Post Match View - Tottenham Hotspur

Before the match, Robbie Keane (now famously) said, "You look at the two squads and we're definitely on a par."

Before the match, Harry Redknapp said, "They play fantastic football, but so do we. We have a squad here capable of matching anyone so we will be going there to win the game."

In the 84th minute, the game announcer said, "I think Tottenham want the final whistle now."

After the match, Arsene Wenger said, "We took advantage of two opportunities and that changed the game completely - it could have been four or five."

It should have been more than that. Games against Spurs are never long enough for me. We can never score enough against them to satisfy me. Embarrassment is the order of the day, every time we play them.

Beating Spurs is the least an Arsenal player should aim for. Beating Spurs should never be taken for granted. Robbie Keane and Harry Redknapp underestimated these two tenets and clearly overestimated their club's status. All the talk about a new club breaking into the top four has gone to their heads. They are inferior. End of!

Cesc has answered my calls to regain form. He's been very good this season. There was a dip last week at Upton Park but no such thing yesterday. He and Robin have taken over from Gallas and Vermaelen as the most likely to score. Still though, I keep a question mark next to Andrei Arshavin's name. I am growing increasingly impatient. Maybe it's my own problem but I would argue that he has yet to turn on the style of a world class player.

He started well yesterday but faded. He was average in the end. I want more. Much more!

I read earlier in the week that Wilson Palacios would be a good counter for the creative thrust of Cesc Fabregas. I also read that David Bentley would have much to prove as he tries to find a way back to the first team. As it turned out, Palacios was a typical Spurs player, hyped but really less than average. Bentley was not any kind of difference maker. I wonder what players like Bentley do for a game since Redknapp has scrapped the reserves. It's not my issue but I question how that policy benefits players.

It was also mentioned that Peter Crouch would trouble our center-halves. Vermaelen was impressive, again. Long may it last. Does anyone still question Wenger's decision to demote Senderos?

I noticed how tense the Spurs players were when they lined up before entering the pitch. What a foul move by Robbie Keane to spit on the floor. We used to be ridiculed for our group huddles before matches. Spurs' huddle before kickoff had little effect on the outcome. I wonder what Captain Scum told his troops.

The aforementioned Bentley and "You'll Never Play For Arsenal" Jenas returned to their lineup. They've scored brilliant goals in the corresponding fixture. Almunia was back in goal for us. Hopefully he'll add some assertiveness and steel to his game and thwart the threat of young Vito.

We started with Bendtner missing the target after good build-up by Song, Robin, and Arshavin. Song gifted Spurs a corner in the third minute with a terribly hacked back-pass. We escaped unscathed. In the seventh minute, the lively Arshavin won a corner which was taken quickly by Cesc. Beanpole Crouch clattered into and seemed to injure the diminutive no. 23 but no penalty was given. Nor was a yellow given to Bentley for his challenge on Vermaelen less than a minute later. It deserved more than a verbal caution.

With Capello in the crowd, Bentley had a flashback to that wonder goal he scored from 45 yards in his first North London derby. He attempted to impress the England manager with a similarly audacious effort in the tenth minute but this version was high and ridiculously wide. Shortly after, Clichy showed the quickness we've known him for by intercepting a Huddlestone pass and setting off on a dangerous run. He opted to cross to Arshavin who shot straight at Gomes.

The next bit of action was at the other end as Keane played a lofted ball to Crouch who's acrobatic attempt looked pretty silly. It was a move that could have ended up terribly wrong for us as Vermalen had been caught out of position. Clichy rightly remonstrated with his midfielders for not covering back quicker.

A Robin free kick in the 16th minute was effective but Gallas failed to make good contact. On 19, Diaby lost the ball for Bentley to hoof it to Crouch. He out-jumped Gallas with ease to nod down for the onrushing Keane. An excellent tackle from Song saved our skin as the Spurs captain strode towards goal.

Clean tackle! Clattenburg pointed for a goal-kick. WE'VE ONLY GOT ONE SONG...

A minute later, Clichy intercepted again. This time it was an errant Jenas pass. By then, Arshavin had been switching wings to good effect. He collected in midfield and raced into the Spurs box with gorgeous Ledley King trailing him. His shot was deflected by King to Cesc at the top of the 18. He hit it first time, low and to the right hand post. Gomes (who pulled off a candidate for Save of the Year vs. Portsmouth) did exceptionally well to palm our captain's shot away and keep the score level.

He acknowledged the away section as they sang his name. Even Arry clapped. It was a good save.

It was developing into a fairly even game with us leading on points if it had been a boxing match. We weren't fluid but we were creating chances. Notable however was how Spurs were playing long, hopeful crosses to either Crouch or Keane. Bentley crossed to Keane on 27. He headed wide. Arry had no plan B.

On 29, Arshavin fed Sagna down the right. He crossed. King intercepted to Assou-Ekotto. The fullback played the ball directly to Cesc. Cesc fed Robin but he totally muffed a right foot shot into Gomes's side netting. An excellent chance to go ahead was wasted.

I began to feel a little restless. Bendtner pulled up lame with a groin pull on 33. On 35, Corluka was sprung down the wing - a wide open space because Bendtner was clearly unable to continue and Clichy had tucked in as per usual. The dangerous cross to the charging Crouch was dealt with by the excellent Vermaelen. Less than a minute later, Arshavin expertly made space for himself in the center of a triangle of white shirts. He received from Diaby, charged forward, shot and won a corner.

Bendtner was subbed by Eduardo 0n 37. On 38, Keane just barely missed a through ball after doing well to beat the offside trap. Wenger rose to his feet with a plea to his team to tighten up. On 40, Sagna fed Robin only for him to miss-hit his shot embarrassingly to Gomes from very close.

I was beginning to feel frustrated and wondered what the odds were on us scoring two before Half Time. Seriously, I thought that as I looked at the clock wind down. Well, on 42, Eduardo won a throw deep in Spurs territory. Sagna played to Cesc who gave it back. Sagna crossed to the near post. Robin beat King to the ball and voleyed a low shot past Gomes at the near post.

Arry and the away section didn't applaud this time. The Emirates erupted. I felt better.

And then, right from the kick-off, Wilson Palacios lost the ball to Cesc Fabregas.

Wilson Palacios lost the ball to Cesc Fabregas.

Wilson Palacios lost the ball to Cesc Fabregas.

Wilson Palacios lost the ball to Cesc Fabregas.

Cesc would then leave an indelible mark on the history of our rivalry with Tottenham Hotspur. Our captain ran by no less than five Spurs players to shoot past Gomes, near post again. A classic goal! I felt much better.

Eat shit Spurs.

I cautioned my colleague that we still had 45 minutes to go. The Second Half started with a reminder from the announcer that Spurs came from 4-2 down last year to draw 4-4. After the recent let downs in Holland and at Upton Park, I expected the boys to do exactly what they did. We never let up yesterday. We were not naive about it but we continued looking for more goals. The balance was right.

On 50, Robin did well to smash a ball across the goalmouth. The ball went to an open Diaby. In the end, Bassong did well to block a well struck goal-bound shot. On 53, Eduardo was in with just Gomes to beat. The keeper made a good save to keep the score 2-0. On 54, Crouch and Keane nearly connected from a long ball headed down by the tallest player in the EPL.

Bale entered for Huddlestone on 56. On 58, Bentley peppered Almunia's hands from a free kick at the edge of our 18. On 60, Essou-Ekotto slammed into Eduardo from behind. Sagna received the errant ball and looked behind for a whistle but referee Mark Clattenberg allowed play to continue. Sagna crossed. Robin got a foot on the ball to beat King and Gomes.

At 3-0, all true Arsenal-loving, Spurs-hating inhabitants of the planet wanted more. The three points are fine but the objective was to remind everyone that Spurs are not Arsenal class.

Fitting that Keane would be subbed on 65. It was a chance for the depth advantage he claimed was in Spurs favor to make a difference. Instead, Eduardo was sprung again by Cesc. His effort went around Gomes but also around the post.

Arsene's passion showed through on 68 when he slammed his suit jacket down on his seat. Apparently he was frustrated for not being able to communicate with his team. "I could not communicate with my players because of the noise in the stadium. I am not used to that."

Hahahaha!

There were few Spurs efforts of note in the remaining 20 minutes. Arsenal chances fell to Eduardo and Diaby. It was good to see that we kept our concentration level high until the end. Arry had no answer for our two-goal lead. He continued with the same tactic of pumping balls up the field to beanpole Crouch. Surely their injured/suspended midgets would have made a difference but that is not our concern. We play what's in front of us.

