proud of, is a good thing. Notice i said ''proud of'', not ''carried away by''. Because i feel much as it was a great display by Arsenal,we've had many like this down the years. For example, the one at West Ham last season in Upton park, where we showed the epitome of team ethic, skill and hard work but after then, couldn't find the consistency to push on. Wenger right now must be a man gloating inside '' oh ye of fickle and little faith, told u i knew what i was doing'' he must be saying. But not withstanding, he ought to know this result has only bought him some elbow room from all the acidic transfer scrutiny from fans and the media.

So unto the game proper, i begin with this quote from the Telegraph It sums up the game even at half time succinctly. We were by some distance the better side, and the home team can have little complaints about the result. The game in my opinion was won and lost in midfield..We began the game with Carzola, Rosicky and Ramsey centrally in that department. With Ramsey playing the ''deeper sitting'' role when we didn't have possession, but was still allowed to execute his trademark runs occasionally. Rosicky played at the tip of the trio and was responsible for making the play and pressing the Fulham defenders alongside Giroud. Carzola maintained his favorite roaming role from the left channel and did that to devastating effect at times. The rest of the team in other areas picked itself with only Podolski replacing  Wilshere the only change noticeable from Wednesday. In my preview, i reported excerpts of Martin Jols' pre-match comments where he pointed at our Midfield as our biggest threat. He spoke of how difficult it was to contrast between our forward-line and Midfield. ''Its easy to get outnumbered in the middle of the park against Arsenal'' he said. ''The technical ability of their players allow them to exploit the weaknesses in your setup and every out field player is a finisher which makes them harder to pickup''. It was almost prophetic. From the blast of the whistle we seized control of the Midfield and started to impose our game on Fulham. As early as the 10th minute Walcott found himself in front of  Stockdale the Fulham goalie after a nice pass from Midfield but his smart shot was well saved. Soon after in the 14th min, Arsenal were not to be denied. Ramsey in one of his forays up front let fly from the edge of the box, he saw his effort ricochet of Giroud and fall nicely for the french man. The striker made no mistake from 6 yards. In a rain drenched pitch, where finding rhythm and balance are almost impossible,the fantastic Carzola kept finding the spaces ,runs and passes that left the home side exposed at will. Fulham having conceded the goal where sparked to life and Szczsesney had to pull off some good saves to keep us level. Both teams were at this point making dangerous chances but in the 41st min we put daylight between us. Carzola had slipped past Scott Parker and picked out Walcott, the striker fired a shot that the keeper could only parry into the part of Podolski who rifled the ball into the roof of the net from outside the area. Podolski prior to this game was the subject of rumors linking him to a return to the Bundesliga. That news when i heard it, was as troubling as it was totally bonkers in my opinion. With this thin/weak squad? i thought..cant be true. Look, Podolski may be a lot of things, he may appear sometimes as lazy and a Luxury to have in the lineup but there's no denying his finishing ability. He and Walcott are our best finishers, and he proved just that.

In the second, half we looked to wrap this game up by getting the 3rd that'll kill off the hosts. At the back Sagna was performing heroics snuffing out Fulham attacks with Mertasaker. Its almost unbelievable how brilliantly he does the center back thing. His timing and awareness are simply excellent. It also seemed like the rest of the team were feeding off the confidence at the back to take the game to Fulham. Cue the 67th min, where yet more fantastic combination play from Gibbs and Carzola led to Podolski belting the 3rd Goal and knocking the wind out of the host. 3-0 at that point and the game was over as a contest. Bent scored the consolation goal  to maintain his uncanny penchant of scoring against Arsenal (not like it matters), as the 3 points were ours.
After the game,Wenger praised the performance as impressive.. He reserved special commendation for Podolski, Giroud and Ramsey where he also confirmed the German was not going anywhere. Its ludicrous how anyone would have suggested he was not going to be part of the managers' plans. Wenger also hinted that all those waiting for signings may have to wait longer, as he won't be active until at least the NLD (North London Derby) next weekend. I don't know about you, but i'm done with fretting over the Transfer window.
Matter of fact i want it shut now even. Its just such a needless pain in the butt. The buck rests on the managers table whatever he does with this team, and he's the one paid handsomely to carry the can so there.

So a great Win and like always we march on. Next up Fernabache on Tuesday,so see you then.

Preview: Fulham vs Arsenal (Like Balboa we Fight on)

Welcome to another Match preview..Quick story, as a kid i had lots of favorite movies. There was ''Back to the Future'' with Marty Mcfly and that Awesome Jet powered skate board. There was also ''Predator'' with that mean looking Alien who kicked ass with some impressive weaponry. But out of all of them, the ''ROCKY'' series are for me the very best..(mostly rocky 4). I guess to my young impressionable mind back then, seeing a guy getting the daylights beaten out of him, bloodied and demoralized yet still able to somehow win was nothing short of Magic. To me, it was heroic, sensational and i loved it. I remember i'd go to school back then with the rocky theme-song playing in my head, and silently wishing a bully would mess with me. Yeah, those were the days. In Rockys' dictionary, the words ''Odds'' or ''Quit'' didn't exist.  And don't get me started with his bloodied face during fights...all epic stuff.

