NOTE

I apologise for suddenly vanishing from the blog scene. I have been facing some network problems. Also, due to some health issues, couldn't dust down my computer. However, things are looking better now, I am able to to put on my slippers in the right feet(actually one in the right and other one goes left, see, getting better!).

Since we have a game tomorrow, I will be talking about more on that tomorrow. For now, let me catch up on the world, it's almost as if  I am "Like A New Signing"!

Not just an one man team

Gibbs, Walcott, Arteta, all get on the score sheet.

Apologies for yesterday's missed post. Some problem with the stupid network, just didn't allow me to get through. But there's plenty on the agenda today, some positives and maybe some negatives.

Once upon a time, in the summer of 2011, the pessimist folks had written off the Gunners as just a feeder team, a training centre and probably just a long forgotten legacy. People had made predictions that the team was destined to be nothing more than a mid-table team and probably after 5 matches into the season, had declared the team as relegation material. Just 6-7 months later in the season, and here the Gunners are, not in the relegation bottom 3 but the league top three.

Our two London rivals, Rottenham in 4th and Chelsea in 5th, are 3 and 8 points, respectively, lagging behind us. We still have 8 matches to go in the season, and the strangest things have happened this season, but Arsenal are keeping their feet firmly on the ground. Out of these three, Chelsea have the tightest schedule, given that they are still in the Champions League. If they proceed ahead of the quarter finals, I guess it will be a test of their physical and mental strength. On the other hand, Rottenham have played out what seemed to be the toughest fixtures in the last 10 matches and gaining just one point out of games against Manc and Chelsea.

Arsenal have yet to play Chelsea and Manc this season and, for me, these are the matches that might just decide the finishing positions of these three teams. Maybe this is too far fetched or wishful thinking, however, Manc drew their away match against Stoke last night, and almost lost it, but that leaves them just 12 points ahead of us. They sit at the top ahead on goal difference but Manu have a game in hand. I know 12 points is a pretty decent margin, but who knows, we came were 10 points off Rottenham and now we are 3 ahead of them. It's a possibility, but our focus remains on our current position and as I said in the past, it's only ours to lose.

Coming back to last evening's game. We had just played Everton 3 days back, and that must have drained the players of some juice, but to deliver that kind of performance against Villa was amazing. It's what I call total football and total dominance. Our attacking play was almost accurate. Walcott, for me, gave in a man of the match performance. After taking so much criticism, he has grown in leaps and bounds. Maybe, the team has a new psychologist or it just might be that the are eating good, but whatever it is has added something to Walcott's brains that can keep up with his feet.

At the other wing, Gervinho contributed to both the attack and defense equally. Initially, I thought, Gibbs found it a bit, just a bit, tough to handle Albrighton's pace, but later on Gervinho kept tracking him down and matched him for speed. Not only Gervinho, but Walcott was good in defense too. Gibbs was pretty decent too, both in attack and defense, and his opening goal just showed the multi-dimensional nature of this Arsenal attack. When you look at Arsenal's right flank, it just looks impenetrable with Sagna and Walcott in it. They work around each other beautifully. The link up play between Rosicky and wither of the flanks is just a delight to watch.

Song has been a rock infront of the back four this season. Not only has he been solid defensively and with his interceptions, but his vision has been pin-point with almost 10 assists this season. It's almost as if we would want to forget Cesc in a hurry! When you look at the pass to Walcott which created the second goal, it is just a treat to the eye and I don't think there is a defensive midfielder in the league who can get that many assists.
Arsene says, praising both Walcott for the goal and Song for the pass,

Theo had a very good performance and scored a great goal. You have to give him credit for that. But I would like to give credit to the pass from Song, because it is not the first time he has done that. You do not see many defensive midfielders do that. If you look at the assists that he has made this season, you will see that his numbers are top in Europe.

RVP missed out again on the scoring, but he was not invisible in the game, he, alongwith Rosicky, were the key players in linking up between the midfield and the attack. Though I love to see him score, it's good to see that Arsenal can also gt goals from other parts of the pitch.