Redknapp and Keane talked about being a match for us and strength in depth. I didn't see that yesterday. I saw Keane subbed by an ineffective Pavlyuchenko and Arry seated with a very unhappy look on his face. The gap between the two sides remains. Some might say it grew wider yesterday. For the record, I hope the midgets are fit next time we play them.

The Taste of Blood

I want to see the SCUM obliterated tomorrow. I want them to be put in their place. I want them murdered on the pitch.

Almost exactly a year ago, we all witnessed one of the most sickening matches in recent history. While we can still rightfully claimed that they had not beaten us in ten years, it sure felt something like it. Certainly a loss would have been even worse, but that was bad enough.

That game singlehandedly stunted Gael Clichy and our Premier League season. We went into a vicious tail spin that made people wonder if Aston Villa was going to finish above us.

And one year on, a lot has changed.

Tottenham were on the verge of crumbling, but that draw saw their fortunes take an upturn and Harry Redknapp be proclaimed a savior. Now, they are seen as candidates to overtake us for one of the top four places in the Premier League.

Things have changed for us as well. We steadied the ship. Players like Alex Song have established themselves. We bought Arshavin and Thomas Vermaelen.

But the last two weeks were subtle reminders of the match from a year ago, and that kind of stuff must be stamped out of our team.

Three days ago, our Reserve/Youth team held onto a 2-1 lead against Liverpool and finished them off. What the youngsters know, the senior side must recognize.

Over the past week, I've had the misfortune of reading crap quotes from Redknapp and Robbie Keane. The media has gone into overdrive, because they think a sea change may happen. To which, Wenger merely said that once Tottenham achieved the type of consistency we've had over the past twelve years, we'll talk.

Last year, we went into the North London Derby expecting three points and bury Tottenham six feet deep. We did not.

This year, we go into the derby with vivid memories from last year in our heads. This year, we're in the thick of a title race that looks incredibly open. Arshavin, who has a tendency to drift out of small games, will be up for it tomorrow, knowing that God placed him in our squad instead of theirs. And Thomas Vermaelen is furious that we've thrown away points in the past two weeks.

On Halloween, our fangs are out and we seek Scum blood.

Facts About Wednesday

Only three of the players that started against Liverpool in Wednesday's 2-1 victory are home grown players: Gibbs, Gilbert and Eastmond.

Three of Wednesday's starting 11 were teenagers: Eastmond 18, Ramsey 18 and Merida 19.

Only two players were above the age of twenty-five: Sylvestre 32 and Eduardo 26.

The rest of the team were 24 years old or younger: Senderos 24, Fabianski 24, Gilbert 22, Nasri 22, Bendtner 21, Gibbs 20.

Kerrea Gilbert and Craig Eastmond were the only players not part of the first team squad.

None of the seven substitutes were part of the first team squad.

Only three of them are home grown players: Frimpong, Watt and Randall

Eight of the 18 man squad are born in Britain. Two are Polish, Four are French, one Swiss, one Spanish, one Danish and one Brazilian.

For a painter the brush is his friend. For a footballer, the ball must be his friend.

Keep it Arsenal

Don't Blame Theo

“Two words will probably haunt Sven Goran Eriksson for the rest of his career: Theo Walcott. Eriksson may have thought that the Arsenal teenager was going to be his Michael Owen in Germany in 2006. But the erratic decision backfired and for most coaches, confirmed the value of experience over youth.” Gavin Hamilton of World Soccer

For one thing, it’s quite speculative if not simply inaccurate to say that Sven “thought that the Arsenal teenager was going to be his Michael Owen in Germany in 2006”. I don’t remember ever reading or hearing Sven state anything close to having such high expectations of our injured (again) winger/striker. Theo was given a place in the World Cup squad but so was Stewart Downing. The over-rated Stewart Downing!

Isn’t that the selection that backfired?

Sven was criticized then for picking Theo but what real harm was there in picking him? At worst, he was given a spot that could have gone to another (non-existent) player who might have been more experienced and better equipped to make a difference to England’s ultimate fate. At best, he provided opposition in training for the England Left Back and competition for other wingers/strikers in the squad.

Who else was available at the time?

Sven picked and played Stewart Downing. Stewart Downing!!! STUART DOWNING can say that he has played in a FIFA World Cup Finals tournament. WTF?!?!?

The idea that Sven made a mistake picking Theo was overblown in 2006 and it is equally over the top today to suggest that an “erratic decision backfired”. How was it erratic? If just one place in a squad of 23 players makes as big a difference as Mr. Hamilton has suggested, then the player surely must be worthy of greater expectation than was Theo. If Theo had been picked instead of Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, or even Aaron Lennon, I’d understand. He wasn’t. Those players were there. Theo was never expected to be the type of player who’d make that big a big difference.

Again, I ask which player was available who fits that profile?

That Theo was selected was more a reflection of the lack of choices for the England manager than a mistake. Some went as far as suggesting that it was Arsene Wenger who twisted Sven’s arm to pick Theo. Wenger, like any manager looking for an advantage that would benefit his player and club, promoted the idea but every other manager with a promising young player at his cllub was free to do the same.

The idea that it “backfired” leaves me scratching my head. Was Theo’s inclusion what kept England from reaching the final? I fully accept that experience is a must at any FIFA World Cup Final. The squad had experienced players in Beckham, Campbell, Neville, Ferdinand, Gerrard, Carragher, Terry, and Ashley Cole. Moreover, England’s best player (since Matt LeTissier and Paul Gascoigne) for the period before the emergence of Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, was not available for selection anyway.

Sven’s choice to bring Theo was not why England stumbled and were eventually knocked out. Look at the names listed below and among them you will see an aggregate of (non-)contributors more responsible for England’s demise than Theo.

The England 2006 World Cup squad:

1 GK ROBINSON Paul – (Tottenham Hotspur, ENG)
2 DF NEVILLE Gary – (Manchester Utd., ENG)
3 DF COLE Ashley – (Arsenal, ENG)
4 MF GERRARD Steven – (Liverpool, ENG)
5 DF FERDINAND Rio – (Manchester Utd., ENG)
6 DF TERRY John – (Chelsea, ENG)
7 MF BECKHAM David – (Real Madrid, ESP)
8 MF LAMPARD Frank – (Chelsea, ENG)
9 FW ROONEY Wayne – (Manchester Utd., ENG)
10 FW OWEN Michael – (Newcastle, ENG)
11 MF COLE Joe – (Chelsea, ENG)
12 DF CAMPBELL Sol – (Arsenal, ENG)
13 GK JAMES David – (Manchester City, ENG)
14 DF BRIDGE Wayne – (Chelsea, ENG)
15 DF CARRAGHER Jamie – (Liverpool, ENG)
16 MF HARGREAVES Owen – (Bayern Munich, GER)
17 MF JENAS Jermaine – (Tottenham Hotspur, ENG)
18 MF CARRICK Michael – (Tottenham Hotspur, ENG)
19 MF LENNON Aaron – (Tottenham Hotspur, ENG)
20 MF DOWNING Stewart – (Middlesbrough, ENG)
21 FW CROUCH Peter – (Liverpool, ENG)
22 GK GREEN Robert – (Norwich, ENG)
23 FW WALCOTT Theo – (Arsenal, ENG

The core of that last England team is still around and in their peak years. I would argue that this is England's best chance to win a World Cup in a very long time. Potential though (as we Arsenal fans know) is a door that stays open for but so long.

If Theo is fit in time to make make a difference to Arsenal winning something this year, he might have another chance to be part of a group that fails and no doubt he'll get to shoulder the blame. But who knows what they'll do in South Africa! Remember, Cappello is no mug.

The No. 1

Currently, Arsenal lack a world class goalkeeper.

We have the demoted Manuel Almunia, a world class backup goalkeeper.

We have Lukasz Fabianski, out injured since the Valencia preseason friendly.

We have Vito Mannone, an inexperienced Italian goalkeeper who doesn't play like an Italian goalkeeper.

We have Wojciech Szczesny, an even more inexperienced goalkeeper with a great build and tons of potential.

