A German newspaper is supposed to be announcing where the future of Lukas Podolski lies later on today. I am still trying to walk around with my fingers in my ears but still removing it from time to time to see if anything concrete has happened before sticking my fingers back in my ears again. It’s just easier that way

Good afternoon,

Firstly I want to cross my fingers and hope Fabrice Muamba makes a full recovery. I haven’t had the chance to write anything over the weekend for various reasons and I almost felt guilty for not being able to do so after what had happened at White Hart Lane.

I was recording the Tottenham vs Bolton game whilst entertaining the in-laws I was hoping to go back over the game and have another closer look at Ryo in action. From time to time I would pop into the living room and check the score and on the last occasion I saw that the game was postponed. I rewound the recording until the incident and that feeling that came over me when seeing what happened was just truly awful. I cannot imagine what his family must have felt during that moment and indeed what they are currently going through.

I hear about bad news on almost a daily basis when watching the news and you almost detach yourself from it. A tragedy is pretty much the norm, you switch the television off and continue your day as if nothing had happened. But this felt like so much more, perhaps the fact that it happened during the game made it different I don’t know.

But he has a fighting chance, thanks to the paramedics at White Hart Lane. I just hope he pulls through.

Football really pulled together yesterday with all the show of support from so many teams both in England and further afield in Europe. We get all so wrapped up into the game that it is easy to forget that it is actually just a game at the end of the day, a very enjoyable and addictive one but a game nevertheless.

As for the Arsenal well I have had the usual withdrawal symptoms but I fully appreciate the break that the players have received, the more the better I say. I would rather we had that extra 5% against Everton than play them a few days earlier. The FA replay will hopefully be a big advantage to us.  David Moyes rested many of his first choice against Liverpool to concentrate on the cup game but it would be just our luck if he chose to change tact against us. Whatever team they field, I just have the feeling that it will be one tough old slog at Goodison Park and we will need to be near our best to get the victory that we so badly need.

I would gladly settle for a good old fashioned grinding 1-0 to the Arsenal. I would gladly take a van Persie goal to win it and suffer from the repeated ‘one man team’ cries from all and sundry. You get the feeling that our expansive, goal scoring form will not continue from now until the end of the season and we will have to dig in like we did at Liverpool. We need a few players to take Tomas Rosicky’s lead and step up to the proverbial plate. Theo Walcott has improved in recent weeks but he needs to add goals to that form, Gervinho needs to return to his early season form and Chambo needs to keep producing the goods when he gets the chance.

I must say I was surprised with Arsene’s decision to start Chamberlain over Gervinho against Newcastle, not because I think one is better than the other but due to seniority and experience. It just goes to show how fast the young man has come on in the last three months or so. It will be interesting to see if Arsene maintains that for the run in. With the absence of a midweek game, the need to rotate will have disappeared so those in the starting team can really secure their places if they keep up the good work of late.

A German newspaper is supposed to be announcing where the future of Lukas Podolski lies later on today. I am still trying to walk around with my fingers in my ears but still removing it from time to time to see if anything concrete has happened before sticking my fingers back in my ears again. It’s just easier that way.

The strange tale of Park Chu Young just got even more strange.

And that is just about that for today. But I shall be back again tomorrow.

’til then.