Written by Mean Lean on Friday, 01 April 2011 13:13

Happy Friday to you out there,

Emotional day yesterday wasn't it? I read so many fantastic pieces around the blogs about David Rocastle and for once it felt like everyone was on the same page, lovely to see I must say.

I cannot tell you how happy I am that Premier League football is back on the menu tomorrow and it looks as if we will be pretty strong with only two players that you would ideally change, the rest should be available for selection. If you told me at the start of the season that with nine games remaining we had only two absentees from our first team then I would have bitten off your hand or perhaps I could be a bit more civilised and just accept that option, no need for violence and all that.

I was watching Sky Sports first thing this morning and Andrey Arshavin was speaking about the title race. I am not quite sure where all the 'The title race favours us' headlines has come from. Well, ok perhaps I already know the answer to that but it is still annoying all the same.

He did say what pretty much all of us are saying. We would rather be in all competitions but we know that with nine games left it is now down to our performances from now on and if we are to win the major prize this year then we have to fix up and look sharp. Well, perhaps a Russian version of that.

I do love Arshavin's little Arshavin chuckle and that is what he did when he mentioned speaking to Avram Grant about taking some points off Manchester United on Saturday lunchtime. That would be quite good, I am hopeful.

As I said yesterday on Twitter, I think it may well be wishful thinking but I have a good feeling about the Hammers taking on the Mancs. They are in far better shape now than they were when we beat them 3-0 at Upton Park back in January. Who knows, fingers crossed.

Arsene Wenger was doing his utmost to take the pressure away from his players in his pre match interview on the official site. He said that he wants the team to be a little more light hearted in their approach. I understand what he is saying, he wants the team to play with more freedom but it wouldn't hurt if the players channeled the pressure into commitment and aggressive football.

You could see the nerves in the first half at the Hawthorns and I am sure Arsene had that start in mind when he spoke about being more light hearted. Whatever the mentality of the players was against Chelsea at the Emirates then I think bottling that up and then taking a swig of that bottle for the last nine games would be ideal. We need to reach that level again and Blackburn Rovers at the Emirates would be a good place to start.

I will make a season ending prediction (not that I get any predictions right) If we find that high energy pressing game and quick interchanging football before we drop anymore points then we will win the league, if we drop anymore points playing like we did in the first half at West Brom then I think the title will be difficult. Come on boys, take charge of this run in. Pretty please with cherries on top.

The rumour mill has been in full effect. Goalkeepers are standing in an orderly queue outside Ashburton Grove with their silver pens ready to sign on the dotted line to be Arsene's new goalkeeper. The latest seems to be Bolton's Al Habsi who is on loan at Wigan who had a man of the match performance at the Emirates earlier this season. Before that, Ajax's Maarten Stekelenburg threw his hat into the ring, Pepe Reina was supposedly the subject of a big money bid from Wenger in the summer and now Gigi Buffon's agent is making noises of his client being available for a move to by far the greatest team the world has ever seen.

The thing is we already have at least two quality goalkeepers. I do not imagine for one moment that Wojciech Szczesny would go from performing at a very high level to being relegated to the bench as 2nd or 3rd choice. Lukas Fabianski (Newcastle mistake aside) was fantastic and consistent before his shoulder injury. If we are to invest money on external players then I would rather we looked at other positions than goalkeeper or center back for that matter.

Arsene had his pre match press conference today and I have been waiting for that before putting this article up but to be honest there is nothing new to speak of really. Arsene defended Jack's want to play for the England under 21s but also said that the FA should consider looking after a player like Jack Wilshere.

Arsene did confirm that Manuel Almunia will start in goal on the weekend and hopefully he can put in a good showing. He certainly needs to after his error in our last game. Jens is not yet ready to step into the Premier League so Almunia has a chance to wipe the slate clean and put in his best performances from now until the end of the season. It would be good for all concerned if he could end his Arsenal career on a high. How about a last minute penalty save against Manchester United to give us all three points and to all but hand the title to Arsenal? I'd buy an Almunia shirt for that.

Oh and how could I forget. Massive scandal going on at Arsenal. 'Arsenal player has baby shock' I have never heard anything like it. For some strange reason this has been turned into big news but I suppose it comes with the territory.

Congratulations young Jack. Perhaps being Daddy Wilshere can ground you a little and keep you away from Taxi drivers.

The match preview may be up a little early tomorrow as I am off to the Arseblog 5asides to take away the Green's crown. This year will be the year of the Blues. We got to the final after playing some great stuff but lack of finishing and not being clinical when it was needed counted against us. Sound Familiar?
Anyway, enjoy your Friday.

Disclaimer: The Arsenal away kit kind of blue not the Chelsea type, just wanted to clarify that.