I've already said enough about Almunia. I don't believe he's capable of being a world class goalkeeper. Even at the height of his Arsenal powers, he wasn't even close to getting a cap or a call up to the Spanish squad. That he tried to qualify for the England team tells you more about the state of English goalkeepers than it does the quality of Almunia. To me, Manuel performed best when motivated to displace Jens, who was a fantastic goalkeeper. When he got there and he attained some security, his performances haven't been as steady. Unfortunately for Manuel, I'll always remember him for giving up two goals to Barcelona in the Champions League Final. You may think I'm being harsh, but you'll never convince me that he couldn't have done better. He's been out with a "chest infection," and now that he's back, he must be unhappy to not be playing. Cheeky Wenger is, how many players have had "injuries" in the name of real rotation?

Vito Mannone has committed two errors in the last two Premier League fixtures. The Birmingham one didn't affect us in the long run, but the West Ham one sure did. But I'm not going to be too hard on him. He is extremely young, and he didn't play much football at all when he was nurtured at Atalanta. Blinder against Fulham aside, the mark of a true number one goalkeeper is dealing with all chances at all times. When you play for a big club, you only have to make a few saves per game. But when you have those shots against you, you must deal with them superbly. People can extol the virtues of Shay Given, but were he goalkeeper for Arsenal or Manchester United, things may be different. Look at what's happened with Ben Foster. Vito is one for the future. He is still not commanding when it comes to communicating with the backline, but he is brave and has a good build. I wish he would show a bit more anger at times, but that's just a personal preference. He's just not really ready yet.

The same can apply to Szczesny. I think he's an extremely intriguing prospect, but he's had even less playing time than Mannone. Some say that they rate him as highly as Mannone. He is a colossus and played well in the last Carling Cup tie. Keep an eye out for him.

Which brings me to Lukasz Fabianski. Many are unconvinced by him, and they have a decent right to think that way. He has given up near post goals, and his birthday performance against Chelsea in the FA Cup was disastrous. That being said, at the age of 24, he has been capped by Poland 14 times. He was handpicked by Wenger over false hopes like Craig Gordon. He has outstanding reflexes. He plays with the aggression that I like. He was handed a three year contract at the end of the last season. I really believe in this guy. I think he should be given a chance to be the Arsenal No. 1 and see what he's capable of. Only a stretch of games can illustrate if you have a winner or a dud.

And if none of these options work out, we may need to buy in January. Who is available? Beats me, although names like Manuel Neuer and Akinfeev float around. But to me, we're a goalkeeper away from being world beaters. Whether or not the solution already plays for Arsenal remains to be seen.

As for Liverpool today in the Carling Cup, it'll be a mixture of players from the Reserves and the First Team. Liverpool will have been buoyed by the result against United, but our young players are hungry and our team wants the result after the last two disappointing draws. We play at home, and that gives some of our more enthusiastic fans to experience Arsenal football tonight. I look forward to this very much.

West Ham = 2 Points Dropped

West Ham have lost five Premiership games this season and only won one - a 2-0 away victory on the opening day of the season against Wolves.

Yesterday, they were there for the taking and Arsenal were dominating them with relative ease. By half-time we were 2-0 up and cruising. With 30 minutes left and the score still at 2-0, it was a case of how many more can we score.

A friend of mine sent me a text stating that Arsenal would win 4-0. This was after we had just gone 1-0 up. I thought that he already knew the outcome of the match and started to relax, chatting to my wife about nonsensical stuff. I didn't realize that the game was live. It was a big mistake. My wife said that she didn't recognize any of the Arsenal players. Where was Adebayor? We sold him to Man City. What about Kolo? He's gone there too. At this point she was starting to irritate me and then Zola put on Hines and that bald Italian cunt Diamanti. They completely changed the game with their pace and trickery.

Diamanti was hungry. He had a point to prove after being dropped for the ineffective Mexican Franco. He got stuck in, ran at the Arsenal defense, hassled Arsenal players for the ball and awoke the silent home crowd. When Hines came on after 64 minutes, a new pace and energy was inserted to West Ham. His substitution brought the best out of Cunton Cole who now had support, thus making West Ham a threat.

But when you think that the final result is 4-0, you shrug off West Ham's new goal threat as nothing. The wife's questions on who was Arsenal's number 17 and 11 were answered. But when she commented that West Ham's players were hotter than Arsenal's I started to get annoyed.

Then West Ham won a free-kick on the edge of the Arsenal box. Diamanti slammed it to the left hand corner, Mannone palmed it into the path of Cunton Cole who made it 2-1. Game on and I cursed my mate for saying that we were going to win 4-0. I was now worried and annoyed.

The wife picked up my vibe and tried to soothe things by offering to make pancakes. "Sure," I answered, only because I wanted her to go away.

At this point I had a bad feeling. When Hines came on Arsenal fans were shouting "Ole" every time an Arsenal player touched the ball. They also mockingly chanted "You may as well go home," to the West Ham faithful, fully confident that game was in the bag. It reminded me of the Carling Cup semi-final second leg against Wigan Athletic in 2006. Arsenal were winning 2-0 and were minutes away from the final. Every Arsenal pass was greeted with an "Ole" from the Highbury crowd only for Jason Roberts to score in the last minute and send Arsenal crashing out. How embarrassing! Yet here we are three years on and the same arrogance by Arsenal fans reappears.

At 2-1 Arsenal were on the ropes. Arshavin went missing. Diamanti was overly physical, slamming an elbow into Cesc's throat and Scott Parker was being the little cunt that we know he is. I remember when Arsenal lost 1-0 to Newcastle back in December 2005. It was Arsenal's third Premiership defeat on the trot, a fact the media glorified non-stop. Parker that day was dirty. His challenges were over the top. Shearer was worse but the commentators claimed that they were showing guts and character, something that Arsenal lacked. That was until Jens Lehmann challenged Parker for a ball and knocked his front tooth out.

There should be a religion named after Jens.

Yesterday, Parker was at it again. Only this time the cunt got sent-off.

In the last 10 minutes Arsenal were the better team and should have won had it not been for a Robert Green save in injury time.

At full-time the wife asked me if I wanted Aunt Jemima's syrup on my pancakes. I gave her a psycho killer look and stormed out the house. She had no clue that Arsenal had just thrown away two points. When I returned 30 minutes later she had gone. The pancakes were in trash can along with my Arsenal shirt. On the table was the syrup with Aunt Jemima smiling at me. I felt depressed and wanted to drink an entire bottle of Clorex.

Yesterday, I learned two things: 1) Never watch a game with someone who is not as passionate as you are; 2) Never text during a game unless you completely trust the person you are sending texts to.

Keep it Arsenal.

Post Match View - West Ham

We had an excellent chance to make up ground on teams above us but failed to kill the game. Champions win games in which they have two-goal leads. The only positive I can take from this game is that we scored.

We dropped two points that were there for the taking. There can be no excuse for not putting in a full 90+ minutes of effort. We will win nothing if this continues.

I will limit my post tonight to the following:

Robin is scoring.

The defence played well overall but the keeper made a bad mistake, again.

There were points in the match when Eboue and Cesc were not involved.

Carlton Cole went down very easily for their penalty.

Andrei Arshavin still hasn't played to his potential. This was a game he needed to take over and kill. I am concerned that he doesn't put in 100% effort in games against the smaller teams.

That won't do.

The Bigger Picture

Yes, the result against Alkmaar was a frustrating one. Seemingly, we never got out of first gear. Alkmaar actually possessed the ball more than we did, although they did relatively nothing with it. Compare how Alkmaar did nothing with the ball to how we do when we dominate the play and fail to score a goal, two markedly different types of performances that put to shame simple dissections by English pundits.

Of course, the headlines wrote themselves. The press said it exposed our soft centre once more, ignoring the fact that neither of our centre halves were particularly to blame for the goal. "You just have a feeling about Arsenal, don't you?" Those words could have come out of any assortment of pundits. While it's true that we shouldn't have conceded that goal, I'm seeing a big difference between the defensive performances of last year and this year. That's not to say that things are perfect, but it's to say that the boring articles about our team still having the same chinks in our armor are incorrect. They're just being lazy.

Bacary Sagna claimed that we lost focus near the end of the match. That comment would have only been revealed in these types of circumstances. To that end, such a thing should not happen, but oftentimes does, even with the best of teams.

Consider our position in the Champions League at the moment. We're top of the group, have two games to play at home, and are not afraid of anybody in our group at all. Dropping points in a Champions League group doesn't mean very much if you're still expected to top the group. The only thing you lose is the financial reward for winning a Champions League match.

If the draw against Alkmaar teaches us a lesson about focus and needing to be ruthless with teams like this, then that financial loss will have been well worth it.

And that's not mentioning the fact that Carlos Vela was clearly fouled in the box late in the game. The draw is not worth getting too upset about, as frustrating as it was.

