Goal of the Year

We all know that the team has scored some breath-taking strikes this season, but which one is the top one? I had some real trouble picking, but the main ones for me are some of the Nasri strikes, he's surely becoming something special, or rather, he is something special! But as mentioned, there has been many good ones, can you pick just one? Or do you, like me, log in on several different computers or cell phones to vote for more than one?

Arsenal vs. Chelsea

3-1, Premier League, Emirates, 27/12 -10
Song 44,
Fabregas 50,
Walcott 53

What a result, what an evening, it was just pure magic! Not just the fact that we beat Chelsea pretty comfortably, but the performance from the lads was just amazing, we really played as a unit out on the pitch, and I can't wait to keep watching us if this is how it will look in the future!
The two players that to me (and probably to most others as well) truly made the difference was Fabregas and Walcott (the captain was awarded the man of the match award after the game, but he said that it was for both him and Theo, as they had some real good connection in this game), but the entire team really stepped up and helped each other out, as I mentioned it was just magic to watch them play.

As expected it was really tight in the first half, Nasri had the best chance for us, but his lovely effort was turned over the bar by Cech.
We broke the deadlock though, with one minute to go of the first half Song got an opportunity, and he certainly didn't waste it. We had some play in the box and the ball eventually bounced to Song, but just before the ball got to Song Fabregas was brought down, and after the game the ref told Cesc that if Song wouldn't have scored we would have been given a penalty, so nothing to complain about concerning that!

We came out shining in the second half, and thanks to some great understanding between Walcott and Fabregas we were given a two-nil lead! But let's take one thing at the time, the second goal came when, after some battling in the centre by van Persie, the ball got to Walcott on the wing, and he did some speeded away from his defender and passed the ball brilliantly to Fabregas, who just had to tap it in!
For the third one the two switched places and Fabregas turned provider as Walcott snatched the ball from Malouda, quickly got the ball to Fabregas who didn't let us down with another amazing pass, and Walcott finished the move off with a great shot! Truly Spectacular!

Chelsea grabbed a goal four minutes later from a free kick, but never got particularly close to recover, so we, quite comfortably, managed to get the three points and a great morale boosting win!

Injury Update;
-Diaby came on to play for about fifteen minutes in this game, so he's finally back!
-Vermaelen is expected to return at the end of january, so the squad seems to be getting back to normal!

Not an injury but Cesc Fabregas will miss the trip to Wigan as he has been given five yellow cards and is suspended for one game.

SOS Charity Event

Recently the first team went to an SOS Charity Event to help raise money for children in need, the partners of Fabregas, Van Persie and Vermaelen have all been working together for this worthy cause, and here's some pics from the event!

Champions League Draw, Postponements & BBC Awards

Yeah, a pretty eventful weekend, which saw all but two Premier League games postponed, and if it isn't the first time then it is one of the first times that Emirates has had to cancel a game due to the weather. So we will face Stoke on another occasion.

There were four possible teams that we could get in the CL Draw, Schalke, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona. Naturally we were drawn against Barcelona, though I won't look at it in a bad way, so what if they're considered the best team in the world, on our day we can totally beat them!

This weekend at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year event, out skipper were awarded the pleasure of handing out the rewards!

Arsenal vs. Partizan Belgrade

3-1, Champions League, Emirates, 8/12 -10
van Persie 29 (pen),
Walcott 73,
Nasri 77

I'm really thankful that we made it through, we certainly never truly showed up for this game it seemed, it most certainly was one of the worst offensive displays of the season.
But we're in the knock-out stages of the Champions League yet again, and as we got second in the group the teams that we could face in the next round is either Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Schalke. So we're heading to either Spain or Germany.

The game was honestly rather slow all through, the opener came when van Persie was brought down in the box, and he took off where he left things before his injury by scoring another brilliant penalty!
We had a couple of chances before the end of the first half, but we were really unlucky to concede instead just after the break as a shot came off Squillaci's leg to change direction and head into goal.

But on came Theo Walcott to win the game for us, when the ball bounced back right in his path he quickly got a shot away that went straight for goal!
A while later Samir sealed the game with another brilliant strike, he seems to have ice in his veins nowadays!

So we got away with a bad result, but we really need to improve as the next game up is at Old Trafford.

Injury Update:
-Gibbs, who started the game, had to leave the pitch during the first half as he twisted his ankle, and he will most certainly miss the United game.
-Both Diaby and Fabregas are unlikely to feature against United.
-Djourou had to sit this game out due to a knee injury, and I don't know whether he will be back for the trip to Manchester.



One of the Swedish reporters managed to get hold of Theo after the game, it may not be a major interview, but its better than nothing!

Arsenal vs. Fulham

2-1, Premier League, Emirates, 4/12 -10
Nasri 14, 75

WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE!!

I'm actually in Zurich over the weekend, I was pretty lucky to get to see the match at all, we managed to find a good old british pub 5 minutes before kick off, and it was packed with Arsenal supporters!
It was quite an atmosphere actually, it got especially noisy when Nasri scored our two goals, and not to mention when Everton equalized at Stamford Bridge, some minutes before the game was over!

Nasri has really been amazing this season! He shone in the first half, involved in everything we had going forward, and Nasri opened the scoring with some amazing skill, he feinted his way passed two defenders in the box before sending a powerful strike straight into goal!
We had lots of great chances before Fulham equalized, and we got especially close when Samir showed some more skill to get passed his defender, and even though he lost a shoe in the progress he managed to get the ball in, but Arshavin was just a little bit too far away.

It was really harsh for us when Fulham equalized, not just considering the chances that we had created, but as well since the only reason Kamara came free enough to score was due to a head injury to Koscielny, who was carried off on a stretcher as the Fulham players celebrated. In came Djourou, representing Switzerland in this game as Senderos, who has joined Fulham, is injured. Actually, he was watching the game with our injured skipper, they were roommates when Cesc just came to England, and clearly good friends still.
Another familiar face spotted on the sidelines was Therry Henry, it's always nice to know that former legends can take some time off to come to the Emirates and watch the team play, that way you know that they still care about the club.

In the second half we found it more difficult to create good goalscoring opportunities, one reason to that could perhaps be that Samir was not nearly as influential, it feels like he has had those kind of games before, where he is absolutely stunning in the first half, but doesn't really show up for the second one.. But that is probably just all in my head, I mean, he did score didn't he?
And it was quite a good one! Nasri recieved the ball from RvP (who has done really well since coming back, but isn't really at his best yet), and as he got past both defender and goalkeeper and got a bit too far out you started thinking, well that's a chance spoiled, but no, he turned quickly and got a shot away at once, which went straight for goal!!

After that we just had to keep things tight which we managed really well, so this time we didn't spoil a chance to go top!

Injury Update;
-Koscielny got a concussion, so far it is not known how long he will be out though.
-Almunia has suffered a small setback in training, so he is still not available for selection.
-Cesc is uncertain for the Man Utd game, but it seems as though he is progressing well.
-Diaby and Vermaelen is still out for an unknown amount of time.

Carling Cup Draw, World Cup vote and Goal of the Month

Yeah, a quite eventful day in the football world, but the major event of the day must have been the World Cup Vote! I'm not going to hold it in anymore, the world cup of 1018 goes to Russia! and the world cup of 2022 goes to Qatar! Disappointment for England as their bid was beaten by Russia's, but at least I got to hear a very good speech by Arshavin, who played a big part in Russia's bid, as he is captain of their national team, but is unfortunately not likely to play in that world cup.

We will face Ipswich Town in the semi finals of the Carling Cup, an exciting two legged final which will begin in Ipswich.

The goal of the month video came out today as it is the start of a new month, and my vote went to Samir's against Tottenham, as I think that it was a sublime finish! But Theo's strike at Donetsk came close as well, have a look yourself:

Arsenal vs. Wigan

2-0, Carling Cup, Emirates, 30/11 -10
Alcaraz 41 (og),
Bendtner 67

We never played truly convincing during the game, we created lots of chances but most of them were wasted, but nevertheless, we're in the semi finals!
Van Persie started this game, the first start for quite some time, and he did well, obviously he's not in top shape yet, but he had some great touches and free kicks during the game, so it looks like he's getting there!

The game started very slow, actually, it was pretty slow all through the 90 minutes, but we had some moments when we played great football and created lots of chances.
We deserved to go ahead before half time, even though it was a Wigan own goal, it was headed in by Alcaraz, from Theo's corner.

Our second goal was a bit better, van Persie started the attack by playing the ball wide to Vela, who's cross found Bendtner, and he managed to get it past the Wigan 'keeper.
So it wasn't our best game ever, but it was enough to get us into the last four in the league cup.

