Three points but delusion lives on

Some people seem to live in a fantasy land in which the top four clubs should win every week, dominate their games from start to finish and never look like conceding a goal while playing at their imperious best week in week out. This is fantasy, the reality of the premiership means that there are actually a lot of rather handy sides residing in the bottom half of the table who are no walk over. In just the last few weeks we've seen West Ham draw at Anfield, Newcastle draw at Stamford Bridge and Fulham take a point at Villa. It's a great cliche that there are no easy games in the premiership, but it's bloody well true.

Some supporters should take note, we won the game today, we created a lot more good opportunities that the opposition and we won three points. It doesn't appear that this is enough for some. Wigan came to make a game of it and played with two up front, they were always going to create chances with this attacking line up. We were not at our best I know, however we were certainly not that bad, we created several clear cut chances from which we should have done better in the finishing department. Wigan had a couple of decent chances from crosses in the second half, one forcing a good Almunia save and the other wasted by Heskey, however they never really opened us up, most of their other chances were half chances at best because our defence looked solid enough to shut them out.

Djourou and Toure did well at the back, especially the young Swiss who really adds a bit of size and strength that our defence has so obviously needed this season. The midfield did ok, even if it was a bit unspectacular at times, losing Nasri to an injury in the first half didn't help our flow. Despite never reaching fifth gear we created a lot, RVP had several great openings, Ade hit the post in the first half, as did Denilson in the second. Eboue did not play well, but the morons who routinely abuse him at games need their vacuous heads examining, if they really think that their brainless criticism will help the team then they are even more stupid than they appear.

I don't live in cloud cuckoo land, I know this Arsenal side is not strong enough for the league title this year, however I will continue to get frustrated when I notice that so many people are so unable to appreciate what we have, while they are so keen to criticise the team and manager at the drop of a hat. We got the victory we needed today, it would just make it a lot easier for the players if every supporter got behind the team, there's no doubt that the feeling of the crowd can be sensed by the players and the lack of support of certain fans is definitely of no help to our team. Some victories are brilliant performances, others are more of a grind, others just lucky, but as supporters we should most definitely not become such over expectant wankers that we criticise the less flamboyant victories. Some people do not deserve to be called supporters.

Dust settles on the Carling Cup

The Carling Cup campaign is over for another season. Its a shame, because the kids' performances against Sheffield Utd and Wigan have been some of the highlights of the season.

However, its also much ado about nothing. Progress in the Carling Cup is nice, for what its worth, but it really isn't worth getting that excited about.

It seems to have been assumed before the game that the kids would breeze past an in-form Burnley side, who are sitting 4th in the Championship and have seen off Fulham and Chelsea in the last two rounds of the Carling Cup, which is no mean feat.

This was the first time the kids have been drawn away in this competition and a cold December night in Burnley is a long way from from home for messrs Vela and Merida. The team Wenger picked was relatively weak, at least defensively, compared to the excellent partnership at the back that Djourou and Song formed against Wigan (both of whom are now in the first xi). Paul Rogers was given a starting debut at the back with Silvestre, and he is a player I have quite liked in the couple of games I have seen him in. But this was a tough night and he was switched at half time for Lansbury. The back four in the second half was quite difficult to figure out, but Hoyte seemed to move into the middle, with Lansbury at right back.

Its hardly a surprise that a couple of mistakes were made at the back, and I don't think conceding two goals away from home at Burnley is any great surprise.

However, what was disappointing was the way we attacked the Burnley goal. Vela did ok, but was clearly gagging to score a wonder goal, and Bendtner was just poor. He looked slow, indecisive and wasteful. I lost count of the number of times I shouted at him to get stuck in.

Bendtner is a real mixed bag. His left foot finish against Kiev was top drawer. A real belter under pressure to win the game. He often seems to score goals when he comes on as substitute - he knows he has 20 minutes to make an impression, plays on the shoulder of the last defender and goes straight for goal when he gets a sniff of a chance.

When he starts games, he plays deeper and deeper, trying to link up the play - but he is simply not very good at it. If we could ever get to the situation where Ade, RVP and Eduardo are all fit, then Bendtner is not going to be seeing a lot of first xi action. However, for now at least, lets not be too hard on him and remember how shite the 3rd and 4th strikers are at clubs like Liverpool and Chelsea.

So, lets put the Carling Cup to bed for another year. However, if the first xi can come close to repeating what the kids did to Wigan, then this saturday will be a formality. Unfortunately, that is exactly why I am worried that Nasri & Co won't bother to turn up and get stuck in.....

