Ramsey stars in Fratton Park encounter!

Arsenal won 4-1 against Portsmouth in an interesting away game. Gunners started off with great vigour for a win and Pompey looked very shattered without O'Hara. He is one player who had made it big in the line-up. Arsenal needed a definite win to keep up the pace in the league with Manchester United and Chelsea.

We started with a much predictable line-up.
Almunia
Sagna-Gallas-Vermaelen-Traore
Ramsey-Song-Diaby
Nasri-Arshavin-Eduardo

The Arsenal attacks looked good and threatening from the very beginning but had to wait for the deflected goal from Kaboul during a freekick from Eduardo to get the score ticking. Later Nasri finished well from a well executed touch and passing from Eduardo and Ramsey inside the penalty box. Ramsey won the ball from opponents on the final third and cracked a great left foot strike for the third goal. Belhadj helped Portsmouth to pull one back which later Song nullified with a great header from a Nasri cross.

Almunia once again showed his lack of skill. He seems to be a completely out of touch with his goalkeeping. Not sure whether he is not getting enough training or practice by the boss. Gallas and Vermaelen was incredible as always. Traore lended more than a helping hand on attacks but bad at defense. We needed someone who can give more in defense since we already had enough attacking options.

Eduardo was replaced by Rosicky who played a good 20mins. Later Nasri gave way for Craig Eastmond debut. Eastmond looked nervous with his touches but the lucky guy had a chance for a shot on goal during his 5mins on the field. Vela also came in for Arshavin towards the end of the match. Walcott is reported to be injured again and will easily miss next couple of weeks matches. I don't want to complain and write him off as an injury prone player. But this year looks like very bad for our players when injuries are concerned.

Wenger knows whether we need a striker or defender or midfielder or goalkeeper. But guys do put in your votes for the poll which ends in couple of days. Always inviting your views and valuable comments to improve the site.

Aston Villa gunned down in Emirates by Fabregas

This should be one of the best in Fabregas's career. Atleast one of the best I have watched. Arsenal gave Villa all sorts of trouble from start but in the second 10minutes Aston Villa got settled well and started to attack too.

Arsenal started without Fabregas in the starting XI as expected. He suffered a hamstring strain and was rested as a weapon which will be only used when needed the most.

Almunia
Sagna-Gallas-Vermaelen-Traore
Denilson-Song
Nasri--------------------Eduardo
Diaby
Arshavin

The line-up looked more like a traditional one with two sitting midfielders to clear the threat and then launch attack through wings with Diaby as a supporting striker upfront. But the game looked different with Denilson coming forward as CM as usual and Song doing the defensive midfielder role alone. Arsenal looked a big threat with their attacks and Eduardo again missed an easy chance very early in the match. Eduardo seems to be getting better with his touches but still struggling with his finishing. Aston Villa played to their strengths, the attacks through the wings. The attack in wings was the only thing they could do with Ashley Young and Downing on the side. Refereeing throughout the match was excellant and he seems to be very decent and fair in his approach. The whole game was looking like a 0-0 draw until 56minute when Arsene Wenger decided to make the best decision ever in his substitutions by bring on Fabregas. It was a very early decision to bring him on but to be frank had never seen such an impact from an substitute player in this season.

Fabregas came on from the bench, the whole game changed. Looked like he should be always playing like a substitute. :-). He took the oppourtunity when given by converting a freekick to score his first goal of the match and also to break the deadlock. Later Fabregas scored his second from a counter attack launched by Vermaelen through Walcott and Walcott set it up for a sweet strike by Cesc. But to the horror of the fans second goal again strained the hamstring and later Fabregas was substituted with Aaron Ramsey. Walcott came in for Eduardo earlier after the first goal to help to increase the pace. The speed of the whole match changed with Fabregas's introduction. Song started to attack and make runs with Fabregas and that showed the tactic change very clearly and everyone executed their role to perfection. Denilson was substituted to make way for Franscesc Fabregas. It looked like Fabregas created and sealed the victory for Arsenal when Diaby nailed the final nail into Aston Villa coffin by a run from midfield all alone and striking the ball to the left side of the keeper with one defender in front standing his line.

Fabregas looks to be injured again for couple of weeks but Arsenal is waiting now for the scan reports to confirm it. Denilson also is reported to have a back problem same like before. This looks like in case Rosicky is not fit again, Ramsey will be getting some starts this season and also Wilshere's loan move might not be considered itself due to shortage of midfielders. We already had Alex Song off for the African Nations Cup. Wenger had made a statement that in case he is going to miss Fabregas and Denilson both he will also look for midfielders in the winter market. He is left with no choice other than to play Ramsey and Wilshere or buy atleast one experienced midfielder. He also has options to play Nasri in midfield and give Walcott a starting place upfront as part of his strikeforce.

Diaby inspires Arsenal to a 3-0 over Hull City

Arsenal started off reasonably bad as usual after the big matches. Had to leave captain and playmaker Francesc Fabregas on the stands due to injury. He will be out for 10days. Wenger finally decided to play the best team he had got currently with him, available and not injured. It includes

Almunia
Eboue-Gallas-Vermaelen-Silvestre
Denilson-Song
Diaby
Nasri-Eduardo
Arshavin

This doesn't look like a conventional Wenger formation but more like an evolved one due to the need. I would say evolved since there is no Fabregas, the playmaking from the Hull half will be less and last time Hull were very attacking when they played at Emirates. Song and Denilson gave the much needed backbone to Arsenal attacks. Both of them can play very good defensively but the advantage Wenger has is the range of passing they possess. They can keep the ball and also move forward dribbling. Diaby finally gave the result which was expected from him years back. Initially Wenger played him defensively thinking he is a Viera clone with similar frame. But knowing Diaby's past will make us believe he can attack as a striker since he was a second striker in his young days. A second striker should not be played in Left Midfield or as a defensive midfield. Wenger should be playing him behind the striker and in front of the midfield which he did this time and also made the difference. He is exceptional there with his frame and speed. He possess good dribbling skills too. But the problem often seen with Diaby was that he got too carried away with his dribbling and often created problems for Gunners than opponents.

Arshavin was silent throughout the match giving more balls and chances to Eduardo who was the second best player we had on the pitch. Eduardo showed that he was regaining confidence and slowly getting to his real self. He was offmood and often offtarget last 10 matches and until last night he never was any threat to opponents. In case Wenger opts to play him in front for next 4-5 matches he would be back in form and in form Eduardo is more dangerous than many other strikers we have seen. This will also take off the striker worry for Wenger since Bendtner will be back in January by New Year.

Hull City penalty from Giovanni was saved by Arsenal stopper Almunia. It was his 4th save out of 7 penalties he had faced this season. It looks a good record. But once again his delivery was poor and also looked out of touch except for the penalty save. He surely needs to gain more confidence and hope this penalty which was saved will help him raise it. He is not even looking something similar to what he has last year. Considering Almunia's age, I would save Wenger should look for more talented goalkeepers or give Mannonne or Sczhezny one more shot. Fabianski is a good player, but still lacks the natural talent as Sczhezny who is a very young. But for an already young and dangerous Arsenal team, a goalkeeper who is of 19years won't make any difference. Awarding a penalty to Fagan was a very bad decision since everyone could he that Fagan pulled Silvestre and tried to forge a fall. Silvestre looked very dejected by that decision and later Silvestre and Vermaelen together gave Fagan a very bad time.

Silvestre was another player who caught my eye. He was good on the left back position and looks like he should be the second option for Wenger with his experience and skill. I had written previously also in my blog that Silvestre should be played at Left Back to extract what he can add to the team and proud to say that it made the difference. He is not a good center back at all, but plays well on the left back position. Wenger played Ramsey for Nasri, Walcott for Eduardo and Vela for Arshavin towards the end of the game. Walcott once again showed great pace and also missed couple of good chances which with his experience we expect him to finish. Vela also started to show that he was gaining his cofidence back which is very much needed seeing the kind of layoff that Van Persie is facing.

Once again Arsenal and Hull City match was filled with aggression as Hunt and Barmby manhandled Nasri when Nasri had fouled their fellow player after the bad treatment he received. Nasri and Hunt was yellow carded. It showed the kind of physical level these matches can take players to. Arshavin also had a stunt with Fagan for Fagan's false penalty claim and acting.

Overall it was not a great Arsenal display but what matters is the result which they were able to make. Arsenal really cannot afford any slip up. In case they had won at Burnley, Arsenal would be at second position in table with one game in hand. Let's hope this develops to a better and memorable season and also hope Wenger brings in one Center back since Senderos is set to go and also one much needed striker. Almunia would be a good second goalkeeper to have, so can save him for the bench.

Time to change - Only a draw in Turf Moor

Arsenal side deserved to win by their second half display. But looks like if they continue this way there is no way we can catch up with likes of Aston Villa, Spurs and Manchester City and will need to forget chasing Chelsea and Manchester United.

Fabregas was substituted due to an hamstring injury which could keep him away for sometime. This injury is coming at a very bad time for Arsenal since they need his services badly during the coming weeks. Fabregas was outstanding with his run and passing when the match started in Turf Moor. But once he was substituted Arsenal no longer looked the same. The lone goal for Gunners came from Fabregas and Burnley took advantage and got the draw from a penalty.

Almunia once again proved how much he was worth, with his wonderful erroraneous displays. He needs to improve if Arsenal is to win anything this season or else Wenger needs to play Mannonne or Szex. Almunia got lucky when a good goal from Fletcher was disallowed calling offside where it never looked as one. The ball passed through Almunia rolling for Fletcher to finish. This was the biggest blunder most people have ever witnessed by any goal keeper. Walcott tried to over do things with his pace but was well marked by Burnley defenders. Nasri played well and did his part without much success.

