Winning comes at a price

Poor Aaron Ramsey, I have to say I was sickened by the injury on so many levels. To see a player lying on the floor with his ankle hanging off is a terrible sight and something I wish on no footballer. The fact that it's happened to us again almost two years to the day that Eduardo suffered a similar injury is very hard to take. In some respects I think the Eduardo tackle was different, Martin Taylor's tackle was absolutely disgusting whereas although a very late challenge by Shawcross in this instance I don't think there was any intent to break his leg. That being said, it was a late tackle that most of the time a player will get up from but unfortunately for Aaron his foot was in an awkward position before the tackle went in and because of the that the leg was broken. Make no mistake, it was a red card and I just hope and prey that the Welshman will play football again. Ramsey was superb up until he got injured today and was clearly becoming a first team regular, the fact that Denilson didn't even make the bench today said it all. I wish Aaron a speedy recovery and let's hope he will come back stronger and have a magnificent career with Arsenal football club. It also puts into perspective the whole John Terry, Wayne Bridge handshake which is really beginning to bore me.

On to the game... the first 20 minutes we were awful, when Stoke went one nil up it was a case of 'here we go again'. Once we got back into the game we were simply magnificent, the hunger, the passion and the fight was all there in one of our best displays of the season. We all want this Arsenal team to stand up and be counted, when the pressure was on we delivered. Our equaliser was a fantastic header, the jury's still out on Bendtner but the fact is that he's the only player in our squad that can score a goal like that. Second half we came out of the blocks like Usain Bolt, we were full of energy and I was sure that we would go onto win the game. When I was watching the Arsenal players reactions after the Ramsey incident I was certain that we would have the Birmingham scenario all over again. It must be so awful to see a team mate in so much pain and for 5 or 6 minutes we were shaken and we couldn't get our rhythm at all. When these things happen, you really see what a team is made of and that's why I'm so proud of the Arsenal. Seeing the celebrations for the third goal showed me the solidarity in the team, the will and desire to win is there and we have given ourselves a fighting chance to win the league.

The positives - for me Campbell was imperious, a lot of eyebrows were raised when Wenger resigned him but the old timer has proved what a magnificent defender he is. Yes his pace has gone but great defenders don't need pace. A word too for Clichy who I thought gave his best performance in an Arsenal shirt for at least two seasons. This was the Clichy of old, first into the tackle, great going forward and full of energy - I hope he can continue in this vain as there still may be a place for him at the club come next season.

The negatives - The booking for Song was an outrage, if anything it was a foul on him but now he misses the next two games. Luckily we don't have what we would call difficult games coming up but with the injury to Ramsey we will have to play Denilson which is a worry. I hear Diaby might be back for next weekend, I hope so because we need him. My solution is simple, providing Gallas returns, play him with Campbell at the back and push Vermaelan into the holding role.

So a vital 3 points marred by Ramsey's injury BUT tonight showed me that we have it in us to go and win the title and what a tribute that would be to our little Welsh wizard.

Come on you gunners!

Post Sunderland thoughts

A vital 3 points gained against Sunderland on Saturday, I suppose it didn't really matter how we performed as already knowing that Utd had lost at Everton it was crucial we picked up maximum points. We outplayed Sunderland without being overly convincing, the killer instinct was missing but that wasn't a surprise without Arshavin and Diaby. Although I'm not convinced by Samir Nasri, I thought he had his best game of the season and hopefully will push us on in the title run in. I've always been a fan of Eboue and thought he was excellent on Saturday, whilst he isn't as solid defensively as Sagna, the fact is that going forward he offers us so much. It's an enigma for Wenger as Sagna is a superb defender but that is only half the job of a full back, let us not forget that Eboue was our right back in the year we got to the Champions League final when we only conceded two goals and that was in a game we were playing Barcelona and down to ten men for 80 minutes. The simple truth is that Eboue is simply superb going forward and he can actually cross a ball which Sagna is literally unable to do. I would stick with Eboue at right back for now and see what happens, should he weaken our defence significantly then Wenger can bring Sagna back in with little fuss.

Although we gifted a few clear cut chances to Sunderland it was down to one man and that was Sylvester. An absolutely dreadful defender who should not be playing for a club like Arsenal, I understand that Sol was tired after Porto but the guy is a solid defender and has proved that he is still the unbeatable force he once was, albeit a slower one! Not every great defender needs pace, first and foremost they need to be able to defend and Sol can do that whereas Sylvester can't.

An interesting piece on Walcott by ArsenalVision, citing Sven Goran Eriksson as the main reason why he hasn't fulfilled his potential. I agree 100% and funnily enough I said the same thing to my father last week. As I've said many times here, I'm not a fan of Walcott and do not believe he will make it at Arsenal. Much to my amusement, after the game I saw links on Newsnow; 'Walcott inspires Arsenal" etc. Why read those articles, clearly written by someone who wasn't at the match. Walcott was dreadful, I don't think I've seen a footballer with so little intelligence and awareness of what's around him.