Injury update;
-no news as it is right now.

Aston Villa vs Arsenal

4-2, Premier League, Villa Park, 27/11 -10
Arshavin 38,
Nasri 44,
Chamakh 55,
Wilshere 90

Three vital points, not just to remain in the title race, but as well to get back on track, as we've had a pretty poor week.
And I believe that the goal right at the end to seal the game was Wilshere's first Premier League strike for Arsenal, the first of many to come we hope.

We completely dominated the first half and had tons of chances, but it took quite some time for us to break the deadlock, but when we did, we did it with style, Andrey got some space on the left, and for Villa, that proved fatal, he managed to get a shot away, even though he had three defending players ahead of him, and even though Friedel got a hand on the ball, it wasn't enough.
Just before half time we extended the lead through Nasri, and his volley from a corner went straight for goal! He really has been top this season.

The second half started just as last weekend, only this time just after the score went to 2-1, we made it 3-1! Chamakh managed to squeeze the ball past Friedel after a great pass from Rosicky.
Then Villa got back once again to 3-2, but this time we held on great and in the last minute Wilshere scored a low header, though the thanks goes to Chamakh, who was really unselfish when deciding to pass the ball to Wilshere instead of going for it himself.

Injury Update;
-Cesc looks to be out for at least two weeks & Eboue looks to be out for four weeks
-No other news really, van Persie, Bendtner and Walcott are all working hard to get into top shape.

Braga vs. Arsenal

0-2, Champions League, 23/11 -10

There have been better times to support the Arsenal, but unfortunately you can't pick when you want to support and when you just don't.
After a tough weekend we were looking to bounce back by securing the qualification to the knock-out stages in the Champions League, but courtesy of the ref that proved impossible.

We were dominant throughout the game, but didn't have too many chances, with 22 minutes to go Cesc got a recurrence of the hamstring problem that's been haunting him lately, and when we had made all three substitutions Eboue had to be carried off on a stretcher after a bad tackle from behind.
So when Carlos Vela got brought down in the box with fifteen minutes to go, it surely was defining for the game, but not in our favor, no, even though they have two extra referees watching the box in the CL, they couldn't tell when Vela was brought down, they decided that it was a dive and booked him! It really is a disgrace, they have put in extra referees just to avoid these kind of situations!!

And then things went straight down for us, again....

Everton vs. Arsenal

2-1, Premier League, Goodison Park, 14/11 -10
Sagna 35,
Fabregas 47

Three very big points gained in this game, three big points gained in midweek, as well as Chelsea losing and both Manchester United and Manchester City dropping points too, it's been a good week after an extremely bad week for us.
As mentioned I have been away, and it seems the squad was a bit away as well, but now we're back on track after two vital wins!
Marouane Chamakh scored in the first and last minute against Wolves to win the game for us, but credit to Lukasz Fabianski for keeping us in in both of the games!

The first half was even, but looking at the chances that both teams created, ours were slightly better, so we deserved to go into the second half being 1-0 up.
The goal was very well taken, from the one person you probably wouldn't expect to score, Sagna pops up in the box and beautifully scores from a tight angle! His second goal in 147 appearances for the club, with Andrey setting up the goal nicely.

We got exactly what we needed immediately after the break, some quick passes at the edge of the box suddenly gave captain Cesc Fabregas enough space to get a shot away, and it went straight for the far post.
After that we looked quite comfortable, until the last five minutes, then Everton started to build up pressure and eventually (naturally) got a goal, but we dug in and managed to get away with the three points, and as both Chelsea and United dropped points, we are not only two points away from Chelsea, but also in 2nd place!

Injury Update;
-Gibbs returned to the bench for this game, and he, Wilshere and Walcott have all been called up to the England squad for the France game.
-Still no news about the Vermaelen situation.
-Diaby is getting closer to a comeback, the same goes for Almunia.

Arsenal vs. West Ham

1-0, Premier League, Emirates, 30/10 -10
Song 88

Frustrating, frustrating and a bit more frustrating, but in the end Song came to the rescue! But it wasn't like we played bad, it was West Ham that played extremely well, basically always in position and barely giving us time to breathe.

There really isn't much else to mention, we had all the possession, they had a couple of chances on the break, but we were the ones who deserved to win, considering the number of goal-scoring chances and possession.
The first half was the most even one, in the second half we were a lot faster and creating more and more chances, one of Nasri's freekicks hit the bar, and Walcott got past the entire defense, only to see his shot bounce off the post into the hands of Robert Green.

But in the end our patience paid off and a lot of credit for the goal should go to Clichy, who came in from the left to provide with an amazing pass for Song to head home!
After that all we had to do was see the game out, which we did and another three valuable points have been earned.

Injury Update;
-for once I have no real news on this department,



I'll be going for a trip to Malaysia and Thailand tomorrow, so won't be able to write about the next couple of games, think that the next game I will be able to write about is the one against Wolves in about two weeks time.

Newcastle vs. Arsenal

4-0, Premier League, St James' Park, 27/10 -10
Krul 45 (og),
Walcott 53, 88,
Bendtner 82

Really tough game, but thanks to a Newcastle own goal at the end of the first half gave us the upper hand ahead of the second half, which sealed the game in a way, as Newcastle found themselves exposed at the back when pushing forward.
Poor Gibbs picked up another injury after a couple of minutes, and it is likely to keep him out for a few weeks.

The game was very even for long periods of the game, we had a lot of possession, but Newcastle created as many chances as us, it provided with an interesting game that went pretty much backwards and forwards all the time, with plenty of chances for both sides.
And that really sums up the first half, with us having quite some luck to go into halftime as 1-0 leaders.

In the second half we were the better team and everything Newcastle threw at us, either Szczesny or the defense dealt with, and it really must be mentioned that the young Polish 'keeper was outstanding in this game, and sure looks like something for the future.
It didn't take too long for us to take the lead, when Krul kicked the ball across the field, the ball was then nodded back across the field, and there Theo picked up the ball, just ran away from everyone and finished the move off with a cheeky finish!
The game was sealed with eight minutes left, Fabregas (who entered the game in the second half) gave the ball to Bendtner out on the left, he moved to a more central position before unleashing a fierce shot that went straight for the top corner! Surely one of his best goals yet.
And to finish the evening off in fine style Walcott got his brace, when Cesc Fabregas spotted the young Englishman on the move he provided with another breath-taking assist, and Theo did not let us down with the finish!

Injury Update;
-Gibbs looks to be out for a few weeks as a result of the knee injury he picked up in the game
-Both van Persie and Ramsey will return to full training next week, though some fitness training is still necessary
-Almunia is still one or two weeks away, though it is not sure whether he will take the no 1 spot at once when he returns, as Fabianski has done extremely well in his absence, and Szczesny is looking promising.

Manchester City vs. Arsenal

3-0, Premier League, City of Manchester Stadium, 24/10 -10
Nasri 20,
Song 65,
Bendtner 88

Great game, for the neutral watcher that is, if it would have stayed at one or two nil any longer I think I would have gotten a heart attack.
It would seem as though the game was an easy win, considering the 3-0 as well as the fact that it was 11 vs. 10 in our favor from the fifth minute, but those three points were most certainly hard fought for! But an amazing win for us that keeps us in the title race and currently on second place (with both United and City at the same amount of points, but our goal difference is slightly better).

After just a minute or so Silva had a great chance to score, but Fabianski pulled out a great save, to keep us in it.
Then Boyata was shown red when he brought down Chamakh just outside the box, preventing the moroccan to be clean through.
The game stayed very even, with both teams creating chances, but we had the cutting edge, after some great work between Arshavin and Nasri, the latter got enough space to get a shot from a tight angle, and it went in!
Before the first half was over we were awarded a penalty when Fabregas was harshly brought down at the edge of the box, though for once he didn't manage to convert it, inevitably raising Man City's spirits, but we held out and came back stronger after the break.

Though it started out even as well, but we were sharper on the day and just about midway through the second half Song fired away an amazingly well taken goal, it went straight for the top corner!
It felt as though City more or less gave up after that and we could play the ball around for pretty much the rest of the game, but City did have some dangerous counters, so we couldn't exactly sit back.
Two minutes from time Bendtner finished off a great move in style, as Nasri balanced the ball on the line, he managed to get past the defender and provide with an amazing through ball to Bendtner, who cooly slotted home his first goal of the season, and we got an excellent win over Manchester City.

Injury Update;
-Diaby was intended to start todays game, but he got injured just before kick off, don't know how bad it is though.
-Fabregas was substituted towards the end of the game, but most probably just due to tiredness.

