Who the hell are they to ruin our club!!! Plan is inside to make us better!!!

Now the headline of my blog would suggest that I would be bashing left, right and center club officials over here, but that’s not the case. I would be, but with reasoning and later. Also I do have a request at the end too. I think that is the only way you can make your club better. You guys are the best judges I can get for my request, hence do let me know if that is something you are willing to do!!!

Positives in this season are not to be seen. Best players left. Reinforcements came, but not in all places we wanted. Players on fringes and even in first team who should have sold are still there and proving to be huge huge burden for us.

Negatives are aplenty. Best defense, my foot!!! If the other teams are unable to score goals doesn't make our defense “The Best” and after 3 games in, it doesn't warrant “Steve Bould’s Job” chants too!!! I have been a Gooner a long time to know we are not at all stable in anything we are doing, hence I was crying out loud to anybody who would hear that we don’t have the best defense or attack or mid-field and any happiness is premature!!! Now the same people who were ecstatic at the start are crying foul. Extreme at both ends is bad. Either believe or don’t believe  Just don’t sway away after every game and kick! Ramsey is still shit! Coq fan club can have a foot in their mouth! Back four? Well they are out of sync (And don’t give me that injury shit, because every other team has those problems, and they are still winning!!!)! Though Arteta is good, he is not made for the role of defensive midfielder and his lack of pace is anyways proving me right! He is good as Central Midfielder and we should play him there!!! Every winger wants to play centrally except Gervinho. Giroud has not been the revelation we all were hoping him to be! To be precise he was brought as a backup to Purstrings and not to lead the line!!! Hence we have problems in all the areas and no solution in sight!!!

I would also like to add that I am neither in for Wenger out or Wenger in, I am all in only for “I want my Arsenal Back”!!!

Now coming to the request: This is the only way I think the board is going to take notice of what we want, i.e. if we can stop their cash flow!!! Booing won’t have any effect on them till the time their pockets are filled (Every Board member is earning in Millions and they can pay the same to let best players stay and bring top talent!!!) So the plan is to stop buying anything which has Arsenal on it (Savour the old ones, because they show real Arsenal, current goods don't!!!) And biggest request is to stop going to the stadium at all!!! This is the only way to stop the revenue inflow and show them we are serious in our efforts to bring our club back!!! If they still don’t comply, then where the hell will they get the money and support to pay each of their's hefty bills!!!

I hope you guys are going to pass on this message to all the people you know, so that our voice is heard which is not taken seriously by anybody concerned!!! It’s high time we take matters into our own hands!!! Please do remember to pass on this message if you agree to my philosophy and are willing to follow it too!!!

My sincere thanks for reading this and hope we bring a change soon!!! Amen to that!!! And my twitter handle is @OnTheGunPoint, follow me if you like my views!

P.S. Grammar might have had taken a toss, but when in frustration and anger I think I am allowed that much leverage!!! And parting words are "Let's get our Arsenal back"!!!

Time to take harsh decisions Arsene!!!

And we lost again. Twice in a row in EPL. I think this time January was a bit kind to us? From the time I have been watching Arsenal, I have seen all the ups and then downs and then I have seen us reaching the dumps and then the molten core…  Now I am searching for Centre of the earth!!!! I know times are tough, I know we have many players in injury list and blah blah… But tell me one thing isn’t the same thing happening to Manchester United? Do you see DeGea playing after making horrendous errors? Do you see Tevez playing after being unprofessional? Do you see Balotelli play regularly, because of his attitude? And what about players like Drogba, Torres, Anelka and the list goes on and on!!! Haven't Newcastle lost influential players like Tiote and Ba to African Cup of nations? Well the answer lies in one and only one thing and that is ‘we won’t change, come what may’!!!

 

By change I mean that we won’t substitute players at half time, or before half time. We would do that only when 60 minutes are over. If a particular player is performing badly, then let it be, who cares!!!! By change I also mean that we know what our starting 11 is, and those players won’t be benched or removed even if they are playing poorly or are non committed on pitch!!! By change I also mean that we won’t change our formation at any cost to accommodate a great player who can bring difference to otherwise lack luster team!!! By change I also mean that we won’t buy players who are dearly needed to launch a formidable title challenge or offload players who are surplus to our requirements!!!