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Comments (15)

• 01-Apr-2011 14:44 | | s j little  - s j little
  

  Goalkeeper = two "Super" saves a season say saves 1point and the other 2 points. Bad goalkeeping say loses 6 points (like Almunia this season) that is a total of 9 points. Does that not make the most important player in winning the championship the goalkeeper? Well just consider the goalkeepers who have won it. Jennings,Lukic(twice with different teams)Seaman,Van den Saar,Rimmer,Cech,Schmichel,Clemence, and so on. In fact might not Leeds have had more success had they had a better keeper and and might not Arsenal have lost the F A Cup v Leeds if Wilson had been fit?

• 01-Apr-2011 15:04 | | Jekyll  - New goalie needed
  

  I'd disagree on the two quality goalies. For me Fabianski is not up to it. He doesn't command his area and apart from the Newcastle high profile and obvious error, could have done better on several other occasions, particularly high balls. Next season should be Chezzers and a new experienced goalie. The rest should clear out.

• 01-Apr-2011 15:07 | | Jekyll  - Meant to add...
  

  ... I fully agree with you on the 'lighthearted' thing. Committed and aggressive football is what we need, not a playground mentality. I know Wenger likes to see football as 'creative expression' but this is a battle for the final 9 games.

• 01-Apr-2011 15:08 | | MeanLean
  

  I don't think it is as simple as saying keeper A gains you x points whilst Almunia will drop y points.
  
  We play a different system to other clubs and our goalkeepers often have a different role to someone like Chelsea.
  
  Someone like Fabianski gained us many points by coming off his line quickly and clearing up as we play the high line.
  
  I think Fab has had a great part of the season before injury but yes he could command his area more.

• 01-Apr-2011 15:20 | | Man United Killa  - Almunia
  

  I like Almunia.He tries so hard for us.It's a shame he makes all those mistakes.Sometimes I feel it stems from confidence and support from the fact that it seems too many eyes are waiting on him to fail.Lets face it,our defence has not done a fantastic job of supporting our keepers.clichy's defending is atrocious apart from the fact that he does not know how to cross a ball.
  The defence as a unit have not been very helpful to our keepers.
  The midfield as a unit have not done a good job of closing down enough in midfield.So, yes,almunia makes grave mistakes but the other players could learn a thing or two about helping each other on the field.I have seen many players job or sometimes walk back when we our opponents are on the attack/counter attack.This is unacceptable.
  Valdes was rubbish years back.Now he looks like the real deal.Has anyone asked themselves why?
  Lets face it,even if we put two goalees in between the sticks and dont defend well and as a unit,we will keep leaking in goals.
  Its about time we stopped singling out players for critisism every single day.Sometimes,on the field of play others can only do thier job well then others have done thier well.
  How is the defence expected not to conceed in evey single game when the midfield cant hold on to the ball or the attackers cant score.
  I say there is not smoke without fire.Everyone has to do their job and show their desire to win.I feel bad for certain players because they try so hard but get let down by team members.Almunia is one of them.He may not be the best goalie but what about the defence that constantly leaves gaps in their unit....what about the midfielders that stroll on the field or lie down for 45 more seconds when they lose the ball,what about the attackers who dont take their chances and make sure that we kill off games.Everyone has a role to play....
  finally do you know how many times Walcott has crosses a ball into a box devoid of Arsenal attackers just because they are strolling into the box?At least that is one thing you could never blame Adebayor for.He was always there.I love RVP for that too.The rest,I cant really say.Look out for what I am saying this weekend if Walcott is playing.

• 01-Apr-2011 15:36 | | Man United Killa  - Typos
  

  Pardon my typos.

• 01-Apr-2011 16:29 | | Ben  - OMG
  

  Song, Van, Fab, Walcot, back! Our season has just started.

• 02-Apr-2011 02:30 | | richie  - Are you unwell Muk?
  

  Bloody hell Muk a very considered article by you I like it.
  Not only that but its true!
  I get really P'ed off when a single player gets singled out and slagged off, its a team game for f's sake. Cesc has a terrible game and he gets no criticism, the forwards miss chance after chance and the opposition bags their one and only attempt, and the defence gets slagged off big time. The fact that the defence rarely gets protection from our midfield gets over looked as does the fact that our forwards are rarely clinical. Come on Gooners does any team create more chances than the Arse? But likewise does any team miss more chances than the Arse?
  
  Sometimes I've wonder if instead of buying a proper center half of the Cahill type that everyone was calling for (Even though he'd cost 18m an absolute fortune) why couldn't/shouldn't we have added 5m to it and snapped up Suarez from Ajax for 23m. Everyone could see (when he was still at Ajax) that he was a little goal machine. It looks like he'll continue that form for the Pool. Now, with all the chances we make he'd get bucket loads playing for us and we'd probably score more than we'd concede, which means we'd win most. It would be a bit Kamakazi but we'd have the amo to shoot our way out of almost all situations.
  
