The point Gallas made about 'winning ugly' is certainly valid. Arsenal do not have the reputation as team that will go a goal to the good and then sit back and defend that lead until the final whistle. It is an undeserved reputation to some extent; the team are quite evidently capable of doing this but at times they have let themselves down. Problematically, it happened last season in some crucial games leading to a media frenzy.

Gallas believes:

Before Arsenal, I spent six years at Chelsea. That team was capable of getting ugly wins. If we had an opportunity to win a cup, we would never miss it. There I became imbued with the winning culture, which doesn't exist yet at Arsenal

In that respect, Gallas is correct. Drawing comparison to former colleagues such as Terry and Lampard is not wide of the mark but the distinction of age is not made. Gallas played with that particular duo as they reached the peak of their career not at a time when they were 'starting out'. It is an obvious downside to the younger Arsenal squad.

His mea culpa came:

Of course, some of my Arsenal team-mates could not have appreciated my behaviour against Birmingham. I had to state my authority again and today when I motivate them before a match, they say; 'Capi, we need you, we are following you'. If I would have been an unworthy captain, they would have banned me.

That he has their support is, I believe, undeniable. He received criticism from some players post-St Andrews for his reaction. It was the right thing for players to do for he needed to be aware of the destructive element that his behaviour introduced. That incident though was not the sole cause of last season's faltering but at a time when leadership was required, it was entirely the wrong reaction. Gallas knows and acknowledges this. However, a witchhunt on the back pages is not going to bring the desired result as that would have happened in the summer:

The critics went much too far. Maybe I put myself under too much pressure, like Arsene Wenger said. I believed I had a message to give to my team-mates and I could not find the right words. Our game made people dream, but we had empty hands. We have to show a more clinical state of mind. At the end of last season there was such a frustration inside me.

As it goes, Gallas has been hung, drawn and quartered in the media and then tarred and feathered for good measure. Whilst he is not wrong to discuss St Andrews-gate, his desire to put it behind him is undermined by revisiting his least successful hour as Arsenal captain as it brings it back to the fore. His need to show that it is behind him and that he has learned from the episode is only going to manifest itself in performances on the pitch, in his own game and as a captain. One thing he does have to do is to imbue the winning mentality, re-inforcing a message that Arsene is no doubt driving home himself. It is not much use to bring such issues to the fore without having a solution to work with.

Kolo Toure believes that too much emphasis is being put on a lack of height in the Arsenal defence. To some degree his view is correct:

I remember the best defenders were Franco Baresi and Fabio Cannavaro. Baresi was not tall but he was a great player, while Cannavaro was the best defender in the world - hopefully I will be the same.

They were also incredibly consistent in their prime, which is what Toure and Gallas need to rediscover. The pairing are undoubtedly two of the best in the division but at the moment, they are making errors that are not expected of two such experienced players. With goals being conceded from set-pieces, the focal point turns to the heart of the defence but as Toure observed:

When you consider set-pieces it's not just the centre-backs, it's everybody who has to defend.

That is the point. Gallas might have lost his players in the matches at Bolton, Fulham and at home to Hull but the penalty area was full of his colleagues. The areas where the headers / shots came from should not have been bereft of defenders yet they were. That does not absolve the poor marking but reactions and awareness of others needs to be improved also. Collectively, concentration needs to be improved as well as ironing out individual mistakes. It does not help that Arsenal have a 'tradition' of being strong defensively, even in Wenger's reign. Goals are relatively hard to come by - on average - for opponents so when they come from one source, it is not unexpected that the focus is drawn to it.

The problem is simple on paper to resolve, the reality somewhat harder. My concern is that the clamour for Djourou may not be the solution that it is expected to be and given the fickleness in some quarters, one costly mistake from him might be seized upon to his detriment. That should not preclude trying him to solve the problem but it should not mean that he is held to be the only answer. Replacing Gallas might not be an issue given his injury although it is not yet apparent whether he is going to miss any club matches. Whether any lay-off for the Frenchman means that he comes back refocussed remains to be seen.

'til Tomorrow.

Arsenal captain William Gallas hit out at the media for criticizing his captaincy.

“The controversy about my captaincy?” Gallas said, “People had to find a scapegoat as we didn’t win any trophies last season.”

“If I would have been an unworthy captain, they would have banned me.”

Be a better captain, fine.  Imbue a winning culture, sure.  What about marking someone on a set piece?

When will the drama with Gallas end?  First we had the stories with excerpts from French footballer, Jerome Rothen's new book, You’re Not Going To Believe Me, detailing how Gallas was given the nickname of Pierre Richard, the French Mr. Bean. This is hardly surprising to anyone who has ever seen an extended interview with the man.  If that wasn't enough, we are then told how our "captain" was quite the untrustworthy, petty juvenile delinquent in his days as a Caen trainee.

Following these "revelations," Gallas was in the papers once again this week as he admitted that he was in top form.  The most amusing part is that he says it as if he's cluing us in on something we don't know.  Of course, referring to himself in the third person is also quite amusing:

I can say we have not seen the Gallas from 2006 this term so far.... Maybe I feel a little tried. Do I experience the most difficult period since I joined Arsenal? We could say yes. Above all I miss consistency. One match is good, the other one is not so good.

"We could say yes???"  Are you serious, Billy?  The fact that he even thinks it is up for debate is worrying.  I don't see where he has a problem with consistency... he's been consistently poor since the end of February.  Scoring goals does not absolve him of his responsibility as a central defender and neither does the club winning a match.  For him it's a matter of personal glory over team success and that is in no way acceptable for any player at Arsenal let alone the captain.

Now, "Captain Excuses" is in the paper once again trying to justify his behavior last February that, without a doubt, played a crucial role in our losing the title:

The controversy about my captaincy? People had to find a scapegoat as we didn't win any trophies last season. So, they talked and talked again about the Birmingham match. Indeed I made a mistake. I must admit I flipped my lid. We should have won that game easily.

Before Arsenal, I spent six years at Chelsea. That team was capable of getting ugly wins. If we had an opportunity to win a cup, we would never miss it.  There I became imbued with the winning culture, which doesn't exist yet at Arsenal.

Of course, some of my Arsenal team-mates could not have appreciated my behaviour against Birmingham. I had to state my authority again and today when I motivate them before a match, they say; 'Capi, we need you, we are following you'.

If I would have been an unworthy captain, they would have banned me.

Anyone who has read our posts on Gallas in the post or knows me outside of the blogosphere knows that there is no love lost between me and Gallas.  But these latest comments have taken our captain to a whole new level.  Of course your teammates "could not have appreciated" your behavior... what was there to appreciate?  Oh wait, it was his winning culture, right?  Get real.  A real winner wouldn't have left his teammates to deal with the possible rebound from the penalty kick while he threw a tantrum my 2 year old would find hard to replicate.