Did you see the last minute Arteta strike from the free kick? What am I saying, of course you did! To beat the quality of Shay Given from that kind of distance, he must have put some power through it. The ball finished in the corner and that shows you the precision. Shay Given made an amazing save to a first half strike from Arteta, from outside the box. He also saved one from Rosicky, but the free kick was just to good to be stopped. Later Arsene said,

I prefer it when he takes free-kicks with his laces because he has short feet. Usually the guys who have good insight have bigger, longer feet, and when a guy has short feet like that they are very talented at hitting the ball with their laces. The ball floats a little bit when they take it and I think he is more built to hit the free-kicks like that.

That might be too technical for me, but it's good to know that he knows his players really well and maybe those weren't panic buys after all.

About the negative, Arsene had almost played Kos, until he decided to pull him out of the team during warm up. He said that Kos had some problem with his knee and couldn't move after the warm up. Djourou replaced Kos, and did pretty alright except for an elbow in the nose from Emile Heskey that almost prompted another defensive replacement!

So that's 21 out of 21 now, and we have every reason to believe that we can keep our position, even if we have a couple of tough game. Seeing the way this team has shaped up in the last month, I strongly feel that we will keep our place.

Go Gunners!

EPL countdown: 8 to go!

Looking "Forward".

It's strange that we didn't have a match for 10 days and here we are still basking in our third spot take over, and already it's time for the next game. Just in the space of two days, we play against Aston Villa at home. There are sure to be some tired legs in our side, but the spirits would be on a high. It's obvious that some Arsenal critics will credit our win against Everton to being a whim or plain luck, but we have had all the bad luck in the past and it's time that the fortunes turn around. Anyways, I absolutely don't think that the Everton win was down to luck, in fact, we were unfortunate to not get the penalty and some other crucial decisions. But lets not crib about that, we have our critics to talk about such stuff.

Arsene's decision to rest Ox might have been criticised if the Wednesday night game had gone the other way. But now that we have won it, I guess it was a very good decision, and he might be starting against Villa. Maybe Benayoun will get in the starting line up too. He was played against Liverpool without effect, but he might be useful against a smaller opposition, no offense to Villa. Don't forget, it was him who got off the bench to score the winner in the dying minutes, in the the reverse fixture. Gervinho has been getting off the bench in recent matches, but I think he still hasn't got over his penalty miss in the ACN finals. I can understand that, why don't you ask Szczesny and Kos if they have gotten over last years Carling cup final, and then maybe we can blame Gervinho.

What we need right now is a confident team, and we might see most of the side from Everton's game. There were no major injuries from that game. You just want to be sure that there are no pulls, or cramps or tears after playing 2 matches in 4 days. Last thing we need in such a crucial period is an injury. But then again, we also have had all the bad luck with our injuries too. Still, our central defense is a bit slim and looking beyond Kos and TV, you are staring at Djourou and Squillaci. Santos feels quite sorry for his team's defensive injuries these season, he says,

Both Kieran and I were injured at the time. When you can see that the team needs you but there’s nothing you can do about it, well it gives you a sour taste.

It was the first surgery for him, and they can be a bit tough to take sometimes,

It was very hard. When I found that I would need an operation it was very hard news to take. I was in the changing room when they told me and I cried.

But the good news is that he is back to full fitness now and ready to play whenever called upon. I won't be holding my head in my hands if I knew that we don't have Santos in our line-up but another regular left back, but it is always good to know that we have a fitter full back available, if needed. With all our full back problems this season, it is welcome to have two fit full backs waiting in the ranks.

It's a bit early to talk about probable line-ups for Arsenal or Villa, but whatever team they choose, it sure will be an interesting affair. Aston Villa, though a bit blunt after the departures of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing in the summer, they still have some decent players in their ranks. Their defensive record is not too bad too, with a world class goal keeper in the form of Shay Given. The most notable point is that Aston Villa have the highest number of draws for a Premier League side this season, i.e., 12. We almost drew the last time we faced them, only for a last gasp winner by Benayoun. But we are looking at a completely different Arsenal side now. I don't see too many goals in this match, with Villa's decent defense and our improved collective resilience.