I have and always will admire Wenger for what he has done for the club. But he needs to understand people have to change with changing times. He needs to bend a little for the club. He has to make tough decisions. He has to stop blaming referee for poor performances and should blast the non performers.

On the same track of changes, I would like to discuss the complacent/Non performing players:

1.       Per Mertesacker: He is what some 7ish feet tall giant and still is unable to win header in the box. He is not mobile or a good anticipator. Only player he was able to win a header yesterday was Dyer (A mere 5 foot something player). He was at fault when Djourou was Red Carded against Fulham and we lost the match eventually. He was at fault against Norwich when Morrison out muscled him and scored. He was at fault yesterday when he was not able to hit the shot on target from 2 meters and I can go on and on!!! I know he has come from a different league and he is not used to the physical game in EPL, but the mistakes he makes are cardinal and shouldn’t be accepted in a top club like Arsenal.

2.       Andrei Arshavin: He showed what he can do against Liverpool long long time back. Since then nothing I have seen to justify why he is Arsenal’s most expensive player. Agreed he had a good ratio of assists in the league last season. But he lacks basic skills what wingers should, which is to help the full back in defense, run at the oppositions and score goals, and not lose possession at crucial places. Even when he loses possession, there is no drive to get the ball back. Even when he misplaces his pass there is no zeal to rectify the mistakes. These all things have been happening again and again and as a result we lose games.

3.       Theo Walcott: He is a player who is overhyped, overconfident and overzealous. He just wants to run when there is an open field in front of him. otherwise he'll play a back pass. He never make decoy runs to help RVP. He never shoots when required and when he does usually he doesn’t score. I am not saying he a bad player, but a little bit of competition will help him improve his game. Ox should be brought in his place and he should be benched for few games. Also, he shouldn't ask for a raise until he proves something and becomes worthy for wearing Number 14 on his back!!!

4.       Aaron Ramsey: He is a player who is loved by all. Why? I don’t understand. He is actually a mirror image of Messi (Left becomes right kind of way). He plays brilliantly for his country and is unable to replicate the same form at club. I see a spark in him here and there, but he is not what we need in midfield. At the start of season he said he is ready to fill in the shoes of Cesc. But he is far far away from being 10th of a player what Cesc was for Arsenal. He fails to understand the game, he shoots left, right and on top of the Goal, but rarely towards it. I wonder if there was space below the goal, he would have definitely shot there too. He has missed so many golden opportunities to score in recent times that I wonder will he be next Eduardo. Eduardo was loved by all Gooners, but after injury he was not able to replicate the form and was sold eventually. Same story could follow with Ramsey if he doesn’t improve.

5.       Abou Diaby: He was also a victim of reckless challenge, and since then he is an esteemed guest at our medical facility. I think Arsenal got this idea of a new high end medical centre after seeing him. All the Patrick Vieira Part two chants have faded and so has his game. Needs to be sold ASAP.

6.       Sebastien Squillaci: Another player who was brought last year to provide some experience to our inexperienced Defence. He currently finds himself way down the pecking order. No class, no nothing.

7.       Kieran Gibbs: He is another Diaby in making. Spends more time on medical bed than on pitch. A very good talent, but too fragile! Either he should work on his fitness or should be sold, as everybody is not RVP, who after working hard on the fitness proves to the world what they are.

8.       Manuel Almunia: Enough said already.

9.       Thomas Rosicky: He doesn’t have a long term future here and has faded as Arshavin. Hence needs to sort out where he would like to retire and should move there!!!

10.   Marouane Chamakh: He needs to get his confidence back. He is so afraid of Wenger that everytime he scoops the shot, or is not able to keeps possession, or misplaces a pass, or does any mistake, he looks to the bench towards Wenger in a apologetic look!!! This is what has brought his downfall. He was playing freely when RVP was injured. When RVP came back, he has been given very little opportunities, which he has not been able to capitalise upon and hence every mistake of his is scrutinize. He can be a good player for Arsenal, provided he starts to play his natural game again.

