Attention is being turned without and within to the latest ‘Battle of Britain’ in the Champions League that commences on Wednesday, a full preview will be here tomorrow. To whet the appetites though, Kolo Toure has kicked it all off from the Arsenal point of view by taking the view that last season’s meetings have some relevance to the Quarter-Final tie, Last season we played them four times (meeting in the FA and Carling Cups as well as the league) and we showed how strong we were - we beat them in three of those games. It is going to be really tight, we know that, but we have the quality and I think they will be scared to play against us. We need to show them that we have continued to improve and are even stronger than last season It seems that the nasty side Kolo...

Recent months have seen the defence disrupted through injury and absences. The collective lack of concentration has cost points in the title run-in that may yet deny the squad silverware. ‘Soft’ goals against Birmingham, Middlesbrough and Aston Villa meant wins or defeats were turned into a draw. Of the four drawn games, one clean sheet at Wigan highlights the problem. The victory on Saturday was a triumph borne out of adversity and yet when the team went to three defenders, the pressure put on the Bolton defence and midfield meant that for the last half an hour, the hosts barely had an effort worth noting. In fact, I cannot think of a shot they had on goal once 3-4-2 had been selected as the formation. To those who were schooled in the George Graham ways, it is the antithesis of...

Bolton Wanderers 2 – 3 Arsenal 1 – 0 Taylor (14) 2 – 0 Taylor (43) 2 – 1 Gallas (62) 2 – 2 van Persie [pen] (66) 2 – 3 Samuel [o.g.] (90) Sent Off: Abou Diaby (31) The recent dip in form was brought to a timely end in the most adverse of circumstances at The Reebok Stadium yesterday. At a ground where title dreams have been extinguished in the past, the irony of keeping the faint flicker alive of this season’s flame is not lost nor the hammer blow to Bolton’s survival hopes. A good day all round. Until you look at Abou Diaby’s tackle, that is. In the opening exchanges, Arsenal dominated possession as each side traded half chances. It was no surprise given recent weeks when Bolton took the lead just before the quarter hour. Steinsson was freed on the right with Clichy...

To start off with today, a worthy cause to make you aware of. Rocky 7 has been set-up to raise funds in memory of David Rocastle, the seventh anniversary of whose untimely death falls on Monday; his passing a reminder of the fragility of life.. Amongst Arsenal supporters over a certain age, Rocastle holds a special place in our hearts. All of us have our favourite memories of the player or a favourite goal. I think the latter will be a toss-up between two in the League Cup, either in the semi-final replay in 1987 at White Hart Lane or two seasons later at Anfield, a cracking twenty yard strike that left Grobelaar grasping at air. T-shirts have been produced and profits will go to Treehouse, Arsenal’s chosen charity for 2008-09 season. So to the other matters which surround the club....

International week seems to have passed off peacefully as far as injuries are concerned with Arsene  reporting that no-one is reported injured although the news that Bacary Sagna is out for at least three weeks is not good at all given that he has been the most consistent defender all season. Presumably, it leaves Arsene with two options; either drop Eboue into the Right Back slot and bring Walcott into Right Midfield or simply swap Sagna for Hoyte and leave the rest of the team alone. With five games in the next fourteen days, there is likely to be a mix and match on the approach he takes with the defence and midfield getting a fair bit of rotation. It will mean opportunities for players such as Gilberto to play a few times before the end of the season. The Brazilian kept up the mantra...

Post Chelsea, the fallout is swift to reach the ever-eager ears of the media and to feed their overactive imaginations. And William Gallas was always going to be their chief target. Vilified for his reaction after the award of the last minute penalty as St Andrews, he is now friendless and seemingly on the verge of being stripped of the captaincy. As is always the case, The Mail kicked it all off by reporting that Gallas had said, Mates? Well, they are more like acquaintances This to highlight ‘the remarkable claim that he has no true friends within Arsene Wenger’s squad’. Actually, there is nothing in the slightest bit remarkable in the claims and merely highlights the fact that a football club is no different from any other workplace. During the twenty-odd years I have worked in...

International week normally affords some reflection and wish to see players return unscathed. That still stands of course but looking at the number of other Mancunian clubs, whose key players have suddenly developed mysterious leg injuries, I kind of wish that Arsene would pull a flanker every now and then. Reflecting on the defeat at Stamford Bridge, Arsene is clear where the problem lies, We played quite well and were in control of the game. What was left to Chelsea was to play long balls, and we did not deal with that well enough The substitutions undoubtedly had an impact on the game but the centre of the defence was not cohesive for either goal that Chelsea scored. Problematically for Arsene, it is not a new issue for him to deal with. Since his return, Kolo Toure has not been as...