Song once again stood strong against the opposition and towards the end of the match we could see Song's play making ability. He was no more a defensive midfielder, he was controlling things from a higher position on field and Diaby went back. Eduardo came in for Walcott and once again missed quite a few chances which he could have scored during his better days.

Arsenal started with Silvestre on the left back position. Eventhough he played better in this position than his central back games. He let the players come in lot of times. Arsene Wenger would surely think before renewing his contract seeing the kind of game he is producing. Wenger keeps praising Silvestre for his leading ability which maybe is off the field and not in field. Ramsey came in for Fabregas and could not make any impact on the game.

If we are to pose any threat to atleast 3rd or 4th position, we need to win these matches or else we all will need to wait for one more year to start all over again. There should be an end to all this wait. As I wrote in last few occassions we need a good goalkeeper, couple of strikers with height and a good central defender. Wenger maynot agree with me. But when we fans keep saying this he should atleast have a look. Its our team, same like his. Only thing is he makes it and we support it. If not for himself, hope he does this for the supporters and for the team.

Arsenal wins the crucial match against Liverpool

Gunners showed that they are capable of coming back and winning the game after the last victory in AZ Alkmaar. Arsenal won 2-1 against Liverpool and moreover at Anfield. Arsenal had not defeated Liverpool at Anfield since 2003. This could be a turning point for Arsenal in the league as Chelsea drew against Everton and Aston Villa winning against Manchester United.

More than Arsenal team, I should write about the Liverpool team selection which would have scared anyone. It looked as if they were preparing whole season for this match. Have a look at it guys!

Reina
M.Johnson-Carragher-Agger-F.Aurelio
Mascherano-Lucas
Kuyt-Gerrard-Benayoun
Torres

That team would raise a chill through anybody's spines and same happened to me.
Whereas Arsenal team looked as below, completely young and inexperienced considering the Liverpool giants.

Almunia
Sagna-Gallas-Vermaelen-Traore
Fabregas-Song-Denilson
Walcott-Arshavin-Nasri

Arsenal deployed Walcott and Nasri as wingers more than attackers but during the first half they were not able to poise great threat. Later during the second half Walcott and Nasri changed the flanks and that did the trick. Denilson got a yellow card very early in the match. First half saw Arsenal in hand brake mode as admitted by Wenger too. Torres missed the best chance of the match from a Gerrard pass during counter attack. Almunia was miserable as usual and his error while clearing a freekick crafted the lone Liverpool goal from Dirk Kuyt. It was a good goal considering the tremendous pressure this match had.

Maybe that pressure continued to second half when Arsene Wenger blasted the young guns and shouting at them for first time as per Fabregas's view. He said that he had never seen Wenger this angry during half time in his whole Arsenal career. I would believe he had all the reason to be angry. This was a must win to take advantage of the other slip-ups above us in table. Second half saw a rejuvenated Arsenal team which attacked with all fronts. This continous pressure led Johnson to find his own net from a Nasri cross which saw Walcott of space even if it had come through Johnson. Thanks Johnnie for bring Arsenal back on track. Within 6-7mins from that own goal Arshavin found Liverpool net shaking from his wonder strike once again. He controlled the ball from a Fabregas cross and again Johnson behind him not able to keep up the pace at which everything was executed. That was one wonder strike from the Russian champ.

Later Arshavin was substituted with Ramsey and I doubt there is some strain or ankle related issue for him. Diaby came on for Walcott to add height to Arsenal attack and strength to Arsenal defence. He played well for his 20mins and seems to be in good touch. Traore also limped making way for Silvestre once again. Wenger did take a big gamble playing Traore again last weekend considering the hit he sustained on previous encounter at Stoke. Arsenal will be playing Burnley on the midweek. Burnley had already showed their skills against Manchester United by causing an upset to them during the start of this years campaign. The most interesting thing will be to see the team selection for the Burnley encounter. Since we are again playing over the weekend against Hull City who had defeated Arsenal last season.

My team for the Burnley encounter would be as below:
Mannone
Eboue-Senderos-Vermaelen-Silvestre
Ramsey-Song-Denilson
Wilshere-Eduardo-Vela

Substitutes:
Fabianski-Fabregas-Arshavin-Diaby-Gallas-Sagna-Merida

The team looks erratic which I do agree. But would love to see that team play because it has experience at back and speed at front. Just to see how it works will be a pleasure to watch.(Just because I picked it :-)) This will allow Wenger to rest his players and also use them in case it is required after understanding the pressure and situation of the match. This holds no disrespect to Burnley team. I have watched couple of their games and I found them very good at counter attack and set pieces. So Arsenal beware, better take them seriously or else they will let you know the difference.

Arsenal Injury Worries ahead of Liverpool match!

Arsenal kids loses to Olympiacos

Arsene Wenger once again started a youth team against Champions League rivals Olympiacos. Arsenal had already qualified for the next round by topping the table. Wenger placed a complete youth team with an average age below 21. This is another record in Champions League coming Arsenal's way.

Ramsey had been the star for the day from the start with his brilliant runs, passes and shots. He had been instrumental and showed the glimpse of next Fabregas in making. Welshmen with 18 years of age showed the character and skill of an experienced player in late twenty. Arsenal young gun lost in some style to Olympiacos. We also saw Wenger hugging Zico after the match which showed the kind of attitute he has after losing a match. Not comments on Man City Carling Cup match.

Arsenal team played well with their excellant passing. The few negatives we can find is again in the front. We were not able to finish. The winning comes only through scoring goals in football and whatever nice passing football you play, if you can't score? Answer is a well known big waste of time and resources. Arsene Wenger should consider poaching on a poacher this winter during the Christmas break. This is what we really need now and not a technically apt terrific goal scorer. Hope the return of Bendtner might help the Arsenal campaign.

Silvestre seems to be not up to the expectation according to our review. He needs to play in his natural position which is left back and give chance for upcoming youngsters to take the center stage in the back four line up. Arsenal also needs to look for an experienced defender.

Arsenal defeats Stoke City at Emirates

Gunners started off with a totally unexpected formation with Andrei Arshavin on the apex of the attack.

Almunia
Sagna-Gallas-Vermaelen-Traore
Fabregas-Denilson-Rosicky
Eboue-Arshavin-Nasri

Stoke played the natural game fully pushing and sliding. They kept on attacking the gunners physically which took off the rhythm in the Arsenal movements from the early part of the game. Fabregas was often targetted for the fouls. Referee seems to be totally blind 90% of the times. Arsenal played brilliant short passes and cruised forward for sometime but the ball in the final third was awful. No real threat at all in corners and freekicks due to the lack height in the players. Stole players were giants considering the Arsenal height. Arshavin hit the first goal from a beautiful one two passing with Fabregas from the left side of the penalty box. Wenger didn't play any striker at the start of the game. In the center of the park the ground was crowded with Stoke midfielders and defenders which caused real trouble in the movement.

The best chance Arsenal got was when Delap fouled Arshavin which gave us a penalty. To be frank, as soon as I saw Fabregas stepping up for that penalty I knew we were going to miss it. We had Arshavin who won the penalty, Nasri who could take it well, Denilson who had good power with his shots and Eboue who is a known penalty taker. Still the captain took the oppourtunity and hit it so slow that even the kids playing next street can stop it. It was one of the worst penalty witnessed by us. Sorensen was already a known goalkeeper too and now this adds to his fame.

Second goal for Arsenal came through Aaron Ramsey with a great finish considering the number of defenders with him when he was hitting it to the back of the net. Arshavin went down with the defender when the later tried to push Arshavin which game Ramsey a clean run with the free ball and finishing off in style. Ramsey came on for Eboue who seems to be in some pain when he left the pitch. Not sure whether we are waiting for another injury news. But since in our blog we never speculate, which is the main reason not writing about transfers. Let's leave it to the boss to update us. Carlos Vela came out for Rosicky as played as a wide player in the left wing. Vela seems to be out of form like Eduardo and also didn't take up few good chances he got inside the penalty box. With the speed he has and the talent he holds he should have taken those chances.

Traore needs a special mention because this guy was far better than his previous games in his attacks. He gave few good crosses and seems to have improved. But he still needs to work on his defense and also the power of the final balls. He often stays upfront which makes it problematic for other players to cover his area. Finally Wenger played Silvestre in Left Back when Traore looked like struggling to recover from another Stoke City foul. Silvestre just got 3-4mins to play on his renowned position but looked ok with his touches. We always wanted him to play there rather than Center Back.

The gist of it is Arsenal won 2-0 in a match which needed a fair result to keep up the campaign. Denilson was not able to completely shine in that Defensive Midfield role as Song did. Song missed the match due to suspension from 5 yellow cards honour. Song was infact missed by the players and also looks like Diaby should be there since players are reluctant to take on defenders which he is very good at.

Manchester City Owns Arsenal once again!

Nothing much to write out here tonight guys. Gunners are starting to lose their way as usual. If they lose to Stoke City this weekend, we can conclude our season by Christmas. Traore was awful and too many yellow cards collected. Team selection was poor and with a full team from Manchester City, we had no chance. Arsenal needs to improve their striking and strikers. Needs to have someone to head properly. One request to Wenger would be to stop playing Song in Center Back position. He is getting better as a defensive midfielder, don't spoil him. Why is Senderos in the team if he is not even fit to play a Carling Cup match? Should have played 4-4-2 today. Arsenal team looked and played ordinary and foolish football today. Congrats to Manchester City and especially Lescott for his wonderful defense and Wright Phillips for his superb runs and goal.

