Ooof. I knew that today was going to be difficult. Palace came in with a big opening win, we looked like shite in our first match and this one was a derby away. Not exactly what you would want to instill confidence going forward. Alexis, the little engine that forever could, started and whatever rust we suddenly found ourselves with needed to be knocked off immediately.

We started well and good enough; great link up play, Ozil creating like CRAZY but we just couldn’t find the net. The fact that Sanchez had not one but two clear chances and converted neither was not the best sign of things to come. It wasn’t until a beautiful cross found a half bicycle from Giroud that had me dreaming goal across my living room to the excitement of my son. I had hope that was a sure sing of many more to come but a screamer from Palace put squarely into the perfect spot had us going into half 1-1. I have to say on replay two it was tough watching a player grab crotch and chest as he twisted away from a defender’s low shot. Really? REALLY? Ugh. This can’t be the way to instill confidence between our back line and Cech (which looks scarily shaky at best but they’re getting much more leeway given the quality of both and unfamiliarity of play).

Second half saw us push hard again but once Cabaye had help we quickly were squeezed out of the middle of the box… Which had us turn to a dangerous counter after multiple scares from both sides. We still never quite looked dominate and I felt like the ghosts of years past were filling the room again (you know, where a 2-1 lead meant we’d likely give up a goal in the 90th minute?). We were fortunate to find an OG put us through for 3 points though nothing like seeing little ol’Sanchez climb over the top for a header. The guy just won’t stop and I have a feeling that tenacity is going to be god’s gift to some points this year… Just love the close up where he finds out he is being subbed and I swear I thought i saw him mouth, “me? fuck.”. Wenger is a damn genius for landing that lad…

The Coq made way for the Ox after he just couldn’t quite keep his pecker out of everyone. Happy to see him avoid the second yellow but he did exactly what was expected of him for his position. It was great seeing Mikel get out there as well and settle things down with some big tackles toward the end. Our counter really should have seen us go up 3-1 with chances coming through Sanit and even Rambo. I’m really going to chalk this up to early season crap where I am much more concerned about just keeping pace with points than I am scrutinizing each little tactic or mistake here and there.

All in all, really glad to see a win against a very tough side away. Palace is going to surprise some folks this year. They have pace and Cabaye is awesome. I was pissed we missed out on him a year or two ago. Good to see him back and playing. That being said, we really need Cech and our back line to get on the same page. I am confident once they do we’ll see much more confidence and continuity in the play that will assure us of more points in the end; just too much talent and experience there.

Alright lads, COYG. Feels great to be back into the season and know exactly what I am doing every weekend morning.

My pastor knows exactly how Arsenal played based upon my look when I walk through the Church doors on Sunday mornings… you can guess what he saw this morning. Look, it’s early in the season. I’m not about to make heads or tails over what happened today. Giroud and Ozil had chances that easily could have gone in. Ramsey squandered a chances by pushing wide when he had Debuchy screaming in space (can’t blame him too much as it barely went wide and if in we wouldn’t even consider the discussion and applaud him for being aggressive). A set piece cost us and a low shot after giving up the ball to a back heeled Cech. This game could have easily been 3-2, 2-2, 0-0, 2-0 and our sad result…

After the first goal, West Ham sat like a fat lady after a shopping spree. They had no reason to press ahead and we lacked the ability to catch that lucky break or needed movement. Oh, forgot Alexis almost had one today too (that guy just loves football; such a pleasure to see and have him in our squad). The set piece was just blundered. Not sure what happened. Nerves? Unfamiliarity with defense? We didn’t help Cech today so I can’t wholly blame him but it was weird to see him come off his line with a set piece to far away… that said, I’m not about to question a keeper of his proven caliber. Just forget and move on. This is a long season and we’ve clearly seen that leading at the start doesn’t mean shit at the end.

You just have to give credit where it is due, applaud the Hammers and move on. We have Palace next week, who scored like crazy in the opener. A fully fit Alexis should be present and hopefully that injects what we need into a full 90 to come out with 3 points. I fully expect to see him start and his energy should help some (but we really can’t wait for him to be there given the talent that surrounds him too so no fucking excuses). Hats off to West Ham, they came in a punched us in the damn mouth. Get off yer arses boys and make a run on this shit from now on.