You cannot afford to lose focus and drop points in the Premier League though, and the team must recognize this.

Playing West Ham at home is never a cakewalk, and this is a classic trap game. As an Arsenal fan, while I fear nobody, I do wish for teams that we play to get a result in the week before our game. That way, they might not necessarily go all out for the crucial result that could turn around our season. That didn't happen with West Ham and with them being in the relegation zone, they'll be fighting tooth and nail for a result tomorrow.

Zola is a good man. He was a magician on the pitch, and he wants to be the next Arsene Wenger, something that is much, much, much easier said than done. He said he wants to stick to attacking principles, but luckily for him he has a shrewd tactician in Steve Clarke. Clarke must recognize that they must try to neutralize Arsenal instead of outplaying us, he did operate with Jose Mourinho after all.

Tomorrow may come down to one or two moments, but with Arshavin on the pitch, that may be to our distinct advantage.

Not A Bad Result But...

The manner we gave away the two points is troubling. We conceded a late goal - mentally, we shut down before the final whistle. Alex Song was the closest player to Mendes but he's not the only one to blame. Many players were ball watching.

We gave away a set piece goal.

Another set piece goal!

As I said, it's not the lost two points on the road to the nemesis Koeman, it's how we lost focus that bothers me. We aren't far away from being a dominant team but it won't happen unless we play until the final whistle.

Why at this stage, do we still allow avoidable goals? That's not the mark of a champion. It's a cause for concern. I blamed Vieira when there were breaches of discipline on the pitch. A captain must keep his troops focused.

Cesc (and Wenger) must keep the team focused until the final whistle.

Post Birmingham Blues/AZ

I wrote before the match that I wanted our Arsenal team to deliver a beatdown to the Blues. That unfortunately did not happen. Abou Diaby said the team switched off after the second goal, and it showed.

That being said, I only want to bring up a couple of points about the actual game.

Liam Ridgewell was let off the hook for his vicious tackle on Theo Walcott. Yes, he got the ball. Yes, the first tackle was a bone-crunching yet legal tackle. But no, it was not without intent. He knew exactly what he was doing. Quite simply, it was a tackle to let Walcott know that he was there, similar to what Martin Taylor clumsily did to Eduardo.

Of course, Alex McLeish came out and defended his defender's right to make a hard tackle. That's his job. But how convenient that in two straight games against us, one of his players makes an unnecessarily rough challenge that leaves one of our players injured. In fact, even Graham Poll said that Ridgewell should have been cautioned for his "dangerous" tackle. This is the man who gave out three yellow cards to one player in the last World Cup, and he sees the folly of defending such a tackle. He even went as far to say that journalists and pundits who claim such a tackle is fair makes the situation worse.

Which brings me to Lee Probert. Why a man who was forced to make an apology to Arsene Wenger be allowed to referee one of our matches, I'll never know. I guess it has something to do with rotation. Well, Probert didn't call a foul on Ridgewell. He didn't call a foul against the other Birmingham players, one of whom literally crashed into Arshavin with his entire body. Birmingham had 16 fouls and 2 yellow cards; one of the yellow cards was for petulance, the other for wasting time. Essentially, that amounts to 16 fouls and no yellow cards. Now, take a look at how many fouls we average before we get a yellow card. I can promise you that it's less than 16.

But of course, we have the pundits and Alex McLeish crowing about how if you take tackles like Ridgewell's out of the game, it becomes less of a "man's" sport. I wonder how Alex McLeish would react if Alex Song launched a full-blooded "English" challenge into James McFadden that resulted in him breaking his leg. Probably a tad different, I'd imagine. And I wonder how Alex McLeish and James McFadden would feel if Arsenal fans subsequently chanted "There's Only One Alex Song" the next time we played them. You can only protect your fans and players so long before they go one step too far; it's too bad that the Birmingham bastards have already passed that point.

Today, we play AZ Alkmaar. They were led to the Champions League by Louis van Gaal, who subsequently left to coach Bayern Munich. They are currently sixth in the Dutch League and struggling. Their danger man is Moussa Dembele, a striker who has been linked to the elite clubs of Europe.

But why am I telling you this? We have won seven matches in a row in all competitions, and we're playing well. As Wenger likes to think, if you play well, the opponent does not matter. That is the purest form of football thought, and something everybody should admire as a valiant approach.

It is an away fixture in the Champions League though, and they are rarely walkovers. But, if we do get the result we desire, we have two home fixtures in the Champions League left, one foot in the door, and a relaxed attitude towards the Champions League when we go through a juggernaut of a schedule in the Premier League in late January/early February.

Owners

Last week, Saudi Arabian prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah al Saud held talks with Liverpool's co-owner George Gillett about buying a major stake in the club. Liverpool's owners have been looking for new investment, after refinancing some of the clubs large debt earlier this year. Gillett visited Riyadh and according to reports, discussions are nearing a conclusion.

While Gillett held talks in Riyadh, American Stan Kroenke increased his share holding in Arsenal to 28.9%. At the same time, Hong Kong billionaire Carson Yueng, arrived at St Andrews, following his takeover of Birmingham City. At the moment half of the Premiership clubs are under foreign ownership.

What Arsenal fans should worry about is not foreign ownership. They should worry about debt. The debt that some Premiership clubs are running up is disturbing. It should be controlled. What is wrong, is when a new owner borrows money from a bank and puts that debt or loan in the name of the football club he has just bought or is buying.

No owner should be allowed to borrow money and have the club he is buying pay them back. It should be banned by the Football Association or the powers that be.

A case in point is Liverpool.

If Gillett and Hicks do not find new investors soon, then Liverpool will start to sink. They won't be the new Leeds or Newcastle. They might, however, find that they are the new Spurs - a top five club that played regularly in Europe but now struggles to qualify for the Europa League.

I hope that Kroenke is not a Gillette or Hicks.

Keep it Arsenal

Post Match View - Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham and Arsenal have a lot in common.

Birmingham and Arsenal have nothing in common.

Birmingham's manager is not English. Ditto for Arsenal.

Birmingham is in the EPL. Ditto for Arsenal.

Birmingham's local rival is hated passionately. Ditto for Arsenal.

Birmingham...uughh...Birmingham

Well, there aren't as many things in common as I thought. Save the above, we have almost nothing in common with Birmingham City F.C.. You're not surprised are you?

For starters, we have never been relegated. They have been. They can still be regarded as a yo-yo club going up and down the divisions without a sustained period at the top level.

We have a core of 20-something year old young players. They had four players over 30 in their starting line-up yesterday. Two more were on the bench.

We haven't been promised an injection of cash for the January transfer window by a super rich owner. Our operating policy is one of self-sustainability - no sugar daddies. We operate differently from Birmingham City on almost all levels.

One one level especially is the way we approach the game. We don't try to hurt our opponents with "fierce defender's tackles", we punish them with goals. We try to beat them senseless with good football. I suspect that one of the many reasons the anti Arsenal types hate us is because we've embarrassed their clubs with our brand of football once or twice. We haven't embarrassed Birmingham City F.C. nearly enough for my liking.

Yesterday's match looked like it would be the one in which we dished out some serious punishment on Alex McLeish and his team. However, a terrible error by Vito Mannone allowed them to keep their heads high and continue fighting. Had Mannone not made a mess of a seemingly innocuous cross, I suspect that The Blues would have felt just what their nickname implies.

We started with purpose. Rosicky (who will admit that he could have done better) missed the target twice within the first 15 minutes. The mood seemed right for a hammering. Robin was first on the scoresheet with a fine turn and finish from an Alex Song through ball.

Shortly after, Abou Diaby netted the second after good work by Eboue and Rosicky. It was nice to see him score with his left foot. I've noticed his struggles and frustration with it. I know Arsenal fans have lost patience with him but if Diaby can improve his concentration, consistency, and left foot, we'll see a tremendous player.

Birmingham pulled one back from what seemed a very playable cross. Vito flailed at it, it bounced to model citizen Lee Bowyer who pounced on it for their lone goal. There you go Bowyer. You've scored against Arsenal. That's your trophy this season. They came close twice in the Second Half but never really posed a threat to our current unbeaten run.

Our third goal came from what the manager has labeled "the football we love". We caught Birmingham on the break - we were likely to as they pressed forward and left acres of space for us to exploit. Arshavin flanked Cesc on the left as we approached the their 18.

I thought, 'goal', and sure enough... It was a vintage Arshavin goal. He knew what he wanted to do before receiving the pass and well before anyone else did, especially before Joe Hart.