Chelsea Men Crushes Arsenal Boys!

Arsenal never led down the history and statistics. November tragedy continues for Arsenal over the years.Gunners camp might have not expected the crushing they received from the London neighbours. Arsenal started well with an excellant young attacking team. But lost their way as always during the second half. Any team would have struggled to come back against a strong defensive Chelsea team once they are 2 down. During half time Chelsea was leading 2-0. Thanks to the wonderful goal from Drogba and own goal from Vermaelen.

Arsenal started with
Almunia
Sagna-Gallas-Vermaelen-Traore
Denilson-Song-Fabregas
Nasri-Eduardo-Arshavin
which shows that Wenger played most of his cards down there which was of no use. To me the biggest error was playing Traore in that LB position. Most of my readers might argue I am wrong, but keeping in mind the fact how good Silvestre is in that position will chill your brains. What a miss was that! We should have used his experience and skills when we needed a ready made player for that position when Clichy and Gibbs are down. Wenger never did that. No offense to him, different people different tactics.

Eduardo seems to be in a totally different planet with his awful touches and finishes. He was not at all concentrating on the game. There seems to be some concentration and confidence issue with him which Wenger needs to take care of soon. Arsenal lacked the height inside the penalty box. Chelsea defenders where so confident in clearing off the aerial threat from crosses since they knew the not so tall Nasri, Arshavin and Eduardo cannot impose any damage with head. Traore often seems to be out of position with always allowing the Chelsea wingers free space and time. He often tried to foul the Chelsea players to ward of the threat which is never Arsenal way of playing. Second half showed in the introduction of Walcott for Song, Rosicky for Nasri and Vela for Eduardo. Fabregas lost his mind after the third goal which was from a superb freekick by Drogba.

Another weak link seen in Arsenal defense is the shot stopper Almunia. There was only two players who were not upto the Arsenal grades - Almunia and Traore. Eduardo is a proven played but currently running with bad luck. Arsenal should look for a better goalkeeper in the coming months or else forget about winning. Mannone seems to be a better goalkeeper seeing Almunia's performance. Another one is a striker who has height and can impose some kind of aerial threat. I have written it sometime back too. This is definitely something Arsenal needs in January to progress well. Arsenal played with their regular style but never showed any kind of finishing skills. There was one goal disallowed when Eduardo had kicked the ball out from Cech's hand and Arshavin hit it into the back of the net. Eduardo was lucky to get away without getting a card. Sagna had a wonderful game with lots of runs forward and defensive work. There was one foul he had committed towards the start of the game inside the penalty box but Anelka never claimed for it and never got it.

Arsenal needs to use Walcott in the center position rather than right. With Sagna and Eboue able to use the wings effectively the pace of Walcott can be used in the center. He seems to be an improved player last night with some wonderful turns and dribbles. We will be facing another thriller soon in the shape of a Manchester City team in Carling Cup in two more days time. Manchester City will look forward to fire at all guns since they know they are facing tougher task of entering the top four. With the amount of money they had spend they will surely look forward to atleast win something and that something could be Carling cup. Arsenal needs to find better balance or else will be getting similar results which hurts every Arsenal fan. Arsenal needs to look for better result before the team loses hope and limit themself to just another top four spot. The beauty of league games is you always have a second chance. I hope we chill out Chelsea camp during our next encounter at Stamford Bridge next year. Current Arsenal team requires atleast one more year before they can be complete. This one year includes buying a good striker, better goalkeeper and also offloading some defenders and getting better ones. Above still keeping the team other than this list together. If Wenger can keep this team together in 2011-12 season we can expect another invincible side. Good Luck Gunners the season is never over with one match.

Arsene Wenger Hits & Flops - Episode 2

Lets continue with the Wenger Inc profit and loss making company. Today we would discuss on two of Arsenal's all time great players. The are none other than Thierry Daniel Henry and Robert Emmanuel Pires. They have lot in common. Both are attack minded French players.

Wenger Hit No.2
3. Thierry Daniel Henry

Thierry Henry had earlier played for Arsene Wenger during Wenger's stint in Monaco. He was a left winger during those times. Later he reunited with Wenger during 1999 season for a fee of £10million. Thierry Henry was bought as a replacement for the French forward who left Arsenal. Yes, the guess is right. It was Nicolas Anelka. Wenger understood that Henry was more fit to be a striker than a winger. This time around Arsene Wenger's plan was set and Henry eventually moved to the striking role where he excelled partnering with few world class strikers in the years to come. Henry was a slow starter at Arsenal. He managed to score only on his 9 appearance. 2002-03 was a tremendous season for Henry where he scored 32 goals and provided the team with 23 assists to wrap up. There is nothing much to written about this guy who had been the icon of Gunners camp for few years. Henry had remarkable achievements as a player. Only player to win consecutive golden boot. Most number of goals for Arsenal. Most number of goals in Europe and much more. Eventhough Henry committed his life to Arsenal during an injury hit 2006-07 season, he found himself in Barcelona training room for £24million. Arsene Wenger believed that eventhough it was good for Henry to stay but for club to move on and stop depending on one player this sale had to be made. Henry always told if he is move from Arsenal it would be for Barcelona. He is never considered to be as successful for France as he was for clubs he played for. People often criticized him for his club minded nature. He had scored 174 goals during the 254 appearances he made for Arsenal. Henry was voted Arsenal best player ever later.

Clubs Played For:
1. Monaco
2. Juventus
3. Arsenal
4. Barcelona

Wenger Flop No.2
4. Robert Emmanuel Pires

Pires as he is widely known had a history of showing thumbs down on clubs before joining Arsenal. Remember the fact that he had joined Arsenal after a personal boycott of his previous club Marseille. But his natural attacking game takes of all these thoughts from us. He was signed for Arsenal for a fee of £6million. He came in to Arsenal as a replacement for the void left by Marc Overmars when he moved to Barcelona. Pires led the premiership assist charts and also won the player of the season award during 2001-02 season eventhough he didn't play the last two months of the season due to injury. Pires was the architect of many Arsenal goals throughout his Arsenal career. He also scored goals with no mercy. Towards the end of Arsenal career he often found himself in Arsenal bench. He was best winger Arsenal ever had who scored more goals than all other players except Henry. He often was listed in Premiership top scorer charts. Once he even made up to No.3 spot where Henry was No.1. He also had the highest number of assists in most of the season's he played. His track record never helped in towards later stages of his career at Emirates where Hleb, Ljunberg and Reyes was more preferred. He felt annoyed when he was substituted in the Champions League final with Barcelona. Later this led to the spats with Wenger and Pires never managed to get the contract extension. It was also a big loss for Arsenal financially. Pires moved to Villareal as a free agent. During his departure he said that it hurt him that Wenger lost trust in his abilities which led him to move on. He was substituted in 12mins from start where he wanted to play full game. Eventhough this keeps happening in all footballers career, he couldn't take it. Pires also had an highly successful and remarkable International career with French national team which most of the top class club players struggle to attain. He scored 62 goals during his 189 appearances for Arsenal. He was voted 7th in the Arsenal all time greats which is a wonderful accomplishment.

Clubs Player For:
1. Metz
2. Marseille
3. Arsenal
4. Villareal

Watch out for next Wenger hits & flops in coming days.

Arsene Wenger Hits & Flops - Episode 1

Guys, from today we are starting a new blogging series of Arsene Wenger hits and flops. Most of our readers will be aware of the Arsene Wenger hits. We would like to bring the flops also into limelight. With utmost respect to all the players we start this blog. Please note that none of the players mentioned as Wenger flops are flops on the field. They were all great champions and are still considered greatest in Arsenal history. We are classifying based on the money Wenger spend and profit/loss made on each player featured. The serial numbers entitled for the player is based on our writers interest and does not indicate any significant factor in their game. Let's start with two greats "Nicolas Sebastien Anelka" and "Nwanko Christian Nwosu Kanu". The two N's.

Wenger Hit No.1
1. Nicolas Sebastien Anelka


Anelka's was one of the best signing Arsene Wenger ever got in his footballing career. Wenger created the first gem with his magic through Anelka. At a very young age of 17, Anelka joined Arsenal for a fee of £500,000. He became a regular when Ian Wright the best striker for Arsenal on those days got injured for long term. He won the PFA Young Player of the Year for 1998-99. He was always looking for better salary from his very young age. The problem with anyone who just needs more money is there is always another club who pays more than yours for you. It happened to be Real Madrid that time and who are one of the best money minters always. He was nick named "Le Sulk" for his attitude during those days. Anelka was a gem of a striker which he is still. He had wonderful ability to play well on air, shoot and also dribble. He was also damn quick with the ball. He played for around 3 years for Arsenal and scored 18 goals from his 45 appearances. His career is quite interesting if you could follow. It always fascinates me how he adapts to a new team so quickly. He was an instant success anywhere he went. His professional career started from the grant start he got in Arsenal. Wenger spotted him at 17 and now at 30 he still stands tall among world's best strikers. He was sold to Real Madird for £22million which is 4300% increase for Wenger.