Sagna says,

The Villa game is massive. Tottenham are just one point behind us, but we were 12 points behind them in February. We are here now and we deserve to be here, but we have to give even more. We can't think about 'what if?' - we just have to give our best and look after our team, not concentrate on the others.

Harry said yesterday that, and I guess most of the Rottens are saying this, that they don't worry about Arsenal leaping over them in the table, but you know that they most be shivering in their tights now that even Chelsea are hot on their tail. What more can you expect from a team who are relying on the Gunners' failures for them to get back to the third spot. But that's that, we still have nine more to play, and the competition is hotter than ever. If only the top two were a bit closer, this race would have gone to the wire. You can only imagine what the next season will show us! With some additions in the summer, there's every chance that this Arsenal team will go for everything in the next season.

Arsene said at the press conference,

We will not be a lot on the market, quantity-wise I mean. Quality-wise, certainly. But the maximum number of the squad is 25. We have many players out on loan and we will take a gamble if we find top, top quality of course.

We still have Jack, who has not played this whole season. Ryo is hot at Bolton, and he will comeback next season with some valuable PL experience next season. I know fans are not too crazy about Diaby, however, I remember when he was bought by Arsenal. A lot of top sides were after him, Chelsea mostly, but we secured him. And for all the comparisons to Paddy, he hasn't proved to be quite the hit with his injuries plaguing him. But I still have a feeling that he has still a lot to give to this Arsenal team.

Anyways, back tomorrow for team news and starting line up predictions. TGIF!

Vermilicious strike puts Arsenal to third!

Verminator strikes early!
5 league goals this season, better than some strikers :P

Ahhh bliss!! I didn't think that the third spot would come to us earlier than expected. Apart from a RVP goal, I think we pretty much got everything we desired from last night's game(s). Three points, a clean sheet, competitors dropping points! It feels good that finally everything is falling in place, the right place, for Arsenal.

It was a tense affair at Goodison Park, and it always is, but so have been some of our recent matches. I wonder if David Moyes could get his hand on a pot full of cash to spend on new players, Everton would have been on a completely different level. They gave us a fair chase, and for a few dubious decisions, we had better control over the game.

In stark contrast to the reverse fixture, where we scored the winner in the dying seconds of the match, here we scored in the waking minutes of the match. We started where we left off against Newcastle, Verminator scoring the winner there and last night too. It was strange, when 4 fully grown Evertonians could not stop a leaping TV! But such has been the fire and desire in this team lately, its ironic that this fire feels refreshing.

We kept the pressure from the beginning, and had some decent chances. Ramsey missed a chance that an injured Diaby wouldn't miss. But stayed close to Everton and we were hanging by the one goal lead. They got stronger and were successful in keeping the ball better. That is when they started creating chances, and one such fell to Drenthe, which he shot past Szczesny in the far corner, only to be ruled out by the offside flag. Replays clearly showed that he was onside and it was a legitimate goal, but fortune favored the brave. I think last night's match might have established a record or something for most number of offsides in a match. Arsenal kept a very tight backline, and more often than not frustrated Jelavic and Drenthe by keeping them offside.

I guess the second half made things even when a penalty, for Drenthe's foul on Rosicky, was ruled out and there was no more guilt. Everton continued to build chances in the second half, but with no luck. Though they had most of the position, Szczesny had very little to do. The credit goes to some terrific defending and amazing team work by players who covered for their mates when they were out of position. I don't think I have seen such fantastic team movement, maybe except for Barcelona, who are on a different level altogether.

Kos and TV were as good as any defensive partnership, and Kos applauded his team's effort defensively,

It is not just the four defenders, it is all the team. Robin van Persie put in a lot of effort to help us too so all of the team defend and we attack together too. We have to take that into the next game.