There wasn't anything resembling a "winning culture" in Gallas' behavior that day or most days.  He wants to deny that the Birmingham match was a major factor in the team's downslide last season?  It was the first in a run of six consecutive -and 7 out of 8- winless matches in the league.  That was the end of our title run-in right there.

It doesn't take a genius to see that it all started at the Birmingham match.  A quick look at the results list tells you that.  But it's also not hard to see that his behavior on that day had a profound effect on the rest of the team.  I can on ly speculate but, having played sports in my younger days, I can't believe that the players didn't lose what respect they had for Gallas and especially his captaincy.  Even he was forced to admit that he had to "regain their confidence" following the incident.  So for him to downplay it now is just another way for him to pile on the excuses.

The truth is that this team will never have a "winning culture" while William Gallas is its captain and probably not while he's in the starting XI or even at the club.

William Gallas was not too bright as a trainee (The Spoiler)

Roy Keane is a bitter young manager (Soccernet)

Barcelona and FIU may bring MLS to Miami (MLS Rumors)

Jimenez leaves Newcastle "to pursue other interests" (Football 365)

Dr. Thaksin made a £20m profit selling Manchester City (The Guardian)

Undoubtedly, today's footballers are considerably more athletic than their predecessors and more prone to strains but van Persie is certainly in an unlucky run, the past two seasons disrupted through injury. It seems this is a precautionary 'withdrawal'

The calls for Theo Walcott to be dropped by England earlier this week were laughed at; now it might not be such a bad idea as at least he would not pick up any knocks. There is always a silver lining for there are replacements for van Persie available, such as Vela and Bendtner, although the former may not be recovered from his trip enough to be ready for West Ham.

William Gallas's ephiphanal moment may have come to L'Equipe. It is hardly surprising that he has admitted to a loss of form to a French newspaper, knowing that it will be dealt with more rationally than the rabid mentally that consumes their English counterparts.

The captain said:

Do I experience the most difficult period since I joined Arsenal? We could say yes. Above all I miss consistency. One match is good, the other one is not so good. However, I am doing everything to get to my best again.

Speculation that Arsene manufactured this to drop Gallas is purely that and idle to boot. The return to fitness of Mikael Silvestre is purely coincidental to my mind. No matter what Silvestre might feel about his outing with Stoke City Reserves, his presence serves to bolster the squad because I do not think he will bring anything more to the party than Gallas does. It is useful for Wenger to have a reserve defender equally at home in the centre or on the left but it is the latter position for which he is more likely to contend for a spot, allowing Clichy to have some rest this season, an opportunity denied over the past two, preserving what has been an incredible run of fitness from the youngster.

It is an honesty that was necessary from the team's captain. If Gallas hides his own lapses behind others failings, it becomes harder for other players to accept criticism from him. Acknowledging his own culpability in Hull's winner, Gallas said:

It would mean failing to recognise that I put in bad performances from time to time, as I have done for Arsenal recently. An example was when we lost 2-1 at home to Hull. Maybe I am feeling a bit of tiredness.

If that last part is true, it begs the question as to whether Arsene has been correct to play him. It is equally important that the captain is as fresh as any other player. Resting him against Hull might not have changed the outcome of either that or the Sunderland game, nobody knows, but it might have refocused Gallas on his return to the side.

Question marks about his captaincy all hinge on regaining his form but if anyone doubted his mental strength, it would be a rash underestimation:

I'm doing all I can to regain my consistency. It is important for the team, and from a personal viewpoint I can't accept being second best.

In his own view, he has struggled to regain the form that saw him regarded as one of the best defenders in the world since his move from Chelsea. On a consistent basis, that is true. The interview shows one of the qualities that Arsene would desire from his captain; honesty. Perhaps Gallas has already admitted his failings privately within the confines of the dressing room, presumably a reason for getting public backing from the rest of the squad since the summer.

The situation of the constant drip of criticism must have impacted upon Gallas at some point. To ignore that would take incredible mental fortitude. Some of it is correct but where most of it misses the point is the continual harping back to his reaction at St Andrews. That is past and no indication can be drawn that there will be a repeat of that emotional outburst, the opposite seems true. Indeed, it says more about the grudges borne by the critics to repeat it, seeking to blame the collapse at the end of last season on an individual rather than looking at the squad as a whole.

'til Tomorrow.

Perhaps the title to this article seems slightly harsh, but its taken this long for skipper Billy Gallas to finally admit that he is not in any kind of form when he first arrived at the club or indeed for previous employers Chelsea.

He conceded to infamous L'Equipe French footy magazine that he is aware of his lack of form;

"We have not seen the Gallas from 2006 this season so far. For a few matches I have not been very good. With the French team in Sweden and Austria, I was also not very good at times.

"I would be blind if I said I have been strong. That would mean failing to recognise a few bad performances, such as recently with my club against Hull City. Maybe I feel a little tried.

"Am I experiencing my most difficult period since I joined Arsenal? You could say that. Above all I am lacking consistency.

Its easy to critisice, but it takes a big man to publicly denounce himself. Is Billy's turning point? Will he mould his partnership with Kolo Toure, finally? It seems unthinkable that two of the best centre-halves in the Premier League cannot, as a defensive duo, be at the very least effective at the (New) Arsenal old weakness, set-pieces. We never saw Tony Adams, Martin Keown or even tiny Lee Dixon outjumped. Cesc Fabregas demonstrated that eagerness and willingness is king of the headers. Gallas must follow suit on this issue.

Furthermore, if Gallas is feeling the punch (but certainly not the pinch of teh credit crunch) then Arsene should be questioning his judgement. I believe its Djourou's time to step upto the plate. Arsenal fans haven't seen the best of him, and we've already seen many decent performances from the Swiss. Personally, Djourou and Toure will form a better partnership and more assurance without a bloated head in the way. He ended by saying

"One match is good, the other one not so good. However, I am doing everything to get to my best again."

A little sleep and relaxing to the sound of his hard earned cash might just ease his fears. Billy, we hope your back soon. Just ignore the financial crisis and everything will be just fine...

Hvorfor er alle dog efter Gallas? Jeg forstår det virkelig ikke, for han er da en fremragende anfører! Han ser måske lidt opgivende ud, men det er meget sjældent, og han kæmper stadig for holdet. Gallas er blandt vores allerbedste spillere, for han tager ansvar hele tiden. Når han har Djourou med sig i forsvaret, tager han utrolig meget ansvar, griber ind når det skal gøres og sådan.

Willy kan få et par vredesudbrud, men det hører med til hans job som anfører! Der skal skældes ud når det behøves, hvilket Gallas jo gør fint. Kan huske at Djourou var ved at tude i en kamp mod Birmingham (Eduardo’s uheldige kamp), hvor Gallas råbte af ham, men det er jo Johan der skal mande sig op! Det nytter ikke at man begynder at flæbe over noget skæld ud, for Djourou ved sikkert godt han det var en stor bommert. Men det kan ikke ændres nu. Gallas har temperament, men det er da fint nok – selvom et par opmuntrende ord også kan betale sig et par gange imellem. Det er jeg dog sikker på at Gallas og så giver, men det er jo altid de negative ting man fremhæver i pressen.

