Robin Refuses Contract Bombshell

And so we bid farewell to yet another captain. We're beginning to make a nasty habit of it at Arsenal. 

Today our talismanic striker Robin van Persie released a statement that declared he would not be signing a new contract with the club and thus ending his time with us. He stated that after meeting with Wenger and Gazidis, the two groups disagreed with how the club should move forward. It's not officially confirmed that he's leaving us right away - he still has a year left on his contract. But seriously, what human-being is going to stick around at his job for 1 more year, full in the knowledge that he's going to be leaving afterwards, and for free as well? Robin understands that this statement ends his time at the club because there's no way he's playing for us this year - the fans would crucify him every game; no one would support a player we all know is leaving. Plus Arsenal would be mad to let him walk for free next year; they'll look to offload him for the highest possible price this summer instead.

I've been a huge fan of van Persie's right from the beginning. It was that last minute curler against Southampton in the 04/05 season that did it for me. I thought, "this guy is really something, what a left foot." Unfortunately injuries and inconsistency slowed his progress but every time he played you could tell he had something special. His mastery over the ball is second to none - he can control it in ways few can and he places it wherever he wants. This past season we witnessed what a fully-fit and healthy van Persie can really do over an entire season. Gifted the captaincy at the beginning of the year, the Dutchman revelled in it and went on to record a remarkable year, scoring goals at will on his way to picking up Player of the Season awards across the board. His 2011/12 campaign was one of the greatest in Arsenal's history and puts him right up there with the greats - very few Arsenal strikers have recorded 30+ goals in a single season (37 in 48 appearances).

Which is exactly why it's so sad it has to end like this. After the disaster of last summer when we lost our best two midfielders in Fabregas and Nasri, the club will want to avoid a repeat of that nightmare. Van Persie will be sold to the highest bidder and probably as soon as possible. I'm just praying he doesn't join one of our Premiership rivals, ESPECIALLY Man City. If he moves to Barca or Juventus I wouldn't be quite so upset, but if I have to endure him scoring for fun on Match of the Day every weekend I might cry a bit.

Looking on the bright side, I suppose we can take heart that at least the club prepared for van Persie's departure. The signings of Podolski and Giroud look extremely clever now. The pressure will be on them  to perform and deliver the goods - every Arsenal fan in the world will be praying they can.

I really didn't think he'd leave. I thought he was different. "He's not like the rest of them, he loves the club for real" I said. If nothing else, van Persie's statement today has taught me a lesson in naivety and that football has changed immeasurably since I was a kid. Loyalty means nothing to footballers anymore and money talks, like it always does. And why shouldn't it? Van Persie doesn't owe us anything, not really. If you were offered  a new job that doubled your wages and promised bonuses (trophies), you'd do exactly the same. It's just a shame we've lost that romantic aspect of football, where players truly played for the name on the front of the shirt and not the one on the back. But what else do we really expect nowadays? Ultimately van Persie's departure shouldn't be of any surprise. That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

Hey, maybe Wenger will call an emergency meeting and all will be resolved before the weekend. Van Persie said it himself: "As soon as Mr. Gazidis is back from his 2-week holiday in America further meetings will follow and I will update you if and when there are more developments." Maybe they'll talk it out everyting will be ok? Soon we'll see photos of RVP shaking hands with the boss, announcing he's signed a contract that'll see him finish out his career with us. I can dream can't I? In all seriousness this is surely the end of RVP at Arsenal, and it's a real shame.

At least he went out with a bang.

Thanks for reading

Late Winner Levels Liverpool

90 minutes of utter crap from Arsenal but none of that matters now after two magic moments from Robin van Persie. The captain's two goals gave Arsenal all three points when they didn't really deserve any, as Liverpool looked rampant for the majority of the game. But the crucial difference between victory and defeat? Arsenal took their chances and Liverpool didn't, as they've often failed to do at Anfield this season. Arsenal played so bad but to grind out a win and take home the crucial three points is amazing. Half way through the game, with the way we were playing, I'd have settled for a draw. Deep down Arsenal needed the win to keep on track for 4th place but I just couldn't see it happening - Liverpool looked ready to score that second goal at any moment. So victory at the final whistle tastes even better this afternoon, as Arsenal stole a win they really didn't deserve.

The Gunners did not start the game well at all. After 17 minutes Suarez jinked into the box and fell to the ground; the referee judged that Szczesny's outstretched leg had brought the Uruguayan down but replays showed it wasn't quite so clear. It was judged to be a penalty nonetheless and Dirk Kuyt took the ball and placed it on the spot but Szczesny redeemed himself with a fantastic save to his right. The ball rebounded out to Kuyt whose second attempt was saved by Szczesny again. A heroic effort from out Polish keeper for sure.

But Arsenal couldn't capitalise on the swing of momentum and were soon behind to a stupid own goal from Laurent Koscielny. A Jordan Henderson cross was swung in from the right and looked harmless enough but Koscielny tried an acrobatic clearance and ended up sticking the ball past Szczesny and inside the post to make it 1-0 to Liverpool. It was really clumsy stuff from the Frenchman, who has had a really good year but still can't shake those odd moments of madness that cost us dearly.

Fortunately the squad didn't let Koscielny's mistake shake them, as minutes later Arsenal were level. A beauty of a cross from Sagna found van Persie in the box, whose header was too powerful for Pepe Reina to comprehend in the Liverpool goal. 1-1 and game on. It was a really nice goal and a rarity too; I'm not used to us scoring from crosses into the box and heading it home.

But that was as good as it got for Arsenal. For the rest of the game Liverpool looked likely to score at any moment. The home side hit the woodwork twice and would have surely taken the lead if it weren't for the brilliant goalkeeping skills of Szczesny. The young Pole really kept us in it. Despite not playing to the best of his abilities recently, he really upped his game today and played a blinder. Szczesny deserved the Man of the Match award for sure.