I think we saw a different RVP in the match, who didn't score but got the cross through a corner for the goal, he was always in support of his team mate's. That was the perfect role played by a number 10 and that's how he should be. Walcott, though starting on the wings, got a bit more central. Still he had a quite match and was generally called for defensive duties to support Sagna, who has been a rock in the defense after returning from his injury. Gibbs, had a decent match and handled his flank quite well to defend along with the regular contributions he made to the attack.

We must have gotten a bit used to close matches, but maybe the team needs to convert the chances that they are creating and obviously the creativity has increased in the past month. But as we start the countdown towards the end of the season, we need to focus more. Our decisions in the final third need to be pin point, we need to be more lethal and unforgiving when converting the created chances.

Fortunately, our competitors for the 3rd and 4th spot, both dropped points. Rottenham, I was guessing maybe they would drop against Chelsea, but it came much earlier when they drew with Stoke. If it wasn't for a late strike, they might have lost all three points. Chelsea opened the scoring, but conceded two towards the end of the game. So that gives us a 6 point advantage over Chelsea and 1 point advantage over Rottenham, with a better goal difference. Arsene has still ordered his team to focus on each game,

We want to keep going. We must keep our humility and focus and fight for each other. That is what we had to do here.

The third spot is now ours to lose, but I have a feeling that, this time, we won't let ourselves down.

Here's what 'arry had to say,

It's all to play for. We can still finish above Arsenal. There's a long way to go yet: there's everything to play for."Arsenal won't win every game, will they? I want to finish third still.

Sure Harry, we'll see! I don't think St. Totteringham's Day is too far now!

Everton vs Arsenal: Three more, we score!

Life is like that, unpredictable, unknown. All you can do is prepare, for the things you can predict and still it doesn't fail to amaze you. I have learned that the hard way, in the last couple of days and maybe, so has Fabrice Muamba. But there is a world of difference in what you know and still ignore, and what you can't avoid.

Wenger has been raving, since the start of the season, about the quality of this team and not until long ago, did we see that, that was actually true. We have reaped the benefits of having a fitter team and regular players playing in regular positions. No one could have predicted the injuries that happened and it was plain luck, or the lack of it. Maybe we don't have "super-quality", as Wenger likes to call it, barring a few, what we have is some very good players who play their best football at Arsenal.

Last year this time, we were going through a terrible collapse after the Carling cup loss, winning only 3 from the last 14, which saw us lose ground in the title race. Maybe that has served as a boost for players this time, and is responsible for our current winning streak.
Arsene says,

This season, it's completely different. We were completely out of the top four, we have come into it on a good run and now of course it is taking advantage of that momentum.

Arsenal still have some tough fixtures left this season. But so do Rottenham and Chelsea. Out of the three, probably Chelsea have the toughest run of fixtures and they are also involved in the Champions League. They have come back well in the last couple of games, proceeding ahead in the Champions League and FA Cup, after the departure of AVB. Rottenham have still Bolton to play, since that match was suspended due to Muamba's injury. I hope all the players play in their right mind and are able to get over that incident.

Arsenal still have ManC and Chelsea to play out of the last 10 games. Both of them are home fixtures, and our recent home form has been outstanding. We have made comebacks in four of the last five games, after going a goal behind. But the team's desire to get us out of that mess has been greater and a reason for our success. Some might say that Arsenal have been lucky to win those games, but if you have seen the games closely you will know how much the team has fought.
Arsene says,

Every time we were behind, we showed outstanding spirit. It is not fantastic for your emotions but overall when it finishes well you accept that you suffer. If that is the price we have to pay we are ready, but you just want to continue with the same attitude because I don't believe in luck too much on that side of the game. If you come back it is because you fight and if you fight you have a chance to come back. So let's fight first.

And it's true, as I said in the beginning, life is unpredictable, all we can do is fight.

