Again, I am scoring based upon actual performance, not expectation (meaning, how did they play overall NOT did they meet/exceed expectations), on a scale of 1 (absolute rubbish) to 10 (couldn’t ask for more from that position).

Midfield:

Jack Wilshere (7): Oh Jacky boy… SO happy to have you back in the fold and starting. Really a solid first full season with AFC. Injected pace and energy when needed and really provided a nice lift across the squad. Sad to see him drift off a bit after a late injury but more than anything it seems that his dip in form probably was tied to just being tired; this was his first full season in some time so a bit of slack is given to the late drop off.

Theo Walcott (8): Los pollitios dicen, Theo Theo Theo. A little spanish chicklet song from back in the day… This little birdie finally sprung and while he tended to drop off at times he finished solid and played well enough to solidify his future with the starting spot. The big knock on Theo this year was he could be a bit selfish on the attack and he definitely could have used more work on his dropping back to help on defense (not to mention he might look like Ronaldo on set pieces but he can’t finish like him… at all). That said, he did a fine job finishing and his pace is constant threat.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (6): AOC kind of pulled a TV5 in the sense that he finished last season strong and really looked to build upon that going into this season. Unfortunately, he never really worked his way into the squad regularly but provided spark off the bench and is certainly garnering looks for Country. All in all, produced some fine moments but still needs to build on his youthful exuberance.

Aaron Ramsey (7): Oh Rambo. Really had a difficult time (played out of position?) starting the year but become one of our brightest spots come the last two months. Paired nicely with Rosicky and helped push us forward when we started to play stagnant. Finally got himself into the scoring game but really needs to focus now on the final touch/pass and playing a little less reckless (still one aspect I don’t mind about his game though given that AFC can play so conservative at times).

Santi Cazorla (8.5): OH SAN-TI CA-ZORRRR-LA! Brilliant year really… just brilliant. Our facilitator and playmaker, it was nice to see the early dive was never seen again and he kept pushing us with the tactical acumen we have been missing since Cesc. If anything, there were a few times during the year he kind of went absent but all in all a VERY solid year, first or otherwise, for the Spaniard; let’s keep it going next year.

Abou Diaby (5): Sadly, we saw a great bright spot in the early games quickly lost to injury and never returning. Diaby has always been that cog we could have used a number of times but just kept breaking. I believe that this is probably the last we will see of him in an Arsenal kit but I wish him well on his rehab and possible twilight career in the MLS.

Francis Coquelin (5): He was serviceable during his brief playing time but this lad suffers from being so deep on the depth chart. He did well enough when played but the fact that we really had to turn to him at times this year shows how shallow we are with fielding a truly top tier team. At this point in his career he needs more minutes if he is going to take his game to the next level; just don’t see that happening anymore than it did this year though.

Tomas Rosicky (7): Rosick-ly, after some in and out injury issues, really stepped up his game and brought serviceable attacking football when it seems like Santi dropped off a bit too much. Was happy to see him pull a brace out (never saw that coming) and the link up play he added late in the year proved to be exactly what we needed in order to make our final push. Truth is, we will need more from him (or someone in his position) if we are to challenge for titles and hardware next season.

Mikel Arteta (8): Give him the armband. He is our our true Captain and he provided his solid play all year. You can’t ask for more than what he did and his only blemish, IMHO, was a missed penalty early in the year (happy to see that was an anomaly). Mikel has fully embraced his role at the club and he plays it to perfection; his game is as tidy as his perfect hair. Chalk us up for another year like this for next.

Forwards: 

Olivier Giroud (7.5): The Hey Hey Hey man solidified himself as our big man in the center of our attack and was more than serviceable with his head, his chest and his link up play. A really balanced season statistically saw him provide goals and assists but from our main “striker” I am going to expect much, much more. Hard to argue with his play in set pieces but his foot left something to be a bit desired for throughout most of the season. All things aside, we’ll see how much his style of play will help or hinder our wingers come next year.