This is basically the way i feel watching Arsenal at this point in time. i'll say this now, i don't remember ever seeing that much blood from Arsenal players in such a short space of time like i have in the past 1 week. First it was Gibbs on Saturday, then it was Koscielny and a bit of Szczesny on Wednesday. Its easy to forget that they are humans and quicker to view them more like gods from Olympus. Immortals hand-picked to specifically dorn our Red and White jerseys. But sadly, they are not. We are almost like the Rocky of the Premiership right now. All the odds imaginable are against us, we are light in every department as a squad, no thanks to injuries/transfer market inactivity. Quality-wise we can hold our own, but you just get the feeling we are one Punch away from the ICU. However, like our Movie hero we must fight on.

So we make the short trip West to face Fulham at the Cottage today. The scene of one of those late backs-to-the-wall victories we pulled off last season. I still recall how difficult it was that afternoon, although we won it wasn't an enjoyable game to watch and if i remember correctly we both finished the game with 10 men but for long periods we had the 1 man advantage but still looked worse-off. Fulham has never been an easy place to visit for us even in the days we had a much stronger squad than we do now. Games there are always close and tightly contested. In addition to the threats of Dimitar Berbatov and Brian Ruiz they have included the pacy Darren Bent. Now he's not a player i rate so much, but he does have this annoying penchant of scoring against us. What they lack in midfield creativity they compensate with a functional display filled with heart and commitment. Former Arsenal trainee, Sidwell is their midfield hatchet man, and was the one sent off last season that led to us picking max. points. Their manager has no marquee style of play but does prefer the 4-4-2 whenever at home. He praised our win on Wednesday, refusing to believe Arsenal are in any form of crises . If anything he highlighted our impressive away record in the Premiership and warned his team to respect the qualities Arsenal possessed. Team-wise we will file out in much the same fashion as we did in Turkey. Bacary Sagna who deputized in central defense when Koscielny was taken off in Turkey will take up the job full time in this game. It will be interesting to see what the manager does in midfield. Will he start Podolski on the left and shift Carzola to Midfield thereby giving Wilshere a rest altogether or will he prefer not to rock the boat. Both are plausible options but i'd stick with Santi as he is slightly the better man at the defensive side of things. Rumours of a Podolski departure are rife, but its unfathomable we'd weaken ourselves any further by letting anyone leave in the state we are in now. Fulham's threats are well known, they managed to win their opening fixture at Sunderland with only 42% possesion.  A massive warning for ball huggers like us. Getting goals was a problem for them last season, and i dare say it will still be their Achilles heel this term too. However that doesn't preclude us from being at our efficient best conversion-wise. On Wednesday we got three goals, but large portions of our attacking play still consisted of those trademark sideways passing at the edge of the box, with no-one ready to take on the shooting responsibility. Jenkinson on his day can whip in tasty  crosses in from the right-hand side so we will need Giroud at his aerial best should the ground supply be lacking. Speaking of Jenkinson, Fulhams' Alex Kacaniklic is a Left winger that tormented us in the same fixture at the Emirates last season. He was lightening quick and kept delivering dangerous balls into our danger area all day. He will need to be kept quiet and it'll be Jenkinsons' responsibility to do so as legally as possible. We want no more suspensions please! I have found myself wondering where we would be now had we hastily off-loaded Sagna like the rumours were suggesting at the end of  last season. Some of his performances admittedly were bad, but just look at how he has re-discovered his best form. His Experience and ability are now the screws holding our back-line together. Fingers crossed, if  he comes through again today, it 'll be hard to argue against him being offered a new contract.

Wenger always harps on the importance of the quality of the performance we need to produce prior to any game. He is always quick to say that if the performance is at a high level we win no doubt. I believe this team can produce the kind of quality that can bag 3points, my only fear is the rotten spate of luck with injuries and refs we've had thus far. You just feel the players are carrying enough on their shoulders psychologically that any further misfortune could just be the tipping point before the heads drop irreversibly. We certainly hope nothing of the sort happens. The confidence we will take from a win in this game will be massive in the context of our Tuesday 2nd leg with Fernabache as well as the North London Derby next weekend. On that note i wish the guys the best of luck.. back later

(Match Review: Fernabache 0:Arsenal 3) Normal service is resumed as Gunners outclass Opposition

How so much more beautiful the morning after can be after a stirring Gunners win like last night. Its like you look up in the sky and you can see that Sun in the telly tubbies series that wears a big happy smile. You walk by the park, and the birds seem to be chirping a lot happier than normal. May be its my imagination, may be not. I also know many get this same feeling too the morning after a date with a hottie goes according to plan..but one thing is for sure, things look brighter than they did same time last Sunday. much much brighter.

So as it turns out Arsenal went to the so-called ''Hell'' stadium,successfully dared the devil in his backyard, dinned with him with a short spoon, bullied him off his favourite chair in his living room and left with all his treasures back to London. Its  pretty safe to say that we are now firmly one foot into the Champions league after we took a hapless Fernabache team to the cleaners. The game was simply one we had to get a result from, after our rather stuttering start to the season at home last saturday. The first Surprise wasn't the line up though, as the only change in that regard was Wenger starting Carzola, in the space vacated by the injured Oxlaide Chamberlain. Rather it was the unusual blue shorts. Never seen us wear that before, looks like an interesting season of not only transfers but kits awaits us. To the match proper, we left our host in no doubt of our intentions as early as the 3rd minute, when Olivier Giroud looked to play Walcott in but overhit the pass. The back four of Fernabache, consisting of the aging former eveton defender Joseph Yobo and the positionally clueless Bruno Alves probably knew it was going to be a long night, with the manner carzola seemed to be picking the run of Walcott across the right-hand channel with ease. I wrote  in the preview that the midfield was the department of significance in this game as the duo of Ramsey and Wilshere would need to forge an understanding that would encompass both Attacking and defensive cohesiveness. Both had very good performances, with the former notching a goal and a Pre-assist. Ramsey may have his limitations as a player. He may not be your archetypal midfielder blessed with flair and veneer but one thing you can be sure to get from him is total commitment to the cause and a relentless spirit to deliver. His pass to set Walcott free in the box, who then laid the ball to Gibbs to put us one goal up was quite brilliant. He delivered a similar splitting pass to open up Man city in a pre-season game and if that is a sign of things to expect this season then his stock can only be heading in one direction. i bet Fenerbache will be happy to never set eyes on him again after their first acquaintance in 2008 left them similarly damaged. It was also good to see Wilshere put in 90mins and assuage any injury scare for the season. He looked slightly in this game like his old self, but you get the feeling those jinxing dribbling runs aren't at full potency. That will come with time. 

