Archive for November, 2004
November 30th, 2004
I’m so knackered.
I really feel a lot like I’m dying.
In other news, we might go up for sale. That wouldn’t be good.
What else…
Oh, Matthew Upson is glad he left.
Fortunately, he’s not very good these days, so we haven’t got too much to feel bad about.
Tomorrow there’ll be something more substantial, what with the Biggest Game in the History of the World Ever against United.
Expect pizzas to be thrown, Vieira to manage to fall an imaginary tackle whilst on the substitues bench, and all of the Arsenal players to round upon and kill innocent Man Utd fans.
Obviously.
November 29th, 2004
Winning the league is the most important thing in club football.
Winning the league is the most exciting, the most fantastic thrill a fan can have.
Winning the league is absolutely crucial to an Arsenal side that have never retained this title.
And most importantly,
Winning the league is not something that happens in November.
Admittedly, Arsenal werenâ??t at their peak yesterday.
Admittedly, Liverpool were arguably deserved winners after a display that finally matched up to the massive hype I gave them back in September.
But there were positives for the Gunners: Patrick Vieira, hideous diving aside, put in probably his best 45 minutes of football this season in the second half; Kolo Toure was a colossus, getting a head, knee, or foot to anything that came close; and Ashley Cole was as valiant and vibrant as ever.
On the 12th December, Arsenal face Chelsea in a match that will go some way towards deciding the destination of the Premiership trophy.
Should Arsenal win, the gap could potentially be closed to a tantalising two points. Perhaps even more important are the psychological implications of such a victory.
So maybe the team arenâ??t performing quite to their enormous potential at the moment. That doesnâ??t mean we ought to turn on them. Letâ??s get behind them, and drive them on through this difficult period.
Perhaps the ineffective form of Bergkamp and Reyes is almost rendering us a side of ten men. But let us, the fans, lend our support with such vigour that we counter this. Let us make up that extra man.
On Wednesday, we face Manchester United in the Carling Cup.
If youâ??re despairing about the health of this football club, watch those kids at Old Trafford.
And know that this season, Arseneâ??s Arsenal wonâ??t let us down when it comes to the crunch:
Winning the league.
November 27th, 2004
At least, it would be if I had my way.
At the start of this week, I argued that “Cesc needed a rest”, and that “The answer could be Mathieu Flamini”.
Following Flamini’s impressive substitute performance against PSV, I feel that now could be the time for his first Premiership start.
Xabi Alonso and Gerrard are a very very strong midfield partnership – if Cesc is just one step off the pace, we will be punished. The kid is only 17, and has been forced into action far more than anyone with his best interests at heart would have wanted.
Flamini’s no-nonsense, tough-tackling style could be exactly what’s required to combat this sort of thing:
The man you see above, I ought to add, could still end up at our beloved Chelsea, if you listen to Arsene.
One man who I reckon probably won’t start is Jose Reyes, who isn’t in the best of form. However, his international team-mate and bloody good midfielder Xabi Alonso has labelled little Jose a “genius”.
Good man.
I’ll leave you with some statistics that either show you:
a) How unlucky we are, or
b) How rubbish Jens is.
November 25th, 2004
..and aren’t you glad about it.
Arsenal, the bad boys of British football, are back, and it feels great.
With the sendings off of Lauren and Patrick Vieira, and all this “crisis” talk, we’ve backed ourselves into a corner. The very same corner which last season we fought out of to claim the League following the Old Trafford fracas. The same corner that we burst from, under fire for our poor disciplinary record, to claim two doubles in 1998 and 2002.
Now, our season could well take a turn for the better.
The pressure of the unbeaten record is gone.
Chelsea are many peoples favourites following their strong start to the season.
Sol Campbell is now returned from injury, and we’re one win away from European advancement.
Smile.
It’s not all bad.
And what’s more, Mauricio Taricco‘s career is in tatters.
Marvellous.
November 24th, 2004
Or ladesses, should that be the case.
It is a massive game. I’d explain all the possible permutations, but I can’t, because I don’t really understand them. So I’ll leave it to Goodplaya – a very new, very decent Arsenal blog indeed.
Sol Campbell could well return, and I’d suggest it’s worth rushing him back, because, frankly, we’re a bit desperate defensively.
In other news, Arsene has denied the charge levelled against him by the FA over calling Ruud van Nistelrooy a “cheat”.
In even more news, I’m so tired I can’t really type anymore.
Rock on.
Previous Posts