» The Gooner World

Believe or not, but Keegan was defeated twice by three-nil in four days. Some of the londoners newspapers reported that he could be facing problems as Newcastle have not win a single match and, to make matters worse, withouth scoring a single goal in three games.

Anyway, despite of the fact that I'm sorry about Keegan's Newcastle, everything is ok with Arsenal, thanks. Adebayor scored again and we finally could see Fabregas & Flamini playing well again. One more clean-sheet and a superb perfomance. I do hope us to keep the pace and focused, as we are going to have tough matches during the second semester, like Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and Man United at Old Trafford, for example. But thinking about the near future, we're going to have a tough match on Saturday as we travel to Manchester.

About this round: cne nice point about it is that we're facing Man United's rivals, and they, ours. I'm sure Tottenham wouldn't be happy to help us to be back on top as well as Man City wouldn't like to see Man United comfortably leading the Premier League. Anyway, I'm sure Tottenham and Man City are keen on winning as they need points. Eriksson needs his team to be back on business as they dropped lots of important points and Ramos does need to win as his team is keen on beating Man United after being eliminated by them from the FA Cup.

Tough match, no doubt. I don't think we are going to see lots of goals, specially because we're playing away with a team that plays very well at home. Anyway I've to admit that Man City were impressing me by the beggining of the season, but now it looks as if they lost their pace. They drawn twice playing West Ham and now did it again with Derby County last Premier League round. So I do think we're going to beat them once again this season.

Latest news from City of Manchester Stadium is that Bianchi was sent on loan to Lazio (that's really good as the italian was scoring nice goals) and Johnson is injured and is expected to be back in the middle of February. Elano is ok and might play.

Now I hope our players are resting after beating Keegan twice in four days so we can beat Eriksson and hope to see Man United droping points here in London, and Chelsea in Portsmouth as well.

As we are just waiting for the weekend to begin, here are some pics of our very own Emirates Stadium. Hope you all feel admired and like it, as you did like the ones I posted a couple of days ago.

Arsenal will travel to Old Trafford to play arch rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup 5th round. Obviously, this was the pick of the draws. Others include:

Bristol Rovers v Southampton

Cardiff v Wolves

Sheffield United v Middlesbrough

Liverpool v Barnsley

Preston v Portsmouth

Coventry City v West Bromwich Albion

Chelsea v Huddersfield Town

Mouth watering encounter for us. Irrespective of the result, it will be a good game of football for sure.

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This team will get a HUGE boost if they manage to knock out ManU and AC Milan, biggest teams in Europe in a week. The CL trip is for both teams and I don't see any reason for either us or them being disadvantaged.

Looking at the ManU fixture :

1. The pressure to perform in front of home fans for ManU
2. Clichy has had Ronaldo in his pocket when we played and assuming he shifts wings Sagna is a monster too.
3. Scums opened up their defenses and with the kind of form Ade and Eduardo are in we will have our chances.
4. Its better playing ManU rather than Pompeii before a cl. the later would have been painful to break down and more draining.
5. Most fa games will be before the CL. at some point there would've been tough contests and this should be treated as a start.
6. In the event of a replay we'll be at home

...and to a lesser extent the recent history favors us.

Moving on to other teams, Coventry would be absolutely furious for not getting ManU...and if I were sane, wouldn't bet on the El'pool game.

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Brilliant. Beating Man United at Old Trafford would put us behind the Tottenham incident once and for all. It would be a boost, and our moral and self-confidence would be really perfect to face Milan in the same week.

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Lovely. Really looking forward to this game. Gives the team two shots at Man Utd in their home. Time to see what they are made of. Really enjoy when these two sides face each other... rarely are there more interesting or talked about games. Wonder what it'll be this time? Referee disputes, players cheating, excellent goals, stout defense, pizza throwing... all of the above.

:-)

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Now I dont know how many of you will agree with me here, but hey thats why we are different

Scenario 1: We beat man utd in FA cup , players tired, we can potentially mess up the CL tie.

Problem with this scenario si that we still are a long way away from the Final. Draw Pool or Chelsea away from home and we are back to square 1. This being a cup competition , we cant say anything for sure.

On the other hand, United are free to concentrate on the league. Now dont get me wrong here, but I really feel we dont yet have the squad to compete equally in all competitions and we need to prioritize. And if there is one competition I am dying to win its the PL. Nothing beats that. So here we have united (already on top) and free to concentrate on their game. I see us winning nothing..brutally honest here.


Scenario 2 : We lose to man utd
Players will be hurting . but then we have shown the capacity to bounce back before.So we can face Milan - and possibly surprise them.
We are out of the FA cup early, which is a blessing in disguise because its really better to be out earlier than later - trust me.

We can concentrate on the league. United have a big enough squad to still be competitive in the league adn win it but atleast we can match them.

Scenario 3: replay
suits neither team. Might as well have one of the above options.

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2 Sat Barclays Premier League A Manchester City
11 Mon Barclays Premier League H Blackburn Rovers
16 Sat FA Cup A A Manchester United
20 Wed Champions League H AC Milan

Depending on how the league goes, player selecttion and subs need to be handled well in the Blackburn game which is some 4 days the FA game. IF we manage to keep that game less streneous for the first team, then we should be able to keep the team relatively fresh. they should have had all the rest they need before the FA matchup.

After the CC matchup, Arsene will be fielding a full strength side and will have to go for the win to begin with. a win here can give a huge physcological boost to either team and thats something that we cant allow MU to have, even if our boys are capable of recovering. It wouldnt hurt to get any kind of advantage over MU at this point.

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I like the first scenario albeit with a difference. We use the game as a dress rehearsal and beat ManU in the process. We can afford to rest our players AFTER the Milan game because we play Birmingham. ManU might rest their players for this tie because after their game against Lyon, they travel to St James Park.

Btw, this is what we are going to face when we meet Milan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwYqNk88d1I

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Despite of the fact that we all want Arsenal to win every single match, we should reckon that we must rest our first squad so we can be more prepared for the Leagues matches. Wenger has also affirmed they are our priorities, so I would not be so surprised if our second squad play Man United.

We must remember that our first team played Newcastle last Saturday only because it was a key match after such a disaster at White Hart Lane, The Boss himself affirmed that. I'm sure he's already thinking about the best option he should take as the matches are coming.

And if he really does that, I'll support him. As Sajit said, I do want us to win the Premier League. We do want to win everything, but if I could chose one, it would be, definitely, the Premier League. And I guess Wenger thinks the same as me. I hope Man United to play their first squad for Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup. Let they get tired instead of us so we can top the Premier League once and for all.


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Pato isn't that good, believe me, and that's why he's not playing for Brazil national team. As a brazlian I watched him playing in U-20 World Cup and he had lots of poor perfomances. About his perfomance against Genoa, his header was a bit lucky and he almost lost the chance to score his second goal. He lacks confidence and isn't sufficiently experienced to face the english way of playing football. I can say Gallas and Toure will put him in the pocket.

We have to mind Kaka as he's the one who created every single play for Milan and Gattuso, who has the gift of marking. I just can't forget how he made Ronaldo disappear when they faced Man United at the Old Trafford. If we handle both, we will beat the italians not only once, but twice.

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Cracking draw, and I agree with Sajit, that we should let some of the 2nd choice players a go in the FA Cup. The Premiership & CL are clearly the priorities for the club, and I dont want the players to be tired against Milan.

ManU, on the other hand, have more strength in depth, but we can beat them on that day if we play 4-5 2nd choice players, irrespective of the team they put out.

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Pato must have something in him to be the lone man upfront in a 4-5-1 formation in the Milan team?

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I recently watched a few AC games to see what Arsenal are up against. This is what I feel.

1. Ronaldo, kaka, Seedorf and Pato - The front is very good. They create, pass, move and shoot well. Pato drifs wide, Ronaldo goes into the hole, Seedorf comes right in to cause problems. Pato has pace and is 2 footed, when Ronaldo's excellently placed passes reach him he is a major threat. Ronaldo is as good as anyone in his day, we'll do well to hope he has an off day.

2. Defense - Much has been written in the media on this aspect and I should generally agree with the latest assessments. They look slow and don't have the legs. Adebayor and Eduardo will be a major factor and Cesc will be able to cut their defenses with through balls and well placed passes. We could do well pushing Cesc or Rosicky further up and play a 4-3-1-2 kind of a formation which will create huge problems for their defense an area we should keep exploiting.

The threat will be from set pieces and long balls pumped into their forwards. if we can negate that we'll win it over both legs.

Every Brazillian I meet just raves about Pato and from what I see there is enough substance. He's amazing for his age.

The best match I've watched at the Emirates so far. Perfect atmosphere, brilliant support and a great perfomance.

The first-half was a bit disappointing, I've to say. We should've shown our presence to Newcastle, and it looked as if our team was still a bit sad due to the defeat by Tottenham last Tuesday. Half-time and then I'm sure Arsene Wenger made the diference motivating our team. As soon as the second-half begun, The Arsenal, the true Arsenal, finally woke up.

We put lots of pressure over Newcastle and the goal was about to happen when Eduardo hit the post with a nice shot. The ball then came back to Arsenal and with a nice play, the ball touched Adebayor's left foot. The Togolese dribled one, two and three defenders and fired. Superb finish by an impressive Emmanuel Adebayor. Then we calmed down - what I didn't like to see as I replayed the match against Birmingham in my mind. With less than ten minutes to go, Arsenal's best player on the pitch carried the ball around Newcastle's box, looked for an empty space and, when he found it, he justed entered with his very own fast pace. He looked at Given and then fired the goal. The ball touched the net despite of the effort of one of Newcastle's defenders. Emmanuel Adebayor scored his second goal in the match, and his third in three matches I've watched at the Emirates. Five minutes later, Cesc Fabregas crossed to the box and then Nicky Butt scored with a nice header! Three-nil to The Arsenal, game over.

