7 Points of Interest

1) Alumina is an ordinary goalkeeper. Not good enough as Arsenal's first choice. He makes indecisive decisions that creates panic among the back four. They have no confidence in him, which is making them play with the handbrake on. Almunia is going to get worse and is on the verge of making a major mistake in a major game.

2) Clichy has gone backwards. Two years ago, I thought he was better than Patrice Evra and should have been the 1st choice French left-back. His form attracted solid interest from Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Juventus. Maybe the speculation got to his head, because now he flatters to deceive. Going forward was his forte but not anymore. As for his defending, well if you compare it today to two years ago, well it's like replacing your wife with an inflatable woman.

3) Denilson is inconsistent. On his day, like when we beat Everton 6-1, he looks world class but recently he looks an ordinary midfield player. Ramsey is a better bet.

4) We could have 95% possession against Chelsea and Manchester United and still lose. Foreplay may give a woman an orgasm but it can't get a woman pregnant.

5) What about a world class striker? The last time Arsenal had a world class striker was during the 2005/06 season when Thierry Henry was in his prime. We got to the Champions League final that season but barely finished 4th in the Premiership. Since Henry left, we haven’t had a world class striker. Van Persie is a crock. He can only play half a season but he’s the nearest Arsenal have to a world class striker. But then you look at our rivals and who they have: Rooney, Torres, Tevez, and Drogba - all of them world class. So why then didn’t Wenger buy one in January? Especially when all of Arsenal's best strikers were injured? Tell me, apart from Dzeko, what top quality striker could Wenger buy? Huntelaar wasn’t an option because he has already played for two clubs this season. Carlton Cole was injured and isn’t world class. What about that lanky Ivorian teenager that plays in Romania I heard someone ask? Unproven and Arsenal can’t get him a work visa. Buying a striker – easier said than done.

6) Teams like Chelsea and Manchester United know how to play against Arsenal. Flood the midfield by playing hard working players who close Arsenal down and then hit them on the counter-attack. Arsenal have shown against Everton, Stoke, Manchester United and Chelsea that they can’t defend against counter attacks. We also can’t defend corners and can’t score from corners. The opposite from the 1998 Double winning team.

7) The Wenger Out Brigade now have new members and lots of ammunition. By making Arsenal try to play intricate 5-a-side football, with no forward, with no defensive coaching, no defensive organization, and no muscle is too much for some Gooners. The long-term picture, however, is that Wenger is on the cusp of turning Arsenal into a self-sustaining super club with some of the most exciting players about to make their mark on world football. Arsenal are only three players away from something big.

Keep It Arsenal

Post Match View - Chelsea F.C.

On 8 and 0n 23, Didier Drogba has done what he does best against Arsenal - score goals. When the curse of Senderos was allowed to leave for Everton, I thought perhaps we'd turned the corner where Drogba is concerned. Not to be. He still has our number.

The usual suspects were at it again, aiding and abetting the opposition in making us look bad. Manuel Almunia can be forgiven for the first goal I suppose but if I saw him today my first question would be why he didn't make sure there was a player on both posts. Clichy was originally on the far post when Malouda placed the ball in the arc for the corner. Ivanovic stood alone near the top of the box, to the left of the Arsenal goal. Almunia, near his line, and Clichy from the far post, both pointed to him in a plea for someone to get close to the Chelsea fullback. By the time the corner was taken, Clichy had ventured away from the post, leaving a gaping hole for Drogba to exploit.

Why did he leave the post? Why does Almunia allow such things to happen? How much longer do we have to watch those two clowns drag our club down with them?

The second goal came as a result of a Chelsea counter-attack. Clichy ran back with indecision - he didn't know whether to go wide to pick up Drogba or to stay tucked inside. Anelka's run was always going to be dealt with by Gallas or Sagna so Drogba was in a far more dangerous position because of the amount of space he had to work with. Vermaelen made matters worse by not (I presume) instructing Gael on what the best option was. After all, Vermaelen was facing the play, Clichy's view was peripheral at first and then he became spectator when Lampard changed direction to feed Drogba out wide. The Chelsea striker collected and once again an opponent was allowed to enter our penalty area far, far too easily. Drogba went around Clichy and Vermaelen to shoot past Almunia.

The ball was struck with a fair amount of pace from maybe ten meters but it was not unstoppable. It looked as though Almunia ducked underneath it. I've reached my end with that man. He and Clichy may go home now.

