Tottenham review: you can't buy class

A very good evening to all of you. What a joyous evening that is.
As you may have guessed, Arsenal came out victorious in a North London derby today. Just an hour ago, actually. But first things first.
Arsene Wenger made three changes from the squad that have beaten Fenerbahce five days ago. Rosicky for injured Podolski, Gibbs for Monreal and Koscielny for Sagna. I have to say I was a bit surprised by the manager's decision to start Jenks over Sagna. My perplexity was increased still, when I saw Chadli (I think) running riot on our right flank during the entire first half. Maybe it was down to the fact, that Walcott wasn't providing any cover for our young right-back. He did play closer to Jenkinson during the second period, which ensured all Spurs' attacks broke down swiftly down that flank.

Tottenham preview: one way out

Good day to you.
In a few hours time we will host Tottenham in a hotly contested  North London derby. The last two encounters at the Emirates ended up with us beating our neighbours to a pulp, and I hope, that's the case today.
As I've already said yesterday, I feel no particular hatred towards Spurs. Most Arsenal fans, however, view this fixture as crucial and, might I say, the manager's already unstable position very much depends on the outcome of today's game. I don't think even Champions League qualification (or, rather, unqualification) could have affected the decision, whether Arsene Wenger should stay or leave, more. Even a defeat from Villa on the opening day wasn't, in the end, that important. Sure, it was viewed as a direct result of our transfer inertia (rather than just coincidental), but the outpouring of anger, which followed that defeat wasn't linked to a result alone.
Tottenham is an entire different story, however. The level of hatred between Arsenal and Spurs fans is unprecedented. During these 90 minutes the team simply HAS to win. Not because the opposition is weaker (on paper, that is), not because three points are important, but because much more is at stake here. The alternative, for the fans of both teams, is unacceptable. It's not a case of "Do or die", much more "Die but do".

If a team wins, every decision of the manager will be justified. Not in the long run, but definitely for now. Every player, injured during that game, will be viewed as a hero. All in all, emotions, extreme emotions, will be running high, that's why the importance of result cannot be underestimated by those involved. And it's a straw, our manager should hold on to tightly.
Win, and he'll get some breathing space with the signings. Win, and there'll be an opportunity to get several senior players up and running before the next game. Win, and the manger will be looked at with more pride and lenience to (occasional) oddities.
I think, Arsene Wenger understands that. He also understands, that a defeat will have a lot of fans lighting their torches and heading towards his office. The extreme emotions I mentioned earlier will leave no room for mercy, no understanding from the fans, no support from them. The heat, that will emanate from the fans, will scorch Wenger alive, should he lose. Because it will be him, who'll lose. Not the players. Every accusation, however unfounded it is, will be aimed at the manager. The fans will do their utmost to have Arsene fired, should we lose, and they'll not be interested, in who replaces him or whether the club has the opportunity to find someone on such short notice. This may well be the most important game during Wenger's 16-year stay with us. No kidding.
In terms of team news, apart from Podolski, we have no fresh injures. I expect Flamini to start the game on the bench, apart from that the team pretty much picks itself and should look like: Szczesny-Sagna-Mertesacker-Gibbs-Ramsey-Whilshere-Rosicky-Cazorla-Walcott-Giroud. I gotta say, I'm still uneasy about the Whilshere-Ramsey partnership, cause it leaves our back four exposed. The manager will have to work something out, but I doubt he'll choose Flamini over either of these guys.
It is a squad, more than capable of winning the game, to my mind. Sure, Tottenham has a slew of new players (none of those are near the form or abilities, demonstrated by Bale last season), but one thing may be against them. The manager was right to say, that bringing a lot of players in is a risk. In the long term, Villas-Boas may work out, how to effectively use them all, but for today he doesn't as much has a team on his hands, than just a number of individuals. This may work to our advantage, cause we, opposed to Spurs right now, have a  TEAM, not a bunch of players.
And these players have already showed, what they are capable of, demolishing Fenerbahce and deservedly beating Fulham. We have a shallow squad, no doubt about it, it will hamper our chances in the long run, should it stay as it, but we have enough players to do the job today. Fingers crossed, they will, so out only worry, come 9 p.m., will be non-existent signings. Come you reds.
That's it for now, back later with a review