During the match I realised how Adebayor has improved. Last season he was just a bench-player, didn't have many starts and I'm a hundred percent sure no one could imagine that he would do what he's doing this season. I kept my eyes on him during the match and I could see that he has become more than a our top-scorer: Adebayor is now an idol for the fans and a leader for his teammates. I could see from my seat the Togolese talking with the other players, giving them some instructions and getting angry with them when things went wrong (poor Diaby!). Adebayor's becoming a world-class football player, definitely. His one-two passes were fantastic. His pace was as amazing as always and, of course, his finishes were even better. A key player, an exemple of commitment and passion for the club. And as I told when we first met: congratulations, Ade, we're proud of you.

We did give a big hand for Theo. His name was chanted by us: ''Theo! Theo!''. We did make him feel comfortable with the situation and specially the speculation over his future at the club. Thanks Wenger that gave him a start when he was needing it the most. I've to say he played well at least for me. He looked focused and as fast as always. He had a couple of chances to score but simply didn't fire - and I'm sure that's because he isn't as confident as he should be. Shame on you, The Sun and other stupid tabloids.

Diaby had a poor perfomance. He was lost on the pitch, lost many chances to assist Adebayor and Eduardo and then was replaced by Hleb - who, frankly, didn't have enough time to play. Senderos was brilliant. I'm his fan and I don't want people to say bad words about him anymore. Your commitment wasn't in vain, Sendy, we're behind you. Clichy (not sure if was he or not, but looked like him at the Emirates) headed the ball that would've changed the match in the beggining of it. Lehmann didn't even move, but luckily the Frenchman was there to save the day. Fabregas created some plays and assisted Butt in the last goal of the match! The rest of the team played really well.

Winning is something beautiful, specially when you play well. And I'm proud to say that I was there today, singing my heart out as I did promis you a couple of days ago. We're back on business and I just want the players to make the most of the short time they have to rest so we can beat Newcastle once again on Tuesday.

After reading, time to take a look at some pictures of my day at the Emirates Stadium. Hope you enjoy:

The day I met Emmanuel Adebayor
I know we're all a bit bored about our poor perfomance last night, but I'm sure no one is more upset and sad than Emmanuel Adebayor. He replaced Theo Walcott only with thirty minutes to go, scored a magnificent goal, felt like a Gooner and got out of his mind and then got problems with Niklas Bendtner. I'm sure nobody had a worst Wednesday than the Ivorian - specially because I'm sure he had a serious conversation with Arsene Wenger and Williams Gallas due to his acts yesterday night.

Anyway, as I was walking alone around London I decided - don't know why - to take a look at Selfridges (Oxford Street) after lunching at KFC. As I was leaving the escalator I could see a tall and known man walking with his bodyguard. I really don't know why but I couldn't control myself and then I shouted: ''Emmanuel!'', the tall man just looked at me and kept walking. As I thought I would never have such a chance again, I didn't give up and talked to his bodyguard that I was brazilian and a big, big Arsenal fan. And then I ran over Adebayor and asked him to take a picture with me. And despite of his bloody day, he was suffitiently kind to stop walking and listen to me.

I told him that we, Gooners, are behing the team no matter what happens and that I would be at the Emirates on Saturday.

Well, when I shaked hands with him and said ''bye'' I was so happy that I decided to come home and share this special moment with you. I represented millions of fans, so just pretend it was you along with Adebayor in the picture!

Out celebrating Tottenham’s 5-1 demolition of Arsenal on Tuesday night, the 28-year-old bragged to pals: “Kevin Keegan has approached me and they’ve offered me more money.

“I am definitely leaving Spurs. It’s all about the money. I don’t care about the final, I don’t care about the cup.”

William Gallas - The Greateness behind the man
Gallas signed a 4-year contract with Arsenal, where he took the number 10 shirt vacated by the recently-retired Dennis Bergkamp. In an interview in the October 2006 issue of the Official Arsenal Magazine, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger explained the rather peculiar decision to hand him the squad number 10 (traditionally a forward's number):

Number three was uncomfortable for him and I had given the rest of the numbers out. In the end I thought it might be a good idea to give the number ten to a defender, because a striker would suffer a lot with the comparison with Dennis. At first I was reluctant to give Dennis's number out, and especially to a defender, but overall I think it's better that way.

Gallas made his full debut for The Gunners at left-back in the 1-1 home draw against Middlesbrough on 9 September 2006 and scored his first goal against Sheffield United on September 23, 2006. Gallas also scored in Arsenal's 3-0 win against Liverpool F.C. on November 12, 2006.

Gallas was confirmed as Arsenal captain on August 9, 2007, with Kolo Toure and Gilberto Silva serving as joint vice-captains. His first competitive game as Arsenal captain was on 12 August 2007 against Fulham F.C. which ended in a 2-1 victory for Arsenal. [8] Gallas suffered a groin injury in the game against Blackburn on August 19, but returned to play for Arsenal in their 2-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers on 20 October. In the traditional Arsenal vs Manchester United clash at the Emirates Stadium on November 3, he scored a last minute goal to give the Gunners a draw.


On December 16, 2007 Gallas scored against his old club Chelsea, which was to be the only goal in the match to secure 3 points for Arsenal. Gallas later reflected on his goal against former club Chelsea, claiming that "When Cesc sent the corner in for my goal, I saw Petr Čech come off his line and to be honest I was sure he would catch it. So I was surprised when he didn't take it, and it was just a reflex reaction to head it into the goal. I just happened to be there at the right time".

Since his appointment as first-team captain, by Arsene Wenger, many Arsenal fans have seen a dramatic improvement in both the on and off performances of William Gallas. Gallas has soon emerged as a favourite amongst the ‘Gooner’ faithful, due to his charismatic leadership and the passion he deploys on the pitch, who in favour show their affection by calling him “Billy”.


I think wikipedia forgot to mention the clash of egos that happened with the switch of Gallas with Cole.
I don't know if its just my feeling, but Gallas has a fire in him to make him play better than Ashley Cole did, for Arsenal. Till now, he's been terrific......but ..... no matter whatever we call him, Ashley the cunt, Cashley, Cole's hole , he still was one of the best Arsenal ever had......he has some memorable saves associated with him, such as that backfoot stopping of the ball at the goal line - the mark of an excellent defender.
Fortunately for us, he has dropped standards in Chelsea and in fact, Gallas is having the form of his life. His winner against Chelsea gave us a moral booster over the 'infamous' Chelsea.

I personally, have many Chelsea fans as friends and I really wanted Arsenal to be more than just words. A goal from this guy, was ecstatic....no matter what anyone says....Tal Ben Haim wasn't marking him, John Terry was deliberately fouled.....still, the scoreline reads - Arsenal 1 - 0 Chelsea (William Gallas)

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I don't know how long this thread will last so I'll let my feelings heard quickly.

I think Gallas was top class last year. Thierry Henry said Gallas was the best defender he has played with/against. But last year he was terrible, not on the pitch but off it. What a cunt and a pain he was. Sure he was injured but that was all excusable but he was a real pain. Let's be honest about that.

Fast forward a few months and news filters that Arsene Wenger has appointed Billy as captain. Many blogs, most notably Arseblog.com (which I like very much, The guy is seriously funny), fans call this as Wenger's worst decision. But only now do we know what a genius of s decision that was.

Expertly marshaling our defense and going forward when required. Infact, i think Gallas could be significant for our title. When things are not going well he pops up in the D and tries to score. He did against Man Utd, he did it against Wigan, he did it against Chelsea and he almost did it against Birmingham. These vital goals could be the difference between a win, a draw and a loss and ultimately the title.

Okay, so we are in midway, season of glory, as some arsenal fans call it.
Now, I'll get to my point.
The ones who have been arsenal supporters since more than 3 years might have noticed a tremendous change in the arsenal's style of play. Also, the recent viewers of BPL, might notice that what Arsene's team play, is a type of football, which the others do not play. The game has changed into 'short one touch passing'. This is often addressed as 'the beautiful game', and was seen first in Brazil and Argentina, that gave rise to several greats. I have some issues regarding this style of play, and please don't think of me as an anti-arsenal person if i hurt some of your sentiments . I think i have made my disclaimers and i may commence.

I'll begin with the advantages and the problems that I see with each position

1) FORWARD


Advantages - the opposition doesn't really know what move Arsenal's gonna play the next moment. They are always kept guessing, and thus, it breaks their mindset. We see goals such as those created by backheels by either Hleb on the right, Clichy on the left, and Fabregas, almost everywhere! We also saw that goal by Thierry Henry, against Juve, the game that marked Fab as the world's best midfielder being born. Juve were backed into thinking that Fab was going for glory when he took the reverse pass from Henry to an almost impossible angle. But, he passed at the last instance and thus, Henry got an open net. This play is certainly best when it comes to passing between three or more players and leads to breaking down the toughest of defences.

Problems - Too much passing. We have seen in numerous occasions that arsenal's teamwork gets the better of them in some situations. The 'Wengerball' is seen much too often and thus, results in missing out the goal. One such incident that i would like to quote is the Rosicky, open net chance against some team in the champion's league. In that match we missed more chances than we scored, and thus, it ended in a 0-0 draw. contd..



Rosicky had his foot in the position as if he were to pass again. That cost him the goal. Also, over confidence creeps up in the mind of the players when they are playing one-touch superbly.


2) MIDFIELD


Advantages - Perfect one - two - one passing. This is an area of absolute brilliance. And why not? we have the world's BEST midfielders of all time! Cheeky through-balls and back-heels are wonders to watch when arsenal come out in a counter! Don't you all agree? This style revolutionizes the type of football that a nation or a club should REALLY play.