Losing to United and Chelsea the way we have in the span of seven days says that we are not on a par with either team. It hurts me to admit it but I have no choice but to accept that as fact. If we were going to beat them, it was always going to be from their mistakes. We may have had more possession than Chelsea but nothing came from it. And when we did manage to go close, they had a real keeper minding their net. I was also impressed by the way they got numbers back without sacrificing much in attack.

We've dug a very big hole for ourselves. We have played three must win matches in less than two weeks. We've got one point and one goal to show for it. That is just not good enough. Liverpool on Wednesday will be another must win but for an entirely different reason than what we would have wanted.

There have been lessons to learn from this rapid decline. I hope the right people have learned them. We will fight until the end but what good is fighting if you don't get better from battle?

Let's be clear. Giving up is not an option. Today however is a very grim day.

7 out of 12, 38 out of 42

I could care less about John Terry's feelings. Footballers can do what they like in their private lives, but operating as if they can get away with anything all of the time is an increasingly foolish assumption to make. If it were any other week, I wouldn't even be writing about John Terry.

We play Chelsea tomorrow at Stamford Bridge. I don't believe a tight defeat would completely knock us out of the race, but a comprehensive loss may signal the end of our chances. Victory, though, would mean that we'd only be four points behind United and three points behind Chelsea. With our kind run-in, anything is possible.

At the end of last year, Chelsea breezed to a 3-0 victory at the Emirates. After the match, I didn't feel overwhelmingly depressed (as I was last weekend when we lost to United). I felt resigned to the fact that the result could not be overturned, but I wasn't impressed by Chelsea. They seem to have a winning mentality, but they didn't humiliate us, no matter what the score line said. It's often cited that Didier Drogba has a phenomenal goal scoring record against us, and that is very true. However, I believe the key player for Chelsea when they play against us is Michael Essien. I don't think we've ever beaten Chelsea when they've had Essien in their side. He will not be playing tomorrow.

There was a time when we practically owned Chelsea. That shield of invincibility ended when Wayne Bridge (of all people) scored the goal that knocked us out of the Champions League during our Invincibles season. When we drew Chelsea, must of us were giddy. We saw an open route to the Champions League final, and we were clearly the best side in Europe at that point. But, we know how that turned out. Jose Mourinho won the Champions League, and then he left Porto for Chelsea. Our form against Chelsea took a turn for the worst.

I think when we go to watch the Arsenal, most of us expect us to win. I need to start seeing that from our players. The Invincibles team defeated opponents before we even stepped onto the pitch. We'd go from back to front in blazing speed and kill off teams before they had a chance to breathe. The move to the Emirates seems to have changed that aura. Once known as a slick footballing side with a devastating counter attack, we've turned into a possession side particularly vulnerable to counter attacks. Wenger knew what he was doing when he designed the playing pitch of the Emirates. He wanted the largest pitch possible, so he can pack our team with technique plus players who can control the game. He wasn't copying Barcelona, as George Graham has suggested, but he was implementing a more complete game plan for the type of players he likes to select.

However, that game plan requires precision. And precision is what we've been lacking in the big games. How many times have we seen the first big chance fall to our team and it being squandered? Had Andrey finished off his chances (or even passed the ball to a better positioned teammate), the game against United would have been far different. When teams go up 1-0 against us, they set up to play counter attack football and attempt to add to their tally that way. When we go up 1-0, we continue to play the same way. That is why there is a perception that we can't finish off teams when we have to. And they do have a valid point if you observe all the points we've dropped in these big games after being ahead.

After listening to Wenger's press conference, I'm not sure whether Diaby or Bendtner will be available from the start. That changes (or rather, doesn't change) our approach to this match. With Diaby and Bendtner, we'd have a team capable of attacking in a variety of ways while coping with some of Chelsea's brute power. If neither can start, a similar lineup that played against United may be fielded. If that is the case, what we need to see is precision. We need to take our chances when they come. We need to play as a tight unit. We need to play as a team that believes they can actually win this game. I did not see any of that last Sunday.

When people looked at this string of fixtures, they decided it was the make or break period for Arsenal. That could be true, but if we win the next two matches, we'd have 7 points out of 12, a good return from those four matches.