They might be giants

The roller coaster ride continues, I can't remember a season like it, you simply cannot predict which Arsenal side will turn up, fortunately today the Arsenal eleven showed a lot of courage to come from a goal down to beat Chelsea 2-1 at the bridge, albeit with a little help from an excellent linesman (!).

I knew Arsene had given us as good a chance as possible by starting with the powerful Djourou and Gallas at centre back, it was also a great time to welcome back Nasri and Adebayor. The game started at a frenetic pace, even for a local derby match, good openings were squandered at both ends. Despite going in at the break a goal down, we had been well in the game and were a tad unfortunate to be behind at the half way mark. Gallas was inches away from a tap in as Nasri's shot was well saved by Cech, while RVP also tested the Chelsea keeper with a good low poke. The Chelsea goal was a bit disappointing because not only did Almunia give the ball away cheaply, but Nasri didn't track Bosingwa, who then put in a fantastic cross that the unlucky Djourou diverted past the annoyed Almunia.

They key moment was the equalising goal from RVP, as RVP was played in Bosingwa seemed to be playing him onside, however replays showed that he was marginally offside, however the finish with the right foot was emphatic. Chelsea did not respond, they seemed impotent and lacking in ideas, RVP struck an excellent second on the turn from a great downward header from Ade. The siege from Chelsea did not materialise, we defended well as a team, Song broke play up excellently throughout the second half, we really fought for the scraps in dogged fashion. The centre backs were solid throughout, Djourou has staked his claim, the full backs are quality, while the underrated Song and Denilson really worked their socks off for the cause. Having the power and holding up ability of Adebayor really helped, while RVP showed real commitment with a great performance.

Although the offside goal did affect the outcome of the game, it was rather poetic given that Drogba's clearly offside goal from last season was allowed to stand and scuppered out title chances. In reality Chelsea could have lost the game by more, with both the thuggish Terry and the clumsy Ivanovic extremely fortunate to remain on the pitch, while Denilson's touch let him down at the vital moment when clean through on Cech near the end. As RVP made clear in his interview afterwards, this was about 'us', it was a team performance, true, we got lucky, but you need a bit of luck in football, however there was a lot of fight and team work there today. Not only did our big names live up to their billing but a few of the lesser known and sometimes unfairly scapegoated players also showed that they do possess a hell of a lot of quality.

Today was very different to the Manu victory, we were a goal down away from home against top quality opposition, we needed to show a hell of a lot of character and fight to come away with the win. The centre back pairing finally looked solid, while the whole team showed more desire and more fight than I have seen at any other point this season, contrast this to the pathetic capitulation at home to the spuds. The attitude was more professional, in the second half there were more pragmatic safety first clearances into row Z, the stupid risks were not taken as in previous weeks. The corner certain appears to be in the process of being turned, I just hope that this new team under captain Cesc can continue to build itself some solid foundations upon which to base future success.

Nothing to lose

The banter has certainly begun with Alex Ferguson claiming Arsenal are in 'disarray', while Arsene has responded by refuting Fergie's words. One thing that is certainly true for the game this Sunday is that any result at all away to Chelsea would be seen as a great achievement, I really don't think we have much to lose, the main thing is that the players show some fight independent of the eventual outcome of the game.

There is some good news ahead of the game with Bacary Sagna and Samir Nasri likely to return, however it is likely that Diaby, Eboue and Toure will play no part. I would hope to see Johan Djourou partnering William Gallas at the back, however I know Arsene will persist with the pedestrian Silvestre. I know some people rate Silvestre, however I do not, maybe I'll be proven wrong, but for me Djourou is stronger, quicker and a better player.

There is definitely something missing from our midfield though at the moment and all of us know what it is. I see that some other bloggers also saw a certain Monsieur Flamini in action the other night at Pompey and realised what we are missing. It's hard to put into a single word but it includes 'fight', 'bite', 'tempo', 'gnarl', 'hustle' and 'snapping'. Alex Song is a decent squad player but he does not have the attributes necessary for the hustle and bustle of premiership midfield trench warfare, a couple of our other youngsters seem to have a bit more drive, the likes of Ramsey, Randall and Lansbury get up and down, while they also are not afraid of getting their foot in when needs be.

My line up for tomorrow would be: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Djourou, Clichy, Ramsey, Denilson, Cesc, Nasri, RVP, Adebayor. I would like to see Vela come on relatively soon if we need a bit for pace and directness up front, plus young Jack Wilshere is pushing harder and harder for a starting place. Realistically we can't win the league now, both because our results have not been good enough thus far but also because we do not have the players to do it, the two are inextricably linked. However any points picked up at the bridge will be a bonus and a great achievement. We shall have to make sure we cut out the sloppy errors in midfield, while we will have to defend much better as a team if we are to get anything out of the game, come on you Gunners.