On another note, I finally went to a match this last spring. I was able to witness Swansea break my fucking heart at the Emirates. It was an emotional and enthralling experience capped with lots of pints and an absolute joy of an experience. It is now my goal to go to a match every other year. I can’t stand the idea of not seeing the Gunners live at least every other year. It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had and I would be a damn liar if I said I didn’t tear up walking to my seat for the match.

As a side note to that, what the fuck is up with being asked to goddamn sit for the fucking match?! You’re kidding me right? I fly halfway around the world to watch my team play live and you want me to sit? Needless to say I didn’t and I was damn proud the locals threw the middle finger to match enforcement so we didn’t have to… even picked up a shouting match with some Swansea fans during the match; it was glorious.

Right, well, thank God we don’t have a bloody mid week match like Man Pukey for Champions League. Suck it.

It’s been a LONG wait for the match against Blue Balls. We’ve led up with solid hardware in the minor warm ups but that’s nothing to be discounted. The team seems to be playing with some swagger missing from the last few seasons. Leading up to the Community Shield match I couldn’t help but be crazy nervous. It’s a game that we lose and the boo birds come out but win and it gets minimized to “that isn’t really a game” montage. Truth is, a gaffer like Mou doesn’t like to lose. Ever. Certainly not to AW. The thing is, AW turned it upside down on him by beating him at his own game. This time, the TEAM approach really took charge and what I clearly saw was a club capable of taking the league.

Little side note here, years ago I played competitive baseball and was on a travel team that including guys that had played together for years. One summer we really hit that groove, where no matter the score or game we just knew we were going to pull it out and win the game. There were many tournaments where we would be down 5 or 10 runs halfway through and then all of a sudden we’d go on a run, not allow another run and pull out the win. This Arsenal teams reminds me of that type of team/experience; they are starting to really exude the mentality that goes with just accepting the game is going to be a win no matter what.

Now, I am not about to compare this squad to the invisibles but it’s damn hard to ignore the talent and compatibility of this squad. We finally have depth across all fronts (ok, maybe not the central striker role) and a real sense that this team KNOWS how to play together. On twitter I have re-watched the ticky-tacky play where Cesc did about three pirouettes and just can’t help but smile and think to myself “damn, they are starting something here”. Now, typically pressure mounts on a squad like this BUT for some reason I feel like they are playing lighter than usual. They’ve won hardware recently and really, they don’t have anything to prove. Blue balls are defenders, Man City continues to spend out the nose, Man U needs to make a title challenge… barring injury (don’t even get me started) I think Arsenal actually could slip in and really get a run going this year.

Yes, I am excited for this year. You have to remember, I became a supporter DURING the hardware drought. I didn’t get the joy of Invincibles or league trophies. I was damn happy this squad finally didn’t have early UCL matches and some real depth across the entire of our lines. This is an exciting time to be an Arsenal fan: we have talent, depth, youth, pace, a brilliant manager… and now confidence. That my friends could be what we need to finally press to the top and stay there for the entirety of the season.

Oh, and I don’t care how the damn game is won. One nil to the Arsenal is always a happy tune… especially when it comes at the expense of “The dipshit One”.

COYG.

I had some fear about Stan K taking ownership of our beloved Gooners. Most Americans just don’t get “soccer”. They don’t understand much of the history, the game, the passion… let alone the sport itself. No patience. Selfish ambition. Individuals above team. SO, when I heard this dipshit wanted, and got, to re-name parts of the stadium (selfishly) after family and his billionaire heir wife… well, not surprised. Maybe we should change the home colors, drop the cannon and allow American football to be played on the glorious pitch that is the Emirates… Just dumb. That’s what, sadly, rich toupee wearing owners do (or extremely bad dye job)… Now, I read this from one of my favorite blogs (Arseblog.com) and maybe it was one of their fun posts but I just couldn’t not air my own displeasure to hear of the news IF it is true. WTF.