No doubt that there is the collective sounding of various death knells around the papers this morning but to call time on the title challenge may yet prove to be premature. It is without a doubt now an exceptionally tall mountain that has to be climbed, reliant on two teams to drop points both of whom are on a ‘roll’. Should you be one who has a towel thrown firmly into the centre of the ring, I do not blame you nor seek to chastise. It is hard to realistically believe that the title can be won following this defeat and taking into consideration the current run of form. The hope that can be clung onto is that manner in which leads at the top have been dropped seemingly without rhyme or reason by the occupants of pole position throughout the preceding six months. Nevertheless, it is...

Whichever way you consider this afternoon, for once the hype generated by the media when describing the match is correct. Whilst it is not quite over, should there be a vanquished team at Stamford Bridge, it will be exceptionally difficult for them to win the title if Manchester United win at Old Trafford in the lunchtime kick-off. That is by no means certain. Liverpool require victory in their pursuit of fourth place and a Champions League qualifying spot. Chelsea and Arsenal meanwhile need to win to maintain or close the gap on Manchester United. It has all the hallmarks of a tense London derby and of a draw. Everyone has torn recent form for Arsenal apart seeking explanations for the four consecutive draws. No suitable answers have been found. It has been a mixture of wayward...

Arsene hit back at the media sniping yesterday We will not bottle it. Believe me, we have the strength of character to win the title. That’s my belief, my firm belief, and, at the game on Sunday, you will see. Since the first day of the season, I have said that I believe in this team. Come back in May and we will speak about it then. Until you win, people have doubts about you, they’re questioning you. But the strong ones keep going This is no more than he has been saying all season and nothing less than you would expect from him. Arsene is staunchly loyal to the players and that is on the whole reciprocated whilst they are in the first team. And there is not any doubt that his conviction is genuine. He went on, I feel that since the beginning of the season, we have been the most...

A quiet news day ahead of the Chelsea game. Nicklas Bendtner refuted some questions about himself and Adebayor as a strike partnership, People keep saying we are too similar in style and things like that, but I think it can work just fine He substantiated this with comments about the Wigan and Villa games. However, the thrust is that they are building up an understanding although with the return to fitness of RvP, the likelihood of them getting much playing time together seems to diminish. The Dane then went on to discuss Sunday, We have to come out with loads of determination, power, energy and will and really show that we can come back to winning ways in the league. It’s very important for us to push on now, we cannot allow any more points to be dropped now, otherwise we...

Beckham likely to get his 100th cap as Capello names him in squadDavid Beckham has been recalled to the England squad for next week's friendly against France in Paris, giving the midfielder the possibility of winning his 100th cap. Fabio Capello, the England Manager said "I always said that when David Beckham was fit he could be in the squad, I have had good reports on him from Franco Baldini, who watched him on Saturday night, and also from his club. I know a lot about David Beckham and what he can offer the team."Beckham was watched by Capello's assistant Franco Baldini in a friendly for his club, LA Galaxy, in Dallas at the weekend and obviously did enough to convince the Italians that he is fit enough to win his 100th cap against France. Capello, who managed Beckham at Real Madrid,...

Emmanuel Adebayor has spoken of how the squad is like a family to him, We are all the same generation. We all understand each other well, we know what we need to do He took time to praise his little brother, Cesc, Here everyone know about the clairvoyance of Cesc Fabregas. He sees the game so clearly, better than anyone. I don’t even need to talk to him for him to know where I am - same with Flamini, I don’t need to ask. They know I like to make runs and to receive the ball deep so we don’t need to talk, all I need to do is call and the ball arrives It has been a little awry recently with tiredness taking its toll on form. Sunday is the perfect chance to rectify that and being a big game, I would be surprised if the team did not put in a big performance. And the Arsenal...

It is not too melodramatic to call the next week and half exactly that. With Chelsea and Manchester United playing tonight, a Sky super-duper-fandabidozie Sunday this weekend and the visit to Bolton the weekend after, the debate about just how costly the eight points dropped from the last four Premier League games have been might well be settled. On the other hand, it might be. You would expect United to win at home to Bolton this evening. The days when Allardyce forged a team of upstarts reminiscent of the ‘Crazy Gang’ days of Wimbledon seem long gone. Indeed, I would not be surprised if Gary Megson wrote off the match and decided to rest a few players for their final run-in. Chelsea meanwhile travel to White Hart Lane. Revenge might well be on the visitors minds but more...