The First half was a masterclass in possession football by Arsenal. We kept the ball well and often threatened the home side with our fullbacks overlapping with intelligence to stretch them at will.The chances were being created, but a bit of last ditch defending and the odd bad bounce combined to thwart them. The only threat from them was the occasional Dirk Kyt runs down the left channel but Ramsey did a job on him regularly tracking him. The second half began where the first ended with Arsenal dominating possession and looking to grab the vital away goal. it deservedly came in the 51st minute via Kieran Gibbs and at that point you immediately knew Fernabache were there for the taking. Walcott should have put us further  ahead not long after but his 54th minute effort after a fine Wilshere run was saved luckily by the Fernabache Goalie. Arsenal could smell blood at this point and tightened the screw but the home team rode the storm. Injuries have worryingly refused to leave us alone this season already, and after Koscielny was subbed in the 30th minute following a horrible gash to the face, Szcezney was next to offer a scare as he stayed down after the same bloke who took out Koscielny almost gored him. Luckily he recovered and was able to continue. The knock out punch came in the 64th minute with Ramsey notching the second goal after letting fly from outside the area. That took out the fight from the hosts, so much so that by the time Giroud tucked away the penalty in the 77th minute after Walcott was brought down the Vultures had already been circling.

So we did the bounce back thing well enough and as Wenger said post match our transfer window with this victory is now officially open . What he means exactly by that is anyone's guess but i want to believe it has something to do with us now being in a better bargaining position with this win than we were before it. Top players want to be in the champions league after all. But we cannot afford to throw this lifeline away now. Aggressive pursuit of those players that can strengthen this very good foundation we have is now an absolute imperative.  No pussying around, Chelsea,United and City have set the pace,so we  must not let any gap build up in the title race. All the well publicised resources we have must in the next 12 days be channeled to that end. Next up is Fulham on Saturday lunch time, i'll be back with a preview. 

match Preview: FENERBACHE Vs ARSENAL (Time to bounce back)

Quick round up. So after licking our wounds for 4 days its time to dry our collective eyes and dust ourselves for the even more challenging mission of travelling to Turkey and getting a result in the Sukru Saracuglu stadium (Try saying that 3 times real fast ) of Fenerbache. Its been that sort of past few days for us Gooners. The kind we have now become all too familiar with after a defeat as disappointing as Saturday's. There have been lots of post Mortems on TV,papers,Twitter, all dishing out frustrations and righteous indignation from basically everyone associated with the club. And when you add the customary jeers from rival fans, you get to understand why a chance like this to redeem ourselves should not be allowed to waste.

So we battle Fenerbache for a place in the UCL group stages, and listen, it could have been worse in terms of who we might have been paired with. After watching a very good Sociedad side brush aside Lyon who are seasoned campaigners in this competition,you aren't unhappy we didn't draw them as they look a very dangerous side indeed.

Not much in terms of our overall squad out-look has changed, there hasn't been any other addition to the team via signings with less than a fortnight left in the transfer window. However the Much maligned Medical team have done a commendable job in getting most of our guys battle ready. Especially Sagna, who i think can count himself lucky he isn't out for the whole season after a Nasty fall on Saturday. Oxlaide Chamberlain wasn't so lucky as he is reported to be out for 6weeks. That's about the worst kind of news a squad in our position, would have wanted to hear, but what can we do?

Regarding our set up, we will most likely  file out in the same pattern as Saturday. (4-3-2-1). I personally don't think there was a problem with that formation. However we may have been slightly guilty of expecting the game to be easier than it turned out. In Midfield, Ramsey and Wilshere will need to device a workable partnership that will involve a lot of communication, responsibility and focus. Traits which Arteta usually shows effortlessly but in his absence the two youngsters must demonstrate those qualities. In defence, Koscielny had a bad outing Saturday it has to be said..I know with him you take the Good and the Bad but i'd like to see him exercise a  little more restraints in his tackles. We just simply cannot afford any other suspensions, nay injuries at this point in time. Going forward, there must be efficiency in front of goal than we managed against Aston Villa. I'd like to make a case for Podolski starting, in a tie that may ultimately be dependent on away Goals we musn't be wasteful nor keep our best outlet for goals on the bench. Lukas had a good pre-season and whilst he would have understood the reason for not being introduced after our Red card on saturday, he would expect to be involved fully tonight. Our opponents are not particularly in better shape than us, form wise. They lost their own League game at the weekend against a newly promoted side and would be looking to bounce-back too with a win. (A kind of battle of the bounce backers). We hear they boast some familiar faces in their side like Dirk Kyt, Bruno Alves and co. That should serve notice to all that this will not be a cake walk, and therefore everyone will need to be patient.