I am planning my trip to the Swansea match this year and I am thankful I get to arrive before the name change takes effect; just stupid. What an absolutely insulting thing to do to club and supporters and it just goes to show how out of touch this idiot owner is. Protest ticket prices? Fuck that, donate to the other shareholders so they can buy this asshole out of his share and send him back to the mediocrity that is know as the Nuggets and Rams. Apparently, lets change the logo too by adding bears to each side of the cannon… W O W… Now we’re not at WTF moments, we’re more at the, “please sell your shares immediately” stage. I TRULY hope this is not true. I hope that if this idiot does start chipping away at history like that then his balls fall off and he gets caught making jokes that cause him to be forced out of every league for every team with which he owns a share in any club. I am just without words that don’t include serious amounts of profanity…

Send this guy packing Gooners…

Not going to lie. I fully expected a loss after that second (offside) goal. Down 2-0. Away from home confines. Yellow cards being handed out like candy to a fat kid on halloween. There wasn’t much hope after an incredibly sluggish start where Everton looked more like Arsenal than Arsenal did…
Not really sure what the mindset was on our starting lineup either. Giroud on the bench. Santi (a real bright spot lately) riding the pine. We still have a make shift back line (I really haven’t been a fan of Nacho as a starter but I do appreciate him as serviceable cover); the BFG really made some weird defensive choices in this one.
We started sluggish, with sloppy passing and way too many giveaways (I am getting so fucking tired of writing out sloppy passing during the season). I am not sure if we are suffering from little man syndrome (on account of that article pointing how how small we are) but we seemed to get called on every little knock. It was really an uneventful first 45 that saw me just wanting it over so I could tell my wife that they lost, rough away game, let’s pack the kiddo up to head off to the fair now.
Right about that time I thought it was lost we finally made some serviceable changes. Santi on. Giroud on. That Costa Rican dude we have loaned out the better part of a decade. Spark returned, possession dominated. All of a sudden we looked like we knew what to do with the ball. Maybe it was the familiarity we were missing with the starters but damn, 2 goals in less than 10 minutes AWAY?!?! Against my beloved Tim Howard? Um, where was that from the start?!
Jack, yet again for me, looked out of sorts. I don’t know, maybe I just don’t have the soccer eye but I am still missing something with that lad. I’d take Santi over Jack any day right now. I can hear the argument that they are different players, etc. But Jack is being deployed in a creative position. Link up, attack, etc. Jack has never been an enforcer. Never a midfield force. I have watched too many games where the guy gets bullied off the ball, etc. (pretty sure I have posted that before). I am kind of waiting for the great Jack of all trades to finally show up (shit, give me some marketable stats or something!). As for his replacement, Santi’s drive into the box and perfect cross to a crashing Rambo was just pure beauty (on replay it looks like Everton’s back line just froze up too).
After Rambo’s goal, and our domination on possession, I knew we had to have the equalizer coming and it just had to come through Giroud (he could have had 3 goals in this game for that matter). The set piece cross into his iron skull was masterful. Nothing Timmy could do but watch in horror as Giroud put head to ball to net. Fucking beautiful. At that point I was running through my kitchen in a whisper yell like one of those dogs that had their voice box removed so they don’t bark loud (kid was still napping upstairs).
Joy set in and I figured we could maybe actually pull this one out. After 70 minutes I was thinking just end this thing so I can hit delete on my DVR. After Rambo’s goal it was, hell maybe we can salvage an away point (something we lacked a lot last year). After Giroud’s forehead missile? Fuck, let’s steal 3 bitches.
It wasn’t meant to be in the end but it ended up being one hell of a showing; one that straight pisses me off on one hand (WTF, how did this happen?!) to the other end of the spectrum (WTF, how did this happen!?). And herein lies the rub: we need points out of every game in order to stay in this race. Chelsea and City already look the part of champions. We have to earn it. We are going to need to grab this bull by the horns, cut it’s head off, butcher the shite out of it and savor that end of year T-bone. It’s not going to be easy but how do you eat an entire bull? One fucking bite at a time…

