Hernandez, Campbell and Robben: pools of sorrow, waves of joy

Good day everyone.

Yesterday was another exciting day in terms of football and there was interest for Arsenal fans in both games, with Hernandez featuring for Mexico and Campbell playing the full game against Greece.

First up on the agenda was Holland vs Mexico and the game at Fortaleza took place in smouldering heat. Both teams were dead tired by the end of first half and this, of course, has affected the quality of football greatly. The Mexicans went closer to opening the scoring, though, with Sillissen pulling off a couple of saves.

Quite why the game had to be played in such circumstances is beyond me. Fortaleza is probably the closest place in Brazil to the equator and that's saying a lot. The game kicked off at 1 p.m. and the air temperature was 39 ᵒC. Most fans fled from the sunlit side of the stands and even the players themselves tried to keep to the shade. The ref had the sense to make at least two cooling breaks during the game, though, so fair play to him.

The second half turned out to be livelier. Dos Santos scored with a beautiful shot from outside the box almost immediately after the half-time break, thus forcing the Dutch players to come out of their coma and start attacking. Ochoa was up to the task and demonstrated just why he is one of the best keepers of this World Cup. He denied Robben from a one-on-one and followed it up with a save from a corner, after some Dutch bloke pulled off a shot from point-blank range.

Van Gaal threw on Depay and Huntelaar in an attempt to save the game, but both these substitutes seemed in vain up until 88th minute. Robben won a corner, crossed the ball into the box, Huntelaar won the headed duel and Sneider, unchallenged, smashed the ball home with his left with Ochoa stranded.

I thought it might go to extra time, where Holland would definitely have had the upper hand, but I was wrong. Deep into injury time, Marquez touched Robben in the box, the latter snatched at his chance and fell to the ground as though he had only had his leg hacked off and the ref bought it.

Was there contact? Definitely. Was it enough to scream to the heavens and fall like a shot man? I doubt it. Robben pulled off something similar in the first half and, though he later admitted diving, he insisted there was a foul in the episode with the penalty. Sometimes I regret he's not a psycho like Suarez, otherwise I'd be hoping he'd bite someone and get disqualified for as long as possible.

But it's all history now. Huntelaar stepped up to take the kick, sent Ochoa the wrong way and Holland came out on top.

This is the part where I say I'm deeply sorry to see Mexico leave the World Cup. They fought valiantly, didn't cheat, didn't blame everyone for that nightmare refereeing in the first game and were overall not much worse than the Dutch. Had they held on to their slender lead and gone through, no on would have said they didn't deserve it.

With them Chicarito also flies home and I do wonder, whether Arsene should consider signing the Mexican. I was surprised to see Hernandez only used as a sub, especially as I wasn't all that impressed by Peralta, but there must be a reason, I gather. Anyway, Hernandez is 26, seems to be willing to leave United and, if we can agree on a reasonable fee, then why not? Even if Sanchez is on his way to the Emirates, I'm sure we can find a place for Hernandez on the team sheet.

The second game was Greece vs Costa-Rica and I was thinking long and hard about going to bed at half-time. The game was drawn-out and boring, since Costa-Rica was forced to play on the front foot, because the Greeks flat-out refused to come out of their shells, other than from a counter.

I stayed on, however and was rewarded for it. Ruiz scored a wonder of a goal in the 52nd minute and Pinto's side fell back, content they don't have to play the role of first fiddle anymore. The Greeks started pouring men forward, quite reluctantly, I have to say, but all of that changed in the 66th minute.

Duarte hacked off Holevas, got a second yellow and got sent off as a result. Greece continued attacking with vigour and that brought about the desired result in the 91st minute.

Navas saved the initial effort from Gekas, but the guy with ridiculously long "P" surname was on hand to smash home the rebound.

However, Navas demonstrated wonderful skill to prevent Greece from ending the encounter in normal time by pulling off an amazing save from Mitroglou. He would save from him again in extra time and ensure the game would go to penalties.

This was a penalty shoot-out much more exciting than Brazil vs Chile. All the takers were very good, Campbell included, and it took a wonder save from Navas to gift Cocta-Rica a passage to quarter-finals. Well played, Costa-Rica and exceptionally well played Navas. There were whispers Barcelona wanted to sign him, but ploughed for Bravo, the Chilean, instead. Whether they now regret it is another story, cause Navas is tied in first place with Tibo Courtois with a save percentage almost a whopping 88%. To give you some context, Ochoa has a 77% save rate, number nine in the list, tied with Igor Akinfeev (!). And they have included Akinfeev in the worst team of the World Cup!

So, Costa-Rica will now face Holland and it'll be an intersting game, as both teams will allow one another to play the style of football they love. Gosh, how I'd love to see Robben, van Persie and the little boy inside him cry after that game. But we shall see what happens when we get there.

For today, it's France vs Nigeria and Germany vs Algeria. Again, we have interest in both encounters, with Koscielny and Giroud pushing to start, while Ozil and Mertesacker will definitely be named on the starting 11. However, Podolski is out, so Goetze or Klose will play. What makes these games compelling (aside from the fact that Nigeria is likely to challenge France all the way) is that Germany will face France in the quarter-final should both teams progress. Fingers crossed that's what will happen.

Phew, enough for today. Back tomorrow with fresh goodies

Until then

Why Arsene should try and sign Sanchez + last 16 thoughts

Hello.

Yesterday football has returned after a short break and both games were pretty interesting.

In the first one, Brazil took on Chile and have scraped their way through thanks to a penalty shoot-out win. But I didn't like at all the way Brazilians played, that's why I supported Chile.

Honestly, Brazil had two outlets yesterday and both were malfunctioning: Neymar and Hulk. Scolari's team would just lump the ball forward and hope Neymar dances through the defence or Hulk will power his way through, without even turning all green and angry.

Their only goal came from a corner, with Neymar, unsurprisingly, being the one to deliver the ball into the box. Some bloke won a header and Luiz had the simplest of tasks at the far post.

However, Neymar wasn't nearly as effective as he was during the group stages and Brazil tried to involve Hulk more. But, apart from one good shot and a goal rightly disallowed by Webb, Hulk only seemed capable of diving and arguing with linesmen.

Chile, meanwhile, sat back and tried to hit the hosts on the counter. When they succeeded, the Chileans looked dangerous indeed, with that quick passing game of theirs. No wonder the goal (scored by Alexis Sanchez) came from just that sort of attack.

Chile could have easily won it in the dying seconds of extra time, but Penilla hit the bar and Aranguiz saw his shot saved by Cesar.