If I have to give any credit to birmingham it's on two fronts; first, for most of the match they hurried and scurried back when we had possession. They seem to have creating space for themselves in their own very crowded penalty area down to a science. There was one point when I counted eight blue shirts in there, plus the keeper. And it wasn't while defending a corner. The other point would be that they managed to reach double digits in fouls in the First Half without a single booking. Now THAT is impressive. Too bad their approach to football isn't.

Maybe if it were, we'd have more in common.

One final note; how did Kevin Phillips get so dark?

I Remember

Alex McLeish has swept it under the rug. To a degree, we have as well. The fact that both Eduardo and Martin Taylor are injured add to the passing of the story.

But I have not forgotten.

Had Eduardo and Martin Taylor been involved tomorrow, perhaps the media could have fully absolve Taylor of his crimes if they had shaken hands. I wouldn't have blamed Eduardo for not shaking his hand, and truthfully I don't want to see that moment nor them playing on the pitch at the same time.

We never got a chance to put our foot on Birmingham's necks and force them to submit. The 2-2 draw at St. Andrews, one that had such a detrimental effect on our team both physically and mentally, was the last time we encountered this team.

What often goes ignored is that we drew against them at the Emirates in the same year. That was one of the blips that slowed our momentum.

We owe this team a licking.

I know I sound extremely vindictive, and I should let bygones be bygones.

But that inhumane tackle allows me to feel zero sympathy for anybody on Birmingham. Certainly not Arsenal trainee Sebastian Larsson who said that Wenger was completely out of order when speaking out about Martin Taylor.

"He's not the type of player."

I'll never forget those words, and on the crest of good news for Birmingham (their injection of upcoming cash from Yeung), I hope we stuff them by three or more goals tomorrow while chanting Eduardo's name from the bleachers.

What also gets credited to that horrible draw at St. Andrews is the start of the crucifixion of William Gallas. Nearly two years on, this is what Thierry Henry had to say:

"William Gallas is a man. I don't know many players who would be able to turn around the situation like he has. It speaks volumes about him."

Debt

Most football fans this week, have only been concerned with World Cup qualifiers. No one seems to have noticed or been bothered by the Leaders in Football Conference that was held at Stamford Bridge in London. This is where one thousand of football's decision makers - senior executives from international clubs, leagues and federations - met for two days, networked and made business.

Jeff Tipping, the NSCAA's Director of Coaching, introduced the controversial and allegedly corrupt, FIFA Vice President, Jack Warner to the conference. Warner made a speech, where he called for football clubs with huge debts to be punished.

He called for sanctions against clubs that were in excessive debt. That part of the sanctions should be, that clubs heavilly in debt, should be banned from taking part in European competitions. This would force club owners to make more prudent financial decisions. It would also level the playing field for smaller clubs whose capital doesn't allow them to get the kinds of massive loans that other clubs, like Real Madrid, get.

Last year, the English Football Association, stated that Premier League clubs owed a total of $5 billion between them.

MLS clubs owe zero.

Yet the league that is heavilly in debt is more popular than the one that isn't.

The problem is not debt. The problem is unsustainable debt. Its the increasing gap between revenue and expenditure, which gets to a point where it can't be closed in normal business practices, so you have to depend on outside people, like Roman Abramovich.

Debt ridden clubs dominate European football. Jack Warner believes that clubs in debt should have a two year period to put their finances in order, otherwise they will be suspended from European and national competition.

There are, however, two types of debt: there is the debt to private owners like Roman Abramovich and then there is the debt to the banks that Arsenal have. Arsenal's debt will be paid off, but not in two years. Arsenal borrowed money to build a new stadium. Real Madrid are also in debt to banks. They borrowed money to buy new players. Is there a distinction between the two? Should Arsenal be suspended from playing, for being in debt even though its sustainable debt?

I think Jack Warner needs to come up with more answers to back up his statements on debt.

Keep it Arsenal

No World Cup? Get Lost!

Most of the younger people who watch football today (those born after 1985 to be specific) have had the privilege of easy access to top level football in a manner that wasn't always the case. They have access to the best in club football. There is often a price attached that access but if you can afford it, you can see the biggest, most popular clubs regularly.

Super-hyped club competitions, i.e. UEFA Champions and Europa Leagues, and publicity tours masking as pre-season training for the world’s top European club sides have helped changed football viewing for the common fan. These ventures are supported by bloated budgets - unheard of even as recently as the early 1990’s. There are massive amounts of money available that clubs cannot ignore. It was inevitable that so much money would influence the views of those with stronger ties to club football than to international football.

The majority of football fans lived a big chunk of their lives during a time when there wasn’t such widespread coverage, especially not coverage of club football. Growing up in the United States made it even harder to access because of the unpopularity of and frankly, aversion to the sport - up until the early to mid 1990’s soccer was ridiculed as a sissy sport. Since the World Cup is aired free of charge, one could easily watch the best players in the biggest competition. World Cups provide lasting memories for all involved, especially viewers from less developed parts of the world. World Cups are a very big deal to people who haven't got ties to a major football league or a big, successful club.

When there's an international break, I often read dissenting views from those who do not value international football. They feel that international football has passed its usefulness. I can never see it that way. As die hard an Arsenal fan as I am, I cannot see a world without World Cup competition.

Is it just an anti FIFA thing? Is it wholly an anti international football thing? Is it a generational thing?

To me it matters little what the gripe is or that it’s coming from people who have not had to wait for magazines to hit newsstands for their football fix. Nor does it matter to me that these people can point and click their way to news in an instant that for generations people had to wait to read in newspapers. I’m all for the technological advances that give easy access to the sport we all love. The sport benefits. We all benefit. To say however that there’s no longer a place for international football is short-sided at best.

The reason that we have to watch lesser nations (in football terms) play is because they are part of the football landscape. They are no less a part of it than Derby were part of the EPL two seasons ago. Granted Derby has a rich history while Andorra and Armenia do not. Nonetheless, the aspirations of the lesser football nations should not be any less than those of Sheffield Wednesday or Leeds United to make it (back) to the top level. It is crass for the privileged fan of a top European club to tell a supporter of a small club that might never play in an international club competition that his club has no right to do so. It’s equally crass to tell Tahiti or Tajikistan or Panama or Palestine that their matches are a burden on the club calendar.

Football is about uniting not dividing. I’m not naïve enough to suggest that there aren’t priorities and that money makes the world go round and all that but to categorically deny a nation and its fans a chance to play what to them is as meaningful as any Arsenal vs. man Utd or any Arsenal vs. Spurs match is beyond selfish. International football has not suddenly lost anything. Money has placed a wedge between the attractive and the unattractive and in the mind of the younger fan, there is no basis for continuing something that they have not been a part of.

They have no strong ties to the international game because they've been on a steady diet of club football. They haven't got a memory bank full of exciting World Cup matches, hence the disconnect. That is the real issue.

In my opinion, doing away with the FIFA World Cup, the European Championship, Copa America, the African Cup of Nations, the Asian Cup, etc. would be tragic. I believe that there's room for both domestic and international football to thrive. It's pursuit of more and more money that makes it increasingly difficult to accommodate both.

Release the Stats

"United are unhappy about the leak of ProZone statistics proving that Wiley ran further than all but four of their players in the Sunderland match. The club consider the leak to be a breach of their contract with ProZone, who are contractually obliged to keep match information confidential, but are undecided on whether to take up that issue legally."

Let's ignore the Republican-like tactics by Manchester United for the moment. Clearly, Ferguson was in the wrong and probably won't be punished heavily for it. They're Manchester United after all.

It brings me to a more puzzling conundrum in the modern game.

I am an American. As an American sports fan, I follow other sports like baseball and basketball.

Baseball has always been a sport tailor made for statistics. Unlike almost every other sport because of it's sample size, statistics can actually tell you a great deal about a baseball player, even if you've never seen the player play. Obviously, they can't give you a complete picture, but it's better than nothing. There are various advanced statistics in baseball that have been formulated by stats freaks like Bill James and the people at Baseball Prospectus. This sort of advance in reading a baseball game has led to the deification of figures like Billy Beane and Theo Epstein, young general managers who took that knowledge and applied it to their own teams. Billy Beane was even invited by Premier League clubs to see if they could apply the stats methodology to improving football clubs.

Following this trend, basketball teams have started hiring statisticians to come up with formulas to better assess basketball players. It doesn't work nearly as well for basketball as it does for baseball, but there are up and coming number crunchers who feel that they can make a better assessment with these statistics.