Moreover, the way I look at it, if we gain 38 out of 42 points in our remaining fixtures, we can win the Premier League. That means 12 wins and 2 draws. This season, we've had periods where we were flying, then suffered two bad results back to back, and rebounded. We've had our two bad results once again, now it's time to buck up and show that Arsene Wenger was right to back these players.

Now that the curse of Senderos has officially left our side, we need to reverse everything tomorrow. Chelsea's positive form against us. Drogba's scoring streak against us.

When Fabio Capello stripped the captaincy from John Terry, I'm sure he was wounded by the decision. It probably won't affect his play tomorrow. But what I would like to see is for Andrey and Cesc to strip John Terry's pride from him tomorrow and turn him into a crying mess once again.

We have all to play for. It's time for the players to bleed for Arsenal and to step onto the pitch knowing that they'll get the three points that we desperately need.

Vanessa Perroncel

The woman above is Vanessa Perroncel. She's a French underwear model but has become famous for shagging England and Chelsea captain John Terry while she was dating his ex best friend Wayne Bridge - the Manchester City left back. According to the Daily Mail, Miss Perroncel was caught having sex with married man Terry in Wayne Bridge's bedroom. John Terry also made her pregnant, which resulted in an abortion.

All of this news was initially blocked by John Terry's lawyers who obtained a super injunction preventing the media from reporting on the affair. But last Friday the injunction was lifted. Now all hell has broken loose on John Terry's personal life with Vanessa Perroncel having hired publicist Max Clifford to get her the best deal to tell her side of the story.

According to The Mirror, John Terry's wife has fled to Dubai. He is now fighting for his marriage - by constantly phoning his wife - which has become his number one priority. On Friday, Terry will meet with England manager Fabio Cappello to determine if he will still be the England captain. Then on Sunday, Terry faces an unpredictable and injury hit Arsenal.

Arsenal, John Terry and Arsene Wenger are all hurting right now but for different reasons. Terry's mind is elsewhere. He doesn't want a divorce and doesn't need his personal life to be in turmoil in the middle of the football season.

For Arsenal, the Chelsea game is make or break. Lose and it's all over regarding the Premiership title. Win and Arsenal are right back in the mix.

For Wenger, the Chelsea game is a big test. He gambled on playing a weakened team against Stoke in the FA cup and lost. But most Gooners accepted that sacrificing the FA cup for a shot at the title was fair game. But with 1 point from 6 to show for his last two Premiership games, Wenger needs a result on Sunday - big time. Otherwise the defeat against Stoke will haunt him just like Vanessa Perroncel is haunting John Terry.

Chelsea are weak right now. There is no Essien and John Terry's personal life is not a help. The close shave win against Burnley and the draw with Hull indicate that with the right attitude, tactics and application, Arsenal can get a win on Sunday.

Man United were buoyed by their Carling Cup defeat of rivals Manchester City. It's seems to have kicked started their season. If Arsenal beat Chelsea, it could have the same effect and reenter them into the Premiership title race.

If Vanessa Perroncel sells her story before Saturday's game, then she could be the French striker that Wenger was looking for in January - striking another blow to the Chelsea captain's personal life.

But if Denilson, Clichy and Almunia play like they did against Man United, Arsenal will lose even if Chelsea decide to replace John Terry with Vanessa Perroncel as center-back.

Keep it Arsenal

How Badly Do You Want It?

I’ve been dating a woman with a crystal clear reputation. She doesn’t drink or smoke. She is the antithesis of the promiscuous, orgasm seeking, post MTV woman. I have had a tremendous amount of patience with her. I have had even more patience with this Arsenal squad.

She could be easily swayed by her friends’ daily calls to “loosen up, Jane”. She does not stray. She is discipline and class personified!

I, on the other hand, smoke, drink, and practically live for my next piece. The only things that even come to close new pussy are Arsenal victories, oxygen, good food, and more Arsenal victories. Her parents were reluctant at first but I’ve won them over, even if just so.

After three dates of laughter, good food, long walks by the sea, and extreme sexual tension (mostly on my part), I’ve reset my strategy. Let’s be clear, it’s noble to entertain this woman purely on inoffensive, gentlemanly terms, but I suppress my animal instincts in the process. I want her g-string to go down the way Leeds United dropped down the divisions, and the sooner, the better!