Clubs Played For:
1. Paris Saint-Germain
2. Arsenal
3. Real Madrid
4. Paris Saint-Germain
5. Liverpool
6. Manchester City
7. Fenerbahce
8. Bolton
9. Chelsea

Wenger Flop No.1
2. Nwanko Christian Nwosu Kanu

Kanu started off for Arsenal in 1999. He came to Gunners camp for a fee of £4.15 million. Kanu came to limelight after the departure of former great Anelka. He was overshadowed by Anelka's brilliance. Arsenal supporters those days used to chant "Who needs Anelka, when we've got Kanu" during matches. He was always a player with log of tricks. He used to fool the defenders with his wonderful dribbling skills. His wonderful matches include the home win against Chelsea after trailing 2-0 in 75mins. This was a match when Kanu scored a hatrick to cruise Arsenal to victory. He had a trademark two finger salute whenever he scored. He was always used as a super-sub by Arsene Wenger and to be frank Kanu did his job remarkably well too. The flop part comes here. This guy ran out of contract in Arsenal and later joined West Bromwich Albion for a free transfer. Remember the fact that he was voted 13th among the Gunners Greatest 50 players poll. He made 110 appearances cracking 30 goals and most of it as substitute during his 5years in Arsenal. He had won African Player of the Year award 2 times and his performances in International Level are notable. He helped Nigeria to get Olympic Gold defeating wonderful Brazil in finals. Kanu's significance became a question mark after the emergence of another Arsenal great Thierry Henry.

Clubs Played For:
1. Fed Works
2. Iwuanyanwu Nationale
3. Ajax
4. Inter Milan
5. Arsenal
6. West Bromwich Albion
7. Portsmouth

Watch out for more Arsene Wenger hits & flops on our next blog...

Arsenal wins at Emirates againt Standard Liege

Arsenal started with a good attacking team and later on went on to win with the help of two first half goals from Nasri and Denilson. The final score remained 2-0 and second half was not eventful except for Gibbs's injury. As all other teams Standard Liege also was determined to take down Gunners with their body. Arsenal sustained lot of physical damages and some inducing by themself. Gunners started off wonderfully well, attacking with all cylinders.

Almunia
Eboue-Gallas-Vermaelen-Gibbs
Fabregas-Song-Denilson
Nasri-Vela-Arshavin

Personally I was happy to see Vela upfront rather than Eduardo who with all respect is a tremendous finisher but seems out of form now. Arsenal missed many chances to score until Nasri found the back of the net from a long ball from Vermaelen and later Denilson finishing from a thunderous long range shot. Earlier Arshavin got in way of a Vermaelen shot which was destined to goal. Arshavin fell shocked with the strike on his head. Later with a wonderful cross Fabregas was trying to setup Arsenal but unfortunately Gallas and Arshavin collided in air and shed some blood. Arshavin got few staples on his head during the second half and Gallas never came out of the tunnel due to the shock. Silvestre came off from the bench to provide cover in the back instead of Gallas. Eventhough Denilson had a good start for his season after the injury in September, Alex Song was the best again. This is the third game in row that I am not able to find another player for the Man of the Match. Song was great in holding the ball, passing, marking and infact last evening saw some commendable runs from the Cameroon international.

Fabregas was often targeted by the opponents for a push or a knock. He persuaded the referee to give a red card for a Standard Liege player for a push on him. He himself acquired an Yellow card during the whole drama. Later Gibbs was terribly challenged by No.22 which made Gibbs sidelined for next 3 months. This had been a bad challenge and the creepiest part is that No.22 was trying to foul Gibbs all through the match. Finally he was successful by 87mins. Arsenal brought in Walcott for Nasri and Rosicky for Denilson to induce pace and creativity. Towards the final stages of the match Arsenal was playing a 4-4-2 with Vela and Arshavin upfront. Eboue had few good runs and also shot at goal too. Rosicky showed some fine touches coming off the bench meanwhile Walcott troubled the right flank defenders with his illustrious pace.

Arsenal missed Robin Van Persie's presence in the center for sure. This had been quite evident from last two matches. Eventhough people curse him at times for the misses he makes, this was the truth. He gave us power and confidence up there with his creative touches and wonderful strikes. Arsene Wenger had confirmed that Arshavin will play against Chelsea and was confident about Gallas playing too. We still need to improve our marking during dead ball situations. Last evening we were lucky to come out without much damage considering the chances we gave in freekicks and corners. This is a definite negative for Arsenal and against a good opposition it will be very difficult to stop them. Let's wait and watch how it unfolds when they play Chelsea this weekend.

Sunderland keeps Arsenal silent and wins 1-0

This game showed the real problems we need to address in our team. Arsenal played well and deserved to win today except for their finishing flaws. Eduardo and Rosicky are two excellant players who seems to be out of their form now. Rosicky gave away the ball very cheaply in lot of occassions and Eduardo was trying to setup people rather than taking chances. We need a player upfront who is bit selfish and can try to take a chance or two by taking shots. Arshavin is one such player but he was on the bench until 60mins. Team looked extremely strong on the bench and ground.

Almunia
Sagna-Gallas-Vermaelen-Traore
Fabregas-Song-Ramsey
Nasri-Eduardo-Rosicky

Subs: Arshavin, Walcott, Vela, Eboue, Mannonne, Silvestre and Denilson

Considering the fact that we still have Robin Van Persie, Bendtner, Diaby, Wilshere, Clichy and Djourou injured, its some big squad. This squad could be a neighbours envy. But the way they are broken apart is commentable. There is a pattern to the matches Gunners are losing. Arsene Wenger should know that better than me, but still I would like to make my point.

Last evening we saw Sunderland deploying tactics to just break play and wait for their corner and freekicks. This wonderful not so tough tactic is paying off well for our opponents. Everyone knows what is Arsenal's weakness. It could be compared to Indian cricket team which once had a weakness playing shot balls by pace bowlers. So once we know people are taking advantage of our weakness we should work towards it. Gunners fall when the opponents employ people just to break play. There was no interest seen by Sunderland team other than to break play and then pass a long ball to Bent. Every Sunderland player looked to attack the ball and play with aggression were Arsenal players just moved of. Fabregas particularly was getting disturbed by the tactics. He was often targetted which breaked Arsenal play. Eduardo seemed to be too concerned not to fall in penalty box. We can see he was trying to stand when he was falling in real.

Arsenal should not play Ramsey and Fabregas together since they are similar kind of players and if played together gives very less company for Song to setup attacks. Also last few matches I saw Ramsey too much interested to play offensive and not completing his defensive responsibilities well. He also gave away balls easily. This shows that there is still more to develop for this youngster who was rated as the best upcoming player by our readers this month. We need to make our players understand how significant it is to become tough enough to fight off such plots. There is nothing taken off from Sunderland here. They deserved their win since Arsenal once again proved they fall for such tactics. Arsene Wenger should look to refine his game plan for next match and since its a home one I would like to see we win. This loss made Chelsea 8 points clear and gave ManUtd an upper hand. Hope we covers this in coming days.

Wenger's View

Arsenal kills off Wolves threat!

Gunners started off nervous as usual. Maybe young guns feared the set piece threat that Wolves were claiming too much. After about 15mins from kick-off, Arsenal started kicking in. We were unfortunate to lose Diaby to injury and not heard on the severity ever since. Alex Song was rested today when the game started.

Arsenal line-up was different from other ones that we had been seeing off late.

Almunia
Sagna-Gallas-Vermaelen-Gibbs
Fabregas-Ramsey-Diaby
Arshavin-van Persie-Eduardo

We saw Ramsey coming in for Song, Gibbs for the injured Clichy and Eduardo starting.
Arsenal bench needs a mention here for its strength. I was so happy to look at the bench last night and was guessing how it would look later this year when our injured players are back and hoping no one plans to join injury club.

Mannone-Senderos-Silvestre-Eboue-Nasri-Rosicky-Song

Arsene Wenger seems to be keeping his promise to Ramsey by giving him good chance to play and grow at such an young age of 18. There were very less stand out performances. It was more of a team game. Eduardo forced Zubar to score an own goal from a Fabregas freekick and later Eduardo's chip was deflected by Craddock for another own goal adding to Wolves misery. The other two goals came from a beautiful layoff from van Persie for Fabregas who finished it with ease. Arshavin scored a beauty from a Fabregas corner when goal keeper had pushed the ball off away to find Arshavin's feet. Alex Song had to come off bench for Diaby due to injury. Eduardo was substituted with Rosicky and Nasri came in for Arshavin. There was no damage done by Arsenal side after 66th minute strike from Arshavin. Nasri-Fabregas-Rosicky combined well for many attacks without finding the back of the net.

Eventhough I would tell it was a team performance and individual hard works were not that notable, still I would pick Alex Song as the player of the day for two reasons. One, he brought in the much needed strength and belief in the middle since Arsenal was able to attack comfortable once Song came in as substitute. Till then Gunners were finding it tough. That made it clear he is controlling the Arsenal engine.
Two, he was instrumental in defending, marking and clearing off the balls whenever needed and also in setting up attacks with Fabregas. He brought in the physical presence and strength which was missed in the opening 24mins in Arsenal camp.

Arsenal guns through AZ!

Gunners were very much in cruise control by half time with wonderful goals from Fabregas and Nasri. Even though the match ended 4-1 with two goals from Cesc, one each from Nasri and Diaby, Arshavin was the creator for the 3. Wonderful assists by Arshavin proved to be too strong for the AZ. Arsenal started with a good team with

Almunia
Eboue-Gallas-Vermaelen-Gibbs
Fabregas-Song-Diaby
Nasri-Van Persie-Arshavin

Arshavin was the main man for tonight with good creative assists tearing the AZ defence apart. Eduardo, Rosicky and Ramsey came off the bench for van Persie, Arshavin and Fabregas by 70mins time. Arsenal gave away a good sweet finish by Lens during the dying minutes from a counter attack. Almunia never expected such a good finishing by Lens. Fabregas seems to be in a goal scoring mood of late and once again van Persie took rest without doing any harm to his native team. Overall Arsenals performance was satisfactory and could also see a smile on Wenger's face which means it was all as planned. Arsenal are currently group leaders with 10 points. Next they play Standard Liege in Emirates.