Well... that was until van Persie decided to show up in the Liverpool box in stoppage time. With 8 minutes of injury time to play (because Arteta had to go off with a concussion - hope Mikel will be alright) I was worried Liverpool would take that time to get that second goal. A goal they'd been so close to earning all game. But van Persie had other ideas. Alex Song controlled the ball in midfield and lofted a pinpoint pass into van Persie, who just managed to stay onside, before the Dutchman volleyed a stunner past Reina's inside post to make it 2-1 to Arsenal and game over. Song's pass was beautiful but van Persie's finish was vintage RVP. The strike was his first touch, a sumptuous volley from that devastating left foot of his, reminiscent of his goal against Everton earlier in the season. The captain struck the ball so hard and so fast that Reina stood no chance, even at his inside post where the Spaniard should be in the safest position. It was a phenomenal goal, worthy of winning any game. At the end of the game van Persie was awarded the Man of the Match award but the gracious captain had to share it with his goalkeeper. Both Szczesny and van Persie were the best players on the pitch for Arsenal. When the rest of the team were having an off-day (that's being kind) they elevated their performances and made it count when it mattered most. Can't ask for much more than that.

So a 2-1 win at Anfield is always something to celebrate, even more so when you look at the Premier League table this afternoon. We've narrowed the gap on Spurs in 3rd place to just 4 points - it was 10 this time last week. We've also piled on the pressure for Chelsea, who must win at West Brom this afternoon to remain in touch with us (currently 0-0 at the time of writing). The negatives from this afternoon? Mikel Arteta's concussion looked pretty serious and I've read reports he's had to go to hospital to be checked over. Hopefully our Spanish playmaker will be alright. Matters were made worse when Abou Diaby, making his return this afternoon from another long-term injury, limped off with 10 minutes left because he'd hurt himself again. I haven't heard whether its a recurrence of the injury he's just recovered from, but hopefully not. The guy has no luck where his health is concerned.

Enjoy the win fellow Gooners. Always nice to get one over the Merseysiders in red.

Thanks for reading.

Putting Them Back In Their Place

What a game. I mean, really, WHAT A GAME! I was at work of course, which fucks me off because yet again I miss out on an epic victory, perhaps the most intense and important North London derby in decades. But I did manage to follow it online, thanks to a nice combination of BBC Football's live text and Arseblog's live blog. When I saw we'd gone behind after just 4 minutes I gotta admit my head dropped. I thought, "Here we go again, fucking Arsenal bottling it in the big game, AGAIN". When we went 2-0 down? I pretty much gave up all hope, walked away from the computer and started to contemplate an extended absence away from football for a bit, at least until the 'Wenger Out' shitstorm and negative vibes would end. Thankfully this plan can never be put into action because Arsenal showed some resilience, some real character and emotion and fought back. To go 2-0 down and then come back to stick 5 in a row past our rivals, that's what a local derby is all about. Today's 5-2 victory is so amazing because this is exactly what we Arsenal fans needed, a massive boost after a pretty miserable couple of weeks. A historic win and even though we're still 7 points adrift from Spurs in third place, does anyone care right now? We beat the dirty Spuds 5-2! They can stick their third place up their ass!

Signing Off In Style

Thierry Henry played out his last game in the Premier League in the only way Thierry Henry knows how: he brought some of his trademark 'va-va-voom' to the Stadium of Light, scoring the winner deep into injury time to secure Arsenal all three points against a stubborn Sunderland side. After Wenger revealed yesterday that Henry will be returning to New York on the 16th February and that his loan will expire after 6 weeks, the match this afternoon took on an added importance. And what a way to say goodbye from the legend.

I'm just about to settle down for Match of the Day and I've been excited all evening to watch it. I'm so glad Arsenal managed to turn this afternoon's game around, it showed real spirit and resilience from the team. It began to look like another fruitless trip to the North, especially after Sunderland's James Mclean had put the Black Cats in the lead with 20 minutes left to play. But Arsenal didn't collapse and succumb to defeat like they've been known to in the past. Within 5 minutes, substitute Aaron Ramsey had us back on level terms, and the Gunners were back in business. With normal time coming to a close, I'd have gladly taken the draw on what was always going to be a difficult game. Ever since Martin O'Neill took over, Sunderland have been well and truly rejuvenated under his charge and are a completely different side to the team we faced at the Emirates in October. However, Thierry Henry didn't feel like settling for a draw and found himself on the end of an Arshavin cross deep into injury time to volley home the winner and send the Arsenal faithful home happy, complete with another vintage Thierry Henry moment to remember forever.

The added bonus from today's win? We finally capitalised on Chelsea's run of form, as they slipped up again at Everton, losing 2-0 to the Toffees. Arsenal leap-frogged Chelsea into 4th place and now is the time to start a good run to try and secure that crucial position.

Thanks for reading. And thanks for another priceless memory Thierry.

Routing The Rovers

Apologies for not posting since the Leeds FA Cup game. In all honesty, we've been bloody awful since, with a single 3-2 win over Aston Villa the only shining light amongst all the darkness of January. Losing to Swansea, Man United and squandering a billion chances at Bolton haven't really motivated me to get on here and blog. Until today, when we thrashed Blackburn 7-1, and all of a sudden I feel like writing something (typical eh?)

Finally having a weekend off work helped a lot. This was my first Saturday at home in forever (I still have to work tomorrow though) and I was over the moon when I saw Arsenal had a 1pm kickoff. After getting a good stream for the game, it wasn't long before the Gunners settled any early nerves. Van Persie arrived in the box to tap in Walcott's neat cross to make it 1-0 after only 80 seconds or so. Arsenal didn't relax after taking the lead, dominating possession and narrowly missed out on increasing the lead a few times. However after half an hour, Blackburn finally found themselves in our half of the pitch, when a long punt down field earned Rovers a free kick just outside the box, perfect for Blackburn's set-piece specialist Morten Gamst Pedersen. It turned out it was a bit too perfect as the Norwegian international curled in a delicious effort which Szczesny could do absolutely nothing about. I was furious. It really was a wonderful free kick but at the time I couldn't appreciate that. I was livid that, again, typical fucking Arsenal, we gave away the lead to a team destined for relegation when we'd been all over them from the moment the game kicked off. The first little mistake we made and we were punished and I felt like it was going to turn into one of "those" games yet again.

