Zico Frustrated

After a match we’ve dominated (26 shots on goal to 8), we are rightfully on top of Group H. Olympiakos would have signed up for a point before the game and it looked as though they’d get that point – their keeper, Antonis Nikopolidis, was fantastic. Robin and Andrei Arshavin rescued the points after a memorable display by Nikopolidis. It was very much like what we witnessed at Craven Cottage this past weekend except Vito’s side won.

Olympiakos fans must feel gutted. Imagine how you’d feel if Robin’s shot had bounced off the post instead of beating Schwarzer. Imagine if Andy Johnson and the prolific Bobby Zamora had both netted late goals Saturday. Maybe Wenger wouldn’t have complained about the officials but the feelings of disappointment and deep regret would still hurt today, five days later.

Besides their fans leaving London bitterly disappointed, manager and legendary footballer Zico has expressed his frustration. Quotes attributed to the former Brazil forward seemed to point fingers at UEFA for being insensitive to the fact that Arsenal are a very French club, at least on the pitch anyway.

“We had three French officials with a French coach [Arsène Wenger] on the opposing team and ten French players. Maybe we could have had referees from other countries. I don’t want to talk only about this, but perhaps it should be taken into account. It’s only a comment, but it’s my right to comment.”

I will defend anyone’s right to comment. I might not always agree with the comment but a man should have the right to express himself. Tempe Arizona Pastor Steven Anderson, Harry Redknapp, Alex Ferguson, Sam Allardyce, William Gallas, Arsene Wenger and anyone who wants to speak has a right to comment.

That Zico has commented on alleged insensitivity by UEFA shouldn’t upset Gooners. If he’s wrong, he’s wrong but it shouldn’t be a stain on him. He has spoken after a very difficult defeat. He has spoken in frustration. He has spoken after seeing Nikopolidis perform heroics yet still lose. Moreover, he has pointed to at least two factors – two major blows to the opposition – that we as Arsenal fans would have found very difficult to accept if we’d been on the receiving end.

I firmly believe that missed penalties we should have had, blatant fouls against us that were not called, offsides goals against us that were not ruled out, etc., balance out over time. So when Zico points to a handball by Alex Song before our second goal vs. Standard, and the off-sides position (cough! cough!) The Little Magician seemed to be in when he received the ball for his cheeky back-heel past Nikopolidis, we have to accept that it is painful for Zico and that he is speaking from emotions that we have felt before and, let’s be clear, will feel again one day.

Surely there’ll be attacks on Zico’s abilities as a manager in response to his comment but he does have some pedigree. He isn’t a Ferguson or a Lippi but he has won Cups and League Titles in various countries. He has steered Japan to an Asian Cup victory. For what it’s worth, he has won before. Let’s not get carried away and over-react to comments he’s made clearly out of extreme frustration.

The three points are ours. Five days without a game will do the boys a world of good. Blackburn Rovers visit The Emirates Sunday. It’s always nice to beat those stnuc.

Undeserved

Undeserved.

That is what nearly every media pundit is calling our result from Saturday.

They claim that it if it wasn't for Mannone, we would have hardly deserved even a draw, let alone the three points. While that is fundamentally true (I suppose), we do have Mannone. And we have a striker who can convert a crucial chance that tends to decide contests like this.

Make no mistake about it, Fulham were professional and organized. I have gone on and on about how good of a manager Roy Hodgson is. But to call this contest one-sided is largely unrepresentative of the match itself.

Were it not for a pebble on the pitch, Arshavin would have put away a chance in the first half. As much plaudits as Vito is getting, he made the saves that needed to be made. They weren't necessarily jaw dropping saves. They were a step up from perfunctory, but it wasn't Seaman-esqe (a la FA Cup final against Sheffield United).

The main point I want to bring up is this. Were Manchester United have done the same thing we did on Saturday, the English press would have called it a result that champions tend to grind out. The fact that we are not champions doesn't preclude us from earning such praise. Craven Cottage is a tough place to visit, and the match played out to my expectations.

Granted, we weren't passing well, but I'm happy we have the three points. As Roy Hodgson so pointedly said, "in six months time, the only thing people will remember is that Arsenal got three points from this fixture." Right you are.

As for today, Olympiacos presents a standard challenge. You can't overlook them, but when their most dangerous player is Matt Derbyshire (and he isn't even playing), they're not the type of team that should give us major problems. That being said, keep an eye out for Diogo, a striker we were purportedly interested in. He's a decent player.

Olof Mellberg

Anyone who grabs Freddie like Mellberg did back in 2002 is a cunt. He also played for Aston Villa, which makes him an even bigger cunt.

Fuck you Mellberg. I hope you play shit tonight.

Keep it Arsenal

Post Match View - Fulham F.C.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Every picture tells a story.

The over-used cliches that fit the picture above would fall well short of doing justice to Vito Mannone's performance against Fulham.

"I believe we will give him 10 out of 10 because everything he did was right...Until the next game he is No. 1. In this job you have to go from game to game." AW

I won't cheapen this post with a gratuitous attack on Manuel Almunia however it is clear that Wojciech and Vito are improving fast. Arsene has awakened this morning with a good headache - the kind that doesn't hurt. The goalkeeping position has been a serious issue for me but there seems to be competition now. Hopefully that will improve our chances of remaining competitve when it matters most.

Rookie keeper Vito Mannone played a game yesterday that my colleague has called "The best Arsenal goalkeeper performance he's seen in years". I agree. Vito was the undisputed Man of The Match.

The victory was well earned. Roy Hodgson and his Fulham side are no mugs. Let's be clear, leaving Craven Cottage with three points was massive. Fulham were up for it. They fought hard and remained disciplined throughout. A lesser Arsenal side would have (and have left) disappointed.

The match was the first for The Little Magician after recovering from injury. He played a bit part however. He was either not up for it or still trying to find his rhythm. I hope that Andrei is not disinterested in playing against the less fashionable sides. We've seen big performances from him but there have been matches when he's not got out of third gear. The chance he missed in the 22nd minute was well defended by a late tackle but we've come to expect him to finish from those positions.

The First Half featured a fine save by Vito from an Andy Johnson header on 15. When the rebound fell to Clint Dempsey, Mannone showed excellent reflexes to keep the score level by getting in front of the striker's effort. A sign of things to come for the frustrated Cottagers. Cesc could have done better with his chance on 18. As mentioned earlier, Arshavin's miss on 22 was notable. Vito did very well to stop Zoltan Gera's effort on 36.

All in all it was a fairly even First Half with Fulham perhaps getting the nod on points if we're speaking in boxing terms.

We had more of the same dogged, physical effort from Fulham in the Second Half. It started to look like the kind of game where we'd be OK settling for minimal damage and a draw. Credit to Fulham. They are a decent side.

And then, on 52, Song intercepts an errant pass just right of the center circle in Arsenal's half , feeds Diaby who touches to Cesc. Our Captain lofts an inch perfect ball to Robin. His first touch is Robinesque. He finishes with his right foot, beating Schwarzer far post.

Fulham F.C. 0 Arsenal F.C. 1

The score would remain that way thanks to the heroic efforts of Vito Mannone. On 56, he denied Johnson's fine header. Gallas was guilty of leaving Johnson too much space. Vito to the rescue.

On 67, Gallas helped out with a fine last ditch tackle to prevent Zamora from netting. On 77, Diaby lost possession in his own half, again, to allow Fulham another chance to test the rookie keeper. Mannone was up to the task as he dove well to keep Andy Johnson off the score sheet. Zamora was also denied later before Eboue and Bendtner missed chances to make the game 3 or even 4 nil. It would have been cruel but they really should have done better with their chances.