Jeg har læst utallige steder at Gallas ofte samler holdet til at spise hjemme ved ham, tage på café og bare være social med de andre i truppen. Det hører man ikke ret ofte at andre anførere gør, for William er noget specielt. Mange har sikkert set filmen, Crossbar Challenge, på YouTube, hvem er det som laver sjov og skaber god stemning? Det er ham der bærer 10-tallet!

Gallas er en fin anfører, og jeg er tilfreds med at han har erhvervet. Måske er Fàbregas og Kolo Touré bedre anførere, men Wenger har valgt Gallas med rutinen og det skal vi respektere! Kolo bliver ikke anfører – og Cesc bliver det først når Gallas ikke er i klubben mere. Det har jeg det fint med, for William er uden tvivl klubbens mest erfarne mand! Han er jo også vigtig for os, han laver alle de vigtige mål! Senest mod Dynamo Kiev, hvem scorede så til sidst i kampens hede? Nå ja, det var Willy! Han er jo vigtig forfanden! Nogen der kan huske kampen mod United sidste år, hvem scorede til 2-2 til slut i kampen? Gallas!

William Gallas – en garvet herre med gode gemmer!

Perhaps the 6-0 thrashing of Sheffield United, had the lads thinking - oh well, here's another 3 points on a plate. Do they need to be reminded that this is the BPL - the most competitive league of all? You cannot afford to allow even the smallest of opponents to play their game. They'll punish you! Hull did just that and credit to them!

We took the lead from a sloppy goal. One which a Hull defender tumbled into his own net. The tigers' equalizer in contrast was superb. Ofcourse someone should have closed Geovanni down earlier but take nothing away from the finish.

Their winner, well it's not the first time that we've conceded from a set-piece this season but rather the third as I can remember. And it's Gallas again, that everyone will prolly point their fingers at. It's our second loss this season and on both occasions he was the guy who presented the opponents with their winning goals. 

While I feel he's not the best guy to captain Arsenal, I don't think stripping the armband off of him will be in the favour of either the player or the team as a whole. Anyway I don't think it's a decision that AW even has on his mind. To be honest with you, I don't know what the bloody hell is wrong with the player. One week he's a hero. The other week he's--- zero. Consistency is what I want to see from him which I fear is not in him.

Whichever way you take the result, we have simply got to find a way to deal with set-piece situations. These are the kind of games we ought to be winning. We can't afford to lose these kind of fixtures and expect to win the league doing a double on each of the so-called top four in the process. Not that it won't be sweet. It'll be mighty tough.

I have never had a piece on this blog which I have looked less forward to writing.  There's really not much to say as I'm sure that all of us who watched the game are still in shock.  To be fair, I have to give credit to Hull City as they came out and were extremely organized defensively and, while they played rough for sure, never got to a Bolton-level of over-physicality.

So what went wrong on Saturday?  The usual.  We were profligate with our chances early on, squeaked into a 1-nil lead and then failed to nail the game down.  Geovanni's goal was an amazing strike yet knowing him, he should have been closed down.  Where was Denilson?  But it's the second goal that absolutely makes me sick.

Once again, Gallas got beat on a set piece.  We have now lost two games this season because our "captain" doesn't have sufficient motivation or desire to mark and then go for the ball on set pieces.  Where is this going to end?  Not only should his "captaincy" be in doubt at this point but so should his place in the first XI. Arsene Wenger had this to say about being scored on from corners:

"It is a weakness in our team but that’s as well linked with the level of concentration. You can work for hours on the training ground but if you don’t attack the ball on the day of the game it will cost you. We were caught already the corner before when the guy got in front of Adebayor. I believe that's more down to how much you want the ball."

He's absolutely right.  These men are professionals and Gallas is a full international who has won 2 league titles.  Does Wenger still need to teach him how to defend corners and set plays? No.  It's up to him to do what's necessary.  Or more, as a captain should.  Look at the picture above.  Gallas let Cousin get in front of him with no resistance at all before Cousin leaped a whole head higher than him.  Cousin wanted it more than Gallas did.  He was hungrier to win the game for his team than our captain was to win it for us.  Plain and simple.  And sad.  For me, Gallas is a glory-hunter.  He'd much rather run up-field and score a goal than save one from a corner at the other end.  Never mind motivating the team, he can't even motivate himself on a simple corner.  It pains my heart to see our captain (and his partner) constantly getting beat like this and I'm tired of having to hold my breath every time a cross comes flying into the box.

Now, while  it's not only down to one man that we lost the game, since we should be able to score more than one goal at home against teams like Hull or West Brom, this should have been a match that, at worst, we came away with a disappointing draw.  On days like these, when you are being defended very tenaciously, you need to be extra careful in the back not to concede.  As the captain, Gallas needs to step up and not let that happen.  He needs to rally the troops and lead by example.  However, he seems utterly incapable of doing this.  What does it say to the rest of the team when the captain has given up a game-winning goal because he lost his mark on a corner... TWICE in the first six games?

As for the rest of the side, Adebayor was practically invisible for most of the match and van Persie doesn't seem to be able to put a shot on goal and actually test the keeper.  It may be time to give Bendtner and/or Vela a shot to nail down a place in the starting XI.  Both have had far more impressive performances so far this season than their counterparts in the starting XI.  If you take away Adebayor's hat-trick at Ewood Park, he's been mediocre at best for the first six weeks of the season... and this after signing a nice, fat, new contract.  Once again, where's the motivation?

Eboue and Walcott were rendered ineffective through Hull's highly organized approach to defense especially in the midfield.  Their central defense, despite a few puzzling moments, dealt with twenty-five Arsenal crosses.  On the other hand, our central defense couldn't deal with 4 Hull City corners.  This kind of defending over the course of a long season will barely keep us in the Champions League next season.  The most disappointing aspect is that it's not necessarily a matter of skill but of commitment.

Nothing upsets me more when it comes to Arsenal than seeing the team display this seeming lack of hunger or motivation.  It was just going to be one of those days, but those are the kind of days where champions still need to grind out points.  We did it last year until March, but we haven't seemed to be able to do it this season.  We were not able to secure a point at Craven Cottage and we weren't able to even salvage a point at home to Hull.  Any loss is disturbing for a side of this quality and potential but to lose at home is inexcusable and to lose at home to a promotion side is unthinkable.  Arsene Wenger said that the players were in "a state of shock" in the changing room following the match.  But what do they have to be "shocked about"?  That a below-par, desire-less performance wasn't enough to get them a win at home in the toughest league in the world?

The injuries to Nasri, Rosicky, Eduardo, and Diaby are hurting the side but they are no excuse for the performance of the team on the pitch.  What was the biggest difference between our teenagers' Carling Cup performance on Tuesday and this first-team league match yesterday?  One word... desire.

