News has spread over the last day (or two?) that we have lost Giroud for the next 3 matches. The debate still rages on about whether the tackle was a justified red card or if it was just a response to the Sidwell red earlier in the game (and the FA is full of shite) but at this point it doesn’t really matter. All that matters now is what we do from here knowing that Hey Hey Hey, Giroud is out, we have a void in our hold up game at the striker position and we desperately need 3 points.

Granted, Giroud hasn’t been this giant goal scoring machine but he has put up extremely respectable stats for his first season in the Premier League and I for one think his manly presence in the starting lineup generally has a positive impact on the game. First off, he does pretty dang well in the hold up position. He knows how to incorporate others into this game via touch and go passing and manly chesty layoffs. He has also been a great threat with his head: does well heading out on D to boot.

Personally, I think we are more vulnerable without him and I don’t like the position we found ourselves in with him out of our lineup. IF Podolski was 100% then I might feel OK, but not great, about slotting him in the middle and I certainly am an advocate for him to have more playing time once healthy. But the truth is Poldi has been used erratically this year and his nagging (hidden) injury has kept him from fully integrating and being involved in the lineup on a regular basis. Thus, he is NOT the answer to all life’s (Arsenal’s) questions and my hope is that if he starts in place of Giroud we do our damage quickly with him in the lineup since we all know he will get subbed out 6o minutes into it all.

In the end, the loss of Giroud really highlights what we are really missing right now (and for all damn season): depth at striker. Poldi can be that guy but he is not that guy right now. Thus, we need depth here in order to compete for a full season (in all bloody tournaments) in the event we have guys go down. Case in point: Man U. Aside from the Dutch skunk, they have a guy in Chicharito who could slot in if needed. As a matter of fact, if you look across most of the top tier teams in the other leagues what you see is that they have a bench full of players that would do well enough to start on most other teams (if not all other teams). That is what we are missing and what will probably keep us out of the chase for a title(s) for some time to come (unless we start spending some damn money on players!!!). We have to have depth in our striking options in order to compete and this season shows that one or two injuries really puts us in a bind hoping that other teams will drop points instead of us confidently going into the next game saying: no problem, we got this, give us our damn 3 points.

For the upcoming match against Man U I am partially for starting 3 “true strikers”: a mix of Theo/AOC/Gervinho/Podolski. I would prefer a starting top three of Gervinho (I know… I know…) wide, Podolski middle and Theo wide with AOC acting as our super sub for Podolski and then slotting in Theo, or God forbid Gervinho, to the middle once Podolski is subbed out. That means Santi can’t start up top, an argument I continue to make to no avail, and leaves us a bit thin in the sub department if one of our strikers goes down. With that said, I know that the top 3 will thus include Santi and then a combo of either Theo/AOC/Gervinho with Podolski probably acting as a sub with the other player left out of the starting lineup; and that may actually prove to be the smarter move.

SO, given that Poldi is not 100% here is my suggested (albeit realistic) lineup:

Santi—Gervinho(ugh)—Theo

Ramsey—Rosicky—Arteta

Gibbs—BFG—Kols—Sagna

Szczesny

Yeah, that’s right. I wouldn’t start Jack. The lad has not looked fully fit (or himself) and truth is I think 60 minutes of him not playing well and getting discourage is worse than 30 minutes of him subbing in and working his ass off as much as possible.

Right, on to the weekend where Tater Totts drop points, Chelsea keeps getting distracted (and drops points) by the news and our mighty Gunners welcome Man U’s title anthem with an ass whopping by send them home packing with nothing to show for their efforts at the Emirates.

Well, we nabbed our three points. Unfortunately, so did Sp*rs and that girl named Chelsea came away with 1 instead of a predicted 3 (after the bite heard ’round the world-seriously, someone just buy Luis a burger if he is that hungry!).