The team for tonight's game against Everton is a bit  tricky to predict. But first, the news, TV had some problem with the calf after the last game, but he looks fine. Even Diaby is fit, but Arsene says that he'll play for the Reserves against Liverpool, maybe for an hour. Andre Santos is match fit and available for selection, as he was against Newcastle. I guess, Gibbs will keep his place, Arsene wouldn't want to deviate too much from his winning combination. Other than those, Squillaci is back in training, yes yes with Arsenal. Coquelin might be back soon, but still some weeks from training.

All signs are positive for Jack, but Arsene is reluctant to name a date of his return. I don't know he is training or not, his scans have been positive. Some news suggest that he might return till April. Iam sure Arsene wouldn't want to risk Jack in any way, unless absolutely needed. However, it'll be interesting to see how eager Jack is, to get back on the pitch, given that the Euros are around the corner.

Goodison Park has always been a tough place to go to. The fans are very passionate about their club and have always stuck with the team. The noise inside is immense, and it'll be the first time Arteta will be returning to his former club's home ground. Maybe their will be a roaring applause for their former hero, maybe not, it waits to be seen. Everton are on a good run too, being beaten only once in the last 11 matches. Arsenal will have to look out for the cross field passes for which Everton are famous for. They have a very good left back in Leighton Baines, and Sagna should be kept busy or the vice-versa. I think both are equally efficient defensively and lethal in attack. Baines might still have Walcott to contain.

Players to watch out for Arsenal are  Royston Drenthe, the loanee from Real Madrid, Fellaini, and I know Tim Cahill has not been at his best off late, but he is still a threat in the air. Chelsea will be playing away against ManC, and it will be interesting to see the result of that match. Whatever it is, the momentum should not be lost, there is very little room for squirming, and the focus has to be on the third spot now.

My starting XI for today:
           Szczesny
Sagna - Kos - TV -Gibbs
                Song
       Rosicky - Arteta
   Walcott -  RVP - Ox

Media Shame!!! + #Fabrice, get well soon mate!

Wake up media!

Doesn't feel good to be cut off from writing, but the circumstances demanded so. Have had a rough couple of days physically and striving really hard to get back to normal. Feeling a bit breathless, I think my lungs responded late to the shocking late winner last week. But feeling a bit back to normal now. It wasn't as bad as this, but I got out alright. My prayers with Fabrice Muamba for a healthy recovery!

I haven't been updated much about any news in the last couple of days, and now that I have returned, it doesn't look too different, apart from a boring ManU vs Wolves EPL match and some FA cup matches. Liverpool and  Chelsea both made it to the FA cup semis, and it would be interesting to see those. For a change, Torres scored in the quarter final against Leicester, well not exactly the opposition you want to brag about scoring against, but I think he'll take a goal even against Stamford Chess Group under-15 team. If that, I think Chamakh should get a game too, just to see if the global curse on these strikers has been lifted or not. Or maybe, just wishful thinking.

I have come across articles stating 5,10,15 reasons for RVP to leave Arsenal. Firstly let me make this clear, I think one reason is enough for any player to leave the club, that is, if a player wants to leave, he leaves. Don't give that crap about making more money, or winning more trophies and ambition impotency. Firstly, I agree RVP should get a pay rise. But just because some money bags at Manc or Manu are getting paid over the hill, doesn't mean that RVP is under paid. Yes he is one of the league's best, agreed, doesn't mean you can hold that ransom for more money. Don't forget, RVP was taken by Arsenal at a time when even his manager at Feyenoord was a bit worried about his attitude. Even many of the top clubs didn't want to sign him for that. Arsenal took him, they have seen him through injuries, and not just once, for every season he has been here before 2011-12. I will happily give RVP the salary he wants, if it fits in the financial fair play. "The name on the front is always important than the name on the back"

Let's look at how the other teams have fared with spending the whole Fort Knox on players.
Manchester City:
-Recorded a total expenditure of £1billion last year and more than half of that in loss.
-Toure, Adebayor,, Aguero, Silva, Kompany etc. getting paid £200K+
-Still trying to spend on getting players on board.
-Half of the players unhappy with lack of play time, some of them refuse to play in matches, so ego problems.
-No major players lost to other clubs in transfers.