11.   Ju-Young Park: Could somebody please tell me why he was bought?

I am not saying all these players should be sacked. But some needs more playing time then others and some need to improve their game to stay in the club. If boss is unable to drill this into them then we won’t be qualifying for Europe in any competition. Boss should also relax upon his stubbornness of playing the same predictable 11 and same predictable formation and same predictable substitution timings and same predictable everything. I want 'The Professor' back!!!

Always remember a person who loves you will criticise you the most when he/she sees something is wrong and needs improvement.

I want my club to succeed and want to see the same passion in the players. Want to see the same passionate players as are the supporters on the pitch.

If you agree with me, then do follow me on https://twitter.com/OnTheGunPoint

Until next time. Hail Gooners!!!

Pre Match Review - Arsenal Vs Everton - Manchester Sloppy, London Happy!!!

So after a wonderful Champions League Week, we are gunning for a win against Everton. CL week was wonderful because of many reasons:

Firstly, Arsenal lost and our second fringe players now know why they are not getting first team starts regularly. Likes of Frimpong, Coquelin, Manone, and Fabianski were crying foul on less number of chances given to them this season. Amongst the group, Frimpong was the only one who was positive in his statements where as Fabianski and Coquelin have already shared that they want to leave in January if they don’t get enough starts. I guess with a dismal performance like that of Wednesday would make them realize that they will never play in a big club if they don’t improve. And if they only want to play football, then they can be sold off to lower league clubs, where they might turn out to be very very talented!!! I still have a soft corner for Manone, and I feel that if given opportunities, then he will show that he is better than Szczesny. I feel he is better and his howler can be excused for the fact that this was the first time since 2009 he was playing in first team and that too in Champions League, which can make anyone nervous!!! I would also like to add here that the way Fabianski faked his injury to get out of onslaught was quite dramatic!!! He just needed an excuse and he got it!!! He now should definitely keep mum and try to work on his goalkeeping skills, if he wants to play regularly for either Arsenal or Poland!!! On the senior player front Arshavin was awful again, so were Squillaci and Djourou and to an extent Benayoun and Vermaelen were found at fault too. Only saving grace was the performance of Oxlade-Chamberlain. He is a live wire and because of him we can now see that Walcott has also started working harder on the pitch to make sure his by default starting position doesn’t come under threat!!!

The only worrying thing which came out of that insignificant game was that my favorite player Santos was injured. I still feel that Santos and Vermaelen should have been given a rest too.

Secondly I loved to see Manchester United out of Champions league. Men Vs Boys, Grand daddies Vs Baby sitters or whatever shit they say, I just loved the way how they crumbled!!! Oppositions to ManU now have to learn how to cross ball in ManU box and make sure the cross falls behind David de Gea. This will give opposition an easy opportunity for a tap in, because their goalkeeper is shit!!! He is good as a shot stopper, but not in other aspect of goal keeping and crosses are his weaknesses.

Thirdly and most importantly, Manchester City is out!!! I didn’t know that Nasri joined ManC to get laurels in Europa League. And I would like to add that “Nasri!!! You are a Cunt!!!” Enough said I guess!!!

Now coming on to the game against Everton. It’s going to be an emotional ride for Arteta, as this would be the first time he would be playing his old club which he love. Also this would be a good test of our bench!!! Now we’ll show the world that we can play and win without a full back (Tongue in cheek remark, ofcourse!!!).

The biggest news is this that Alumina is back in reckoning and would be on bench against Everton!!! This will definitely instill confidence in the team!!! :D… Now coming to some serious stuff; Team from my side would be somewhat like this Szczesny, Vermaelen, Squillaci, Koscielny, Djourou, Song, Ramsey, Arteta, Walcott, Gervinho and RVP. Subs would be Almunia, Miquel, Frimpong, Coquelin, Benayoun, Diaby and Chamakh.

As far as score line goes, seeing Squillaci in our back four, I would go with 3-1 wherein RVP and Arteta will score the goals for arsenal and Cahill will be on score sheet for Everton. I think his goal drought will come to  end against Arsenal and anyways we always are very generous to out of form teams and out of form players!!!