Oh lads… I cringe every time I open my browser knowing I haven’t written in ages. Life happens, 15 month old boy, work blowing up like crazy… Just know that silence doesn’t mean ignoring our boys. The FA cup win is still burned in my DVR (right next to the Seahawks SB victory). I thoroughly enjoyed watching us take home our first piece of hardware (No, I guess the community shield doesn’t really count but anytime you beat City nowadays you have to enjoy it regardless). I was happy to see us pull out a season opening victory (a game we would have likely lost or let fall at a tie in the past).
Yes, I have high hopes for this coming season. Alexis is already starting to look like a beast (even though we sucked ass in our CL opener). We are ridiculously thin on the back line (and would be even if TV5 had stayed since he is out anyways). I am excited to see our German contingent coming back into the fold. Ramsey looks ready to pick up where he left off from last season and Calum… oh dear Calum… that boy is playing years ahead of where I thought he would be right now (it can’t last… can it?).
All in all, I really see this as one of our best squads in years. The Ox is healthy. Theo on the mend. Jack has quit smoking (yeah right). Rambo is confident. Our Germans won the World Cup and have to be riding high. Fuck, we even got rid of Bend Over!
Are there still holes? Absolutely. We still lack an enforcer (Please, Sami, come to the Emirates!). We still don’t have that game changing central striker (Sonago is still a no-go and really should be loaned out). I like Giroud and chatter about a possible swap for Cavani (even though that would be sweet) makes me a little sad (don’t even get me started on Poldi; that guy is just too much fun!).
No, we are midfield heavy and still a bit thin through our middle at the front and back end… BUT, I still say we have a real shot at the title this year. This has to be one of our deepest squads in years. Arteta out is a big blow but I really LOVE the idea of Chambers in the DMF role with the BFG and Kols in the middle… As long as Gibbs and Debu stay healthy on the back wings our defense could end up a real strength (who am I kidding, someone’s leg is going to snap and we’ll scramble to cover our way to another 3/4 finish midway through).
My son is starting to kick the ball around the house and I even get him walking around screaming “goal a goal a goal a goal” so needless to say he is ready as ever for the season. I have to give another shout out to DirecTV as it looks like I am in to see basically every game that Arsenal plays in yet again this year. I just hope the BPL continues to fly a bit under the radar here in the States so I can continue to watch these matches with basically an expanded package (that doesn’t require some ridiculous fee-you want me to pay for all the MLS games but I can watch every BPL game??? Uh… no thanks?!). Shite, maybe I shouldn’t have let that last cat out of the bag…
Well, we play a tough Everton squad this weekend. I’d be happier if they had lost the Belgium beast somewhere a long the line but we did seem to handle Ba Ba blacksheep earlier this week (just kidding, he almost made Shezzcneeyey look a fool!) (yes, the misspelling was on purpose-lighten up folks).
I’ll do my best. No promises here. Let’s hope AW continues to pull rabbits out of his ass, ugh I mean, hat and this time we stay atop the leader board the entire season.

COYG.

It’s hard not to start off by saying how excited I am that Man City lost. We are the last big team standing but as Man City has learned (twice now), pulling off the FA Cup is not as easy as it appears. This was really a game that wore on me while watching. I was concerned going in as Everton are a solid club with great players and a very good manager. All things aside, we pulled out a great win with a much more lopsided score than what really played out on pitch. 

One interesting pick to play this one out: Sanogo. Kind of surprising given that Bend-over has found the net when leaned on early in the year when we were a bit injury depleted (yes, I can’t believe I am saying that either). Aside from Sanogo, you could tell we ran a very solid lineup out there. To me, however, the biggest addition and difference maker was the Ox. AOC has been a beast in the absence of Theo. He is the attacking prowess and pace we need on the counter; a great addition to the starting lineup. The effort he exuded in earning that penalty was fantastic and exactly the kind of effort we needed from him; pure quality from a great, young winger. The other big benefit to this match was Flamini (although I am not the biggest fan of both Flamini and Arteta on the pitch but in the absence of Jack I get it). 

What was a breath of fresh air was seeing a rejuvenated Ozil provide for our first goal (lovely slot) and then an assist later on. I don’t care what people say, that lad is pure quality and you don’t go starting for Germany and Real Madrid without grande cajones. It was only a matter of time before he perked back up after a much needed rest (come on, it’s his first year in the BPL and that has to carry with it adjustment if you believe all the hype of it being the best in the world-maybe…). 

It was nice seeing TV5 getting the start but boy did he have a few bone-headed mistakes that really could have been detrimental to the outcome of this game. In the end it didn’t ruin our chances but I think the rust was apparent at times (really makes you appreciate what Kols/BFG partnership means to our club). 

Lastly, you can’t deny this was a great boost for the big OG. Two late goals not only sealed the game but are the exact confidence booster a striker needs going into our CL match with Bayern; especially given that he nailed a brace in less than a half. The fact that Ozil walked away with another assist helps too and hopefully they will carry that confidence into our CL clash. 

The wonderful part about this game is that our boys hung 4 on a solid team without exhausting all out players. It also helps knowing that our lads can hang with Bayern in their home stadium and hopefully this year we nab that one necessary goal to see us through one more round. 