Manchester United:
-Spent £20m on Ashley Young
-Spent £20m on De Gea
-Spent £15m on Phil Jones
-Still had to bring a player out of retirement
-No players lost in transfers.
-Lack of playing time for a £30m striker, a joint top scorer last season.

Results:
-None of the clubs are in contention for a top trophy other than EPL, still both struggling there too.

-Out from group stages of Champions League
-Out of Europa league too, after bragging about the finals.
-Scrapping wins here and there.

Arsenal:
- Lost 5 top players(including Fabregas & Nasri), in summer transfers.
- Bought 9 players equivalent to the price of Sergio Aguero
- Arteta has scored more goals than Ashley Young or Samir Nasri in the league.
- Went from 17th league spot after 5 games, to 4th spot (and potentially3rd) after 28 games.
- Almost made the most famous comeback in Champions League history.
- RVP, top striker in the league and third in place to win the Golden shoe.

People have been talking about lack of ambitions, and lack of spending. But they forget that Arsenal spent £13m on a top talent in The Ox. He has scored 2 league goals in 9 matches. Nasri has 3 in 21 and Ashley Young has 4 in 18. Don't forget he is just 18!. There is difference between spending blindly and spending sensibly. If you talk about ambition, anyone who saw the Rottenham, Newcastle, Milan matches, would have to think otherwise.

Last time I said that there was a not a single article in criticism of these "Spend big and low returns" clubs. At least a mention about the way these two clubs shamefully crashed out of a competition which is only second elite in Europe. But no, they come up with criticism for Arsenal who have the best record in the past two months, whose manager has won the "Manager of the month" last Month and who is the "Manager of the Decade"!

It's nothing but pitiful from the media. Hopefully they can get out of their swivel chairs in the basement of their office and put out their necks high enough and remove their horse blinders, just to take notice. Please don't be the frog in the well!

Tipping scales..

It is a drag this Saturday with Arsenal not playing this weekend and Wednesday doesn't seem to come soon enough. I have been racking the net since morning, and I guess with all the success Arsenal are enjoying recently, the media has something less to criticise about.

Surprisingly, their no news about the media's pets, ManU&C, no words of criticism, you would think that at least there would be words of consolation for those two clubs. I guess Evra had a guilty feeling and he admitted his team's ineptness to compete in Europe this season. Thankfully that guy got something right!

We still have some positive vibes coming out from the team. Wenger has revealed that pressing is the key to Arsenal's recent success. Keeping possession and passing is Arsenal's style of play, and they need to win back the ball to keep that momentum. That was thing which was majorly missing from Arsenal's season, and with the resurgence of Rosicky, Arsenal's pressing and possession football looks more free flowing.

Milan and Rottenham were spectators to the pressing game recently. Surprisingly, after some analysis, it's been said that Arsenal did not necessarily get through more work, but more effective work. Efficiency has been another keys, in many others, for those performances.
Arsene says,

No they are not covering more ground, but it is not only about distances, it is about doing it together. It is the timing of doing it together that is vital, because you can run even more if you don't do it together. I believe we put the effort in from the first to the last minute. We don't look at the result, we just want to win.

At the start of the season it was difficult to understand where exactly will the creativity be coming from after Fabregas and Nasri left. Ramsey was still learning the trade, Jack looked to be out for long term and Rosicky, Arshavin had simply lost their touch. Ramsey got a bit overplayed, with Rosicky not getting much game time and Diaby was still being a  subject for medical research.

Even the fans have added to these performances, the singing, the cheering and the chants, that is what home teams thrive on. If you have looked at the recent matches at Emirates, the atmosphere has been awesome. As Arsene said, the players are giving the fans right vibes. But it had to come from the players first. The fans have been very loyal to their club and they just weren't getting enough in return. Lot of people have left, just complaining about the fans. Hopefully, they can realise that it is a two way deal. The fans have always been and always will be behind their club, the team just has to show that they worthy of that, which is what they have done and the fans are responding to it.
Gibbs says,

You can see how much it means to the fans and we need to continue that now to keep the atmosphere going. When the Emirates is like that, other teams can't play because it is too difficult. We feel like we have a lot more power when the atmosphere is kicking like that.

