Maybe I’m expecting too much but the impression I got when we signed him and the way fellow gooners talk about him is that he is some sort of exceptional talent on par with the likes of Fake Ronaldo

1. After Wednesday, Back to square one?

My biggest concern following the draw against Burnely was the fact that Arsenal had failed to make up any significant ground on the teams ahead/around them. All the good work of Sunday had appeared to have been undone. However, it was important to realise we picked up four points from the two games this week which is the same as Chelsea, one more than United, Sp*rs and Liverpool (I refuse to rule them out of a top four challenge) and three more than City! Only Villa have been able to capitalise with 2 wins from their 2 games.

Without wanting to look as though I am making any excuses or anything, I would also argue that we have had two far more difficult fixtures. Two tough away games ‘oop norf’ in the cold where our frail little lads ‘don’t like it up ’em’ (what does this even mean???) while Chelsea had the comfort of two winnable home fixtures against an Everton side that haven’t got going yet this year and Portsmouth whose many problems have no need to be discussed on Arsenalvision. United had an admittedly tough game against Villa who we all know are no mugs but that was of course balanced out with Wolves’ decision to forfeit their game at Old Trafford and do their xmas shopping instead.

Also, credit where it’s due to Burnley. They played well and have turned Turf Moor into something of a fortress. I say it’s a good point we got there! The collective four points picked up there and Anfield is four more than the current three time champions of England have collected from those two grounds this season…

2. Arshavin

I turned to a friend on Sunday and said ‘imagine how good the little man could be if he actually showed up for more than a five minutes each week’.

On a vaguely serious note, there have been reports that Double A has been playing with an injury which is both commendable and incredibly impressive. In these times when our players drop like the proverbial flies and the slightest knock is enough to rule the average Arsenal player out for months on end, it’s good to know we have a player who literally takes one for the team, plays through the pain and any other random cliché you care to think of. I have mental images of the man sitting in the changing room healing his own wounds with gunpowder in Rambo-esque fashion.

3. Cesc injury

A major concern for me was the last of thrust, penetration and other sexual euphemisms in our attack during the second half against Burnley. Ramsey’s a good prospect but he cannot yet pull the strings at the top level like our Catalan Captain. My feelings about Diaby are well known so I’ll say nothing on him. This is about the same time we lost Senor Fabregas last season and what followed was a period of really depressing goal-less draws. And I mean really depressing. I actually sat in the bathtub with razor blades after the West Ham game… The difference when he went off on Wednesday was glaringly obvious given how good he was from the start so I’m sure you’ll join me in hoping Santa brings us a positive diagnosis about his reported hamstring injury this Christmas.

4. Squad? Strong enough?

If we do lose Cesc for a while, we’re looking at the previously mentioned Ramsey among others to step up to the plate. And once again worryingly, all the insecurities about our young, inexperienced squad will come to the fore. A friend of mine tried to tell me that we are like Liverpool in the sense that we’re as dependant on Cesc and RVP as they are on Gerrard and Torres. After telling him where he could stick his opinions and pushing him down a steep flight of stairs, I actually had a tough time trying to convince myself he was actually wrong. Lose two guys of that quality and any team would struggle but we have to hope we have enough in the tank to cope. However, with the aforementioned Arshavin and Nasri looking like he’s working his way back to the level we know he’s capable of reaching, HOPEFULLY we should be ok.

One player I am sure doesn’t merit a place in the squad is Silvestre. I made a comment earlier in the week about how I’ve never liked the guy so perhaps you could interpret my opinion as bias but even as back up I don’t think he should be an Arsenal player. His performance against Burnley was shocking and he was run ragged by Chris Eagles. He was also very lucky not to give away a penalty in the second half. Do I have any faith in his ability? I think I can categorically say no. We’re very unlucky to have lost THREE left backs but I’d be much, much happier playing Eboue there than the geriatric Man Utd reject.