But for all the ranting on the internet that has been going on over the last 24 hours, we must keep looking forward and move on.  For, after all, despite having lost two of our first six matches we are still only 2 points off the top.  Nothing is more important at this moment than getting all three points from Porto at the Emirates on Tuesday night.  The team needs to refocus and take a long hard look at themselves.  I believe it was an off-day but that there are changes that could be made which would be beneficial.  We will be unlikely to see van Persie replaced by the relatively inexperienced Vela for a big Champions League match, but I would not mind seeing Bendtner keep Adebayor on the bench.  We need to respond and we need to respond well.  And we need to make Porto pay the price for what happened in our own house the Saturday past.

The other way in which I am feeling better is my armpit. It's all right now. Sure, It's a gaping wound but it's healing nicely and the antibiotics hasn't fucked my stomach up to bad. Five days to go there though.

Today is my last day writing my exam in the philosophy of politics and today I'm focusing on John Rawls ideas of the general- vs. the special conception of justice.

I'm sitting here in my Arsenal replica shirt from last seas son and studying and supporting and suffering and hoping... Porto on Tuesday night in the UEFA Champions League. Let's bounce back the way we did from the Fulham defeat!

It wasn't pretty, but it will do.  A very rare point from a trip to the eastern edges of the continent is nothing to cry about for Arsenal supporters; especially when one considers our trips there over the last ten years.  In fact, it almost wasn't a point at all.  Another late, game-winning goal from William Gallas may prove crucial in how this group actually ends up in December.

Kyiv were determined to clog the midfield, marking tightly and being content to go forward mostly in counterattacks.  Arsenal, as excpected, held the lion's share of the possession but were unable to break through consistently.  Cesc never hit his stride in the match, and while the defensive midfield tandem of Denilson and Song proved effective enough in our half, they didn't provide much assistance to Cesc in going forward.  This allowed the well-organized Kyiv midfield to really swarm and press him.  Overall a frustrating night for the Spaniard, who, after 2 games in 4 days following a two-match international break, seems to still be finding his legs a bit.  Thankfully, this isn't a lineup we should see regularly, even away in Europe, when either Nasri or Rosicky are fit.

Theo Walcott once again proved himself a handful wide on the right.  The kid has been absolutely irrepressible so far this season and he is only going to get better and more confident as he continues piling up performances like he has in the last two weeks.  Kyiv didn't have the legs to keep up with Theo, especially their left-back who resorted to Bolton/Barton-type tactics of dealing with technical superiority.  The final late sliding tackle on Walcott easily could've been a sending-off and should've been in light of the fact that he had at least 2 book-worthy offences already in the match.  As Arsene and the young, but mature Theo know, he's going to have to deal with this all season long and for many to come.  He has already shown his ability to take it in stride and not let it put him off his game and that bodes well for his future.

The Kyiv result is made all the more bitter because of two things: the misses and the penalty.  Fabregas, van Persie, twice, and Adebayor all had chances in the first half which should've been converted.  To not convert two or three quality chances inside the box in a tough Champions League away match should cause concern; it's an all-too-chilling reminder of Arsenal's profligacy in and around the box in recent years, something which we all hopefully look for signs of its disappearance every August and September.  While so far this season, Arsenal don't seem to be falling into that trap as much, Kyiv shows that the "Battle of Overplay" is not yet over.

I've mentioned this before as something that disturbs me about the club: lack of urgency.  Even at one-nil down, there doesn't seem to be a sense of urgency in the team's game until we hit the 80th minute.  At that point, they go into the football equivalent of a blitzkrieg.  Now, you can't attack completely balls-out like that for thirty or forty minutes, as it left us exposed in the back a few times (once leading a to a poorly executed 2v1), but even a sliver of that urgency would be more than welcome as soon as the team finds themself gone down.

As for the penalty, I can't tell you anything you don't already know.  Bangoura seemed to get away a bit of slickness at Sagna's expense.  You can't blame Cantalejo too much for calling it the way he did, as it looked very much like a penalty in real-time.  However, on the replay, it seemed pretty clear that Bangoura instigated the whole thing by wrapping his arms around Sagna and even pulling him down.  Sagna's natural instinct would've been to break his fall by putting his arms out, which did very much look like he was pushing Bangoura down from behind.

So, should Arsenal feel aggrieved that they held the most possession, created the most chances, and went behind on a dodgy penalty?  Of course we should, but it's become such a common scenario in recent years that, more than feelings of aggrievement, we tend to just feel a sense of quiet exasperation.  That it took place in an away match to Kyiv from which we still took a point will just keep that exasperation a little quieter than usual.

I think they have moved up a level. I believe that this will be their year. The players are much stronger, they are a young side that has gained a lot of experience. I don't know, I just have a very good feeling about Arsenal this year. I don't know whether it will be the Premiership, or the Champions League, but I believe they will win at least one title this season.

It makes you want to grab him a drunken headlock, ruffle his hair and tell him you love him like a brother. No? That'll just be me then. Now wouldn't it be nice if the media ran with the 'United are tired already' angle instead of listening to Ferguson spout his tired pseudo-psychology all of the time. In fairness to the United manager though, he has mellowed somewhat.

Talking of Theo's sudden rise to the top of the popularity charts, Ferguson likened his situation to that of Ryan Giggs,

It's the first time we have a young Englishman who, having scored a hat-trick against Croatia, will be faced with the same issues we faced with Ryan. Everyone will want a piece of him...What he requires is one strong manager and Arsenal will give him that, without question.

According to the Sith Lord,

The boy must also have the understanding that what is being done for him is for his own good. Ryan had the understanding and the intelligence to deal with that, he didn't want the showbiz thing...he just wanted to be a footballer and these will be important issues for Walcott, because he's got a talent

Theo showed the maturity that Ferguson spoke of when he commented on his treatment at the hands of the Ukranian's defence on Wednesday,

Yes, I got kicked a few times. But I got up and got on with it. You have to keep going to the last minute and that's what I did

No doubt that come the first clash of the season between Arsenal and Manchester United, the tune will have changed somewhat and Theo will have 'shot his bolt' and be failing to live up to his promise according to Dr Cod but it is refreshing to see him acknowledge the talent that is at Arsene's disposal and of Wenger himself. Having nutured Giggs through nearly fifteen years at the club, Ferguson's words cannot be ignored although I suspect that Arsene is a tad more decent and Theo will end up playing a damn sight more international fixtures than the Welsh ever got out of Giggs.

One whom Arsene wishes was ready for action but seems frankly nowhere near being so is Tomas Rosicky. Such has been the Czech international's injury woes that there were apparently reports in the Czech media that his current injury is career-threatening though his Mr20% quickly poo-pooed the idea,

It is nonsense

Rosicky himself spoke of his own situation,

My return is still going to take some time. Each treatment runs the risk of bringing complications

His situation is frankly baffling. The reports have stopped emerging from the club over any return to action and whilst there is still eleven days left in the month, Arsene's pre-season prediction of seeing Rosicky in an Arsenal shirt during September look well wide of the mark. Unsurprising therefore that the rumours started in the media over his future. It is a shame that we have not seen the best of him; his talent is such that he can only enhance any attacking line-up. However, as Wenger has been badly burnt by rushing players back in the past, perhaps this lay-off is going to give rise to a more permanent solution to Rosicky's woes. If that means he returns in the Champions League final as a substitute and scores the winning goal in the final minute, my guess is that would be an acceptable outcome to most!