By the fifth date, we’re four months deep and there’s still no sign of access to her front yard so I can stretch my legs a bit. By the fifth month, I’ve seen a glimmer of hope. She’s asked me to join her on a weekend outing. The first image that comes to mind is of her spread eagle like the left side of our defence waiting to be split in half by Johnny Member. I calm myself. I start to lower my expectations but quickly realize that now is definitely the time for heightened expectations.

I’ve earned this moment. I’ve been patient. A trophy is in sight.

The weekend affair was a let down. For all her beauty and splendor, she’s a sad roll in the sack. Maybe it’s down to inexperience. Maybe she’s just rusty and needs a run of games. Maybe she just looks better than she can ever live up to in sexual terms. I fear the worst but I remain hopeful. She’s not lived up to expectation but I’m willing to give her another go.

I tell you that sad tale my friends because I am desperate for an Arsenal victory Sunday. I need to smile again. I have believed as much as anyone has. I have examined bad results and poor performances as critically as my tiny brain can do. I’ve searched for reasons why we haven’t done better.

I have supported every Arsenal player because if you wear our colors, you represent the club I love. I want you to do well. I need you to do well. You must do well, even if just for the manager’s sake. He has trusted you.

I’ve reached the same point with this team as I have with Jane, where I feel no guilt in expecting a fantastic, convincing, and thoroughly gratifying result. I have precious little time and patience left with under-achievers like Samir Nasri and Thomas Rosicky. I’ve lost patience with so-called next great players like Theo Walcott – when was the last time you were the least bit of an offensive threat Theo? I’m finished with clowns like Manuel Almunia and Gael Clichy doing us more harm than good. I’d rather not see Armand Traore in an Arsenal uniform again if all he does is get worse as a player each time I think he’s improved. I’d rather call back Vito Mannone if Fabianski shits himself every time we call on him.

Earlier in the season, I expressed my expectations of certain players. While many of those expectations have not been fulfilled, I feel we still have a chance to do something special. I really believe that, as hard as it is to continue doing so. I believe because these are desperate times and the right reaction could spark an enthralling run-in. I believe because giving up is not an option. The players must live up to the challenge. Their careers depend on it. Wenger’s reputation depends on it. They owe him more than all the under-developed nations of the world combined owe the IMF.

They owe me more than Jane does.

Balance

Before writing about what can improve our team for Sunday, let me briefly mention the three conceded goals against United.

On the first goal, you could identify the five players on the pitch who let Wenger down. Rosicky raises his arms up as if to say "I didn't commit a foul" and allows Evra to dribble into a dangerous area of the pitch. Then, Clichy makes a poorly clearance. The ball comes wide to Nani. Clichy is on him, Nasri appears to support Clichy, but positions himself in a dead zone and Nani bisects the double team with a piece of skill. Nani runs into the box and skins Denilson with one drop of the shoulder. Almunia with his poor positioning backtracks slightly and then tips the ball into his own net. All five Arsenal players mentioned are to blame for this goal. All five Arsenal players mentioned owe Wenger more. All five Arsenal players mentioned ruined our Sunday, Monday, and now Tuesday as well.

The second goal came from an Arsenal corner. When Nani was streaking down the right, I thought to myself, "there are plenty of players in position to defend." That was correct until Denilson failed to notice Wayne Rooney, the most in form striker, running in a direct straight line towards the goal. Some have highlighted this as a fantastic goal. It was a gift. Denilson watched the ball and considering he was never going to get to the ball, he needed to scope out where the danger was. Denilson has regressed this year.

Clichy is taking a fair bit of stick for the third goal. Alan Hansen called it the "worst defending he'd seen in 30 years." Most people wanted Clichy to attempt to tackle Park Ji-Sung and stop the attack. Had he done that, Park would have crossed low and one of two United players would have had a tap in. Instead, Clichy played to take away that option. He counted on Manuel Almunia to bail him out, or at the very least make Park convert a difficult chance on goal. Almunia came out but failed to make himself big enough. As a goalkeeper, you never want to be beaten on the near post. If a player scores on the far post, fine, you take your hat off to him. Park is a right footed player, so he would have had to square his body and curl it into the far side. What happened instead? Park used his right foot to score on Almunia's near post. Clichy is the easy target on this goal, but it was Almunia to blame. I have zero confidence in Almunia. The team has zero confidence in Almunia.