Stuttering but satisfactory

With the low morale thanks to recent events and results, combined with several key players out this was never going to be Arsenal at their best. Getting through to the next round was all that mattered and a 1-0 victory did that very nicely, it hit the proverbial spot like a pork pie to an empty stomach.

Kiev were solid as a unit, cheated effectively and we never really had enough width to open them up, they also created some decent chances on the counter, looking pretty incisive at times. In fact a cracking Almunia save in the second half really saved our blushes, going one nil down at that point could well have been curtains. The Kiev red card was rather amusing, they do say that cheats don't prosper.

We did have a lot of possession and created a few decent chances, for example Ramsey's toe ender and a couple of opportunities from some excellent set pieces, largely delivered by RVP. Playing Denilson and Ramsey was never going to give us width, both players did reasonably considering, while it was good to have the mini maestro Cesc back at the helm, his passing did make a big difference. Song had a decent game overall, breaking up play well most of the time despite a poor spell early in the second half.

Gallas was solid, Clichy excellent and Djourou capable out of position at right back, I still have yet to see why Arsene brought Silvestre in from the mancs, he looks slow, cumbersome and doesn't do much good in a game. Vela worked his socks off up top and put in a good performance, RVP did ok. The subs Bendtner and Wilshere did superbly, what a finish from the young Dane, while young Jack showed why he had a very good claim to have been a starter tonight. In reality though, if we play like that against Chelsea then only one side will be winning the game and it won't be us.

Overall thought it was what the doctor ordered, hopefully we can build on this victory and use it as a platform. Cesc is a popular young man and the captaincy will be a lot of responsibility for him, I hope he can handle it. I also hope that William Gallas can put all the recent events behind him and start playing football to the best of his ability again, I really don't think Silvestre is the right partner for him, Djourou is better in every department for me and must start playing regularly in the centre back slot. If Nasri and Walcott remain out then Wilshere must start at Chelsea, we need to have width and he can provide it. Just the final word for Manuel Almunia, our one match captain, great save, keep up the good work.

Supporting Arsene and the lads

It seems that some people have rather short memories and a very distorted sense of perspective, we are certainly not having a good season thus far, but things could certainly be far far worse, we could be as bad as Tottenham, just think what some of our so called supporters would be calling for then, it doesn't bear thinking about really, does it?

Piers Morgan and his ilk are the kind of supporter that AFC could do without, so I suggest if anyone reading this agrees with this Daily Wail article and thinks that Arsene should be sacked then they should either become Rugby supporters or they should book themselves into the nearest mental hospital for a rather vigorous dosing of sedatives to calm their deranged rage. It's easy to call for knee jerk impractical reactions like sacking the manager or bringing in top class monster centre backs who can take on whole armies single handed.

Now is not the time to be getting rid of our manager even if we hypothetically assumed that was a better replacement available, which there clearly is not by the way; we should remember that he is the one man that has the skill and know how to turn this situation around, he is the man that many of our young players are counting on to lead us through this bad spell, he is a fantastic leader and although he's made his mistakes, it would be deeply foolish to even consider getting rid of Arsene now. In fact I am embarrassed that so called Arsenal supporters are so very fickle, they should be ashamed, it wasn't long ago that quite a few glory supporting Manu fans were calling for Fergie's head, I guess that's modern football for you.

It's easy to support your club when everything is going well, but it's rather more testing when the going gets a little tough, in fact it's much easier to start slagging the team off rather than trying to get behind the players and actually support them. Apparently Arsene wants Gallas to apologise to his team mates, that's the very least he could do in my opinion, but if he should choose to apologise and try to mend the damage that has been done then we should try to get behind him if he should ever take the field as an Arsenal player again. Yesterday was not good enough, I know, however do you not think that our young players and manager would do better with our support rather than our incoherent calls to get rid of the lot of them?

In fact Piers the season is a very long way from being over, although you probably won't call yourself an Arsenal supporter if we should finish outside the top four, I would still be proud to be a Gooner no matter where we finished, we have a little game against a certain side from Kiev on Tuesday and I think our players could do with our support then.

Time to dig in

Arsene started with a side that was something like we expected, Djourou partnered Silvestre in the middle at the back, while Gavin Hoyte came in for the injured Sagna, Song replaced the suspended Fabregas and Diaby slotted in on the right of midfield, while RVP returned up front. I thought we started pretty brightly, there was a decent tempo early on and the passing was pretty crisp.