William Gallas' leadership is being scrutinised and the media rehabilitation following on from St. Andrews continues. Having been widely praised for his performances this season - which are curiously enough of the same standard as the first six months of last season - he is getting plaudits from his colleagues. Step forward Emmanuel Adebayor to begin the cheerleading,

William is playing well at the moment, scoring some goals, and we are all happy for him. He brings a lot of experience to the team, with his age, because we are a young squad and have to listen. [He] has a lot of tales from the things he has done in his career and he has been sharing them with some of the young players in the squad. These are the moments which every team needs – to come through difficult times in a match.

Not once did Adebayor publicly add, 'and the *@!$#&@ nicked my goal', perhaps because there was some doubt as to whether or not his original shot would have crept over the line - I think it would. Gallas is a strange case for the media but showed mental strength in dealing with the fallout. They were desperate for him to buckle following on from Birmingham but to his credit he did not, showing the quality that captain's need. Yes, he made mistakes but then he is learning the job; his predecessors and successors have been, and will go, through the same process. However, he has received little appreciation, aside from his manager and one or two players, for the opening months of last season. As soon as things went pear-shaped, this was immediately, and unfairly, forgotten. A little recognition of this would not go amiss.

'til Tomorrow.

Am Dienstag und Mittwoch ist die Champions League also in die Saison 2008/2009 gestartet. Für die vier englischen Vereine war der Start Dienstag gelungen und Mittwoch eher nicht.

Am Dienstagabend traf zum einen Chelsea zu Hause auf den französischen Vertreter Girondins Bordeaux und hatte keine Probleme die drei Punkte einzufahren. 4:0 lautet das eindeutige Ergebnis für den Finalisten des Vorjahres, bei dem Michael Ballack nach 60 Minuten sein Comeback nach überstandener Knöchelverletzung feierte. In der ersten Halbzeit hatte Frank Lampard die Blues mit einem Kopfball in Führung gebracht, den Joe Cole noch vor der Pause (ebenfalls per Kopf) auf 2:0 ausbauen konnte. Chelsea hatte darüber hinaus weitere hochkarätige Chancen u.a durch Nicolas Anelka und Frank Lampard. Doch erst in der zweiten Halbzeit machte Chelsea den Sack mit den Treffern von Malouda und Anelka zu. Somit war das Ganze eine gelungene Champions League Premiere für „Big Phil“ Scolari. Im anderen Spiel der Chelsea-Gruppe A besiegte der rumänische Meist Cluj überraschend den AS Rom mit 2:1.

Ebenfalls Dienstag startete Liverpool gegen Olympique Marseille. Die Reds brachten ihre zuletzt verletzten Top-Stars Steven Gerrard und Fernando Torres von Beginn an. Doch die mussten in der 23. Minute zunächst den Führungstreffer der Gastgeber aus Frankreich mitansehen, bei dem Marseille das Mittelfeld Liverpools scheinbar spielend überwand und Kapitän Cana das Tor traf. Doch die Antwort der englischen Gäste ließ nicht lang auf sich warten. Nur drei Minuten später entwand Torres M’Bani den Ball und nach der Zwischenstation Dirk Kuyt gelangte Gerrard an den Ball um ihn unhaltbar im Tor der Gastgeber zu platzieren. Noch vor der Halbzeitpause dann der entscheidende Treffer. Babel war im Strafraum zu Fall gebracht worden. Den klaren Elfmeter verwandelte Gerrard souverän. Das 2:1 hielt in der 2. Halbzeit, auch wenn auf beiden Seiten durchaus Chancen bestanden. Im anderen Spiel der Gruppe D besiegte Atletico Madrid die PSV Eindhoven deutlich mit 3:0.

Am Mittwoch startete dann auch Titelverteidiger Manchester United in die neue Champions League Saison. Das Spiel im heimischen Old Trafford gegen Villareal brachte keine Tore. Villareal versteifte sich über fast die kompletten 90 Minuten auf Verteidigung und ManU war über weite Strecken das klar dominierende Team. Doch ein Tor wollte nicht fallen. Mit ein Grund dafür dürfte sein, dass der deutsche Schiedsrichter Stark zweimal klare Elfmeter für ManU nicht gab. In beiden Fällen war Park im Strafraum regelwidrig gefoult worden. Einziger Lichtblick für die Red Devils dürfte das Comeback von Cristiano Ronaldo nach seiner Fuß-OP sein, der in 62. Minute eingewechselt wurde. Im zweiten Spiel der Gruppe H wollte auch kein Tor fallen. Celtic Glasgow und Aalborg trennten sich ebenfalls 0:0.

Auch Arsenal startete eher mäßig in die CL-Saison. Allerdings entsprach das Endergebnis von 1:1 gegen den ukrainischen Vertreter Dynamo Kiew eher dem Spielverlauf. Beide Mannschaften spielten ähnlich stark. In der ersten Halbzeit war Arsenal spielerisch leicht im Vorteil, konnte Chancen z. B. durch van Persie und  Adebayor aber nicht nutzen. In der 2. Halbzeit kam Kiew besser ins Spiel und gingen nach gut 60 Minuten mit 1:0 in Führung. Bangoura verwandelte einen zweifelhaften Foulelfmeter für die Gastgeber. William Gallas konnte in der 88. Minute dann noch den verdienten Ausgleich herstellen. Im zweiten Spiel der Gruppe G setzte sich der FC Porto überzeugend mit 3:1 gegen Fenerbahce Istanbul durch.

Die nächsten Spiele der englischen Vereine in CL:

30.09.2008               Aalborg vs. ManU

Arsenal vs. Porto

01.10.2008               Cluj vs. Chelsea

Liverpool vs. Eindhoven

Arsenal are beginning to hit full gear having outscored their opponents 7-nil in their last two matches following the 4-nil victory over Paul Ince's Rovers on Saturday afternoon.  Arsenal had consistently struggled when going up north under Arsene Wenger but this young side seems to have gotten over the hump.  Arsenal haven't lost at Blackburn since February 2006 and last season won at Bolton for the first time since April 2002.  Despite the fact that Blackburn hasn't looked very impressive this season, especially defensively, putting four past them at Ewood Park is, if not impressive, very good for the side's confidence.  That was, however, only the first of three tough away matches in 8 days as Arsenal now travel to Kiev for their Champions League Group Stage opener on Wednesday and then up to Bolton on Saturday.