Julio was the hero again in the shoot-out, saving from two spot-kicks, which allowed the Brazilians to scrape through, despite them screwing up two penalties themselves.

I honestly didn't like the manner in which Brazil got through to the quarter-final. They had one good game (against Cameroon), could easily have lost to a good Mexico side and had two lucky bounces (against Croatia and now Chile). I feel that, as soon they get a decent opponent, they will go down despite help from referees and support from the stands. Chile went close and they are not the toughest opponent left.

Speaking of Chile, I have to single out Sanchez. The Chileans work brilliantly as a collective, but Sanchez is just the icing on the cake. He's quick, he gets into the right positions, he can wiggle out of tight spots. Sanchez is also physical, despite not being very tall or muscular and that showed yesterday. I was particularly impressed by how well Alexis managed to hold off Luiz, winning a good header against PSG's new acquisition at one point.

Sanchez physicality allows him to become not only a good spearhead, but also a sort of springing board for Chile's attacks, thus replicating Giroud's qualities. You can see where this is heading, right? I think we're ought to sign Sanchez.

He's  a bit like Giroud, yet also different, thus giving Arsene the opportunity to choose whether to play both strikers together, or whether he wants to deploy Sanchez as a lone striker (from time to time, at least). The Chilean shouldn't be very expensive, either, since he's mostly polishing the bench at the Catalan Club.

Back to the World Cup, and Colombia has beaten a toothless (no pun) Uruguayan side 2-0. James Rodriguez was the mastermind behind this win, scoring twice.

The first one was an absolute stunner, probably the best goal of this World Cup so far. Rodriguez chested the ball down outside the box, took one look at goal and smashed the ball with his left before it even hit the ground. His shot cannoned off the underside of the bar and went in.

Colombians continued to pile on the pressure, peppering Muslera with shots from all angles and positions and this resulted in the second goal 5 minutes after the restart. This one was a very well-worked team effort, Martinez (I think) crossed the ball to the far post, unchallenged Quardado headed it towards Rodriguez and James poked it home from close range.

After that Colombians surrendered possession and let Uruguay come at them. To be fair to the poor chaps, they did have a couple of shots on Ospina's goal, but the latter saved all of these. Pereira had the best chance when the ball bounced to him in the box, but Ospina saved even from point-blank range. Thus the Colombians (deservedly) go through and will face Brazil a week from now.

And I think Peckerman's side stand a decent chance of making it to the semis. They are definitely more interesting and adventurous than the Brazilians and should Rodriguez continue his stunning claim for the Golden Boot, Colombia should beat Brazil like no one's business.

I would have suggested Wenger taking a closer look at Rodriguez, but I've found out this morning that Rodriguez has moved to Monaco just a year ago for a staggering fee of €45 million, thus I don't think it's likely we'll be able to buy him, especially cheap and especially after such a display at the World Cup. But if there are talks of Falcao going to Real, then who knows? He's in exactly the same position as Rodriguez (one year at the Club, huge transfer fee), only Radamel doesn't have a good World Cup under his belt.

That's it for today. Tonight Netherlands play Mexico in what should be an exciting game and later on Costa-Rica takes on Greece.

So I'll be back tomorrow to report on these.

Until then

11 players to leave Arsenal: Suarez is handed out a punishment

Evening everyone.

Today the Club has announced that 11 players will part ways with us on July 1st. These include 6 seniors and 5 academy players.

Bendtner and Park are among the most prominent, but I've talked about them enough here and here, so there's not much to add. I wish them well wherever they end up.

I have also said enough about Sagna and Fabianski, so I'll pass on these too.

Kallstrom and Viviano are more interesting. Not much has been known about their futures till today and though I can't say these departures are shocking in any way, they do leave us short on numbers. Now we definitely need a goalie and should think long and hard about a DM. Arteta is 32 and, by the way, still hasn't signed his contract, while Flamini seems to only be a sub. The Frenchman is a bit of a paradox. He played a lot more during the first half of the campaign, when Ramsey was firing on all cylinders, yet was only called upon in extreme cases from January to May, despite Wilshere, Ramsey and Ozil all being injured. Arsene should have (for whatever reason) lost his trust in his compatriot, thus he needs to think about purchasing someone to fill Flamini's shoes.

Viviano leaving is a bit of a shame, cause he's a good goalie, but you can't reasonably expect him to stay after sitting on the bench the whole year. With the form Szczesny is in we can't guarantee the Italian anything, so farewell to Viviano, and so our search for a keeper begins.

And now, the World Cup. First things first, Suarez was handed a nine-match international ban and suspended from all footballing activity for four months. This means no training with the national team, no entering any kind of football stadium (even training grounds) and, most importantly, no playing for Liverpool till the end of October. The Uruguyan has also been fined something close to $100,000 thousand.

The way I see it, FIFA has done the right thing. They probably could have gone even harder on Suarez, especially taking into account it's not the first time he's bitten someone, but the decision has been made already, so there's no turning back.

Suarez has once again made it about himself, causing trouble to everyone in the process. He's turned his back on his national team (which, I suspect, won't go far without him), he's made Rodgers' summer a headache, cause Lambert is not a suitable replacement and Sturridge, even at his best, cannot bag 35 goals a year. Suarez has shown disrespect towards Liverpool as a whole, both towards the Club that has defended him last year and towards the fans, that have supported him. What's he's done is disgusting on each and every level.

Good news is, we haven't signed the Uruguyan last summer, though it wasn't for the lack of trying. In retrospective, we would have done Liverpool a huge favour, by forking out £40 million for a walking headache of a player. But oh no, they had to defend their best player and retain him at all costs. Well, how much will it cost them to replace a striker of his level? And would he go there?

If it looks like I'm gloating, that's because I am. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I shudder to think Luis could have gone to Brazil as an Arsenal player and done his stunt the way he did. It's not our problem, luckily. I feel no particular love towards Liverpool ever since their trick with that buy-out clause (it's not about the player, it's about their behaviour) and then going on to thrash us 5-1 at Anfield. Were it not for two strikers bang-in-form, the Mugmashers would have finished way worse, since they have conceded 50 (!) goals in the league. With that crappy defence they have, good luck to them in the Champions League and the Premier League without their top goalscorer.

In other news, the final games of the group stage have taken place yesterday, with Germany and USA making it out of Group G, while Belgium and Algeria qualified from Group H.

I've watched Germany vs USA and deeply regretted it afterwards, especially after seeing the highlights of Portugal vs Ghana. Before the game two Muntari and Boateng were both dismissed from their national team for getting into some kind of scrap with their manager, so I wasn't surprised to see them lose. When you have such problems inside your team, motivation is in short supply.

