Today sees a short trip across London to face West Ham, a side that we huffed and puffed against at home but just managed to sneak a goal with only minutes left on the clock. Alex Song was the hero that day but the win was less than convincing. Back then it didn’t matter so much, we won and don’t ‘they’ always say that winning when you are not playing so well is what Champions are made of?
However, we have since witnessed far more of that kind of display, a few leading to losses and at home to make it worse.
This is who lined up against West ham back in October.
Lukasz Fabianski Bacary Sagna Sebastien Squillaci Laurent Koscielny Gael Clichy Andrey Arshavin Cesc Fabregas Samir Nasri Denilson Alex Song Marouane Chamakh
Back then Cesc was unfit and struggling with a niggly injury, Fabianski was trying to overcome all the bad press about him and Denilson was just being Denilson, he usually is. Robert Green was outstanding in goal for West Ham, he produced a string of great saves throughout the game to deny us, the best perhaps was to deny Cesc Fabregas in the first half.
West Ham have added Wayne Bridge to their side and he should be making his debut today, that for me is a good enough reason to play Theo Walcott. Carlton Cole should also start for them as Obinna is suspended and Scott Parker is a major doubt through injury.
Today we have no Squillaci, Sagna serves the last match of his ban and Fabianski is also out. To be fair, neither of those injuries are a real worry, Djourou should slot into the defence and Szczesny is an equal deputy for Fabianski. Hopefully, Wenger will ‘rest’ (I say drop) Arshavin and Denilson. Eboue will fill in at RB but i’ll be glad to see Sagna back, that’s for sure.
After that win, we went on a bit of a blip at home but stayed strong away from home and that’s what we have to do today. Forget Leeds, forget Ipswich, we are back playing in a Premier League fixture where three points are all we need to think about and make sure we secure them.
West Ham sit bottom of the League, just where they were when we last played them, they are fighting for points and fighting to save their boss from getting the chop.
Scott Parker has said:
Spirit is high. We’re all in the same corner, we’re all trying to do our best for ourselves, the manager and the club
Mind you, if you believe all the reports coming out of Sky Sports, Avram Grant will be sacked laster today regardless of tonights result.
In any case, they won’t roll over for us, they didn’t last time and they won’t today either. They will fight from start to finish. Every game in this league is tough and none get much tougher than against a fellow London side.
I hope whoever Wenger selects is up for this game, we need to get right back into winning ways! Then we can think about Leeds on Wednesday……
Have a good day all, three points tonight will help make it just that little bit better…..
morning…
reports now that Grant has already been sacked… O’Neil to take over…
Morning rico,
not looked at any of the headlines, is that right about Grant
Morning Steve
Appears so, both Sky and the BBC are reporting it, one says he is due to go the other, he’s gone…
Just tuned into sky sports,Wenger denied reports of Arshavin being linked with a move
I hope this change in manager for West Ham, is not an Ipswich omen
Steve – wenger says that kind of thing all the time, he’s ‘desperate’ to keep him, just like he was Flamini, Edu, Henry, Merida etc etc…
If we get offered the right money, I’m sure he’ll go
me too re the ipswich situation, good to hear Parker is likely to be out though…
Did you see Fergies lad is back at the club who sacked him??
Must have good contacts
rico,
watching Sky and they are showing goals scored by different clubs,seems ages since I’ve seen us score
It is, cesc’s penalty…
you see the i/v with clicy on there this morning?
The interviewer asks if afc are obsessed over winning a trophy….
its sky who are obsessed…..
nasri’s back, we’ll get goals today 🙂
He is the only one left that remembers a trophy, thats why
Mind you rico,
I’ll be glad to get the Monkey off our back
He’s the only one that looks like scoring, i hope your right
So will i Steve, then who knows what could happen…
It’s quiet here this morning, everyone must be having a lay in 🙂
We need a good win to get the enthusiasm back
I suspect as KO draws near there will be a few around, but yes, we need some great displays and big wins….