The absence of Samir Nasri due to an ankle injury forced the Boss's hand as he started Theo Walcott following his eye-opening hat-trick for England in Croatia a week ago.  Arsene Wenger has made a point of trying to manage the already high expectations placed on the youngster when he first transferred in from Southampton for £9.1m on 20 January 2006.  Walcott has very rarely started matches following some of his best performances as part of Wenger's plan to bring the boy along slowly and keep the pressure on him as low as could be expected under the circumstances.  However, despite playing 2 international matches including the trip to Zagreb, Theo did not look fatigued in the least when he skipped past a few defenders and laid a ball perfectly to van Persie for the assist on a well-finished goal.

Wenger said after the England match that he was just as proud of Theo's reaction after the game to the press as he was of his hat-trick.  Leave it to the British media to turn this into anti-Arsenal propaganda.  Arsene is trying not only to develop a player but also a man.  Theo is the culmination of Arsene's grand plan.  He is a young English lad who came to the club when he was just 16 with great potential.  He has developed a love and appreciation for the club along with his game.  This is how Arsene plans on combating the takeover of the game by money and greed.  Theo's maturity is well beyond his years and his potential at the moment is limitless and these are the two main reasons (besides being English) that Arsenal supporters have developed such a strong attachment to the 19 year old.

Emmanuel Adebayor finally broke his scoreless stretch from the start of the season and in some style.  A hat-trick which included a penalty drawn by an Eboue dive.  While a hat-trick is nothing to sniff at, it would be a dereliction of my duty as an Arsenal blogger to not mention the ridiculous amount of times he was called for offsides.  How hard is it to watch the line as you're holding your run?  This has been a chronic problem for Adebayor and it is something he needs to address.  None of this takes away from the hat-trick of course but on a day when Arsenal need just that one goal from him he can't be getting whistled 10+ times.  The thing that upsets most Arsenal fans about it is that it is such a fundamental skill - not something you should be needing to learn when you're already starting for Arsenal in the Premier League.  For now, we can be gracious and put it down to his unending desire to score... for now.

It would also be a dereliction of my duty if I did not mention the defense.  Should I praise them for having conceded a league-low 1 goal in their opening four matches?  Of course.  There I did it.  Now, I wonder how we have done that.  There seems to be no improvement whatsoever from Toure and Gallas, either individually or as a partnership over the last 3 months of last season.  They still look clueless when balls come flying into the box and leave enough space between them for not only the striker but his Hummer as well.  We were lucky not to be punished at some point by Santa Cruz but how long can this charade go on?  How long until they are exposed for the defensive charlatans that they are?

I have been very critical of Gallas in the past but it must be said that Toure has looked equally bad.  Of course, I, along with most Gooners, are willing to give Kolo the benefit of the doubt considering his service to the club and the fact that we've seen how solid he can be when he has the right partner.  Gallas has not earned that benefit.  Toure just hasn't looked the same player since he was injured at the African Cup of Nations back in January.  Alot of us hoped that Arsene would really strengthen the center of the defense (read: ship Gallas back to France) but lets's be realistic... we couldn't sell Gallas unless we were certain there was a replacement for him readily available on the transfer market.  I can't think of any CB that transferred this summer that fits those criteria.  So we have to live with Gallas for another year and pray that he doesn't self-implode and take the team with him... AGAIN!!

26th minute: Croatia fail to clear their line following an English attack. Ball falls to Walcott and he drives a low shot into the net.

59th minute: Rooney plays one-two with Heskey before passing it to Walcott. Walcott drills another into the net.

82nd minute: Rooney plays a through ball. Walcott sprints forward and calmly beats the goalkeeper

This will give the young man a lot of confidence and he will be able to play with more freedom. The other teams better watch out because Theo Walcott has arrived.

Since I'm not a fan of England's football team and the only other game on TV was France against Serbia, I decided to watch that. Surprisingly, Gallas partnered Abidal in central defence, with Clichy and Sagna playing as fullbacks. Henry as usual got his customary goal and Anelka got the other in the 2-1 win for the French. Samir Nasri didn't feature and Mathieu Flamini came on for the last 3 seconds and didn't get a touch of the ball. Among Arsenal interests, I thought Sagna was excellent. His forward runs were awesome and on couple of occasions he easily took on Nemanja Vidic.

Well, nothing else happening as far as Arsenal are concerned. No developments yet on the Appiah issue as well. So that's all for now. More Tomorrow.

PS: If you own a blog/website and wish to get News From The Grove directly on it, you will find the link to the widget on the right-hand panel of this page (Resources), which you should install on your blog/website.

"I feel great. I'm buzzing at the moment. I'm flying. I'm looking forward to it. I just can't wait for Wednesday."

He also says something about his final ball and Cristiano Ronaldo, which I'm not really keen to discuss. Anything to do with that one trick diver, I'm not really keen to discuss. Moving on, it seems that the new owners of Manchester City, who broke the British transfer record to sign Robinho from Real Madrid, were interested in buying Arsenal and even held talks with the ugly Uzbeki Usmanov. The Uzbeki refused to sell and it is now reported that he has kicked David Dein out of Red and White Holdings. It is understood that Dein got the kick because he promised to get the Uzbeki a total control of the club within a year, but failed due to the lockdown agreement in force, which keeps the club in safe hands until 2012. What would happen after 2012 is anybody's guess and Chairman Peter Hill-Wood is aware that with the current changing scenario in English football, things could change for Arsenal. He says:

"We want the club to stay in its current ownership and, of course, you have some concern that someone will try to buy the club. The directors don't want to sell but we are a public company. It depends on the price."

The last sentence is worrying. We are the only top club in the country who have not fallen prey to these money minting machines. Whatever success we have, it is not because of any sugar daddy. These new owners of Manchester City had recently announced that they would go for Torres, Ronaldo and Fabregas in the coming January transfer window. Fabregas had come out saying that he would not be interested in joining them. He has reiterated the fact that it would be a demotion in footballing terms, if he moves to Eastlands. He loves it in Arsenal and says that he is focused on winning titles here. He also concedes that he needs to improve certain aspects of his game. What can you say about this young man. He just doesn't stop to amaze. Not only is he an excellent footballer, he is also a very mature and humble human being, who always looks to improve not only his game but his personality. Wish there were more players like him. Compare Cesc Fabregas to Joey Barton. You know, I was never a great fan of William Gallas. But when he comes out to give sound bytes like this, you gotto love him, albeit for a minute. A couple of days back, I asked what kind of an Arsenal fan are you. Reports are emerging now that the club indeed made a bid for Stephane M'Bia of French club Rennes. They refused to sell him to us and now it is learned that he has signed a new deal with them. Well, good luck to him. Meanwhile, agents of Italian starlet Giovinco say that Arsenal never made an approach for him and he is looking to extend his contract with Juventus. Well, good luck to him as well. The cunt.

There are reports that the Stephen Appiah deal could happen in a day or two. I'll keep you updated. More Tomorrow.

PS: If you own a blog/website and wish to get News From The Grove directly on it, you will find the link to the widget on the right-hand panel of this page (Resources), which you should install on your blog/website.