Problems - Sometimes, one touch drags the player into a situation where he is almost to lose the ball, and also, mistime or misplace the pass. The ball control isn't as much as it is..in normal possession style of play where the players keep ball for long time and give back-passes more often (EX- Liverpool).


3) DEFENDING


Advantages - The main advantage here is the main reason for almost all of the Arsenal goals. COUNTER!
The defenders pass together like Forwards and perform beautiful one - two - one passing and move forward alongwith the whole team. This results in more players in the opponent's half and also, more players to collect the loose balls. Defenders like Toure, who have an excellent long range effort are tempted to have a go, and sometimes, score crucial goals

Problems - The problem is the same as that in forwards, over-passing. But the result here being much more dangerous, as if the ball is lost inside the 18 yard box, its almost always a goal, unless you got all Peter Crouches and Ruud Van Nistelrooys.


So, that was my take on it....what's yours?
Do post here and donate your time generously!

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I dont agree with the problems you have put forward. From your post I assume that when you say the beautiful game, you mean a pass and move game instead of players making runs at the opposition with the ball all the time.

You can play a passing game and still have an endproduct if you have decent strikers in the box. Midfielders might overpass , good strikers take their chances. So over passing has nothing to do with the bautiful game. This year we are still playing a nice passing game and I dont think there are many instances where you can blame the team of over passing. How can you raise the point this year?


We pass the ball backwards and to the side a lot too. I dont know why you bring up the point of losing the ball.....I think our possession stats tell a diferent story.

The problem is the same as that in forwards, over-passing. But the result here being much more dangerous, as if the ball is lost inside the 18 yard box, its almost always a goal,
I dont think we overpass the ball in defence. If I remember correctly this year there was just one goal in the Sevilla match where because of a short pass from defence, we were dispossessed and theey scored(that was not over passing either). Normally the ball gets out of defence pretty quickly....


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you cant have 100% posession in each match, and win it by the margin of 7-0 or maybe 8-0..

This post was relevant maybe last year, when we tend to overpass the ball, and not take a slight direct approach towards Goal, like a simple cross by Sagna and Great Header by Bayo, or a Fabregas firecracker in local derby.

But this year things have changed, things like off the ball movement, one touch passing with more agility and success. maybe team have gelled together, or maybe TH14 departed, or maybe wenger said them so, or maybe its just they got aroung 50 games more experienced. To say that one touch football has disadvantages is worthless.

Advantages are clear and in front of you midway through the season. I hope and pray it remains the same come may, with each passing year i think this passing game will become deadlier,

and wenger' smart, oh hes really smart, he wanted to implement this game, so he built a team slowly but smartly, and now we can continue with this kinda game because he purchases kids every year, keep them in academy teach them this kinda game and make them perfect in tw o three years giving them exposure in competetions like Carling Cup.
He has two teams that play the same football, thus he can easily replace a senior, if he retires or decides to leave, or is injured. Now thats shrewdness. Instead of buying some overhyped ogre looking prodigy he chooses them asess them at a very young age, and then buy them at cheap age.

How many a time has it happened that a unknown layer has come to the squad and has made to nationa l team after his performance at Arsenal.

Yes we are some times troubled by oppositions who play physical, but that too seems to be going away with time, those who defend deep and decide to old on to a draw, this season we hae shown that its not just for, its class.

I hope i had made my point clear, Cheers

Gunnersaurus Rex - Who is he?
Full Name
Gunnersaurus Rex

Born
North Bank, Highbury, August 1993

Arsenal Honours
Since Gunner has been at the Club, we have won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1994, the Premiership in 1998, 2002 and 2004, the FA Cup in 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2005 and the Charity/Community Shield in 1998, 1999, 2002 and 2004.

Individual Honours
Getting to celebrate winning the Premiership title with the team on the pitch at the end of the 2003/04 season.

International Appearances
Gunner has made many Champions League appearances at Highbury and also away at RC Lens in France. He also travelled with the players to Arsenal’s match against Dynamo Kyiv and made a special visit to the Children’s Centre in Chernigov in Ukraine.

Gunner has seen and done many things in his career at Highbury, including making several televison appearances and many visits to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. On several of these events he has met other Club mascots and has remained friends with lots of them.

One of his favourite trips away was when he went along to the Natural History Museum with 50 Junior Gunners, where they researched Gunner’s ancestors. Whilst they were there two very special visitors came to meet them — former Arsenal players David Seaman and Glenn Helder!

Another highlight was the filming of adverts for the FA Cup. Gunner attended these with all the other Club Macsots and he relished the opportunity to score a penalty past Chirpy (Spurs) and Fred the Red (Man United). He still talks about that today!

Gunner is one of the most respected mascots in football, his friendly nature has not only been welcomed from Arsenal supporters but from supporters all over Europe.

One of the most frustrating thing after a loss is not to face the digs of the opposition fans but to hear the moans and groans of your own fans. And I take this chance to highlight a link given in another thread.

4-0 down - that is the time your team needs you, not when they are 4-0 up. How many of you stopped following the match after the 4th goal?

Here is a great write up on Sky sports.

Down by five and on your way out of the Carling Cup at the semi-final stage, it takes the most loyal of fans to keep on singing.

Only adding to the misery is the fact that you are losing your north London rivals Spurs - for the first time since 1999 - so you can understand why some Arsenal fans were heading for the tube early.

But there was one man left standing and the image of him singing his heart out, wearing his Rocky Rocastle shirt, as Spurs were 4-0 up is one of the most enduring of the Carling Cup semi-final second-leg.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11096_3072574,00.html

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Very true indeed. The groans and moans in our own community are the most painful things to bear after whatever happened yesterday. The rival fans will try to scratch, but that is part and parcel of this rivalry affair. But losing faith in one's own team and cribbing done by some glory hunters over here are very very hard to digest.

Salute to that ROCKY guy who has been featured in the SkySports article. He is an example for all of us. I even saw someone saying 'SACK Arsene Wenger' in yesterday's Live Match thread. Pathetic. The gloryhunters over here should understand that such awful days are part and parcel of 'fanhood'. Stand by your team, Sing for them always whether it is a win or loss. The Glory will be yours.

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It's a bit easy to support a team when it's topping the competitions and beating every single team it plays against. Anyway, only the biggest and true fans stand along their team even when things aren't going well. So now is time to see who are the glory hunters and the truly passionated fans.

That's why I'm going to the Emirates on Saturday. Now it's the time our players are really needing support and confidence, and I'm sure we're going to sing our hearts out at the Emirates as well as the guy in the picture so our team can see we're always behind them no matter what happens.

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You always feel proud of such fans. Even last season against Liverpool when we were losing 4-1 our fans were singing their hearts out showing their support for The Arsenal.
Such results will come along the way, but we have to accept it and give our full support for the team, its not as if they did not try last nite, just that nothing was going right for them while everything was going right for the spurs. Don't Derby have fans? Ofcourse they do and give their full support every time even though their team loses by a big margin.

I am damn sure that Arsenal are going to regroup and take this defeat as a lesson learned and destroy whoever comes in their way. Starting with Newcastle.

Come on you Gunners !

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Yea I saw the Rocastle man singing his heart off and I really really admire him.

But, I don't hate any of the traveling Gooners for leaving. They've apparently paid good money for tickets and they're entitled to a decent performance atleast. We were complete and utter shit yesterday.
I don't know if any of you read articles on the vital network, but one guy, Little Dutch had been to the match.

we really didn't want to be on the end of a consolatory fist or coin on the way out, so we made haste for the exit to increase our chances of escaping the Lane alive. It is the first time I have ever left a game early, and I don't feel at all guilty about it.

Even I had half a mind to switch of the Tele!!

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Thats the reason for this thread. There are fans and then there are fans everyone admires. And its upto each one to decide what kind of a fan they want to be.

If someone keeps talking negatively ofcourse everyone will tell him to shut up.
If someone keeps does not like it and quietly curses noone is gonna blame you.
If someone keeps singing till the last second, you will be admired.

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I admire the Gooner with Rocastle shirt. I really do. But I for once, I'm not angry with Gooners leaving early. I usually despise them but not today. Considering WHL is a high risk (apparently) for Gooners coupled by the fact we were as pathetic as Derby on their worst day (Ok, exaggeration but you know...), I have no reason to be angry with the fans.

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Next match gonna be the title decider not from the points perspective but mental strength and "resilience" point of view. It wont be easy.. newcastle is no pushover team they play physical and breakdown the plays... if we win the game it will be a biiiiig boooost for us coz it shows how much we r focused on the league and put the past behind...

With team kind of disgruntled because of the Ade and Nick incident there will be added pressure n might affect performance... but i fear if this game goes out of our hand then it will be very tough to catch up Manu....

Touch wood for Gunner Victory...

* Group turnover and operating profit at record levels:

- Turnover increased by 46% to £200.8 million (2006 - £137.2 million)

- Group operating profits* increased by 274% to £51.2 million (2006 - £13.7 million)
* Match day revenues from the Club’s first season at Emirates Stadium were £90.6 million, representing £3.1 million per game and being more than double the £44.1 million achieved in the previous year at Highbury.
* £260 million of bonds with long-dated maturities and a weighted average fixed interest rate of 5.3% were issued in the year to refinance all of the Group’s stadium related debt providing a significant reduction in annual debt service costs for the long term.
* The Group’s cash balances rose to £73.9 million (2006 - £35.6 million).91% of the units at “The Stadium - Highbury Square” are already pre-sold. The final completion sales value for all units is expected to comfortably exceed £300 million
* Arsène Wenger has extended his contract as Arsenal manager through to 2011 and will become the longest serving manager in the Club’s history.