  If we aren't gonna build a water tight defence then we need a strike-force thats firing on all cylinders! But mainly 11 players that are a team that plays like a team, helping each other out, going forward and covering for each other in defense.

• 02-Apr-2011 13:49 | | Man United Killa  - Haha..Yes I am perfect
  

  I guess we are on the same page for once eh? Wonders they say,will never end...and Yes I am well
  I agree with your comments..great..I am surprised though that you think we should spend as much as 23 million for a player.That is what I have been saying.23 is reasonable for a player of his caliber and he can do the job too..but shhh... make sure ML does not catch you talking about signing Suarez for 23million..ML will say its a waste of money,He has a penchant for giving the nod for cheap signings.

• 02-Apr-2011 19:06 | | richie  - Yes but no but
  

  Muk I wasn't advocating spending 23m I was arguing that if 18m was gonna be spent on a defender (Something I don't agree with) the same arguement could be made for a striker. Which I hate to say after today's result at the Emirates is more called for than a defender. Games are won by scoring goals! Suarez wasn't a waste of money any team would benefit from his presence, in the same way as Manu'er have benefited from having Hernandez. Natural goal scoring poachers are worth a lot because they produce the goods, thats why even though they are the great passing team of the moment Barca bought Villa for a lot.

• 02-Apr-2011 20:38 | | Man United Killa  - surrounded by winners
  

  true...i agree..it's funny you mention Hernandez..i was just thinking about how this kid is already looking like a winner...i guess environment counts a great deal..

• 02-Apr-2011 23:32 | | richie  - Yeah but no but yeah Muk
  

  Environment Muk? Your a dark horse mate! I didn't know, you'd know about the Torneo Bicentenario (Mexican league) and Hernandez's background (Both his father and grand father were internationals as was his uncle all played in World Cup squads). In 3 years he was either Joint 1st 2nd or 3rd top scorer. Is that the environment your talking about? After all he ain't been at Manu'er a year and (his goals ain't changed) a year ago he was banging them in for the Mexican national team before he'd seen Taggarts red face up close.

• 03-Apr-2011 10:51 | | Man United Killa  - yes Environment
  

  Cesc was making sumptuous passes as far back as when he was 17,Nasri joined Marseille when he was 10 and he has been on the up for years..I dont want to talk about too many players.Fact is,our few quality players are surrounded by too many Inferior quality players.
  Our style of play is officially slow and predictable.Even Cesc knows that.Have you seen the number of long passes he makes these days in a single game? You and I know,this is not the Cesc of old.I am sure he knows we wont get any penetration trying to play tippy-tappy with a bunch of skill-bankrupt players.
  
  Orient aside, we’ve not led since Barca win.A shame I must say..

• 03-Apr-2011 16:54 | | richie
  

  Thats another point we can agree on, its all about the ability to change styles of play. Any team that plays in only one way and can't make changes on the hoof are easy to over come in the prem. We are one dimentional. We came back against West Brom because we changed to 442 and Arsene made the right substitutions to make 442 work.
  
  Its not so true of other leagues, but in the prem its acceptable even for the home team to pack 10 behind the ball at all times and play for a draw, much as it is in the Italian league defending valiantly here often gains great praise from pundits and fans alike.
  
  Remember we the Arse were one of the architects of this type of football. We had the best defense and we made use of it, a hugh percentage of our goals came from set pieces.
  As soon as we scored it was over for the others, One Nil to the Ars-en-al became our moto. Its not a coinsidence at this time that our opponents goal keepers are very often the Man of the Match.
  
  I thought we'd aquired Chamakh because with him in the team we could change our style from the short passing game to playing a ball upfield which he could hold up (in the style of Smudger) until others joined the attack, but if its RvP as our one up its predictable.
  Chamakh was only on for 5mins when they went down to ten men which stopped any idea of changing things up, because they then only had one dimention defend defend and defend some more.
  
  Your point about Nasri is well made he joined in 08 for 12m and its only been this season that he's come right. Before this year this blog and others were full of how Samir was a light weight and wouldn't make it in the EPL. Cesc is a totally different case, he joined us in 03 and by the 04-05 season he was a first team player, I would like all to remember that Cesc was around for the invincibles season but didn't play, but it must have been great for him to play against them in training.

• 03-Apr-2011 17:50 | | Man United Killa  - Issues
  

  You have made some solid points..I am really concerned.. from where I stand there is a lot wrong with this team.Not just a matter inadequate quality and desire to fight.

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