Gervinho (5.5): Well, he started off hot. Then? Not so much. Nothing like “confidence” killing your game when you are a professional footballer getting paid boat loads of money. Look, I have played sports. I understand how much your “head” can get in the way of your game. But I was no professional and at some point you don’t get to keep making excuses. If the lad could actually finish instead of botching so many shots he would be an incredible striker with his pace. Unfortunately, all we get are glimpses and then when we need to rely on him we get frustration. Hoping that we can sell him. And I’m sure he will do great elsewhere…

Lukas Podolski (7): I really wanted him to be the guy that rockets shots into the net off of Giroud’s stylistic layoffs but injury? fitness? something kept him from getting full minutes until a suspension saw us rely on his Thor-ish leg. If he can get “right” I see no reason for him to not be a great striking addition to the club. Unfortunately, something was amiss and he looks to be a second, very solid, option come next year. Needs to work a bit more on defense and his first touch, but that should come with a bit more playing time (hopefully). He is the depth we need on offense if/when healthy.

With the passing of yet another trophy (less) season (4th right!?) I find myself much more optimistic heading into next year and I am looking forward to hearing of our “big” signings coming this summer (Higuain? Jovetic? GerviNO finally leaving?!). That being said, here are my final thoughts on our player ratings for the 2012/2013 campaign. I am scoring based upon actual performance, not expectation (meaning, how did they play overall NOT did they meet/exceed expectations), on a scale of 1 (absolute rubbish) to 10 (couldn’t ask for more in that position) .

Let’s start back to front:

Keepers:

Wojciech Szczesny (6.5): The bean pole managed to work himself into the starting lineup, out, and then back in again after taking advantage of a Fabianski injury. The truth is, I am optimistic about our young keeper and that sways my rating of him a bit. Did he make decent strides this year? Well, considering he stood up to the challenge after being replace I would say so (not an easy thing for any young player to do). That said, his in-experience did allow for some questionable moves in-game that should (key word being should) go away with time. I am hoping for  a cheap, experienced keeper to come in and give him a challenge while adding to his arsenal (pun intended) for the future.

Lukasz Fabianski (6): Credit must be given where credit is due. Our bench warming former staple took full advantage of the younger Pole’s misgivings and didn’t look back. Until injured. Then boom, back to the bench for the final games. Given that he strung together a solid run of matches I would welcome him back with open arms but I believe that this is the best we have seen of him and his time has come to move on. He should do well for another year or two for another club (mid tier?) but overall more than solid performances given the cobwebs that enveloped his armpits for most of the season.

Vito Mannone (5): Energy. Vigor. A solid name. And a lack of height, smarts and positioning. You have to give him some credit though as he never failed to bring energy into his game and the effort was always there. That said, if you could watch an entire match with him in goal without sharting? Well my friend you are a better man (woman) than I. Service backup… at best.

Defense:

Nacho Monreal (7): Nacho Nacho man… I want to be a Nacho man. Wow, did I really just use The Village People for an intro? Meh. Oh well. Nacho did an incredible job given that he was signed late season, with Gibbs out and all of us reeling at watching Santos play, and was thrust into a new league/team. Amazing he didn’t get squashed a bit under the pressure (IMHO). He was dependable and made a few mistakes (that slide into the goal post was frustrating for me to watch) but you can’t argue with the fact that he was more than serviceable exactly when we needed it. Looking forward to the competition from him and Gibbs in the coming year or two.

Carl Jenkinson (6.5): Let’s just say I am a fan. He kind of produces Ramsey like games in that he hustles, is a little out of control but you can appreciate what he does in the end. Once Sagna proved healthy he was relegated to the bench but his commendable performances surely mean that if Sagna does in fact stay there will be a great competition at RB next year.

Kieran Gibbs (7.5): Produced some memorable goals, fierce work rate and played well on the counter attack. Quickly is establishing himself as the solid LB of the future for club and country but still shows some flashes of inexperience that produce a few too many opportunities for the opposition. Outside of his injury spell, and the competition from Monreal, Gibbs had a season to remember and build upon (please no TV5 re-hash!).