But Arsenal responded, and in some fashion. With a slick passing move reminiscent of the 03/04 Invincibles, the Gunners broke with pace, with the sublime Alex Song splitting the defence and picking out Theo Walcott with a sumptuous pass. Theo's quick first-time pass found van Persie for another easy tap-in and it was 2-1 Arsenal. Did the home side sit back and relax after regaining the lead? Certainly not, as it was 3-1 Arsenal before you knew it. A beautiful reverse pass from captain van Persie found the onrushing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the penalty area, who calmly took it round Rovers' keeper Paul Robinson and slotted home for his first Premier League goal. The Emirates was euphoric, the rout was on, and the team were firing on all cylinders. It got even better for Arsenal soon after their third goal when Blackburn defender Gael Givet received a straight red card for lunging in on van Persie. At first glance I didn't think the tackle warranted a straight red but replays showed Givet going in two-footed on van Persie and according to the football laws that's a definite no-no these days. Arsenal were already looking rampant but Givet's dismissal put the game beyond all doubt: Blackburn had no chance from then on.

The second half saw Wenger's men continue to assert their dominance and it wasn't long before they added yet another goal. After Blackburn failed to clear an Arsenal corner properly, the ball fell nicely on the edge of the penalty area to Mikel Arteta, who smashed the ball home to make it 4-1. Three minutes later and the Arsenal faithful were celebrating again: Theo Walcott dribbled in from the right, drawing defenders in before releasing the ball to Oxlade-Chamberlain. The "Ox in the Box" took a single touch before dispatching the ball past the stranded Robinson to make it 5-1. Not one to be left out, van Persie showed up minutes later to complete his hat trick, sweeping home a delicious low cross from the excellent Coquelin to make it 6-1. A classy goal for a classy player, the goal gave van Persie the match ball and his second Premier League hat trick this season (the other coming against Chelsea in that memorable 5-3 win).

Ahead by five goals, Wenger brought on some substitutes to rest a couple of key players like Song and Koscielny. Thierry Henry made another appearance in the red and white, to the home fans' delight of course, replacing the in-form Oxlade-Chamberlain to much applause. Unfortunately the substitutions seemed to take the rhythm out of the game, as very little happened for the last half an hour or so. But not before Henry stamped his impression on it. With seconds left in the match and the stadium already emptying, Henry dispossessed the Blackburn defence before playing a one-two with van Persie, who could have had his fourth goal of the afternoon if he so wished. Instead he played it back to Henry, whose shot deflected off Scott Dann to make it 7-1 and give Thierry his second goal since rejoining the club and his first Premier League goal in five years (his last being away to Middlesbrough in 2007). It was a perfect ending to a near-perfect afternoon of football.

This type of performance was desperately needed to regain some confidence in the squad. It's been a while since we really thrashed someone and it was beautiful to watch us tear apart Blackburn so easily. A good win and nice to see so many gorgeous goals. A few more games like this please Mr Wenger, if you don't mind.

Thanks for reading.

Return Of The King

Now I appreciate this is rather old news now and I know I haven't posted for a while (been very busy at work) but I just wanted to chip in and say how happy I am we are getting Henry back at the club, even if it is just for a couple of months. I am over the moon about this.

Obviously he won't be as quick as he once was and he won't score as many goals, as my colleagues at work have pointed out in glee, but it's just nice to have him back. Despite plying his trade across the pond nowadays in a raw and developing league like the MLS, he still possesses the necessary quality to contribute something to this team. With Gervinho and Chamakh leaving for the Africa Cup of Nations, the squad will be desperately short of firepower in attack and anything contribution Henry can bring to the team will be of immense help. Van Persie is still very much the man as far as goals go but it'll be nice for Henry to come on and give our captain a rest once in a while, or offer some support. For too long now van Persie has been forced to carry the burden of scoring practically all our goals; he has flourished and revelled in his new responsibilities but it's been a case of him having to, since Gervinho appears to be afraid of shooting in case he hurts the opposition goalkeeper and Chamakh looking lost every time he gets within 10 feet of a football pitch. So having Henry in the team should add a bit more potency when going forward, even if his age holds him back a bit these days. He still has a majestic touch on the ball and a keen eye for the killer pass, plus he still knows his way around the goal-mouth as his past year in New York proves. Yes its the MLS but Henry scored 15 goals last season and at the age of 34 that ain't too shabby, especially as he seems to play more in behind the striker now. I think Thierry will be perfectly placed tucked in just behind van Persie, feeding the Dutchman with clever through-balls and defence splitting passes.

The Frenchman currently holds the club record with 226 goals, as most of us know. Let's hope he can add a few more on top of that figure over the next couple of months, starting with Leeds on Monday Night.

Thanks for reading.

Winter Weigh-In

So it's been a while since I last posted and, get this; I've actually managed to watch two games in a row, in their entirety as well! I managed to get home from work on Saturday just in time for the Fulham game and even got Tuesday evening free to see the Carling Cup quarter final against Man City. Typical for me, Arsenal couldn't deliver the goods in either game but it wasn't for a lack of trying. In fact I'm feeling rather proud of the club of late and both games were thrilling right until the end.

Let's weigh-in on the Fulham game first then: I felt the Cottagers set themselves up to defend and tried to get us on the counter which, credit to them, worked. I don't hold a grudge against Fulham for using those tactics because unlike some teams (cough, Stoke) they didn't settle for parking the bus but instead actively looked to break out of their own area and try and attack. It worked for most of the game, as wave after wave of Arsenal attacks came unstuck in the final third, which enabled Fulham to break with pace and get the ball to the impressive Bobby Zamora, who was unlucky not to leave the game with a goal which he probably deserved. Despite dominating possession as usual we looked a bit tired, no doubt due to the earlier game last week against Dortmund. Aaron Ramsey was running his socks off in midfield and you could see how much effort he was putting in, grimacing in frustration as each and every move came to nothing. Even van Persie was having no luck on Saturday, as he had a certain goal cleared off the line by Fulham's Chris Baird. 