It is looking more and more like Chelsea/Man City are going to dominate our league cup. I know mathematically we still can throw a wrench in it all but we have to really run the table in order to keep pressure on and have a chance. It is looking more and more like the FA may be our only silverware (fingers crossed) this year. Big question right now, which is more likely: We run to the top of the league table OR we pull through to the next CL round? Yeah… 

Just shite. Yesterday’s game was a bit rough to watch (uninspiring?). Arsenal couldn’t string together much passing and every time we garnered some possession we couldn’t do much with it. Stoke are always a tough play for us; and they have been even tougher this year at home with some of the big boys. Yesterday was no different and as soon as I saw the hand ball by Kols I knew this one was over. Don’t get me wrong, we had a few decent chances but the continual grab ass, foot stomping, shin kicking way in which Stoke was allowed to play just threw us completely off our game (anyone else seeing a pattern with how to frustrate us this year?). It seemed like the Ref was just content to allow everything to play on when clearly there were a few missed yellows (the stomp on Giroud was just despicable).

I thought this one was an interesting side that we ran out there but after the first few minutes is quickly became obvious we were missing speed to link up with Rosicky (who I thought was easily our man of the match). It wasn’t until very late did we see The Ox come on and really start running at them (sad to Rosicky come off when that happened). With the way Stoke muffled us I wonder if Frenchy paid any attention to the fact that our best chances came on the counter (where we always seemed one man short from really making a difference).

After watching a bit I felt like we seriously misplayed our starting 11 in this one and hoped that speed was going to come on in the second half (and possibly an enforcer). To me, the subs should have been The Ox, Gnabry and Flamini on for Poldi, Wilshere and Arteta. Poldi actually had a decent chance early on (and was denied an opportunity later when Santi struck instead of laying off) but we needed wingers and some D to match up against what was going on with this game. Our counter lacked any pizzazz and given that we constantly got knocked off possession it seemed that the only answer to Stoke’s molesting was the run and gun. When that didn’t happen we saw witness to a hand ball that on replay looked more like uncontrolled body movement coupled with the luck a re-direct in mid-air (the image of Walters shoving Kols right after pretty much sums of this match).

We now find ourselves losing serious ground with plenty of teams waiting in the wings. Tater Totts keeps crawling up. Liverpuke keeps winning. City still has points to gain in had. And Blue balls still command the top spot. This could easily be one of those seasons where we barely hold on to 4th while only being a few points from 1st. Not a great feeling when the race is this tight and we start to drop points where we shouldn’t. That isn’t to say Stoke didn’t earn their win (admittedly they earned at least a share of a point) but we can’t be dropping points this late in the season. This is where we need to make the kind of run we have made in the last few years. The big difference? This time a run like the past could have us at the top rather than fighting for the last CL spot…

COYG.

Well Arseholes, it has been quite the layoff for me. Almost like I decided to take my own mid-season break even though our boys have gone through their own bit of trouble. Some decent wins since my last post but not much lessens the sting of the drubbing at the hands of Liverpuke during that last league game (they really did look un-stoppable). Their counter and high press really exposed our midfield ineptness (didn’t help that we gift wrapped a few giveaways). Hats off to them as they kicked our ass (I all but admitted that to a friend who is one of their cursed supporters). The turn around saw us draw in a boring game of grab ass with Man U where we never saw any sort of an attacking bite in our game. Maybe I am a bit more tired lately (admittedly so as I pull long hours at the office) but our boys really seem a bit out of it. I think we can all agree the injury bug has quite a bit to do with our form. At least we came back after our dismal mid week showing by moving through the FA ranks. I am beginning to wonder if the FA cup ends up being our best chance at silverware this year…

All things aside, I’m not too concerned with Ozil’s play (a bit confused by some of his passes however). I am concerned with our continuous lack of attacking options up top but this is a constant theme for some time now. I can’t keep pointing out the obvious when we fail to move any pieces ($) during another transfer window. Arsenal keeps making money and really, the just keep the money. Maybe old man Kronk’ is just too focused on the idea of moving his shitty Rams team to L.A. aging…  He could have a serious winner in England if he gave a shit. Last time I checked, people all over Asia (and the world) weren’t buying Rams jerseys… just saying.

We are neck deep in our crazy run of games. Tomorrow has us up against the wall with Bayern. And look, I love our boys but reading this crap about how Bayern are really worried and Arsenal are top shite this year doesn’t exactly have me expecting supreme results. I almost always prefer going in the underdog with no expectations. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited about the game. I was thrilled with our effort last year that saw us almost push those boys out. But the slopping passing and missing attacking options has me worried that our focus is not going to be on laying it all out on the CL field. I really can’t blame them either as we have a real chance at significant domestic hardware this year.