Commenting on the results for the year, Peter Hill-Wood, non-executive chairman, said:

“The best way that Arsenal can continue to deliver success is by maintaining a business that pays its own way. This philosophy helped establish our objectives for the Club’s move away from Highbury and Emirates Stadium now provides Arsenal with the increased income, profitability, cash generation and firm financial foundations from which we will continue to build trophy winning Arsenal teams for many years to come.”


the financial results in its entirety is given in this pdf file!
http://www.arsenal.com/userincludes/docs/results24092007.pdf


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True reflection of how well the club is run and why we dont need any foreign investment !!

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3.1 million per game....wow......thats like financing 2 transfers per game

this is awesome news for us.......i guess the loan for the stadium runs out till 2020......we might beat that by a couple of years considering these figures.

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Just a few thoughts:

1. These numbers are turnover, does not make it the 'richest club'
2. The 200M turnover includes 23M of property development which is a one off item and wont continue in the future. But the 177M turnover from football is still good, and represents a healthy increase from last year.
3. The profits are only 5M after tax (which is after an exceptional item of 21M which will not recur). The increase is 26M after this, which is still good.
4. The net cash inflow is 38M is good. Again, this includes some loans taken, but the point is that the business is generating net inflow, and financing the debt does not seem to be a problem.


Btw the 70M number is hogwash. It represents the entire cash reserves of Arsenal FC, and the Board are not that irresponsible to give the whole thing to Wenger. Its just rubbish journalism, coz Edelman said A PART of the cash reserves of 70M will be given as tranfer fund and the media has interpreted that as a 70M 'war chest'.

Pls read the fine print, i.e. Edelman's comments, dont just believe everything that the media says.

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The figures are "before player trading and depreciation", and as such do not take into account the £16million sale of Thierry Henry then profit is more than that
aroun 60m

This transaction will only figure in next year's accounts, coz this is till May 2007. Hery was sold in June 2007. Btw that 'figure' is also before tax, and finance items. The net profit after tax is only 5M !!

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I couldnt help but smile as i read this.. its great..2nd most turnover after real n this year with the new tv deal and arsenal's own channel coming up it might be much more.. and hopefully with a trophy as well

way to stick it to dean and usmanov and all the doubters..

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I dont know how they account for it in england but when you sell property, its generally extraordinary income and not from continuing operations unless the club is involved in such a business which it is not.

In such a case it is offset and used as capital gains and you generally factor inflation and other sundry expenses in.

I dont have a clue what the board is going to do with Highbury but they sure are not putting it up for sale which leaves the tax exemption window open which can be claimed against the interest payout on the loan.

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We have a sound business model and which is giving us regular cash flow. Wenger has 75 million to his name if he wants to visit the transfer market and he is not the guy who is gonna go splurge.. He is a sound business man and an asset to the club and a canny investor and manager.

We dont have to be like the rest of the big boys if you wanna call em big.. to be ahead of the game you gotta spend loads of money... Well Wenger is an investor.. in youth and talent. Period!!

So listen up Chelsea, Man U and Pool.. A FOOL AND HIS MONEY ARE SOON PARTED!!! Does it ring a bell...

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In fact, the property development business is accounting for this as turnover (23M out of the 200M is from this). So, it is being considered part of continuing operations. This business IS developing Highbury (and 2-3 other sites), where 91% of the units have already been pre-sold. This will result in a 100M profit, and it will be received in 2009. Now, a part of this has already been used (I dont know what for), but the residual is still a lot.

Just to clarify, Arsenal is developing 3-4 sites for property development. Its all there in the release, so it is definitely involved in such a business (for now, ateast).

Jess - Making profits is not that big a deal. In fact, the football club declared a small profit last year as well, when the club had not moved to the Grove yet. Just that the profits are a lot higher now.

Its obvious that nobody reads my posts (what the hell did I expect eh ), but ARSENAL IS NOT THE 2ND RICHEST CLUB. 2nd biggest in terms of revenue, yes, but that does make it the 2nd richest club. There is a difference, people.

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Another match with the scums, another chance to extend the unbeaten run and another chance to chant "you will never defeat the Arsenal" .

Squad news is that Gallas is in the squad "travelling" to WHL because Toure and Song are in Africa, Dhourou is injured, Senderos broke his nose at Craven Cottage. Gilberto will feature in defense.

This is what Wenger said, “I will rotate the squad which means those that didn’t play on Saturday will play at Tottenham and after that I will complete it with first-team players. I will use William Gallas because I have no choice but Fabianski will play, Hoyte will play and the players that didn’t play against Fulham will all play. Walcott will feature as well.”

Responses


Wenger was great when he choose not to use the players on the bench last Saturday night. As we're going to have two matches this week, I think he thought the second-team players should rest a little bit more before playing Tottenham tomorrow and then Newcastle on Saturday, as both of them are crucial for our season, because a loss would definitely affect the atmosphere at the Emirates.

I'm quite sure the team that's going to play both matches will be really similar, excpet for the fact that Fabiansky might play the Carling Cup Semi-Final on Tuesday and Lehmann, the F. A. Cup 4th round on Saturday.

I guess our squad for the match against Tottenham's already decided: Fabiansky; Justin Hoyte, Gallas, Gilberto & Traore; Diaby, Denilson, Fabregas/Flamini & Randall (should we really put such pressure over his shoulders? I'd say Hleb would be better, as I don't think Rosicky should play once again after getting the flu last week); Walcott & Bendtner. I don't think Wenger should be concerned about using some of your first team stars specially because it's a derby and the moral of the team will be affected, positively or negatively, by the result of the match. He does know about it.

The starting line-up for the F. A. Cup match against Newcastle next Saturday depends on the perfomance of this team I posted above against Tottenham tomorrow.

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It is gonna be a tired TOTs facing us for sure... But I am not underestimating the chance of the kids running panic if Keane or Berbatov gets an early goal in...

I would want Gilberto for sure, as he can slow down the opposition for a period.. Bendtner and Walcott upfront is gonna get the defence busy.. That way Flamini/Denilson can hold up the midfield...Diaby also be at the wings to provide extra support on the left....as Phillepe said..Rosiscky, Eduardo, Randall, Lehmann, Sagna on bench..

On second thoughts Tots would be stretching the midfield a little upfront with Jenas and Lennon, make sense for Diaby and Bendtner to scare the defenders and sneak one on the counter.. but Diaby and Bendtner never could find each other really...

I bet on this one not for the delicate hearted....with no 4th place in sight, this is the best TOTS can give, and they would love doing it to Arsenal what they have not done in 8 years.. Its MANDATORY for Arsenal to score once..and i'd say twice if we need to clear out old debts with Chelsea... Mikel would be back for final...


2-2 for me... an away goal win..with scary last 10 mins...

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It is the best chance for the Spuds to finally get that win. And I'm sure that would be a great relief for them and fans would try to spin that, but in the end, it's the Carling Cup. This would be as much a development game for the youth who do play as the final last year. It's going to be a tough tough game. Not over optimistic about it either. No prediction, just give 'em hell boys.

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i expect a strong Arsenal squad. Arsene knows the Arsenal faithful wont take a loss to the spuds, irrespective of which competition it is , lightly.

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It's a strong squad. Wenger has made his intentions clear by selecting Cesc, Hleb and Bayo. Expect a fast paced game and a win (again) in WHL.


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I guess they'll need it. Berbatov has come out and said it's Tottenham's "Match of the Year". Wow. Talk about boiling your season down to a CC semi final! They aren't even out of the FA or UEFA cups yet and the season is already hinging on this game.

Confidence boy, confidence.

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If they manage anything against us I fully expect them to come out with special edition DVD's of the greatest achievement of the millennium.....and expect their fans to gobble it up like crazy.

The team selection by Arsene is excellent tactical stuff. Including Adebayor who loves to score and against them and Cesc who scored at WHL will surely be a little morale damaging for them.

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If Arsenal wins today I'll take a picture wearing Arsenal's jersey and scarf in Tottenham Court Road Station tomorrow.

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Two nil down, not looking good.

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Nope, havent created a lot of chances either. Havent seen Gilberto do much and Hoyte is looking shaky under pressure. DIaby is holding the ball for too damn long. He seems to studying some wrong winger's tapes.

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4-0 up. Worst day of my life, the CL final was better. Ya ya, it is just a CC match, but the scoreline is embarrassing to say the least.

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And against the Scum..makes it even worse.

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4-1 is there a comeback? X

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Are you feeling
Are you feeling
Are you feeling
PROUD......
Are you feeling proud.

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For the first time in my life I'm speechless. I really don't know what we have done to be beaten - and what's even worse, by five-one.

I have to admit we played like children tonight. Of course I know that, in fact, our players are young, but I really don't think you need to be an adult to play like one. Despite of the age, every single footballer who joins such a big club like Arsenal is supposed to play with responsability, commitment and, most importantly, love for the club he plays for. Why am I saying such a thing? Quite simple. The players must remember that they are playing for millions and millions of people all around the world. I'm not saying that we lack committed players, not at all. This is just a small list that I do think it's necessary for a player, because I do want them to know that their perfomance today made lots of fans feel really bad. This match wasn't a Champions League final neither a Premier League crucial match, but this match was against Tottenham Hotspurs, our biggest rival. No matter what is the trophie we are playing for, we just can't stand being defeated by Spurs.

I just couldn't understand why Ramos did affirm tonight match would be their most important game of the season. But now that the match is already finished I can say that I just shouldn't have expected anything better from a small team. Anyway, congratulations, then, Spurs! You've just won your season! Congratulations, Juande Ramos, for such achievement. Now you can celebrate Spurs' happiest moment in the decade - but where's your trophie, anyway? Your most important game of the season has just ended so now I think you're done. This is how a small and loser team thinks. They're just not able to fight for bigger titles, big achievements, so that's why they're all so happy. There's nothing more exciting for a Tottenham fan than beating Arsenal, because they do now it's the best they can do. So I'm afraid a ten-year-old Spur is happy for the first time in his life, finally.