As the minutes ticked by you just knew the game could go either way; we'd either finally break the deadlock and rout them or let in a stupid goal and fall behind. Unfortunately it was the latter that occurred, with Thomas Vermaelen accidentally slotting the ball past Szczesny's outstretched hand to make it 1-0 to the visitors. There were still 25 minutes left but when Fulham scored I felt like the chance at 3 points had gone and we just needed to claw ourselves back into the game. Luckily we managed to do that when Vermaelen popped up in the box in the box with 10 minutes left  to head home from Walcott's cross. 1-1 and game on but that was effectively all she wrote because you could see the team pretty much had nothing left to give. So all in all it wasn't a disaster, hell we could have lost it, but we did drop precious points at home and missed a great chance to keep pace with the rest of chasing pack.

The squad didn't have much of a rest as only two days later Manchester City came to town for the Carling Cup quarter final. Everyone knows Wenger uses this tournament to play the kids and this idea has been implemented by a lot of other clubs now (which didn't pay off for United last night), but we all knew City wouldn't do that; they'd still play their "reserves" but their reserve team is practically good enough to compete for a top four place in the league. So Mancini had Dzeko, Kolo Toure, De Jong, Adam Johnson and pantomime villain Samir Nasri all starting, guys who would command a first team place at most of the top European clubs but instead get turned out against a bunch of Arsene's kids and bench-warmers in the Carling Cup. Up against the City playboys were guys like Frimpong, Coquelin, Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Miquel. So this had a Manchester City win written all over it right? Surely the clear favourites would overwhelm Arsenal's young guns and progress into the semi final with ease... Well you'd be wrong actually, because apart from an early Adam Johnson shot and a couple of desperate long range shots from Dzeko, the billionaires were toothless in attack and our boys had them on the run for the majority of the match.

The only problem we had was up front, with the still-adapting-to-English football Park Chu-Young and the desperate-for-a-goal Marouane Chamakh leading the attack. The Moroccan really cuts a depressing figure out there on the pitch; you can see he's struggling and his confidence must be at an all-time low. I really want the guy to do well here but Chamakh just can't catch a break right now. Anyway, with Park and Chamakh firing blanks all night it was up to the rest of the team to carry the load and young Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain stepped up in a big way. He was a constant menace to the City defence and had the experienced Zabaleta in all kinds of trouble. For such a young player he looks remarkably sure of himself when he's on the ball and looks a lot more dangerous than our other speedster Walcott when he's one on one with defenders; Chamberlain has no hesitation at all attacking the defence and taking them on, beating players with ease. The Englishman almost put us ahead with an unbelievable effort from way, way outside the box which City keeper Pantilimon (who was easily their Man of the Match, a great game from him) had to use every inch of his tall frame to tip it away from goal. 

Praise must also go to a few others who put in assured performances on Tuesday night. The defensive partnership of Koscielny and, unbelievably, Squillaci was brilliant with both players having excellent games in the heart of the defence. We cannot forget our Spanish youngster Ignasi Miquel who played extremely well standing in at left back. For a guy who is usually a centre back he looked pretty comfortable out there on the left, keeping Adam Johnson from causing too much trouble on the wing. Benayoung, Frimpong and especially Coquelin all had terrific games in midfield, bossing the play and keeping City's danger men quiet for practically the entire game.

Unfortunately Arsenal couldn't hold on and grind out the win. It was £35 million man Sergio Aguero who proved to be the difference. I should bloody hope so for £35 million, the guy cost more than our entire squad Tuesday night! Aguero made his entrance into the match after 32 minutes, coming on for the bemused Kolarov after just half an hour of play. Mancini has a very strange relationship with his squad; I appreciate he needed to change the game but to take a guy off after just half an hour is an insult to that player and you could clearly see Kolarov was pissed to be hauled off. But typically it proved to be the difference as the Argentinian Aguero was on the end of a swift City counter attack to make it 1-0 with only 7 minutes left. It was City's best and only real move of the entire match and it was enough to send the blue side of Manchester into the Carling Cup semi final. 

However, despite the loss and exit from the competition I'm not upset about the result. The guys put in a spirited performance and did the club proud. On paper we never should have been close to beating Man City on Tuesday but we took them all the way to the final whistle and had them quaking in their boots. Put it this way: City will probably go on to win the league this year and with all that money it'd be a disaster if they failed but I personally don't think they are everything they're cracked up to be and they'll never reach the heights of United and Barcelona. They'll certainly never be better than our 03/04 Invincibles!

That is all, thanks for reading.

Cleaning Out The Canaries

Real football resumed at Carrow Road this afternoon after another predictably boring international break; Arsenal didn't lose a step since their last game at home to West Brom way back on the 5th November, coming out on top against Norwich with a 2-1 win and yet another brace from our irrepressible captain. Van Persie added to his tally of 2011 Premier League goals and is up to 31 now, joining the elite company of Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer as the only players to score 30 or more in a calendar year. The guy is untouchable at the moment and is easily the most in-form and deadly striker in world football, certainly the Premier League. It's not just our star man on form but the team are responding as well. Today's victory chalks up another win and 3 more crucial points in what's turning out to be one of the closest races for 4th place in league history. I'd obviously like us to push for higher than 4th but the way the season is going and how good the top teams are playing, 4th place will probably be quite an accomplishment come the end of the campaign. 

Anyway, one step at a time and all that, but obviously every win helps and team morale probably hasn't been higher this year. Here's hoping we ride this momentum into Wednesday's game against Borussia Dortmund; beat them and we secure our place in the knockout rounds of the Champions League, the highest priority right now. Wenger ought to name a full strength team and I'll be very disappointed if he doesn't. Only time will tell...

Thanks for reading.

Gunners Keep On Rolling

Arsenal's comprehensive 3-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday makes it four consecutive Premier League wins on the trot. The boys from N5 are really on a roll at the moment, banishing the early season memories. After that horrible start we've really turned things around and the whole squad are on top form right now, especially the man up front leading the attack, captain Robin van Persie. The flying Dutchman scored one goal and created two more this weekend - everything is clicking for the guy and the squad feed off this. Van Persie is having the season of his life and his goals are up to double digit numbers already. Naturally this is incredible news but every Arsenal fan out there, though enjoying our recent success, is also petrified of van Persie picking up an injury because be honest, who else have we got? Chamakh, as much as I want the guy to do well at the club, just looks lost out there every time he takes the field. Park Chu-Young? After a well taken goal against Bolton in the Carling Cup he stumbled around against Marseille in the Champions League, looking extremely rough and not quite ready for the big stage. Both players need match time to build confidence, but neither look close to filling van Persie's enormous shoes should the unimaginable happen and he get hurt. Past experience shows he will eventually - let's just hope he can stay healthy for all the important moments because we need him desperately. 