Just spotted this on Mirror Football;
It seems Cesc Fabregas was not as impressed by his own performance as everyone else. The Arsenal skipper was handed the Man of the Match champagne after the game but was not convinced he deserved it. "How can I be the Man of the Match?" he asked, "I missed a penalty." He's his own harshest critic you know.

And don't we all love him for it?
Anyway, here is a link for the entire interview at skysports;
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_6467581,00.html

Arsenal vs. Shakhtar Donetsk

5-1, Champions League, Emirates, 19/10 -10
Song 19,
Nasri 42,
Fabregas 59 (pen),
Wilshere 66,
Chamakh 69
(Eduardo 82)

Amazing stuff yet again from us in the Champions League, and an emotional return for Eduardo, and he grabbed a goal at the end that was celebrated by the entire Emirates! Just adore the way the Arsenal fans can give him such support, which Eduardo fully deserves.
Fabregas returned for this game, another reason to celebrate as well as the return of our captain was that Walcott came in at the end, and looked quite fresh actually.

The beginning of the first half was really tight, with both teams passing the ball around nicely, though we were invited into the game when the Shakhtar 'keeper dropped the ball when collecting it from a corner, Djourou quickly got it to Song, who scored from close-range!
The second came just before the break, and this time Song provided the goal, his brilliant cross reached Nasri, who got past a defender and fired a great shot at goal.

At the start of the second half Fabianski kept the Ukrainians out when one of their players got a bit too much space in our box, but a brilliant save from Fabianski kept our two-goal cushion.
Fabregas added to the tally 14 minutes into the second half, after Djourou was brought down in the box the captain smashed another penalty home, he sure is getting good at it! He took the opportunity to congratulate his mother, most probably for her birthday or something.

Then the rest of the goals came rather quickly, within ten minutes we were 5-0 up, first Wilshere scored his first Champions League game (he was also voted man of the match by the fans, me included), Chamakh opened up some space for him and after an exchange of passes with Rosicky he delicately chipped the ball over the 'keeper.
Three minutes later Chamakh finished the Arsenal goals with one that I seriously think is one of my favorite goals for a long time, Nasri played the ball in towards Chamakh who, along with everyone else, thought that he was offside, so when he received the ball he took a long look out towards the linesman but when the flag didn't come up, he quickly forced the ball past the 'keeper and scored another goal for us, he really has been a brilliant signing.

Eduardo rounded things up in the 82nd minute, and it really felt great to hear all the fans celebrating for him, though I never like it when we concede.

Injury Update;
-Things are looking on the up, as we now can remove players such as Fabregas, Walcott, Gibbs and Bendtner from the injury list.
-Van Persie still has quite some time on the sidelines to go, while returns for Vermaelen, Sagna, Koscielny and Almunia doesn't seem too far away!



PS. are watching the evening's Champions league matches, and Tottenham are 4-0 down against Inter! And the first half isn't even over yet!

Arsenal vs. Birmingham City

2-1, Premier League, Emirates, 16/10 -10
Nasri 41 (pen),
Chamakh 47

Great to be winning again, not so great not to seal the game when we had all the possession and tons of chances.
But I believe that we will put that right next week when we face both Shakhtar Donetsk and Manchester City, and since both Chelsea and Manchester United dropped points we will be at least on third place after this round, which doesn't seem too bad considering the recent results.
Both Walcott, Gibbs and Bendtner were back for this game, though all of them started on the bench, and only the latter was introduced late on in the game, but it feels great to see some of the injured ones return, we'll definitely need them.

Things didn't start too well though, after 33 minutes Birmingham scored, but then we began to pressure them and got closer and closer, eventually Chamakh was brought down in the box and Nasri scored from the penalty spot.
After that it was all Arsenal and early on the second half Chamakh scored the winner, and it must be one of the most beautiful goalscoring moves I have ever seen, first Song flicks the ball over a Birmingham player to get it to Wilshere, who quickly played it to Chamakh, and he somehow managed to get past Carr, round the 'keeper, and score!
A really special goal, and vital as well!

After that, as mentioned, we had all the possession and tons of chances but didn't manage to seal the game, so it was a bit nervy to the end, but we managed to keep it tight and get the three points, though Wilshere was really unlucky when he mistimed a tackle at the end and received a red card for it, he was so great during the entire game, but unfortunately he had to end the game a bit early, though he has vowed to learn from it!

Injury Update;
-Both Sagna and Koscielny picked up injuries ahead of the game, Sagna is expected to be back within ten days, though it is still uncertain when Koscielny will be back.
-Vermaelen's achilles injury is likely to keep him out for ten more days.
-Van Persie will be out for longer than ten more days it seems..
-On a brighter note Fabregas has a chance to return for the Shakhtar clash, but if he doesn't make it for that game, he will most probably return against Manchester City.
-And as mentioned Gibbs, Walcott and Bendtner all returned to this game, so it is looking on the up!

Chelsea vs. Arsenal

0-2, Premier League, Stamford Bridge, 3/10 -10

Ahead of the game I felt rather sure that we wouldn't get any points from this game, due to the thousands of injuries that seems to mounting up around us like mountains, so that way I was going to make sure I didn't expect anything.
Rather naive in the end, I have tried it a couple of times and it rarely works, and today was no exception, I was foolishly led to believe that we could at least get a point when I saw how great we played, created chances and kept some possession.
Though it turned up to be just as usual, us creating and playing nice, and them grabbing the goals.. My personal opinion is that it is down to luck, we don't have any luck at all in the final third, and everyone knows that to score goals, especially against these top teams, you'll need luck.
Fabianski played the game of his life and was not to blame for the two goals, he kept us in the game for 88 minutes or something like that, so cheers to him.

Not really much else to say, now it is a international break, and after that I actually hope to see some of our stars back, as it is almost two weeks until our next game.
We now have a seven point gap to pick up, after just seven games... Looks like we'll be the ones to catch up for another season.

Injury Update:
-Cesc almost made it to this game, so I'm counting on him to be back for the next game against Birmingham in two weeks.
-Both Robin and Theo was reported to be out until mid-october, and that has definitely passed when we play Birmingham in our next game, so with some luck they'll both be back!
-the Verminator on the other hand could be out for even longer, no one's sure how long he'll be yet though.
-Gibbs picked up an injury against Partizan, and will probably be out for two to three weeks.

September Goal of the Month

My vote went to Cesc's rather unusual strike at Sunderland, the reason to why I voted for that one? Simply just because it was rather bizarre! You don't get to see too many of those in a lifetime.

Partizan Belgrade vs. Arsenal

3-1, Champions League, FK Partizan Stadium, 28/9 -10
Arshavin 14,
Chamakh 70,
Squillaci 82

We definitely had the right attitude coming into this game, unlike at the weekend, but really, even though we have like tons of injuries we fought for the three points, which is something we totally have to bring into the Chelsea clash.

Almunia picked up an injury from the last game, so Fabianski started the game between the posts, and he had a great game! Even though he only had something really vital to do thrice, once when Partizan were awarded with their first penalty, he failed then, but late in the game he pulled out a save against their second penalty, and just after that penalty he saved brilliantly from close range.

The beginning of the first half was really slow, then came the goal, a beautiful back-heel from Wilshere cleared room for Arshavin to score, and with it we began to gain possession and start dictating the game, but we were unlucky when a cross hit Denilson's arm, after that we slowly got back in the game, but it took quite some time before we managed to have our breakthrough.

In the second half we pretty much took off where we left off, and after fifteen minutes we were awarded a penalty when Chamakh was brought down in the box, Arshavin stepped up to the spot, but his effort was all power and went straight at the legs of the 'keeper, but at least we had a numerical advantage by then, as the player that brought down Chamakh was shown red.

We were getting closer and closer to the second goal after that, and eventually it came when Chamakh headed the ball at the bar, but the rebound went our way and Chamakh could then easily head the ball into the empty net.

Before the end there were three eventful moments, first our goal, Squillaci opens his account for the club with a fine header after a fine performance.

But then it was all Fabianski, for us at least, first he made a great save from a penalty (a really cheap one as well, Gibbs clearly got the ball away first) and then Lukasz pulled out another great save to deny Partizan a way back into the game.

Injury Update:

-Both Cesc and Thomas has a chance to be back in time for the Chelsea game, but to be honest I don't think that the odds are on our side, at least not concerning Fabregas.

-Gibbs were back for this game, and looked as good as ever.

-Almunia might be back for the Chelsea clash, though it is uncertain at the moment.

Arsenal vs. West Bromwich

2-3, Premier League, Emirates Stadium, 25/9 -10
Nasri 76, 90

We were really poor troughout the entire game, almost completed a nice fightback though, was really down for a while, but then just thought what the heck, it doesn't matter whether they suck or not, i'll just end up watching them again anyway.
Though there is one thing still not quite right with my mind after a defeat, I don't feel hungry, I haven't eaten for almost ten hours at time of writing, and do not feel like eating a shit, and the only fluid I drank during those ten hours was a glass of water when I got home from the stable.