A good win. No doubt about it.

I just want to make a note in closing that Alex Song's sweet footwork on 88 to keep possession should be recognized for the excellent piece of skill while under pressure that it was.

Craven Cottage

The last few years at Craven Cottage has not provided kind memories for our squad.

Last year at Craven Cottage, we were definitively beaten even though the final score was only 1-nil. In van Persie's words, "Fulham played better, wanted it more." And that is indeed a feeling I haven't experienced with an Arsenal team in quite some time.

Fulham earned 4 points against us last year, better than nearly every team in the Premier League. Roy Hodgson propelled them into the Europa League, and that tournament may have taken something out of them this year.

I always knew that Hodgson would pan out for them. He's a bright, elderly football mind who clearly should have been England's manager at some point in his career. They're not quite clicking at the moment, but they're always dangerous at home.

Let's not forget that three years ago, Alex Song made one of his first appearances for us in the Premiership against Fulham. He was not up to snuff and was subbed at half time. That performance singlehandedly condemned Song to most Arsenal fans for the next two years. I think Alex Song has proven his worth by now, but even he must understand that in this old stomping ground, he'll have a chance to show that things have come full circle.

Along with the return of The Russian, Theo may well play a part. Once we reach the middle of October, Nasri and Fabianski will return as well.

Now is the time to avoid looking at the league table and just string results together against teams we know we can beat.

Liverpool

According to documents released by investment banks Rothschild and Merrill Lynch, Liverpool will only have 20 million pounds each summer, until 2014, to spend on renewing contracts and transfers. In other words, they will have to sell players before they can buy players.

Liverpool are currently $471 million in debt.

Their owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, have been looking to sell their shares in the club for the past two seasons. They desperately need new finance.

One thing is certain, Liverpool will not be moving to a new state of the art stadium for at least another 10 years. Financially, Liverpool are in grave danger of falling behind Europe's top clubs, with Manchester City most likely to take their position in the hierarchy of English football.

Gerrard, 29, will not leave Liverpool. He was very close to joining Chelsea in the summer of 2005 for 32 million pounds, but he's recently signed a new contract and will end his career at Liverpool. However, if Torres leaves, it will confirm Liverpool's financial demise and cause outcry from their fans.

The sale of Alonso to Real Madrid confirmed Liverpool's new status as a selling club. Mascherano will probably be next to leave. He was close to joining Barcelona this summer and was bitterly disappointed that the transfer didn't go through.

Arsenal fans deep down realize that Cesc Fabregas will move back to Spain at some point in his career. The question is not if but when he will leave. I think Wenger will let Fabregas leave once he finds a suitable replacement. The progress of Jack Wilshire will be interesting.

Arsenal are in debt as well. Wenger has been operating on a shoe string budget - compared to Europe's top clubs - for years. Arsenal's debt is due to the building of The Emirates stadium. In less than five years, the debt will be gone. Profits will be up.

The only problem Arsenal have is the struggle for power at boardroom level. However, both Kroenke and Usmanov have not borrowed money to buy their shares, unlike the owners of Liverpool or Manchester United.

This puts Arsenal on stable footing.

In other news, Phil Brown's job at Hull City looks unstable. Hull have only won one game out of seven this season. Last night they were thrashed 4-0 at home to Everton. Their next game is away to Liverpool. I don't think that Mr. Brown will be in charge of Hull when they play Arsenal at The Emirates on December 19th. That's a real shame for Arsenal fans who were looking forward to giving the scumbag top quality abuse.

Sol Campbell left the Arsenal dressing room at half-time during a game against West Ham at Highbury in 2006. Arsenal were losing 2-0 at the time due to mistakes made by Campbell. His actions that night were mainly due to personal problems. Campbell later failed a paternity test after having a fling with an unknamed woman. His walkout on Notts County after just one game comes as no surprise, even if Campbell was earning $70,000 a week. Arsenal lost 3-2 against West Ham the night Campbell fucked off at half-time. The defeat seriously dented Arsenal's chances of making the top four. Campbell's actions left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Gooners.

Never walk out on Arsenal.

Keep it Arsenal.

Lula, meet Kanu

Circa 2004, there was a Brazilian U-17 youth international named Lula who looked as good as any player I have seen at his age. I remember how amazing Nwanko Kanu was when I saw him play for Nigeria in the 1993 U-17 FIFA Youth World Cup – phenomenal!

Lula had a similar effect on me.

He played as an attacking midfielder and ran through defences like the proverbial hot knife cutting butter. He was full of flair, speed, strength, imagination, determination, vision, and all the other attributes that made me feel that the kid was the real deal. Of course there could be thousands more Lulas in Brazil at any given point in time – some make it some don’t. I’ve lost track of Lula. I suppose he would have made headlines by now if he had made it as a senior pro.

Such is the uncertainty of youth.

Kanu has had a marvelous career. He’s won the following titles/medals at least once:
o Nigerian Premier League
o FIFA U-17 World Cup
o Olympic Gold
o Dutch Eredivisie
o UEFA Cup
o UEFA Champions League
o UEFA Super Cup
o Intercontinental Cup
o FA Cup
o English Premier League

A heart valve defect slowed but did not stop his career. There aren’t too many players (dead or alive) who can match Kanu’s list of accomplishments. And he wasn’t just a passenger on those teams. He was a superb footballer.

The 2009 edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup kicks off tomorrow in Alexandria, Egypt. In previous tournaments, we’ve seen stars like Maradona and van Basten emerge. I can forgive you for not having noticed that the tournament is already upon us. The groups are as follows:
Group A: Egypt, Italy, Paraguay, Trinidad & Tobago
Group B: Nigeria, Spain, Tahiti, Venezuela
Group C: Cameroon, Germany, South Korea, United States
Group D: England, Ghana, Uruguay, Uzbekistan
Group E: Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Czech Republic
Group F: Honduras, Hungary, South Africa, United Arab Emirates

Will the star players of the next generation emerge? Will there be any Kanus or Messis? Will there be any Lulas?

The Carling Cup Begins

For those that clamor for Jack Wilshere's appearance in every Arsenal match (and there are many who think this way), read these words.

"When I first went into the first team dressing room last summer, I thought I was ready to play for Arsenal then. But if you look now at how much I've improved, I wasn't really ready back then to play regularly so obviously the boss knows what he is doing. When I look back I realise he was right to use me how he did."

Those are the words of Jack Wilshere himself.

In other words, Wenger knows what he's doing.

And with players like Sanchez Watt, Francis Coquelin, Carlos Vela, Kyle Bartley and Wojciech Szenscy all lurking in the background, Wilshere isn't the only one who's close to breaking through.

People in Barcelona used to describe Lionel Messi as the crown jewel of their academy. I'm not saying that Wilshere will end up even half the player that Messi is. All I'm saying is, he's almost ready and just enjoy what you see.

Cunt

The cunt above is celebrating a last minute winner by his Bernard Tapie run club, in front of rival Manchester City fans. The goal was scored in the sixth minute of injury time when only four minutes were meant to have been played. Gary Neville was fined 5 grand and banned for two games for doing a similar act against Liverpool fans.

He is a cunt.

I don't give a fuck about City or their fans, especially after the way they behaved last weekend against Arsenal. However, I do have grave concern for the way Manchester United repeatedly win games, year after year, season after season, on very controversial decisions.