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Now it's time to face our problems. Diaby and Gilberto were, once again, poor. Being crucial players I don't think they should have perfomanced that way. But I'm afraid I won't blame anyone today as even our captain didn't have a great time tonight. I prefer to say in the plural, direct to the whole team. A night to forget. Despite of the presence of Fabregas, Hleb and Adebayor we couldn't get the ideal pace. And what makes me really, really upset is that after our poor match against Birmingham, Wenger did affirm we would not lose our focus again. And unfortunately, I must admit we were everything but focused tonight. And that's the point. I spent the whole week saying that today's match would be crucial for the season, for our squad and for the fans. Now our self-confidence is really damaged and I really don't know what Wenger will do on Saturday. The boys who were beaten by five-one today are supposed to play Newcastle in only four days. Can you imagine what would happen to the atmosphere at the Emirates if we were beaten once again?

Now we are going to see how focused our team really is. Only great players can forget the past and be exclusively focused on the next match, and this is what a team that's fighting for the Premier League trophie should do.

I would rather feel humiliated if I were celebrating the first victory over my biggest rival in ten years than by being beaten only for the third time in the season.

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Crap display.

We have ridiculed Scums for a long long long time now and a defeat against them in CC is nothing significant but the manner which we lost was bad. There was never a day my wife and I would have cursed the TV sooo much.

I am planning to skip reading some articles for a little team because the press would be delighted. After all Scum beating us to 4th place was a fantastic creation and they would take any opportunity to vindicate their stand. I hope Wenger keeps the team insulated from the press as well.

Fabianski is quality but his positioning was hugely suspect. Some goals could have been easily avoided. Don't want to criticize Bendtner coz he got us all 3 in the prem but he'll find 1st team chances reduced till he gets his head straight.

End of it all we are in three competition - the FA, Prem and CL and the Scums could enjoy the stay in the lower half. I think Diaby looked most disappointed after the game, probably he was kicking himself a chance to kick Terry's head again.


P.S: My big concern: Theo - 5 goals in 2 1/2 years and another crappy display and Diaby - can't play on the left (Made Gilberto look ok relatively).

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It was coming and we could see that... This is Spurs moment of the season... I would say it was a different spuds than what we saw last 3 years... They took the lead as usual and decided we will just not sit and hang to it..but double it.
To make matters worse we had a defence which had no clue which is the zone to mark and who will do it... Hoyte never made a clearence or an interception.. I guess Gilberto would have been better there, with Flamini and Denilson ahead.. Gilberto was never his attacking self or defensive self..showing that he was missing the action for longer than he can remember...

Bendtner should try hard to forget the day... Somebody send Walcott back to school so that he can grow up.. he has pace and control coming together with a lag of 10 seconds... As they say it was like plucking the candy from a kid..

The worst player of yday imho was Diaby. He was extremely slow, never fought back for the ball...and wouldnt pass with urgency.. 2-0 down at HT and there were good chances to bring back the game to life.. but this man wouldnt keep pace with time.. Oh Fabianski was at the wrong end this this time... I dont think he could have done better to put out any..but could have been slightly more enthusiastic in organising the defence during freekicks and corners..

its CC... i would be even more pained if Chelsea were to go through tonite

Why do I miss Rosiscky in the matches we lose points????? Hleb was tired, So was Faby.... I hope we'd be focussed to put this result behind and get ahead with the Fk.All cup... Keegan would want a good result for himself like

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As I was out of my mind yesterday night, let me correct myself today. More specifically the last phrase of my post. Here's the right one I should've posted:

''Humiliation for me would be celebrate my first victory over my biggest rival in a decade, and not being defeated only for the third time in the season.''

Sorry for the mistake.

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An unflattering score line and we see the doomsday pundits blabbering away to glory everywhere...

Principally, the reason why I chose to unjoin the main Arsenal community.

Not that I blame them. I realize that yesterday's performance by Spurs was indeed worthy of the scoreline and a much awaited win for them.

I am sure that the players and most of all, Wenger must have been disappointed. A loss against Spurs after such a long unbeaten run is something that needs to be mourned, that is for sure.

Today, I was speaking to a Man Utd. fan and he made a very valid point which I wold like to share with detractors of Arsene's youth policy [not that I feel that there are any in this particular community. Its just that I want to voice my feelings]

(quote)... people forget that we played Ronaldo for 2 x 38 matches although he was not playing well and not scoring ... (unquote)

That ought to silence critics of Walcott. We all agree that the quality is there, but the confidence is lacking. In the case of Bendtner, I believe he can do with a bit of talking to by his seniors. Again, attitude not quality is the problem. For me, Adebayor is the ideal these youngsters should look up to. I profess to have disliked Adebayor at the start of his career. But he has shown tremendous improvement and has earned my respect. So much so, that I am glad Togo did not qualify for the African Nations cup.

There is a lot to look forward to, including the BPL, CL and FA. One poor performance should not raise concerns as I hope the team is capable enough to bounce back with a vengeance. Hopefully, Newcastle will bear the brunt of the wounded Gunners.

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Nine years. 21 games. Had to happen sometime. In a way, it's good that the pressure of maintaining the unbeaten record against the scum has ended. We'll play freely against them next time, no worries.

We'll bounce back, hopefully soon. "King" Kev had better watch out.

This famous song by Elvis Presley has been chosen as the new Arsenal anthem at the Emirates. There was no fan poll or fan contribution for this one (at least I didn't find any such mention online), like the previous one. I loved the Highbury anthem, but this one, I don't like it that much.

Although the song is inspirational in some lines, I don't think it will have the same effect as YNWA in spurring the team to perform. I have always liked chants and fan-songs to be sung on stadiums rather than anthems.

"The Wonder of You" is played before kick off at every home game, and now, we can hear some chorus from the fans, although, everyone still don't sing it.

When no-one else can understand me
When everything I do is wrong
You give me hope and consolation
You give me strength to carry on

And you're always there to lend a hand
In everything I do
Thats the wonder
The wonder of you

And when you smile the world is brighter
You touch my hand and I'm a king
Your kiss to me is worth a fortune
Your love for me is everything

Ill guess Ill never know the reason why
You love me like you do
Thats the wonder

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eUHS0_EbZTA

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As I have already affirmed, I am in love with this song. The fact that it is an old song makes it even better - specially because it is sung by the king himself, Elvis Presley.

What I can say is that it is priceless to sing this song with more than 60,000 fans while your scarf is wide opened. It seems the crowd is together and all behind Arsenal. The song prepares us to the battle, making us even prouder of being an Arsenal fan, definitely.

For those who has not watched it yet, here is the link for a video recorded at Emirates while the song was being played: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtReArPX9_U&eurl=http://www.orkut.com/FavoriteVideos.aspx?uid=10173084392369499538

And here you have links for some of Arsenal greatest moments so far with 'The Wonder Of You' in the background:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBipauZcOV0&eurl=http://www.orkut.com/FavoriteVideos.aspx?uid=10173084392369499538

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtTOI8kLNxQ&eurl=http://www.orkut.com/FavoriteVideos.aspx?uid=10173084392369499538

Simply beautiful.

Match is at 3 pm BST..

After a disappointin weekend wit manu on top hope we bounce bak strongly...wanna see us back on top...hope manu drop points against reading...n want arsenal 2 thrash fulham 5-0 or 6-0...goal difference is gonna matter at the end i feel...

IN ARSENE WE TRUST

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2-1 Arsenal.Hard Fought Battle.Won't be an easy outing.Will have to better than that against Birmingham.

You Will Really Miss Toure!Big Month For Arsenal.
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Excuse me... Sendy played very well yesterday.. He was not at fault for birmingham's goal in any way.

Only thing is that v miss eboue's penetrating runs on the right. Walcott isnt up for it against big defenders

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Half time: Fulham 0 - 2 Arsenal



It's been pretty comfortable. Was a bit alarmed at the team's opening 10 minutes. Didn't seem too settled or calm. They had a bit too much urgency I felt, a desperation even. Passes were off and rushed. Thankful to see the first goal because a frustrating half wouldn't have been good.

After that, the game seemed academic. Still, a few more in the second half will do wonders for the GD.

...

An excellent half, after the first goal. Surprised to see Fulham defending at home, when they are trying to get out of the relegation zone. Crosses from the wings headed in, not quite the way we usually play, but this is a message to those who think they can defend against us, and get a point. This is our plan B, if passing doesn't work.


Adebayor's reach is amazing. The 2nd goal was an excellent header, maybe 10 feet in the air .


The away crowd has been fantastic. Outsinging the Cottagers. Senderos' broken nose looked bad, it should have been a sending off for Dempsey for a elbow straight in Sendi's face, if only the referee had seen it.

Reading are playing well against United. Still goalless there. If it stays like this, back on top. Come on Reading.

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I think the elbow might have been a harsh red. He was up in the air and arm out but really didn't swing it, that I saw anyway. A yellow could have been justified. Not the end of the world, Sendy is ok and Arsenal don't need to be a man up.

By the way, where can I get a set of Clichy's wheels. Man he's fast!

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Considering what Arteta got, this one was definitely worse. These days, an elbow gets a straight red. Aynway, true we don't need to be a man up, but this is a good opportunity to close the gap on Man Utd's GD.

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United score. Rooney finishes it off.

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Excellent goal by Rosicky, what commitment to get to the end of that ball and put it in. Commanding performance. Still second, but more of these, and it would be just a matter of time before we get back on top. Everyone had a good game. The commentator's quote "They must be feeling they are back at Highbury" summed it up.

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Ha. I was more entertained by "this is the football equivalent of a leisurely stroll by the Thames for Arsenal". I love English commentators.


Good point to note... Arsenal have played 7 London derbies and have won them all. That's dominance in the good ol' capital.

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This is the way we must play. What a good perfomance.