So it's Stoke next Saturday, have we learnt from the cup defeat a month ago? I would hope so but something tells me it might be the same old story. I see the game as one of the trickiest in our run in, should we win then I might just start to believe that we might finish second (There's no way we will win the title, we simply aren't good enough) which would be an excellent achievement in my eyes.

Until then...

Why Wenger hasn't bought a new goalkeeper

Evening all.

I firstly must apologise for not having written for a while, the reason is simple - there hasn't been anything worth writing about! It's painful when Arsenal are on a break, we just have to make do with the Arsenal blogs that write for the sake of writing even when there is nothing to say.

Wednesday night is a big night, Porto will be a tough game and one I would be happy if we came away with a score draw. We have lost at Porto before but these were games when we were already through in our group so I wouldn't read too much into it. It looks like Arshavin and Song will miss out, quite how much we will miss them remains to be seen but unfortunately no Song means the return of the ultimate water carrier Denilson. It seems that Wenger has realised that Denilson should not be part of a full strength midfield but needs must and as long as the Brazilian at least puts in the effort then he might be alright.

The main reason for this post is regarding the number one jersey at the club. As regular readers will know, I think Manuel Almunia is the worst goalkeeper I have ever seen at Arsenal and I would pick every other Premier League goalkeeper ahead of him. I believe there is a reason why Wenger has not made a big money signing in goal and his name is Wojciech Szczesny. The young Polish goalkeeper is at Brentford where he is earning rave reviews. I've seen him play a couple of times and he really is the real thing. Brentford fans say that he's the best goalkeeper they've seen at the club in over 30 years and even Wenger said that he has been identified as someone going to the very top. Why would Wenger sign a long term goalkeeper when he has someone ready to take the number one spot next season? Even if the Sorenson reports were true, that was only going to be a very short term solution.

Just watch this video and you'll see what I mean.

I'm convinced he is going to have a great future at our club, we just have to see out the rest of the season with that clown in goal...

Same old Arsenal

Once again we were undone by the brilliant Drogba, in the end he was the difference between the two teams. I actually thought we played fairly well today and after losing two early goals we responded well with a bit of fight that was lacking last week. Our defending was poor for both goals, the sad thing is that we learnt nothing from the Utd defeat. The second goal was a carbon copy of the Rooney strike last week, the way he cut inside to shoot was just too easy and we left ourselves a mountain to climb for the remaining 70 minutes.

The fact is that we dominated the match, the midfield played well but were let down by a lack of killer instinct up front. Even when we did break through the Chelsea defence, Nasri wasted a golden opportunity. The football was nice but there was no end product, if Drogba was in our side, we would have won the game. We have now gone three games without scoring which is a bit of concern, if only Wenger had reinforced in the transfer window then we would have had a real shot at winning the title. Sadly, our premiership season is now more about retaining our place in the top 4, we need to be looking over our shoulder as should we lose against Liverpool on Wednesday then things are wide open in a bad way. The game is a crucial one, Liverpool are not Utd or Chelsea so I would expect us to beat them. It's hard to criticise the boys as they did play well, we are close to having a great team with just a few players short of something special. After Wednesday we go into a period of games where we shouldn't drop points so anything is possible.

One thing that did get on my nerves today was Sky's coverage of John Terry, it was disgusting the way they talked about him as a victim rather than someone who cheated on his wife with his best mates girlfriend. Sky really need to take a good look at themselves as I thought they were a disgrace.

Player Ratings:

Almunia 5 - Didn't do much wrong but once again he concedes with the first attempt against his goal, kicking was his usual poor standard.

Sagna 7 - solid but can't cross, let's give him a rest and play Eboue who is much better going forward.

Vermaelen 6 - Never gave up and made some decent challenges, has to take some of the blame for the two goals.

Gallas 6 - Did okay, tried to drive the team forward.

Clichy 5 - Poor for both goals, did better going forward today.

Song 7 - Good performance, used the ball well.

Diaby 7 - Thought he had a good game, was commanding in the middle even though not fully fit.

Fabregas 7 - Tried but lacks quality ahead of him.

Nasri 7 - Did play well today but should have scored.

Walcott 4 - I've never seen a player with so little awareness of what's around him, Theo your time is up - a career in the championship beckons.

Arshavin 5 - Should have scored in the first half, too easily muscled off the ball - not a central striker.

Subs:

Bendtner 5 - Gave us something different, still doesn't look fit.

Eboue 7- Did well when he came on, was good going forward - should start on Wednesday.

Rosicky - 6 - Did okay, should have had a free kick when he was bundled over by Cole.

The player that got away

Evening all.

I've been doing a lot of thinking in the last few days, name me an Arsenal fan who hasn't. Having read some pathetic over reactions by many of the blogs since our humiliation to Utd, I think we need to put things into perspective. Chelsea's draw at Hull last night has made things wide open again at the top, if and it's a big 'if' we beat Chelsea on Sunday then we're right back in the race. We're a wounded animal at the moment and I fully expect us to put in a better performance at the weekend. Will that be enough? It's impossible to say, if Denilson is on the team sheet then we might as well go home. I'll be really disappointed with Wenger if the Brazilian starts, Ramsey is a much better option or if Diaby is fit he must play.