This game was still much more exciting, with chances being created at both ends, Ronaldo being denied time and again, only to then finally score and Ghana falling one goal short of qualification at some point. Fascinating stuff, I should have watched it.

I didn't however. I had to endure 90 minutes of the most tedious football ever. The USA didn't even try to attack (apart from this dangerous last-minute counter), while the Germans found it tough going due to both rain and USA's resilience in defence. Muller scored the only goal of the game in the 55th minute to give Germany the victory, thus ensuring their qualification from top spot.

In another group I have, understandably, witnessed Russia taking on Algeria. A win of any kind for my home team would have sufficed and we have started pretty well, by going in front in the 6th minute courtesy to a wonderful strike from Kokorin.

Algeria then took the initiative into their own hands and kept their foot on the gas until that equaliser on the hour. Kozlov lost the ball on the flank, fouled some bloke to prevent him storming into the box, some other bloke crossed and, with Akinfeev failing to time his clearance, a third bloke equalised.

This was really harsh on our keeper. He made a string of vital saves prior to that, one of them standing out, and, more importantly, was blinded with a laser pointer immediately before the free-kick. I've heard we've appealed to FIFA on these grounds, but I cannot find out how it went. I assume, not well.

However hard it's to swallow this, we haven't played good enough to go through. I've watched two games and both times we were unconvincing at best. It's not the fault of our goalkeeper we cannot score more than one to ensure one mistake or accident won't be fatal. We simply weren't up to scratch.

That's it for today

Until later

Wilshere talks fitness; Vela joins Sociedad + World Cup stuff

Good day to you.

I'll start with the bit that I have somehow missed due to all the excitement surrounding the World Cup: Vela is not going to Arsenal. Not this season, not next, not in the foreseeable future. Real Sociedad has confirmed the Mexican will stay on with them at least till 2018. It seems they have bought out the clause Arsenal has included when selling the Mexican and now Vela is all theirs, while we get richer by €11 million.

I couple of weeks back, I've discussed the potential signing of Vela. And I stick by to what I've said: the Mexican is a decent striker, but he's unlikely to feature at Arsenal on a regular basis. Moreover, Vela has already tried and failed to make an impact during his time with the Gunners and it's not unreasonable to suggest he could have become a flop a second time.

However, I haven't exploited the possibility of Arsenal warming up interest in Carlos, just to get some money from any potential buyer or Sociedad, for that matter. Yet it seems Arsene and his transfer team have done just that. They've forced Sociedad to hand over a respectable sum of money in return to rights to the striker we didn't need anyway. They way I see it, we've just pulled off a very smart move. Well done.

In other news, Jack Wilshere has given an interview to the Guardian, in which he touched on England's failure and prospects. Of more interest to us, however, are his remarks about his own prospects and the targets our Number 10 sets for himself:

"I think it is [a big year for me]. I’m not young any more. I’m going to be 23 in January and that’s a good age for a footballer. It’s a big season for me, it’s a big season for Arsenal".

Well, what can I say? Jack has had e very good season four years back, when he shined against Barcelona and made close to 50 appearances overall. Since then his development has somewhat halted, with Jacky missing an entire next season due to a horrendous injury and then having an unconvincing 2012-2013 campaign, again due to various knocks and bruises.

This year he did make progress, however. Wilshere has played quite a lot before sustaining another injury in a pointless friendly in March, an injury which has kept him out almost till the end of the season. This time he seems to want to do his best to avoid his fitness levels dropping and making his mark during 2014-2015:

"As for me, pre-season is not far away. I’m going to have maybe a couple of weeks off, but I don’t want to lose my fitness.

I’m going to carry on training, do my bit, because I only played two games in the last three or four months. I will go back [to Arsenal] early. They are going away [to New York] and I’m not sure I’m going on that, but I will definitely still do my little bit. My fitness is on the way up and I don’t want to lose that."

It looks like Jack is even willing to sacrifice a week or two of his holidays in order to get a proper pre-season. Really, you can't fault the effort and desire of this lad. Hopefully, this will go down as a campaign in which the Englishman makes a breakthrough Ramsey-style. Fingers crossed.

Finally, the World Cup. Teams from Groups F and E played their third (and final) games yesterday and the two games I watched were delightful.

Argentine vs Nigeria has made my top 3 (for now), with Ghana vs Germany and Holland vs Australia being the other two. I haven't yet decided, which of the three is the best, and I don't think I need to. All of them were hugely entertaining.

Back to Argentine and I've turned the TV on just in time to see Messi smash the ball into the roof of the net following a rather unlucky (for the Nigerians) rebound after the initial shot. No sooner than the words "Messi is going to save Argentine again" has left my lips, teams were back on level terms.

Nigeria stormed upfield immediately after the restart, Musa rounded off Sabaleta and curled in a beautiful effort past Romero.

Argentine responeded with a flurry of attacks Enyama saving well from Di Maria's distance shot and then denying Messi, after the latter hit the target from the free-kick. He would be unable to repeat this feat a couple of minutes later.

Messi struck another beautiful effort over the wall from a direct free-kick and this time Enyama didn't even had time to jump. He just stared helplessly as the ball rippled in the net.

However, 120 seconds after the half-time break, Nigeria equalised once again, Musa sealing his brace. Argentine refused to give in and three minutes later went in front, Rojo tucking away a cross with his head.

Soon after the goal Messi left the field, as Alejandro Sabella decided to wrap his best player in cotton wool, as Argentine's qualification was all but assured. The game didn't die down after that, with both teams threatening to score. Di Maria picked up where Messi has left off, while Musa can count himself unlucky to add a third to his collection.

Nigeria looked better in the closing stages and it's a shame they haven't got any points for their effort, but they still qualified, seeing as as Bosnia has beaten Iran 3-1. Thumbs up for everybody involved. That includes the Bosnians, they bow out in style.

In Group E, Ecuador has taken on France, while Honduras played Switzerland and at first I opted to watch former.

35 minutes into the game I regretted this decision, as both France and Ecuador were determined not to play football. So I switched over to Switzerland vs Honduras, where the European team was already 2-0 up, thanks to a brace from an in-form Shaquiri.

This choice I didn't regret. Though Switzerland has won 3-0 (Shaquiri completing his hat-trick), the game was thoroughly enjoyable to the very last minute.

I thought Honduras did really well and deserved to score at least one, but, just like Japan a day earlier, they were undone by ruthless counter-attacks from Switzerland. I still want to thank Honduras for this spectacle, as I cannot remember a 3-0 in which the 0 side played that well.

Phew, that's it for today. Back tomorrow with a review of the last two groups.