Which brings me all the way to ProZone. ProZone is a private company that many footballing clubs get statistical analysis from.

Frequently during Champions League matches, they show the "distance covered" statistic and that comes directly from ProZone, something that the newspapers used to prove that Alan Wiley wasn't "unfit" for refereeing duties.

I've always wondered why I couldn't get my hands on statistics like this. In fact, when it comes to statistics, football seems to be in the dark ages, at least for public consumption. You go to any major footballing website, and all they will have are goals and assists. The ACTIM stat index is available on the Premier League website, but even that is a confusing way to gauge a player because they don't explain what is going on clearly enough.

I know fully well that there are advanced statistics in football. Wenger once spoke of the Castrol Football Index which allows him to pinpoint exactly how fast a pass a player can deliver. He uses that system to determine who may or may not be fit, help evaluate a future player for Arsenal, and see areas of improvement. This is a worthwhile feature to have available, but it's not necessary for public viewing.

I just want the simple statistics readily available. Things like pass completion rate, number of interceptions, key passes, distance covered, and stats of that nature.

The Guardian chalkboard is a handy tool, but it's nowhere enough compared to the amount of information I can easily find about baseball players. It's silly that a Fantasy Football site can tell me more numbers about a football player than a site like the BBC or the Premier League site can.

I'm well aware that having access to these sites won't necessarily enhance my knowledge of the game, but it could. Perhaps there would be more thought placed into some blogs, rather than trusting on what your gut instincts tell you. The example of Denilson should be enough for me to show why this access might make for better analysis.

International Football v Club Football

Manchester City midfielder, Stephen Ireland has stated that international football will become an anachronism, and top players will start to retire young from the "chore" of having to play international football. In the coming decades, tournaments such as the World Cup or European Championships will decrease in value as their importance will fade, due to the rising popularity of international club football.

Tournaments, such as the FIFA World Club Cup will grow and expand. The Champions League and Copa Libertadores are already held by many professionals in higher regard than World Cup qualifiers that see Belarus play Khazakstan. Alexander Hleb plays for Barcelona and Belarus. I'm sure if he had to choose between the two, he would choose Barcelona every time.

Last week, 14 players pulled out of the Scotland squad to face Japan. Stephen Ireland says that he's retired from playing for Ireland even though he is only 23.

Let's face it, watching Arsenal v Boca Juniors in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup is a lot more appealing than watching Ukraine verses England. But I'm a die hard supporter and fans like me, generally do not care about their national team.

However, we die hard fans do not represent the rest of the population, especially those people that are not football fans, but who come alive when ever the World Cup finals start. It also depends on the country. Players from Brazil, Argentina or France, find playing for their country is the highlight of their career.

An American Arsenal fan would rather watch the USA win the World Cup than Arsenal win the FIFA World Club Cup. Ditto that of Brazilian fans of the team Corinthians winning the World Club title.

Winning the World Cup, an event that takes place once every four years, is a statement about a nation - for this reason international football will continue to have the power to reach more people on a deeper basis than the club game.

If Stephen Ireland had the chance to represent a nation of over 190 million, all desperate to win the World Cup, I doubt very much that he'd see it as a chore. He would probably view it as the highlight of his career.

Calling Gael

France defeated Faroe Islands Saturday as their fragile World Cup qualifying campaign continued in Guingamp. Domenech and Henry have talked about qualifying by any means possible - big teams have made big tournaments and done well after qualifying via playoffs so there can still be a happy ending. The French team was a mixture of regulars and some emerging players but it did not contain Arsenal left back Gael Clichy. He didn't even make the bench. Unless his form improves dramatically very soon, he could miss out on S. Africa if France get there.

He has talked about needing to break away from Kieran Gibbs in the competition for Left Back. He acknowledges that he is first choice now but that it can change quickly. Judging by his form last season (which hasn't improved very much so far to be honest), he has a long way to go in creating distance between himself and the younger Gibbs. The mental lapses that he's become famous for cannot continue.

Clichy needs to strive to displace Patrice Evra in the French national team. Evra, for all his anti-Arsenal comments, is a very good player. Worse is that he excels against us. It's clear to me that Ryan Giggs has passed on his hatred of Arsenal to players like Evra. That creates an extra bit of intensity in their game. United are always up for a game against Arsenal.

We haven't had that little bit extra recently when we've played United. We haven't had enough of that burning desire to beat them the way they've had it for us. If we have had it, they've had a bit more of it. Players like Clichy need to turn that around. His Arsenal place and obviously his World Cup dreams depend on big performances when they really matter. He hinted recently in an interview at confusing instructions from Wenger. I don't buy it. Wenger's instructions are not confusing. And if they leave Clichy wondering whether to attack or to defend, he certainly should know what to do and when to do it by now.

He has been better and he must know that. There's no time for more excuses. He is now a senior member of our squad. It's time Gael bigs up or steps aside.

England

Earlier this year, Theo Walcott told World Soccer Magazine that his main priority is the World Cup. Faced between a choice of Arsenal winning a trophy or England winning the World Cup, he chose the latter. As an Arsenal fan, it could have rubbed me the wrong way but it didn't. Every player dreams of winning the World Cup, an achievement that is usually possible through the luck of being born in the right country and being part of a proper generation of players.

Theo has not been selected for the current senior side, but that's only because he's coming back from injury. Theo means well, but sometimes I feel as though he needs to dig his heels in at Arsenal first before dreaming of such glory. After all, if it wasn't for Wenger, he wouldn't have made the 2006 World Cup, a decision that is viewed as a monumental failure for Sven-Goran Eriksson. Many wrote that Theo had actually trained well for England, but Sven's refusal to play him probably dented the experience for him somewhat.

Nevertheless, Theo, probably against Wenger's wishes, played for the England U-21 team over the summer. One would expect a player who is close to locking down a first team spot for Arsenal would dominate an U-21 tournament, but he did not. Strictly down to Stuart Pearce trying to inflate his managerial value, Walcott's participation in the tournament underscored the real failure in England's footballing roots.

Simply put, England care too much about winning. I know that sounds absolutely ridiculous, but England would rather win the wrong way than lose while improving. Obviously, in the highest levels, winning is the be all, end all. But this is a U-21 tournament we're talking about. The real goal of youth squads are to produce players for the First Team. And in this case, Theo is clearly a full England international.

That kind of mentality lingers through the English mindset. They would rather have kids play route one football so they can win, rather than play football with the idea of enhancing their natural football instincts and technique. People who advocate the former idea spout the worthless rhetoric that "fostering the winning mentality" is necessary. That is true, but it's not relevant on the lower levels.

Thus, perhaps due to his participation (or perhaps not), Theo has only featured as a sub in one Arsenal game this year. Granted, he looked sharp and took his goal well, but he must understand that playing well for Arsenal will result in everything he desires. Wenger has tutored him well, and Theo must understand this.

Today, Theo and Kieran Gibbs turned out for the England U-21. This time around Wenger gave his blessing because Theo needs the games. He performed well, setting up Gibbs for a goal, but went off at half time with a dead leg. That's the other thing Theo needs to get over, his frailty.

Yesterday, Rooney joked that he was rooting for his former teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo, and the nation of Portugal to fail in their quest for qualification. Personally, it seemed like it was just a joke, but if I were Rooney, I'd want to meet them in the World Cup for real revenge. That was a small matter. More interesting to me was Rooney openly admitting that he committed a red card challenge in the last World Cup. English journalists were vehement that Rooney didn't know what he was doing. Wrong! He knew exactly what he was doing, but Ronaldo's "wink" took all of the furore off Rooney's back. Another example of protecting England's golden boy, and yet another example of England failing to understand that it's more important to put Rooney in line to prevent future outbreaks than protecting their own by overplaying a trivial action by Cristiano Ronaldo.

In today's Guardian, a journalist wrote that England lacks a player as cerebral as Cesc Fabregas. I think that's undeniably true, but fear not England, the team you hate the most may produce the most cerebral English football brain since Paul Gascoigne. That player very well might be Jack Wilshere, a player who was educated the right way.

Making it Pro

Right now, America is in the middle of Football season - That's American football, not soccer.

To a foreigner, like myself, there are two types of American football fans:

The pro fan and the college fan.

In South Carolina, the enthusiasm for American football is exemplified by the fact that non-alumni are far more ferocious in defense of their university team than the students are. Is this hypocritical? Of course, but then so is college football. The university pretends that their team consists of outstanding athlete/students playing American football in between lectures and classes.