Its time to get behind the guys, no more whining over non-existent transfers (at least for 90mins). Of course the outcome either way of this tie won't mitigate the fact that this has been a very pooly planned and executed summer. With all the resources and tons of cash we claim to have to spend, we certainly can do better than we are doing now. Everyone knows this and most of all Arsene does to..so forget all the media posturing. Here's wishing the lads better luck in Turkey. In the stadium they call ''Hell''.....yeah right, if only they knew, where we are coming from..

(Review: Arsenal 1 vs Aston Villa 3): Horror at the Emirates as Arsenal begin season with humiliating loss

Right where do i start? i guess i can start by saying if you fail to plan, you unwittingly plan to fail...Its only in the realms of dreams or perhaps the movies where you can find 300 brave warriors attempt to overcome an army of thousands in a battle, relying only on their sheer fighting skills and of course the motivation from their  *cough*  Mad LEADER. Who tries to spur them to do the impossible inspite of the fact that they are desperately outnumbered. Before this game many of us feared the worst, not because Aston Villa are world beaters, but because we were going into a new season with the same side that barely scraped 4th place last season ,only this time they are now considerably weaker in every department! On our part, the effort was there, the desire was there, but sadly the Quality was missing and i'll tell you this, if we are finding it hard to produce the quality to beat Aston Villa at our home, then our problems are bigger than we thought.

The starting line up was Szczesny,Sagna,Mertersacker,Koscielny,Gibbs,Wilshere,Ramsey,Chamberlain,Rosicky,Giroud,Walcott. Santi started on the bench ostensibly for reasons not unconnected to his long flight from Equador. On the basis of the above lineup you could be forgiven to believe the 3 points would be in the bag. We took the lead in the 6th minute courtesy of Giroud after a good Chamberlain break from the left flank. Aston Villa in their classic pattern, having gone behind, simply soaked pressure and looked to hit us on the break. We looked fairly comfortable in all but still managed to cause ourselves trouble with some unconvincing defending. One of such from Szczesny saw him suddenly possessed by the Demon that tormented Almunia in an arsenal jersey, when he left his line to fumble a simple clearance. How we ended up not conceding then was a miracle. The equalizer when it materialized was borne out of some equally naive defending, Agbonlahor was allowed to run at the heart of our central difference and was only stopped in the box by Szezcesny, illegally. The referee pointed to the spot for a penalty, and whilst Szczesny made the initial save from Benteke, he couldn't stop the Villa forward from tucking in the rebound. The half ended in a stalemate and even then, the Boos rang out clearly from the stands.

After we began well in the 2nd half, two incidents i feel turned this game on its head, first was the debatable penalty decision resulting after the ball was stolen from Carzola in midfeild, the annoying Agbonlahor raced into the box again evaded Koscielny and fell under his perfectly timed tackle.The 2nd was Koscielny's eventual sending off. If there was ever a game where we needed all the luck in the world to go for us it was this one but the reverse was the case. Benteke scored the penalty to take Villa 2-1 up and and that point we were really struggling. In fairness, i think the ref has some explaining to do because how is it that the linesman closest to the action can point for a corner, while he being  a fair few meters behind can overrule him and give the penalty? very dubious. Then as if that wasn't enough, we got reduced to 10 men when Koscielny got his marching orders for a foul on Weimann. I cannot describe the sympathy i felt towards the players on the pitch at that time. What a mess this was turning into..Teammates were being clattered allover the pitch, Gibbs had sustained a deep face cut and had to be changed, Sagna was limping, Ramsey too, it was almost hard to watch. They had tried to come back into the game with Rosicky who had a good game coming close twice, only just prevented by a combination of poor finishing and Good Goalkeeping by Brad Guzan. By the time Luna buried the third goal, the Game was already lost. Our humiliation was complete and the stands were already Empty.

I mentioned in the preview that we may be pushing our luck with this squad, and it seems it ran out on us with a vengance against an ordinary Villa side. Now we are injury hit in heaven knows how many places with a Champions League tie to face on Wednesday. We have to pick ourselves up though and find some way to be ready. Failure to do so will make all the hard work we put in to finish 4th last season such a massive waste. Over to you Arsesne, you made this Bed so enjoy the sleep.

EPL PREVIEW: DARE WE TO DREAM??

Greetings friends. So the start of the English premier league season is now upon us. Yaaay! what seemed at one point several months away is now literally only few hours from commencing. Mom used to always say to me as a Kid that ''Time'' is the worst fair weather friend anybody can have. When things are going well, you seem to have loads of it at your disposal, however when those inevitable moments of life come up when you find yourself in hotwater, its like time deserts you and you are all by yourself. (just like facing a tough exam in a well spaced hall). How right she was. Speaking of Exams, Arsenal are about to face one they have deliberately refused to prepare for. Like the proverbial genius student who believes his hype and refuses to study,feeling he can never fail as good as he believes himself to be. Are we pushing our luck? How about Chelsea, who have rekindled their old flame with their long lost lover, the "Talkative one" Mourinho. Will they conquer all in their path like the last time or will they find out that some past relationships are better left as that..Manchester has been the home of the trophy for the past 3 years. Sir Alex's stranglehold on it appears loosened by the fact that he has retired and there's no way Moyes will take that club to the dizzying heights Sir Alex did. Their ''noisy neighbors'' Mancity, threatened the status-quo for a year, after showing that Money answereth all things when they captured the 2011-2012 trophy.  The blue half of Manchester suffered a disappointing season last term culminating in that FA CUP disaster to Wigan and would no-doubt be looking to re-address that with Manuel Pellegrini.