5. The Theo Walcott Complex

Another playing struggling at the moment is the so-called boy wonder. I read another blog yesterday comparing our Theo to another English flop bought by Wenger in Francis Jeffers and I found myself close to agreeing to some extent. Walcott has had so much time to prove himself and the excuse of being ‘young’ cannot continue. For all the hype surrounding the boy, I and many others, expect a lot better. There are young players all over the world (younger than Theo) who have progressed better than he has. He’s been at Arsenal for nearly four years and his development seems non-existent. If anything, he seems a WORSE player than the kid that used to come on and make the odd cameo back in 06/07.

Maybe I’m expecting too much but the impression I got when we signed him and the way fellow gooners talk about him is that he is some sort of exceptional talent on par with the likes of Fake Ronaldo, his fat granny shagging former team mate or even former Arsenal ledge Terry Henry (all better players when they were ‘young’). I find it an insult to even put Theo in that bracket. He provides no indication he will ever be as good as those players and IF he does progress beyond his current level of crapness, all we’ll have on our hands is an average to almost good player and nothing near the world class-ness we hope for and expect.

Yes, he has a dodgy injury record but so does RVP and he was far more productive, even at Theo’s age, on the few occassions he did play. Comparing chalk and cheese? Maybe but once again, the way people talk about him, you’d think Theo should be better than being the chalk. Or the cheese. That metaphor has always confused me…

6. Almunia – bad goalkeeper.

Not much else to say. Poor decision making, poor kicking, poor keeper. Wenger has tried to defend his pathetic showing for the Liverpool goal by claiming some non-existent flick from Lucas (seen the replays many times. No contact from Lucas for me. Even if for argument’s sake there was a touch from the Liverpool man, it was minimal and didn’t change the flight/trajectory of the ball enough to cause such ridiculous flapping from our keeper.) but I expect the manager to do that. No such excuse could be used on Wednesday when he almost cost us a vital goal but thanks to the linesman’s flag, there was no need.

7. Defending as a team

One of the most positive things to come out of the Liverpool game was the way Arsenal defended as a team in the last half an hour. It was a rare thing to see and quite satisfying to know we could do it. Getting men behind the ball is no crime and the art of defending well can be just as pleasing on the eye as free-flowing attacking football if it means you get the right result. More of the same (particularly in Europe) for the rest of the season please.

8. Our esteemed manager

Monsieur Wenger has been in the news a lot this week. Let’s start with the so-called ‘hairdryer’ at Anfield.
Is it just me or is this much ado about sweet f*ck all? Admittedly, it’s always interesting to get an insight into what goes on behind closed doors but I cant believe how mental everyone has gone about the fact a football manager was unhappy that his side were performing poorly in the first 45 minutes of a game. Ultimately, I don’t believe Cesc should have divulged this to the media in the post match interview but even so, it didn’t deserve the kind of coverage that it ultimately got.

Secondly, Wenger has once again been complaining about fixtures and the Wolves fiasco. Taking the second point first, I don’t feel we have a leg to stand on when it comes to fielding weakened sides and I think that’s pretty much all there is to say on the matter. We do it regularly when prioritising different competitions so it’s wrong to condemn others for doing the same.

As for the fixtures however, I have stated above the difficulty we faced with two away trips so close to one another, not to mention the fact our players had just got back from a long jaunt in Europe. It may sound like sour grapes after a dodgy result but Wenger is well within his rights to pipe up. Moyes said the same earlier in the season and no-one said a word against him but of course, this time around every idiot has to have their say. Typically this includes prize idiot Phil Brown who doesn’t think three games in less than seven days is too much or something like that. This, of course, is very convenient given the fact his side DIDN’T play in midweek giving the moron more time to top on fake tan. Still, I expect him to be very quiet when we collect three points against them tomorrow. Although, I dont know what I’d prefer. Would I like a 7-0 win (we’re overdue) or would I prefer them to have four wrongly disallowed goals and Denilson to score the winner with his hand in the 6th minute of stoppage time (after only two minutes have been indicated) having failed to be sent off earlier in the game for a two footed lunge on one of their nobody players? Ethier way, here’s to three points and a merry christmas to all gooners.

Bring on your abuse…