Champions League game midweek, then a vital trip to Chelsea, with some luck we might have the Verminator and Cesc back in time for the Chelsea clash, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Good news is that Chelsea lost away against Man City today, so we haven't lost any ground on them at least...

I don't feel like writing, and no Arsenal fan could possibly want to read anymore about this game, Nasri is beginning to find top form though.

Tottenham vs. Arsenal

1-1 (ET 4-1), Carling Cup 4th round, White Hart Lane, 21/9 -10
Lansbury 15,
Nasri 91 (pen), 95 (pen),
Arshavin 105

As one of the fans said after the game, "Winning 4-1 at White Hart Lane is like winning silverware itself!", and I can say that I agree, but it is unfortunately not quite at the same level as winning silverware, but let's just enjoy the moment while it lasts!
Wenger served a one-match ban that he picked up at Sunderland in the last game, but after the game Rosicky said with a laugh that he didn't even notice that the boss weren't on the bench until half-time!
It was also revealed after the game that the reason Nasri didn't take the penalty against Sunderland was that he had this superstition that the one who was brought down should not take the penalty, but he got over that and scored two brilliant penalties in extra-time, the first one after he had been brought down himself!

We completely outplayed Tottenham in the first half, and the goal from Lansbury came after some great playing by Rosicky and Wilshere, the young Englishman's cross was easily converted from six yards.
If you wonder the squad was rather mixed, in the starting line-up there were the likes of Nasri, Rosicky, Denilson, Wilshere, Lansbury and Djourou amongst other.
We also had one goal disallowed for offside on Gibbs, when the replay showed that he was by far onside!

And the referees participation wasn't any better at the start of the second half, when Keane scored for Tottenham, from a crystal clear offside position.
After that the second half was very tight, with us having the most possession, but it was in extra time that we showed which team has the stamina for these type of games, Nasri was pulled down in the box and converted the penalty himself, just four minutes later Chamakh was harshly pulled down as well and Nasri converted another penalty, which more or less sealed the game.
Before Arshavin settled the scoring after a fine pass by Wilshire Gibbs hobbled off, and it is still unsure how long he will be away.

Injury Update;
-Cesc Fabregas will miss two - three weeks of action after picking up a hamstring injury against Sunderland, which ultimately means that he may miss the Chelsea trip at the start of October.
-Gibbs' injury wasn't a broken leg as first feared, which means that it will be more short-term, hopefully he will be back before we know it !

Sunderland vs. Arsenal

1-1, Premier League, Stadium of Light, 18/9 -10

Fabregas 12

First heartache of the season, I had completely forgot the feeling, it feels like you've been stabbed and it spreads all over your body, I haven't missed it, that's for sure..

If you just read the result you might think that I overreact quite a bit, I mean a point away against Sunderland doesn't sound too bad if you hadn't watched the game..

There were 4 minutes of added time, they score in the 95th minute.. All I can think is fecking fecking referee...

One thing you always now but never will accept is how unfair football can be, cruel and unfair is what it is in the end...

The first thing I said, and surely many other fans out there, when we were awarded the penalty with 17 minutes to go was "we have to nail this one", and when I saw the penalty taker, sorry Rosicky, I adore you but also now that you aren't the most prolific goal scorer we have, I thought at once why? why? why? why?!

Sometimes you can just feel that something somewhere is going to go really wrong, and that was what I felt when I saw the no. 7 lining up to take the penalty that would virtually seal the game. (Cesc had to leave the pitch after less than thirty minutes, due to an injury(!) and Arshavin, who usually takes them when the captain isn't available, was substituted just before).

I had actually expected someone like Nasri (or why not Chamakh?) to take it, but that wasn't the case and this time, maybe it should have been, for had that penalty gone in, I'm 100 percent sure we would have got the three points.

And one other thing that was defining was that Song was sent off just eleven minutes into the second half after picking up two yellow cards.

So the team fought like heroes every single minute of the game, but when the game had passed 94 minutes and Sunderland were allowed to lift it back into our box everything fell apart, and I'm honestly still having trouble to fight off the burning anger I feel everytime I think about it, we deserved so much more than that fecking referee permitted. Phil Dowd, that's a name I shall never think kindly of again.

Unfortunately I do not feel like writing about our goal, but can just mention that Cesc interrupted a pass and it bounced into the net.

Injury Update;

-I know nothing about Cesc's injury yet, hopefully nothing serious though... But it wouldn't surprise me if it would end his season, considering the luck we seem to have on the injury department.

Arsenal vs. Braga

6-0, Premier League, Emirates, 16/9 -10
Fabregas 9 (pen), 53,
Arshavin 30,
Chamakh 34,
Vela 69, 84

Football is pure magic, when played correctly it can even get my dad (diehard united fan) to urge Cesc Fabregas to shoot to complete a hat-trick for the Arsenal.

Though Cesc didn't shoot himself, he provided an assist for Vela in the 84th minute of the game, but to me that makes him even greater than if he would have scored a hat-trick, it just shows all that is Arsenal, and who is better suited to show that than the captain himself!
This surely is one of the best games I have seen us play during the two years I have supported Arsenal, and that was achieved without the likes of van Persie, Walcott & Vermaelen (and many others).
Wilshere really proved his worth in this game, playing for the entire 90 minutes and being one of the best on the pitch, really impressive stuff. Another youngster proving that he is striving to get into the starting eleven was Carlos Vela, coming in with 27 minutes to go and showing some nice finishing.

We played fantastic throughout the entire game, a very direct football, especially in the first half, which in the end led to many brilliant goals.
The first came from the penalty spot though, Chamakh was brought down in the box (does it ring a bell? (Blackpool)) and Fabregas converted the penalty in fine style.

Arshavin has struggled a bit in the past couple of weeks, but is still scoring some goals, and he looked really good in the second half, he made it two-nil after half an hour, Cesc Fabregas providing the assist.

The third one game just four minutes after Arshavin's strike, and this was quite a beauty, Fabregas spotted Chamakh at the edge of the box, Marouane quickly played it to Wilshere who played it back in an instant, and Chamakh didn't need more time to score his first goal for Arsenal with his feet, he has now scored in the last three games and I dare say that he will be vital for us in the future, really an amazing signing from mr Wenger.

In the second half we kept things rolling and it didn't take too long for us to score again, this time the captain grabbed his second, with his head! It was quite a surprise, but you have to give most of the credit to Andrey, an amazing pass that made things too easy for Cesc.

Arshavin wasn't done assisting though, just before he was substituted he cleverly poked a ball in the path of Vela, who didn't let anyone down with the finish! (actually he scored with a small chip).

As the game was running towards it's end (unfortunately), Fabregas received a cross and had a great opportunity to complete a hat-trick, but instead he passed it to Vela who sealed the game with a cool finish at the near-post.

We were really effective in this game and had a much more direct attacking football than previously, it sure was a very exciting game.

Injury Update;

-Vermaelen and Diaby are both set to feature against West Brom next week, though for Diaby it might be longer.

Arsenal vs. Bolton

4-1, Premier League, Emirates, 11/9 -10
Koscielny 23,
Chamakh 60,
Song 78,
Vela 83

The game was a lot harder than the score board shows, but in the end a comfortable win at the Emirates.
Ahead of the game we received lots of injuries, not so surprising since it has been a week of internationals, Theo will be gone for 4-6 weeks after picking up an ankle injury against Switzerland, huge blow for us but it didn't end there, Vermaelen picked up an Achilles injury when playing for Belgium, though he has a chance of returning for the Braga game on Wednesday.
This meant that Squillaci was handed his first start of the season, playing alongside Koscielny, and what a game they both had, Koscielny scoring and Squillaci looking really solid in a tough game.
Fabregas seems to be getting closer to finding his form, he produced three assists and obviously was the heartbeat of the squad once again.

The first half was really tight, Arshavin made some great runs, but in the end proved fruitless, we took the lead though, a great cross from Wilshere reached Fabregas, who beautifully played it in towards Koscielny, who after some struggling on the box managed to get it in and score his first goal for the Arsenal!
Though if there is someone to blame for the equalizer, I'm afraid many fingers will be pointing at Koscielny, his header back towards Almunia was intercepted by Chung-Jong Lee, who played the ball back into the box for Johan Elmander to head in.