It all promises to be a cracking season. For the first time in a while it begins with a bit of uncertainty regarding where the balance of power lies. It seems so open, yet so unpredictable. Having said that though, majority of readers on this blog would want to know the chances as it concerns the Arsenal. Its a difficult one to call. As you read this the Transfer window is still 16 days away from closing and between then and now, things can look as different as night and day. Assessing our readiness for this season and our ability to mount a credible title challenge is not one that i find enjoyable i must confess. Looking at our squad from Goalkeepers right through to the attackers, all i see is a team filled with honest professionals ready to give their all. But that's it really. No marquee talent  (at least for now) to boast of that can give us that much needed edge when the going gets tough as you know it definitely will. I posted earlier when i began this blog last month, the key areas i felt needed strengthening, i still stand by every claim  i made there. We need every last one of those signings, i feel even more now that Spurs and the other Teams we finished ahead of last season have considerably re-enforced their ranks. It would be sheer madness to allow the window expire without doing so.

Our Goalkeepers Szecesny and Fabianski are good but lack the experience to stay competent throughout the course of the season. We were all witnesses to Szecesny's mini slump in January with silly errors and complete carelessness the bane of his game, which saw us drop points. Only when it seemed he would face permanent banishment to the Bench did he suddenly wake up and clean up his act. Fabianski on the other hand, whilst not as bad as some make him out to be, is quite some distance from the level of the Petr Cechs, De Geas and Mignolets of this world.. I pointed at this position as one of my areas to be strengthened. My gut feeling is that Ceaser will join us, we simply cannot risk an injury to Wojiech and then nurse any kind of trophy expectation having 3rd choice Martinez and Fabianski as backup, with all due respect to them.

The latest news comingout of our camp is that Mikel Arteta is out for 4-6 weeks. Just when you thought things couldn't get any more gloomy. This is an obvious setback for us not only in terms of the fact that our squad was already paper thin, but also in terms of the fact that Artetas' role in this team with regards to us functioning as a workable unit is invaluable. This is the sort of scenario most fans were apprehensive about with all the inactivity in our transfers. You could tell that one key injury or suspension and we would be in trouble. Not forgetting, we no longer have Frimpong, nor Coquelin anymore. In this squad, its difficult to say who can fill in as an alternative choice in the ''Holding role''. Ramsey alongside Arteta works so well, because whilst Ramsey is the tireless runner marking spaces and tracking opponents, Arteta sits back so in case we lose the ball, we don't get exposed. This job requires discipline and Arteta does it so well. You feel if we can get that extra fresh face to come in and fill in as a midfield backup it wont do any harm at all. I don't feel we can remain stedfast to our 4-3-3 formation without Arteta, the sheer attacking nous to our game when we play it with Wilshere, Ramsey and Rosicky can work only for the likes of Villa and the smaller teams, but not with the Big guns.

We were the 2nd best defensive team in the league last season behind Mancity. This is one statistic that isn't as celebrated as it should be. However, it is an indication we have a good framework to build on for the coming season. Koscielny has morphed into quite an asset and Mertasacker complements his game well. The only worry here is the same as above, a lack of Back up for the first choice starters. Vermaelen is missing our season start as a result of injury and besides him, Wenger is hinting at using Sagna as Center half backup.Just where that leaves our Right full-back options is anyone's guess. Jenkinson remains for now an apprentice and will not be ready to shoulder the rigours of premiership fixtures by himself, if injury forces Sagna to centerback. Still,for us to have only conceeded 37 goals last season behind City's 34 shows we are strong in this department quality wise. If we can get the collective defensive system right as we did in the last 10 games, for our first 10 this season, it'll be a great fulcrum to launch us to positive things.

Whilst we weren't terrible in attack last season we certainly can improve our efficiency in front of goal. The figures for Giroud,Podolski and Carzola were impressive for 1st timers in this League. It was however their lack of goals against the big boys that needs to improve. I can still recall the Giroud miss in our games against Man united at Old trafford and Chelsea at the Emirates. Both absolute sitters. We can all bemoan the Higuain and Suarez frustrations but the fact still remains that until 2nd of September, Walcott, Giroud, Podolski and Crazola are where our collective hopes for goals will hinge. We were the 3rd best in this area overall last season netting 72 times compared to 86 by the champions. That figure sets the bench mark for us, ideally a 25 goal a season striker would catapult us to that region but unless we can find the Attacking version of Koscielny somewhere, its hard to see who we can look to buy at this stage to deliver that feat.

It really feels wrong to have had our hopes raised by Gazidis with respect to how much Funds we have at our disposal, only to see the summer pan out like this. All the renewed commercial deals and new partnerships now seem like just lipservice. Wenger isn't stupid he knows more than any of us where this team lies in terms of readiness personnel-wise so here's hoping he does the needful before we all lose our minds in absolute hysteria! So at the start of the new season, its safe to say only a brave man will put money on us winning it, the scrap for 4th place wont be a cake walk too. But be that as it may, we have quality in this team no question about it and if Wenger can pull the Koscielny-esq rabbit from the hat again with at least 3 new quality signings...Don't rule us out yet.. All the best to the brave guys who would line up against Aston villa to bag us our first 3 points...C'mon you Gunners!

You were warned Arsene..