Until later

Mexico and Colombia progress; Suarez bites again

Hello everyone.

Today I'll start with a piece of news that'll take a load off every Arsenal fan's shoulders around the globe: we're not in for Balotelli. Arsene Wenger, talking to beIN Sports, dismissed those rumours:

"It's pure invention. We cannot believe absolutely everything that is on the Internet or in the papers. Sometimes it's created by agents or by press who needs news. But in this case, it's not true."

Good to hear. Firstly, Balotelli is not much of an upgrade on Giroud, as it turned out, secondly, he's a psycho. Whenever things aren't going Balotelli's way, he's capable of anything. Just look at this photo from yesterday's game, you'll know what I mean. If you have somehow missed the stories about him playing darts at the training ground or setting off fireworks in his own bathroom, that'll give you a rough idea.

Balotelli wasn't the only one who caught the eye in that game for all the wrong reasons, but I'll get to that a bit later. Footballing stuff first.

Group A had the last round of games on Monday and both Brazil vs Cameroon and Croatia vs Mexico were aired. I opted to watch the latter and after half-time thought I'd made a mistake. Croatia tried to attack, Mexico sat back and defended well, restricting Nico Kovac team to a couple of distance shots, but the game was mind-boggingly dull. Meanwhile, Cameroon was aiming to perform a comeback against Brazil at Estadio National, after Neymar's brace put the hosts in front. Quite delightful goals he's scored too.

However, I stuck to Croatia vs Mexico and was not disappointed. Miguel Herrera's side took the matter into their hands and opened the scoring following a number of quite dangerous attacks, one of which resulted in a corner. A fine headed goal from Rafa Marquez, the captain.

Three minutes later, they added another. A quick counter-attack, Javier Hernandez (aka Chicharito) kept the central defenders busy and Guardado fired home an unstoppable effort.

Hernandez compounded Croatia's misery further, when he finished from yet another Mexican corner to make it 3-0 and game over.

To be fair to Croatians, the tried their best, got one back through a wonderful combination, which saw Perisic go one-on-one with Ochoa and they could have added another later on, but Perisic effort was brilliantly saved.

Then some bloke was sent off after a harsh challenge and all doubts over the outcome were put to bed. Credit to Croatia, though, they did their best, having suffered from awful refereeing in the first game and managed to follow it up with a convincing win. This time, however, they were just no match for rampaging Mexicans.

Herrera and Co qualify from the second spot and were it not for an inferior goal difference, could have finished above Brazilians. The way it played out, they'll face Holland, while the hosts will, erm, host Chile. We are in for two exciting games, let me tell you that.

In Group C nothing was certain before the kick-off. Yes, Colombians definitely qualified, but could have done so from the second spot, had they lost to Japan (who had everything to fight for) and Ivory Coast beaten Greece, with a certain goal difference, of course. However, I was astounded at how it all ended.

I watched Colombia vs Japan, as Ivory Coast vs Greece was nowhere to be found, and didn't regret the decision life forced me into making.

The first half was tedious until the very end. Much like Croatia vs Mexico, Columbia sat back and soaked up the pressure, as it was the other team that badly needed a win. There was one difference only: Columbia has scored, from the penalty spot.

Japan poured men forward, Honda and Kagawa putting the maximum effort into bringing their team back to level terms, but it wasn't enough. I already held a remote control in my hand, ready to go to bed (it was 1 a.m. for Christ's sake), when Sindzi Okadzaki scored that headed goal deep into injury time. So I stayed on and was rewarded for it.

Dzakkeroni's side looked capable of going in front, but all their hard work was undone by three (!) goals from Colombia. The way Colombians play on counter-attacks was just amazing, a blueprint for any team. Jackson Martinez scored twice before James Rodriguez chipped effort found the net.

Late in the game I was surprised at goalie change, when Ospina went off to be replaced by Mandragon, only to then find out Mandragon is a legend in Colombia. He's also set a new record, by becoming  the oldest goalkeeper to feature in the World Cup (he's 43).

In the end, it was 4-1 for Colombia, but I did feel sorry for Japan. They played really well, especially in the second half and didn't deserve to go down in such a manner, but football is cruel sometimes. All the luck to Japan's national team in the future, they have all the ingredients to become successful.

Football was cruel to Ivory Coast either, as they lost 2-1 to Greece, thanks to a last-gasp penalty. A draw would have seen Drogba's team qualify, but, surprisingly, they didn't get it.

Finally, Group D. Costa-Rica drew England (the three lions didn't even score) to finish top of the group, but I opted to watch Italy vs Uruguay, as there was much more riding on this game for both teams.

However, the match was as boring as it gets. Italy, who needed only a draw to qualify, did nothing to show us why they were worthy to play in the last sixteen and were rightly knocked out by a more adventurous Ururguay side. Diego Godin scored the only goal following a corner, but it won't be the footballing part because of which this game will be remembered.

Rather, it will be for three things: insane Balotelli (in the direct meaning of this word), a red card for Marcisio for a very bad foul (studs in the knee) and Suarez stealing the headlines along with a bit of Chiellini's shoulder.

Yes, the Uruguyayan did that weird thing again, namely: he has bitten another player in a game of football.

Last summer I had my reservations about signing Suarez. He's a diver, cheater, has a nasty attitude, he's bitten three people (two at that time), for God's sake. However, Wenger was willing to go an extra mile to sign Suarez and the fact that Liverpool's forward had a marvellous season shows us Arsene had his reasons.

Up to yesterday I thought Suarez wasn't as psychotic as Pepe or Balotelli. I thought "Oh well, maybe Luis was just forcing a transfer both at Ajax and at Liverpool, that's why he did that". But I don't think this way anymore.

FIFA has opened proceedings towards Suarez, and I've heard he can be disqualified for up to two years. It looks like two years of national football and here I go with Shearer, who thinks Suarez should be banned for as long as possible. I'd also get Suarez an appointment with a psychiatrist. Liverpool is, understandably, also not happy and can try to sue Suarez if he's banned by FIFA.

Phew, enough of this for today. Back tomorrow with fresh goodies

Until then, enjoy Group E

Klose edges kloser

Evening everyone.

I suspect it'll be a short one today, as I'm dead on my feet following my last exam. Good news is, it's all finally over and normal service will resume.

Quite a few things happened since Saturday. Argentine did manage to beat Iran thanks to an injury-time wonder-strike from Messi, thus ensuring qualification. Though the Argentines got through to the last sixteen, I sill don't like the way they play. They've been basically saved by Messi twice and any half-decent team will bury them in the play-off. Switzerland, for instance. Despite losing 2-5 to France, they look a likable team.