The second half started just as the first half, it was tight and hard for us to find enough spaces to score from, but we did and that was only made possible when Cesc Fabregas created an amazing cross toward Chamakh, and it really wasn't hard for the moroccan international to score his second Arsenal goal with the head.
We only managed to start playing our free-flowing football when Bolton were down to ten men, which happened after Gary Cahill went in with a harsh and unnecessary tackle on Chamakh (who luckily managed to remain injury free), as mentioned, after that we managed to start playing some nice football, and that proved to settle the match.

Remarkably it was Song who made it three, rather unusual for him to score, and even more unusual was the character of the goal, a really beautiful solo goal where he managed to get the ball past the 'keeper in a tight angle, most probably the most beautiful goal he has scored! And it was the 1000th goal for Arsenal during the Wenger era.
And to round things off an amazing goal from our young Mexican Vela! Fabregas (who else?) spotted him making a run and the defense couldn't keep track of him, though for once when he only had the 'keeper to beat he didn't chip it! (I know, it's hard to believe) He went for power instead and it settled nicely at the far post.

Injury News;
-Walcott had to sit and watch from the stands this time around, and he will for another four to six weeks, hugely disappointing for the young lad, his form has been amazing and it is a huge loss for us.
-Another huge loss will be that van Persie is expected to be out for the same time as Walcott, at first he was expected back after one or two weeks, but we won't be seeing him for quite some time, yet again.
-Bendtner will be the first of the three strikers to return, being expected back within three to four weeks.
-Vermaelen might make it for the Braga game on Wednesday, otherwise he is likely to feature against Sunderland on Saturday.
-Diaby came in during the second half, but had to be replaced after eleven minutes due to an ankle or shin injury, Wenger said in the post match interview that he couldn't move his leg, which doesn't exactly sound like good news, but on the brighter note Denilson and Nasri are both back, so we have options.

Blackburn Rovers vs. Arsenal

2-1, Premier League, Ewood Park, 28/8 -10
Walcott 20,
Arshavin 51

As you expected going to Ewood Park was extremely tough, but in the end I'm thrilled that we got away with the three points, that doesn't happen too often.
Walcott continued with his fine form and was once again the man of the match for us, not only did he score an amazing goal (he actually scored two more, but was deemed to be offside on both occasions), he provided great passes and made top class runs throughout the game.
Fabregas and van Persie were both handed their first starts of the season, but with mixed result, van Persie got injured and was replaced in the 34th minute by Chamakh, while Cesc had a good game with some amazing passes but didn't have quite enough strength yet to last the entire 90 minutes.

We had a great start to the game with lots of possession and fine chances, and eventually van Persie played Walcott and the young winger didn't let us down, he got past the entire defense and finished it all off in style by placing the ball in the far corner (and it was quite a powerful shot as well, enough to pierce part of the net), he sure is looking good so far this season.
But it didn't take too long for Blackburn to equalize when one Diouf managed to get away from Koscielny and played the ball in so that another Diouf could easily tap it in.

After that Blackburn were building up pressure but we managed to keep the score-line even through the first half, and in the second half we played much better, Blackburn hardly got a taste of the ball until the final minutes, and in the 50th minute that possession paid off when Sagna made a great run on the right side and provided with a great cross that reached Fabregas, his shot was blocked but the ball reached Arshavin who managed to get a shot away and it went straight in the net.

We managed to hold on to that lead and what an important win it was.

Yesterday it was confirmed that we managed to sign the thirty year old defender Sebastien Squillaci, so now we have some more depth in central defence!
He was not quite ready for this game but soon enough we shall see him play, he will be wearing number 18.



Injury Update;
-No news have yet reached me about van Persie's injury, but hopefully it's nothing serious.

Champions League Group Draw

Today the draw for the group stages of the Champions League took place, and Arsenal has been drawn against Shaktar Donetsk (Ukraine), Braga (Portugal) and Partizan (Serbia).
It will be a rather hard draw, since we have to travel to both Ukraine and Serbia, but we should of course manage to qualify from this group, but you can never take anything for granted in the Champions League!

Interesting is that this will mean that we will meet up with Eduardo who left us this summer for Shaktar, in an interview just after he left us he said that the one team he didn't want to face was Arsenal, due to his time with us (not because he didn't enjoy his time in London, simply just because he still has warm feelings for the club), but his wish didn't come true..

Injury Update;
-Nasri (who recently went through a knee operation) and Bendtner (hamstring problem since last spring) are expected to be back in three to four weeks.
-Denilson (abdominal injury) will be back for the Blacburn clash.
-Ramsey is expected to return in November, he's made a great recovery from that horrific fracture against Stoke last season.

Arsenal vs. Blackpool

6-0, Premier League, Emirates, 21/8 -10
Walcott 12, 40, 58,
Arshavin 32 (pen),
Diaby 49,
Chamakh 83

What an amazing game! Not least of all for Theo Walcott, a hat-trick and a man of the match performance for the young winger, and I hope that this will be the season when things really take off for him, but Rosicky deserves a lot of the credit after this game as well, he pulled the strings in the midfield and was really influential in this win.

In the first thirty minutes Blackpool were actually playing rather nice, but not as good as us, Walcott pretty much ran loose on the right wing and he has now showed for real that he can make the right decisions at the right time, to take his game to the next level, past the part were people just considered him as the fast guy.
The opener was a real beauty, after some nice passing Walcott got the perfect opportunity to shoot, and like he took it, a very good finish at the far post!

At the half hour mark Arshavin made it two from the penalty spot as Chamakh was brought down (in which has to be said probably was just outside the box), and the defender was shown red.
Before half-time Walcott added one more to the score line, Wilshere passed low to Theo who was inside the box and turned away from Dekel Keinan to score once again.

After the break we kept going strong and it didn't take too long for us to start scoring again, Sagna made a great run down the right and provided a great cross for Diaby to shoot from, and it was quite a shot.
Theo completed his hat-trick just before the hour-mark with another low shot at the far corner, very well placed.
Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie both came in after 63 minutes, a good opportunity for them to get into match fitness, no pressure or anything, just cruising towards a win, and in the 83rd minute Chamakh got to score on his debut, a strong header from a van Persie corner.

A very comfortable win, it always feels nice when the team are playing well and scoring loads of goals!
Today the club officially welcomed a new clock into the Emirates Stadium, it is a bigger version of the old clock that was positioned at Highbury for over 70 years.
The stands has also been renamed, so now it is once again Clock End, North Bank, West Stand and East Stand.

Liverpool vs. Arsenal

1-1, Premier League, Anfield, 15/8 -10
Reina 90 (og)

The Premier League campaign for the 10/11 season has started for Arsenal, and what a start to the season it was!
It was a little bit disappointing ahead of the game as Fabregas wasn't included in the squad due to a throat infection, but at least van Persie started on the bench.

We played some really good football in the first half, and had most of the possession, but not too many chances and the first half ended without any goals.
But just before half-time, as Koscielny was clearing the ball down by the corner flag, Joe Cole made a harsh tackle on him, and was shown the red card while Koscielny was carried out on a stretcher, it felt like a typical Arsenal situation, We've got like three central defenders, and when one (Djourou) is out injured, someone else has to join him, but fortunately for us, Koscielny came in to play the second half! And what a game he had, he played absolutely superb.

Just at the start of the second half Liverpool scored, it was so disappointing as we had played so well in the second half and were 11 against 10.
After that we could hardly get a pass to the right address and we were really poor to watch, but when the introduction of Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky took place, we slowly turned the game around and began to build up some pressure.
But with the goal we got really lucky, Rosicky provided with a good cross that Chamakh forced himself towards, but the ball hit the post and bounced back into the box, Reina then intended to catch it with his hands, but he misjudged it and dropped it into his own net.

The last minutes provided with chances for both teams, and in the last minute of the game Koscielny was showed a second yellow when he accidently got a hand on the ball, really harsh of the referee to book for it, earlier in this game Ngog had accidently touched the ball with his hand, but he wasn't booked for it, so for me it should not have been a second yellow, but even though he wasn't allowed to finish the game, Koscielny was my man of the match (but Rosicky came close as well) for really proving that he can put up with the pressure of the Premier League, I can only recall one mistake he did throughout the game and that was when he misjudged a situation and got the player instead of the ball (his first yellow) but otherwise he looked really solid.

So in the end we have to be pleased to get a point out of the game, and we really deserved it.

Arsenal vs. Celtic

3-2, Emirates Cup, Emirates Stadium, 1/8 -10
Vela 3,
Sagna 45,
Nasri 51

Ahead of the game we knew that a win would be enough to win the cup, as Milan and Lyon played out another draw, but it didn't go as easy as you first could have thought when we were 3-0 up, because of Celtic's late fight-back.
First they missed a penalty and then got really lucky when the ball bounced just about everywhere after a corner, and eventually played two Celtic players free, ten minutes later they made it 2 but after that we managed to keep tight.