So, that's that. United played well and efficiently, but I'm going to say that all three goals were easily avoidable had the players who had "mental" lapses showed an ounce of intelligence on the pitch.

But enough of that.

On Sunday, we'll have a key player back (at least I hope he'll be fit). Abou Diaby returns. He is a pivotal player in our team. In our current 4-3-3 formation, Abou Diaby is the player that completes the midfield axis with Cesc and Song. His physicality, his skill on the ball, and his directness are all positives. He's also a more forceful player than Denilson. Denilson was hyped as a combination of Rosicky and Gilberto. When he first played for Arsenal, he was a Cesc-lite. He played well in that role, but when Wenger told him to start playing as a defensive shield, he lost most of his passing range. So, as it stands, Denilson is redundant.

The same way that Nasri and Rosicky are redundant when they're forced to play as wingers. Bendtner provides a different option, one that forces opponents to pay attention to him. Looking at football strictly on X's and O's, you want players who want to take away defenders or opposing players from the game. If you have a great player and he needs to be double teamed, that's valuable because you gain a number's advantage. Same thing if you have a wide player with pace, because that action drags a defender away from a comfort zone and stretches the shape of an opposition team. With Rosicky on the wing, our play is often too narrow and there is no impact. Teams have to play Bendtner differently because he's a target man. But The Great Dane likes to pride himself on the fact that he plays better with the ball on the ground. If he can show that that's in fact true, we have the ideal player to complement Arshavin in attack.

I had a feeling that Chelsea would draw against Hull, and that happened. That means that if we win at Stamford Bridge, we'd be 3 points behind Chelsea and 4 (or 2 or 1) behind United.

Nothing is over. Unless certain players don't wake the fuck up, we still have a chance to win the Premier League. Diaby and Bendtner can be major influences. Imagine what Gooners would have said about that only twelve months ago.

Please Get Injured

Having Almunia in goal is like fighting off plaque by brushing your teeth with your finger. The man has got to go because his confidence already has. I can't have a man protecting the Arsenal goal with fucking zero confidence. But Almunia doesn't pick the team Wenger does. Unless Almunia gets an injury or an illness we Gooners are stuck with the clown.

Before yesterday's game, I really thought that Arsenal were going to fuck Man U up, especially after I read their team sheet. On paper, that was the weakest Man U team to visit The Emirates. Little did I know that Clichy and Denilson were going to have games that would make even pub players cringe.

Diaby can't come back soon enough for Denilson. Whereas with Clichy, I would rather play Pat Rice in his position.

"We gave them too much room," said Wenger afterwards. No shit! Every time Rooney got the ball players backed off and let him turn and pick his pass. He could have turned slower than an oil tanker and the Arsenal players still would have backed off. It was disgusting to watch.

Two of Man U's goals came from Arsenal corners. Funny because Everton two weeks ago scored from an Arsenal corner. Every time Arsenal get a corner, I now find myself praying that we don't concede - it should be the other fucking way around!

Park ran half the fucking field, with the ball, unchallenged before passing the ball into the net. Robbers have a harder time stealing from a corpse!

Arsenal's problem against the big teams is that they must score first otherwise they lose all technical discipline and shape chasing the equalizer. The natural instinct of the Arsenal midfield, bar Song, is to attack. This instinct goes into overdrive when Arsenal are a goal down. Nasri, Denilson and Rosicky couldn't protect their cocks with a condom let alone the Arsenal defence. They were fucking weak.

Sure if Arsenal had taken their chances early on it might have been a different game. If Bobby Kennedy hadn't been shot Nixon might not have been President. The benefit of hindsight is always great but I'm not a "what if man." I leave that shit to fortune tellers and losers.

Ferguson got his tactics spot on yesterday. Sit back and hit Arsenal on the break. Arsenal were so susceptible to a counter-attack that it made watching yesterday's game frightening. Arsenal need to take a leaf out of Ferguson's book. Man U attack as a team and defend as a team. Arsenal, however, attack as a team but defend in isolation.

Football has changed but the concept of defending hasn't. If your faced with one attacker, you need two defenders back. If your faced with two attackers, you need three defenders back. If your faced with no attackers, you still need defenders back because if you lose possession against Man U - who are good on the counter-attack - you will get punished.

Yesterday, Wenger played five central midfielders, four of them are attack minded and built like boys. Against Chelsea on Sunday that needs to change.

Keep It Arsenal