Boss' pre match conference is here for all to see!!!

Follow me on twitter for regular updates on Arsenal.

Till next time. Hail Gunners. #COYG.

Pre Match Review: Wigan Vs Arsenal – Lets go and get a win!!!

So after the midweek carling cup, proper cup and proper football is back with Arsenal travelling to ‘DW Stadium’. Wigan is the same team who put a nail in the coffin as far as Steve Bruce is concerned. Going to ‘Stadium of Light’ and winning when they were down and out is not a mean feat (8 games without a win, out of which 7 were defeats)!!!

Boss as always was very respectful towards opposition and I think we should not be complacent and get the job done. They don’t posses huge names of highly gifted players, but they do have some good performers. Al Habsi is hell of a keeper. He has pretty good reflexes and has good decision making skills in the box too. If he brings his A game on, we might be seeing another Fulham kind of match, where we were shooting and shooting on the goal, but there was someone to block our chances. Ben Watson, Di Santo, Diame etc are good players, and on their day can trouble us. Indecently we have never beaten WIgan under Roberto Martinez at DW!!! Hence this game becomes that much more important, as currently we need a win, and win big!!!  We do have tendency to make these smaller teams feel good by letting them come from behind more often than not. We make a meal of the game and try to have it too!!! No hiccups are welcomes this time around though.

On the team news, we have Mr. Diaby aka boon to medical science, back to where he belongs, medical centre!!! Which I think was made to order by him. Anyways, good news is there is no other casualty. Playing a completely changed team against Manchester City most certainly did help our cause. So we have RVP who has scored one more goal than whole of Wigan Team. We have Verminator, who wants to give an empathetic performance after Fulham game. We have Djourou and Koscielny, who wants to stake a claim on first team spot (and their recent performances are saying nothing less). We also have the giant, Per, who wants to prove he is not as bad at forwards are making him look!!! We have Theo, who would like to prove that comparisons with Ox are meaningless and he is still the man. We have Gervinho, who would definitely like to add goals and finishing touches to his play, and make sure he doesn’t become next Chamakh!!! We also have ever so reliable Song and Arteta pairing in middle of the park (Not the player :D). What we don’t have is Jack in place of Ramsey!!!

I have stopped writing anything about RVP, as whatever I write would diminish in comparison to his enormous form and talent.

So as far as team for the match goes: Szcz, Santos, Mert, Verm, Kos, Song, Ramsey, Arteta, Gervinho, Theo and RVP. Bench: Fabianski, DJourou, Frimpong, Arshavin, Rosicky, Benayoun and Chamakh. Prediction from my side is Wigan 0 and Arsenal 4 with RVP and Gervinho with a brace, as I want Gerv to score and get a confidence boost!!! This would definitely help us in long term!!!

Nothing has worked to get you guys on twitter as yet; hence I have devised a new strategy….. PLEASE JOIN ME, CLICK HERE!!! :D:D:D…. Hope this helps.

Till next time. COYG!!!!

Pre Match Review: Arsenal Vs Manchester City - Rich boys are in town!!!

So today we have Carling cup match with the world's richest club. There is lot of speculation about the teams for both the clubs, and it would be interesting to see who plays. I think Man City can play 4 different teams for all four competitions they are in!!! Still Mancini (aka Richie Rich) is cribbing for 2 games in 3 days!!! He still has player like Kolo Toure, Dzeko, Johnson, Zabaleta, Savic, and Hargreaves etc who didn’t start in their draw against Liverpool!!! Hence I don’t think he has any reason to crib. One player I would definitely miss is Balotelli. I would have liked him to play and pull some of his world famous antics and get booed by our fans!!!

Boss has said that he too would be giving rest to some key players. And we all know who he meant!!! So RVP would be missing the match for sure. Players who will get a chance either in starting lineup or on bench are Chamakh, Park, Benayoun, Rosicky, Yennaris, Arshavin, Miquel, Squillaci, Frimpong, Coquelin, Diaby, Alex, Fabianski. I would say that this is not a bad playing lineup by any means!!! It has experience and youth and desperate players to prove their point and mettle to Boss and club and fans. 