But lets not dwell on the future we have no control over and can't possibly foresee. Instead let's celebrate the comeback of Thomas Vermaelen, certainly one of our best players and don't we just look a lot better with him back in the side? With the Verminator running the show in defence alongside the excellent Koscielny and the physically imposing Mertesacker, our defence are starting to tighten up and the entire team look more confident. Vermaelen is of course a huge factor in our recent run of wins and his performance on Saturday was typical of the effect he can have. Solid at the back and ridiculously dangerous in attack you can't not love the guy. We really missed his leadership last year and especially his beautifully taken goals; he really does strike the ball like a centre forward and his goal against West Brom was a perfect example. Every Arsenal fan must pray that both he and van Persie can put their history of injury woes behind them and continue their fine form for a long, long time. If we can keep our best guys fit, which we haven't managed to do in years, then this team has the ability to win things. I still feel we lack depth to challenge for the title but an F.A Cup or a Carling Cup is never out of reach and if everything slotted into place perfectly then maybe even the Champions League (I'll keep dreaming about that one...).

Thanks for reading.

Speechless

On this historic day, I will let the pictures tell the story. By now you already know what happened and if you don't know, you will soon see. What a magnificent game. Enjoy it Arsenal fans, this one will live long in the memory.

All photos belong to Zimbio and their respective photographers. Probably the best site to get sports photos, always use them, they're great.

Can't Live Without The Captain

What would we do without our captain? This afternoon Robin van Persie put this Arsenal team on his back and carried them to victory single-handedly, scoring both goals in a crucial 2-1 win against Sunderland. It was essential Arsenal walked away with all 3 points today at the Emirates; any other result against this lacklustre Sunderland squad would have been disastrous. The Black Cats are really struggling this season and lack any significant firepower up front so anything but a win would have sent the Arsenal faithful home shaking their heads and muttering curses once again.

In the programme before kickoff van Persie put an end to the speculation concerning his future at the club: 'I am committed to Arsenal, and that's how it is, despite people (in the media) making up stories.' It's wonderful to hear those words from my favourite player but I haven't been losing any sleep about the prospect of him joining Manchester City in the near-future. Stories like this are 99% gossip most of the time and we'll cross that bridge when we come to it anyway. I have no worries that Robin will leave us and I expect him to sign another contract. You can read more about his pre-game programme notes here.

It didn't take the Dutchman long to back up his words: 29 seconds to be precise, the fastest goal of the Premier League season and what I believe ties the record for fastest goal in Premier League history. Van Persie let a sharp pass from Gervinho roll across him until he got it onto his right foot before unleashing an unstoppable drive into the bottom corner leaving Sunderland 'keeper Mignolet helpless. 1-0 to the Arsenal and just the start we needed. Ten minutes later and the captain nearly doubled the lead, and in the most spectacular way imaginable. On the edge of the penalty area, van Persie received the ball onto his left foot with his back to goal, before suddenly spinning away from Kieran Richardson and audaciously chipping the ball over Mignolet with his right foot. The ball hung in the air for an age before it hit the inside of the post and crawled away from goal to save Sunderland's blushes and preventing what would have been an absolute classic of a goal. The move to free himself from Richardson was incredible, Bergkamp-esque in every way, and if the ball had just drifted slightly to the right it would have been one of the best goals in Arsenal's history. Watch it here, mesmerising stuff...

Unfortunately the Gunners couldn't grab that important second goal and whadda you know, Sunderland go down the other end and score. Former Arsenal man and current darling of Swedish football Sebastian Larsson curled in a delicious free kick that instantly made me regret us ever getting rid of him. It really was a peach of a goal and credit must go to Mr Larsson because he didn't celebrate the goal; you could see he really made a point of showing respect to his former club. If I'd have been in his situation I'd have gone absolutely mental with joy at having scored such a brilliant free kick. Within five minutes of going level Sunderland nearly took the lead, but for a marvellous save from Szczesny, saving what should have been a certain goal, point blank stuff. The young Pole kept us in it for sure.

With Arsenal being typically wasteful and consistently suspect in defence, the game had Sunderland stealing a late winner written all over it. Yet it wasn't to be and it was the home side who were destined to grab the late lead, Arsenal scoring the winner with only minutes left. With roughly eight minutes left and the score level, van Persie had a free kick from just outside the box. He proceeded to produce a trademark beauty, curling his left peg around the ball which whipped over and around the wall and into the top corner. Cue celebrations and huge sighs of relief all around, Arsenal had finally taken the lead to make it 2-1 and it was all down to that man again, captain van Persie.

Overall a much needed 3 points and a morale lifting victory. Van Persie has been on fire this season and if he can just stay healthy this Arsenal squad will be so much better for it. Without him we are sitting ducks, dead in the water, and our hopes of playing European football next year go out the window. God forbid anything happen to our star striker and my favourite Gunner. I will literally cry...

Thanks for reading.

When It Rains, It Pours

With the morale-sapping loss to Spurs on Sunday, more bad news follows with information coming through that Bacary Sagna will be out for a minimum of three months. Our reliable right-back has had successful surgery on his broken leg but its another devastating blow for our already crippled squad. This Arsenal team are made of glass, they really are, our hopes of success consistently being destroyed by the injuries the side acquire. The international break has come at just the right time as we don't play again now until Sunderland visit us at the Emirates on Sunday 16 October. Let's hope we don't collect any more casualties to our already bloated injury list. Until then...

Thanks for reading.

Strictly Business Against Bolton

Well its been a while since my last post but come on, there hasn't been much worth talking about has there? Scraping a 1-0 at home against Swansea, nearly beating German champs Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, dropping a clanger in the 4-3 loss to Blackburn and just about beating League 2 Shrewsbury this week in the Carling Cup. Not one of these games inspired me enough to write anything worth reading on here, especially after the disaster at Blackburn; I was completely disheartened with that loss.