We started the game brilliantly, scoring after just three minutes when Walcott broke through and played it into the box, where Vela could smash it in.
Just before half-time Sagna, of all people, increased the lead, a corner had just been played back and he picked up the ball from Rosicky and his 20-yard effort went straight in, a really beautiful goal, with his left foot! His celebrations were amongst the happiest I have ever seen (in an interview just after the game he simply said 'I didn't know what to do when I scored!'), which is not so strange as that strike was his second ever in the Arsenal shirt (the other one a header against Chelsea in 2008).

A couple of substitutions were made before the game got underway once again, but it didn't affect the goal-scoring, about six minutes into the second-half Clichy took a Celtic player by surprise and managed to win the ball high up on the pitch, he played to Chamakh, who quickly passed it back to Nasri, and Nasri spotted that Walcott had an opening ahead of him, but when Theo couldn't quite get through he played the ball back to Nasri, who's shot went past the goalkeeper and into the net!

As mentioned we didn't exactly cruise from there, but in the end it was a good win as it was enough to retain the Emirates cup trophy!

Arsenal vs. AC Milan

1-1, Emirates Cup, Emirates Stadium, 31/7 -10
Chamakh 36

A bit disappointing in the end as we conceded a goal after taking the lead, but we played really well so it was a successful pre-season game if you ask me.
It was the first time I got to see Chamakh and Koscielny play (found a site that showed the game on the computer) and they looked really great! Chamakh scored on his debut at the Emirates, and he played really good during the entire game, and Koscielny hardly made any mistake at all, he looked spotless.

The opening goal came when Arshavin shrugged off Gattuso before spotting Chamakh and provided a perfect pass for the moroccan striker to finish off in style.
We started the second period really well, but the ball just wouldn't go in and in the end that proved costly for us.
But now it is soon for the Celtic game, which we obviously have to win if we are to retain the Emirates Cup this year.

Pre-season in Austria

I haven't yet written about any pre-season game, and that's simply because I haven't watched the games, only seen the goals on youtube later on, but we have had some really good results so I thought that I could write them down;

I haven't written about the first pre-season game against Barnet, so even though it obviously didn't take place in Austria I will put it in;

Arsenal 4 - Barnet 0
Arshavin 2,
Simpson 16, 45,
Nasri 75

Arsenal 3 - SK Sturm Graz 0
Nasri 16, 43,
Lansbury 57

Arsenal 4 - SC Neusiedl 1919 0
Walcott 28,
Emmanuel-Thomas 30,
Chamakh 51 (pen),
Vela 65

Now the team is heading back to London to play in the Emirates Cup this weekend, hopefully I'll be able to see at least one game then.

World Cup Final

Netherlands vs. Spain

0-0 (extra time: 0-1)

Andres Iniesta scored the winner in the 116th minute and made Spain world champions! But even better is that Cesc provided the assist!

Fabregas started on the bench and was introduced in the 87th minute, he was completely superb from the second he cameon, he created lots of chances bothfor himself and the others, he had a one-on-one chance early in the extra time, but his shot was met by Stekelenburg's leg, and a little while later he made a run through basically the entire Dutch squad, but his shot was a yard too wide.

Cesc definitely was an influential sub, but he has hardly been given any time at all to play in this tournament, not a single start, you can hardly believe that a player like Cesc Fabregas wasn't allowed to start a single game this world cup, but he certainly has given Del Bosque something to think about after this final.

Robin started the game for the Dutch, but it looked pretty much like it has the entire tournament, he hasn't been given many passes and in general he has been waving for the ball more than touching it. For me, it has been too much Sneijder and Robben and too little van Persie.

But in the end I'm very pleased for Cesc to win the world cup and having a big part in the winning goal!

PS. have been away a lot lately so haven't been able to write during the entire world cup!

World Cup; Day 12

France - South Africa
1-2
Mexico vs. Uruguay
0-1

All four Arsenal player started the game for France since Domenech made six changes since the last game, probably due to the fights and stuff that has surrounded France's training camp.
But France played really poorly and it was just dreadful to watch to be honest.

Vela picked up a hamstring injury in the last game for Mexico, so he had to watch from the sidelines as Uruguay won against his Mexico, but due to the result in the France - South Africa game both Uruguay and Mexico qualified to the next round.

South Africa missed out on goal difference and France finished last in their group after picking up just one point and scoring once.
Hopefully Vela will be fit for the next round, since Mexico finished second they will most likely face Argentina in the next round.

World Cup; Day 11

Spain vs. Honduras

2-0

Cesc didn't get to start this game either, really disappointing of course, but he came on as a substitute with 25 minutes to go, and at once he almost made it 3-0, when he rounded the goalkeeper, but the shot was cleared just before the line by a defender.

Villa scored both goals for Spain, two amazing shots, and he missed a penalty in the game, but overall it feels like Spain is back on track in this competition.

World Cup; Day 10

Brazil vs. Ivory Coast

3-1

Eboue started the game but otherwise there isn't too much to mention about the game, Brazil were dominant and scored some great goals, even though Fabiano's second in the game should have been disallowed, since Fabiano used his hands twice in the build-up to the goal.

Later on in the second half Eboue was substituted, since Ivory Coast obviously needed to score.

World Cup; Day 9

Netherlands vs. Japan

1-0

Van Persie started the game for the Netherlands, and played a big part in their goal, he simply just played the ball back to Sneijder to shoot, and the ball went straight for goal.

He was substituted late on in the game, probably just to make time pass or something like that.

Denmark vs. Cameroon

2-1

A really exciting game, with tons of chances! (due to lots of individual mistakes though).

Both Bendtner and Song started the game, and they both did extremely well, but there could only be one winner, and now Cameroon has no chance to get through the group stage.

Bendtner has had some problem with his groin, but he started this game as well, and played the entire 90 minutes, and what a performance!

Cameroon took the lead when Poulsen played a completely insane ball and Eto'o could easily score.

But Denmark responded when Bendtner slammed in a cross from the right, and after half time Denmark took the lead through Rommedahl, after an amazing cross by Bendtner.

This game was to me by far the best game so far in this World Cup, three goals and tons of chances provided a very exciting game.

World Cup; Day 7

Mexico vs. France

2-0

A total of four gunners were included in this match, Vela representing Mexico while Diaby, Sagna and Gallas started the game for France.

The game in itself didn't provide too much action, although France played much better than they did against France and Mexico provided some really entertaining football, there weren't too many clear chances.

Vela got injured in the 31st minute and had to be replaced, really disappointing as he played really well, but hopefully it was nothing serious, he's already had his fair share of injury problems this season, and it would be awful for him to miss the rest of this world cup.

Diaby was given a place in the starting XI once again for France, and once again he did really well in the midfield, and as a result of that he got to play the entire game !

But France were really poor on the offensive side, they only had some half-chances and never looked too close to scoring.

Mexico's first goal came when Hernandez (hate the fact that he of all people had to score, since he just signed for United and dad couldn't stop talking about the 'amazing' Hernandez after that and that the manager now would have 'no choice' but to let Hernandez play instead of Vela in the next game) went completely alone with the 'keeper and easily scored, replays shows that he was offside though.

Later on in the second half Mexico extended their lead as Vela's replacement Pablo Barrera ran into the box and was brought down by Abidal, a crystal clear penalty that Blanco dispatched.

France had nothing to reply to that, Domenech didn't even use his last substitution, disappointment for Henry as he remained on the bench.

World Cup; Day 4 & 5

Day 4;
The Netherlands vs. Denmark
2-0

Seconds into the second half Robin van Persie's cross was misjudged by Simon Poulsen, which resulted in an own goal for the Danes, and they didn't manage to come back from that and later on Kuyt settled the match with his 2-0 goal.
Bendtner was in the starting eleven, quite surprisingly due to his groin problem, and had a really good opportunity in the first half, but his header went just wide.
Van Persie also started the game, and was as mentioned, highly involved in the Netherlands' opener, and was as always a constant threat up front, but was replaced later in the second half.
Bendtner was replaced in the 62nd minute, probably just to make sure that he won't have a recurrence of his groin problem.

Day 5;
Ivory Coast vs. Portugal
0-0

Eboue played for 89 minutes and had a role in the central midfield, which isn't exactly where we are used to see him, but he did really well throughout the game.
Portugal had the best chance in the first half, with Ronaldo hitting the post, but otherwise Ivory Coast dominated the game and really deserved a victory, but shared points in the opener of the group of death, I'm watching Brazil vs. North Korea right now, and already after 5 minutes, it seems that Brazil won't have to fight too hard for the points.