Ambitions

Evening everyone.
The North London derby is looming large and, truth be told, never have I fancied our chances slimmer.
Tottenham present the polar opposite to Arsenal right now. We haven't lost any leaders this pre-season and seem content to pile the pressure on those left. Tottenham is about to lose Bale and they have known that for a long time now. In order to avoid the fans dissatisfaction and a gaping hole in the team that's, let's be brutally honest, played good football last season, Tottenham strengthened significantly. Sure, they will get a wad of cash for Bale all in one payment, but nobody can accuse them of not bringing players in and seating on their asses, waiting for this wonderful money.
They have searched far and wide for players they wanted and when they did find those, went an extra mile to secure the deal. I haven't heard of one Tottenham deal, that fell through this summer. You can understand, when Wenger says it's a risk to have so many new faces, but it's much better, than having none. Even the Bale transfer seemed to have served it's cause. Tottenham may have received a bit less money, that they wanted, but it nonetheless is a huge pile. It's a goddamn transfer record for a player, whose abilities are nowhere near the transfer fee paid for him. Just look at the (now) second- and third highest fees ever paid. Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinadine Zidane top the chart. These are great players, there's no denial that, and I can believe they are worth every eurocent paid for them, but is Bale all that special? No. Plain and simple. His abilities are way below those of Ronaldo and Zidane.

A signing, a wonderful, shiny, free...wait, what?!

Good evening everyone.
Wenger's grand scheme of signings has kicked off today with the acquisition of Mathieu Flamini, who rejoins the Club after a 5-year absence. The former Gunner was released by Milan this summer, when his contract expired and has been training at London Colney ever since. The Frenchman joins Arsenal on a free transfer and, according to Daily Mail, was tied to a three-year deal worth £40 thousand per week.
Now, everything considered, I don't think it's a bad signing. Flamini is 29, and though you can't say, his best years are ahead, this is definitely a boost for the current squad. Mathieu is experienced, versatile and seems to be in good shape. His versatility doesn't mean we can stop buying players now and use the Frenchman in every position we want, should an injury occur in that particular area of the pitch. It does, however, come in handy. I don't remember much of him during his first spell at the Emirates (mostly because I didn't have an opportunity to watch as many games as I can now), but I do recall his wonderful run as an improvised left-back position in the Champions League, back in 2006. It was then, when our sterling defence went on an 10-game run, which saw us keep our goal at lock and key, until those Barcelona jerks beat us in the final. Scumbags. But I'm getting side-tracked here.
Point is, Flamini was a part of that brilliant defensive unit, playing a huge role in us getting to the finals. So he mostly brings about pleasant memories and I can't help but think, he's a really nice addition to the current mix. He will, of course, be in contention for the Spurs game. Fingers crossed, he's in as good a shape, as Wenger thinks he is.

Fenerbahce review: the countdown begins

Good day to you.
So, Arsenal qualified for the Champions League group stages, following yesterday's win over Fenerbahce.
Arsene Wenger made a few changes to the side, that secured three points on Saturday, with Whilshere returning to the starting line-up, replacing Rosicky and Gibbs being benched in favour for Monreal. There were also a few surprises to the choices, the manager made. Koscielny, though fully fit, remained on the bench for the whole 90 minutes, with Sagna deputising once again at centre-back. The other interesting decision was to start both Podolski and Walcott. Their playstyles are similar and, knowing that, Wenger opted several times already to play Cazorla ahead of the German. Maybe it has more to do with Rosicky's fitness, than the manager's views on our tactics. Either way, Cazorla was moved into the under-the-striker position, with Podolski starting out wide.
The first half was rather uneventful and the goal we scored basically came out of the blue. Podolski's pass, combined with Walcott's effort, saw Ramsey send the ball home from close range to make it 1-0. We should have gone further ahead in the dying seconds of the first half, only for Giroud to spurn a wonderful chance, missing from close range.