A great comeback from Eduardo, and four goals for vastly improved Arsenal

What a game. I don’t care what people will say about Cardiff being inferior opposition who didn’t really try. They didn’t, but that’s not the story really. The two stories of the day are how well we played, Eduardo’s return, and how well we played.  Or is that three things?

It was fantastic to see Eduardo back, the crowd warmed to him in some genuinely touching moments, and to score one stunning goal and a good penalty on your first game back from injury is pretty impressive.  I think the whole team seemed to respond to Eduardo who was, for the time that he was on, by far and away the best player on the pitch.

It was all so good, and so easy, that we could afford to laugh heartily at Bendtners amazing double miss, especially fantastic in the light of his comments earlier in the day that he should play every week.  Fantastic stuff and a miss that would have me swearing before, but very funny tonight.

I’m extremely happy.  I hope you are too!

More days without Arsenal, thoughts on sackings, Chelsea and stuff

Well, time for another weekend, which, disappointingly, sees us with no arsenal until the Monday. Which is kind of frustrating, although it will mean that come Monday we will have a game to look forward to!  So then it will be great… hopefully….

In a rather slow news day Wenger has come out and stated that the sackings of Scolari and Adams were too hasty, in his eyes.  A hardly unexpected viewpoint and one that clearly has a great deal of merit.  I’m continually surprised when all the evidence appears to generate that allowing a manager time in a position ensures continuing success that clubs continue to push the panic button.

On the other hand, perhaps it is also important to know when to push the eject button before continued damage is done to your club.  So, um, there’s a definitive opinion for you then. 

Chelsea claiming all sorts of financial difficulties doesn’t really ring true for me, however anything that suggests we may see a return to some level of normality in the transfer market would be a good thing.  Fat chance, though!

It doesn’t look, or feel, good.

There are, undoubtedly, some positives to be drawn from the Spurs game.  We managed to keep a clean sheet, for one.  It is true, I would have to concede, that the defence has improved immeasurably from earlier in the season and the fact that they managed to hold out against fairly relentless attacks for the majority of the game, outnumbered, says a lot for the spirit and character of the defence.

Nonetheless, the way we are playing just isn’t good enough really, is it?  The less said about Eboue the better, while he was clearly one of our best players earlier in the game his inconsistency cost us any chance we really had of getting something out of the game.  That aside, however, did you really feel that we were competing at any stage in the game?  I can’t see it, we certainly didn’t look like a team with the confidence or the ability to win.

I look at the run of results that we’ve had and at the moment I can’t see us catching fourth.  It looks more and more like a pipe dream.  This may be pessimistic but when it looks as if Aston Villa are getting more and more out of sight and our only hope of obtaining fourth is overturning Chelsea, you know you’re in trouble. 

I don’t know exactly what we can do.  I think it will undoubtedly help our cause when key players come back from injury but don’t lets forget that we haven’t been getting the results that we’ve been hoping for all season.  In many ways we are playing better now than we were.  But it doesn’t look like a confident, coherent team at the moment.

Let’s hope things improve. I feel like we narrowly survived on Sunday.  We can’t afford to slip up like that again.

A Relatively Quiet Day

Not a huge amount today going on apart from being completely snowed in. It seems that Steve Coppell laid in to the Arshavin transfer.  As I said yesterday, I really don’t think this is an issue worth worrying about.  It’s a ridiculous talking point for fans but if clubs really believed this to be an issue I think we’d see a proper challenge.  I wait to be proved wrong obviously but I think this is a massive non-issue.

In the mean time we’re edging closer to the north london derby.  Can’t imagine we’ll see Arshavin play on Sunday, but with such a dearth of options in the squad you never know.  Me, I’m hoping that the squad can use the inspiration and the intensity of the derby to find a bit of form.

Enjoy the snow!

Arshavin will be an amazing signing

Well, just as I start blogging again on this site it seems we have made our most exciting signing for some time.  Well, what seems like our ONLY significant signing for some time (I don’t really count Manchester United cast-offs or the crazy Amaury Bischoff).

I know he’s not what we need, I know we really needed a strong CB and a strong defensive midfielder, and we didn’t get either, and I also know that what we have got is a player who is not remotely match fit, not eligible for the champions league, and in reality a player who we will not see much of till the following season.

But it doesn’t stop this being extremely exciting news.  When the signing came through (eventually), I really didn’t care about any of the above.  Make no mistake, Arshavin is an extremely good and exciting player.  This is a big signing that could reinvigorate the team which has not looked like they can challenge for a top four place this season.

Can anybody say that they saw the west-ham game and didn’t think that the team would benefit from an attacking player of arshavin’s stature (small though it is – ha!).  That the half-arsed attitude of the squad couldn;t be improved by the impact of this guy?  I cannot wait for when he is fully match fit.  It’s going to be good.