World Cup; Day 1

Yesterday the World Cup kicked off with the host nation South Africa coming up against Mexico, Vela started the game and looked really fresh, he had one amazing pass and a goal disallowed, due to a rule that I wasn't even aware of, but it had something to do with two opposition players having to be in front of you, and when the African goalkeeper went out to take down the ball from a corner, he misjudged it which led to Vela being completely free and he easily scored while Pienaar stood on the goal-line, the reason that it went to offside was because Vela stood behind the goalkeeper when a fellow Mexican player headed the ball towards him.
The game ended 1-1.

Later in the evening Uruguay came up against France, we had three Arsenal players in that game, and all played the entire ninety minutes, Diaby (a surprise inclusion to the starting eleven), Gallas and Sagna.
Diaby played amazingly well in the game and that is probably the reason to his involvement during the entire game, but disappointment for France as the game ended 0-0, even though an Uruguay player was shown red, due to a horrible tackle on Sagna who luckily didn't get injured!

And some news from the transfer window, lots of rumours about Joe Cole signing for Arsenal, but Senderos has left for Fulham, and Cesc Fabregas is still an Arsenal player.

Champions League Final

I watched the final last night, Bayern vs. Inter, and what a booring game! Inter played basically like they did against Barcelona, which is really crappy to watch, but it works if you want to win, and the game ended 2-0 to Inter, and with that they sealed a treble.

Summer Signing; Marouane Chamakh

He has been on the radar for a year now, and finally he has signed a long-term contract with the Arsenal!
It was official yesterday, so not much is yet known, but the fact that he has signed is enough for now! He is now our no. 29!

Lots of talk has already emerged about Cesc leaving for Barca, but I hope that we can keep him at the club for at least another year..

Arsenal vs. Fulham

4-0, Premier League, Emirates, 9/5 -10
Arshavin 21,
Van Persie 26,
Baird 37 (og),
Vela 84

I must say, it was quite some time since I saw the Arsenal play the way they did in this last game of the season.. As good as it felt throughout the game, I can't help but wonder where it all went away, at the start of the campaign we played lovely football, and I could see bits of that in this game, in the second half our level dropped a bit but otherwise some great stuff from us, even though Fulham clearly had wednesday's Europa League final in mind.

We dominated the game from start to finish, and the first half was pure magic! Arshavin, van Persie and Walcott all shone as the top three strikers, and it didn't take too long for the first goal to come.
Schwarzer had a horrible first touch which Arshavin quickly read, he ran and managed to pass the Fulham keeper down the line close to goal, and cool as you like he shot straight for goal!

Soon after that van Persie doubled our tally when Sagna played a wonderful ball to Theo Walcott, who delivered to van Persie, and the Dutchman scored from his own rebound.
The third goal came after a great cross from Walcott, it went towards van Persie again, but this time Baird got in between van Persie and the ball, but he couldn't keep himself from scoring when he reached the ball.

In the second half things cooled down a bit since we were already 3-0 up, but with six minutes left of the last game of the season, Carlos Vela grabbed his chance to be an Arsenal goalscorer this season, and he did it in style, Nasri picked out the Mexican with a brilliant pass, which gave Vela a perfect opportunity for one of his clearly preferred 'lifts over the goalkeeper', and this one worked out perfectly!

This marks the end of another season, trophyless, but it does feel like we are getting closer, and next season promises to be another nail-biting one!

Arsenal vs. Blackburn

1-2, Premier League, Ewood Park, 3/4 -10
van Persie 14

we were unlucky and just couldn't pass the ball like we usually do, so more disappointment..

injury update;
-Rosicky, Bendtner and Clichy are probably all injured, since they weren't in the team for the game, but I don't know for sure
-Gibbs, Djourou and Arshavin were all back and on the bench for the game, Arshavin came in after a while and played really good.

Arsenal vs. Manchester City

0-0, Premier League, Emirates, 24/4 -10

The best day of my life!! Me and my dad managed to get tickets!! Soo amazing to finally get to see the Emirates and watch the Arsenal play!

Everyone said that the game was quite uneventful, but that's not how I remember it! But now that I think of it there isn't too much to write about the game in itself, we had the best chances, perhaps even the only chances, but unfortunately we just couldn't convert the chances into goals.
The atmosphere was amazing! The noise was incredibly high, especially when Adebayor came around, he started on the bench, but lots of cheers for Vieira and Toure.
Van Persie started his first game since coming back from the injury, and you could tell that he was tired after 70 minutes, but he pressed on and fought every single minute.

After the game I bought a scarf and a pennant from the Armoury.

Injury Update;
-Song started the game, returning from his knee injury.
-Arshavin is expected to return against Blackburn next Monday.

Wigan vs. Arsenal

2-3, Premier League, D.W Stadium, 18/4 -10
Walcott 42,
Silvestre 48

a perfect ending to a fabulous week..

we owned the game and were two goals up after 80 minutes, but then everything got screwed up and now the season is basically finished for us, the only thing left is to win at least one game so that we keep the third place.

so next week i'll be in london over the weekend, but it is highly unlikely that i'll be able to watch the game at emirates, but at least i'll finally get to see the stadium.

Tottenham vs. Arsenal

1-2, Premier League, White Hart Lane, 14/4 -10
Bendtner 85

Really frustrating, we were unlucky and just not good enough to make the final ball.. until Robin van Persie made his comeback, he came in with approximately 20 minutes to go, and he looked like he's never been away! He created chances and had some amazing shots, but Gomez managed to save them all.
Vermaelen will be out for most likely the rest of the season due to a calf injury that forced him to be replaced after 19 minutes, so one comes back, and one goes out injured, pretty much the story of the entire season for us.
I'd like to mention that Sol was completely perfection, he did everything absolutely perfect even though he was heavily 'booed' everytime he touched the ball.

Cesc on the 'eleven second derby'

Cesc kicks off a new serie at Arsenal.com with reflections on the game last November.

Barcelona vs. Arsenal

1-4, Champions League, Nou Camp, 6/4 -10
Bendtner 18

The scoreline doesn't reflect the game at all according to me, I thought we played really well, in fact, I thought we played better this time than at the Emirates..
But the squad was perhaps a bit too thin, we didn't really have the players on the bench that could make the difference, and Walcott who started the game was quite invisible.

It started quite good for us, we had some chances and not so much ball, but when Diaby tackled a Barca player and Nasri picked up the ball, Walcott was basically free out on his flank, he recieved the pass and played it back towards Bendtner who collided with Valdes but managed to catch up with the ball and smash it in! So we actually took the lead through some great play and really well done to Bendtner!
But three minutes later Messi equalized (actually he scored all their goals), and even though we kept up the good play with pressure on Barca the half-time scoreline was 3-1 to Barca.

In the second half we kept up the good work, had some great chances but just couldn't get the ball in, Bendtner hit the post amongst other things.
And in the 88th minute Messi killed the game with his 4-1 strike..

I'm quite disappointed but won't let it get me down too much, I hardly expected us to beat Barca at Nou Camp, but we played really well and the most disappointing thing is that we lost 4-1 in the end.

Injury Update;
-Rosicky was replaced in the second half, but I don't know if it is due to the injury he picked up against Wolves.

Arsenal vs. Wolverhampton

1-0, Premier League, Emirates, 3/4 -10
Bendtner 90 + 4

Well, that was quite a nightmare game.. We had like 25 goalscoring opportunities, and we didn't manage to score until the very last minute! You could think of it as a good sign of belief and such in the squad, but I see it more as a concern that we can't manage to score when we have 25 opportunities..

But we played really well and Walcott was the big star of the first half, but we just couldn't break the deadlock, even though we had tons of chances!
In the second half things pretty much took off in the same way, us having tons of chances and not being able to get it in, when suddenly Karl Henry harshly tackled Rosicky, and recieved a red card!
You could think that that would have opened things up for us, but it just made it even harder since they brought in two defenders that replaced more offensive players.

So we just kept trying and trying, but failed to convert, and to be honest I'd lost hope by the time Sagna delivered a good cross that Bendtner got his head to, and once again he has kept us in the title race with a last minute winner!! He has been critized a lot during his career, but he really is growing to be a star striker for us!

United and Chelsea clashed at Old Trafford earlier today, and Chelsea got away with a 2-1 victory, I'd hoped for a draw, but you can't get it all, so now we're three points after leaders Chelsea, and one point after United, we're still in it!

Injury Update;
-Nothing new, Cesc came in with crutches to watch the game with fellow injured players, Djourou, Merida and Arshavin.