A common failing of this Arsenal squad, and the ones of the preceding two seasons, according to those whose opinion’s count (in their own minds at least) is that that they do not know how to close out a game when having a lead. It is not entirely correct but does have some merit in its argument with leads gained at Blackburn, Sevilla, Newcastle, Birmingham (home and away) but the results ended with points being dropped in respective competitions. The reason for it? Well, Sevilla was team selection. The rest? Individual errors. Against Birmingham at The Emirates, poor marking allowed the equaliser, at St. Andrews it was an aberration by Clichy; I still cannot fathom out why we tried to play our way out of trouble at St James Park whilst, well, Jens has paid a heavy price for his costly...

Great Leaders in any field will seek to inspire through words and deeds, to drive their charges on to greater heights and to ensure that mental focus is not lost on the road ahead. William Gallas is facing such a challenge now and is aware of it, I will tell you why there was a difference between the performance at Milan and then in our next game at Wigan — it was in the head…what we needed was an even higher level than we had in Milan. We all have to understand that quickly because time is running out this season It is a bit late in my opinion for this epiphany; that was needed before Wigan and Middlesbrough. However, Gallas needs to get inside the collective psyche as well as individuals. There is undoubtedly a great togetherness within the squad but there needs to be more...

Arsenal 1 – 1 Middlesbrough 0 – 1 Aliadiere (25) 1 – 1 Toure (86) Sent off: Mido If you are of a nervous disposition, perhaps now is the time for you to start a regime of regular changes of underwear. Never do anything the easy way when you can make it hard for yourself might well be the mantra that pervades London Colney. A fourth consecutive draw in the build-up to ‘Super Sunday’ is not the best result to have achieved against a struggling team but always bear in mind that whilst one point is not as good as three, it is better than none at all. Post match, Arsene said, It’s a very disappointing result today for us because we dropped eight points in the last four games. When you’re in the race for the championship, especially when you have the opponents we have,...

Middlesbrough roll into town today for an important fixture at The Emirates for differing reasons. For Arsenal, it is vital to get back to winning ways and maintain the advantage over Manchester United and Chelsea. For the visitors, they have to bounce back from an extremely disappointing FA Cup exit at home to Cardiff and also they need points to ensure they stay ahead of their rivals in the relegation fight. Both United and Arsenal face tough fixtures. Whilst it is not normally something I would appreciate, Chelsea hammering Derby could do us a favour. Any team on the rebound from a drubbing plays a more defensively tight game than normal; if luck goes their way, Derby might yet get a point from their clash with United. I am not holding my breath though. Mathieu Flamini spoke ahead of...

Draw for the Quarter Final / Semi Final Arsenal v Liverpool AS Roma v Man Utd Schalke 04 v FC Barcelona Fenerbahce v Chelsea Semi Final Arsenal/Liverpool v Fenerbahce/Chelsea Schalke/Barcelona v AS Roma/Man Utd Well, in the rehearsal we drew Roma and all four English teams were kept apart (Chelsea drew Schalke, United had Barca and Liverpool,Fenerbahce). So what happens with the real thing? We get Liverpool so now it’s three times in a week, potentially followed by Chelsea in the semi’s. Disappointing to play an English team as I mentioned earlier but there you go. I guess it will be interesting to compare the three games stylistically but Betcha, By Golly, Wow, the Premier League match will be a totally different affair to the other two. Marcello Lippi observed ahead of the...

Champions League draw and the media are into overdrive about how good it is to have four English teams in the Quarter Final draw as if that automatically means that two will be at the Final. Well, that is one hell of a leap and too many are discounting the abilities of Barcelona, Roma, Schalke and Fenerbahce. Of course within any draw there are favourites but as the performance over the two legs against Milan showed, Arsenal have no reason to be scared of anyone. It was not a case of being pitted against an ageing team, more the ball retention and the tactical awareness shown in the matches, the manner that the team kept their shape and restricted their opponents attacking abilities without dulling their own instincts. The media are assuming that their will be an all-English final but...

As I type this, I can feel some of the groans starting to come on from certain quarters. Arsene has indicated that he will not be ‘splashing the cash’ unnecessarily this summer. In keeping with the mantra from last close season, he said, We have money because we made money and we made money because we made the right decisions. I believe a football team is not about buying and selling. It is about building, patience, working together and going through a growing process. Also it is enjoyable now to see the team coming slowly up and see how well they can do There is a proviso that should be added to this. Despite being reported yesterday, these comments were made before the weekend and his views may have changed slightly but I doubt it. Arsene went on, I would have to be completely...