I have to say I was a bit afraid of the match today morning. Despite of the fact that it would be a boost if we win, we would definitely waste our entire season if we had one more poor perfomance.

This week brought lots of confidents headlines in Arsenal.com. Wenger shouldered the responsability for the disappointing result and then affirmed we would really do better against Fulham. To sum up, the Frenchman spent the whole week saying today's match would really show what his squad is able to do. And that is what I was fearing about the match. Not only the boos but the entire world were putting lots of pressure on the squad, and I really thought that losing today would be a disaster. Luckily, the thing I was fearing about did not happen.

The match had just began and Gael Clichy crossed superbly well right to Emmanuel Adebayor's head. One-nil to The Arsenal. An early lead would give the confidence we needed to keep the pace and just keep playing. And what made me really happy was the fact that we did not lose the focus after taking the lead - just like we did against Birmingham a week ago. And then, Adebayor passed to Mathieu Flamini at the wing, the Frenchman almost lost the possesion of the ball but his commitment to the match - I must say - helped him to complete the pass to Alexander Hleb, who crossed the ball that found Adebayor's head, once again. Two-nil Arsenal. Almost in the end, Cesc Fabregas passed a through ball to Eduardo (and what a pass), the croatian then assisted Tomas Rosicky who scored our last goal and did put Arsenal back on business.

A point I would like to highlight is that our team celebrated together the three goals. They hugged themselves enthusiastically, and that is what we want to see. We want them to stay together, united as a real team. And after watching Flamini's perfomance and commitment while watching the match, I can say I really doubt he is going to leave us.

Keep playing this way and we can beat anyone.

By Sajit

Of all Premier League fans around the world, gooners were probably the worst off during the summer of 07. The club that meant everything to them was falling apart – brick by brick. Everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong. Two hugely disappointing seasons, miles behind the leaders, no big names to shout about, a manager who was frustratingly frugal and uncertainty in the board room and in Wenger’s own future – the list of woes were endless. It looked like the beginning of the end.


The jury was out. The knives were drawn. This was the season that would spell the end of Arsenal. Their big teams were progressing and the smaller teams were catching up. In fact, their north London neighbours were supposed to herald a new era of dominance in English football. I could go on and on about what was being written and said about the club. The repetitive and vicious nature of the attacks became exhausting. Perhaps the most frustrating part of it was that I had nothing to offer in defence. Yes, we were laughably poor last season. We had done nothing notable to change it. It was basically the same set of players, who couldn’t hit a barn door last season, that were going to line up week in and week out. How was this team, which had struggled against mid-table opposition, going to manage without the only superstar we ever had? Were we going to see empty stands that greet visiting teams at places like Boro? These were the questions that were asked. And there were no answers.


This may sound clichéd, but the truth was that I actually couldn’t wait for the season to start. Why? Last year, with every painful defeat and after every point dropped, Wenger had bravely stood up for his wards. He had consistently talked about “potential” and “growth” and “mental strength”. These words were dropped with such alarming regularity, that there were times even the ardent die-hard gunner fans couldn’t stomach it. That included yours truly. At the beginning of this season, one thing struck me. What if Arsene was telling the truth? What if he had actually seen what the outside world missed? Then this was the moment of reckoning. They had no one to fall back on. There wasn’t any inspiration upfront to pass the ball to. They would have to work for one other. If they actually had all the qualities Wenger had proclaimed, the world would see it now. We were going to see Team Arsenal again – and that was an exciting thought.

I wouldn’t want to dwell too much on Arsenal’s season so far. Their record and position are a testimonial of how well they have played. Questions of having easy home games, lack of squad depth etc have been answered one at a time. Their matches in December showed that they could cope without the creative brilliance of Hleb, Cesc and Robin. There is still a long way to go and many things that can go awry. We lost our way in the space of 10 days last season. It could very well happen again. It would be amateur to think about titles and glory just yet, but what has delighted the Arsenal faithful is the strong message they have sent out –“We won’t go down without a fight.”

Bye Bye prat.

How can one individual be so foolish. He was .. close to a regular starting place in the first team and he doesnt realize that and really ...what else can I say.

Anyways. I hope this will make sure that Flamster gets his deal done and Gilberto stays.He always wanted to.


On a lighter note, this frees up the no.8 jersey and I sure do hope some one more worthy wears that --

its one of my fav jerseys at Arsenal. Still love ya Freddie. ;)

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Good that he is gone now, we dont want such characters in our team. What was he thinking when he came to Arsenal? that he would get a regular place in the team without doing anything??

He wanted a contract worth 60K quid a week, hell! even Fab earns only 40K per week and RVP 45K p/w. There is no place in our team for such money grabbing buggers.

I just hope that Domenech doesnt select him for EURO 08, then he'll realize how big a mistake it was to leave Arsenal.

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Where are the Gooners who told that Diarra was an excellent buy.....I told you months before about the exact scenario that was gonna happen and it happened exactly as I told...Diarrhoea out!! Anyway it was one of the worst moves made by Wenger!!

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if we are getting 5.5 million pounds, its a good 3.5 million profit for Arsenal !!!

but even that is no use... as AW never buys big names i wish he would!!! someone!!!
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Disagree that it was the worst move. He moved because HE felt that he did not get enough chances. If he had not moaned and waited for his chance he might have been a success. I am no fan of Diarra and quite happy to have a moaner out of the squad. At the start of the season we all felt it was unnecessary to have another CM but thankfully we had someone when there were a lot of injuries. Also we made a profit of atleast 2m out of him in six months. A pretty good move I would say

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I dont think its a bad move by wenger. As a player , Diarra is quite good playing the holding role, though not creative,he is good defensively... just see his last match for arsenal in carling cup against blackburn - he played outstandingly ..

It s about his character ... we cant have someone like him moaning in the team..and Wenger cant be blamed for diarra's attitude.. even Flamini was on the verge of leaving arsenal before this season, but he stayed on, played extremely well in the chances given, made himself first choice ahead of gilberto..If diarra cant do that and just wants to be guaranteed first team place , its not Wenger's mistake..he was a good backup for some cheap price... no regrets if he is gone...

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Now let me get some things straight!!

You guys told Diarra is a steal : I told he is cheap for 2 million but will be an "eternal bench warmer" which he became eventually

You told that he is gonna be a brilliant addition to the squad : i told that he wont fit in to the current team.

You told he would not moan : I told that he would start moaning about not getting enough first team chances and I personally didnt expect him to start moaning this early.

Anyway as you told, eventhough it was a desperate move from Wenger, it was not completely idiotic either, when we are selling him for a huge profit!!
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Yeah its official .Diarra left to portsmouth.This is the only player i have seen who was crying to play first team football.To arsenal when he came should have known he is not promised of any thing ..Anyways good bye to the worst ever transfer in playing terms by a player to a club.Booooooooooo

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I think Diarra was too quick to make his decision, 30 apperances for Arsenal would have done him far more good than 50 apperances for Portsmouth, and with Gilberto`s future uncertain he could have got his chance even too often, anyways its good that he left coz what his decision shows that he didnt have enough patience or say fighting spirit to compete for place in Arsenal squad which means he would not have given his 100% on pitch everytime he played which flamini gives. Now what we need is Flamini sign the deal with club,otherwise with Gilberto situation still uncertain we would be void in the same place where we had surplus players.

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what a bitch. i wish he's packed off to an obscure place in france and left to rusticate.

the +ve is we may have made a cool 3 (or 4)million quid which makes a lot of economic sense.

leaving 2 big clubs in chel$$ki and arsenal in six months shows something is massively wrong in his head. worse is telling his new club fans he's already looking for a move. i expect him at the end of the season to come up with 'i want to move coz portmouth doesn't match my ambition'. twat.

I hope Flamini puts pen to paper real fast.

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We paid nearly one and a half million or so on his wages so I dont think we got a profit of as high as 3 million quid.

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how do you calculate his wages? do you even know what his wages were?secondly, the transaction in question was acquisition and sale. the wages become a completely different head. basic book-keeping.
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Well I dont know the link but I think his wages were in the region of 40K quid p/w for a period of 4-5 months. And about the book keeping stuff I cant argue much on that.

The answer is clearly YES. Outside of the obvious (mourning a dead chicken) they go on the radio every night and just embarrass themselves.

They support Benitez, calling him a tactical genius and abuse the Americans, saying that they need to put more cash in. But lets look at the FACTS.

Firstly with regards to the money. The idiot that is Benitez moaned after we beat them 6-3 that they lost because he was not able to spend big on youngsters (he would rather pay big wages for Robbie Fowler then get in a couple of youths). The board then gave him the money to buy youngsters like Lucas, Leto and Babel (total £24.m, more then our first 11!). They backed him! They let him buy the youngster's he felt could rival ours!

Then in November, he moans that the board are not giving him the money to buy established stars. But wait a minute, in the summer, he spent £56.95m. Surely this is backing your manager???

So despite them backing the manager with the funds he wanted for the players he wanted, he is still moaning. And the Scousers are backing there manager! Any smart fan would be saying 'he has spent £57m this summer, surely he wouldve got the players he wanted.'

Now we go onto my second point. Benitez's performance as a manager. Since he joined Liverpool, he has spent £84m NET. That is £76m more then arsenal and £4m more then United. Yet he is still saying he needs more, he is still saying he hasn't got the players he wants. The man has bought 32 players since he joined Liverpool. How many does he want? 100? 200? And what makes it ever more hilarious is the Liverpool have not gone forward. hey are 12 points behind the league leaders. Further away then they were under Houllier!

Another interesting point, out of the 32 players who he has signed, 12 have already been sold, and another 4 (Carson, Sissoko, Crouch, Mascherano) might be gone by the summer. So over 3 years, he has had a 50% staff turnover. Anyone who knows about business would agree that this is high!