Alex Song had been excellant with his ball control and ball winning throughout the season. We should be looking for a cover for this guy in case he gets injured or attends the African Nations Cup we are in trouble. Maybe boss has something on his mind. Denilson will be soon fit next month and he is the only other player who can play Song's role near to what he is doing now. Diaby cannot be trusted in this role since he tends to go forward too often. Fabregas should not be shifted back to this kind of deep playmaking role seeing the current run at goals by him. Diaby was disciplined today unlike his normal straying around.

Young Gunners too much for Experienced Spurs(as they claim)

Gunners crushed the experienced Spurs side 3-0. Spurs before the match had claimed that Arsenal team will be an easy on to play eventhough they have this beautiful passing game. After the match maybe they might chance the view to too much to play. Too much mind games and comments from Redknapp and Keane started off the match well for Arsenal.

Arsenal played the regular team with Bendtner starting instead of Eboue. Bendtner later left due to a injury and in came Eduardo. Spurs started well with cutting off Arsenal passes and holding the game well. They could claim they started well but had no chance going forward since they lacked creativity by playing Huddlestone, Palacios and Jenas in midfield. This left no one to attack for them from the midfield. Arsenal unlike the other games was bit shaky in the start. Van Persie opened the scoring from a beautiful cross from Sagna and then came the wonder goal. The wonder goal was scored by the Arsenal captain Fabregas. He cut off the pass from the touch by Spurs after the Van Persie goal and went on to beat 3 players alone before cutting in that goal past Gomes. That was awesome goal and one of the best in this season till date. There was some heated exchange of words between Robin and Bendtner when there was a mis-pass from the later.

Bendtner was strugging after 30mins in the first half and seemed like a groin injury and in came Eduardo. It was an awful day for Eduardo, he missed two simple chances in one on one occassions with Gomes. This was not expected from him and he also looked tired out there with his facial expressions. Arshavin was later substituted with Eboue. Arshavin had quite a few runs as usual and was unlucky in not scoring in few occasions. Arsene Wenger seems to be shouting at few players during the course of the match. Vermaelen stood tall against the tallest of all Peter Crouch. Vermaelen defended with style. He was tough to beat and helped Arsenal keep a clean sheet. The referee would have taken peoples curse by not using his yellow card on many a times he got chance.

Third goal came from Robin Van Persie's boots with a brilliant miss from goalkeeper and King. There was a confusion before the goal when linesman called foul and referee said play on when Eduardo was fouled. Most of the players stopped but when it started it was goal. Anyways it stands since referee said to continue and play on. Gunners who still has one game in hand in the premier league this time looks comfortable and in a dominant position. We still needs to go a long way and if our players keep getting injured this way and most of them groin. We could also doubt there is something wrong with our training or workout which makes it keep happening. I was expecting Samir Nasri to come off the bench but unfortunately Wenger didnt play him.

Current Injured players :
1. Rosicky
2. Denilson
3. Walcott
4. Wilshere
5. Vela
6. Bendtner
7. Djourou
8. Fabianski

That is hell a lot of players and we need to do something with this and its all left to Wenger to decide what will be best. Gunners Keep going and we fans are always behind you.

Gunners cruise through Liverpool tide!

Arsenal evolved as winners playing Liverpool at home in a Carling Cup Match which placed them into quarter-final stage of the cup competition. It was a delight to watch since in comparison with the mighty Liverpool squad today Arsenal was frail.

Gunners Squad had likes of Fabianski, Gilbert, Senderos, Silvestre, Gibbs, Eastmond, Ramsey, Merida, Bendtner, Eduardo and Nasri. Nasri was instrumental in planning and executing a excellant display with wide range of passes and dribbling. Benitez placed a pretty strong side against Arsenal for this match. It had the likes of Skrtel, Voronin, Kuyt, Insua, N'Gog and later Benayoun and Aquilani coming off bench. This was again a Liverpool side short of Gerrard and Torres.

Arsenal started the goal scoring with a brilliant strike from one of our best young players Fran Merida. Fellow gunners Fabregas and Arshavin rose from their seats to applaud for this wonderful goal which came quite early in the match. But Arsenal goal was taken off from limelight with a more accurate and deadly long ranger from Insua which gave a game on the half time with 1-1. Liverpool threat was constant on the wings and had few wonderful chances missed too. This never bothered free flowing gunners today. Arsenal right back Gilbert showed good defending skills. He had won quite a lot of balls to get gunners going. He seemed to slow on foot but wonderful in tackling and positioning. Senderos and Silvestre also played with the wisdom they gained from experience. Gibbs was the weak link in the Arsenal defence today. I would like to make this comment which I am forced to, "Gibbs is not at all a good wing back." He is good playing as left midfielder or central midfielder. Wenger should soon remove him from that position and try to play him in a role where he is comfortable at. He is good at tackling and long range passes. In fact he is a good passer. He is often out of position while backtracking from an attack. There were quite a lot of occassions when Silvestre found himself alone with no support of the left.

Nasri controlled the game with his wonderful passing and dribbling. Merida gave good support to Nasri and was instrumental in Arsenal victory. Bendtner had missed few chances in the first half before gifting Arsenal with a good sweet left footer from 5-10yards distance. Ramsey was deployed into a more attacking role which was not suiting him completely. With the debutant Craig Eastmond playing the holding role. We saw Sanchez Watt, Randall and Coquelin coming off bench to replace Bendtner, Eastmond and Merida. This time around Wenger was playing serious and sensible substitutions, which made it clear Arsenal took this game more seriously than ever and not in the normal hit and miss cup games which was always a lighter part of Arsenal. Aquilani impressed the fans with couple of wonderful long passes and skills. He looks like a player who can fit into Liverpool midfield beside Mascherano and could mean trouble for opponents. Benayoun was not seen much with the ball after coming off the bench. Voronin had a good chance which was called offside towards the end of the game and also a hand ball claim against Senderos was not given by referee in the dying moments of the match.

Next weekend on October 31, 2009 Arsenal plays Spurs at Emirates. Don't miss that one!

Take it easy to make it a draw?

Gunners once again showed the take it easy attitude after the 2-0 first half lead which made them pay heavily. If Arsenal had not drawn today they would have sat in a good position in the table. Anyways the season is on and it looks like an open one with all smaller team showing some kind of urgency and raw power in crunch matches. This season shows no matches are easy as people used to think before.

Arsenal played the regular back four and the regular midfield and regular front men today. I guess no need to name them, they were same as last match. After the surprise gift from Green to Van Persie for the first goal. Arsenal pumped in one more with a good header by Gallas from a corner. West Ham goals came from Mannonne block which was headed in by Cole from a freekick of Diamanti and another penalty from Diamanti. Mannonne didn't look the comfortable shot stopper which he was last few games today.

Only man who had some bit of performance on his side today was Alex Song and its time and again now that this chap is coming out good. Eventhough the penalty was given by Song's pressure on Cole, Song was composed and disciplined. Arsenal had Nasri, Eduardo and Bendtner on the bench. I am not sure why Wenger want to keep it late again. It took him 80mins to bring on Bendtner and later Eduardo for Eboue and Diaby. We should have given this pair atleast 20mins time to work out the plans which they never got.

Hope Arsenal takes this as a good lesson. They have to kill matches quickly and don't take it easy. Needs to go for that extra push and finish off as soon as possible. Next match is a knock-out match with Liverpool in Carling Cup. Liverpool showed some style in last encounter with Manchester United. So Gunners get ready for the toughest task in this season for the youngsters.

Happy B'day Arsene Wenger

Well deserved draw!

Gunners were not near there worst form of the season, but was a significant loss of form seen. The not so early lead came to Arsenal when Arshavin pounced on a defensive error and setup Van Persie on the left for a clean strike who unselfishly inturn setup Fabregas for a clean shot on the right side of the post. AZ Alkmaar drew the match on the stoppage time's last minute and I would say it was a well deserved one. They played and protected the ball as gold with their own boots. I am not sure what the stats are but for a viewer it was all with Alkmaar except for few Arsenal passes. Arsenal was not able to play their normal game and wonderful work done by AZ Alkmaar coach on this regard.

Arsenal started with regular back four and had Song as midfield sweeper with Arshavin on left wing, Diaby and Fabregas and then Eboue. Van Persie was the front man for Arsenal. I always felt seeing todays team sheet, it was a wrong thing to do. We should have played our normal game with 4-3-3 and Vela/Wilshere should have started in front with Arshavin and Van Persie. But its all Boss's call we have to respect him. Ramsey came of for Eboue towards 80min and Vela for Van Persie. The best thing that AZ Alkmaar did and also the most sensible thing was not to give the ball to Arsenal in the starting minutes. This disabled Arsenal to settle down and inturn helped them to gain control. Clichy even though had quite a few good runs and passes but in defense he seemed ordinary. Vermaelen and Gallas played better than others. Song was very sloppy and Diaby contributed his usual meekish misses. Diaby had a good weekend last week which forced me to pick him as MOM for that match. But as expected from him he was inconsistent with his form.

There was no exceptional performers in todays match from Arsenal end. Arshavin played his normal game. Created few chances, took some shots and good link up with Fabregas. Cesc was very lazy today which affected the Arsenal game as a whole. Ramsey was played in the right wing of the midfield where he was miserable. Lad was not able to play his natural game. In Arsene we trust, so he should be having some planning trying out all these. We surely missed the creativity of Rosicky, Nasri, Eduardo and Bendtner today. Back in England Nasri played 58mins for reserves and setup the first goal for Arsenal Reserves. Coincidentally we drew the Arsenal reserves match too.

