Le Grove – Arsenal blog featuring Arsenal news

We all know that those away games up north used to cause us problems, the reason I’m not worried is, we have such a good team, don’t get me wrong, I still believe had we signed two heavyweights in the summer, we would be 4 points clear of Chelsea and looking at a season going unbeaten.

The team we currently have though is still good enough to take care of the Sunderland’s of this world, when you think we have Rosicky, Nasri, Vela, Wilshere and Theo to come back, I think we have plenty in there to win all our remaining games this year.

Watching City does show you that money doesn’t guarantee success, but then they have a shit manager who bought Kolo (our weak link) and made him his captain! How funny was it to see Kolo stranded in the middle of nowhere as the ball hits the back of the net again, that brought back memory’s.

So although money doesn’t buy success, it sure as hell would do if the right manager was spending it, I still think that we need cover when the ACN comes along, and also we need that cover to act as competition and cover in the event of injury.

I know we have the kids coming through, and I agree we can’t ruin their chances, so that’s why I still see Vieira as the perfect answer.

After watching the chav/manc game yesterday, I really saw nothing there that I feared, I don’t think the chavs will have the legs to go through the season at that pace and the mancs are just not as good without their Portuguese pikey.

It’s good to see that although Arsene isn’t spending any money that at least Ivan Gazidas is, he’s added another expensive member to his team, this time a lawyer, who happens to be an expert in the field of takeovers.

Arsenal football club now has the biggest management team in the EPL, it’s a shame we have done the worst deals though isn’t it? Ivan, don’t worry, I know it wasn’t you, but having such a large team of pencil pushers, makes we wonder what the point is, the naming rights and shirt sponsors are set in stone for a long time to come.

Anyway Grovers, we are second, we also have a game in hand, and we we be playing the chavs soon, win our next two games and we could go top! Imagine that!!!

Ok, so I ended up watching the match in some Soho bar, dressed as the mad hatter. My report will be strictly note form today, exactly as I saw the match. Apologies for the lack of craft, this is totally blackberry!

Notes:

Scored more goals than we’ve scored before, but conceded the most in our Premier League history.

Rambo starts the game ahead of Song because Wenger wants to give him a run out. Geoff predicted correctly!

Wolves make the first chance of the game with a looping kevin doyle header. Gibbs cleared off the line.

Ebanks Blake gets a header off from a corner that fizzed past Almunia’s near post.

Wolves were playing a high line which Van the man nearly exploited.

Eduardo had a shout for a penalty turned down. What a joke, it was a nailed on one. Match of the day of course didn’t show that one.

Wolves continued to exploit us aerially. They had a game plan, and it was doing well. Diaby took a few minutes out to allow us to gain composure… I hoped! Song took his place, then I realised it wasn’t a a cunning Diaby plan. This team amendment would hopefully allow Rambo the chance to get forward.

Arsenal picked up a free kick after Eduardo was cynically shoved over. RVP fizzed in the free kick…it missed everyone and went in off Zubar. I jumped up, saw Eduardo waving his finger…assumed it was disallowed, thankfully it was just an admittance that the goal wasn’t his. Arsenal were undeservedly ahead.

Arsenal started to dominate.

Song broke up play in the middle, laid it off to Rambo whose pace allowed him to beat his man, he then  passed to Eduardo who with one touch, chipped Hennesey in stunning fashion, well maybe a tiny deflection.

Sagna won the ball in his own half and gave it to Cesc, who then passed it back to Sagna, who elegantly chipped the ball to Van persie, who stunned the ball to Cesc, who buried it inside Henneseys near post. Fab-ulous stuff. Sagna loves an assist lately, eh?

The second half started slowly. I did wonder to myself why Rambo didn’t start ahead of Diaby? Song was reassuring in the middle, cleaning up like Ashley Cole in a room full of ugly hair dressers. Aaron Ramsey was a touch unpredictable in the first half, but going forward he looked every bit the player we’d hoped for.

Gibbs was booked for a challenge he tried to pull out of…  …harsh in my opinion.

Arshavin scored our fourth after he buried the punch out back into the net from twenty yards out, super, super strike.