In the Premiership, social equality exists - a team from the lower divisions can through successive promotions play against the best. Manchester City, are great example of this. Back in 1999, they were playing in the third tier of English football. Now, with private investment from Dubai, they threaten to break into the top four.

However, social equality exists only on paper. To gain promotions and avoid relegation in the Premiership you need money. Without it, you will eventually go back down to where you came from.

Economic equality does not exist in the Premiership. Clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool Chelsea and now Manchester City will always have more money than others. Liverpool, however, will fall on hard times if they fail to finish in the top four. They are vulnerable.

Arsenal are not.

Arsenal are the best run club - financially - in the Premiership. The building of a state of the art stadium and training ground, the Highbury Square and Eden Grove projects, Europe's best youth system, qualifying for the Champions League group stages for 10 years on the trot - has all been done without the finances of some billionaire or the benefits that Man United have had and still have.

People are jealous of that fact.

Other fans have always detested that Arsenal hold the record for the longest uninterrupted period in the top tier of English football.

They hate Arsenal's stylish football and the fact that Arsenal are the only Premier league club to have gone a season unbeaten.

But what really gets up people's noses, is that Arsenal have class.

Clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea, and Manchester City don't and never will. Classless cunts like Gary Neville, who celebrate in front of opposing fans when they're not even playing, don't exist at Arsenal. We don't have managers who jump around like Martin O'Neill, Alex Ferguson or Alan Pardew.

Arsenal are above that.

Keep it Arsenal

Post Match View - Wigan Athletic

The score could have been even more lopsided. What looked like clear handballs by Eboue and Gallas had very little effect on the outcome of the match. Eboue's was at the Wigan end and he got his yellow for it, and even if Gallas had been penalized, a yellow, a penalty, and a goal against were surely the worst we would have deserved. In theory anyway.

Arsenal had enough chances in the First Half to put the game beyond reach. The only thing that outnumbered our opportunities were the number of fouls committed by Wigan. Arsene has referred to conversations he's had with the FA regarding repeated fouls. It is an interesting thought to consider if "professional fouls" need to be punished more for the sake of positive, attacking football.

Arsene said that winning so emphatically after an away CL fixture in midweek is an added bonus. Yes, indeed. Standard Liege was quite a result. The boys worked very hard for those three points on Wednesday. We can look forward to seeing an entirely different team in the Carling Cup Tuesday. We certainly won't see Cesc. There were times when he looked a step behind the game yesterday but late on he was still making runs and got his reward to show for it. It'll be interesting to hear if he carried a knock into the Wigan match or got one during.

Silent Stan and Spike Lee were among the Yanks in the seats on a beautiful sunny day. Stan was spotted seated next to Mr. Hill-Wood. How times have changed!

Vito Mannone had very little to do that challenged his abilities. The jury will remain out on him for a while yet but I am not afraid to give him time in the team to build confidence. How else will he develop?

Eboue was lively.

Gallas and Song have played better but were good value nonetheless.

Rosicky wasn't injured and looked good while he was on. The comeback continues.

Robin was frustrated by his poor display - we all know he's better than what we saw.

Sagna and Clichy were safe - the latter especially as compared to last week. Credit due for getting into Wigan's box to deliver a fine cross for Eduardo.

Diaby has lost the form displayed earlier this season but he wasn't terrible.

It was our summer signing who stole the show. He is now our leading scorer.

Full Circle: Eboue and Wigan

It was against Wigan that "The Better" Emmanuel Eboue suffered his worst moment as a professional football player. A player who wants to be loved by the fans more than any other, he delivered a humiliating performance that culminated with him being booed off the pitch. At the time, I reckoned that his Arsenal career was over. I was wrong, and I'm so happy that I was.

Sure, there are people who still rip him. There are also moments when you get frustrated with his play and his occasional forays into simulation. But here is a man who won his way back into our team the proper way.

Instead of sulking and delivering lackluster efforts, he's worked hard and proven to be a real asset to the team. At the moment, he can function as a utility man. He can play as a right back, right winger, or a central midfield player. The fact that he doesn't necessarily excel at any of those positions is of no real importance. He is not a first choice player, but he's a player we definitely need in our side.

You see, I have a real soft spot for Emmanuel Eboue. He is clearly loved within the Arsenal locker room, and I truly believe that he doesn't possess a malicious bone in his body. That doesn't mean he can't be ruthless, as he so aptly demonstrated in his condemnation of Adebayor's actions. It just means that I feel his presence brings a positive spirit to the squad.

In fact, if you consider the fact that Eboue was subject to some actual horrific treatment by our fans, you could comprehend it if he came out and acted moody and continued to play like he didn't give a damn. It happened with one Emmanuel (although his treatment was NEVER as poor as the media would have you believe), but it didn't happen with this one.

It is no surprise to me that Eboue is still an Arsenal player. He genuinely cares about our fans, our team, and our manager.

As for Wigan, they come into this fixture as a completely different side to the one we played against. At that time, Steve Bruce was virtually lollygagging his way into the Sunderland job. He showed little passion, and the match was a rather forgettable 1-0 affair that we just about squeaked out at the Emirates.

Now they have Roberto Martinez, a figure who is a beloved figure himself at Wigan. He was one of the first foreign players to ever play for Wigan, and when Steve Bruce deserted them, there was only one possible man for the job.

He likes to play football. They're a much more formidable side than West Brom though, as they possess the players needed to clog up the midfield in Hendry Thomas and Diame. But if they play open, it'll be slightly easier to carve them open as opposed to when we last played them.

If we see a dominating display tomorrow, we'll know our team is back on track. We're beginning a stretch of games where we need to start stamping our dominance all over the pitch.

An Afternoon Spent With The Negatives

Watching Arsenal on a computer can be painful. The size of the picture can be small - the dimension of a matchbox - while the live web stream can be awful. You may have to resort to using other alternatives to follow Arsenal. One is getting live updates via certain websites. Another is getting your friend to text you updates. Yesterday, I resorted to the former.

I went on an a certain Arsenal message board to get my fix. This is how it went:

2 minutes before kick-off. SOLMAN comments on our rookie keeper starting:
"Manone is shit. I watched him against Athletico Madrid in The Emirates Cup. He makes Paul Robinson look world class. I'm fucking worried. Surely, we have someone better than that cunt."

The game kicks off. ROO writes:
"Manone in goal. Shock/horror."

Standard Liege 1-0 Arsenal. Boulder-I Kissed Our Gael and I Liked It, writes, after Eduardo's back-heel sets up Mangala's goal:
"Should have banned that cheating cunt."

Billy Goat Mates concurs:
"Wishing he (Eduardo) was banned now."

Arse-n-all adds:
"What a fucking shocking start. Shit play Eduardo!!"

Standard Liege then win a penalty. Arse-n-all, reports:
"More shit fuck-up play. Gallas and Eboue. Fucking penalty now! Eboue is a cunt for giving the ball away on the half-way line."

But, Boulder-I Kissed Our Gael and I Liked It, instead decides to target Eduardo and not Eboue:
"How overrated is Eduardo?"

But Eboue, the ire of most Negatives, is later attacked by 2020 Championship Tipster, who writes:
"Eboue, Stop getting dragged into the middle you dozy cunt!"

Arse-n-all, however, must have only been watching Arsenal for a few weeks because he states:
"This is the worst 20 minutes of Arsenal that I have seen in a long time."

"Sack Wenger at half-time," writes The Tony C.

"Wigan must be licking their lips," comments the positive IU4G - Orbital Gigs Soon.

"Diaby is playing proper wank," claims the observant Billy Goat Mates.