Boss was vocal about how a class player like Benayoun has not got enough opportunities to play, so he would definitely be playing and adding experience and creativity to our midfield. And vocal was 'The Russian' about how not playing for so long affected his game against Fulham!!! Now I understand there is match practice which is required, but didn’t he play against Greece for Russia two weeks back? Wasn’t he coming on as sub for quite some time? So I would ask him to stop making excuses and give his all in today's game!!! I think Park would start from the bench and we would be playing 4-5-1, as Boss usually doesn’t change his system of play to accommodate a player!!! Park has to get accustomed to English style of play, but having not played a single minute in EPL till now is a bit disappointing. Same is the case with Chamakh, who has to prove that he still got it!!! Coquelin will get a chance to prove that he is better than Frimpong and Frimpong will get a chance to be #Dench!!!

Now coming to controversies, we all know Nasri might get a chance to play in today's match and Boss has requested the fans to control their emotions. Boss has always been respectful towards former players and has asked fans to do the same. But as we know Clichy, Toure left without much ado, we saw the antics of Adebayor and we read the comments from Nasri about the fans and club!!! I can understand him leaving for double the money (As I would also leave my job if somebody is ready to double my pay!!! :D), but what I don’t understand is that why you have to bad mouth the club and its fans!!! You were an unknown quantity, this club and fans made you what you are today, some respect is always warranted. If you don’t have respect for the people who made you what you are today, then you are not a man in my eyes!!! And hence I despise him!!! So I would request everyone to boo him as loud as possible!!!

Hopefully we will come out on tops. Players have to show that they should get more chances in first team with a good performance. And if they do that against City, then nothing like it!!! Amen to that.

Follow me on twitter (click here) for updates on out club and what other fans and bloggers are saying.

Till next time. COYG!!!

Post Match Blog: Arsenal Vs Fulham – A tale of two goals!!!

Well I am disappointed. No doubt about it! Still many things to take away from this game, but on that later. First I would like to dissect the game! Fulham came with a game plan and succeeded in that. They tried to slow the tempo of the game from start, so that Arsenal doesn’t set into a rhythm of passing the ball. Most of the teams come to Emirates with a mind set of catching us on break and playing long balls, but Fulham did just opposite, they tried to beat us at our game. They packed the midfield and closed down the ball very efficiently.

Arteta gave his all and I have no complaints from him. Ramsey has to improve his game! I know that English commentators praise him a lot (Actually they do it for every player from UK!!!), but if you keep on skying the ball, make awful runs then however good others say you are, you won’t impress me! Why Arshavin was not taken off at half time or at 60 minute mark is a question mark! He is not the player we can now afford to play in first team! He is low on confidence and doesn’t make any damn effort to improve his game! Robin tried his best, but it was just not his day! Theo (aka Usain Bolt junior) had a good game, still I expect better out of him! Song was ok in his duties. Verminotor was at fault when he tried to clear the ball with his left foot, because from the angle he was trying, it would always take the ball towards the goal and any miscue would get in! And voila, it happened. I didn’t expect him to make such a trivial error! He redeemed himself though with the goal, but still after the match there was clear disappointment written on his face. And I am sure, he would rectify his mistake and come out on tops in our next games!(I thought of uploading the goals video, but I love Verm too much and can’t see him scoring an own goal again and again!!!) Santos played well for his style, and you already know I like him lot. Had couple of good shorts on the goal, which were blocked and his positioning was good. Gervinho still looks unfinished product, because his finishing needs a lot of work. He comes into such fantastic positions, he dribbles past players like anything, but finishing is not there. Chamakh came in late and didn't have much time to have a telling impact on the game. I think he should get more games!

Coming to positives from the game, best was to see Djourou play out of his skin at RB and he did it with ease! If he continues to show such display, then we won’t be missing Sagna till he returns. He was one player who did his duties to the fullest be it defending or attacking, he was there! Another positive was to see Diaby back and adding a new dimension to our game. But the best part was the character shown by the team as a whole. We tried, tried and tried and in the end got one point out of the game. Previous years Arsenal didn’t show that kind of attitude and I am happy to see that!!! I think playing three matches in 8 days took toll on our players as they looked a little off beat from start. People might say that RVP didn’t score and hence Arsenal didn’t win, but in my next Blog you would read why Arsenal is not a one man team!!! Follow me on twitter to be updated on that!!!