Arsenal dominated the rest of the game until the 89th minute when I said to my friend,

‘This is when we concede’

Sure enough, we gave away a needless corner, Vermaelen lost his marker and Wolves nabbed their consolation goal. I had a disagreement with a few of the grovers about late goals. My view is if you concede enough of them, it becomes a mental issue. I think its apparent we have a problem now, it doesn’t bode well for the big games does it? 4 late goals in 5 games, very upsetting from a perfectionist point of view.

Conclusion.

Superb play at times after a shaky start, who cares though, we are second, and if today is a draw, we can go top by beating the chavs, so after much soul searching, I asked the postmeister Geoff for his opinion on the ideal result, and we both agreed a draw would suit, a nil, nil one, followed by 4 sendings off for violent conduct.

Have a super Sunday and let’s hope for the perfect result to finish off a great weekend.

So the boss says Manuel is back to his best, that sounds to me like to manager is happy with his keeper and that’s a worry, if we had a Seaman in goal I could understand that comment but we don’t, so if he’s content, get used to it people, he won’t be looking for another.

Ok, word on the street is, that young Craig Eastmond travels today, perhaps Wenger is looking at his replacement options for the ACN, I would like to see if this kid can have another good game, blooding him against Wolves could be an inspired moved, if he does, good luck Craig.

News that we’re after Ozil sounds like complete bollocks to me, as the article says he is a replacement for Cesc, well as Cesc is going nowhere, that makes it a non story, and anyway, we have Ramsey and of course, Fran Merida, which brings me onto todays question.

You could say that losing Wiltord and Edu on free’s was a little careless, and that losing Flamini for zip was a bit daft, but to lose Fran Merida for nothing at the end of the season would be staggering. I’m sure we wouldn’t have allowed his contract to wind down, especially as we spent all summer getting the rest of the team on long term contracts, Gazidas is way too smart, isn’t he?

Carlo Ancellotti sees us as his main threat this season, nice little compliment that, and high time we were talked about as potential champions again, today is a good test, but anything less than a win would be a major disappointment, so let’s hope we go at them as if they were some foreign team.

I watched ‘The Damned United’ last night, boy that took me back to what a real tackle was! If you haven’t seen it, get it, it’s so well acted it ought to get an Oscar, it takes you to the day when football really was a mans game, and when I see teams now roughing us up, it makes me laugh, watch this film and you’ll know what roughing up is!

Have a great day Grovers, it’s in our hands and today the Arsenal will close the gap, and don’t forget, we’ll score more than they do, and that’s all that’s needed!

So in this politically correct world in which we live, where people get banned from Arsenal for singing the wrong song or standing up, I hope the hell that Arsenal extend that attitude to train robbers, especially one that was involved in the death of an innocent man whilst stealing his money.

Ronnie Biggs who never once said he was sorry, conned his way out of prison by faking dying and now feels well enough to want to go to an Arsenal match, Arsenal you banned me once and I didn’t rob a train, you banned Bin Laden, so I hope you ban him.

Ronnie, if you do get in, you’d better not sit near me, I think you are nothing more than a dirt bag who spent his life not working, paying no tax and fathering a kid just to get out of being extradited back to serve your sentence, and now you get 24 hour care on the NHS estimated to cost the tax payer £40k a year and £96 a week pension backdated to when you got released, all that and you didn’t pay a single penny in, you low life bum.

And that’s 50% more than I would get if I lost my job and I have worked my whole life paying in to the system.

Arsenal if you let him in, I’ll be giving my season tickets back and I’ll tell the world why.

I know we tend to sanctify scumbags and villains in this country, I hope like hell this bloke doesn’t get afforded the same privilege.

You are not a cheeky chappie, you sure as hell aren’t Robin Hood and you’re not welcome at our football club, Arsenal, say something!

Gael Clichy’s injury will open the door for Keiron Gibbs, so Gael, get well soon, and Keiron, seize the moment and show us tonight what you can do for England instead of the twit that plays for Chelsea.

I expect nothing more than a resounding victory, win this game boys, and do it convincingly so we can go into the weekend with our tails up.

I promised you Grovers that I wouldn’t predict a score so I won’t, but remember what we did to Blackburn? Expect a similar score.

According to the press we are after Servet Cetin, he is a tough tackling centre back from Turkey, I wouldn’t read too much into that story, solid bloke though.