Of particular note Alan Wiley allowed City to get away with numerous deliberate fouls without producing a single yellow, deliberate cynical fouls from Zabaleta times two, Dunne times two, Wright-Phillips, Vassel and Kompany were ignored, Richards somehow got away with an awful body check on RVP when he only had eyes for the man. I don't know how many times I say this but this kind of weak cowardly incompetent refereeing changes games, if the yellows are not brought out early for deliberate fouls then it will carry on and on until the referee grows some balls.

If the referee had had given a few deserved yellows it would have stopped the persistent fouling whenever we broke from midfield, it would have put City on the back foot, as it was the referee was weak and City came into the game towards the end of the half. Given our possession we only created one decent chance, Nasri's decent hit from a free kick forced a decent Hart save, Bendtner neatly back heeled to Song who shot wide, the ball was a little bit too far behind him to be fair. Then just before half time a terrible mix up let in Ireland to neatly chip over Almunia, Clichy seemed to be about to clear but was knocked off balance by Silvestre, the ball fell to the alert Ireland who did the rest in accomplished fashion. We did fade as the half went on, there was not enough incisive play in the final third but City were extremely fortunate to go in a goal up at half time.

The tempo was more upbeat at the beginning of the second half, a good move saw Diaby blast over from a tricky angle, while Bendtner could have easily won a penalty as he was rather crudely hacked from behind when attacking a cross in the box, RVP almost bent in a free kick after yet another crude Richards challenge went without a yellow card. Wiley continued to keep his yellows firmly in his pocket despite repeated cynical City offences, while he was always keen to give city something rather soft at the other end.

Then the killer blow, the ball was lost slackly in the midfield and Robinho was played in, his finish was immaculate, Almunia was stranded as the ball lobbed over his head into the net, Hoyte was caught somewhat napping but the slightly casual nature of the midfield play will not have pleased Arsene. Chances at both ends then followed, Bendtner delayed too long before shooting straight at Hart, Song tested Hart with a left footer, Robinho was wide with a diving header and then unlucky to have a goal wrongly disallowed for offside, RVP shot over after a good turn on the edge of the box.

Ramsey came on for young Gavin Hoyte, who I thought did well in the first half but was caught out for the second City goal, Vela replaced Diaby who was far too anonymous for my liking, however right midfield is clearly not his position. Unfortunately the game now looked lost, Robinho again broke clean through after the ball was yet again lost far too easily in the midfield, he rounded Almunia but Djourou did magnificently well to get back and block Robinhos' goal bound effort.

Wiley then finished the game as he had started, with some truly one sided decision making from the officious referee's manual of how to be a fat little twat. Song was booked fairly, however how many times had we seen the same from City players go unpunished? RVP nicked the ball out of the keeper's hands and slotted home, technically no foul was committed, but Wiley knew better and disallowed the goal. Then Sturridge jinked past Djourou in the box, Djourou made some contact but it was pretty minimal, but Wiley pointed to the spot. The refereeing really is the pits in the premiership these days, however this defeat was only minimally influenced by the referee.

There are almost too many problems at the moment to go about dissecting them in one attempt. It appears that the morale has been rotting for a while now and it is not something that will magically recover overnight. There are problems with the playing staff too, we had no width on the right without young Theo, the ball was given away sloppily so many times by our midfielders to set up dangerous City breaks, Song and Diaby looked particularly lethargic, the defense was left terribly exposed at times as the midfield melted away like warm butter. Bendtner is clearly very low on confidence, while RVP needs to prove he is the player that he thinks he is.

This season is in danger of completely collapsing unless we pull together and start to fight for each other. On the positive I thought Djourou had an outstanding game at the back and he should partner Kolo when he returns from injury. The biggest focal problem we have is our centre of midfield, there is frequently absolutely no drive and bustle coming from the hub of our team, the midfield is also not supporting the defence enough. The thing that killed us today was the sloppy and casual gifting of possession to the opposition in dangerous positions from which they broke. City did not look a side high on confidence, it was just so frustrating to see us gift them so many opportunities too damn cheaply, it was typified by the first goal, a simple clearance was botched and the crucial goal came at such a devastating time.

Now we'll see what these boys are made of, it's time to stand up and be counted, we'll find out who has the character to stay at the club and fight for the cause in the long term, this is one of the biggest moments that I can remember in Arsenal's recent history. This is not just a blip, this is a fully fledged crisis and we are about to learn a lot about this group of players and our manager. Come on you Gunners, they need our support now more than ever.