few things to get done, catch up in a bit……
I hope there is some fight shown from the team today as promised by Wenger otherwise Arsenal will lose today. West Ham will definitely be up for it regardless of whether Grant is going or not. I hope Scott parker is missing – he is definitely their best player and the type of palyer we should have in our squad instead of rubbish like Denilson – I do not want to see that useless git on the team sheet today or ever again!! Unfortunately Eboue is at RB because Sagna is out but I want a 100% improvement on his rubbish performance against Ipswich! Eboue is another player who should be shipped out with Denilson!! Another big worry is that We have only scored ONE goal in our last 3 matches and that was a penalty from Fabregas. RVP and Nastri are back so hopefully their inclusion will improve our goal scoring! Lastly, I hope that our only 2 remaining CB’s do not get injured today as Wenger has still not bought another CB which we desperately need!!
Morning guys.
Sorry, been to the gym all morning.
This is awful, I never feel confident any more. I mean, we should batter West Ham but with this team at the moment, you just never know.
I am hoping that Cesc and Nasri run the midfield.
Hi G90 – i think the summer could see a few changes but can’t see january doing much other than a CH…
Morning Will, hope you got rid of a few denilson, eboue and nikki thoughts t the gym….
I understand how you feel, I seldom feel confident ahead of our games these days and that is so wrong for a club like ours…
It is so wrong but then again, I remember the mid 70’s when we were utter crap and real mid table mediocrity so it is not all bad.
I really wish I could see those three players through the eyes of Wenger.
I remember those days too Wiil but they are gone by now – we have raised the bar since wenger came in with the likes of henry, pires, freddie, paddy etc etc but instead of carrying on from what wenger and they started we have gone backwards. i know the stadium had to be built and that put big signings on hold for a bit but now we are nearly debt free and the finances are in great shape – wenegr needs to rebuild….
But then we all know that….
I know we have gone backward but if you look at it. What club has ever had a set of players like those together?
I think we were amazingly lucky to get that group of players in one team at the same time.
Think about it
Campbell
Vieira
Ljungberg
Pires
Henry
Bergkamp
Cole (and yes, that hurt typing that)
Lauren
How much would they cost if you were going to buy them today?
Campbell, Bergkamp and Cole apart though Will, all those you list were hardly known at the time or they sere really struggling at their club – Wenger plucked them out and gave them confidence to play to their best and fulfill their potential…
The difference now is, too many of ours do not have that kind of potential so regardless of what wenger does, they won’t get any better…
Like i said yesterday, you cannot make a diamond out of an old bit of stone…..
I know but we as fans have to be realistic. That team was a one off, a once in a lifetime meeting of world class players and of footballing brains.
We have a few players of that level but not as much.
Think about it, Gilberto and Edu would walk into this team and they were squad players.
I’d take Gilberto now over denilson Will, isn’t he still the Brazil captain?
They were a one off but what i’m trying to say is they were not super stars when they joined us, wenger turned them into that – what seems to be happening is the ‘older’ players wenger buys these days haven’t got what that crop had in them to begin with..
Shopping calls me sadly – back in a while….
Loved Sky today showing just how average the Magic man was.
Bet Sky hated it though Will..
Boo…
See Barca have started commenting about Cesc joining them in the summer…..
Le Tiss was loving it, really bigging up Merse and showing Johnson up for what he is.
We really need a win today.
Also, can we have a whip round to get Rob Green not to play today?
Guess he has too, he works with him but Johnson is a twurp….
He always does well against us, just hope all this stuff going on puts him off today….
Hibs want JET on loan, hope he doesn’t go, send Bendtner instead…
are we ready to rumble or not?? 😉
Too darn right jj…..
quick dog walk – back in a bit
Yep Green always has blinders against us and and I would not be adverse to sending Nik B to Scotland.
City 1-0 down to wolves
0-0 at the chavs
Let’s hope they stay that way.
are we on espn??
I would guess so
The Barclays Premier League returns to ESPN this weekend following the drama of the FA Cup, with ESPN’s live and exclusive coverage of West Ham v Arsenal on Saturday evening. Hammers manager Avram Grant has guided his team through to the FA Cup fourth round but speculation still surrounds his job, while Arsene Wenger will be hoping his Arsenal side can put in a better performance than their 1-1 draw with Leeds last weekend in the FA Cup.
wolves/city 1-1 …
is parker defo out???
can’t find amything to confirm he’s definately out, but nothing saying he is in either 😉
id take parker..hes wasted at wham
I don’t see how any Man city fan can take joy in their position but that’s just me.