Bacary Sagna (6.5): Oh B.S. That is how I felt a few times during his down season. Everyone saw it. He acknowledged it. Yet, he still held down the fort for the starting spot and I am not sure that is a nod to his past or Wenger’s lack of confidence in Jenkinson’s future. Either way, he was serviceable and solid but the absolute lack of quality crossing and a few B I G hiccups surely make this a season to forget. Only question now is does he run for $ elsewhere or stick it out to prove us all wrong.

Per Mertesacker (7.5): The BFG was thrown in between Kols and TV5 and it wasn’t until late in the season we could truly say we appreciated his play in the game. Yes, no pace here. I don’t care. That isn’t his game and exactly how many CBs would you describe as having “pace”? Right. Exactly. Paired up per (yep, punny) Kols the BFG did exactly what he needed to do and fulfilled his role to perfection. Too bad it wasn’t until so late in the season. Oh well. Really hoping he is able to reproduce the chemistry next year. From the start. That would be nice. Oh, and don’t get me started on his red card. I vented enough about that post match… ugh.

Thomas Vermaelen (5): Oh Captain my captain… eesh. Well, paired nicely with the BFG (at times) but not Kols. Doesn’t help that Kols went on to solidify his spot later in the year. At this point it is probably best for him to forget this year, take the band away (give it to Arteta) and get back to just playing the game he knows best (which is???). He is more than serviceable at his position but maybe it was the pressure (?) or mismatch (?) that caused it all to fall apart. Time to hit re-set amigo.

Laurent Koscielny (8): Yeah, probably a bit inflated given his run to the end (yes, a bit off at the beginning) but he pulled it together, played incredibly well and paired nicely (like a fine wine) with the BFG. Outside of his early struggles there is an argument to be made that save for Cazorla it was his work that helped push us into the CL spot (literally with that goal… again). Put this man on repeat for next year and we should service nicely with a few more offensive goals.

Yeah, I didn’t mention the non-starters (my opinion) like Santos, Squill-parchese, etc. No point really. Not worth the words…

Midfield and Defense to come soon.

Well, the close of another season and a few different emotions/thoughts run through my mind. Yes, I celebrated our 4th place finish. Yes, I was happy we won our final game and sent Tater Totts packing to Europa. I am sad the season has come to a close. Sad that we finished yet another campaign trophy-less. However, I am optimistic given the way we ended this season. More optimistic than last season because last season saw us losing players that played a major role in our run to the end. This season? This season we close out knowing there are more answers than questions and we are actually looking to ADD players (good lord please buy some quality players!) instead of just substituting them. That is a bit of a different feeling for an Arsenal fan in recent years.

All in all, we had quite a few bright spots in this years campaign coupled with quite a few disappointing ones. We lost Diaby (probably forever). GerviNO did what he does best (botched surefire goals). Jack played a full season and until the end did quite well (the boy was tired). Santi was a dream signing (OOOOHHHHH SAN-TI CA-ZOR-LA!). We actually replaced the lost goals of the dutch skunk via our new signings. Hey Hey Giroud held up well in his first PL season, for a prissy french player. We saw some glimpses of Poldi’s iron shot (although he never quite strung it all together and there is something fishy going on with him health wise). The pair of Ramsey/Rosicky helped push us to victory in the end and added a much needed spark when we absolutely required it. Sadly, TV5 didn’t replicate/build upon last season successes but the pairing of the BFG and Kols proved something spectacular to witness. And then there was Sagna’s topsy turvy display (he played ok but definitely not the standard we are used to with him).

Yes my fellow arseholes, there was much to enjoy and much to be frustrated with about this year. We dropped a number of needless points that saw us having to make a tremendous run at the end to secure our usual CL spot (and required Tater Totts dropping some points along the way). That being said, I am still optimistic about what we accomplished given what we had and this arsehole believes we have set the footing for what I am hoping will be a highly successful season next year.
Given that fortune would not have us close out in such a fashion as to warrant a 1 game playoff with Blue Balls (god how cool would that have been!?) our season has run its course and my plan is to have end of season grades handed out ASAP. Additionally, AmericanArse will trek on as the signing season (tabloid rumor mill) approaches and no doubt Arsenal will turn to their regular free spending ways to give us all something to talk about (yes, sarcasm, laid it on pretty thick there).