Here is the update:

Chelsea*, 62 points (Chelsea either Home/Away): Swans (H) +3, Man U (A) +1, Totts (H) +3, Aston V (A) +3, Everton (H) +3

• 6 matches, possible 15 points (projected +13)

*Chelsea also have 2 Europa matches sandwiched between Liv/Swans match & Swans/ManU match

Arsenal, 63 points: Man U (H) +1, QPR (A) +3, Wigan (H) +3, New U (A) +3

• 4 matches, possible 12 points (projected +10)

Tater Totts, 61 points: Wigan (A) +3, South (H) +3, Chelsea (A) +0, Stoke (A) +3, Sund (H) +3

• 5 matches, possible 15 points (projected +12)

Everton, 56 points: Sund (A) +3, Fulham (H) +3, Liv (A) +1, West Ham (H) +3, Chelsea (A) +0

• 4 matches, possible 12 points (projected +7)

Projected Finish (projected point total)

3. Chelsea (75)

4. Arsenal (73)-goal diff (+30)

5. Tater Totts (73)-(+17)

6. Everton (63)

Everton are effectively out of it at this point… Totts have picked up a big 3 points and now we desperately need them to drop points so this thing doesn’t come down to goal differential (but I wouldn’t mind them losing out to 4th that way either so long as we keep it). Chelsea dropping points means that they could slowly work themselves back into the conversation if they start a fall…

Before I even start, I have to say I love seeing games played at Craven Cottage. I have never been there but I would imagine it a great place to take in the game. Small intimate setting, a bit of history; what I feel like one could typify as a classic EPL match day experience. Since I have never been there I could be completely wrong but I liken the look to watching a Cubs game; you just get a sense that the place has a good feel to it…

The actual game now? Well… that was interesting (frustrating). It was like Arsenal packed a whole year’s worth of shooting ineptitude into 1 game. That team sure looked like they desperately needed the little blue pill to get it going; while we did “finish” it was nothing to write home about.

The lineup consisted of a dominate mid field set up with Theo/Giroud acting as our forwards (lets see, Santi up top? check) and dominate the mid we did. Possession was off the charts in Arsenal’s favor (71/29) and yet never did we look that threatening. Even after the early send off, it never really looked like Arsenal truly had their way while playing a very commendable Fulham side that seem to play toward the end like they wanted it much much more than we did. Seriously, for the last 20 minutes of the match if one didn’t count the players on the pitch (or keep reading underneath the scoreline that Fulham were down a man) I believe you’d have thought we were playing down a man! At this point I can’t tell if it was their effort or Arsenal’s willingness to just “hold” on to a 1 goal lead for the win.

Now granted, one might feel like I am writing about a loss here. Nope. I am quite happy with winning (right after the match Dad said a win is a win) but this was no confidence building win and we still have some big games to play so I come away more worried today than yesterday. Not to mention that the late sending off of Giroud means we lose his presence for the next 3 games (both reds were equally justified IMHO). Awesome.

I don’t really know what to write about with regard to this game. The totality of the game was actually pretty damn boring. I found myself going to my  iPhone to read about the news during long stretches of our training ground possession display. I love our style of play generally but this one seemed like the classic argument against Arsenal of looking for the perfect goal. We moved the ball pretty well at times but we couldn’t quite get that final third to come together (another major problem we all know about); AND THAT WAS UP A MAN FOR GOD SAKES!!!

It was great to see Rosicky on the pitch but let’s remember that it is not like this guy was banging in goals for Arsenal before his career double day. So while it was nice that we had a big midfield presence that was our problem at the same time; no one played horrible but no one played that great either. Theo’s pace was neutralized by the fact that Fulham never really got forward after they went down a man (until the end where Fulham seriously looked threatening) so we were forced to deploy hold up play in the middle with either lots of close range touch and go action OR getting someone to shoot the damn ball in/around the box! That really never came together and so it was our BFG who collaborated with Kols to put one in the net on a set piece. Nifty.