Now the first team players will get a rest against Manchester City in Carling Cup quarterfinal. As we don’t want to burden them with too many matches in short span of time!!! Hopefully our second fringe team will win against Manchester City. Amen to that! I’ll close on that lovely thought!!!

Till next time. Hail gunners.

Pre Match Blog: Arsenal Vs Fulham

After a satisfying win in CL, where we qualified for knockout stages 12^th Successive time, we are back to EPL. Now lets get back to business!!!

In his press conference boss said:

“Having secured qualification in the Champions League we can focus more. That's what we want to demonstrate now. We need to show that we can go from one competition to the other and keep the same focus.”

This indeed would be the focused game, as top four finish is a priority. We can’t afford to lose our concentration or momentum. Our home form has been good this season and we have to build upon that and icing on the cake is that Fulham has never won at Arsenal!!! But on the hind side, they are the only side to take points away from ManC this season. They have players like Zamora, Dempsey, Johnson who can cause problems to our back four. Fulham didn’t have a mid week Europa clash, hence would be a fresher unit! We on the other hand can’t look tired and take things easily.

Now we all know that RVP is an important part of this campaign and has scored 38 of Arsenal’s goals in all competitions. So he would be playing. Song has been impeccable for some time now, hence he is important and should play. On rest of the teams, I think we would be going with the same team that played Norwich over weekend and Dortmund in mid week. One or two changes might be in wings and central defense.

From my point of view team would be Szcz, SANTOS, Verm, Mert, Djourou, Ramsey, Arteta, Arshavin, Gervinho and RVP with substitutes as Fabianski, Kos, Frimpong, Diaby, Theo, Chamakh and Benayoun.

Score line? I would take anything except 2-1, which has been our favorite for some time now!!! I think score would be 3-1, with two goals from RVP and one from Gerv, for Fulham I think Zamora will be the man!

Todays game with Fulham is dedicated to ‘Save the Children’ organization, our global charity partner. A noble step to help the future of the world, Children!

On this wonderful thought I would sign off, do follow me on twitter for regular updates on my blogs and Arsenal.

Till next time. COYG!!!

Post Match Blog – Arsenal Vs Dortmund

And so we won. The team was not what I had predicted, nor was the score line and scorers. But who cares, we won!!!

On the onset it was clear that Jurgen Klopp had a plan for stopping RVP. As he had told in his press conference, he really stopped any delivery to RVP. Dortmund was pressing hard and not allowing our midfield to pass the ball fluently. For first 30 minutes or so, Dortmund was on top and looked like threatening our Goal more than once. Somehow we managed to keep them on bay. And then came song's challenge on Gotze to our relief! If that was not enough then Vermaelen's trailing leg did damage to Bender and he was stretchered off! This was i think beginning of the end for Dortmund, as their two most influential players were off the field.

Don't know what boss said to the players during break, but it did the trick! RVP scored from Walcott's cross! Looked like Arteta rubbed off on Song, as he started playing really well. He was a bit sloppy in first half, but redeemed himself superbly in second half! The dribble past three players was stupendous and RVP scored again!!! Players knew that RVP would be covered and service would be denied to him by Dortmund defense, hence he started interchanging positions with Walcott, Gervinho and even Ramsey. This strategy worked well, as RVP was left nearly unmarked for both the goals!!!

As far as player performance goes, I think Gervinho still needs to improve upon his first touch and finishing! Santos was exciting as ever, Kos did the job well, Mert was okay, and Verm was outstanding in mitigating few errors from Santos (but he was exciting anyhow!). Arteta played really well. I think playing in Champions League brings out the best in him!! We would have kept a clean sheet, but for Djourou, who was trying to be too clever near the final third in dying stages!!!