Arsenal vs. Barcelona

2-2, Champions League Quarter-final, Emirates, 31/3 -10
Walcott 69,
Fabregas 85 (pen)

Due to the circumstances I'm pleased with the result, ahead of the game the hopes were to win and hopefully keep a clean sheet.
Lots of injuries for us, I will come back to that later.. Henry started on the bench but came in when there was approximately fifteen minutes to go.

In the first half we just got really lucky, Barcelona were by far the better team and we pretty much just defended, Almunia pulled off some great saves to keep us in the game, and it didn't make things easier when first Arshavin had to hobble off the pitch after 27 minutes, Eboue came on, Fabregas recieved a yellow card which means that he won't be playing on Nou Camp on Tuesday (not that it matters now anyway) and just before half time Gallas had to limp off due to his calf injury, it was a gamble to play him and the gamble didn't quite pay off, Denilson came in and Song moved back to partner Vermaelen in the heart of the defence.

Nightmare start to the second half when Ibrahimovic scored after some seconds, and he scored another before we started to play some real football.
When Walcott came in things really got started, at once he was running down that right flank and his pass almost reached Bendtner.
But just three minutes after he came on he went on to score, a great goal and a typical Walcott goal, he just ran towards the box and finished superb.
Then we started to put some real pressure on Barcelona, with Fabregas working as hard as ever, he showed great mentality after that yellow card and eventually all the hard work payed off, when Puyol locked his leg just as he was about to shoot penalty was awarded and Puyol was sent off.

Fabregas converted from the spot as he has done many times this season, but when he was picking up the ball from the net and started running back everything turned from perfect to horror, all of a sudden he just couldn't walk, but he refused to leave the pitch, and finished the game but not in a particulary good way, he just hobbled around, it didn't feel so reassuring, it is more fighting spirit than you can ask for, but it just shows how much he cares, and when Walcott put the ball towards him he threw himself after it, but couldn't reach it.

So we have quite a task in front of us, we have to win at Nou Camp or draw with at least 3 goals to qualify, but it will be enough to draw 2-2 if we're looking for more time or eventually penalties... And all this without players like Gallas, Arshavin, Fabregas, van Persie ..

Injury Update;
-Fabregas will miss the rest of the season due to a crack in his right fibula, huge blow for us, but he will not miss the world cup.
-Arshavin will be out for at least 3 weeks, the boss estimated him to be back for the Man City game.
-Gallas also risks missing out on the rest of the season due to a recurrence of his calf strain, at least 5 weeks out.
-Denilson and Clichy both recieved small knocks from the game but will be in the squad for the Wolves clash.

Birmingham vs. Arsenal

1-1, Premier League, St Andrew's Stadium, 27/3 -10
Nasri 81

In the end really disappointing, and pretty much a reminder of the last game at St Andrew's, with Birmingham equalizing in stoppage-time, but thank god no broken legs this time, though Fabregas recieved a harsh tackle in the first half, and hobbled basically the remainder of that half, but came back in for the second half and looked much better, still though, it didn't really feel like he could give everything he had, so perhaps another injury concern...

The game was quite uneventful to be honest, I believe that comes down to the pitch, it was so small! We hardly got any space at all, and Theo didn't get those amazing runs that he usually do, but he created our best chance of the first half when he stole the ball right between goalkeeper Hart and a defender, but Hart got a leg out and the chance was gone.

We couldn't really play the way we are used to due to the space issue, we fought hard, but just couldn't get close enough for a goal, until Arshavin and Nasri came in for Rosicky and Walcott in the 68th minute.
That substitution made some difference, we got some real chances but Bendtner headed just outside and Arshavin missed the ball, so things didn't come easy for us.
But in the 81st minute Nasri made a great move from 40 yards, and when he approached 20 yards, he took a shot that went straight for the bottom corner! A piece of art!

But to our great disappointment Birmingham pulled one back minutes before the end, and we lost two valuable points in the title-race, but I'm certainly not giving up just yet, even though I have to admit that we need a hell of a lot luck to make it through now...
Perhaps Wilshere could help out a bit as Bolton play United at the Reebok, I watched the first half and the bloke was brilliant! But a Samuel own goal gave United the lead before the end of the first half.

Now we have to look ahead to the Barcelona game, it will be massive, but let's just give it a go and see how things turn out, you never know in football!

Injury Update;
-Gallas joined training recently, but it will take some time for him to get back to match fitness.
-van Persie actually came back this week, Wenger said that it will be at least two weeks left for him, but that means that he might be back for the Man City game! It would definitely be amazing to watch him back in action!
-Still too soon to know more about the lads after the game that has just been, but hopefully everyone will be fine for the Champions League on Wednesday.

Arsenal vs. West Ham

2-0, Premier League, Emirates, 20/3 -10
Denilson 5,
Fabregas 82(pen)

Vital to get the three points, but once again it wasn't a comfortable win, it started so well, when Denilson and Bendtner exchanged passes before Denilson managed a perfectly located shot, that went straight for goal.
Then the game slowed down a bit, we had some chances and most of the possession, but when the end of the first half was approaching, Vermaelen was sent off! Completely wrong decision from the referee, replays show that Vermaelen hardly touched Franco, and to make things worse, it all happened in our box, so West Ham was given a penalty.
But an amazing save from Almunia saved us and the loud complain from the fans turned into cheers!

When the second half began West Ham had some chances, but we returned to our free-flowing play and started to dominate the game, even though we were down to ten men.
Diaby came in for Bendtner almost fifteen minutes into the second half, and the game settled down a bit, with us having most of the possession.
There weren't too many chances, but eventually our perseverance payed off, Fabregas' shot touched Upson's arm, and we got our penalty.
Fabregas, like so many times earlier this season, converted from the spot, and that pretty much ended the game.

But now we are in for some trouble, if Vermaelen's penalty will stand, he will be out for three games, Song was completely outstanding in his new position, central defence, but I would still rather see Song in the midfield and Vermaelen at the centre-defence, but I definitely feel confident in Song as a central defender!

Injury Update;
-Gallas looks to be out for quite some time, no news for how long, but at least the Birmingham clash.

Champions League Draw

Well, it feels like the biggest football news of the week!'

We are going to face FC Barcelona in the quarter final! It certainly was the toughest opponent, but we are going to put up a hell of a fight for that spot in the semi-finals!
If we were to beat Barcelona, we would be up against Inter or CSKA Moscow in the semi-final, well, that's basically the road to Madrid for us.
It certainly won't be easy, but in the previous draws in this competition we have had lots of luck, so it was expected that we would get one of the tougher teams.

We will play at Emirates on the 31st March, my birthday, and the return at Nou Camp is to be played on the 6th of April.
But for now it is West Ham in our focus, tonight looks to be a fight to stay in the title race, both Cesc and Rosicky is back from injury and Song is no longer suspended!
But Gallas is 80% out of the Barcelona clash, and certainly out of both the West Ham game and the Birmingham game.

Hull vs. Arsenal

2-1, Premier League, KC Stadium, 13/3 -10
Arshavin 14,
Bendtner 90+3

What can I say...? To say that I enjoyed the game would be a lie, I felt like hitting something or someone during most of the game! The worst thing was that their goal shouldn't even have been allowed since the guy was clearly offside.. But we really shouldn't have lost our pace just because we conceded one.
But to be fair Hull defended really well, even though their captain Boateng got two yellow in the first half and was shown the red, first he poked Bendtner in the eye and then he roughly tackled Sagna, but when a team is reduced to ten men, usually it's even harder to score, since then the entire team defends, so it didn't make things easier for us.

We started the game completely brilliant, had good chances and eventually Arshavin worked his magic and fired us to 1-0! Then things looked great, we had good chances, solid defence and lots of possession, but then some guy is offside, continues to run and unfortunately Campbell made enough contact for him to fall and the ref gives Hull a penalty!

After that I basically grew more and more impatient, Arshavin had some great chances, but only managed to shoot the ball over the bar.
Eventually Walcott came in and immediately gave us some pace and chances, but sadly not enough, and as the 90 minutes got closer and closer, we just honestly didn't..
But it only takes one chance to produce a goal, and in the 93rd minute, Denilson's shot was blocked by the Hull keeper, but it bounced right into Bendtner's path, and he shot us right back into the title race!!

Last night when I was reading through the match report, I noticed that Hull scored their penalty in the 28th minute, somehow I recognised that, and looked into the Burnley game from last year, the one that ended 1-1 after Cesc gave us the lead, but in the 28th (!?) minute, Graham Alexander equalized from the spot.. But it did end better this time!

Injury Update;
-Rosicky and Fabregas both missed this game, but is likely to feature in next weeks derby against West Ham at the Emirates.
-As I mentioned earlier Gallas will be out for quite some time now, so he is certain to miss the West Ham clash.
-Song will be back next week though, he's been suspended in the last two Premier League games.