In another game in Group E, Nigeria has beaten Bosnia and have almost made it out of the group. Even in case they lose to Agentine, four points will likely suffice to go through.

The tedious Argentine game was followed up by probably the best cup match thus far. Both Germany and Ghana started slowly, but the second 45 minutes were flat-out brilliant. The Bundesteam quick passing and unrivalled technique on the ball saw them go ahead, only for Ayew to equalise with a headed effort minutes later.

The africans quickly followed it up with another goal, Gyan making no mistake when clean through and for quite some time it seemed we were in for a shocking result. Especially as the Germans looked dead on their feet, with Ghana making the most of it by creating several more clear-cut chances.

Then Lowe threw on Schweinsteiger and Klose and this changed the dynamic of the match. In the 71st minute, the former won a corner, Kroos crossed (no pun intended) and Klose put it away from close (seriously, no pun) range. The German celebrated the goal which brought him level with all-time leading World Cup goalscorer Ronaldo with a trademark somersault.

The last 20 minutes was fun and open-ended stuff all around. I thought Germany looked a bit sharper and could have probably nicked a win in the dying episodes, but that would also have meant a great injustice towards a hard-working and talented Ghana side, so a draw it was.

I would also like to say a couple of words on Ozil. Though our playmaker hasn't scored, his contribution was telling. I cannot remember one pass he misplaced and his link-up play with Schweinsteiger was what could have cost Ghana a valuable point. Well done, Mesut.

Sunday saw Belgium play Russia and had I not supported my home team, I would have found some other way to while away my time. The game was mind-boggingly tedious, the Belgians only just nicking a win against a rather toothless Fabio Capello's team and so Hazard and Co are through Argentine-style. I don't like the way they played at all and, like it's the case with Argentine, any self-respecting team should make easy work of the Belgians in the play-off.

The loss leaves Russia's hopes hanging in the balance. They will now have to beat Algeria (who dispatched off South Korea with ease) and hope Belgium won't go down to Korea. The latter scenario is highly unlikely to play out, but first we have to get the better of Algeria and it won't be easy. They know a draw should see them though and will fight tooth and nail for it. That being said, they won't have to battle that hard, should our level of performances remain the same. Bottom line is, we have nothing to do in the last sixteen against Germany or USA with a playstyle like that.

Speaking of USA, they nearly pulled off a shocker against Portugal. I didn't see the game, but I know Jurgen Klinsmann's side was mere seconds away from snatching the three points following a wonderful comeback. Porugal was clearly shell-shocked and now they are nearly out. They'll have to defeat Ghana in the last game (no mean feat, since Ghana will themselves be fighting to qualify) and hope like hell that Germany defeats USA. Personally, I think these two will just play out a draw. Germany and USA, I mean. A draw will see both teams qualify, so they may well decide it's best for all parties concerned. Again, I don't think Portugal is capable of anything interesting in the play-off, so just let them go home. We don't want Ronaldo to mess up his haircut, after all.

Finally for today, Chile and the Netherlands have both made it out of the Group B from second and first places respectively. I've seen the game and I wish I didn't. It was as boring as Belgium vs Russia, with Chile hitting the target only once with the first place riding on their win. Holland made the most of their chances and so 2-0 it finished.

It was Spain vs Australia that should have been much more interesting, but I didn't get the chance to see it, as no one cared to broadcast it. Spain have won 3-0, with Villa, Torres and Mata all on the scoresheet. It's a bit of a pity La Furia Roja flies home after this game, especially since Xabi Alonso, Xavi and Villa are all leaving the national team after the tournament.

I also want to give credit to Australia for the way the played. The first two matches were brilliant and it's a shame they haven't got anything out of these. Put your hands together for them anyway. It's the least they deserve.

That's it for today. Don't think I'll watch Brazil vs Cameroon, but I will see Croatia vs Mexico if I can get my hands on a broadcast.

Until later

Giroud shines in France's victory; rumours continue to link us with Balotelli

Evening everyone.

Sorry for such a long break, but the goddamn exams ensured there is little else I can do, apart from eating, sleeping and studying. Good news is they'll be over on Monday and yours truly will be here with you on a regular basis.

Though up to my neck in work, I still managed to watch quite a few games of this rather amazing World Cup, mostly because of the difference in time zones. Had the games unfolded in daytime, I would have been derived of that pleasure.

And this really is a pleasure. I cannot recall when was the last time I could enjoy football without getting all wound up about the result. It was probably two years ago, during the Euro 2012, though I only have vague recollections of that tournament.

This one will, I suspect, be ingrained in my memory for years to come. The first game I watched was Netherlands vs Spain and, as I had an exam early next morning, I had to put quite some effort into convincing myself it won't be a tedious tika-taka affair, and go to bed.

Who would have thought the reigning champions' fall from grace would be that hard? Robben and van Persie just took apart the spanish defence and a rather hapless Casillas and their goals weren't coincidental either. Holland thoroughly deserved the win and, a week later, they showed character to come from behind against a very good Australian side in the most entertaining game of the tournament thus far. Spain, meanwhile, went down to Chile 0-2 and again the opposition was too much for La Furia Roja to handle. When Cazorla, who came on for mere 20 minutes, is your most dangerous and productive player, questions need to be asked. I'm not, of course, trying to play down his importance, it's just that Spain has won three major tournaments in a row with Santi watching from the bench.

Another hugely enjoyable group is the group of death. Everyone thought Italy and England should go through, instead Costa-Rica stunned everyone by beating first Uruguay (didn't see that game) and then earning three points against a toothless Italy, who only had 2-3 clear-cut moments for the entire game. This leaves England out (Suarez sinking their ship almost single-handedly) and Italy's hopes hanging by a thread. Should they lose to a rampaging Uruguay side with Suarez in it, Cesare Prandelli's side will share a plane with England on their way home.

There's one more very interesting group I haven't mentioned, the one with Germany, Portugal, Ghana and USA. I was only able to watch the thrashing of Ronaldo's team (I'll rectify that today. Not the thrashing, the watching thing) and, frankly, Portugal got what they deserved. An off-the-pace Ronaldo, combined with crazy Pepe and brilliant Muller all added up to a very harsh scoreline. The Germans were disciplined and quick, while Portugal was sluggish even before the sent-off. In the other game, USA came from behind to beat Ghana, so I think we are in for a very good game later today.

In other groups, bits and pieces were interesting. I really liked the way Colombia played, first beating Greece, than (deservedly so) overcoming rather weak resistance from the Ivory Coast (which included a surprisingly good Gervinho) and the Colombians will join Costa-Rica, Greece and Chile in the play-off round. Oh, and France.