However with Arsenal's 3-0 demolition of Bolton today, there is finally cause to write, read and rejoice in all things Arsenal. Two goals from captain Robin van Persie and a late effort from Alex Song ensured all 3 points at the Emirates this afternoon, a well earned and much needed victory for the Gunners. After a largely uneventful first half in which both teams squandered good chances, van Persie slotted home almost immediately after the half time break to give us the lead. Soon after going behind things got worse for Bolton when David Wheater was dismissed after tangling with Theo Walcott. Reduced to 10 men Bolton couldn't stem the Arsenal tide for long, let alone stage a comeback. With just under 20 minutes left the captain doubled his tally for the day and put the game to bed, making it 2-0 to the Arsenal. With the game almost over, Song capped off the win with a deliciously curled effort to make it 3-0 and job done. The only thing to spoil the day was young Theo limping off with only minutes left in the match, with what appeared to be a painful knee injury. With all the injuries we already have, and the news that Jack Wilshere will be out until Christmas, we really could do without losing Theo. Unfortunately injuries have been the bane of this Arsenal squad for many years now and things don't look like changing for us anytime soon.

Alas, lets not dwell on the negative and instead let us embrace the positive. And it doesn't get any better than seeing our captain, Mr Robin van Persie, scoring his 99th and 100th goals for the club this afternoon, joining an elite group in Arsenal history. With Robin joining the centenary club today, it marks a special occasion for our Dutch striker. He has been quality for us over the years, scoring some very important goals and winning some big games. Of course there's always been the other side to the coin, with Robin missing massive parts of his career through injury, always being struck down just when he was really hitting his stride. But during a time when the club needed a leader most, when the team needed their captain to step up, van Persie delivered today with two excellent goals, carrying the club on his back and ensuring all three important points stayed in North London. I'll never get bored of seeing my favourite Gooner smashing the ball past opposition keepers, and just pray he can stay fit for just one whole season. Let's hope Robin can keep up his incredible goals-to-games ratio and make his way up the Arsenal goalscoring leaderboard over the next few years.

So up next for the Gunners is a tricky home game against Greek side Olympiakos in the Champions League. We're at home and we traditionally do well in Europe at the Emirates so I expect nothing but a win. It's imperative to win your home games during the group stages, so we must get a win on Wednesday night. Hopefully I'll be able to tune in and after today's win, I'm even looking forward to it!

Thanks for reading.

Saying Goodbye To Another Captain

The captain's armband has been cruel to us Arsenal fans in recent times. In the last 7 years we have lost 3 high profile captains, each one of them crucial to the squad, to overseas clubs. With Cesc Fabregas's departure to Barcelona today, thus ends one of the longest transfer sagas in football history. The will-he-won't-he move to the Catalan giants has been going on for years now and I imagine there are quite a few Arsenal fans who are feeling a lot of relief today that the drama is all over.

However we cannot escape the fact we have just lost one of the greatest playmakers this club has ever had, and arguably one of the best players of his generation. I am relieved to see this seemingly endless transfer come to an end but I'm also very sad to see a player of Cesc's quality leave us. It's even more annoying that we let him go at such an early age; Fabregas is still only 24, and probably still has his greatest days ahead of him (that is hard to believe, but I'm not sure he's reached his peak yet). Wow those 8 years went fast huh?

Making his first start on a rainy night in the Carling Cup against Rotherham at a tender 16 years of age, Cesc never looked back. Within 2 years he'd staked his claim in the heart of our midfield and Wenger felt so confident in the Spaniard's abilities that the boss let an Arsenal legend in Patrick Vieira leave without a second thought. And again Cesc thrived, going from strength to strength. My one regret in letting Fabregas leave now is that I wish we'd have had one more good season out of him. Last year he was injured most of the time and even when he was on the pitch you could tell he wasn't fully fit and not match-sharp. It's a real shame that we'll never see Cesc again in the red and white, at the top of his game, pulling the strings in midfield with those incredible defence-splitting passes that only he seems capable of executing.

Now he'll be happy, back home in Barcelona, reunited with friends and family in the country and city of his birth. You can't really blame him for wanting to go back, I'm sure nearly every one of us would jump at the chance return home if you could. Cesc has provided us with plenty of great memories over the years and always gave 100% on the field; you could tell he loved playing for us and had a real connection with the supporters. But you've still gotta think, what if? What if we'd won 1 or 2 more trophies in the last 6 years? What if the club had been a bit harder, categorically stating that Fabregas was off limits and not for sale? It's a shame we'll never find out what could have been if Cesc had stayed with us into his 30's...

Arsenal must now prepare for a future without our gifted Spaniard, and probably without Samir Nasri too. You would think with Cesc out of the picture Nasri would take advantage of this and take control of that central attacking midfield position that has been Fabregas's for so long. But if Samir is more interested in his bank balance than his future as Arsenal's playmaker and midfield general, well... he'll be gone before you know it.

Thanks for reading, hope we get a win against Udinese tomorrow night.

Stoke Spoil Any Surprises

So Arsenal's 3-1 defeat today at Stoke finally puts the "title challenge" to rest. It's officially over now, there is no chance of a trophy coming to the Emirates this season. There is no chance of a surprise ending to this topsy-turvy season. It will end with the usual feeling of disappointment we've become accustomed too in recent years. And with United beating Chelsea 2-1, the title-race is over, there'll be no fun to be had there. It would be incredibly unlikely to see Man Utd throw away the title with two games left.

Arsenal... well they need a massive sort out. The defensive errors and frailties on display today just highlight the problems on this squad, and the area that needs addressing the most. Completely hopeless sometimes.

I think the picture says it all really.

Ramsey Rocks United

I haven't really got the time for a full match report or review, and I didn't even get to watch the game live as I was at work. But I did just want to pitch in with how happy I am that we finally got one over Fergie and his boys, after what seemed a long time since we last beat them. It was fantastic to see Aaron Ramsey score the winning goal and he took it so well too. I know its an extremely simplistic view but it is nice to wonder if we have seen signs of life 'after Fabregas', if the Spaniard were to leave for sunnier pastures this summer. I'd like to think with Ramsey and Wilshere in midfield, and maybe another strong/tall midfielder in the squad as well, that we could cope without Cesc if he did in fact leave us. Its interesting to think about at least.