In the meantime, things following the signing have gone fairly quiet.  Don’t believe all the scandalising following the signing.  This is no Tevez style situation.  It’s not difficult to understand for all parties involved.  The signing was either within the rules or it wasn’t.  And the fact that the Premier League have ratified the transfer tends to suggest that it was.

As to TalkSport commentators demanding that the evidence should be ’shown’, this isn’t a public service issue.  Its entirely an issue for the clubs and the league.  None of the rest of us have a right to sift through transfer paperwork!

Some stuff about the AGM and West-Ham

Well, as I briefly referenced last night, the AGM took place yesterday and there was a fair amount to discuss.  I have already mentioned the report that a new MD will be appointed “shortly”, also discussed was:

 

1. Eduardo, as stated, is set to return to the club in about three weeks.  Great news for the player and the club.
2. Arsene Wenger talked about the need for more vocal support at the Emirates.  This is a debate that could run and run, most people are aware that the atmosphere at the ground can be quiet at times.  There is now a level of expectation built around the team that is so high that when we are playing poorly against a team in the lower echelons of the division it is difficult to get vocally behind the team.  But also there is no doubt that this is required. 
3. The chairman assured fans that the club won’t immediately sell to foreign owners, but carefully worded to not rule it out completely.  He did say that “Arsenal runs through [his] blood”, as to emphasise the point.  The rehabilitation of Stan Cerazee Kroenke continues with him being officially introduced as a member of the board.

 

Other points discussed were the potential for January signings, though I still believe that this is unlikely unless an extraordinary player becomes available.  This would have to be a player who wasn’t cup-tied as well, it would go against previous form for the club to purchase a player cup-tied for the remainder of the season surely?

 

The trip to West-Ham on Sunday may see the return of Gallas and Toure.  Needless to say this is a game that we have to win.  West-Ham haven’t had a brilliant start to the season but this remains a London derby and our relatively poor start makes it imperative that we must attempt to stay the pace wth the leaders.  We shouldn’t look to other results too much but a draw between Chelsea and Liverpool would be very very good for us, so here’s hoping.

 

The trip to West-Ham is ahead of the North London derby next week as we all know and some confidence going in to that game would be good.  We need to be in top form for that game as Spurs may see that game as a chance to really come out of the blocks and build some confidence for their season.  Lets hope we can continue their run of bad, really bad, form!  

How good is this?

Just a quick post to say how much I am enjoying spurs’ form at the moment!

I hope I don’t live to regret saying that next wednesday!

The Croat is back… nearly….

Well, the latest word from the Arsenal web-site is that Eduardo is looking to be back at some time in November.

 

This is some great news, both personally for the player and for the club in general.  We certainly have an abundance of people who can score now and adding Eduardo, a player with those “fox in the box” capabilities that are so often talked about, to the mix can only help the cause.

 

I think, and this is speaking as someone who has suffered a major and similar injury, that we should however be patient.  It will still take the player a long time, I would expect, to return to regular playing time.

 

Also of interest is how, with a growing list of available strikers, Wenger will manage to continue the growth and development of players like Bentdner and especially Carlos Vela behind them who are now one more name from the team sheet.

New MD to be appointed “quite” shortly

Well, the AGM has taken place and while there doesn’t seem to be much concrete to report yet the Arsenal web-site have seen fit to publish this under the headline New MD set to be appointed fairly shortly.

 

The article itself appears to be less of an announcement and more a defence of the process that Arsenal are using to find a new MD.  I don’t think there’s anything especially noteworthy in this, Arsenal is a steady well run ship really and can afford to take its time in finding a new MD who can ensure that the good work is continued.

 

When more information comes out I’ll try and report in more detail, but those interested can find a boring selection of pictures on the official website.  I can’t even be bothered to reference it.

He is coming along fine

Arsenal’s AGM takes place today .  The Telegraph has a piece on how Uzbeki saint Usmanov will be supporting the Stan “Cerazee” Kroenke resolutions as he assumes a place on the board.  I’m not sure how important this is and it appears to be more of a PR piece propagated by Red & White to show how good everybody is being and how supportive our Uzbeki saint is.

 

Amaury Bischoff has played a full 90 minutes of reserve team football.  An awe-struck Neil Banfield said, apparently,

 

He is coming along fine.

 

I’m not sure I agree with the people who say that they “can’t wait to see” this guy.  It’s odd, I’m not even curious.  There are plenty of young and new people who I “can’t wait to see” a demonstration of their skills.  But this injury-ravaged man isn’t one of them.  Why would that be?  I’m sure he’ll play a few games of reserve team football and then disappear once his contract has finished. 

 

That old Almunia for England story again.  This is boring and pointless.  I can’t see it ever really happening though there should be no good reason why he shouldn’t if he assumes citizenship.

 

More news and a preview of the weekends games tomorrow!