All in all, a satisfying victory. A victory which will instill even more belief in our squad. A victory which has taken us to qualification. A victory which will give RVP a much needed rest in next round. A victory which made haters cry out loud that Arsenal is one man army (Seriously, I don't give a damn!!!) A victory where three players involved in scoring have few months left on their contract (To this I do give a Damn!!!)!!!

Victory was even sweeter because Chelsea lost to Leverkusen. It made Mata think 'Did I join the right club?'. And because after Tuesday there is a ripe possibility that we'll see a Manchester Derby in Europa League Final!!! Amen to that!!!

Till next time. Hail Gunners!!!

Pre Match Review: Arsenal Vs Dortmund

This is a very important match for us. Why? Because we need to give rest to our main players sooner rather than later. We can’t make the same mistake of over playing them. We saw what happened last year and how we lost steam at the fag end of the season!!!  Boss will want us to win at any cost!

Dortmund has been going through the same phase as us. They had a similar dismal start, but have resurrected themselves since last meeting with us! They have recently beaten Bayern Munich, much like how we won at Stamford Bridge, confidence booster indeed!!! Gotze is their main player, and we already know all the speculation surrounding him. But I don’t think that Dortmund has got it to beat us! If we stick to our game plan then we’ll definitely come out on top. Anyways not even Barca could beat us at Emirates, then there is no way Dortmund will do that!!!

As far as the team news goes, I am a bit skeptical on what team boss will put up. I know I said this is a very important match for us, but who to play and whom to rest is a difficult decision boss will have to take. I think our team would look like this Szcz, Djourou, Mert, Verminator, Santos, Coq, Ramsey, Rosicky, Gerv, Arshavin and Chamakh with substitutes as Fabianski, Kos, Miquel, Song, Walcott, Benayoun and RVP. But there is also a possibility that we field the same team as Saturday! I really want us to win and I really don’t want any player to be over burdened too. If I am in such dilemma, imagine what Boss would be going through! Anyways I’ll leave it to him!! Phew!!!

Prediction time: I’ll go with Arsenal 3 and Dortmund 0!!! Where in Gerv, Chamakh and Arshavin/Santos scoring (I am going with the team I have chosen)….

Hope this comes true, as we need a clean sheet and above all a win to qualify!

Till next time. COYG!!!

Post Match Blog With Highlights!!!: Crisis? What Crisis…. And Grant Holt should try out for swimming team!!!

WE WON!!! And as I predicted 2-1… So this means I do have football acumen or what!!! RVP did it again… 31 goals in this calendar year, wow!!! Only 5^th player to do it, and remember he can very well reach 40+, as there are many matches still to go….

Arsenal put out the same team as I predicted (Pssst: All of the other bloggers got it wrong :D). I still believe that Mert has a long way to go in EPL. He does have an intimidating presence, but the way he is out muscled most of the times is not very good showing!!! He is very slow to react and that is one aspect he needs to improve upon, otherwise we would never be able to keep clean sheets. I think Mert cant thank RVP enough to save him blushes… I wont be spending time on RVP, as whatever I say will be less for his caliber!!!

Our midfield was not very fluent. Ramsey and Arteta were missing from most part of the match! Song was losing the ball way too much, which is unlikely for him after seeing his recent run of form! I thought that international break would do well for Arteta and he would come out all guns blazing, but he was looking rusty. I have never liked Ramsey and hence just waiting for Jack to return and take his place!!! Our midfield was also looking less influential because Norwich had a extra man employed there to counter out movement. Gervinho was looking very lively since start, but has to improve his finishing skills. Theo again was trying to beat Usan Bolt, but from football aspect he still has a long way to go. Only if he could improve his Vision and positioning, he would do well. Santos was again very exciting to watch, I love him!!! Kos did ok in his full back position. Verminator was commanding as ever in the box.

I am wondering, after seeing Holt’s performance UK might give him a chance to represent them at world stage as a swimmer. The way he dived and dived, even Ian Thorpe could learn from him a few tricks!!! Overall Norwich played nicely and tried to close down Arsenal. But they couldn’t finish and RVP couldn’t miss!!!