But Diaby isn't the only player having a bad game according to Bhajji is Back, who asks a similar question posted earlier by Boulder-I Kissed Our Gael and I Liked It:
"How shit is Eduardo?"

But then you know things are bad when the target of The Negatives attack suddenly becomes the coaching staff. MountainCamp-Optimistic Ostrich writes as the score remains 2-0:
"Pat Rice opting for his usual silence whilst sitting next to Wenger."

I wondered what Pat Rice could do to help the team as an assistant coach? Start fighting Wenger or the 4th official?

Bendtner scores. Standard Liege 2-1 Arsenal. The message board detonates with praise for the big Dane. Strood writes:
"Phew. Now get the clowns off."

Streakers though tries to keep things negative by saying:
"This is painful."

Satan joins in by positively declaring:
"This is going to be a long hard painful season."

Pioneer decides that he is worried about Clichy and wants to see if he's not alone:
"Anyone else a bit worried about Clichy these days?"

"Sell him," writes Streakers.

When things are bad, The Negatives suddenly crave the English lads to save Arsenal. This is especially true with the Soup Dragon who thoughtfully decalres:
"Still no Wilshire. He must have raped Wenger's wife or something."

With score still 2-1, it's now the captain's turn for some criticism:
"Let's hope the over hyped Fabregas fucks off back to Catalunia soon," comments Neg: From the land of Kim Clitoris.

Arsenal equalize and this causes Hired Goon to write a new song about Clichy:
"Gael Clichy, not better than Asherlee, a fucking liability, hello Gibbsy, Gibbsy." I don't think it will hit the charts any time soon.

Eduardo, the anti-Christ to many Negatives tonight, then scores the winner. Arsenal go on to win the match 3-2.

The last word falls to Arse-n-all who summarizes with the intelligent post of:
"We were shit tonight and we won. But I'd rather we played shit and won, than played well and lost."

Intelligence indeed. Next time I'm going to get a friend to text me. This was too much.

Keep it Arsenal

I Believed We'd Win The Match, I really Did

A rubbish First Half - Clichy allows a cross that never should have been, Song intervenes to give up a silly corner when Mannone had it well covered, the ball is partially cleared, Mannone is screened for a near post shot that he really should have got to. Goal!

Eboue gives up possession very cheaply in midfield, Jovanovic crosses the 18, Gallas (who quite simply, like most of the side, was poor for most of the First Half) makes contact with him, he goes down when he really could have stayed up, wins a penalty which he himself slots home.

All this within the first five minutes. Terrible! The Liege faithful were in fine voice.

We were clearly the lesser side for most of the First Half. Liege seemed to be sharper and hungrier. Then just before Half Time, Diaby collects a pass near the center circle, he turns once and then again to make room for a trademark run, he delivers a good ball to Bendtner who beats Bolat with a crisp far post finish.

Standard 2 Arsenal 1 HT.

In the Second Half, Liege ventured forward enough to register a couple opportunities to make a bad day worse but it was Arsenal who dominated. It was the kind of domination that didn't provide much to show for it. And then, on Cesc's fifth attempt at getting a good ball into the Liege box - he'd wasted the previous four, lofting them directly to chrome dome Bolat - Vermaelen got on the end of one and then Eduardo another to pull out a victory that only my colleague and I believed was going to happen.

Yes, I believed we'd win even in minute number six.

We've played poorly and won. We've played without our best player and won. We've played without our (cough! cough!) no. 1 keeper and won. We played a decent team who was up for it, on their ground and won.

It wasn't pretty but those shiny three points are all ours.

We Move On

The last three weeks have not been kind to us.

What we really need is just a normal football match. And while the start of the Champions League is not necessarily that, it's an away fixture in Belgium and that's good enough.

Before the season started, people were predicting us to be fifth. After we beat Everton, everybody jumped back on the bandwagon. Now, they're off it once again, and I prefer it that way.

The truth is, we have played four matches in the Premier League and three of them were away games. Those three games were no easy matches either. So while losing two is not ideal, it's the equivalent of three draws. Not necessarily the worst set of results if you look at the much larger picture.

And those two losses were not just any games.

United didn't do particularly well in the big matches last year, so that's another consoling point.

In my opinion, Arsene's first choice XI has not been trotted out yet. That XI I believe is Almunia, Clichy, Vermaelen, Gallas, Sagna, Song, Nasri, Cesc, Walcott, van Persie, and Arshavin.

So, with our list of injuries set to clear up by mid October, we'll be better prepped to deal with the horror stretches that come somewhere near the middle of the season when we have to play all the big teams in a row.

There are some shaky areas (Clichy and Almunia in particular), but once equipped with the full squad, we can deal with it. October 17 sees the potential returns of both Nasri and Fabianski. I can't wait for that.

Today, we face Standard Liege, a team that contains players like Defour and Witsel. Defour is one of the most promising Belgian players, but he is out with an injury. Witsel, as reports have been going around, committed one of the most atrocious tackles you'll ever see, and the English media are suggesting that Eduardo better watch out. Witsel is also a Gooner (although so were Ashley Young and Harry Redknapp). I don't think he would be dumb enough to be reckless in Europe and cause permanent damage to his reputation. He's also a fairly good player.

With players like Defour, Witsel, Vermaelen, Hazard (watch that name carefully), Fellaini, and Kompany, Belgium just may see themselves in the World Cup in another four years.

In Liege, we must rekindle our ruthless fire. This time with a young Italian between the sticks.

Arsenal Round Up

At last some good news today. Eduardo has won his appeal and can play on Wednesday against Standard Liege. His two match ban has been lifted. The other good news is that Philip Neville could be out for the rest of the season with a knee injury and the reserves beat Stoke City (aka Lump-It City) 1-0. That's three wins out of three.

I hate Stoke and Tony Pullis. They are the new Wimbledon of the Premiership. Thug football.

The Adebayor/Manchester City Aftermath

Ian Wright says that Arsenal fans can dish it out but can't take it back. He's referring to the songs that Arsenal fans sang about Adebayor's mum being a whore.

When you have 4,000 Gooners belting it out around you, it's hard to stop yourself from joining in. It's that powerful. I remember when George Graham returned to Highbury as the Tottenham boss in a match that Arsenal dominated but could only draw 0-0. They sang the same song. The bloke sitting next to me shook his head in disgust as the Clock End sang about Graham's mum being a whore. But by the end of the game, as Spurs played anti-football to claim a point they didn't deserve, the same bloke was joining in full throttle.

So Ian Wright should refrain from making any comments. After all, during his playing days he was full of controversy much like Adebayor is today. But what really gets me me about Ian Wright is that his fake son Sean Phillips (no need to add the Wright to his name now is there Ian, after all he's another mans ejaculation not yours) was also playing for Man City on Saturday.

Ian Wright is going from a legend to a cunt.

On Saturday, I listened to the BBC 606 phone-in. One City fan thought that Adebeyor's antics were the funniest thing he had ever seen in football. Another one called Arsenal, City's feeder club. On Talksport today, City fans claimed that van Persie's tackle on Adebayor deserved a red card and was the reason behind his stamp on the Dutchman. Another one claimed that when van Persie scored, he celebrated in front of the City fans shouting swear words in the process. The same City fan claimed that RvP's celebration was no different to Adebayor's. Another City fan called in to claim that some Arsenal fans threw bananas at Adebayor - a made-up lie.