Anyway, I hope Gooners all over the world celebrated yesterday's May Day victory; I doubt very much that this puts us back in the title race, as I don't expect Chelsea and Man United to lose two more matches again this season, or at least drop enough points for us to catch up with them. However our 1-0 win certainly makes the Premier League title race more exciting, and the United - Chelsea game next week should be fantastic.

Thanks for reading, lets finish the season in style.

Same Old Arsenal, Always Infuriating

Say goodbye to any hopes you might have had that Arsenal could still win the title, even after bottling every game over the past month or so. Too many draws, too many mistakes and just not being good enough has put an end to our season, and today Bolton cemented this by beating us 2-1 at The Reebok. A 90th minute header from Tamir Cohen finally laid this Arsenal side to rest for the 2010/11 season. There's always next year I suppose...

This afternoon we had to win at all costs. Anything less would simply confirm that this season was not meant to be, no Premier League trophy for us this time. The first half was relatively even, but Bolton looked dangerous on the counter and from set pieces. Well in the 38th minute, Bolton took the lead. From a corner, Gary Cahill rose above our defence with ease, powering a header into the corner that Samir Nasri did well to chest away. Unfortunately the ball didn't leave Nasri's body with much pace, and Chelsea-loanee Daniel Sturridge was waiting to head the ball back into the net to make it 1-0 Bolton. First blood to the home side and Arsenal needed to respond quickly if they were to maintain any hope of a victory, let alone keeping themselves in the increasingly disappearing title-race.

Well Arsenal did respond, but not in the manner we might have hoped. With only a minute gone into the second half, Sturridge got on the wrong side of Djourou in the penalty area and went down; the referee instantly pointed to the spot and it looked like Arsenal's dreams of a successful afternoon had quickly descended into a nightmare. Kevin Davies stepped up to the spot, but thankfully his penalty attempt was atrocious and Szczesny saved with ease, keeping Arsenal in the game. This swing in momentum appeared to galvanise the men in red and white and only minutes later Arsenal were back in the game. Robin van Persie played a nice one-two with Fabregas, and the Dutchman laced the ball past Jaaskelainen to make it 1-1 and game on. For the next 40 minutes or so, Arsenal set up camp around the Bolton area but just could not get that all important second goal. Nasri had a great chance to take the lead but could only hit his shot at the keeper, before having the rebound blocked. It just looked like one of those days, with Wenger casting a frustrated figure on the touchline as the Gunners spurned chance after chance, failing to shoot when they would pass instead. Just when things couldn't get much worse, substitute Tamir Cohen popped up from a Bolton corner in the 90th minute and made it 2-1 to the home side; game over for Arsenal, and season over as well. Another set piece, another lapse in concentration and another goal - Arsenal just could not handle Bolton from corners this afternoon and they paid the price for it. Cohen had only been on the pitch for five minutes too...

So now Arsenal can forget the title, they can forget the celebrations and the medals. No open-top bus parade this year. The Gunners now have more pressing concerns in the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City. Carlo Ancelotti's team have hit a hot patch of late and have soared into second place, and now they have a three point advantage over us and a better goal difference as well. In all likeliness, Arsenal have probably thrown away their chance at second, let alone first, unless they can right this sinking ship and finish the season with some respect. The blue side of Manchester are also a concern; they have two games in hand and if we don't wake up, they could quite easily steal third place from us. That would be a disaster.

Anyway, unless Arsenal can win all their remaining games and a miracle occurs, this will probably be my last post on here this season. I have a lot of uni work coming up and once thats done I might write a piece or two on what I think the club should do in the off-season; who they should buy, who they should sell, stuff like that.

Thanks for reading.

So Close But Then So Far

Arsenal threw away a golden chance at catching Man United this afternoon, wasting a 1-0 lead against Liverpool by needlessly giving away a late penalty, which Dirk Kuyt converted to make it 1-1 after 100 minutes had passed on the clock. Thanks to yet another draw at home, this result has pretty much all but confirmed that its United's title to lose now. Arsenal's title challenge is dead in the water now, and unless Ferguson's Manchester side has a complete meltdown, the Gunner's dreams of a trophy have come to an abrupt end.

This was a crazy game that had plenty of typical Arsenal stuff in it; we dominated possession for the majority of the game and, as per usual, tried to score that perfect (and elusive) goal. We constantly tried to thread the needle today, always trying to walk the ball in the net. I just wish our players would have a crack at goal more often, rather than pussy-foot around the edge of the box like they normally do, and finally give the ball away. It is the latter that we witnessed more of today, much to the fan's frustration. Despite Liverpool having to field a pretty weakened side, we couldn't capitalise on their weaknesses at all. We had a great chance of beating Dalglish's squad today, as the injuries mounted up during the game when Aurelio and Carragher were both forced to leave the field, yet we still couldn't force any real threats on that depleted defence. Carragher's injury was particularly bad and he had to be stretchered from the pitch - it was this delay that caused the officials to rule for 8 minutes of injury time to be played. It was during those 8 minutes when things got interesting.

With only a minute or so left with the score still 0-0, with Arsenal knocking on the door and really trying to force a chance, captain Fabregas got tripped in the box and the ref instantly pointed to the spot for a penalty. The Gooner faithful celebrated at the decision, and went ballistic when Robin van Persie put it in the left corner to make it 1-0. Game over, surely? However, from the restart Liverpool tried an audacious shot at Szczesny from the half way line, which the Polish keeper reacted to and stopped what could have been a stunning goal. But surely thats it now, right? Somehow, some way, Liverpool regained possession and after some sloppy defending, were awarded a free kick right on the edge of the penalty box. Arsenal were pretty lucky actually, as some refs may have judged the foul to have been in the box and awarded a spot-kick. Now by this time, we are in the 99th minute and the game should be over, whistle blown and three crucial points in Arsenal's hands. But Liverpool were awarded the time to take their free kick and Suarez, so close to goal, had no choice but to thump it at the wall and hope a deflection carried it goalwards. Suarez's free-kick did hit the wall and spilled out to the left where Lucas and Eboue gave chase and this is where things got ridiculous. The second that ball pinged off of the Arsenal wall, the referee Andre Marriner should have blown the final whistle as we were now well over the allotted time added on to the original 90 - the game had overrun by about three minutes or so. But Eboue clumsily battled with Lucas for the loose ball, which Lucas milked for all it was worth and went down very easily, but it was enough for Marriner to be fooled and he awarded a penalty. I was furious that the game was still being played, and Dirk Kuyt made things worse when he squeezed the ball past Szczesny to make it 1-1 with the final kick of the game. Marriner blew the whistle immediately and consequently ended Arsenal's title hopes for good.