Hey guys, it's not looking good at this point is it? The Suarez deal is fast turning into a fiasco, (if it hasn't already) we are shipping out players like a house on fire, no-one is coming in the opposite direction, every arsenal fan is up in arms,scratching their heads wondering what the hell is going on? So over to you Arsene..you tell us? I posted earlier how caution was needed with regard to this Suarez pursuit but like a doomsday prophet, looks like i was right. What a mess we currently find ourselves in. Its like being in a drunken fight with a total stranger over a Hot hooker,(i stress HOT) with regards who takes her home,right outside a club. If you can pardon the rather obnoxious analogy..you'd agree its a pretty ugly scenario.We play Mancity today, a welcome distraction from the Suarez side-show if you ask me. Fingers crossed we don't get smashed or all hell will break loose.. Literally.

My Gervinho Heartbreak

 i don't know about you but the weather in gidi lately has been great for me. its been largely Overcast with that "its about to rain" breeze blowing. Feels a bit un-African to be honest. The only hiccup about it is it makes getting up from sleep that extra bit harder. It feels like i have to tender a Transfer request to my bed to get off it.

Speaking of transfers, one key departure from our ranks at the weekend was the mercurial Ivorian Gervinho. it slipped under the radar, no thanks to a combination of all the Suarez drama and Drogba/Emirates cup shenanigans. In a reported £7million deal Gervinho leaves us after only 2 years. He is one who splits opinions among fans, some refer to him as never being of Arsenal quality, others think he was not allowed enough time to impress. For me he would go down as a player who came to us at the wrong time. We are now simply a club whom, perhaps as a result of our lack of trophies display almost zero patience for any signings. Its perform NOW or get heckled out, simple. Gervinho, endowed with distinct talents, may have probably better suited us in the 07/08 , 08/09 seasons. The team, comprising Cesc in the squad alongside Nasri and Arshavin in his pomp, needed a quick dribbling, direct winger who can take on defenders, beat them and look to play the give and go. Also then we the fans weren't as petulant as we are now, maybe because the free flowing Arsenal game was still very much on at that time and as hypnotizing as it was, it ensured errors were never over-examined as they are now. Times have changed drastically though,the departures of high profile players, and further trophy disappointments have turned us into an acidic bunch.Quick to label players as not good enough prematurely.

Whilst not holding fort for Gervinho as some kind of Messi equivalent whom we have just sold, i liked him because on his day he truly was a weapon. His dibbling runs, when they click, are not only mesmerizing but hard to defend against. His finishing for us was erratic but his hard work and application were commendable. The biggest test of my fondness of him however came after that now infamous miss against Bradford, where he contrived to miss an open goal from 4 yards. That may yet have been the act that signaled the end of his arsenal career, because it truly was a horrendous miss. Not to blame him specifically though for what was a collectively bad day at the office for Arsenal.

In the wake of his departure, all the talk is centered around his replacement. who will be introduced as the goalscoring wide-man we hoped Gervinho would be? The Brazilian Bernard is rumoured to be on our radar but in another breath, we have been told we may replace him from within. Alex oxlade chamberlain is the man who will likely assume this role. Alex is a good kid, well grounded and disciplined but to be fair,he has endured a difficult spell in Arsenal in his second season. Its hard to tell if its a confidence problem or something else. The guy has been ordinary lately. He began last year in the starting lineup, playing against Sunderland, Stoke, Liverpool. However by September ,Gervinho had taken his place scoring important goals. Judging from his emirates cup form,Alex still appears to be in that same funk of last season that led to him registering only 4 goals in all competitions. But this is where good man Management comes in, and it'll be up to the boss to get the once bullish,fearless OX back to the form he showed in his1st season.

So as we say goodbye to the ''forehead'', its worth remembering the words of Eden Hazard where he said Gervinho was the best player he'd ever played with so far in his career. Not a ringing endorsement you might say, but Italian defenders should be well warned. All the best to Gervinho in AS Roma, i'll miss the dribbling runs,but the misses? no thanks

(Emirates Cup: Arsenal 1: Galatasaray 2) Old Ghost return to Haunt Arsenal

And so the curtains fall on this year's Emirates cup with Arsenal on the wrong end of a 2-1 defeat to Turkish champions Galatasaray. In a game which at half time you really didn't see us loosing, we somehow allowed the presence of one man throw us  into a panic influenced spiral. With the 46th minute introduction of former Chelsea man and Arsenal Tormentor-in-chief Drogba, we simply threw out the window our composure and organisation. It was like the arsenal players allowed themselves to get sucked into this Drogba blackhole instigated by the needless attention the fans were according him with all that booing...i'll come back to that issue later, because it  has got to a level now where i think fans at the emirates will boo just about anything.

We began the game brightly unlike yesterday, and in 45 secs should have been ahead when the OX stripped a galatasaray defender, passed it to new boy Sanogo who could only fire a tame shot that was well saved. The next clear cut opportunity fell for Theo Walcott in the 20th min, whom after being picked out by a nice Ramsey long ball, failed to hit the target despite bringing down the pass expertly. A bad miss though, but i'd rather have him miss them now and find his mojo in full season. The game remained largely uneventful for the most part of the 1st half with both teams providing few exciting moments. Sanogo obviously looked like he would need time to understand how we play, he does seem to have a natural  strikers' instinct. The kind no manager can teach you. which was good too see. It wasn't until the 43rd minute that Arsenal found the breakthrough, an intended cross from the left side of the Galatasary box by Theo saw the ball elude everyone and beat the keeper at the farside. Lucky goal,but they all count. 