Spurs fans claim that Arsenal fans got what they deserved especially after Thierry Henry back in 2002 ran the full length of the pitch to slide on his knees and celebrate in front of the Spurs fans at Highbury. Remember, Henry had just scored a wonder goal. A goal that won't be repeated in my lifetime. He collected the ball from the halfway line and went past three Spurs players before scoring to make it 1-0 to Arsenal in game that finished 3-0. There are differences between Henry's celebration and Adebayor's:

Henry never played for Spurs.
He didn't have his arms outstretched unlike Adebayor.
His head was bowed.

Henry is not a cunt. Below is my list of cunts:

The Neville brothers;
Ian Wright;
Alex Ferguson;
Teddy Sherringham
Stan Collymore;
Ryan Giggs;
John Terry;
Frank Lampard;
Rio Ferdinand;
Tim Cahill;
Martin O'Neill;
Tony Pullis;
Phil Brown;
El Hadj Diouf;
Sam Allardyce;
Ashley Cole;
Alan Shearer;
David Beckham;
Alan Pardew;
Ryan Babel;
David Bentley;
Martin Taylor;
Mark Hughes;
Alex Mcleish.

Keep it Arsenal.

Post Match View - Manchester City

1995 - Nayim Mohammed lobs David Seaman from the half-way line in the Cup Winners' Cup Final to spark an orgy of taunts by Scum aimed at our fans.

1995 - A shamed George Graham leaves Arsenal after admitting he accepted £425,000 from John Jensen's agent Rune Hauge.

1998 - The once beloved Arsenal legend George Graham signs as Spurs manager.

1999 - Patrick Vieira loses the ball in the FA Cup Semi Final to start what became a famous run, goal, and celebration by hairy Arsenal hating Ryan Giggs.

2001 - Chants of "One six to The Arsenal" ring loudly as ecstatic United fans celebrate an emphatic victory over us in a league match at Old Trafford.

2008 - Spurs destroy Arsenal 5 - 1 in a League Cup Semi Final.

The items above are a few moments in recent memory that I consider humiliating and fodder for the Arsenal hater.

Emannuel Adebayor was once just a thin kid with vast potential. At Arsenal, to be absolutely clear, Arsene Wenger and Thierry Henry provided Adebayor with the type of nurturing that helped him exploit some of that potential. In other words, Arsene, Thierry, and Arsenal Football Club have played a significant role in making Emannuel Adebayor the player he is today.

With his disgusting displays yesterday, in one match he has thrown away anything positive that he's ever achieved at Arsenal.

I've gone on record to defend our former striker. I've felt that the way Arsenal fans made it clear that they hated him last season was somewhat over the top. I've felt that accusations of being a money grabber were irrelevant because everybody wants to earn more money for what they do. Why should he be any different? I've felt that because the man comes from an under-developed, poor country with minimal opportunities that he was entitled to do what is best for himself financially. If that meant leaving for Milan or wherever, fine.

Romanticism is dead. Players tend to put self interests ahead of loyalty.

I raise my hand for misjudging the man's character. I can't say anything to defend what he did yesterday. I would remind Adebayor that he's left Arsenal for a "better" situation than where he'd been. Why not just move on and leave the negativity behind you? I expected him to be a professional and go about his business sans retribution for fans or teammates.

If he scored a hat trick against us, whatever! That's football.

My colleague pointed out yesterday that Nicolas Anelka has never celebrated a goal against Arsenal in the manner Adebayor has. Someone else pointed out to me that Adebayor has suddenly learned the offside rule. I don't remember him being caught once yesterday. Most importantly, the work rate through which he made his profile in his best days at Arsenal seemed to be back where it was yesterday. The man was not putting forth his best effort last season.

I defended him when people called him lazy.
I disagreed when people said we should sell him.
I disregarded his vast potential to be classless.
I was bitterly disappointed yesterday when he behaved like the person he'd been accused of being and worse.

Going back to the list at the top of the page, the last point was an embarrassment for everyone associated with our club. We lost to Scum in humiliating fashion but the real sad part of that match was not the score. It was an on-pitch attack Adebayor made against his teammate. There was the sign that the head butting, face stamping, crowd provoking, classless, ingrate had vast potential to be on a par with the likes of Sheringham, Giggs, and latterly, Stan Collymore as Arsenal enemies.

Adebayor has elevated himself to the top of the enemy list in amazing fashion.

The deliberate accident that could have injured Cesc was bad enough but I had no idea it was an indication of things to come. I had no idea that Adebayor had that much hatred for his ex-teammates. I had no clue that he could show so little respect for Arsene Wenger. The stamp on Robin's face speaks for itself. Replays show clear intent. It was an unforgiveble, cowardice act. The Hussein Bolt-like sprint to the away supporters' end iced it for me.

He ran past our bench. He ran past Arsene to essentially stick two fingers up in the face of everyone associated with Arsenal Football Club. That is an act that must be addressed.

Adebayor has stated that he plays to make his country and his people proud. I can't fathom how yesterday has done that in any way. After spitting in Neil Ruddock's face - an act for which he was rightfully punished - Patrick Vieira said how embarrassed he was to have let himself, his family, his people, and the club down in such a way. I doubt a similar expression of contrition will be forthcoming from the new cunt on the block.

As a club, we want our players to take the high road, not to act in any manner that defames the club. I promote that idea 100% but I want to state here that there are special circumstances that require special responses. Yesterday's brutal, evil intentioned display by Adebayor is one. Part of me wants nothing to do with retaliation but another part of me screams for nothing short of sorting out the guy for blatantly showing what little regard he has for our club and all we've done for him.

Yes, the FA must revisit and address the actions of Emannuel Adebayor with severity but a part of me wants him sorted by the players. It would be a serious departure from normal protocol. I understand that. My call for a response from our players is rooted in the rampant disrespect for our club and now attacks on our players. It must be stopped. Adebayor must certainly feel that no one at Arsenal would ask him questions if he felt like breaking Cesc's ankle or permanently disfiguring Robin.

Circa 2003, the Premier League made a special effort to dull our teeth. Referees treated Arsenal players harshly for fouls that were not called previously. We've become a far less agressive group knowing that when we commit fouls, we'll receive the full extent of punishment that perhaps other clubs would not. Adebayor's assault on our players must be addressed regardless of how refs treat us. We must draw a line.

Two weeks ago, a damn fourth official attempted to humiliate Arsene. Two seasons ago, Eduardo's career was nearly ended with a brutal tackle by a man who was then made to look like a victim himself by the English media. We can list incident after incident that clearly express (for me anyway) hatred and anti-Arsenal sentiments. Adebayor must be sorted. We cannot be a bunch of softies there to be abused with no form of retaliation.

The ingrate ran past the man who made him what he is today to incite fans that once sang his name in praise. He ran past the man who made him what he is today to incite fans that helped pay his high wages. He ran past the man who made him what he is today to incite fans that pay their way to be entertained with good football not thuggery. When true professionals are criticized it should not be taken so personally that they remonstrate with fans. When true professionals are feeling pressure, they don't try to injure their opponent. Retaliation is not the best approach, I know that. I stress however that we must draw a line.

Arsenal Football Club should not be anyone's doormat.

As for the game itself, I cannot get too down by the result because I know that we are better than what we've shown. There were many "turning points". The Gallas missed header early in the first half was the biggest one for me. Clattenberg was more proof of the ineptitude amongst English referees - he missed Adebayor's stamp on Robin (was the cleat mark and blood on Robin's face not enough?) and then he and the linesman failed to spot a clear City hand ball. But we have to deal with bad refs and any other obstacle we face. We haven't done that well enough.

