He will love the freedom in the front three and I think he will get plenty of joy from making runs inside when the likes of Cesc are on the ball

Hello again Gooners,

A very rainy day in North London but even that cannot dampen (get it) my mood after our fantastic weekend.

There is not much going on today apart from the usual weekend follow on. Theo Walcott has been in the press quite a bit since his comeback game. Theo has been excluded from Fabio Capello’s England squad which I guess is somewhat surprising given the amount of praise that has been heaped on him from the Italian.

I guess this is part of why he has done so well for England, you cannot be complacent playing for England as you have to prove that you have the right to be there and not just there because of the name on the back of your shirt. Step forward Mr Eriksson.

Theo said:

“At the moment, I am thinking about trying to get back into the Arsenal starting line-up, and I am not really thinking about the World Cup, I don’t really look to the future –

“I will just try to keep playing well and see where it takes me. It is always great having competition because it brings the best out of you. England have a great squad with a great bunch of lads, and it’s the same for Arsenal, with fantastic world-class players.”

That’s the spirit lil Theo, forget In-ger-larn for now and focus on somehow getting into a fabulous Arsenal team, start scoring goals and the rest will take care of itself.

Theo Walcott did look quite dangerous when he came on, as he usually does from the bench I guess. He will love the freedom in the front three and I think he will get plenty of joy from making runs inside when the likes of Cesc are on the ball.

Speaking of which, Theo has been speaking very highly of our captain.

Walcott said:

“He is fantastic to play with. He will spot anything. He played the ball to me for my goal and I didn’t have to break my stride. That’s how good he is. He takes that much time to pass it.

“He is still so young and he has a lot of pressure on his shoulders but he is a fantastic person to learn from.

“It is difficult to play amazingly well throughout the whole season. He is only 22 years-old but he has been around for a very long time. He is our captain and he is doing a great job. If he plays like he did against Blackburn, no one will be able to stop him this season.”

To be honest, I almost forgot how good Cesc Fabregas was before that performance. We know that he is a good passer of the ball and can make chances but when he is dictating the game like that then there is no better midfielder in world football. Yes, he needs to score more goals and his shooting probably does not match the rest of his game but it looks like he will be getting into goal scoring positions in this system and cause the opposition many problems.

With so many offensive players along with Cesc’s vision and passing you cannot help but imagine plenty of goals over the course of the season.

Apparently there is a tug of war going on between Arsenal and Chelsea to secure the services of Patrick Vieira. Without even reading the articles I can guess that spotting Vieira at Stamford Bridge would be enough for a lazy hack to rustle up a special story. They may just have missed out the fact that Paddy’s flight was delayed so couldn’t actually get to the Arsenal game on time. These footballers ey? Can’t turn up on time and still manage to get a ticket at another game at late notice. I bet Thierry had a good laugh at him, missing out on a footballing feast to watch something less interesting than paint drying.

So what of this Vieira to return? As a bit part player, someone to pass on his knowledge to the rest of the squad, someone to install that steel that he has then yes, go for it. Especially with Alex Song flying off to do his thing, we could do with another tall, fighter in the middle of playground, I mean park. BUT! when everyone is fit then I would not expect him to be on the pitch unless absolutely necessary.

Vieira is one of my all time favourite players, a true warrior but it is now 2009 and not 2002. What we do not want to see is a shadow of his former self. I have little doubts that Alex Song would outperform Vieira over the course of a season. Rewinding back to ‘that’ Fulham away match, it just shows you that football does not stand still. Players do not stay great forever and you cannot write off a youngster that has not fulfilled his potential.

And with that, I bid you farewell. I hope the sun comes out. I need something to help me through yet another International week. YAWN!

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