Yet the Scousers still back there underachieving, overspending, manager.

The final nail in the coffin. I hear on the radio tonight one mong saying 'we want the Americans to sell the club so that Benitez can get the money he needs AND we can build a new stadium.' Wait a minute? So you are telling me they want to do a Chelsea? Despite abusing the Russians for years about buying the title, they want to do the same. Rather then go the Arsenal way (loans, save money, spend little, build stadium) they want it all in one go. They want Benetiz to be able to spend big (£70million a season maybe?) and at the same time, a new £400million stadium built. Now for the facts. Arsenal spent £11m NET since we started building the stadium. Thats £1.8m a year over 6 years.

How will Liverpool fans react? How will Benitez react? If they cut spending to build the stadium? The idiots want their cake and eat it, and it is all the Americans who are to blame. The two businessmen. The two man in Liverpool who can see how much Benitez has spent, can see his lack of progression, and who know how much the new stadium is going to cost.

And what sums it all up? The Scousers welcomed the Americans with open arms saying that they would make Liverpool the biggest club in the world.

Heres another fact for you, the ONLY reason Benitez is still in a job is because he is waiting to be pushed. A nice compensation package for Benitez and his staff, all money which could go to players/the stadium. Yet Liverpool fans back him...

I give you a bunch of idiots.

CALM DOWN! CALM DOWN! (hides from Jaime 'I let my country down' Carragher.'

The Season from start till now has been absolute brilliant..Lets take a walk down the memory lane, shall we ?

Scenario :We Gooners, certainly didnt see things going in our favour in the Summer Transfer Window..Henry, the Talismanic figure of the club who was thought of a player who will take his Young team mates to another level leaves the club in the most dramatic of ways.. He leaves behind a team thought incapable of performing at the highest level.. Word on the street was Arsene will certainly try to fill the void of the most productive Striker for Arsenal with someone equalling Henry's skills..Each Arsenal fan waited for the MasterStroke..Some thought Frenchman for Frenchman Trezeguet will be heading for Arsenal..Rumours of Palacio coming to the club..but in comes a complete stranger.. Eduardo..The Croatian striker has spellbinding figures (as in Goal tally and appearances) for his club and country but still is dubbed incapable of filling Henry's boots.. Arsene reveals that he has no intentions of buying a Big Star to fill the void left by Henry..but still I and alongwith me (I am quite sure) many Gooners were expecting the unexpected.. And the days turned into weeks and in the last stages of Transfer Window the Clairvoyant Wenger seized on the opportunity and in came another Blues' asset..Diarra alongwith a versatile defender Bacary Sagna who formerly played for a French Club Auxerre ! Unexpected signings yet again.. Behind the scenes noises were being heard of lack of ambition from our Professor's side.. 'Kids cant win' like situation seems to take firm ground in the Arsenal camp.. And somehow time passed and the stage came.. What Arsene and Arsenal was preparing for all the summer... The English Premier League commences..



The Beginning :60 seconds into a new season and thanks to a howler by Jens Lehmann, we concede..Is our team still in transition..? Will we be waiting for yet another season to see the team blossom ? Different Line-up from the last season..Still same story..Arsenal now faced the challenges they have coped various times down the lane last season..Nostalgia of having the Invincibles back ! Another 90-minute time period where we might not have any nails spared to be bitten ..! Calm down..almost 90 minutes of the game is left..But thats something I've said numerous times last season and consequently Arsenal finished 4th in a 5 horse race ! Nothing seemed to happen.. For God's sake get a goal from somewhere ! PLEASE.. But I was convinced that there was no player in the team who could make things happen..There was not a single player in the team who could take the ball from the Half Way line and bury it into the net..Aargh there was no Henry ...! 45 minutes of struggle and still no sign of that Individual Brilliance.. Whatever Wenger had to do with the teams, he had no more than 10 minutes to convince the team that they are out to prove a point.. Start of second half and after about 10 minutes introduction of fresh legs..Theo Walcott on for Eboue..For all the struggle it just never looked like it was Arsenal's day..still me with my dire was still watching the game hoping for a wonder.. And then it happened..Something that took me by surprise ! A propelling run from the man who is absolute rock solid at the back..Kolo Toure's blistering run..cuts past one..gets better of the second..in the box..is that a foot from the Fulham player ? oh YES..Its a penalty ! That happened so quickly I hardly had time to realize that this was what I expected in the First Half..That Flair..Individual Brilliance ! Who is going to take the spot kick ? Henry aint around ...!!


With my eyes closed..I waited for the moment..and then a surge of exclaim..I opened my eyes to see the scoreline saying 1-1 !! Game is on..Somewhere deep my heart tells me this is going to be Arsenal's day afterall.. 6 minutes to end of normal time..and seems like time's flying..C'mon Gunners beat the clock.. And just as seem things to calm down again Hleb;a player who had his share of stick from the fans emerges to tuck in the vital goal that arouse all the fans round the Emirates..The ComeBack Kings are back...!

A Gooner's take on the game :Along with a few heart attacks of course. But we won, and that's the most important thing.


Life From Then On :
Still doubts on the capability of the Strike Force..and for a No.1 German Keeper such blunder puts on him a Big Question Mark.. Lets hope it was just a rare mistake and wont happen again.. We prepare for the Blackburn game.. Odds suggest that it will be a tough encounter..Arsenal away and that too against a physical team having a player named Savage..well..the name says it all then..The clock starts ticking.. All going good in the first half..Arsenal get infront..and seems like hallucinations of Arsenal not being capable of playing their usual football against a Physical side seems to disappear in thin air..Though Blackburn were dominating the game nothing overshadowed the fact that we were ahead until Lehmann YET AGAIN muffed a simple shot.. and sadly Arsenal had to come home sharing one point each with a team who they nearly beat only for the Lehmann's mistake to put a twist in the tale.. All the setbacks of the game started to rotate in my head..Unusual display from the Arsenal midfield..No dominance..Lacking Team chemistry..Not enough chances created..No big threats on set pieces..Ineffective Counter Attacks.. Goalie between the posts seems like he is still
learning how to catch a ball..After such an unexpected (in a good way) start to the season and then suddenly a gloomy performance from the Young Guns, the probabilities of Arsenal giving it a-fight-till-the-end remained inconclusive..Not a start I would've liked to witness from a team who went unbeaten in a whole season sometime back(it still looks like all happened yesterday)..

A Gooner's take on the game :

It looked to be an even game today but we never should have conceded the goal the way we did. Lehmann is at it again!


Upnext are ManCity.. a team with a new manager..A manager known for his defensive tactics..his team having in goal, son of Legendary Peter Schmeichel.. Certainly the fixture wasnt a piece of cake and Arsenal's recent form wasnt doing any favours either..Anyhow with same hope and faith we all expected Arsenal to perform top notch! 70 minutes into the game and scoreline reads 0-0 ! At home, Arsenal are being held back by a Defensive Citeh side.. C'mon..Not again..Why do we have to wait for the last 10 nervous minutes to see if Arsenal can win it ! But we dont have a choice.. with the ball is the Young Spaniard..Its the perfect time to get a goal..But not the best of the places where you want to shoot from..He still takes his chance and pulls the trigger.. Result ?? Well you get to see a Young Arsenal player pumped up and his face says it all..Bring It On..We are ready to Gunn You down..Once again (I really have lost count of how many times I've said that but here it goes again) 'Arsenal get a late winner' to ensure that they are still capable of challenging for the title.. Hopes of this year being finally Arsenal's resurafaced again !

A Gooner's take on the game :

the min we get cesc,rosicky and hleb in the midfiled we create 20+ chances a game...u can see that in any game....just need some1 to put 2-3 of them away....hopefully betwee ade,rvp and dudu they can!


It was Pompey's turn to be on the receiving end..Thats what was on everyone's mind; such was the atmosphere in the Arsenal camp..They are starting to believe in themselves..This time Arsenal team didnt keep the crowd waiting..Straight ahead on the scoresheet was Adebayor's name with 8 minutes gone...The Dynamic Midfield of Arsenal were creating chance with every pass..To the joy of the Gooners 'The-Next-Big-Thing' Cesc Fabregas scored..and from then on it was easy..Tomas Rosicky did the icing on the cake by scoring his first in the campaign..A former Arsenal striker and in form Kanu without having an idea where the ball was, put it in to the back of the net.. Strangest goal..3-1 to Arsenal..Having Sagna, Eboue, Gallas, Lehmann and Hleb out and still coming out with a victory having such an impressive scoreline;indicates of good signs.

A Gooner's take on the game :

Arsenal celebrations are getting weirder as the days go by. First there was that uncomfortably long hug after Eduardo's first goal..And yesterday what did Ade do to Rosicky. lift him by the feet and turn him over. lolz


Perfect setting for the Local Derby match..We face Spuds still unbeaten ..and nothing would convince me that it wont be the fact after the match is over !Gareth Bale was the only one amongst the Spuds' team who looked talented ! And he surely wasnt there to make the numbers.. He scored on 15th minute with a well placed freekick..And then it was all one way traffic and it doesnt take a genius to realize which way it was ! Adebayor still had a lot of censure to handle..and he certainly made the traps shut after he took advantage of his height and scored on a set piece..You heard me alright..ON A SET PIECE ! Levelled again..but Arsenal always go for the kill..and so did Fabregas..another piledriver from quite some range and had Superman been there between the posts; he surely couldnt keep it out ! And right on the 90 minute mark an exotic Drogba like volley from Adebayor crashes all hopes of Shite to beat Arsenal..

A Gooner's take on the game :Match ending couldn't be more sweeter. Bayo the man, with a "take that you Spuds" in the last minute. Absolute beauty by Bayo. Loved it. His scoring streak continue's to piss off Spuds.