Truth be told, I didn't know Didier Deschamps side was capable of what they've pulled off. While there's nothing tricky in beating a ten-man Honduras, Switzerland was another story altogether. And yet France swept them aside in a ruthless fashion. Giroud (who was only a late sub against Honduras) opened the scoring with a brilliant header and then assissted Mathieu Valbuena with an inch-perfect pass following a quick break on the counter. Olivier was taken off around the hour mark, but to me the substitution looked purely tactical. The Frenchman had a busy season with us, no need to overplay him if the situation allows it.

Talking about other teams, few were interesting. Belgium only just got the three points against a hard-working (in defence only) Algeria, Brazil is far from spectacular and has only won the first game because of that penalty, while Argentine, pfffff. Easily the most tedious group possible. Argentine is taking on Iran right now and guess what the scoreline is? 0-0.

From an Arsenal point of view, little is happening, as everyone is glued to this majestic World Cup. However, even with the the biggest international tournament on the cards, we're still being continuously linked with Balotelli. And I don't like the sound of it.

It may all be speculation (I sincerely hope it is), but bottom line is, I don't want this guy on the team. Pure and simple. I had my reservations about Suarez last summer (Wenger proved me wrong by going all-out to acquire Luis. Well, technically, it was 30+ goals from Suarez that did), but Balotelli is a different matter entirely.

Suarez may throw a tantrum or two, but it's the exception, with Mario it's the norm. He's just not right in the head, and I don't want to see him dismantle the team Arsene has put so much work into. He may be three times better than Suarez (which he's not) and I still wouldn't want him to put on an Arsenal shirt. Whenever someone tells me about Balotelli's antics, I keep coming back to that story Mourinho told about the red card. When Balotelli got booked during the first half, Mourinho spent the entire break convincing Mario not to do anything stupid as he had no one to substitute him with and guess what Balotelli did? He got that second yellow 60 seconds into the second half. If Mourinho failed to put that psycho in his place, I doubt Wenger, who uses different tactics entirely, will do that.

That's it. I'll be back on Monday with fresh news from this World Cup. Promise.

Until then, have yourselves a good weekend

Bac leaves; Cesc joins Chelsea and what a parallel universe feels like

Hello everyone.

I'll start with the most disgusting piece of transfer news I've heard in two years: Cesc Fabregas has agreed personal terms with Chelsea and his move has been completed yesterday.

Among other things footballers usually say upon joining the new club, Fabregas touched on why he didn't return to Arsenal:

“Yes, everyone knows that Arsenal had the first option to sign me. They decided not to take this option. It wasn’t meant to be. I wish them well in the future.”

To say I had to repel an instinct to vomit after I've found out Cesc will wear blue next season is to say nothing at all. I've given my reasons why we don't need the Spaniard all that badly, but I sure as hell didn't want him to end up in Chelsea, under the guidance of a man with an ego the size of Mourinho's.

Look, I can understand Cesc's decision to join another club, as soon as he found out Barcelona won't require his services (I'll get to that a bit later) and we refused to take him back. But Chelsea? Especially after all the talk of how Cesc will never play for another British club?

This news has split Arsenal fans community right down the middle. Some said (quite reasonably) that we don't need Cesc and that £30 million can be better used elsewhere. Others cried: "Traitor!" and you can sort of get their point too.

Was no European club interested in purchasing the player of Cesc's stature? I cannot for a second imagine there wasn't. Bottom line, there's always PSG who is ready to pay hard cash for anything that moves. Thus, I think those who've been calling Fabregas names for the last 24 hours do have their point. The only other club Cesc could have joined for an even greater public outcry is Spurs.

Yet I still feel sorry for how it played out for our former captain. First off, Barca has shown him the door. The club Cesc has been supporting since childhood, to whose academy he went, which he so craved to return to three years ago said "We'll carry on without you". On top of all that, they released this statement (which was later removed from the official site):

"But despite glowing starts to each campaign, Cesc’s contributions to the cause gradually decreased as each season drew to a close. From being someone who joined in with the attack, supplying and scoring goals, the magic tended to fade later on in each season. He only scored one, six and one goals in the last 24 games of each season. For some reason, he was never as good in the second half of a season as in the first".

On a most basic level, that's ingratitude at its finest. Down the years there were some pretty epic good-bye notes from both the players and the clubs they were leaving, but this one beats them all in my view. To express ingratitude on such a scale towards a player, who's always given 101% for the shirt tells you all you need to know about how Barcelona thinks and operates. This made me hate them stronger still, which in itself is extraordinary, cause I didn't know I could hate them more than I already did.

Back to Cesc and the second thing that has pushed him towards signing for Chelsea, however. And it's us. We refused to take him back, plain and simple. You think Arsenal fans are mad at Cesc? Ask him how he feels towards Arsenal FC right now. You'd be surprised, I think.

Unfortunately, all of this won't (probably) stop the Gunners from booing our former captain at the Emirates or at Stamford Bridge, but I still think they shouldn't do this.

All of it is sad, truth be told. I have never thought we'd find ourselves in a situation, in which we wouldn't welcome Cesc back. I would have paid money to see Song, Nasri, Clichy or Adebayor to come crawling back, begging us to take them, only for Wenger to show them the door. But for such a thing to happen to Fabregas...

It places further responsibility on Arsene to deliver this summer transfer-wise. And the first pieces have fallen in place already. Vela will return, Fabianski will leave and Sagna should follow suit. A lot has been said on the Frenchman's departure, so I'll keep my thoughts on the subject short.

Bac had seven great years with, played his heart out for the shirt and never threw tantrums on his salary or our trophy-drought (pretty much, he never threw tantrums at all, keeping the little boy inside him quiet). He's given us his best years and leaves for financial purposes only. He wants to make money while he still can and I have no problem with that. Unlike some half-wits that call themselves Arsenal fans. As far as I'm concerned such fans can take their loyalty and opinions and stick it where the sun doesn't shine.

As for Bac, you can read his farewell statement here. And here:

"To be fair, i don't even know where to start or even how to say it... but i just wanna thank the whole Arsenal fc... a family to me , a club who taught me so much in 7years, a club where i had the chance to progress day by day, a club who always gave me his trust whenever i was personally not at my best , a club who change the kid i was to the man i am today, a club where i had the pleasure to give 200 pr cent every game. I wanna thank the whole staff working at the club, the fans for accepting me so fast, making it smoove for myself and my family, my team mates witch i consider my true friends today and i had a great pleasure learning with them. Of course i wanna thank the coach MR WENGER... who believed in me..gave me his trust..and clearly changed my life. Now, it's time for me to move on and one more time THANK YOU" .