Keep calm and Gooner on.

Whew. That was might close. Surprisingly, Arteta actually started the game today (wait, he’s fit?!). Remember that whole, not 100% thing I said before? Yeah. Well. Who has two thumbs and was right? This guy. Mikel was quickly subbed off (interesting that it was AOC at that point but why not) and thank goodness that didn’t come back to bite us in the arse. While there weren’t many lineup changes from last week, we looked quite a bit more toothless in this one. Look, I’ll admit, we don’t play well at the Toon: whether we had a good team or not and today was no different. We had some small chances here and there (Walcott’s botched flick hitting the post, cute but just put it in goal Theo Theo Theo) but Newcastle looked much more threatening (let’s just say the little kiddo wasn’t the only diaper I had to change at times).

And yet with all that nail-biting, we did what we needed to do: pulled out the V for Victory . Frankly, I found it quite timely opportunistic lucky par-for-the-course that Kols ended up netting our one and only goal off of a set piece (um, recall last year anyone?!). With his foot no less. But hell, a victory is a victory and we definitely had a tough match snagging an away win against a squad that did not want to embarrass themselves after Pardew’s truthful remarks.  Outside of our few threats, I really thought Newcastle was going to get a goal and we were going to have to wait out a tie (which would have pissed us all off given that Tater Totts were Bale’d out yet again).

All in all, I think we played a bit tentative given the pressure of the away game and the resurgent fight of our opponent. We (THEO) should have closed the game out with a second goal but our back line held up well and we were awfully dangerous on the counter attack. Thus, a well deserved/earned victory. Too bad it wasn’t for, oh I don’t know, an actual trophy. Just saying…

Oi Oi Oi. Here we are approaching the final weekend of all things joyful and we find ourselves in a fantastic position. Win and CL is ours, effectively knocking out our most hated rival. Lose and well… yeah. Now, Tater Totts could do us all a big favor and just lose their match vs Sunderland but the truth is it doesn’t really matter too much given that we all start at the same time, on the same day. There is no benefit to either side to go out and give anything but maximum effort so a win is all that will do in this here position. One could almost argue that we have a bit less pressure on us because our win seals the CL spot whereas a Totts win doesn’t guarantee them shite without us losing; meaning they absolutely cannot lose OR tie (a tie for both still gives us the edge). It is a nice feeling knowing that a win for each side still screws your rival (and possibly secures a move away from Sp*rs for the Welsh tickler?). Nothing like the possibility of being able to look across the street and congratulate them on a victory all the while sending them packing for Europa glory (ask Blue Balls how exciting it is to win the Europa League but I digress as a trophy is a trophy).

Looking ahead to Sunday there is much concern over whether Arteta will be able to start or not. Honestly, I am of the opinion that unless you are able to give 100% then you shouldn’t be starting (barring our incredible need given our lack of depth this year). We need our players right now to play as fast as the opponent and not let an injury give way to a goal, or otherwise stupid decision because you just aren’t feeling 100%. And this isn’t to say that I don’t think a player CAN’T start if they aren’t 100% but I would rather we have fully fit players at certain key positions (Poldi aside because that boy partially fit is better than a fully fit GerviNO). A position like Arteta’s almost dictates a 100% fit player because he has to track  back constantly and go into defensive tackles with proper timing. I think we surely miss having Arteta in there but I think with Ramsey’s solid play of late he has shown that he can slot into that position just fine if need be.

Alas, what to do then if Arteta is ruled out? Well, we know that our forward three will contain some sort of a Santi/Theo/OG or Poldi combo. Thus, it is our middle three that is more the concern then. Rosicky and Ramsey are must starts. Thus, that leaves either Wilshere to start (maybe slot him into Arteta’s position?) or we bring in a guy like Coquelin, who could service quite well in Arteta’s position. Personally, I like the idea of starting Coquelin and then bringing Wilshere in off the bench if need be to secure a late push for goal (at least give the lad 30 minutes and a lot of pain killers). Coquelin possesses a more defensive minded approach (IMHO) and I think that is what we need with losing Arteta’s play. If we go up a goal, then we can pull Coq’s out and slot in TV and basically sit and hold while utilizing a more counter-attack approach (remember, we just need 3 points: don’t care if it’s dirty or cheap at this point). That being said, I trust Coq there as long as he is given proper direction on exactly what his role is.

