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SOCCER NEWS
SOCCER NEWS

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Spuds baked, fried, mashed and then devoured

Rarely can a football game be so very enjoyable. I think everyone was a bit twitchy before the game, there is just so much more for us to lose in these games, we are the big club there to be knocked down and if we win then everyone just says that that's what was expected. The atmosphere before the game was a bit special, I think all of us wanted to see all the spuds' pre match boasting rammed

Friday, October 30, 2009

No hiding place

So Liverpool were seen off in the week, an entertaining game and overall a deserved victory. Ramsey has taken a lot of plaudits, as has Fran Merida. Fabianski has apparently picked up a muscular strain which means that Arsene cannot hide from the Almunia question. Will Manuel start against the spuds? I do not know, I just hope that he does.The banter has been there from the spuds, Keane

Monday, October 26, 2009

Manuel Almunia

What is going on here? Manuel has missed over a month with a chest infection. He was fit for Birmingham but is still yet to start a game since his mysterious illness. Arsene has been cryptic in his backing or lack of it:“I wouldn't say Manuel is no longer our automatic first choice" I am perplexed. There must be more to this than the club is letting on. Manuel is by far our best goalkeeper and

Frustration and English cheats

I have deliberately taken 24 hours to calm down following the West Ham result, I thought that I would see reason and become more objective upon reflection. Strangely I am still seeing things as I did yesterday, my frustration at our ability to hold onto a comfortable lead is still somewhat raw.The game was a strange one. West Ham knocked it around nicely in the first ten minutes but as the

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Still got it Den

Sign him up Arsene! A big day's football tomorrow with Manu-Liverpool and our trip to Upton park. Eduardo is fit, Rosicky is not, Bendtner may be. Scott Parker returns from a one match ban for the hammers. Elsewhere Henri Lansbury looks impressive and demonstrated his fitness with a couple of goals on loan at Watford. The wealth of talent that Arsene has assembled in terms of young midfield

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Happy birthday Arsene - no pressure

Firstly happy 60th birthday Monsieur Wenger, thank you for the expert management over the years and hopefully we can squeeze a few more out of him before he decide sto call it a day. The club has been transformed since Arsene took charge, we have a new stadium, a new training ground and a new ethos. Football in England has also been revolutionised since Arsene arrived at these shores.It was

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Alkmaar trip - a learning experience

It is getting cold and miserable, so hopefully the lads can keep us warm with a few more sterling performances in the next few weeks. The starting eleven against Alkmaar saw the fullbacks replaced, Arshavin came in for Walcott and Mannone surprisingly held his place.Alkmaar are a good technical side and passed the ball around neatly, they did lack a real quality cutting edge though, it was neat

Monday, October 19, 2009

Walcott out for a few weeks

Theo has strained his medial knee ligament which means he is out of action for at least three weeks, pretty unfortunate given his recent bad luck with injuries. People have said it was a fair challenge, I disagree, it was an aggressive tackle and was definitely not fair. Ridgewell followed through with the leg that didn't win the ball and the venom shown with this follow through was clear. It

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Overall a good weekend

Three more valuable points won, it was not quite as stress free as it could have been but if Birmingham had managed to take anything away from the Emirates it would have been an absolute travesty of justice. It was a workmanlike and physical Birmingham side, they are not an easy side to break down but they do lack a cutting edge offensively and really need to add to their squad in terms of top

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Starting XI and updates

Arsenal : Mannone, Eboue, Gallas, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Fabregas, Song Billong, Diaby, Walcott, van Persie, Rosicky. Subs: Almunia, Sagna, Ramsey, Silvestre, Wilshere, Arshavin, Traore.Good to see Theo back on the team sheet. Plenty of ammunition on the bench that can be used later on if neccessary.A high tempo start with Hart's goal peppered early doors, Rosicky looking sharp and goes close twice.1-

Friday, October 16, 2009

Enthisiasm on the return

Is this a mirage? Or are we about to see some exciting football return to our planet as the boredom and general dullness of international football is replaced by the hustle and bustle of the Premier League. I certainly hope so. God FIFA and UEFA have a lot to answer for. The international game is so bloody dull, we so so rarely see decent teams play each other, there are so many meaningless or

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Taking the Chelsea Pension

I was intrigued to see Thierry Henry on the pitch before the Blackburn game. Particularly given his appearance as a spectator followed his comments in the press during last week that he hoped to return to Arsenal, and was even willing to take a job as a water boy.The warm applause and chants that Thierry received were befitting for an ex-player of his status, but it was unusual nonetheless to see

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Blackburn dismantled, the walrus whines and Chelsea grind on

The attacking play was outstanding, I lost count of the excellent chances that came and went, somehow Blackburn stayed in a game for a lot longer than they deserved, but in the end our extra quality told. The midfield three of Cesc/Song/Diaby with the attacking trio of Rosicky/RVP/Arshavin, then the predictable back four plus Mannone in goal made up the starting eleven. Cesc sparkled, Rosicky

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Pathetic weak FA

If Emmanuel had done what he did on a rugby field he would have got far more than a three match ban. The deliberate stamp on RVP's face was beneath contempt, he should have got at least a six game ban for this act of clear malice. He knew what he was doing, it is obvious from the footage that he saw exactly where he was raking his filthy studs. The FA have given him a very lenient sentence. In my

Wenger's Lucky Thirteenth?

There is always an element of subjectivity in any analysis or judgement, particularly so, perhaps, in matters of the heart. And football.Along with the Corrs dilemma, the other seminal philososphical debate of the modern era is if you had a straight choice between Arsenal winning the Champions League and the Premier League - which would you choose?Now, before you choke on your cornflakes, take a