I've been frustated by Almunia and Clichy before. I am careful not to be too critical of them especially given yesterday's circumstances. The fact remains however that Almunia could have done better on the Micah Richards header and two of City's four goals came from Clichy either losing the ball or being out of position.

Midweek Champions League football can't get here fast enough.

Fuck You Adebayor

Pictures say everything, don't they? Look at how disgusted Kolo Toure looks.

Some readers of this blog may not know that three different people write for this site. I write on Tuesday night and Friday nights, another person writes on Monday night and Thursday nights, and another writes on Wednesday nights and Sundays. That accounts for the different writing styles and approaches.

I am normally mild mannered and as objective as I can be, but today rubbed me in the complete wrong way.

I formally make an apology to all our readers for my completely baseless defenses of Adebayor in the past year. Never before have I been more wrong about a player.

Everything we've heard has now basically been confirmed as true. I'm even willing to believe that Sun article about Adebayor getting into a row with an Arsenal fan at the airport is now true.

My colleague will write more about him later today, but I just had to vent a few thoughts.

This is not even about Manchester City, who deserved their result yesterday. It is not about anybody associated with Adebayor either. It is solely about one person. And to that person, I have this message.

Fuck You Adebayor.

Fuck you for disrespecting Arsene Wenger, the man who saved you from obscurity while you were warming the pine at Monaco, the man you raced past while stroking your own ego.

Fuck you for starting a near riot, especially after the senseless violence that occurred in the West Ham v. Millwall fixture recently.

Fuck you for proving the minor dissenters right that you were a greedy, ego-driven lout who quit on us last year, something so demonstrably obvious by the effort you're putting into City's first four games this season.

Fuck you for stomping on our players and generally hacking away at all of our players today. How much hatred you must possess for our team that you can so brutally stick your foot in to players who were considered your "brothers" not so long ago. I hope the combined events earn you a five match ban.

Fuck you for tainting my memories of anything Arsenal related that you were involved in during the past four years. That includes glorious victories against the Scum, wonderful Champions League moments, dances with Thierry Henry (who is so much better than you in all aspects that it's not even funny), and other events.

Fuck you from the bottom of my heart, you cunt. You're worse than Ashley Cole. And those were words that I never thought I would type.

Mark Hughes

Cesc: Is it true you used to play for Barcelona?

Mark Hughes: Yes.

Cesc: Well, that wasn't Barcelona football.

Some people viewed that as an act of petulance by Cesc Fabregas. The fact that Cesc quickly apologized to Mark Hughes afterwards goes often ignored. Mark Hughes didn't need to tell the story, but it was entirely in his right to do so. I've never forgotten the remark though.

People think Manchester City are on the verge of doing big things. On paper, they have a squad capable of finishing in the top four.

They have played three and won three. Although, take one look at their opponents and the fact that they've only scored four goals and you'll see that I'm reminded of the line spoken by Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction. "Well, let's not start sucking each other's dicks quite yet."

I may be wrong, but I don't believe Mark Hughes is a great manager. Do you think a great manager would ever be questioned in the way that Cesc questioned Mark Hughes? I would argue that none of the truly great managers have ever played so negatively as to inspire such a reaction. I'm sure Hughes would argue at the time that he's making do with what he has, but now that he has no excuses, we shall see.

The manager is just as important as the squad. Look at how Diego Maradona is doing with Argentina.

Time will tell, but I wouldn't be surprised if the good times train is temporarily derailed on Saturday for one sky blue club.

The 5 Reasons Why I Hate England

These guys are scum. There is nothing good you can say about them. England's goals against Croatia were akin to those of Stoke City. Crosses, headers and penalties. Heskey is no better than Jozy Altidore, while their goalkeepers are worse than Tim Howard and Brad Friedel.

As an embarressed Englishman I have one thing to say to these five cunts:

FUCKOFF

Keep it Arsenal

Booooooring!

"I do not know if I will leave the Premiership next year," he told Spanish newspaper Marca.

The above is yet another quote that lends to speculation about the future of our playmaker. It bores me like all other quotes attributed to Cesc and his future. Frankly, if he leaves, there will still be an Arsenal Football Club. We've lost better, bigger names. We've survived. My gut feeling is that he wants to win something with us to repay Arsene and then maybe he'll consider his options.

We shall see.

zzzzzzzzzzzzz!

A Tale of Two Players

Normally, I do not feel much ill will towards departed players. The exceptions are the players who choose to talk negatively about our club excessively. In my mind, the only player who has left a sour taste in my mouth is Ashley Cole. I don't need to go into why that is, it's plainly obvious to any Arsenal fan.

With Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure, I feel no ill will.

Sure, Adebayor has made some comments about our fan base. Some of his points are valid, but what he fails to see is that he played a role in his own demise. If he had never flirted so openly with AC Milan, he would still be an Arsenal player today. That flirtation led to a very noticeable lack of effort in a few matches last year. I am in no position to make a declarative statement about the affair, but methinks that the rumblings were very real and that we were close to selling him last summer. Such a scenario can often cause a player's form to drop.

That being said, even last season, he delivered a few moments that were unforgettable, forever etched into Arsenal history. His Villarreal goal remains a stunning piece of skill that virtually led us to the Champions League semi-finals. His efforts against Manchester United in the semis go largely derided, but I find those claims to be largely baseless. It is not necessarily the apparent work rate that is important as opposed to the intelligent work rate. Yes, he did not run around like a chicken with its head cut off, but he didn't simply give up on the pitch as some would imply.

In the end, we got 25 million pounds for a striker who no longer felt that he was a part of the Arsenal community. Make no mistake about it, he was sold by Wenger. The fact that the deal extended a few days longer is strictly down to the fact that Adebayor was going from a world class club to a world class wannabe. Adebayor may continue to talk about our fan base, but as long as he doesn't slander our actual club, I'm okay with it. I will remember his goals and his fun celebrations.

Perhaps Kolo Toure needed a new challenge. His transfer request may have indicated that. The money offered by Manchester City is another possible answer. When I typed the name Kolo Toure, it felt foreign to me, as though I had never seen that particular combination of letters before. It has only been a few weeks since his departure, and in a way, I've gotten over it. That is not to underestimate my love for this man. I owned a Kolo Toure shirt, and if he was made captain, I would have praised the choice. But now, he is the captain of Manchester City.

When Kolo contracted malaria in Africa, he came back a different player. Lacking a quarter step and appearing overweight, he was becoming an older version of Mathieu Flamini, effort disguising a slight lack of quality. It is what it is, and again it was a decision by Wenger to sell him on.

Was the sales of Adebayor and Toure an attempt to dissolve an unruly clique in the locker room? Maybe. Was it to prevent a disruption during the African Cup of Nations? Perhaps.

All we know is that, today, they look like this:

And when they take the pitch against us this Saturday as Manchester City players, I will give both of them a round of applause before the game. After the kickoff, they will revert back to what they are, Manchester City players. I will not boo either of them, unless they put in a reckless challenge on one of our players.

Understandably, Manchester City fans have taken to both Adebayor and Toure. They love Adebayor's work rate and goals (he's scored in every match). They love Toure's aggression, intelligence, and never say die attitude. The truth is, they're experiencing world class players who have given it their all for the first time in quite a while; Robinho takes games off from time to time, and Ireland is just short of world class at the moment (although he's quite a good player). That feeling is exhilarating. And amongst the two, they should look forward to Adebayor. Everybody knows that Toure's career is on the wane, but Adebayor's star may rise and rise. With the contract he so desires, he is set up to go far. And what a surprise, his work rate is back to old levels, although that is due less to footballing reasons as much as it is for image reasons.