Next big question is whether you slot Giroud back into the starting lineup or not. The guy definitely adds a certain missing flair to our game and his headers are something of a needed piece to our lineup/strategy/defense. That said, Poldi shows he knows what to do when the ball comes eye level and he is certainly keen on finding goal just fine. I am on the fence about this one as I really like OG’s link up play and having his head in the game. We could really go off the deep end here and slot Poldi wide, OG in the middle and Theo on the other side. That would leave our middle three at Santi, Rosicky and Ramsey. That, in all honesty, is something of a lineup I am a big advocate for. It leaves lots of creative lineup changes late in the game if need be but also keeps three strikers on the field that play very different games. We could finally have a nice look at some link up play between a more in form Poldi, who has found the goal quite nicely in recent games, and Giroud.

Right. Well, this lad here is going to catch the Copa del Rey while the little one sleeps (hopefully). Here is to an excruciating exciting finish in the Premier League.

Happy trails Gooners.

Well played lads. Well played indeed. I’ll admit, I was extremely worried about today’s game. Wigan came in with exactly what they needed (a solid win against Man City and lots of confidence). However, what happened today was exactly the reason why Wigan are being relegated (and puts into my mind what the F were Man City doing losing to them in the FA?!). Wigan just didn’t have it and thankfully we were reminded of why Arsenal have scored the second most home goals in the Premier League.

The lineup run out there was nothing to turn your nose up at. With Jack admitting offseason surgery (finally, that boy is probably a bit tired too), and Giroud still red card out, the only real decision (in my mind) was between Gibbs and Monreal (loved the Gibbs start-attacks a bit more IMHO). We started out fairly strong and Poldi put on his best OG impression by heading home our initial score. But for the equalizer struck before halftime, Arsenal looked quite in control throughout. Thankfully, we saw fit to tack three on in the second half to put it all away. Cazorla played his magical self set up… well… according to my Fantasy BPL team ALL of the goals today. Such a sweet, sweet signing that Spaniard has turned out to be.

The game today, while quite tense, reminds us all of what this Arsenal team is capable of when they put their best foot forward (no pun intended). Arsenal attacked throughout, won several corners and just kept putting the ball into the danger zone which allowed for the second half onslaught of goals. One has to wonder whether Wigan’s energy levels were finally shot after the high of the FA win and today having to play a very desperate aggressive Arsenal front in the first half. That said, going in with a last minute equalizer was again, not exactly what we needed (we just can’t keep gifting these things). The lone score from our opposition came from a questionable foul just outside the box and while Szczesny’s dive came close, the lack of height of Poldi is really where that goal got scored (I would love to see a overlay of OG and see if that ball would have struck him square between the eyes). Regardless of fault, we had to know that one goal was not going to be enough to secure the victory and the boys kept their teeth to the grindstone and gutted out another satisfying victory.

Knowing that we had to win, you just can’t help but enjoy the gut bombs that Tater Totts are having to endure with this all. Next week sees us set up nicely with a relatively safe Newcastle team who apparently could care less if we not only beat them but hang a scoreline of 4-0 on them in the process (Yes please!). Right, time for three more Arseholes and we can put this season to bed (all the while rubbing it in our rivals faces!).

As the weekend has grabbed us I am more and more nervous ahead of our match against Wigan. Chelsea have secured their spot in the CL and now it comes down to where places works themselves out. At this point in the season I could go on and on about the best lineup to run out there, and I am sure I will ahead of the match, but this comes down to just nabbing maximum points regardless of who starts. We are in the driver’s seat. We control our own destiny. Take six points from our last two games and we are in.