In the 2nd half,  the departure of Ramsey and the slightly portly looking Carzola meant we suffered a little as the midfield lost a bit of  creative spark. In came the young Zelalem and Olivier Giroud as Arsenal chased the Goal that would end the match as a contest. Inspite of decent attempts by Giroud the scores remained the same, also Galatasaray defended well knowing they only needed to get one goal to be right back in the contest. By now Drogba was already making himself seen.Challenging unfavorable calls from the ref, falling over at the slightest contact and just being Drogba. i'll say this about him, yes he's a quality player, always has been,but i strongly believe he engages in some funny tactics aimed directly at causing distraction, so as to wind up the crowd and cause a tense atmosphere that unnerves defenders. The guy wants to win and if his antics on the field enable him do that, he does'nt care. He tapped into his resovoir of tricks again to earn the penalty that drew his team level in the 78th minute. After being adjudged to have been pushed in the back by the inexperienced Miquel going for a cross, Drogba fell over in a heap. The ref bought the act and blew for the spot kick, which he scored himself. From my position, it looked a dive, although you may also say Miquel was outfoxed by a more seasoned and experienced veteran. However, its just typical Drogba. He has been doing that to us for a while now and there isn't any analysis to add there. His second though was the kind of Striking quality you cant help but admire, 1 touch to set himself up the second to give his team the lead. 2-1 and with that the Emirates cup was won and lost.

There isn't much crying to do over this result, as i think its not worth it. The game was basically a friendly and stiffer tests await us in the UCL qualifiers. It however wasn't fun loosing to Galatasaray again after that painful 2000 UEFA cup final, where we lost painfully via penalties.Its up to us now to fix our weaknesses and work out how to mentally zone out tricks from characters like Drogba during games and just concentrate on the job. The boo boys in the terraces also need to exercise decorum with their boos. im fine with booing refs who make dodgy calls in games or opposing goalkeepers who waste time with goal kicks, but Booing Higuain yesterday and Drogba today was for me stupid. In regard to Higuains' case,what was the point? yes we didn't sign him,big deal! It just makes Arsenal fans look like a Sad bunch who's trophylessness is starting to make them act like people with an inferiority complex. Would united Fans boo Cesc if they happen to meet Barca any time soon?i doubt that. In my opinion the boos probably just made Drogba that more determined to make an impression. *Sigh* this bloody trophy drought can't end any sooner for me seriously, we simply need to get our pride back. it is fast dissipating.One more friendly in Helsinki, against City and then its the real business of the EPL. Below is a brief player rating of the performances...later folks

Szcesney: (7)  No blames for the goals can be placed on him. he did his job well enough without any fuss.

Gibbs: (7)   As relaible as he always is..got subbed later on.  Hopefully not injury related.

Sagna: (8) Very assured game by Bacary. Looks to be back to his best. Extend his contract now Arsene!

Mertasacker: (6) Wenger said in his post-match conference that Per was feeling tired before going into the game. while he didn't have a particularly bad day, he did look a bit fatigued. could do nothing about stopping Drogba's 2nd goal, but not many defenders could have.

Jenkinson: (6) Slightly better than the Napoli performance, but still unconvincing to be honest. Needs  to seriously work on his game and cut out the dodgy back passes too...

Ramsey: (7)Guilty of overplaying it sometimes after doing some piece of good work..but still his attitude and work rate are invaluable to this team

Carzola: (6) In his first game back, Carzola looked like he joined the team straight from the beach..Looked no where near match fit..and needed to be subbed after running out of steam.

Arteta: (5) Quiet game for Arteta, who didn't seem to have his usual passing boots on. Was guilty of giving the ball away and getting caught in possession once too many

Oxlade Chamberlain: (4) while he scores marks for effort, it was yet another frustrating outing for the young OX. He seems completely incapable of holding on to the ball. Loves to run at defenders but i can't remember him beating one successfully. if the sale of Gervinho is to create opportunities for him...he needs to improve.

Walcott: (7) Lucky goal aside, Theo didn't do much to impress. He had that very good chance from Ramsey's pass which he fluffed and managed to put in few good crosses. however, did'nt do much defending to help out Sagna.

Sanogo: (6) Newboy Sanogo should have registered a debut goal when gifted a chance on 45 secs with only the keeper to beat, but overall he showed why Arsene signed him up. kept on being offside, but mixed it up well for a guy playing with his team for the first time.

Zelalem: (6) young sensation Zelalem,came to the fore with eye catching performances in Asia. He showed some flashes of brilliance in this game when brought in, twisting out of tight spots with skill and confidence. He's definitely one to watch.

Akpom : N/A

(Emirates Cup Review :Arsenal 2 : Napoli 2 ) It was the Best of Arsenal & the Worst of Arsenal..