The college fan, on the other hand, knows that the NCAA is just the NFL's minor league. That most of the juiced-up morons playing for the likes of Clemson, find it hard to work out the New York City subway system with a map in their hand, let alone sit through a lecture on Kant or Keynes.

Only one or two college athletes turn professional. The rest, graduate with a no expenses paid bachelor degree or drop out into obscurity, wanking over their high school days where they were cream of the cunts.

Every summer, Arsenal take on about 10 new full time apprentice professionals, who in almost every way have given up leading a normal life. The apprentices have two years to prove to Liam Brady and his staff that they are worthy of a professional contract.

In many ways, the apprentices had decided, many years ago, to give up on living a normal lifestyle. From the moment Arsenal approached them, which for some was as young as 9 years old, they had lost interest in school work or any other educational advancement. Their life was now consumed by soccer and making it pro. By at least 15 years old, all of the new apprentices had been coaxed, coached and encouraged in almost every way - except financially - to sign professional apprentice forms for Arsenal.

Of the 10 apprentices signed, only one will sign pro forms with Arsenal. Three of four others might make it pro at other clubs lower down the leagues. But probably none of them will ever be a first team regular. The rest, who get offered nothing, will probably end up at 18 without a job in soccer and unqualified for anything else.

The earliest any professional club can offer a pro contract to an apprentice is 17 years old. Most get offered a pro contract at 18. Only the exceptionally gifted get offered a contract at 17. The maximum length of time a pro-club can offer a 17 year old, in his first pro contract, is 4 years. At 18, they can can sign a 5 year contract.

So if Arsenal offer a 17 year old a pro contract, he must be very good. If they offer him a 4 year deal, then he is exceptional and will probably make it to the first team.

Below is the list of 17 year old's who were offered 4 year contracts by Arsenal:

Cesc
Walcott
Djourou
Ramsey
Merida
Nordtveit
Gibbs
Wilshire

Keep it Arsenal

Something To Think About

Two stories have grabbed my attention this week. They involve issues that we’ve already discussed and that I have vowed not to revisit, but based on what I’ve read I have to make an exception. Please bear with me.

Before I continue, let’s be clear. I am not asking anybody to forgive Emmanuel Adebayor because of a few quotes attributed to him. I just want to know the impact (if any) that his comments have had on you as an Arsenal fan and more importantly, as a rational adult.

Generally speaking, in life we can be in one of three mental states – child, judge, or adult. It’s in our adult state that we find reason and make sound decisions. Obviously, our former striker was not in any state to act rationally when he raked Robin van Persie’s cheek. And he was probably just as far from rational when he sprinted to the away fans to let them have some of what Arry and a few others would argue that they deserved.

Speaking about his assault on Robin, Adebayor has been quoted as follows: 'It's one of the things that you can't do in football. That's for sure. It's true that if someone did that to me it would annoy and hurt me. I regret it, for sure.'

Not exactly an apology but nor a denial of the fact that he focked up. I’m not sure if it’s enough. But am I the one to judge?

On his confrontational stance with Arsenal fans, he stated the following: 'I talked with the coach and he told me I was one of Arsenal's best-paid players, that the club was in the red, so maybe they wouldn't be able to pay me any more - it would be better for me to go. I asked him: Is it your choice or the club's?"

'He answered: "It's everybody's choice, from the whole club". I was pushed out.'

He continued, 'Everybody says Adebayor went for the money. I think a lot of people are wrong because Arsenal bought me for five or six million and they sold me three-and-a-half years later for £25million. So people should know that it's not me who wanted to leave for money, it's Arsenal that forced me to go.'

I doubt Arsenal fans care that Adebayor has made an attempt to set the record straight about his departure from the club managed by the man he has said, ‘gave me the opportunity to be where I am today. ' I also doubt that they care any at all that he took offence to chants insulting his mother. Frankly, I don’t know the chant he’s referring to. Honestly, I don’t. The only Adebayor chant I know is the one sung when he was in full flow for Arsenal, scoring goals and helping the team win games - the one he once stated that he longed for, the one that he should have tried hard enough to hear from the fans in his last days at the club, whether he was ripe for selling or not. That would have been the adult thing to do.

As much as Adebayor is offended by insults hurled at his mother, he must remain professional. He must remain in his adult state. He must not judge the fans. He reacted like a child and then judged the fans.

I’ve long accepted that he is not worth the energy. He’s gone. He’s not our problem anymore but I just had to ask the questions.

The second issue deals with Eduardo and that penalty vs. Celtic. The Eduardo issue showed a lot of people up for who they really are. Again, let’s be clear. I don’t like when players feign fouls to win penalties, or worse, to get an opponent sent off. I accept however that it happens and that my team may or may not be on the “right” side of the outcome. Eduardo fell over easily but the acrimony that followed went beyond anything that the “crime” (and certainly not the player) deserved.

I’ve read an interesting piece by Tony Gahan. He compares Eduardo’s situation to that of Steven Gerrard in a ‘What If’ manner that I found worth contemplating.

World Cup Final England v (insert name of hated country here - so many to choose from). 0 - 0 in the 93rd minute and Stevie G is hacked down in the box - clear penalty and he bravely picks himself up to score from the spot. The 44 year wait is over and England are World Champions at last. But wait - some of the foreign media are claiming that Stevie dived - surely not? How could this be - the goalkeeper comes out and takes his... oh dear, no contact made at all? Stevie will be a little disappointed with that when he sees it again. Still, it’s only the (insert name of hated country here) so that's OK - but wait here comes FIFA with a life ban for Stevie as he stumbles out of the celebratory party at 4am with JT and the boys and an instruction to replay the game later that day. We must stand up to cheats they say - of all countries surely you English understand? Without Stevie a slightly worse for wear England lose 4-0 - a victory for honesty and fair play says the world and who are we to argue? The moral high ground has just become a very lonely and dangerous place to dwell!

I stress that I am in foreign waters here. I’ve asked questions that are probably best answered by psychologists. I’ve touched on the implications of the proverbial shoe being on the other foot. I don’t know what side of either debate you fall on but both examples put focus on how much our stance on an issue is influenced by our own stake in the matter.

Not Welcome

Sol Campbell is set to train with Arsenal in a bid to revive his career.

He is a member of the Invincibles squad, but has ceased to be thought of fondly in my eyes.

Sol Campbell walked out of Arsenal and Highbury at half time of a match where he was brutally slaughtered by West Ham.

He subsequently asked for his release on the condition that he would go abroad to prolong his football career. He signed with Portsmouth soon after.

The fact that he's being allowed to do this is solely down to the affection that Wenger feels for his older players.

He claimed, during his 13th anniversary interview, that 99% of his players have been a joy to work with. Any guess as to who falls into that 1% bracket? I'll venture a guess that two of them are English, but they're not Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole.

Halloween

The image above should make you sick. It came about last year, after Spurs equalized in injury time at The Emirates Stadium, after coming back from 4-2 down.

That day felt worse than a death in the family. Revenge will take place on Halloween.

Enough of Spurs and moving on to Sunday's 6-2 win against Cuntburn Rovers. There's a couple of things I want to bring up:

If a goalkeeper takes a long free kick/punt on the edge of his own penalty area, then the defending team has to push up high to create an offside trap in order to stop attacking headers in their own penalty area.

Arsenal's defense failed to do this on Blackburn's first goal. That worried me.

Blackburn's second goal was down to a lucky deflection.

Blackburn's third, which never happened, should have come from a penalty decision that never happened. First, Gallas was too lackadasical in the challenge on Dunne. Then, Vermaelen hurried his challenge, instead of holding back a little and committed a blatant penalty. Cesc had Vermaelen covered, in case the already unbalanced Dunne had got past him. Communication is key when it comes to defending.

It was obviously lacking for Arsenal at that point.

Arsenal should have been awarded a penalty against Manchester United when Darren Fletcher brought down Andrey Arshavin. Rooney dived in that same game and won Manchester United a penalty. Eduardo was deemed to have dived against Celtic so you could argue that events even themselves out. Except, Eduardo got a mountain of flak and a ban for his so called dive but Rooney got away with his, because he's England's only hope in the World Cup this summer.

Celtic, by the way, have lost all of my respect.

Arsenal has on paper, a reasonable run of games ahead of them. Birmingham City at home should be 3 points. So should West Ham away. The North London derby against the Scum is on Halloween. Remember last year? 4-4 it finished after Arsenal were leading 4-2 until the 89th minute. Remember David Bentley's goal/celebration at the end. Now, that's a game I want revenge from.