Nume Complet William Gallas

Data Nasterii 17 August 1977

Locul Nasterii Asnières-sur-Seine, Franta

Inaltime 1.83 m

Pozitia de joc Fundas central

Informatii despre Club

Club Curent Arsenal

Numar 10

Cluburi de Seniori

Ani Club Aparitii (Goluri)

1995–1997 Caen 34 (0)

1997–2001 Marseille 111 (5)

2001–2006 Chelsea 159 (12)

2006– Arsenal 55 (7)

Echipa Nationala

1997–1998 Franta U-21 11 (0)

2002– Franta 67 (2)
William Gallas, nascut pe 17 August 1977 in Asnières-sur-Seine, este un fotbalist international francez, care in prezent joaca pentru Arsenal, pe pozitia de fundas central, fiind capitanul “Tunarilor”.

Cariera

Inceputuri

In tricoul lui Olympique Marseille, bucurandu-se dupa marcarea unui gol

William Gallas este un absolvent al Scolii Franceze de Fotbal din Clairefontaine. Si-a inceput cariera de profesionist in liga a doua la SM Caen ajutandu-si echipa sa promoveze de pe primul loc in 1996. Apoi, s-a transferat la Olympique Marseille in 1997. Gallas a jucat 4 sezoane aici, alaturi de Robert Pires. Si-a facut debutul in Liga Campionilor la Marseille in 2000, apoi a jucat in aceasta competitie la Chelsea si Arsenal.

Chelsea

Fostul manager al lui Chelsea, Claudio Ranieri l-a adus pe Gallas de la Marseille la Chelsea in Mai 2001 pentru suma de 6,2 milioane de lire sterline. Sub comanda lui Ranieri, a obtinut prima convocare la nationala.

Dupa accidentarea lui Wayne Bridge, Gallas a fost nevoit sa joace pe partea stanga a apararii. A inscris cateva goluri foarte importante pentru Chelsea, ajutand-o sa-si pastreze titul castigandu-l din nou in 2005-2006.

Contractul cu Chelsea urma sa expire in Mai 2007. A refuzat sa-si prelungeasca intelegerea cu londonezii, dupa ce nu s-au inteles in privinta salariului si si-a exprimat dorinta de a juca in Serie A, cu Juvenus si A.C. Milan.

Dupa Campionatul Mondial din 2006, Gallas a refuzat sa mearaga cu Chelsea in turneul din America, iar dupa sosirea lui Michael Ballack, aceasta a primit tricoul cu numarul 13, luandu-l de la William, ca o pedeapsa pentru ca nu a facut deplasare din America cu echipa sa.

Pe 1 Septembrie 2006, Gallas s-a transferat la Arsenal in schimbul venirii lui Ashley Cole la Chelsea, Arsenal primind si suma de 5 milioane de lire sterline.

Arsenal

Sezonul 2006-2007

Gallas a semnat un contract pe 4 ani cu Arsenal si a primit tricoul cu numarul 10, care inaintea venirii sale i-a apartinut lui Dennis Bergkamp. Intr-un interviu din Octombrie 2006, in revista oficiala a lui Arsenal, Arsene Wenger a explicat acordarea tricoului cu numarul 10, un numar mai putin obisnuit pentru un fundas:

« Numarul 3 nu a fost potrivit pentru el, iar toate celelalte numere erau date. In final, m-am gandit ca ar fi potrivit sa-i dau tricoul cu numarul 10, pentru ca daca i l-as fi dat unui atacant, acesta ar fi putut suferi din cauza comparatiei cu Dennis. La inceput, am avut indoieli asupra acordarii acestui numar unui fundas, dar apoi m-am gandit mai bine si am zis ca este mai bine asa. ».

Gallas si-a facut debutul la Arsenal jucand pe psotul de mijlocas in egalul 1-1 cu Middlesbrough pe 9 Septembir 2006 si a marcat primul sau gol pentru “Tunari” pe 23 Septembrie 2006 impotriva lui Sheffield United.

Sezonul 2007-2008

Gallas a devenit capitanul lui Arsenal pe 9 August 2007, iar Kolo Toure vice-capitan. In traditionalul derby impotriva lui Manchester United de pe 3 Noiembrie, a inscris un gol in ultimul minut, meciul terminandu-se la egalitate datorita golului francezului.

Pe 24 Noiembrie 2007, Gallas a marcat cu capul impotriva lui Wigan din centrarea lui Bacary Sagna.

Pe 16 Decembrie 2007 a marcat impotriva fostului sau club, Chelesea, fiind unicul gol al partidei.

Gallas a marcat de asemenea pentru Arsenal impotriva lui Bolton, meci castigat de Arsenal cu 3-2 pe 29 Martie 2008.

Dupa comportarea sa deloc fair-play din meciul cu Bimingham City, au existat speculatii ca Arsene Wenger ar dori sa-l schimbe din postura de capitan. Antrenorul “Tunarilor”, a replicat, spunand ca va lua in considerare acest lucru la sfarsitul sezonului.

In August 2008, a fost anuntat ca Gallas va ramane capitanul echipei in sezonul 2008-2009.

Cariera Internationala

Gallas a jucat pentru nationala sub 18 ani a Frantei la Campionatul European U-18. De asemena a jucat pentru nationala sub 20 de ani a Frantei la Campionatul Modial de Juniori din 1997, impreuna cu Willy Sagnol si Thierry Henry.

Acum, este titular la Nationala Frantei, facand cuplu in defensive cu Mexes. Si-a facut debutul la nationala in meciul castigat de « Cocosii Galici » cu 5-0 impotriva Sloveniei in cadrul preliminariilor Euro 2004 pe 12 Octombrie 2002. A jucat in Cupa Confederatiilor in 2003 si in finala Campionatului Mondial din 2006 in fata Italiei.

Palmares

• SM Caen:

A castigat:

• Ligue 2: 1995-96

• Chelsea:

A castigat:

• Premier League: 2004-05, 2005-06

• Cupa Ligii: 2005

• FA Community Shield: 2005

A terminat pe locul 2:

• Cupa Angliei: 2002

• Arsenal:

A castigat:

• Cupa Emirates: 2007

• Turneul Amsterdam: 2007, 2008

What can I say?  It was a highly disappointing result regardless of our injury situation.  However, this result has made our deficiencies clear for all to see.  And they are the same deficiencies we've all been talking about since July - central defense and defensive midfield.

To begin with the midfield, it is clear that neither Denilson nor Eboue are true first XI candidates in the center of midfield.  We lacked creativity and possession in midfield but that is what happens when you play a right back there.  I would have liked to have seen Wenger move Nasri into the middle, put Eboue out wide right and swap Theo out to the left.  However, instead of pulling Eboue or Denilson, who had an absolute nightmare of a match with passing that would make me question his place in a reserve side, the Boss chose to take Walcott off for Bendtner and move van Persie deeper.  To be fair to Denilson, it was a bad day at the office for a lot of the team and he turned in good performances throughout the preseason but he is not ready at this moment to assume regular first XI duties.  A signing for defensive midfield is absolutely imperative... I know it, you know it, and Wenger knows it.