They were once our brothers, now they're just strangers. Football can be like that. Just don't be surprised if they say that Arsenal was the club of their hearts when they retire. Arsenal is like that.

White Nectarines & White Peaches - Great Expectations

You're probably wondering what white nectarines and what white peaches have to do with eighteen86. I don't blame you. There is a simple one word answer to your question.

Expectation!

For four months a year I can purchase white nectarines and white peaches at all major supermarkets. I love white nectarines. I love white peaches. I love them so much that as we near the end of summer and produce departments have very few to none left, I find myself nearly in a state of depression.

Yes, it's that serious. White nectarines and white peaches are my crack. I'm down to my last three. It's dire!

I expect all supermarkets to have them in abundance. So when I couldn't find them recently, I realized I was going through something akin to what the post-Invincibles Arsenal fan with very little or no patience goes through. He has expectations that Wenger's policies seem to fall short of meeting while the supermarkets certainly haven't helped my addiction lately.

Expectations may vary from reasonable to 'no chance'. I expected at least one supermarket to still have my summer fruit of choice. That was a reasonable expectation. We're still within the four month window.

I expected Brazil to beat Argentina. That was a reasonable expectation. Argentina are in poor form, Dunga has got the team he's wanted and they are playing well.

I expected Luis Fabiano to score. That was a reasonable expectation. He is very under-rated.

I expected at least one controversial penalty to be awarded from the slew of matches played this weekend. That was a reasonable expectation. In many cases, very hotly contested FIFA World Cup Final tournament places were at stake.

I expected at least one English pundit to come out and say that it's not just "foreigners" who try to win penalties. It happens throughout the game, no matter your nationality. That was not a reasonable expectation. It falls under the 'no chance' heading.

After John Terry and Wayne Rooney made a mockery of honesty this week, I was actually naive enough to think for a moment that at least one media personality or one ex-pro or one active pro or someone's grandmother or someone's accountant, ANYONE would call them out. I was equally naive to expect better from xenophobic hypocrites who can't get past Eduardo long enough to make an attempt at being objective.

No chance!

As far as the Argentina vs. Brazil game goes, Luis Fabiano is an excellent player who doesn't get the recognition he deserves. He made the best of fantastic work by Kaka as Brazil embarrassed Argentina. The third Brazilian goal (Fabiano's second) was made possible by a perfectly timed, perfectly weighted ball from the ex-Milan attacker. He waited for Fabiano's run before delivering a perfect pass that the in-form striker finished expertly. The Argentine defenders won't want to see those two any time soon.

Diego Maradona was arguably the greatest footballer in history - Pele for me but that's a different topic. Diego's managerial skills don't match his on-field greatness. He is a pebble in a sea of pearls when it comes to great managers. Why, with the partnership of Luisao and Lucio dealing expertly with every aerial threat, did Maradona bring on little Aguerro at half-time? I ask this because leading up to the match there was a great deal made about Maradona's recall of Boca's prolific striker Martin Palermo. A man known for his ability to get on the end of crosses. Somehow between the recall and the match itself, Palermo was dumped. He didn't even make the bench.

And a word for Gilberto Silva. He helped clog the middle to stop Argentine attacks when they weren't testing Luisao and Lucio in the air. I don't think Argentina even won a free kick in a threatening position near the Brazilian goal.

It was a massive win for Brazil and a terrific team performance. They met my expectations. I should have expected the English media to turn a blind eye to Rooney's actions vs. Slovenia.

I really should have expected that.

Rooney = Diver/Cheat

John Terry said that England players don't dive. Well John, that's like saying that your mum and mother-in-law never steal. The fat balding hog above has now dived twice in a week. First against Arsenal at Old Twatford, and again today for England against Slovenia - in a game that was a friendly match!

Of course Rooney has history of diving, but nothing is said by anyone because he's the best player that England and Manchester United have right now.

I bet you my penis that Eduardo gets booed by the English fans every time he touches the ball on Wednesday. Of course the commentators and pundits will bring up Eduardo's diving ban before, during and after the game. They could bring up that Russian cargo ship that went missing instead - exactly it's that fucking boring.

Scott Brown is another cunt. Earlier today, Scotland beat Macedonia 2-0 to save what little chance they had of qualifying for the World Cup. During the 1st half of that game, the ball was played out by Macedonia so that one of their players could get some treatment. However, instead of giving the ball back to Macedonia, Scott Brown whacked it against a Macedonia defender and won a corner. The Macedonians were absolutely furious. Scott Brown then scored the opening goal for Scotland as you can see below:

That ugly clogger Darren Fletcher is right behind the hypocrite Mr. Brown, celebrating a goal against a country that is the poorest in Europe bar Albania. Many Gooners, however, will remember Scott Brown in the picture below - confronting Eduardo by attempting to butt his head after the Croatian dived to win a penalty:


British football is full of hypocritical, jingoist, conceited, wankers. As a Brit, living in Colorado, I am embarrassed by the actions of the Scottish FA, Wayne Rooney and Scott Brown.

Scum

Keep it Arsenal

Hypocrisy

I will never forget how upset I felt when first viewing the image above. Roughly a month after Eduardo's disgusting injury, the Independent felt the need to do a piece on Martin Taylor. Along with their article, they posted three pictures. Looking at the image above, all that's missing from it is a halo around his head.

See, the English press wrote about how unfair it was to Eduardo that he suffered such a cruel injury because of an unfortunate accident. That point was battered home by the English journalists. British managers stuck up for him too. Naturally, Alex McLeish defended his player. Steve Bruce, having managed Birmingham a year before, stuck up for him as well. Coincidentally (or not), neither McLeish nor Bruce have acquired any Arsenal reserve players on loan since these comments.

I don't mean to stir the pot over this incident. I'm merely trying to point out how much positive press was spun out in Martin Taylor's favor, precisely the opposite in Eduardo's penalty claim case. Now, it hasn't been completely one-sided, but everyone assumes that it was a dive now.

The word "dive" is immediately connected with the word "cheat" for many Englishmen. John Terry himself today said that English players are "too honest," while suggesting that they should try to "win" more penalties by going to ground when they feel contact. What exactly is he trying to say? Is he trying to also suggest that Didier Drogba is a bigger cheat than Steven Gerrard? Because he's not. Drogba anticipates contact and goes down, while Gerrard oftentimes runs side by side with a player and collapses in a heap dramatically.

How can UEFA justify giving Eduardo six yellow cards retroactively when he would have earned a yellow card at worst had the referee thought it was a dive? How can UEFA ban Eduardo using video evidence when they claim that they will NOT be using video evidence in the future because they feel it may undermine referees? How can UEFA undermine their own referee when the referee himself said he stands by his decision? How can UEFA not ban Ashley Young for diving in a Europa League match the very next night? How can UEFA fax us a copy of the charge to our Ladies office?

None of it makes any sense.

And for that, there's the other obvious point. Martin Taylor was suspended for three games for his offense on Eduardo. Media pundits like Stan Collymore has called for an eight match ban for Eduardo for diving and a five match touchline ban for Arsene Wenger for defending Eduardo. In almost every other sport, the idea of diving or flopping is greeted with a personal foul. In almost every other sport, an offense like the one Martin Taylor committed calls for a serious hefty ban.