We should be marking this day as a black day for comparitively bigger teams in Champions league considering the following results.
Barcelona lost 1-2 to Rubin Kazan
Liverpool lost 1-2 to Lyon
Inter Milan drew 2-2 to Dynamo Kiev
Rangers lost 1-4 to Unirea Urziceni

Arsenal Training before AZ Alkmaar match

Arsenal comes strong out of Birmingham encounter

Let the advertisement complete on the video for highlights


Arsenal started well with strong passing display. With Fabregas being the center of the passing games it was delightful for the eyes. Gunners has two changes to the regular back four with Gibbs and Eboue coming in for Clichy and Sagna. Midfield was filled with Diaby, Fabregas and Alex Song. Van Persie once again spearheaded the three men strike force with Rosicky on left and Walcott on right.

The sad part of the match is Walcott took a blow and was substituted at 38th min. Arshavin came on for Walcott and which changed some of the proceedings. The goals came out off Van Persie, Diaby and Arshavin. Bowyer was the only player to smash the net for Birmingham which kept them in the match until Arshavin closed the hopes with an 85th min beauty. He placed the ball instead of banging and placed it so well that Hart never stood a chance.

Vito Mannonne once again proved his worth with a string of wonderful unbelievable saves. I guess Almunia would get some good competition for his spot. This also might push Fabianski to be the third preference for goalkeeping. Italian goalkeeper claimed that Birmingham had fouled him for the first goal but referee had differnt view on it and the goal stood. Abou Diaby was another player who was exceptional. Not just with his passing and dribbling but first time this season with the much expected tackling. Diaby has good ability to tackle and get the ball from opponents. Since he is played in the front line and on left is seldom uses this. Today there were quite a few occassions he came to help out young Gibbs. Diaby once again showed his worth in the team. But the question remains...Is he reliable? Is he consistent. We need to wait and watch rest of the season. Wenger is a man on mission and he had earlier declared this could be Diaby's season. I trust in Arsene too! So there should be something behind that declaration.

Gibbs was not that impressive today but filled the void left by Clichy to some extent. But he keeps making silly mistakes and there were few occassions when Gibbs has to just hit outside which is not that great in intense matches. He needs to win possession and once ball is with him needs to move forward. He has shown some skills with his long passing as usual and I am sure we will have more to see from him in the coming years. Sagna came off the bench to substitute Rosicky and Eboue gave way to Wilshere on the 90th minute. Van Persie missed few good chances too. Otherwise the scoreline would have been different. Eduardo, Bendtner and Nasri is due to return during next game. Not sure how much Walcott will be missing. But it is quite evident that he won't be playing the next match which happen to be a champions league encounter.

Arsenal punishes Blackburn for early lead

Blackburn took early lead with a marvelous header by Nzonzi which no one would have bet for. Arsenal responded with a beautiful goal again by Vermaelen from the edge of the penalty box. The shot from Vermaelen had hit the back of net with some force. Game on once again and Blackburn got lucky with a deflected shot from Gallas to back of net. Arsenal again came back with a beautiful goal left footed goal by Van Persie to make the game equally poised. It never looked equally poised after that to be frank. Arsenal started a rampage run with Arshavin, Fabregas, Walcott and Bendtner on score sheet towards the end of the match.

Arsenal started with the regular formation which is tested throughout this season's campaign.
Sagna-Gallas-Vermaelen-Clichy
Fabregas-Song-Diaby
Rosicky-Van Persie-Arshavin

Eventhough Rosicky could not get to the scoresheet he did his job remarkably well. He had few shots on goal himself and setup lot of attacks with his meeky passes and runs. Fabregas was instrumental in Arsenal victory who masterminded most of the goals and scored one himself. Rosicky was substituted by Walcott on 67th minute as expected. Walcott immediately delivered his goods which might had caught Fabio Capello's mind with no surprise. By 75th minute Fabregas and Arshavin was substituted with Bendtner and Ramsey. Ramsey won the challenges well and laid few long ball threats with the help of Walcott who was at the end of the ball always. Robinson was lucky to save couple of shots from Walcott and one mishit which should have been a goal any other day. Bendtner closed the charts with a wonderful dribble and blast run similar to those seen from Arshavin quite a few times. Young lads seems to be learning quite a few tricks from those old chaps out there in the team. This is how experience helps the team building.

Eventhough Arsenal won the match in some style. Defensive errors were not few, Infact countless. Song and Diaby were not providing the much needed sweeping as usual. Arsenal got carried away with attacks and forgot the defensive side of their game. Most of the occassions Gallas and Vermaelen came for the rescue. We are not marking men or attacking the ball when it is with the opponents and near our goal area. We are trying to ease out and relax and wait for their errors. This is not a fair practice to be employed by any team. We need to attack the ball and win the tackles, this is key area which has more scope for improvement. Going forward Arsenal do have lot of options with the likes of Samir Nasri coming back to team and Eduardo and Denilson getting back from injury. Vito Mannone once again saved few great shots and was perfect with his positioning. This guy never did that against Fulham by luck. This looks sheer brilliance and promises a better future for Arsenal in years to come.

The biggest celebrity off the pitch for any Arsenal fans in this game would be the presence of Thierry Henry on the ground. Henry and family watched the match from the gallery and looked like enjoying every bit of it. Arsene Wenger started his illustrious career in Highbury(London) with a 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers on an October fixture 13 years back and this was a good gift to him from the young gunners.

Arsenal win against Olympiacos

Having seen the total number of shots you guys know what was happening out there. The Olympiacos goalkeeper was excellant and defying his age with his performance. Rosicky, Arshavin, Van Persie, Fabregas and many others tested his with their best but never passed him until Eduardo came on as substitute for Rosicky and created that chance for Van Persie to take and Fabregas setup Arshavin with an offside goal.

Greece side had formiddable defences in olden days but those days are a by-gone era. Looks like goalkeeping was taking centrestage there. Arsenal played very good attacking football today. Looked great as an attacking force. Midfield play was not that great eventhough as usual Song stood tall cutting off passes and making that defence feel cushioned. Diaby was substituted with Vela after 70mins and it was a wise move. Eventhough we were playing attacking football Diaby was losing the ball very badly. Arsenal should be looking to play him more in centre roll than left or right forward. Eboue started in the Right Back position and the rest of the defence remained the same. It was good to see the co-ordination between Fabregas, Arshavin and Rosicky. Can't wait more to see the young injured Gunner Nasri playing with them to tear off defences across the world. Ramsey came in for Van Persie in the dying minutes and by that time the Arsenal were in full control of the match with 2-0 up.

There was no great performances by any individuals whereas it was a collective team effort. Clichy had a comparatively bad game. He was beaten in few occassions and also he was not marking his man to his best ability. Clichy might be a good wing back but as a marking defender in 4-3-3 where the attack will be mostly through the centre he is not effective. He needs to make those runs through the line quite often but cannot compromise with quality defending. This would be some area for Arsene Wenger to work on in near future. The arising Don in Arsenal camp "Don Vito" continued his good show with couple of good diving saves and positioning. This chap is going to give Almunia hard time getting back to team if this continues.

Vermaelen and Gallas defended well. Vermaelen had few chances in set pieces which was not taken. Van Persie's corner and freekicks seems to be searching for Vermaelen while coming whereever he was. Arsenal still has scope of improvement in their set-pieces. Being an attacking team Arsenal will surely get lots of freekicks around the area. If we train well on set pieces and become a deadly force on dead balls then the opponents will be even scared to foul us. This will be an added advantage. Let's see how the game goes as season progresses.

Bad news for Gunners camp and fans alike is the Brazilian playmaker Denilson is out for 2 months due to a back injury. Bendtner also walked off safe after a car crash(Aston Martin Black). We would see Arsene Wenger with more armour down his Arsenal this weekend with Bendtner and once again fit Walcott in race for a starting place in the match against Blackburn Rovers. Hope Bendtner doesn't crash again(Only fun intended). Nasri is expected to be fit by mid of next month which will give Wenger with more attacking options.

Gunners lucky to get a win at Craven Cottage

This London Derby was a spectacular one to watch. All praise for Fulham for their attacking display and wonderful midfield play. Arsenal started off with the normal line-up with Arshavin-Robin Van Persie and Bendtner spearheading the attack. To be frank there was hardly any attack from Arsenal side. Arsenal holded the possession compared to Fulham. But was not at all able to capitalize on the ball. Van Persie was lucky to score the lone goal from a beautiful pass by Fabregas.

Everything went wrong to Arsenal today but lucky to getaway with a win. Fabregas and Arshavin were pathetic with and without the ball. Diaby lost possession to Fulham players very often. Song had been consistant through out the new season and he kept his place well. One player who stood out and made this win possible for Arsenal is non other than Vito Mannone. He gave a surprise to Arsenal fans with his great display of goalkeeping. This guy looks like is upto something. Almunia and Fabianski will have some competition which might also allow them to get better. Arsenal was busy defending the ball and the kind of display is pathetic compared to any Champions League team.

Arsenal looks like they needed to take off Diaby from today's lineup but Wenger never went for it. Instead he took off Arshavin and brought in Rosicky who did a decent job compared to others. The other player to get substituted was Van Persie and in came Eboue who had couple of chances to finish of the Fulham rush with a goal himself but as usual he missed it. Bendtner looked like he was in this match all of his own and never ever thought of passing the ball to any player when he is near the goal. This is not Arsenal way of playing. Balls were given off cheaply and never ever looked like passing well. Arsenal needs to have better training before their next match or else they will suffer a defeat in Champions league next week.