As for central defense, it was like deja vu all over again; a repeat of March and April.  Gallas is consistently weak on set pieces and yesterday we paid the price.  On a day when you have an away derby and things just aren't clicking offensively against an inspired (at least for them) home side you need to come away with at least a draw.  At some point, you have to not only question his ability to be "captain" but also his ability to retain a place in the starting XI.  Not only did his pathetic excuse for marking cost us the point but a second error almost gifted Fulham a 2-nil lead.  Toure isn't that much better in the air than Gallas but he rarely costs us points due to errors or weak marking.

Now, United dropped points last weekend at home to Newcastle and Fulham are a much improved side from the one we beat 3-nil at the Cottage last season but these are points that we have just gifted away to Chelsea and United.  They say you can't lose the title in September, but, in actual fact, you can... you just don't know it until May.

Nike has a competition.
You design a football boot. People vote for you. If you win you go to the game.

I have designed three boots.
One for Gallas. One for Walcott. One for Fabregas. 
Please: click on the links above, then vote for my designs.

Come on! Send me to The Emirates Stadium! 

Thank you!

The Eliminator competition is OFF, unfortunately, as there were only three of us that showed any interest. Lars announced he would've taken Hull this round. Without having done extensive research myself, I would go with Arsenal in this one.

Arsenal are starting Denilson(20) in central midfield. He's a bit on the small side, but has been good when I've seen him in cup competitions. Walcott (19), Nasri (21) and Eboue (25) are the other midfielders, a young group. Bendtner (20) is starting up front with Adebayor (24), making this front six one of the youngest ever to start the season for a title contender.

Not 4 minutes have gone by and Arsenal are already ahead, after Denilson set up Nasri to score on his Premier League debut. I think the kids will be ok - in this one, at least.

The veteran William Gallas is shoring up the defense for Arsenal, alongside Swiss youngster Johan Djorou. Gallas shows after 12 minutes that he can be a threat going forward as well, firing a cracking shot from 30 yards out that, in fairness, Scott Carson (formerly of Leeds, Liverpool and Aston Villa) seemed to control fairly well.

West Bromwich are not excactly a thrilling side. Their captain is Jonathan Greening, who played for Manchester United as a youngster, but never managed to do much for their first team. WBA have a young English striker called Ishmael Miller (21) who might be interesting to follow this season. He came to WBA from Manchester City last season and is their lone striker this game. After 20 minutes he's yet to touch the ball in any sort of a threatening position, but he will have to hope for a breakaway at some point in this match. He is unlikely to have many opportunities. He looks strong, but his goal scoring record in the Championship last season wasn't overly impressive (9 in 32 games).

After a half hour, Miller wins a header over Gallas and nudges it through to Korean midfielder Kim Do-Heon, who wins a corner kick, WBA's first threat going forward. Miller is giving the Arsenal defense a little bit of trouble in the air and could develop into a useful target man in the mould of Emile Heskey. He also shows a bit of skill getting past Eboue down the left hand side to win a corner kick.

At half time, Arsenal are winning 1-0, without impressing too much. Miller's been the main threat against them, but the best WBA have been able to do is win a few corner kicks, which they've wasted with poor service. Gael Clichy has been strong coming down the left flank for Arsenal. They look a bit light in midfield, with Eboue looking out of place as a defensive midfielder and Denilson perhaps not quite ready to be a midfield general at this level. Walcott has shown some of his talent as well, but hasn't quite been able to link up with Sagna on the right hand side to the extent that Nasri and Clichy have on the left.

The second half has started and two of the stars of the first half, Nasri and Miller have already showed their class. Miller slipped through the Arsenal defense, but showed that his finishing still leaves a bit to be desired when Almunia saved quite easily with his legs. Nasri sent Adebayor through on goal - a chance he probably converts mid-season, but today he was just a bit wide. Delightful pass from Nasri and an excellent run from Adebayor.

I wrote earlier this week about the Brazil left back Marcelo. He scored a very good goal for Brazil against Cameroon today and did nothing to put to shame my proclamation that he is the best left back in the world. In this game, Gael Clichy, who was not found worthy of a place in the French squad for Euro 2008 behind Barcelona's Abigal and Man United's Evra, has shown that he belongs in any such discussion as well. He is constantly coming forward with timely runs. As his predecessor, Ashley Cole, Clichy is one of Arsenal's most dangerous offensive weapons. Opposing defenses are outnumbered when defenders push forward as aggressively as Arsenal's left back.

Bendtner is replaced by Van Persie after 70 minutes. Bendtner hasn't done much this game, but the big Dane will have better games than this. Another substitution two minutes later was less of a like for like. Walcott was replaced by Kolo Toure. Toure's been struggling with an injury and they seem to be playing him on the right side of midfield to give him a run out. Ishmael Miller is replaced by former Hearts striker Roman Bednar after an impressive 73 minutes for WBA. He'll be interesting to follow this season, I won't be surprised if he's mentioned in the England team discussion within a season or two if he can keep fit.

Clichy again shows his class defensively, twice breaking up WBA attacks and on one occasion carrying the ball from his own box across midfield setting up Van Persie for a chance he squanders when Paul Robinson dispossesses him with a strong tackle from behind.

Arsenal won fairly comfortably 1-0, a few thoughts after the game:

• Arsenal are young. Very young. Ramsey, Wilshere, Vela and Randall on the bench are 17, 16, 19 and 18.
• Arsenal's midfield needs help. Eboue isn't a central midfielder and Denilson lacks pace and strength. Fabregas will play every minute when he's healthy, but they need better options than Ramsey, Eboue, Denilson and Diaby behind the young Spaniard and Tomas Rosicky, who has spent a lot of time on the excercise bike recently.
• WBA has very few players who would challenge for a place even for the Blackburns or the Middlesboroughs of the EPL. Paul Robinson is a tough defender, Miller showed some promise up front but overall they need to compensate for the lack of class players with disciplined defending and opportunistic attacking.
• Somehow Jamie Redknapp has picked out Denilson as the Man of the Match. Ok. I disagree, but he did set up the first goal. To me Clichy was Arsenal's best player by quite a long way today.

The season is underway. This game will never be remembered as a classic, but any proper football will do me at the moment. I'm looking forward to a fun season!

Reklamın dinlemeye doyulamayan şarkısı ise  Eagles of Death Metal'e ait: Don't Speak (I Came to Make A Bang!).

Arsenal lyckades sedan snubba till sig en 2-0-seger borta mot Twente, kanske inte en helt lysande fotbollsmatch men man kanske inte ska förvänta sig så mycket mer såhär innan säsongen har kommit igång. Först på lördag inleds ju den verkliga säsongen när West Brom besöker Emirates. Härliga tider.