All in all a good hard fought victory. Even though we were a bit sloppy here and there, and we did have many chances to finish the game long ago, but really who cares!!! I just wanted the three points and I got it. It’s actually good that Arsenal didn’t run through Norwich, otherwise we don’t take much time to grow overconfident (which our past record will show you) and lose game!!! This victory will keep our feet down on the ground and will propel us to work hard in next coming games. I am not saying that I love these kinds of heart attack giving matches, but right now what we need is focus and concentration and belief and confidence.

People who were not able to watch the match can take a look at highlights here!!!

So now next is Dortmund at home on Wednesday, let’s buckle up for the game and confirm our spot at the top of group!!!

Do stay connected with me on Twitter and get the latest updates…

Till next time. Oh to be a Gooner!!!

Real Football is back…. Norwich Vs Arsenal Preview…. And Henry is back too!!!

So now that ‘THE REAL FOOTBALL’ is back, it’s time to get back to business. Norwich will be hosting us on Saturday. It’ll be shown live on ESPN in India at 6.15 PM. Good news is that all our players have come back from international injury free. A line which we have not heard for long time!!!!

One thing is for sure, we can’t afford to be complacent. Boss would want the squad to concentrate after this meaningless hiatus. The key here is not to lose the momentum we gathered after Blackburn defeat. I know it has been said many a times, but it feels very pleasant to say it time and again, after Blackburn our record is WWWLWWWWWDW. Since the start of this year, this has been the best month and a half of football for me!!! And I want this run to never end!!!

In his press conference boss said:

“For a long time we were questioned on our away potential and we responded to that well at Chelsea”

“We have to do that again to show that we can be consistent away from home. Then we have another vital game against Dortmund so it is important to keep this run going. We know now that we can win away from home and we have another opportunity to show that.”

As it has been said before, victory at CH3L5EA by AR53NAL will take us long way. That win has infused much needed confidence in our team and Boss wants to take it forward from there. One thing is for sure that if we want to have any realistic chance to finish in top four, our away form has to take momentum. And doing it now would be a very good time, because all the teams above us have tough matches to follow-up.

Boss has also showered praise for Norwich’s Manager Paul Lambert, saying his buys are shrewd and calculative. In continuation boss says that all the three promoted teams might stay in top level!!!

Norwich is just two places below us, and hence can’t be taken lightly. They have lost only one game at home, against WBA. They have some very good players in their ranks that can trouble us, especially in Set Pieces. Anthony Pilkington is one such guy, a left winger, and very good with dead balls. His is also strong in his crossing; hence Szcz will have to be on his toes, not to mention our back four should be as well. Grant Holt, captain and Striker, though has been used sparingly (Substitute appearances mostly) by Paul Lambert can be a pain for our defense line. Steve Morrison has been in good touch and is the man to look out for too. I am only writing about their attack; because I am sure RVP will find a way through Norwich defense and thrash them apart!!! And we boss the midfield and possession almost everytime and against every team we play!!!

On Arsenal’s team news, I think boss will go with tried and tested team. The only point of debate will be the back four… I think there is a possibility that Santos, Verm, Mert and Kos will play with Djourou and Miquel on bench. So from my side team might look like this Szcz, Santos, Verm, Mert, Kos, Song, Arteta, Ramsey, Walcott, Gervinho and RVP with bench as Fabianski, Djourou, Miquel, Rosicky, Arshavin and Chamakh.

Prediction time: I think that Arsenal will win this game by 2-1 with RVP scoring both the goals and assists from Ramsey and Gervinho. Anyways Norwich has not kept a clean sheet in EPL this season. For Norwich Pilkington will score from a set piece.

Do let me know your predictions too, let’s see who gets it right, me or you!!! J

Talking about confidence, I would like to mention Henry is back in training with us in his offseason to keep fit!!! I just love to see him in Red and White colors training. When he trains with the team, there is a different level of enthusiasm that comes within them. I hope Arsene sign him in January transfer window, and makes our Striker problem vanish!!! (Wishful thinking, I guess)

Also you can follow me on Twitter (Just click here: It won’t take more than two minutes) for regular updates on Arsenal and my blogs. You can also ask me any questions on AFC or football and I would try to answer with the best of my knowledge. But please use Twitter for that, as I am always there!!!

Till next time. COYG….