Emmanuel Adebayor. If ever there was a player who epitomised the adage that you cannot please all of the people, all of the time, it is he. Top scorer for the club in the Premier League with nineteen in twenty seven appearances (including substitutes), he is labelled for wont of a better phrase, “A Billy Big Nuts”, scoring only against lower teams in the division and when it does not matter. [Pauses for a second to don anorak] Well, as is always the case, those who shout loudest do not always give the true picture. The table below gives you a quick comparison between the top two scorers in the Division this season.     Adebayor   Ronaldo Goals   19   21 Appearances   27   24 Goals Per Game   0.70   0.88 Games Scored In   14   13 Points Won   10   11 Games...

The title race is never one for the faint-hearted. A whole season’s good work can be thrown out of the window in a ninety minute underperformance. Yet this is no ordinary season. There is no team that is emerging as a dominant force after Christmas as is usually the case. There is no inexorable rise to the top on a flow of good results, overhauling a deficit showing the inevitable home of the Premier League title. You would have thought that Arsenal were sinking in a river like a bag of puppies tied in chains and weighted down with bricks with some of the response to the point at Wigan. I understand the frustrations but the season is heading for a crucial month with the top three playing each other and it is not a time for us to stop believing in the squad. The recent fun of form is...

Wigan Athletic 0 – 0 Arsenal Two points lost against an unadventurous and generally hardworking but functional team. But that’s enough of the Wigan view, what about Arsenal…? For all of the excuses regarding the state of the pitch, it has to be described as a fantastically indifferent performance and a poor result. It could of course be converted into a brilliant result at the end of the season if we win the title by a point but right now against a team in the lower reaches, it is the former. Now that United have a game in hand, the pendulum has swung in their favour until of course, they drop a point. And that is the one striking aspect of this season so far; no one team have been able to assert authority over the title race even when they have a numerical points advantage and...

The standard of pitches in the Premiership can fall between two extremes; The Emirates is superb. The JJB is frankly a shambles; something a farmer would be ashamed to call a ploughed field. That is not an excuse ahead of any potential failings as today’s hosts readily admit the pitch is less than perfect. The injuries to Walcott and Diaby pose somewhat of a dilemma for Arsene. It is surely too soon for Robin van Persie to return from the start, especially as he walked from the pitch on Thursday after the friendly against Colorado Rapids, well, knackered. It leaves the flanks bereft of cover to the extent that it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Alex Hleb will take the left with Bacary Sagna taking the right, Justin Hoyte filling the right full back spot. More likely though...

The praise for Cesc continues, this time Arsene shining a light on the bushel of his talent, I don’t like to say too much that a player is the best but Cesc is not only a talented player but he is also very demanding of himself. If he keeps that he will improve tremendously. People forget that his only 20 and look at the kind of performances he produces and what he did on Tuesday night against big players It is only right that he gets the plaudits for his displays this season, not just on the basis of the San Siro. He had dipped by his own standards in recent domestic games but hopefully, Milan will prove the boost he needed. However, Arsene was at pains to point out that the young Spaniard is not working in isolation, Football is first a team sport and team sport needs time, patience...

I did think long and hard about calling today’s post, ‘Idiots in abundance’. I was not referring to the brief intervention by some trolls last night but more to the fact that in reality, your average English footballer should obey the old adage about children; they should be seen and not heard. Take David Bentley for example, and a few people I have encountered have suggested taking him somewhere with a baseball bat. Personally, I think that is a bit extreme and should not be condoned, especially as every time he opens his mouth, he simply puts a different foot in it and gives the distinct impression that any intellect he possesses is in severe danger of dying of boredom. Were I one of Bentley’s advisors, my first question would be, ‘What the hell were you thinking when you said...

What can one say about this week that has not been said a million times over? Let’s face it; the past days have been made better by victory in a scintillating football match that was a credit to both sides and to the game in football in general, in an era when the more tawdry aspects of it are the headline makers. What is interesting is the psyche of the national newspapers who for so long have railed against the diminishing number of natives in the Arsenal team, now embrace the squad as record-breakers, proving everything that is good in the English game. Um, well Arsenal are sort of unique in the English game with only Manchester United on the same level of playing football as it should be played. Chelsea and Liverpool are solid teams who can do it in patches but it is not their...