There are no Arsenal games until October 17th because of World Cup qualifiers. There are, however, some interesting World Cup qualifiers. Russia v Germany; Argentina v Peru; Denmark v Sweeden; Honduras v USA; Ireland v Italy.

Let's hope that the Arsenal players come back injury free.

Keep it Arsenal

Post Match View - Blackburn Rovers F.C.

I've tried to think of the most difficult result to stomach from matches when Sam Allardyce was the opposition's manager. There were many. I couldn't target just one. His teams have frustrated us over the years. Simply put, I don't like the man. He epitomizes everything I feel is wrong with the traditional English approach to football.

Frankly, for a league that trumpets how it is the best in the world, I find it hard to accept that managers like Sam Allardyce are still employed in the EPL. Worse, when a team that plays the style of football that Arsenal does is challenged not by a similar approach with emphasis on technique, movement, and passing but by pushing the envelope and trying to get away with as much physical, rough play as possible, I have to ask how it helps the league's profile.

This touches on a different issue for a different day but Sam Allardyce does English football's progress no favors at all.

The week leading up to the home fixture vs. Blackburn was dominated by Arsene becoming the longest standing manager in Arsenal history. And all the plaudits are fully deserved. Few would argue that.

For me it was fitting that the celebration climaxed with a match against a thorny if not despicable opponent, Sam Allardyce. Fitting was how Blackburn literally jumped to an early lead - Vermaelen was beaten well by the taller Steven N'zonzi in as picture-book an illustration of Route One football as you'll ever see - only for us to equalize with a terrific strike by Vermaelen himself.

Fitting was how David Dunn (who at one point did his best Toni Schumacher imitation to take out Vito Mannone) would put his side ahead, only for us to come back just three minutes later with Robin scoring an equalizer. That's three in three matches for van Persie. All of them key goals as well.

It was fitting that Thierry Henry would be in attendance to watch us put six in Paul Robinson's net. Mind, if it weren't for Robinson, we'd have scored even more. It should be said that we escaped a few close calls ourselves but there was no doubting which the better team was.

It was fitting that Theo would score and look as fresh as can be. He's come back and contributed to us beating a team that we should beat. Dropping points to the lesser sides does not help title chasers.

It was fitting that Niklas Bendtner who escaped a car crash would come on and score. He could and should have scored twice. Having added the sixth, he became the sixth different player to net for us in the macth.

It was fitting that Andrei scored as well. I loved how he quickly responded with threats to Robinson's goal almost immediately after we went down 1 -0. He and Robin could be setting up for a tight race for leading scorer. I still feel he hasn't got out of third gear yet. That is scary.

It was fitting that Cesc responded to doubts about his commitment to the club with a goal and four assists. Clearly a Man of the Match display. The badge kissing may be a tired, over-used gesture but it was nice to see. Let's enjoy him while he's with us and just forget the back to Spain stuff.

The most fitting of all was the look on Allardyce's face towards the end of the match. I never forget who my enemies are. I'll never forget the look of anguish and helplessness on his face on the day we celebrated our greatest manager.

Let that be a lesson to you Mr. Allardyce. Respect Arsene Wenger for the great manager and the great human being that he is. You can do worse than to try and emulate him. But you won't try to because it's not in you to do things with the class and dignity that Wenger oozes.

Go back to your cave Mr. Allardyce. You do football no favors.

Slaughter the Right People

I had no intention of bringing up Emmanuel Adebayor in any way ever again. He's dead to me. However, when he was let off the hook based on the "extreme provocation" by the Arsenal fans, I feel a duty to defend our cluster of fans who were there that day.

I have been extremely critical of Arsenal fans in the past. I think the fact that the Emirates empties out before matches conclude is utterly disgraceful. I think their treatment of certain players goes beyond what would be construed as constructive criticism. I don't mean just the fans who attend matches at the Emirates, I mean the armchair managers at pubs also.

But, I have nothing negative to say about our away support. They are die-hard Gooners who understand the difference between slaughtering a player and supporting a player. In fact, I'm dead certain that they are the ones who have backed Adebayor and Eboue during their low ebbs with our club.

These fans have been pointed to as the mitigating factor for the favorable decision going Manchester City's way. There have been reports that these fans have chanted racist songs at Adebayor. Some have even suggested that they threw bananas at Adebayor, a claim also falsely channeled by El Hadji Diouf at Everton fans. I wasn't at the ground obviously, but I've read that these things are simply untrue. They gave Adebayor stick, but wouldn't you be tempted to as well if you had read all the things that Adebayor had said about our club after he left us. Now, there is no way to really condone the things that some fans did when he celebrated in front of us, but that has to be understood within the context.

You have people like Harry Redknapp saying that Adebayor was justified in giving us the stick back. He claims that if we racially abused him, Adebayor was just giving it back. A bit rich from Redknapp considering it was the Scum who originated the Elephant Chant about Adebayor. Redknapp also slates Tevez for not celebrating against West Ham claiming that Tevez has no history with West Ham so what does it matter. Well, for the record, Tevez was voted Player of the Year by the West Ham fans that year and remains a cult hero for helping stave off relegation that year. I guess that's no history, huh Harry? You're just bitter because your nephew gets rightly slaughtered every time they play against Chelsea.

Our fans have been targeted as some fierce provocateurs, while the West Ham and Millwall incident goes largely ignored. Our fans are hardly what you would call "hard." And for that reason, I have to stand up and say that they're not worthy of such criticism.

Which leads me to Sam Allardyce, the classless walrus who masquerades as a mastermind.

All sorts of people gave Arsene Wenger praise yesterday. Ranging from promising managers like Roberto Martinez and old war veterans like Neil Warnock, the endorsements came flooding in.

Cue Sam Allardyce talking about how it is some sort of an achievement considering that Wenger has stayed manager for 13 years. It was hardly a ringing endorsement, although the English media said Allardyce was praising Wenger. That was mixed with comments about how he knows how to get at our team and that mutual respect was as far as it went with our manager. Even Allardyce's mentor, Sir Alex Ferguson, now admits what a visionary our manager is. In fact, I wonder if Allardyce would even know what ProZone was without Wenger's presence in the Premier League.

To all this, I'll just point out the following:

- Allardyce seems to think that his teams can get results against our team. Well, look deeper and apart from a couple of draws and a defeat, it's largely untrue. Largely helped by a gifted player in Nicolas Anelka, he's just taking the piss if he thinks he knows how to stop our team from scoring.

- Since he left for Newcastle, his reputation has largely diminished. He's a failure, plain and simple. There are those that suggest he should have garnered the England job over Steve McClaren. He failed too, but look what he's doing now opposed to what Allardyce is trying to replicate at Blackburn.

- This Blackburn team is far different from his earlier Bolton sides. He lacks the ideal target man for his primitive offensive schemes, and he lacks the hard men in midfield to keep things tidy. He thinks he's unearthed the next Patrick Vieira in N'Zonzi, but to that, most would ask, "WHO?"

I hate Sam Allardyce. He's a petty, worthless man who has brought nothing to the English game.

On Arsene's 13th anniversary, I would love to see Allardyce reduced to a footnote in Wenger's illustrious history with our beloved Arsenal.

Myles Palmer wrote a book about Arsene Wenger, called The Professor, which was the first of its kind. It gave him kudos and a huge ego. Now he thinks he is the inside voice on evrything Arsenal. He makes claims on his website like a fortune teller on who Arsenal are going to sign and the latest gossip on Arsenal players.

These claims can never be checked and the signings that he says are 100% certain never happen.

He claims that Arsenal are going to sign Veira in January. That Vieira has already passed a medical back in August but he never joined because Arsenal could not get $1 million to Inter Milan on deadline day.

It took me 30 seconds to buy MagicJet on my cellphone. It cost Arsenal $1.8 to buy two 16 year old center backs from Switzerland this summer. It therefore baffles me as to why Arsenal would struggle to find $1 million to buy Vieira or ran out of time to buy him when it takes 30 seconds to buy something off the TV and it costs $1.8 million to sign two Swiss kids.

Now Myles Palmer writes that Wenger doesn't like English players mainly because he doesn't think that kids from a council estate can handle fame and success. It's why Wenger won't play Jack Wilshire.

Jack Wilshire doesn't come from a council estate. Neither does Kieran Gibbs or Theo Walcott.

I hate people like Myles Palmer.

Keep it Arsenal