A struggling Derby side fixture couldnt come at a sweeter time !Winning three games in a row..Surely one would expect Arsenal to thrash Derby ! Thats what they actually did..5-0 sends out a clear message to the rivals to watch out for the Blazing Guns ! Adebayor scores a hattrick.. 5 goals in 2 games.. We are on top of the world !

A Gooner's take on the game :

Arsenal are back to where they belong..At top of the table


Wow..Its been a rollercoaster ride till now ! A season who has yielded in such controversies and drama uptill now..and now we face a team that was able to do a double over Arsenal and Manutd last season ! A great achievement for a team who just avoided relegation..You guessed it right..West Ham..A team which in Ljungberg's opinion had more ambition than Arsenal..the plan to move on backfired eh ?anyway..there aint much to discuss from this particular match..Arsenal got three points thanks to a 13 minute goal from Van Persie..Last season goals were hardly coming..and this year its been absolute other way round..Not a single game yet where Arsenal failed to score..

A Gooner's take on the game :

I've to admit Arsenal didn't have a brilliant match. Fabregas was well marked. Adebayor missed uncoutable chances of goals, we really should have scored more. Anyway, I do think Senderos had a great match, as well as Diaby.

Next Game : Arsenal 3-2 Sunderland

Van Persie seems to get the spot light this time..Had it not been for Persie's 80 minute winner(another late winner ? Gosh..you got to be kidding me !) Arsenal would be heading for an unexpected draw !

A Gooner's take on the game :
WHAT A MATCH!!! We could have scored atleast 7 goals!! Brilliant play by our forwards. Unfortunately, we were a bit sloppy at the back. Especially the first goal, which was either extremely brilliant play by Jones or bad defending by Clichy (the latter according to me).

Arsenal 2-0 Bolton

The bogey team isnt a bogey team anymore !What made the match memorable is Kolo's goal..Time and time again you see him trying to hit the free kick like a bit like Roberto Carlos but never succeeded well this time he did just at the perfect time when the goal wasnt coming from anywhere ..!

A Gooner's take on the game :Wow .. A toure piledriver

Next two matches can change the course of how the league table looks..Liverpool came out strong and hard..Gerrard couldnt be kept quiet for long and strikes with a great free kick..No chance for Almunia.. Liverpool seemed to close down the Arsenal midfielders way too quickly that unsettled the flow of the game..Fabregas was kept shut for most part of the game by Alonso until catastrophe hit the Liverpool team when Xabi was subsituted due to injury.. and Xabi's departure from the field turned out to be a blessing..Hleb's perfectly waited ball found Cesc who just had to beat keeper to draw Arsenal level..Calmly finished..An exciting game comes to an end with both teams sharing points !

A Gooner's take on the game :

What an excellent game for Arsenal! Its a pity we did not put at least 2 more of those in, surely the scoreline would have been lot better.


And now comes the main event..What every Gooner waits for every season.. Arsenal vs Manchester United at our own Fortress.. Something tells me this is going to be one hell of a match..Wasnt proved wrong..Gallas own goal proved to be a lucky break through for Red Devils..Cescy stole limelight after he mimics of Anderson crying and pumping rants at Rio.. Scored the first goal..Cool finish..Arsenal back on level term.. Ronaldo inspite of being the invisible man for the larger part of the match scores 8 minutes before the end of normal time..And they thought it was ever..The match was sealed..But its not over until its really over..Memories of Henry heading the ball home should've hunted the Red Devils the whole summer..Well its going to be replaced by the current captain's great finish from a tight angle..Gallas brings them level..Not a very assuring result but hey we are still unbeaten !

A Gooner's take on the game :

Wenger's Arsenal cost less than half of United's. In basic economic verse? If I invest £150k on a top of the range Ferrari Marinello, I would never expect to finish neck-and-neck with a Skoda Octavia. I should be breezing it every time. In the event I did finish neck-and-neck with it the last thing I would be doing is searching for excuses.

In the next three games Arsenal won ..Scores being :
Reading 1-3 Arsenal
Arsenal 2-0 Wigan
Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal

Still going strong ? I bet they will faze out in the month of December..thats what Mancs were thinking..It seemed to be true..Every word of it..When Arsenal drew to Newcastle and were beaten by Middlesbrough..Alas the unbeaten streak ended..Mancs reaction : See now they will stumble after a fumble..Well not everytime you see results going your way..


So Chelsea it was..The match tipped to decide League Leaders at the end of this year..Arsenal were prepared for the competition..Cole and Gallas playing against the former club..and when Gallas got his head ahead of Tal Ben Haim and the ball went into the net..it became evident as to which club got the better deal ! It was the Captain Fantastic's contribution that was enough to seal the three points..Cole had been going overboard lately with his derogatory remarks about the Arsenal camp..well Cesc's hack on him certainly proved that 'Action speaks louder than words' ! And with the final whistle every Arsenal player went to the crowd and took a bow

A Gooner's take on the game :

I must admit, Cesc is on a "hunt the c**t" campaign. Lampard (CC final), Terry (yelling & pushing), Cashley (tackle), Rio (f*** off), Anderson (mocking), Repka (tackle) ... is the list complete or am i missing someone? Anyway, still enough of the c**ts. Well done Cesc.


Will it be a December To Remember ? Well time will tell..

Arsenal entertain Tottenham at Emirates next..and Adebayor seems to have a habit of scoring against the Shites'! Second half and Berba shows his class by blazing the ball into the net from an acute angle..Seemed like Almunia's mistake..He redeemed his previous mistake by saving a penalty poorly placed by Robbie Keane..76th minutes..its a corner..At the sidelines Bendtner tells the coach if he gets on the field he'll get a goal for Arsenal..Professor decides to put him on..Corner taken..Huddlestone who was marking Bendtner was stopped in the way by Adebayor(unintentionally) and Bendtner gets his header on the ball..as soon as he touches the ball he knows where its going..into the BACK OF THE NET.. The Danish striker's first touch on the ball since coming on results in a goal for Arsenal..Still on pretty top of things, Arsenal.

A Gooner's take on the game :
I was watching the match with 5 of my mates and when Bendtner came on i said he'll score and he did he did... Oh my Gooood GOD !!! Wat a goal what a header... Bendtner you beauty !!

A goalless draw against Pompey in the next fixture and that too on Boxing Day doomed all hopes of topping the league atleast till this year ends..A sad day for every Gooner..Looks like Santa was not an Arsenal fan !

A Gooner's take on the match :

Pompey were happy to sit back but this is no excuse. As i said before the match, it was the game where we needed to grind out result. Rosicky and Gallas should've finished off the chances. We needed to finish the rare chances.


The lights at the end of the tunnel seemed to have faded away..What started as a great year(season actually) for Arsenal wasnt going to end that way..No fair..We could all hope and pray that somehow West Ham can do it again..Without Tevez beating Manutd was looking more of a joke..After the match got over, Fergie's reaction said it all :

"We were beaten by a better team I think," Ferguson told Sky Sports. "I don't think we measured up to our normal performance.



So it was upto Arsenal, the same Arsenal which was predicted to finish 5th behind Spuds' to end the year on a high note ! But away to Everton doesnt look an easy fixture afterall..Everyone had his moment..Toure, Gallas, Sagna, Diaby, Clichy, Rosicky, Hleb, Flamini, Fabregas, Van Persie, Adebayor and even Bendtner..who remained was a player thought to replace Henry, Eduardo.. A player Manc tipped as Francis Jeffers II..He still has to prove his point..and he gets the start he wants..But not the best of starts by Arsenal when they conceded early thanks to a defensive mix up..Cahill gets the goal somehow..Something keep telling me its not going to be Arsenal's day..I kept pushing that feeling aside..1 nil to Everton at Half Time..C'mon Wenger..Put some pearls of wisdom into your young team.. Get them motivated..Give them a reason to fight..Second half starts and from no where Eduardo gets a crucial goal for his team..Aah..Level on points..but still second..No good..Push for second !!We can do this thing.. Another break and out of nowhere(once again) you see Eduardo calmly finishing..1-2..Thats more like it !! Everton wont give up without giving it a try..Temper running high..on a rainy night with such chilling breeze, the severity of the flair on the pitch was in contention with the weather ! Eduardo was subsituted..He didnt seem too happy with the change..I shared his feelings..But Wenger Knows..On comes Adebayor..And right away thanks to his persistence of chasing a lost ball he gets in between Yobo and Howard and somehow gets the touch on the ball which takes it away from both the player and scoreline now reads 1-3 ! Indeed Arsene Knows ! Mancs hoping all went in vain when Rosicky did the icing on the cake by getting the 4th for Arsenal..Final Score 1-4 ..

Most of us limited Eduardo as a fox in the box kind of player..Well he has proved most of us wrong..he is more of a complete team player..Cescy's spirit after he was subsituted said it all :

WE ARE BACK IN BUSINESS BABY !!!!!!!!!


So Arsenal finish ahead of Manutd and will remain there until the 1st January (atleast).. Looking back at the season..one word comes into my mind..RollerCoaster !

These are my picks of the season so far :

*Toure runs from half way mark..Dodges two defenders gets into the box..earns Arsenal a penalty..Talk about Individual Brilliance

*Cesc's pile driver against Spuds that got us the lead and drained all the hopes of Spuds' fans..

*Theo becoming the Youngest Player To Score in UCL..Rooney Who ?

*Adebayor's HatTrick against Derby..what a way to answer some of the critics..

*Gallas' equaliser in the last minute against Manutd..All the more reasons that Fergie backing the idea of 'Last 10 minutes should hold no credibility'..

*Arsenal thrashing Slavia 7-0..Seven's Heaven !

*Fabregas mocking the cry-face Anderson..

*The (in)Famous Finger Lady Incident

*Gallas scoring against his former club..The message is clear..The Arsenal got better rewards for the Swap Deal ..!