That being said, I do expect a solid effort on our part. We have some nice midfield depth we can run out there for a good showing. The Ox has been incredible in his return. If Rambo comes back soon to pick up where he left off then my attacking concerns will be more tempered. It really killed us to lose Rambo, Ox and Theo (that trifecta really pushed us forward with creative runs and clinical finishing-something we have lacked a bit lately). All in all, as some health returns I think so does our sharpness (at least, that is what I keep telling myself).

On a different note, I think I may have convinced the wifey to leave our young lad for 5-7 days this time next year for a pilgrimage to the Emirates. The planning starts now so any insight into nabbing tickets to games is much appreciated (we’ll be staying in London the entire time).

COYG.

I really enjoy my weekends these days. You see, during the week I sometimes work late and that means I get home late and may not be able to see my son much during the evening before we start the bedtime routine and put him down for bed. I love weekends because I get to enjoy him all day. Saturdays and Sundays are great for spending time together and nothing beats fresh coffee, cinnamon rolls, my son happily playing and the TV displaying the demolition of our rivals. This weekend was a bit sweeter than most.

After the display against Cardiff, I expected a brutal fight with Tater Totts. They have very talented players, some decent depth and have been playing well since firing AVB. Arsenal came in with their winning ways but thin as ever and I feared we would play it safe so as to secure/focus on the title run instead of a early tournament derby. With so many players on the mend (trainer’s table), Theo took the starting striker role and boy did we come out swinging. Truthfully, this game felt completely different than the Cardiff game. Not sure if it was the opponents, the home field advantage or the chip on the shoulder of some players but from the get-go we played far and away above the level of our last match. I worried that Theo in the central striker role would see us pushed around more but instead it created space. It also didn’t huge to have the never ending engines of Gnabry and Rosicky that added that extra bit of kick we needed. Jack played like the player everyone puts him on the pedestal to be and Santi finally put one in the net (hopefully the confidence booster he maybe needed at this point?).

The only real downside to this game was Theo coming off late and the squad having to play 10 men for the last 10 minutes. Although, it still looked as if we were more threatening than our rivals during that period so it was quite a nail-biting finish. With as much talent as Totts have, this really was quite the shellacking/embarrassment. Our beat up, thin and tired squad made Taters look like a championship level club. Suck on that Ada-buy-a-is like a new signing (someone been listening to Wenger the last few seasons?). The attacking prowess from which we scored, the touch passing, the creative runs… the staunch defense… pure joy in football. To me, Gnabry and Rosicky have to share the man of the match. The combination of Gnabry and Theo up top, coupled with Rosicky’s tireless runs and effort on defense really kept everything going. It allowed Jack to settle down/control the tempo and Santi to play with more space than we have seen the last few matches. If you can’t tell, I was really impressed with Gnabry today. He looked the part of a solid future first teamer and could be the next “AOC” in terms of youngsters playing above their age this year. I hope he continues to patiently develop because I really like what I am seeing (some beautiful touches/runs today).

Of course, this couldn’t be an Arsenal match without another injury as Theo was carted off with some sort of knee or ankle injury (I hear it could be a knee sprain and possibly a month of missed time-hopefully that isn’t true). Arsenal defended ably after his absence and it was great to see Theo in good spirits while being taken off the pitch (this was a derby game after all so why not flash the scoreline on your way out?).

Word on the street is that Wenger was always looking to add a little something during this transfer window (as in, Guardian propaganda). Next it was going to be dependent on how long we would miss Bendtner. With Theo possibly out a month, I think Wenger absolutely has to buy now. Not a bad thing either. Wenger tends to do well with these sort of pressure signings that give us someone decent from out of nowhere. Monreal was brought in to help shore up the defense (and he really is proving a great asset when Gibbs needs a rest or is injured). So I am hopeful that even if we are without some striking depth (seriously, who starts now?) Wenger will now be forced TO SPEND SOME MORE FUCKING MONEY THAT WE HAVE IN OUR PROFIT POCKETS and get the quality striker that we should have signed back in the summer. Hell, churches have a saying: whatever gets them through the door. Same applies here my parishioners.

All in all, fantastic day. Fantastic result. Suck it Totts.