I hope Parker is out and I hope wenger goes with our strongest squad.
Anyone have any TV updates?
i hope he’s out too, he is their soul…
They are waiting to see if he needs an operation Will….
Also, please can Robe Green get a small injury that rules him out of this game.
Thomas Vermaelen (Achilles)
Last Updated: 14 January
On January 13, Arsene Wenger announced “quite good news” about Thomas. Tests this week revealed no long-term concern over his Achilles injury. That said, the Belgian’s return is not imminent. “With Thomas, the news is quite good. He has no long-term problem but we still need to be patient in the next weeks.”
Cheers Rico.
I have a small feeling he will keep breaking down.
Me too, i don’t think we’ll see him until next season….
Hope Chesney sorts his kicking out today, especially with all this wind, they could go anywhere…
Former Arsenal star Frank McLintock has attacked Arsene Wenger for blaming the club’s 1-0 defeat to Ipswich on ‘fatigue’.
He told talkSPORT: “The thing that annoys me a little bit is, we all love Arsene Wenger but he sometimes says that there maybe a little bit of fatigue.
“I mean we’re only halfway through the season and they’ve got 24 squad players. I don’t know how a manager can even mention that word.
“Bill Shankly would never mention that from the first part of the season to the last.”
4-3 at eastlands now, come on wolves 🙂
True and for such a big lad, he doesn’t get much distance. You would think he would stay behind in training and practice.
Hers are team for today, Subs yet to be announced….
Szczesny, Eboue, Djourou, Koscielny, Clichy, Wilshere, Fabregas, Song, Nasri, Walcott, Van Persie
I think he’s been watching Almunia too much Will…
Frank is right as well.
Strong strong side.
Rico, serious question, if a rich sugar daddy bought Arsenal and bought us millions of pounds worth us players to win the league, would it feel like we won it?
Thats a good question Will, the obvious answer would be yes because no matter what players are bought the manager still has to get the football right to win…
But, on the other hand I was probably one of many who said the chavs bought the league…
Then, we have to all accept that this is the way fooball has been allowed to go so, were that to happen it would just prove we are better than the others when on a level playing field…
How many clubs are no longer owned buy overseas owner?
I know a couple of Man City fans and they think they are now the biggest team in the country, that we are all jealous and scared of them and that they are not buying the title.
I just don’t understand it.
Back in a few, food is calling.
The chav fans were just the same Will….
What colour is that kit we are in????
Please tell me they will change before kick off 😉
Scott Parker is definately out ……
Subs:
Shea, Vela, Denilson, Arshavin, Gibbs, Chamakh, Bendtner
Back and that is not a bench to be feared.
One weakness in our side, Ebooooooooooooooie…..
Time to step up mr funny man …
Hopefully we won’t need the bench Will, AA, Gibbs, Chamakh and Vela are ok…..
See you at H/T….
Looking good but I would like at least one more so no last 10 minute jitters.
Well, two high quality goals but how many missed…
Our defence is shocking again, hopefully this will be JD’s worst performance of the season as he’s having a shocker – if we were playing a ‘better’ side, things wouldn’t be as easy..
However, we are not, we are playing who we are and we are winning…..
I think we need a quick goal and kill of all hopes of a comeback so those misses don’t come back and haunt us.
Agree there, but if we could get 3/4 more, we can bring off a few and play them against Leeds on Wednesday….
Exactly, I know I shouldn’t but I can see West Ham being right up for it in the second half and if they get one, we will panic.
I feel for Avram Grant – I really do…..
Nice guy, treated dreadfully both by the Chavs and now West Ham……………
West Ham should keep Grant and sack the board.
I have to say, I was not happy with the “getting sacked in the morning” chants. A little low class if you ask me.
Let me be the first to apologise, for saying RVP is a one footed player, he has got a right foot after all. Well played Arsenal, but thank Christ Sagna has served his time, come on back.