And I'll be back in a couple of days.

Until then

Vela to make a return?

Evening everyone.

After days of nothing in terms of actual news regarding Arsenal, I woke up today to discover Carlos Vela will return to Arsenal next season.

While I cannot say I was shocked by this news, having seen all and sundry linking the Mexican to the Gunners for the last week or so, I definitely was surprised.

You can see the benefits of this deal, no doubt about that. The striker is in his prime years and at the top of his game. Having found the net 16 times and assisted 12 for Real Sociedad this season, the 25-year-old may seem like a catch. He's formed a good partnership with Griezmann, and this can also be a benefit, as Griezmann is named among our potential targets. On top of all that Arsenal get to enjoy this transfer for a mere £3.5 million, thanks to a buy-back clause they've included in Vela's contract three years ago. Some clubs would have paid around £20 million to acquire the services of the Mexican (Atletico?).

But then again, I think there's a shining hole in the grand plan. Vela didn't succeed while he was with us, why should he now? For instance, would he be able to adapt to the physicality of British football again, having spent three years playing a completely different kind of football?

There's also the question of where exactly the Mexican fits in. I cannot see him deployed on the flank, for example. Whom will he push down the pecking order? If we stick to the scheme we've been using for God-knows-how-long (probably, since 2006), we'll play with a lone striker up top and two flank players. Assuming Walcott won't make it in time for the beginning of the new campaign (and he most likely won't), we still have a plethora of players there. Oxlade, Cazorla, Podolski, even Wilshere.

When fit, Cazorla is a regular starter. I think the same may apply to Oxlade. If Arsene thinks it's time for a breaktrough from the Englishman, he'll play the Ox at every opportunity, ahead of Vela. Even if it's not the case and Oxlade will be used sparingly, I don't think Wenger will prefer Vela to Podolski.

Of course, these are all half-chances for the Mexican. Yes, Cazorla is a regular, but everyone else is not.

Problem is, Vela is not at his best on the flank. His abilities are better deployed more centrally, but again he faces stiff competition. He won't be able to play under the striker, while Ozil and Cazorla are fit, but the idea of him acting as the spearhead seems equally far-fetched.

Whom will he surpass? Giroud? Unlikely. For all his shortcomings, Giroud is an established striker, integral to our style of play. The idea of Arsene dropping Giroud to play Vela as first-choice is, frankly, laughable.

The only place I see Vela fitting into our line-up is as a second striker. Wenger showed willingness to revert to a 4-4-2 at times this season and Vela may become that partner for Giroud.

But again there are questions. While Sanogo is the least of my worries (though not the least of Arsene's, I imagine), how about that world-class striker we all want? For example, Ancelotti has said Morata is available. Should we purchase the Spaniard, will it be so he can sit on the bench and watch Vela play? I think it will be the other way around. I'm not even sure Giroud will keep his place in the starting eleven, in case we succeed in bringing Morata in.

For now, Vela looks a decent option from the bench, a substitute for Bendtner (don't laugh). If he joins, he'll likely do so to make us look better number-wise, rather than provide that immediate impact playing week in, week out.

That's it for today. Sorry, it's a bit short, but not much else is happening. However, you can read on our potential targets here, if you feel like it. Try it, it's really worth your while.

Until later

Ox injured, Koscielny on transfers + Fabregas thoughts

Evening everyone. It's been some time, but the exams aren't going away for another 17 days and I ask you to forgive me, should I write less often than usual during this period.

I'll start with the thing everyone is occupied with right now: our former captain, Cesc Fabregas. There were wild rumours regarding his situation for the last couple of days, that's why I decided not to report on these.

However, it is now clear that Cesc will be leaving Barcelona and, most importantly, it's not Arsenal he's leaving for. After some speculation on the midfielder's part, everyone agreed the Spaniard will definitely leave. Then, Pique let it slip that Fabregas will leave Barca for €33 million. In this article the author doubts it's actually the case, pointing out Pique is a known practical joker, but today (or was it yesterday?) news about Arsene Wenger turning our former player down emerged and the possibility of a great homecoming went up in flames.

Do I believe it's all speculation? At this point, no. While the whole thing may seem illogical at times (For example, why exactly would Barcelona want to sell Fabregas? He's far from a flop, besides, Xavi is not getting any younger), everything else does fall in place. While I do not sympathise with the manager's decision not to re-sign Cesc, I can understand even that.

Arsene may say that we have an abundance of creative midfielders and he will be right. Ozil, Cazorla, Rosicky, Ramsey and Wilshere all fit into the type. Even the Ox can play under the striker. Yes, Rosicky is 33 and Oxlade and Wilshere are far from finished articles, but it's still a lot of players to feed Giroud. Besides, we have always given the chance for our youngsters to thrive under the guidance of more experienced ones, and the aforementioned English duo falls into this category of "yet to shine".

Interestingly enough, it was also the position where we badly needed reinforcements in March and April. With Ozil, Wilshere and Ramsey injured, while Cazorla and Oxlade were swinging in and out of shape (the latter also in and out of hospital), we've lost the ability to win games comfortably playing the kind of football that fired us to the top. Had a player of Cesc calibre been there, who knows.

Another thought the manager might have had in mind when opting to ignore the Spaniard's availability could have been money. Spending £30 million on a player we don't need so badly may have affected Arsene's decision-making greatly. After all, we still need a right-back, that can fill Bac shoes, a goalkeeper, a centre-back and that world-class striker we all want for the second year running. Also, I remeber Wenger wanted to sign Draxler? Does he fall into one of the abovementioned categories? And what a DM? Haven't I said Arteta (32) still hasn't signed his contract?

But, as logical as it all sounds, there a nagging doubt we've missed an opportunity with Cesc. Even though we are well-packed in midfield, I've shown how all of it crumbled and cost us the title. Even though £30 million is a lot, I don't think Arsene will spend over £70 this summer, thus leaving Arsenal financially unable to purchase Fabregas.

Yes, I'm biased when I say I want Cesc to pull on an Arsenal shirt after the World Cup, simply because I love the guy. The idea of him joining anyone else (especially a cash-rich English club) is almost unbearable, more so because our former captain was so close to a homecoming, because he himself would have chosen us over any club, yet Arsene refused to sign the guy. I sincerely hope our manager will strengthen the team and do this by spending over £70 million, otherwise every single fan of this Club (including me) will point the finger of blame at Arsene.