To be fair to the Gunners, it could also be that one off day when things are not going your way. Very strange to see Arsenal winning inspite of all these issues. Strange since I have hardly seen Arsenal winning a match when they are not in control of the match.

Arsenal vs WBA

Arsenal takes on Wigan Athletic and Wins 4-0!

The team today looked as expected from Arsene Wenger. With Same back line consisting of Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen and Clichy. Midfield with Fabregas, Song and Diaby. Frontline with Eduardo, Robin Van Persie and Eboue. Eboue had a good match after few weeks atleast. He made lot of instrumental runs forward and received a yellow card for handball. The possession was with Arsenal from the start of the match. Song once again controlled the match in the centre of the pitch.

The first goal came from Vermaelen with a great header of Van Persie's corner. Second goal was a surprise strike by Vermaelen with his superb left foot which banged the net like a meteor. Third goal came off Eboue from a good strike from Eduardo. The fourth and final goal was from the captain Fabregas from a Bendtner cross.

Bendtner, Rosicky and Ramsey came off the bench for Eduardo, Eboue and Diaby. All three were able to make good impact right away. Day seems to be bit bad for Robin Van Persie who missed quite a few good easy chances miss-timing the ball. Wigan played a very dangerous game by their players dedicated to foul young gunners. Arsenal stood strong with the body game of Wigan. We have seen lot of Arsenal team coming to defense when the opponents starts fouling but this one attacked with more vigour. Mannone the young goalkeeper of Arsenal had an ok match with very few chances to show his worth. The whole battle was in midfield with Song winning most of his tackles and also receiving a yellow card for a foul.

The 4-3-3 formation which Arsene Wenger was trying to employ this season is getting mixed results which makes it impossible to comment. Since the season has just started and there is long way to go, we will reserve the comments for later. Anyways the wingbacks in Clichy and Sagna is not that effective or used in the formation. Arsene Wenger can also decide on playing CB all around the back four and controlling the match with tight marking too. This will be funny to watch. We will be playing West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday for the Carling Cup. Hope to see more young gunners shine and make a contention for place for the next season.

Arsenal Lucky to win against Standard Liege

Standard Liege took an early lead of 2-0 as early as 85mins to go.
Arsenal was miserable in passing and was not able to find the rhythm until Bendtner's first goal just before the half time break. The first goal was a give away by Eduardo by trying a tricky pass while clearing a corner from Standard Liege. The second goal for the Belgian giants was a penalty induced by Gallas.

Goal one for Arsenal came from brilliant dribbling and move from Diaby which was netted by Bendtner between the goalkeeper's legs. It was a fantastic goal which kept the match alive for Arsenal. Later Vermaelen scored a goal which was seen as a hand ball from Song while collecting a freekick inside the box. Third goal which won the match for them was by Eduardo himself who had cheaply given away the first goal for Standard Liege.

Rosicky was the only player who had done well in the first half for Arsenal. He was winning balls and moving things. Whereas all others where struggling to get going. Mannone was the goalkeeper for Arsenal today and don't know whether Wenger should reconsider this option before the next match. Arsenal started off resting Van Persie, Walcott, Denilson, Arshavin and Almunia. The decision was seen as not effective during the first half of the game. Second half showed the immaturity of the Belgian side which gave away the goals and helped Arsenal to win. This was a close escape for Arsenal. Gunners played better in the second half still no good to be a threat to any team with this sort of sloppy game. The passing was going haywire and lack of threat upfront remains the problem of the season.

Fabregas is too engaged with his offensive duties that he is not coming back to his own half the way he used to play earlier. This is affecting Arsenal balance leaving Song only in the back to support defenders. The player Arsenal missed most today was Arshavin. The kind of goal threat he brings with him is highly respectable. Arsenal needs to improve the goal conversion rate. They had been creating chances all these years but very less becoming the real goal. Eboue was terrible with his passing, crossing and defending. He was later substituted with Sagna. Ramsey came off the bench to replace Rosicky and he made an immediate impact on the game. Ramsey played well for his 30mins on the match. He also had few shots on the goal. Wilshere also came on to play at 85th min for Eduardo.

Arsenal training before first European match

Manchester City Owns Arsenal!

Arsenal had started off well like everyother game. Fabregas controlled the whole game for Arsenal from start. We started off with Diaby, Van Persie and Bendtner up front. With regular midfield players in Fabregas, Song and Denilson. Arsene Wenger was forced to take off Denilson and Song from midfield towards the end of the game to give chance to Rosicky and Eduardo. Rosicky showed his worth by providing the assist for the first goal for Arsenal after the initial damage by Almunia by providing an own goal to Man City from a beautiful header by Richards on Barry's freekick.

Robin Van Persie's goal showed the real power inside his boots. Lescott tried to foul his but he rose to the occassion and pushed on towards the right of Given for a beautiful goal. Later Arsenal showed lot of advances and which left the back four disturbed. Man City was able to grab 4 goals in total out of which 3 came through good counter attacking football. Man City was excellant in their counter attacks with Adebayor, Bellamy and Wright Phillips upfront.

De Jong and Barry controlled the game for them. There was few excellant attempts on Man City goal from Bendtner and Van Persie before the goal from Rosicky which came as a consolation for the poor display and also the loss. Rosicky was able to prove his worth and significance in the team with a little cameo. Gallas was always marking Adebayor tightly which actually held Man City back. Towards the later stages of the match when Gallas was going front too often left Adebayor unmarked and he exploited Arsenal defence with this advantage.

Overall performance from Arsenal side where good but point to be noted is when you go for the kill make sure your defence is still tight. As we have mentioned in our previous blog on the defensive problems, Clichy was terrible in defense and was never seen when needed. Please do read our blogs on Arsenal defensive issues and Why Arsenal is losing. We always want Arsenal to win but there are few things we need to correct before we claim that we are INVINCIBLES AGAIN.

Injury News from the Boss

Part II - What is stopping Arsenal from winning?

In our last edition of What is stopping Arsenal from winning?, we had discussed on the issues with our backline and defensive midfield. Let's see more on the attacking midfield options of Arsenal.

Attacking Midfield
Arsenal boasts of one of the best attacking midfield any football club can dream about. The likes of Fabregas, Nasri, Rosicky, Arshavin and Walcott raises few eyebrows in amusement. These are all world class players who can break any defensive traps in style. But why we are not still a formidable team? Guys its actually funny to remind you that most of the time most of our players would be injured. It had been very tough for Arsenal to find all our players fit and competing for the starting XI. Not sure whether this is a curse from some team we had defeated sometime back.

A special mentione needs to be made on Denilson and Diaby for holding on the attacking responsibilities and breaking the defenses for fun. In this season we haven't seen Nasri, Rosicky and Walcott yet. We Arsenalites always believes when all are there we will rock. But often forgets the fact that there is no state like that for us. I am not at all aware of what kind of training for fitness our team holds so don't want to comment on that. I saw how Nasri got injured and to me it was ridiculous. Its mere ill-luck that broke his leg. Poor Diaby how much he might be feeling sad for that.

Francesc Fabregas
Cesc is at his best when he is lying low with long balls and starting the movement from Arsenal end and later he is feary when he grabs the last pass to strike it in the back of the net for the same pass which he started back in his own half. He had been instrumental in counter attacks with his great vision and long passes. Early was deadly with Adebayor who is history in Arsenal now. Will look forward to see similar or more tougher bond with Bendtner in future.

Tomas Rosicky
Infact Arsenal had not seen much of him yet. He is very dangerous anywhere outside the box. If this guy is given space outside the box he don't care to pass the ball or enter the box. One of the best long range shots I have seen in Arsenal ranks. In recent past he had been highly prone to injuries and fighting hard to be fit. This guy is a very hard working player and hope to see more from him this season to enable Wenger to make a perfect squad.

Andrei Arshavin
Joined Arsenal ranks this year January but he had jelled with the team as if he had been playing for years. He is deadly inside the box, outside the box and has killer shots which no goalkeeper can even imagine. No wonder Almunia had been doing better now. Arshavin can single handedly break into defences with his speed and tricks. He is a very good dribbler of the ball and can be the next Bergkamp with the kind of tricks he has in his bag now. The only problem I found is that he is not at all good with Robin Van Persie. But very good with Bendtner and ok with Eduardo. Hope Arsene had noticed the samething.

Samir Nasri
Arsenal is yet to see his best. He is one of the best attacking midfielders in the world and at his age he is still growing. This guy has exceptionally good dribbling skills and very good at dead balls too. Arsenal should be able to utilize him for freekicks and corners going forward. Currently he is out for couple of weeks more due to a injury during pre-season training. One thing we noticed about Nasri is his skill to avoid tackles. That is commendable and tough to break down. He has good pace and growing every game.

Theo Walcott
No more a winger for Arsenal. This year Theo is hoping to play the central striker role which we feel is foolishness from him. There was one guy Wenger told to play as striker after his tenure as a left winger in 20yrs of age and his name was Thiery Henry. Not sure about Walcott yet. But he has good pace and dribbling skills. Needs to improve on his passing and finishing. He can run miles with the ball beating all but that is not football. He needs to work on his football skills along with the dribbling and runs. Once he improves his passing and finishing which is expected by the end of this year, you know what a deadly weapon Arsene will have in his Arsenal.

Denilson and Diaby
The two D's has been the revelation of the season with their extra-ordinary passing and marking. They had been able to fill the boots of Cesc when he was not playing in last couple of matches. What we need to look for is the consistency which Diaby had never shown. Hope he doesn't get injured this season again to spoil his chances in Arsenal. Denilson had been Wenger's favourite from last season and had been playing almost all the matches. He cannot be treated as a holding midfielder due to his tendency to go forward too often. Since he started the goal scoring for Arsenal this season, lets hope its a great season for him and Arsenal.