I will admit, the run up to this point has been entertaining from a soccer (football, futbol, footie) fan perspective. I am sure the casual watcher is no doubt intrigued by the scenarios and how the scores each week change these three teams fighting for two spots. I am sure SkySports and ESPN and Fox Soccer love the coverage and the marketing dollars that will pour in over the next two weeks should this come down to the final game.

But alas, I am not just a fan of the game. I am an Arsenal fan. This hasn’t been a fun game of sorts or an entertaining storyline. I don’t watch when I feel like it. I don’t follow ’cause it’s cool. I don’t write this blog, pull out math scenarios and dress my child in head to toe Arsenal gear because I like the game. I love the game. And I love my Arsenal.

I don’t wish it came down to two games. I wish we had this wrapped up in the bag long ago. I wished we hadn’t dropped needed points early on. I wish we had a bit more consistency, a few more quality players and that single dangerous striker that everyone holds their breathe when the ball lands at their feet (not cause he is going to Gervhi-NO the damn thing but because the entire stadium knows that greatness is coming next).

The fact remains that this has been a tumultuous season for a club so steeped in history and a winning tradition. The fact that we have lost serious lineup depth over the last few years and have had to make do with essentially running 4 brand new guys into our starting lineup this year should be a credit to the genius that is Wenger (yes, I think he did much, much better than most). And yet, we lost to lowly competition (*cough* Blackburn) in one cup and even lower in another (Bradford fucking City *cough* *cough*).

No my fellow arseholes, this is not a joyous occasion. It is rather frustrating that we are having to play our ways out of this current predicament all the while Man U drunkenly send off their manager into the sunset with another title in hand. It’s Arsenal ’til I die for this here lad and my happiness with our performance at the end of the season is buoyed once more by the hope that it is our most hated rival we can send packing for Europa once more.

Anxiously awaiting lads…

Well Elvis is leaving the building. As Sir A plans his trip off into the sunset (welcome Mr. Moyes), Arsenal was given a dream chance here with any slip up by the opposition almost guaranteeing them a place in the CL. I was treated to the game between Blue Balls and Tater Totts and I have to say I left rather pleased knowing that both teams dropped points. Truth be told, it doesn’t change our position at all. WE MUST WIN OUR LAST 2 GAMES. That said, there are a number of scenarios that could see us land 3rd instead of 4th if a certain manager out there decided to stick it to his club for basically screwing him (PSG for Rafa?). That aside, watching the match I was renewed in may hatred for the putridness that is Ada-buy-ya-some-more. I loathe him actually. He is utterly classless but when his overtalented lanky ass decides to play it can be quite a scene; makes you wonder exactly how much talent he decides to waste on a regular basis. Chels on the other hand has some rather nice pieces that put together a fine play and whoever comes in (Jose must be salivating at the idea of a Premier run without Sir A involved now) will have fit birds to play with. All things aside, I am quite happy that both teams dropped points and that sees the possibility that we could nab 3rd but should secure 4th with just 2 more wins my Gooners. Oh the joy.

To Arsenal, here is the update:

Blue Balls, 69 points (Chelsea either Home/Away): Aston V (A) +3, Everton (H) +3

• 2 matches, possible 6 points (projected +6)

Arsenal, 67 points: Wigan (H) +3, New U (A) +3

• 2 matches, possible 6 points (projected +6)

Tater Totts, 66 points: Stoke (A) +3, Sund (H) +3

• 2 matches, possible 6 points (projected +6)

Everton, 60 points: West Ham (H) +3, Chelsea (A) +0

• 2 matches, possible 6 points (projected +3) Mathematically eliminated from CL contention. Good run Moyes.

Projected Finish (projected point total)

3. Chelsea (75)

4. Arsenal (73)

5. Tater Totts (72)

6. Everton (63) *Eliminated from CL contention… 

Tiny Totts pull one out of their arse (last minute again) and then that squirmy lass Chels squeak out a winner against the Champs!?! F this all to hell… We are keeping pace but pressure is hopefully going to cause one of those around us to drop. We have a long break before our next match (comparatively to those around us). Hopefully the added time off, and added minutes to the other teams, will allow us to stand our ground seeing the fakers drop points.