Now I'm not going to crucify Eboue for making that stupid mistake, everybody messes up, but he will not escape the blame for this one. Even if Lucas collected that ball and got it under control, he was still in a pretty harmless position with his back to goal. Eboue just needed to watch his man and shield him away from creating anything dangerous - instead Lucas leads him into making a stupid mistake and costing Arsenal any chance of winning a trophy this year. Another mistake, more punishment, and the Gunner's cruel season of blunders and costly errors continues. I'm just fed up that this team with so much talent and skill can continue to fuck up when it really matters - things just have not gone our way this year.

Our next game is against Tottenham on Wednesday at White Hart Lane. After taking a licking from Madrid, the Spuds will be keen to rebound against their rivals and I would really like to get revenge on them for that 2-3 calamity at the Emirates earlier this season. So fingers crossed we can get a result and Man U fuck up somewhere along the road, but at the moment I can't see that happening and I just hope Chelsea and Man City don't leapfrog us over the next few weeks.

Thanks for reading.

Out Of The Wilderness

So its been a while since I last posted anything, and that's down to a couple of reasons:

1) I've had a lot of university work to do. Gotta get that dissertation done, amongst other things.

2) I've been in Rome as well... not much time to blog from Italia.

So since I last blogged about Arsenal, the Gunners could only muster a 0-0 draw at home to Blackburn (a miserable result) but they did manage to beat Blackpool 3-1 at Bloomfield Road. Its good to see that we are back to winning ways but I fear it may be too late, as United have been relentless during the run-in. As of today we are 7 points behind the leaders with a game in hand; that game is at White Hart Lane against Spurs, and we still have to play United at home. Even if we win both of those games, we will still be behind by 1 point and will need United to slip up if we're to stand any chance of winning the league. Every game for Arsenal now is a must-win - there can be no more draws and definitely no more losses - any dropped points from now on means the title challenge is dead. The team needs to step it up a bit during this run-in if we are to stand any chance of catching United. I am glad to hear that van Persie has been trying to instil some fighting spirit in the squad; apparently he gave Diaby a grilling at half time in Blackpool last weekend, and its about time someone did. Diaby actually looked to have had a decent game at Bloomfield Road, even scoring a rare goal, but his performances this season have been a mixed bag. I am not Diaby's biggest fan, and would preferably like to see him offloaded next season. I think he is far too casual on the ball and doesn't pass when he probably should, which is infuriating on the counter-attack when he refuses to play the ball suitably. Despite his great ability to control the ball, sometimes beating opposition players with ease, his decision making has always been questionable and it seems we always get punished when Diaby gets caught in possession, which is an all too regular occurrence. So I'm glad van Persie gave him some stick - its a welcome sign from the Dutchman that he's taking some control in the locker-room, some much-needed leadership.

But first of all we have the matter of a revitalised Liverpool side coming to the Emirates, who have gained some serious momentum since 'King Kenny' Dalglish returned to Anfield, desperately trying to secure European football for next year. That, coupled with Andy Carroll's return from injury, makes the game tomorrow a tricky encounter. Carroll has been slowly getting back to 100% since his recovery, and he looks to have recaptured his early-season form with 2 goals against Manchester City this week. If you can cast your mind back to the last time Carroll visited the Emirates, you'll remember him rising high to head home the only goal for Newcastle in a 1-0 win. I really like Carroll, I think he's a fantastic player, the definitive English centre forward. However, I wouldn't mind if he has an absolute shocker tomorrow, him and the rest of the Liverpool squad. Its crucial that we beat the Merseysiders tomorrow afternoon and they will not go easy on us, but thankfully our injury concerns are beginning to clear up a bit, with reports that Szczesny could return in goal, and Djourou and Sagna could also play a part. Wenger needs to stress to the team that there can be no more mistakes from now on, every chance needs to be taken and capitalised on, or the season is over and the fans go back to uttering the "what ifs" and "what could have beens". I think, over the last few years, we are all fed up of that.

Thanks for reading.

Chance To Close The Gap

Today's game against Sunderland is a huge turning point in Arsenal's Premier League season. Win today and Arsene Wenger's men crawl to within 1 measly point of league leaders Man United. Steve Bruce's Sunderland are all that stand in the way...

I haven't posted for a while because I've still been mourning from the events that occurred last weekend. I don't begrudge Birmingham the win, I think they deserved it to be honest, but I am still so annoyed at how we threw that game away. The game could have gone either way at 1-1 and I think if we went into extra time we would have emerged victorious. But to lose like that makes me sick, especially when its a cup final. The 5-0 win over Leyton Orient on Wednesday cheered me up a bit, setting up a tasty battle against United at Old Trafford. I think if we have our guys healthy, we can beat them.

Anyway, attention must first turn to the game at 3 o'clock this afternoon. Sunderland have been pretty awful of late, losing their last 4 league games so they are there for the taking and we must ensure we get the win today, because anything less will be considered as a disaster especially in the wake of United's loss at Chelsea; this is a glorious chance to put our mark on this title race and keep the pressure on Fergie and his boys.

The big news is that Aaron Ramsey has returned from his latest loan spell at Cardiff and is in the squad for today's game. Its exciting to think he could make a big impact today and I hope he gets some game time this afternoon, it would be brilliant to see the Welsh wonder run out at the Emirates. I'll be at work so will miss the game as per usual but I'll be keeping a close eye on the scoreline once 3 o'clock rolls around. Massive day for the Arsenal, just gotta hope they can deliver when it matters...

Thanks for reading.