The label of "cheat" will be attached to Eduardo for the rest of his playing career by some. This last week, Zat Knight and Gary Cahill both verbally assaulted Torres because they believed he dived. That's just as bad for kids to view than a striker winning a penalty. The very real possibility exists that defenders will now hack Eduardo even more fiercely because they suspect that he's a cheat. Now, just how wrong is that considering the man already lost 18 months of his professional career due to a malicious tackle that was viewed as an "accident"?

Democracy and Fairness

You probably couldn't give a a fuck about the Russian cargo ship that was apparently hijacked back in July. That's assuming that you knew of the story.

Well, back in July a 4,000 tonne Russian cargo ship carrying timber worth $1.8 million vanished days after leaving Finland. It's destination was the Algerian port of Bejaia. It went missing in one of Europe's most busiest shipping lanes in the Arctic Sea. Not the type of area that you would associate hijackers or Somali pirates with. And why would someone want to steal a bunch of timber when there are more valuable cargo ships out there?

Now the editor of a leading online maritime journal claims that the Russian cargo ship was in fact carrying illegal weapons. Eight hijackers from Estonia were arrested - a country not famed for hijackers or pirates. Rumors circulate that the cargo ship was in fact intercepted by Mossad - Israel's foreign intelligence service - in order to stop a shipment of illegal arms to the Middle East.

Who knows what the truth is.

Just like FIFA's decision to punish Chelsea for inducing Gael Kakuta to break his contract with Racing Club Lens. Other top European clubs have been doing this for years but so far only FC Sion, Roma and now Chelsea have been charged.

Why has Eduardo been charged for diving when players like Ronaldo and Rooney dive every week?

To be frank, who gives a fuck. FIFA and UEFA are just as complex and corrupt as Putin's Russia. We will never know the truth about what lies behind their decion making.

Democracy and fairness are not a FIFA words.

Now what?

The transfer window has closed. We have not bought any new players. Many fans are disappointed. Many fans feel let down. Many fans have lost faith, again.

I have been told more than once that I am a Wenger apologist. I have been told that I fail to see the folly in the man’s ways. I have been told to take off my “Arsenal tainted specs”.

Such is the effect of my adulation for our great manager that it grates the nerves of foe, neutral, and fan alike.

The reality is that my reverence for Arsene Wenger is not a deterrent to logical, fair judgment. I was a shyt player but I’ve played with and against some very good players. I watched, listened, and learned from them so I do have a modicum football knowledge. My football education hasn’t been Ivy League but I humbly say that I can at least hold a discussion about the game.

That Arsene has chosen not to or maybe he was just unable to sign new players does not lessen my belief in this group. It certainly doesn’t suddenly make me a non-believer. Wenger has said repeatedly that he trusts his players. He has stated that he believes they can win. Can they? Is Eboue good enough to wear the Arsenal shirt? Is Manuel Almunia trustworthy? Are Denilson, Alex Song, and Abou Diaby good enough to match Gerrard or Lampard and Co.?

These are the questions on the minds of non-believers.

Wenger has also said that ‘in this job’ you cannot let yourself believe that you are what you hear from outside sources. You must believe in yourself and what you can achieve. But of course you have to be good enough. That is what really matters.

If you put my head in a guillotine and asked me whether or not we’re good enough to win the league as presently constituted, I’d say yes. I am convinced that we have enough goals in us to win. In midfield and in the offensive third, we can match or outplay any team in England. What I am not convinced of is if our central defence has enough depth – Johan Djourou is quietly as sick note as almost any other Arsenal player. I would prefer another full year of development for him with a top level CB brought in to solidify depth in that area.

What I am not convinced of is if Manuel Almunia can win us games when it really matters.

I am not saying this to win points with The Negatives but Arsene is guilty of neglecting defence in general. I understand that his philosophy is closer to ‘you score 3 and we’ll score four’ than it is to the George Graham model but I would love to see a world class keeper behind no nonsense world class defenders.

To win the league, we’ll have to do it scoring goals as opposed to defending them. That’s probably how Wenger really wants it.

Note: As already stated, Almunia did attempt to communicate with Diaby on Giggs’s cross Saturday.

Arsenal's Number One

It was during the tail end of the 07-08 season, and Manuel had virtually won over nearly all of the Arsenal fans. That year, Jens let a ball slip through his hands during a hard contested battle at Ewood Park. As a result, we dropped two points in a match we should have won and Jens lost his title as the Arsenal number one. After that, we ran off a string of victories and the switch was made permanent.

The players liked him. He was nicer than Jens, and he seemed stable. We experienced a breakthrough season that year, and Manuel was one of the players who experienced a positive re-write in terms of what people perceived him to be, mainly a Wenger experiment who was nowhere near becoming Spain's number one goalkeeper.

He did perform solidly throughout that year, making big penalty saves and showing his great shot stopping ability. I thought he had established a firm foundation upon which he could elevate himself to be a truly good number one.

During a crucial late match at Chelsea, we took the lead courtesy of Bacary Sagna's first goal for our club. A few minutes later, I overheard a remark from a frequenter at the pub. "You know, I feel safe with Manuel Almunia." I understood what he meant, but I couldn't concur just yet. As if tempting fate, Manuel did make critical errors in that game. He rushed a throw that directly led to the feet of a Chelsea player and they scored soon after.

Fast forward to last year's Champions League tie against Roma. Eduardo stepped up to the penalty spot to kick the first penalty. He missed. What did our brilliant young players do? They stepped up with no fear and buried penalty after penalty. What was Almunia doing? He looked as if he was puking on the side. He didn't even look at our players taking penalties, and he looked completely fazed by the moment. He was our oldest player on the pitch. The fact that we won has more to do with Roma's Tonetto skying a kick than Almunia impacting it in any way. Both keepers were rubbish in that penalty showdown.

Later that year, he had a brilliant performance against Manchester United at Old Trafford which kept us in the Champions League tie. A week later, he capitulated. Yes, Kieran Gibbs slipped, but Manuel didn't rush Park Ji-Sung until after a moment of indecision. Then, he let in a 35 meter free kick from Cristiano Ronaldo that really should have been saved.

Almunia seems to perform well when the pressure is off him. When he's expected to do well, he rarely does. A brilliant shot stopper, but not a capable leader.

On Saturday, he looked nervous and tentative. He did not come out to claim crosses when he should. He let his defenders head the ball around like a ping pong when an easy catch was called for. Every ball that he did collect, he bobbled around in his hands. He gifted Rooney a penalty. I posted the pictures to prove that Eduardo did the same thing Rooney did. It was not to suggest that Rooney didn't deserve a penalty. It was partially to suggest that Boruc did a better job of covering himself than Almunia did. Almunia jumped out and extended his arms when some sound judgment would have allowed him to realize that there was no way Rooney would have been able to carve out a threat in that situation.

Yes, Abou Diaby committed an unthinkable error. But did Almunia yell at him that nobody was around Abou and he could have let it gone out for a goal kick? (Correction: Abou Diaby has admitted that Almunia did in fact tell him to let it go. I have no complaints on that now.) How often do you see Almunia actually yelling directions, as opposed to yelling to pump players up? There is a crucial difference between the two things.

Does he have the ability to become a world class goalkeeper? Yes, he does. He has supreme reflexes and is tall enough. Does he have the mentality to be a world class goalkeeper? I'm afraid that I remain unconvinced. At this point, I think Fabianski could supplant him with an extended run in the team (although he is injured, and he has a lot to learn as well). There were rumors that we were in for Robert Green last night before the transfer window closed.

Currently, Arsenal's number one isn't a world class goalkeeper. He's a bit like Jay-Z's new Blueprint 3 album. High expectations, some bright points here and there, but mostly a disappointment.