The kids to watch out for this season is Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Fran Merida.
Arsene Wenger will be looking for growing these kids for the future of Arsenal without Fabregas and Arshavin.

Will continue on this topic with attacking options later.

Wenger on the International Fixtures!

Part I - What is stopping Arsenal from winning?

Guys this could be a blog with lot of things to debate on. To start with what is that our team lacks now? We often tend to get carried away with the goals we score and forget that there is something that is standing strong between Arsenal and the silverware. This is not just onething but quite a few. I would be mean if I don't admit that Arsene Wenger is the best person Arsenal can get with their limited spending policy and hefty loans.

1. Wing Backs
Arsenal often boasts of couple of the most terrific wing backs in the football now. But think about it guys. Who Sagna or Clichy or both? Its funny to even think of. Be frank with yourself and ask yourself how many times you have seen Sagna curling in a wonderful cross? I haven't seen many in all these years! Guys believe the fact you can't run away from it..its just not happening. Sagna is good at getting back to the Right Back role and tackling the ball from the opponents boots. He will never be considered as a threat going forward. Now let's get to the much talked about and respected Clichy...what's there in him that makes us love him? Its nothing but his speed. He is quick at his feet and can catch up with the best forwards in the world. Is he good at attacking and taking over the role of a perfect wing back. He is kind of ok? Yeah true...Kind off..He is not good at doing that. He is more comfortable in winning balls and running with the ball. Observe yourself before you consider my words. We have two prodigy's in bench named Traore and Gibbs. To be fair to them both are more attacking than Clichy but due to lack of experience they are terrible defensively. Both of them needs matches to grow and Arsene needs to decide whether to loan them off or give them more matches. My pick would be Traore for the future and Gibbs would be better off being a left midfielder.

2. Defensive Midfielder/Snatchers
Defensive Midfielders are often seen and respected as the people who control the game. They are always in a commanding position since they often get more possession compared other players if he is good at his job. If you take a look at the Arsenal teams which had been widely respected and feared in recent past you would know what was in there. People feared Henry or Bergkamp, but why? There was always a Viera, Ray Parlour, Edu, Gilberto Silva, Flamini and few others to snatch the ball from the opposition. This is the difference. Arsenal's backbone had been that defensive midfield which was damaged and destroyed by the greedy departure of few players. So what's the remedy? We can see a rejuvenated Alex Song doing well in that position. Cutting off passes, making that excellent long and short passes to control the game. But how often does he get forward? With Song eventhough he is good at his new role he is bad at going forward like all the greats before him. This could be later a disadvantage to us. I don't expect Song to have long runs with the ball or dribble past people but atleast he should keep a higher position. A territory somewhere in the center of the pitch. Denilson cannot be seen as a defensive midfielder since he tends to get forward too often more than what I mentioned above. Diaby is another option Wenger has who can control the game. But he is played as an offensive partner to strikers that he hardly gets any defensive duty. Other options Arsenal has includes Rosicky, Nasri, Walcott and Fabregas non of them will be played as a defensive player. So who can play that role? Imagine what will happen when Song gets injured or goes for African Nations cup? At sametime if Denilson gets injured where is Arsenal midfield? Who will hold the lines? We need to definetely spend on a defensive midfielder or help on of our defenders to step up and get converted to a defensive midfielder. The stature and physique helps Senderos to be one if at all Arsene permits.

Read more on Offensive Problems in our next blog.

Manchester United beats Gunners at Old Trafford!

Once again it was a wonderful display of passing and finishing by Arsenal without playmaker Fabregas. Arsenal bowed to Manchester United cheaply with a penalty which came out of a foul from goalkeeper Almunia and great header from Diaby on his own net. The match also saw Arsene Wenger sent off out of the ground for kicking a water bottle.

Arsenal started with a 4-3-3 line up and played well with the limited possession Manchester United gave them. ManU where in complete control of the match with possession. Gunners won lot of balls with good tackles but seemed to be giving away the ball cheaply to ManU players. Van Persie had been in the worst form ever this season with showing how bad he is at finishing the balls.

Arsene Wenger tried all his cards with substituting Bendtner, Ramsey and Eduardo which was of no use. Arsenal entered the scoresheet with the mighty kick from Arshavin after the foul on him by Fletcher inside the penalty area which was left unnoticed by the referee who had already given 5 yellow cards including 4 Arsenal players and 1 United player by that time. ManU goals came from a penalty from Rooney and own goal from Diaby.

The highlight of the match was the biased refereeing which had been a highlight in any old trafford match. I still don't understand why is there no questioning on this? Why no one cares for the discrimination? Why is any team playing at old trafford cheated always? These question needs to be answered with some clarity and hope in the coming matches it works out better.

The only player who had some good day was Vermaelen. He was good at his marking, tackling and clearance. All the other players on Arsenal shirts were terrible today and hope this is due to the tiredness from the number of matches they are playing nowadays and not the lose of form. We will come back strong and will try our best to win something this season. Let's wait and watch

Latest Injury news from the Boss

Arsenal enters Champions League

Arsenal today crushed Celtic to enter the champions league one more time. A record bettered only by Manchester United and Real Madrid. There is a long way to go before we get to know whether we hold any chance this time.

Arsenal won 3-1 against an attacking Celtic side. The first goal came as a penalty which Eduardo converted with ease. It was a controversial one since the replays showed no contact from the keeper on Eduardo. Eboue finished with cool head hard to see though from a pass beautifully set by Bendtner to Diaby and Diaby to Eboue.
Arshavin came of the bench to score a well deserved third goal for Arsenal.

We started with a 4-3-3 with Denilson-Song-Eboue in the middle. Diaby was part of the strikers with Eduardo and Bendtner upfront. The defense consisted of Clichy-Vermaelen-Gallas-Sagna. The best part of our game was the defensive line we kept. Our defense to attack conversion was very commendable too. First half was very interesting with lot of runs from the wing backs and great passing game by Arsenal. In the second half, we saw a more attacking Celtic side with Arsenal happily warding off the threats.

Diaby was substituted with Ramsey who left the play during the closing stages due to hit taken from Celtic midfielder. Arshavin and Wilshere came off the bench to add pace to the game during the last twenty minutes. Arshavin showed his presence with great runs and turns. He also scored in few minutes of hitting the pitch from a brilliant pass by Ramsey. Celtic's goal came during the final minute of play which was very much consolation for the good display of football from them today.

It was Denilson who stood tall between the sides. He masterminded Arsenal attacks from the midfield. Denilson was well supported by Song to win the ball and supply to Denilson to decide its fate. Denilson also ran to the box to take a short to sidenets apart from his long range effort which ended up kissing few fans. Denilson was instrumental in today's match. Few things he need to develop was on his dead ball efforts. The freekicks and corners where somewhere he should have done better. As always he is a hardworking footballer for Arsenal and one of Arsene's favourite for that central midfielder role. Absence of Fabregas, Arshavin, Nasri, Rosicky and Van Persie showed us we lacked depth in utilizing the dead ball situations. Denilson and Eboue was booked for tackles during the course of the match.

Next week Arsenal will be facing the toughest challenge of the season in Manchester United. Manchester United had scored five goals in their last premiership match and are hot favourites at home. Arsenal will have some thing to prove and hope Rosicky is fit on time for the match alongwith the best playmaker in BPL - Francesc Fabregas.

Rosicky back for ManUtd clash

Arsenal's Starts with demolition excercise in Emirates!

Gunners started with a brilliant 4-1 win in the Emirates stadium. Arsenal found ball sticking to their foot. Portsmouth did all they could and made few sensible subs too. No one could make any impact and with the lone goal from Kaboul which could be described as an exceptional header from the old defender.

Arsenal started with two good goals from Diaby, one from Gallas and another from Ramsey. Gallas had scored in all the three matches this season and seems like in quite a form. Fabregas was substituted with Ramsey after the half time break. Ramsey did very well with his clean tackles and powerful playmaking. Later in the match we saw Merida and Bendtner coming in for Arshavin and Eduardo. Eduardo was deadly with dribbling and ball control. He had created the first goal for Diaby from no where and Diaby should be thankful to the Crot for ending his goal draught. As usual Gallas had been attacking the strikers with his pace and marking skills and Vermaelen laid a firm foundation for the Arsenal attacks. We had not seen Alex Song starting today which is a sign of Wenger trying out new combinations to see how different young guns perform in that area. Diaby brought with his free flowing attack and Fabregas and Denilson played very low and defensive line. Fabregas was good as always with his terrific long balls and Denilson took the job of clearing the balls and pouring in those tough tackles on the attacks.

Van Persie had laid few good passes and goals but he himself was never able to find the net. He was terrible in his final touches. Had deadly killer passes from his shoes but not those net shaking ones. He was finding it tough to play the complete striker role and was more of a centre forward. I would say Arsene should try planing Arshavin in Centre in the three men strike force. Arshavin can beat players alone and can strike with fair power without many passes. Whereas Van Persie needs those support which is tough to get since the other two strikers will be wide men in this formation. Denilson proving to be a utility player and seems like apart from defending abilities he holds good play making skills. His passing was notable and interesting to watch. Both Clichy and Sagna was rested today and this should be in line with the preparation for the Celtic clash at Emirates this tuesday.

We still have quite a few great players injured and all of them are suppose to return in couple of months time. The list includes Vela, Walcott, Rosicky, Nasri, Djourou and Fabianski. Once these guys are back our squad would look more dangerous and Arsene would have more options to play with. All of them are players with great calibre and creativity.

Arsene Wenger on Coaching!