Smiles and Frowns.

A laugh is a smile that bursts.

 Here I am still trying to get off work, trying to shed some of the load off my back and still people around are piling upon. Perfect time to get to writing and get my Arsenal cells thinking. Although nothing much is happening around(I have reloaded the whole of the internet at least 50 times today), there are some news here and there.

Calling news as "news" doesn't make it any newer. Second match against the Magpies this season and either of the teams players is not happy about the other teams players. Last time it was Gervinho who bear the brunt of Joey Barton's theatricals and bullish behavior, obviously that left behind a sour taste in the whole of the Arsenal camp. You would think that after having a player like Barton in their team, Newcastle should be normal to that kind of behavior, yet RVP's cracking laughter on Tim Krul, according to Jonas Gutierrez, were not the characteristics a human would display! But wasting time adjusting the ball for a goal kick is the mark of a sportsman eh? Shouldn't that be covered in "Goalkeeping for Dummies"?
Gutierrez says,

I don't care about the football, I'm talking about the person. When you have people who do that, it's not right.

Well, we care about the football, because that is what the fans are there to watch. No one would pay to watch Tim Krul pick up the ball, 1 Mississippi... 2 Mississippi...3 Mississippi...think over where to place it, 1 Mississippi... 2 Mississippi...3 Mississippi. It's not a freaking dolphin show! I guess he must be bit frustrated with himself, having run around Sagna, without the ball all night.

Mikel Arteta has expressed his excitement of returning back to Goodison Park, this time to play against the team where he spent six and a half years.
He says,

I really can’t wait to go there, and I hope I’ll get a good reception because I gave Everton everything I had in my time there and I love the club. Everyone there was great to me and, even though I left, hopefully people understood. There’s no reason for any of us to be unhappy with each other.

He's right, there should be no reason for the Everton fans to be crossed with him. Obviously they would have been sad to see one of their top players leave, but at least it's not for more money. He left for a greater challenge, for Champions League football and playing amongst Europe's elite. Unlike some players, who just say that they are leaving for success but the smell of money beats the smell of success, he has done quite well for Arsenal. There is hardly any difference in the wages he was getting at Everton and his wages at Arsenal. Some players who left Arsenal for stuffing their pockets, learned the hard way that, maybe, they are not quite the talent they assess themselves to be for demanding such wages.

There was some team news this evening and Arsene Wenger has revealed that Santos is fit after playing 60 minutes for the Reserves team. Diaby too might play for them next week, and he needs some game time to regain confidence and fitness and the first team cannot afford to test those things at such a crucial time. Wilshere is said to be recovering quite well and there was scan done which showed some positive signs, but AW did not mention a date for his return. Even Coquelin will be back to fitness in couple of weeks. But the biggest blow is that Per will definitely be out for the season and that leaves us a bit thinner on the defensive front. However, it's good to see that after a tough schedule of games, we have come out without any injuries and we have players returning back, which gives us some options on the bench.

The Reserves vs West Brom game was played last night and the Reserves won it 3-0 with goals from Park, Gnabry and Aneke. Park scored his second goal for the Reserves and maybe he will be knocking on the door now, but I wouldn't bet on Arsene putting him in the starting XI straightaway. What's stopped Arsene from giving him regular playing time is a puzzler. Maybe, it is RVP's amazing form this season, but clearly things are not falling in place for the South Korean international. Chamakh played for 69 minutes and came off without scoring a goal, although he did provide an assist to Aneke for the third goal.

As we move towards the weekend, there is an odd feeling about Arsenal not playing any games, but a welcome rest will do some good.


Season countdown:10 to go