                                                
Morning guys, it was a much needed welcome to competitive football again for us courtesy of the Emirates Cup. Many antagonists had dismissed our Asia Tour results as insignificant and predicted we would be tested by Napoli. They were right. As i adjusted my self at my Favorite gooner Pub to see the game,my first consternation was why on earth were we sporting our away strip on our home turf? I don't believe it was due to any colour clash as both teams normally wear distinctly contrasting colors... All the pre-game hype was centered around  Gonzalo Higuain. Would he score? ,would he be booed? only time would tell. We began the game lethargically in the first half, completely off-pace,and Vulnerable. Yet it would be Arsenal who would go close to scoring  first through Serge Gnabry. who sent his close range effort wide when he ought to  have scored. Podolski was uncharacteristically wasteful even on his favorite left foot as he went close twice and then later had a penalty saved. Either side of that penalty miss saw the Italian side take a shock two-goal lead that i'm pretty sure left the fans in the stadium feeling sick inside. In one of  the Napoli goals, Jenkinson found himself in centre-back territory whilst covering for Mertasacker . In an attempt to head a high ball to safety , he unwittingly managed to cushion it for the striker Insigne to slot past Fabianski.. That passage of play indicated to me that Wenger was right not to have dispensed with Sagna on the grounds that Jenkinson is ready to step up. He clearly is not ready yet, and much as i like Jenkinsons' zeal and drive, his starting shirt is still some distance away on the basis of yesterday's performance.

The 1st half was quite terrible from an Arsenal perspective as the passing and cohesion was off to be honest. it seemed like nerves were at play, because in the 2nd half,we saw a much better performance.The midfield trio of Jack Wilshere, Aaron ramsey  and Rosicky were hardworking but the absence of a holding midfielder kept leaving us exposed when we lost the ball. Jack didn't appear 100% fit to me, as he looked a little slow in his decision making and missed a Golden chance to pull one back early in the 2nd half. The ageless Rosicky was a delight to behold, always sliding in tackles, never shying away from wiping his backside on the turf for the team and constantly running at opposition dangerously. The introduction of Arteta immediately plugged the hole in midfield where Napoli kept breaking from on counterattacks. Even though i'm sure he will say its for the team, Arteta deserves commendation for being a model professional the way he shoulders this role.it is better suited to a much younger, physical player but Mikel delivers it well. With Jack in the team, we usually possess drive and attacking nous, however the drawback is when he looses the ball we tend to get caught out by swift teams. When he and Gnabry departed, it was evident how balanced the midfield became.  With Arteta in the deep midfield role ,Ramsey just ahead of him, and rosicky behind the the front 3. It was only a matter of time before the pressure on Napoli began to tell, as Podolski and Giroud really peppered Reina ( no pun intended) in the Napoli Goal with shots. Loved  the way Giroud took his goal, although with a little stroke of luck..his athleticism has never been in doubt, for me it was always about his conversion rate.Which i think wasn't outstanding last season. And when Koscielny drew us level, no one watching could say we didn't deserve it.

So in summary not much has changed, we are still that side from last season that creates chances but can't put them away, has great fighting spirit and would not give up easily. We still badly need a striker,our defense is still gifting cheap goals and our keeper still leaves you largely unconvinced. Wenger called for calm from the media over their hysteria for transfer news, saying the clubs policy on confidentiality must be respected. I posted a few days ago that some managers don't employ our Gestapo habits over transfer matters and yet do their business successfully.. in what looked like a reply to my position , he said other clubs where perfectly free to do what works for them. While we do things our own way..He also gave feelers that Suarez may yet be our next signing saying Arsenal's current moves on the Uruguyan will not be made public for sake of due process. So its on to day two and Galatasaray next. Below is a short player by player ranking:


Fabianski: (7)  Cant be blamed for any of the goals per se, handled the ball well and did the basics ok. My only grouse is he still doesn't command his box strong enough. I guess that's just something he may never have at this stage of his development.

Jenkinson: (5)   Not his best game, guilty of giving away the 1st goal. Maybe needs to go on loan to get games. but our lack of  cover might not allow  that.

Gibbs: (8)    Really good player, excellent as always..hope he stays fit. his Defending and attacking are flawless

Mertasacker: (7)    Per may be slow but he is invaluable to our back 4. The cliche description for his style is calmness but there isn't anyway else to describe him..

Koscielny:  (9)    Another masterclass from Kos. Fantastic man-marking, Predictive defending and of-course that knack of scoring crucial goals make him perhaps our most important player.

wilshere: (6)  Jack like i said didnt look is best in this game, but still had all those traits that make us love him. still needs to add goals to his game to truly become a world great.

Ramsey:  (7) busy as always, Aaron did his bit of closing down runners and marked spaces. he works best with Arteta. however we need him to work on his ball retention, still gives it away a bit to cheaply for my liking

Gnabry:  (5) Now Serge is a guy im hoping big things for.i have seen some games where he has really impressed but not this one. he seemed a tad nervous. consistency is an issue with him. he is getting his chances, i hope he grabs it.

Rosicky: (8) this guy brings a smile to my face, at his age you wonder what might have been had he been fit over those years he was injured. his commitment to the cause is great to see. He had a very influential game, excellent passing and dribbles.

Podolski: (6) Poldi was getting into good positions but didn't have his shooting boots on. his first touches weren't good and that robbed him off good opportunities. on his day, he is a goalkeepers nightmare, but not yesterday.

Giroud: (8)  Olivier is never gonna be Van persie. but what he is, is a hardworking striker ready to put his body on the line for the team. He defends well on corners and freekicks and tracks back to dispossess unsuspecting opponents. Scored a very nice goal, and does look like he is ready to proove a point next season.

Walcott: (7)  walcott came in and did his thing, kept their fullback in their own half and was putting himself about. whipped in good crosses and looked sharp.


OX :  (6) OX's  game can be frustrating at times, and he looks like a guy whose confidence has taken a bit of a hit.we know there is great player in there and this is just pre-season, but i want him to take the game by the neck sometimes and stop worrying about messing up. just play.

Chuba: (6) i like this kid. he looks the part, lively and skillfull..didnt get to play very long today but we'll be seeing him again soon.