I will admit, my big fear here is that Chelsea (Blue Balls) could drop 3 to Tater Totts, win their last two and that would give them 74 on the season. Totts could then gain that 3 against Blue Balls plus the possible 6  against Stoke/Sunder and that leaves those two teams tied at 74 a piece while we look in from the outside at 73. No bueno amigos. I never thought I would say this but I am going to be rooting for a big Blue Balls win on 5/8.

Oi Oi Oi, here is the update:

Blue Balls, 68 points (Chelsea either Home/Away): Totts (H) +3, Aston V (A) +3, Everton (H) +3

• 3 matches, possible 9 points (projected +9)

Arsenal, 67 points: Wigan (H) +3, New U (A) +3

• 2 matches, possible 6 points (projected +6)

Tater Totts, 65 points: Chelsea (A) +0, Stoke (A) +3, Sund (H) +3

• 3 matches, possible 9 points (projected +6)

Everton, 60 points: West Ham (H) +3, Chelsea (A) +0

• 2 matches, possible 6 points (projected +3) Mathematically eliminated from CL contention. Good run Moyes.

Projected Finish (projected point total)

3. Chelsea (77)

4. Arsenal (73)

5. Tater Totts (71)

6. Everton (63) *Eliminated from CL contention… 

20 seconds. If Theo was looking to nab my new son’s attention he sure as shite wasted zero time doing so with a bullet strike that couldn’t be stopped. 20 seconds. I had barely settled in to start paying attention and figured it would take a bit of build up to get Arsenal going in an away game. 20 seconds. Loved it. Figured I was in for one of those days where the heavens rain in goals and we see all four men from the back take stabs at goal. Wasn’t it great to see Per knock one in from 30 yards out? Wait a second… that didn’t happen…

No, I am not disappointed in the game today. We did exactly what we needed to do, nabbed three points on the road and then got the hell out of dodge. Happy to grab our points and move on. The trouble with games like these is that Arsenal have to win and so they can run into the danger of pressing too much while the other (relegated) side play care free. And let’s not kid ourselves here, QPR has some mighty fine players. Remy (an alleged Arsenal target) almost nabbed a beautiful goal himself if not for a brilliant save on the bean Pole’s part. That said, we are in crunch time needing every point and waiting for those ahead of us to drop theirs.

Hence, I am pretty pissed that Tater Totts nabbed theirs (and WTF Chelsea too?!). I honestly can’t wait until Sp*rs sell that boy and get nothing of real value in return (besides that whole heap of money but who’s counting). Early in the day (while holding a sleeping baby boy) I found myself constantly checking the score line and after 85 minutes I figured Totts was done and they were pulling a “last year” on themselves. Fucking shit strike by Bale, why the hell did that defender not twist into the dame ball instead of away from it!!! But I digress, I was excited going into our game against QPR and I just would have been a whole hell of a lot happier had Sp*rs dropped their damn points like they were supposed to.

Truth is, I really liked the lineup we sent out there. I figured Rosicky, Ramsey, Arteta and Cazorla in the middle would do well and Theo, if given (actually used his speed) space, would hook up with Poldi and one of them would score a goal. Never thought that Theo would terrorize like he did today (aside from the fact that he didn’t link up too well I loved that he was at least putting shots on goal). The boy played like he was possessed (again, when he touched the ball and injected himself into the game) and I get the feeling he would like to say he is taking Arsenal on his back for the final run in for points (ha!). He could have had 1 or 2 more goals today and no one could fault his effort. Sadly, it was Poldi who seemed out of sorts. He didn’t link up too well and many times found himself either in isolation or out of place when in the final third. I still have faith in his Thor’ish foot but today was a day that showed he is either not quite fit or just not quite slotting in right with the team at this point.

Late subs seemed more time wasters than anything. AOC did add some pressure on a few late runs but QPR were really the ones that tempted fate by almost scoring. All in all, this was a grind it out effort that had us away with three and on to the next. Scary thing is, even if we win out we still may miss out unless Tater Totts and a girl named Chelsea start dropping points.

Points Scenario IV to come Gooners.