 There were some "out of the way" rumor about Alessandro Del Piero being watched by Arsenal. I don't know how much truth there is to that news. Unless, Arsenal scouts are holidaying in Italy, There doesn't seem any base to the fact that Arsenal might be interested in a 37 year old, and no offense to Del Piero. He still looks fit and still has some of his magic touch, but he simply doesn't fit in Arsenal's transfer policy.

The Podolski rumors keep appearing every now and then. After everyone, player, agent and club, having agreed on personal and social terms upon this deal, now everyone is denying that any deal is in place. Last week it was suggested that maybe Podolski had also undergone a medical with Arsenal. But he has denied of any medical having been done, anywhere in the world. Just has been a huge merry-go-round for the media.

J.Y.Park, an Arsenal player, has been relieved from the pressure of having to joining a mandatory military service for his country after two years from joining Arsenal. Initially, that was the understanding, however, South Korea's Military Manpower Administration announced the former Lille player would not have to join up with the force until 2022 because he had a 10-year residency visa from Monaco. But the trickiest part is, will he still get regular chances, after having played 2 reserve games already this month and scoring in both of them, maybe that's a knock on the door??

Don't count the chickens!

I want to draw your attention to some statements/claims made by some people this season and how true they hold as we move towards the end of the season.

Statement/Claim I (Manu manager on spending money to build a team): We are building a team to beat Barcelona and we want to be the best in Europe.
Reality: Manu couldn't even pass the Champions League group stages, after having beaten comprehensively by Basel. Now they are even out of Europa, after a worse defeat against Athletic Bilbao!

Statement/Claim II (Evra talks about chances in the Europa League): Europa will be a two horse race, between City and United.
Reality: Both horses out of the race.

Statement/Claim III (Vincent Kompany on Europa League finals):A ManC vs Manu Europa final would be bigger than the Champions League final.
Reality: What a pity! You need to actually get through to the finals for that to happen.

Moral: Don't count your chickens before they are hatched.

Teams have grown over-confident of themselves, under estimating opponents. Just because you are a Champions League team, doesn't automatically make you the best team in Europa League, remember you are CL drop outs! Hope the reality has shaken them and opened their eyes to the world around.

Normally, I wouldn't have delved in to other teams misery, but Arsenal have been criticised so many times in the past for their methods and policies that there was a need for a reality check. Maybe EPL is the best league in Europe, maybe even the world, but when it comes to playing football, I think Spanish and Italian teams do it beautifully. We have been called as a "training club",  "a group of kids", by a lot of people and I remember Evra saying this during the last season. I am sure he would have realised last night that his adulthood is not going to win him any matches, after suffering a torrid time from Athletic B.'s wingers.Anyways, the results say it all and both Manchester teams are only after one thing now, that is the EPL title.



Back to Arsenal, there have been a lot of positive aura surrounding the club right now and people are talking about the new found belief at Arsenal. The fans have been getting behind their team a lot and the support after the recent displays has been roaring, I have never heard the Emirates being so loud!
Arsene says,

When the fans feel that the vibes are right they stand behind the team and support the team. With the recent history of the team having been more positive, the fans have more reason to believe that they can support the team and that they will win the game. But the dynamic always has to come from the team.

I am glad the team has responded well to criticism, and there is only so much you can handle. The team needed to have that belief in themselves about their ability, and that's the biggest achievement for them. It was not so long back when some low-lives had ruled Arsenal out of a Champions League spot for next year, and here they are ready to snatch the third spot from another over confident bunch of people.

Chelsea were the only English team to show some progress in Europe, after qualifying for the quarter finals. The draws were announced and Madrid have a fairly easier target against APOEL while Barca drew against A.C. Milan in the quarters. While Chelsea have a tricky opponent in Benfica, the Bavarians will play against Marseille. It feels a bit odd with Chelsea being the only English team to proceed out of the last 16.