Anyway Grovers, enjoy this evening, because I can’t see us having many games as easy as this one, expect some kids, but expect a tonking, we are in Europe and we mean to qualify…Tonight!

Enough on hi.

So why does he not just take over the club, this is painful and what benefit did this board get from all it’s posturing and getting rid of David Dein, the bloke that brought him in, in the first place. What a shambles, now we get to be run by a cheerleader. Now I think it’s all over and we’ll have to see what he intends to do next. Why he just didn’t make it 30% it’s typical of the way this board operates, what next, 29.8%?

They are like children. Get on with it for goodness sake.

This was what Arsenal just sent me.

‘On 2nd November 2009, Arsenal Holdings plc (the “Company”) received notification that on 2nd November 2009 Stan Kroenke, a director of the Company, acquired 427 ordinary shares of £1.00 each in the Company at a price of £8,500 per share.Taking into account such acquisition, Stan Kroenke has a beneficial interest in, and controls voting rights over 18,394 ordinary shares in the Company, representing 29.6% of the Company’s issued ordinary shares’

Onto footballing matters and I never thought I’d say it, but I agree with jug ears. Gary Lineker has said, if he were an Arsenal fan he would be pleased with the team this season, he said we were wonderful on the eye and clearly still developing, even though we might need to add a Patrick Vieira-type figure in central midfield and a goalkeeper if we want to overhaul the mancs and the chavs. I have to agree with that, without naming names of course, but maybe one name I should name is that of Vieira, maybe we can buy him in the window as cover for the absentees and as a father figure to the youngsters like Coquelin and Eastmond.

Who to bring in as a keeper? I’m not sure he’ll bring in anyone, though Alan Smith did say on Saturday that he thought Wenger would buy a keeper. I miss that Paddy grit, imagine him and Gallas in the same team with Vermaelen, it would be like going back to the days of the famous back four, fist pumping and shouting at the team to go that extra mile, I would love it.

There are certain couples that shouldn’t really have kids, but true to form one was born yesterday and given a proper council house name, poor kid, imagine what growing up in that family will be like, he’ll think that ‘eeeeeerrr’ is a real word.

I watched the Jay Emmanuel Thomas goal for Blackpool on Saturday and what a cracker, I like this kid, although he seems to play further forward, he does remind me of Vieira, I wonder if we could convert him, I remember we bought Djourou in as  a defensive midfielder so we do seem to have options there, I know Djourou is injured but maybe if we don’t bring Paddy back we should experiment. One thing is for sure, we will need someone come January and if our players get injured out there, we will need cover all the way through the season.

So our options are Coquelin, Eastmond, PADDY, Thomas, Nasri, Djourou (if not still injured) Senderos, Denilson, Diaby. I think they are options, then again he may well go out and surprise us by buying someone, someone ready and good like the chavs did with Essien, anyone for Mascerano? (I know a number of you think he’s shit, but I like him)

No one ever bought Veloso did they, maybe he’s not worth it, but it has gone quiet and we haven’t signed a Portuguese player since Luis Boa Morte, who I just found out lives in the next street to me. (Don’t say Bitchslap because he was a mixture and we didn’t sign him)

Tomorrow we play Alkmaar at home, and I believe he will rest players, I expect to see Nasri back in the midfield alongside Cesc and I suspect Eboue. (Didn’t say I wanted him note) I wonder if he’ll promote young Sanchez Watt now that Bendtner is a long termer, I think it’s anybody’s guess with Rosicky and though I adore him, I think it’s time to say goodbye, we can’t go through another season of this, yes it is like a new signing, but he comes back, gets match fit and then gets injured again, it’s time to bring in a world class replacement and not a kid, and if we do go the way of a kid, let’s bring in someone like Eden Hazard, someone with pace and trickery.

Anyway lots to look forward to and for once, the international break is coming at the right time, we may have Theo and Rosicky back for the chav game, and imagine our Carling cup team with Theo, Rosicky, Nasri and Robin in it, ha, ha, that would be the end of shitty, and given the away fans we’d be allowed for the game, it would be like a home tie!

Have a great day Grovers, tomorrow we qualify.

P.S. Pedro has tickets for tomorrow in le exchange! Mail in if you’re interested!