In other news, the Ox, whom I have mentioned several times already, knackered his knee during a friendly against Ecuador and it later turned out the Englishman will miss World Cup opener. It's a blow for England, but, frankly, who cares? It's selfish, I know, but Arsenal needs the Ox much more than the national team and, after spending five months on the sidelines this season, we don't want him out again. Fingers crossed the injury really isn't serious and won't affect Oxlade's preparations for the new campaign.

Finally for today, Koscielny wants signings:

"It's important to have a minimum of these four players (a goalie, a right-back, a DM, a striker) so that we'll be better able to challenge over the course of a whole season against teams like Manchester City, Chelsea or (Manchester) United".

And adds on the striker:

"Yes, we need to recruit a very, very good striker, because it's important for us, for competition for places, because Olivier needs that to become even better. Having a striker who scores more than 30 goals a season can help us win the Premier League. Compared to the squads like Manchester City, even United, Chelsea. ... You can see there's a certain difference."

It continues the trend of Arsenal players urging Wenger to spent the cash, only, compared to last time, it started much earlier. Let's hope Arsene listens. And NOT like last time.

That's it, more later in a couple of days. Stay tuned

Season review: team performance

Hello everyone. Sorry for the hold-up, but I was way over my head with the exam.

Not a lot of stuff going on, but that's a feature of every summer, when actual football is on a thin. Luckily, the World Cup is not far away, while we also won't have to wait that long for a new season to start, as our first game is on August 9th. For now, there's still a part of my review I haven't covered, so I'll get right down to it.

Starting with:

League Cup

Our run in the League Cup was short-lived. We played a bunch of kids against West Brom in the first round, the whole affair was tedious and drawn-out, but we won it on penalties in the end.

Chelsea game was another thing entirely. We played at home and Arsene fielded a much stronger side, but a horrendous mistake from Jenkinson, followed by a brilliant strike from Mata ensured Chelsea was 2-0 up shortly after the restart. The Blues then did what they do so well, namely: parked the bus and this, coupled with our overall inability to attack on the day contributed to Arsenal crashing out of the cup very early.

Despite the fact, that no one likes to see their team lose, I still maintain that having one less tournament to play in was an advantage in the long run. Teams with bigger squads may argue, but we do not (at this moment) belong to such teams.

Champions League

Well, just as skies seemed to be getting clearer with that stadium debt paid off and the signing of Mesut Ozil to back up our ambitions, we landed right into the Group of Death. For a team as strong as Arsenal (we were seeded 6th in the first basket) to be paired up with Borussia Dortmund, Napoli and Marseille is something extraordinary. I cannot remember us having to face such tough rivals at such an early stage for at least ten years. There was little we could do about this however.

Arsenal started their campaign in flying colours, by acquiring three important points in France and then convincingly beating Napoli at the Emirates. I home win against Borussia in the next game would have almost ensured our qualification. But suddenly, we lost.

We can analyse the reasons behind it all we want, but bottom line is this: any top team stands a decent chance of beating any top team in a single game. Borussia capitalized on our mistakes and we were no longer masters of our destiny in the group.

However, all of that changed in the next round. Wilshere's brace ensured we got the points against a hapless Marseille, while Napoli's win meant a draw against the Italians in the last game would see us qualify from the top spot no matter what. Did we get it? No.

We've lost again, resoundingly and were actually hanging by a thread when the final whistle blew. Had we lost 3-0, Napoli would have got through instead of us.

Our loss meant second place, which, in it's turn, meant facing Barcelona, Real, Atletico, Bayern Munich or PSG. Who did we get? Probably the worst possible option. Our last-year's German buddies, Bayern Munich.

I was positive going into this tie, but it lasted for only half an hour or so of the first match (at the Emirates). We started greatly, could have scored, then Ozil missed the penalty. We were pinned back shortly after that, Szczesny was wrongly sent off after Robben's dive and the game was ruined. Still, we could have lost only 1-0 (a positive result under these circumstances), but for a needless mistake in the dying minutes, which allowed Muller to head home a second.

The second game was rather tedious. With a squad once again crippled by injures, we were forced on the back foot at the Allianz Arena. We held on for fifty minutes, conceded, equalised a minute later (with a controversial goal from Poldi) and then tried to score a second, but in vain. We just didn't have enough firepower to break down Bayern and, but for a late save from Fabianski, could have actually lost the game.

It's not the first time we've suffered from bad refereeing in Europe, but the problem isn't solely the refs. We should learn not to be that brittle and susceptible to changing circumstances and try and win matches when the odds are stacked against us. Just look at Chelsea. I don't like their style of play, their manager and most of their players, but they know how to grind out results.

Premier League

Our league season started in the worst way possible: a loss at home to the definite outsider. However, it would be our last major blip till the loss to a dismantled Manchester United, who tried and failed to find any kind of form all season. In-between (till the end of January, truth be told) we were near flawless, the definite high point being a 2-0 win over Liverpool, when Suarridge duo was at it's finest. It was a win that encapsulated everything good about this Arsenal side: outstanding defending, brilliant explosiveness on counter-attacks and clinical finishing.

Arsenal sustained their form till early February and then our downfall started, ironically, with a loss to Liverpool. We then suffered heavy defeats to Chelsea and Everton, only to regain our form for the final five games to end up just seven points off the top and leave Everton far behind.

Again, it's up to debate, why we've faired as badly as we did. The manager writes it down to injures and, while having Ramsey, Ozil, Wilshere and Walcott out do not help you in any way, I tend to think the reason is more psycological than anything else. No one expected us to be where we were in February and, as soon as the squad realised there is a real chance to win the league, they've lost all their confidence. I simply refuse to believe there's such a gulf in quality between us, City, Chelsea and Liverpool, that we can lose to them in such a way. Hopefully, now that the trophy monkey is off our backs, the squad will perform a little more mature in the league next season.

FA Cup

Glorious. Gorgeous. Splendid. Though, at times, nervy, gut-wrenching and hair-pulling.

Our run was one of the hardest in my memory. Tottenham, Coventry (meh), Liverpool, Everton and Wigan+Hull to top it all off.

While we've beaten Tottenham and Coventry in a convincing fashion, everyone else pushed us to the limit. We've played Liverpool a week after that demolishing at Anfield, then a very capable Everton on a good run, and then Wigan, when we were at the threshhold of our confidence. The Latics' game was especially insides-churning, as we came within 8 minutes of going out. But in the end an exhausted Arsenal side got a win on penalties, largely thanks to Fabiansk's heroics.

And the final.  A typically Arsenal game. An atrocious start, a monumental effort to get back to level tems and then a glorious winning goal in extra time.

This win was what separated a successful season from a failure and we made it successful.

Phew, that's it. I'll be back as soon as something new and exciting happens.

Until then, take care