But now, Arsenal can concentrate solely on the Premier League, which will give time for the players to rest after every match. Arsene has cautioned against taking opponents lightly and focus on what is important, which is carrying the momentum in to further games.
He says,

Sometimes there are games that you think will be difficult but they are slightly easier than expected, and sometimes the easy game is harder than expected. You don't make any plans. The only thing we know is what is needed from us: to be at our best no matter what people say about the situation.

If you look at the matches we have lost this season, many of those would have been expected to be won by us quite easily, but still we lost those. Although, it looks a completely different team now. It looks more ruthless and unforgiving.
Perry Groves, a former Gunner, says,

The resilience is back after the disappointing results against AC Milan [in the first leg] and Sunderland. They are playing the Arsenal way and they have that bit of belief.

Suddenly all these positive statements are coming out of every corner, and it's refreshing to hear some good stuff about this great club. Surely the players are aware of this adulation and the history that surrounds this club. Hope they continue what they are doing and bring back the golden days to the Emirates.

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

Much needed rest.

Just the start of the week Arsenal wanted and a much needed rest of 10 days staring at them. We don't play this weekend due to Everton's FA cup match against Sunderland, which means there are sure to be some tired Everton players after the match. Still they will be fired up against us, with their fantastic run ending last night in the Merseyside derby, where Gerrard scored all 3 for Liverpool.

Rosicky spoke yesterday about the importance of keeping the focus, lest they want to lost ground in the league now. He has been instrumental in the past month and his return to form couldn't have come at a better time. We are definitely a bit short in the squad and he has given us that added edge in the midfield.

Another player who has looked better in the past 2-3 games is Walcott. Maybe it is the competition from Ox or maybe he was just paying his dues, but Arsenal will definitely appreciate the contribution. Arsene stressed that he is just 22 and people forget that he is still young. Although he has got a lot of opportunities and Arsene has kept his undeterred belief in him.

Walcott has spoken about his admiration for RVP, after having provided several assists to him this season.
He says,

Everything is going his way and that is great to see. The most important thing is that he is injury free and it is great to see him when he is not injured at all. When I was on the treatment bed alongside him it was such a shame to see so much talent wasted. He has made up for lost time, I am sure of that, and it is massive. Without a doubt he has to be player of the year.

I agree completely, no other player at Arsenal, or for that matter, in the league, has looked as brilliant as RVP and if asked, I would definitely want him to be the player of the year. It was a shame that he was not nominated in the Ballon d'Or, after a fantastic run in 2011. For me he is right up there with Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. You just keep on wondering what would have been of him had he not been troubled with so many injuries in the past.

Even though injuries are a part of the modern day football, they seem to favor Arsenal players more. It has been a horrible season for Arsenal injury wise. The results in January tell you the tale of how much Arsenal missed their regular full backs, and having all four of them out the game for a considerable time is just plain unlucky.  But now, after all of them have recovered, things are looking positive again. Santos will feature tonight in a reserves game, as will Chamakh and Park.

It is important to keep these players match fit since anymore injuries to anyone, and especially RVP, is going to be very tough. Though we have 2 international strikers other than RVP, one of them a captain for his national team, Arsene simply doesn't have enough confidence in them to offer them a string of regular match time.

Speaking of strikers, there is again a lot of speculation surrounding a deal having been agreed with Podolski. Although, both Arsenal and Podolski denied any talks between them, the rumors just don't seem to fade. The media, going one step further, claim that the deal might be completed this month. For me, any deal that is going to happen, now or in the future, is going to affect us only in the next season. So I suggest we better keep off them and focus on the current situation and enjoy our race to the third spot.

Walcott has warned Rottenham to look out for Arsenal, who are breathing down their necks. The points gap is just 1 now and we are level on goal difference with them too. Both teams have some crucial games still to be played in the season ahead. The team that is able to keep their focus and mental strength, will triumph. The Champions league spots are still up for grabs and the deciding factor is going to be the desire of wanting to be in that position and the dream of playing European football.