Have to say, we played well but that could also be put down to West Ham’s total ineptitude. I would have liked to of seen Theo run Bridge more though.
A good result as you have said Will, But we played a team with no heart, but a win is 3pts and you know what points make………
Will, I didn’t like that chant either – he doesn’t deserve that…..
3 points, 3 goals and none against. I will take that but I feel sorry for the Hammers fans.
Hi Steve, RvP’s goal was first class….
Theo’s was a great finish too
But yes, we must not forget who we played and I mean no disrespect by that, they lost their best player and the club is in a mess
I fear what this result masks….
Hope Wenger sees that…..
The owners are porn making scum and the FA should get rid of them. They have treated Grant like dirt and set him up to fail. He is a dignified man and actually, a great coach.
JD had a shocker today and Theo needs to make more runs beyond the fullback without the ball, make the fullback think a little.
Can’t disagree with either there Will…..
Still, nice gentle run out, no-one should be too tired to play on wednesday….
I’m off for the day guys, I’ll catch up tomorrow…
3 points is what we asked for, it’s just what we got and that’s what counted today….
night peeps…
At least he can go and have a massage in peace now
Nte Nte
Wonder how MoTD will report this game?
back in business 😉
thats what im talking about
will…
in response to your earlier, sorry its late my good man..
personally i would take no pride in doing what the likes of blackburn, chelsea, and now citeh have done/are diong
if arsenal was run in such a way it would make me seriously question my love not just for arsenal but for football as a game…
football is a sport first and foremost and sport is about competing fairly to be the best..best team wins..otherwise its no longer a sport and its corrupt..
financial doping is just cheating, the same way as what drug doping is..using outside means to cheat and gain advantage over your opponent..
its like joey barton and his 5 mates beating the nearest kid up they find and then bragging they kicked his backside..
of course you did sunshine, 6 on 1 theres only going to be one winner but that doesnt make you mohammed ali does it you little prick??
take jack walkers millions away from blackburn what are they?? mid table team
take romans millions away what are they?? mid table team
take the shiekhs millions out of shitty what are they??same answer
nothing to be proud out..they are all just little pricks 😉
its like ussian bolt competing in the para olympics and taking pride in winning the gold…there is none and it would never happen so why does it happen it football???
the day arsenal gets taken over by a sugar daddy and wins trophies this way is the day i call it a day i think
My thoughts exactly JJ, I have no idea how these City fans are enjoying it, they have to know it is being handed to them and they are not actually winning it.
the thing is will
is like what we saw with blackburn and what we are seeing with chelsea
it dont matter how long it takes short term success always leads to long term fialure…
citehs adventures may see them win a few trophies over the next few years but it will all fall apart because no club can live on blank cheques for the rest of their existance…whether fifa introduce rules or not it cannot continue long term..
not only are you buying 30mil players like penny sweets but you are giving them 250k a week..
eastlands gate reciepts cannot cover that and citeh will never get the global recognition utd have..utd will always be the bigger brand no matter how many ‘stars’ citeh buy or cups they win..
they simply dont have the capacity to meet those wage demands without a black cheque..its the reason cheslea had to let all of their bench go in the summer cos roman refused to do it anymore..
the sugar daddy will be the death of football clubs
form is temporary class is permanant,
forever arsenal
forever proud..
Problem is, Roman is worth around £10B, the Arabs are worth £40B. Vast difference.
Anyway, back to us, let’s not get carried away. A better team would have scored at least two against us today and Wenger still needs to get one, if not two top quality centre backs in this January and I would still like to see a real class striker who can get us 25-35 goals a season and whose only thoughts once in or around the box is to score and not look for the pretty pass.
other than a couple of JD mistakes we were faultless today
If we were faultless, we would have scores 6.
Un-freaking-believable. MoTD made it seem a 50-50 game.
morning
Morning Rico.
Did you watch MoTD last night?
Morning Will, haven’t seen it yet, it’s recorded so going to watch after the cricket – were they same old same old again?
MAde it look a 50-50 game, shocking editing.
Will, I’ll put the new post up, so we’ll carry on over there??
Typical, they just can’t give us credit when it’s due can they…..
New Post up Will, see you there…