I've been thinking about the player that left Arsenal in the last few years who I genuinely feel we miss the most of any that has moved on in recent times - his name is Alex Hleb. After an indifferent first few seasons at the club, Hleb was instrumental in our title challenge back in 2007/8. Something I'll always maintain is that Hleb was one of the most skillful players I have ever seen in an Arsenal shirt, his ability was unlike any other. Absolutely vital to our attacking play, he was able to beat players at will and often hold on to the ball when it looked impossible to do so. One of the criticisms of Hleb was that he didn't score enough goals, it's true to say that he wasn't a goal scoring midfielder but then he didn't need to be. Hleb made so many goals for other players and was crucial to our counter attacking play and I don't think we've ever been the same as counter attacking unit since he left the club. Samir Nasri was bought as his replacement but has always flattered to deceive, I for one am worried that he just isn't what we need, I hope he proves me wrong but he's done little to suggest that he's going to be a world beater. Hleb in our current team would be absolutely fantastic, Arsenal was the right club for him and it's a shame he had to leave to realise it. Who can forget that wonderful goal Fabregas scored at Anfield in 2007? Hleb waited and waited to release the ball to his best mate and we got our equaliser.

I'm sad that he never made it at Barcelona but then again the odds were stacked against him when in order to play he had to get into the team instead of Lionel Messi - Hleb was good but he's wasn 't the best player in the world.

I hope this article makes you think, Hleb WAS a great player and one we miss more than you think.

Where do we go from here?

Apologies for not having written for a while, a new job means I've had little time.

Yesterday I was at the Emirates to see us comfortably torn apart by Manchester United, we lost 3-1 but to be fair, had we been beaten by 6 it wouldn't have flattered the visitors. Going into the game I genuinely felt we had a decent chance of winning, Utd had a more or less second string defence and if I'm honest I don't really fear Utd like I did when they had Christiano Ronaldo. The game was quite even up until the first goal went in but there was always that nagging doubt that we would collapse and that's exactly what happened. Even when the scores were level there appeared to be no sense of emergency amongst the players, the lack of desire was evident and I suppose that's what really hurts. I can forgive the boys if they gave 100% but there were clearly some players who didn't.

So why can't this current Arsenal side beat their nearest rivals? There are many reasons, mainly to do with personnel within the team.

We seem to give away goals far to easily and this is because we have an absolute liability at left back. I for one felt that a couple of seasons ago Gael Clichy was the best left back in the league, now he is a shadow of his former self and at the age he is that is very worrying. His form has been very poor for two seasons now, his defending for the first goal was bad enough but the second was of the standard I would expect to see in the playground. Yes there were men over and if he had gone to Park, he probably would have squared it to Rooney but to let him have a clear run on goal was nothing short of disgraceful. The other main problem is Denilson, a player I have constantly said that is not good enough to don the red and white of Arsenal. The Brazilian is the sort of player that wouldn't have looked out of place in a midfield with Hillier, Selly and Morrow - he's a drawback to the abysmally poor midfield we had back in the early 90s. As a result there is no protection for the back four because Song has to do the work of two midfielders, Denilson can't pass, can't shoot, can't tackle and NEVER EVER tracks back - his lack of attempt to run after Rooney for Utd's second was shambolic and we've seen that time and time again this season.

Probably the biggest problem is that we have the worst top flight goalkeeper I have ever seen, I don't blame Wenger for much but in this instance he has got it wrong - Fabianski has to start at Chelsea, he definitely won't be worse that Almunia and he can kick a ball which is already an advantage.

The fact is that we do need a striker, I still think Bendtner can do a job but we can't rely on a guy that's been out for three months. I'm really sick of all these doom and gloom fans, yesterday we got beaten by a rival, it was a poor performance but was not a reflection of our side this season. Yes we are a little short of our challengers but let's not forget we sit third in the table and in my opinion we are in a unique band of one - not quite as good as the top two but better than the top 4 wannabees. This suggests that a few tweaks to the squad in the summer could see us return as a better team next season. The transfer window is now closed so there's no point going on about we should have signed him etc. We now have to do with what we've got and going to Chelsea next week could be exactly what we need at this moment in time but one has to suggest that a defeat and a heavy one is looking all too likely.

To people who say we haven't improved as a team since last season is wrong, we were out of the title race in October!

Player ratings:

Almunia 1 - That's being kind.

Sagna 5 - Solid, everything came down Clichy's side.

Gallas 6 - Was okay, at least he tries.

Vermaelen 7 - One of the few that came out with any credit.

Clichy 3 - He has no future at the club, Gibbs will be the first choice next season.

Denilson 2 - Like Clichy his Arsenal career should be over.

Song 7 - Has to do the work of 2 midfielders, great to see him back and he tried his heart out.

Fabregas 7 - Can't do it all on his own.

Rosicky 5 - Was poor, one must conclude that 2 years out of the game is too much for any player.

Nasri 4 - Thought he would kick on this season but has been poor.

Arshavin 7 - At least he put in effort, could and should have scored a couple.

Walcott 4 - Another who has no future at the club.

Bendtner 5 - Little impact.

Eboue 6 - Better going forward than Sagna.