There were a few counter attack chances but by then we had subbed Theo out and Podolski isn’t known for his speed (I think Theo probably runs that ball down and gets a shot on goal at least). We also had a chance through Rambo but at that point the guy had been running all game and isn’t exactly known for a laser foot; you could tell the lad was tired by his collapse at the end of the shot…

So, let’s do a quick recap here: we played up a man for roughly 80% of the match, scored our lone goal on a set piece (seriously?), was almost out shot on goal and we lose our “starting striker” for the next 3 games. Wicked awesome. A win is a win I guess…

Late this afternoon Dad and I went out on base and had ourselves a few games of racquetball. I have to say, I am always impressed with my Father going out there to try and give me a run at this sport but even he admitted today that the time may have come that this is no longer a sport we may get to enjoy together anymore (had to end early in the third game after a tenacious calf cramp took hold of him-he did seem a bit more winded than usual too). It looks like golf is going to be our only competitive sport anymore and the man can still kick my ass even if I out-drive him by 2o-30 yards these days.

Why, do you ask, did I share this story? Because today, as I saw my Dad a bit winded, I wondered if he had much more in him to keep playing and as I reflected on that moment I instantly thought  of Arsenal (I know, I’m messed up right?); oh shit, we still have some games to go and I am not sure we figured much out against Everton on Tuesday…

We are getting down to crunch time with our trip to Fulham looming and it seems like the last game gave us more questions than answers. Why oh why does this question keep repeating itself? It’s like we hit the damn repeat button on our iPod and didn’t realize it! Come on Arsenal! Come on Arsenal! Come on Arsenal! And so it goes…

For Saturday (thank you ESPN for televising!), Fabianski is pretty much a definite no (what with all the repeating ESPN articles on the subject). The tall Pole slots in again; not too many worries for me there. But oh what the Fuc-ancy to do about that front line and midfield… Last week I suggested Podolski start… Again, I suggest Podolski start. His link up play with Giroud in the box really seems to be coming together and for the first time this season (Everton) I think I started to get what Arsene envisoned when he bought these two players (I’ll say again, that chest lay off was oh so manly!). However, the problem with the couple is that ol’AW never seems to play the newlyweds together!

Here is what we know (and in theory have learned) from these last few games: Arsene likes putting Santi “up top” with Giroud and some winger (Theo/AOC/Gervin-NO) to start games. He then deploys a midfield of Jack, Ramsey or Rosicky, and Arteta. Then we get our back four and it appears settled that right now it is going to be Bacary at RB, Kols and the BFG in center, with the only real decision coming down to either Gibbs or Monreal (who should probably start even though Gibbs, IMHO has been playing fantastic). I keep banging this drum that I want Santi just slotted in the mid so that someone else who can shoot the damn ball *cough* PODOLSKI *cough* is allowed to link up with Giroud (no that’s not Theo because I think his gift right now is injecting speed into the game). And, as others have pointed out elsewhere, Theo has not seemed to gel his game with Giroud along the link up side of things. But I digress as we need his speed (or someone like that) to run at the defense and keep them honest. However, if Santi is now being pushed into being our “CF” to play behind Giroud because no one else is there then it doesn’t seem to be working when it comes to, you know, scoring goals. We need an actual CF to link up and shoot at goal; to me  that would appear to be Lukas. But we don’t play him there. Or anywhere. Or rarely at all.

And so, where does that leave us? Well, after a bit of touch and go, and maybe a lucky cross we start to get panicky (admittedly, more aggressive thank God), make the subs that could have been our starting lineup from the get go, and next thing you know we look much more threatening and I keep scracthing my head as to why we didn’t do this from the start. Look, I want Santi in. His hold up play, distribution, and vision is excellent. But he ALWAYS slots in behind after being “placed up top”. SO HE ISN’T OUR F’ING CF ANSWER. Theo, for right now, is our speed. Love it. Great. Good. NOT OUR CF (yet, hopefully one day?). That means we have to rely on crossing, set pieces OR a really creative and attacking MF (only Barca seems to really pull this off) to score our goals but that isn’t happening either. And don’t tell me that our RBs/LBs do a good job at getting forward. They do fine at that but I would be a bit worried if someone argues with me that they want to see Gibbs and Sagna putting more SOG. If that is our game plan then 4th isn’t just our best hope it will continue to be our only hope.

But, wait just a second. Knocks could give us a bit of hope that we might actually see a CF in the starting lineup. We may get to see something like this from the get go. Rosickly may still be out dealing with his moons over my hammy. Some argue that Jack still hasn’t regained his WILL-shere and may not be worthy of the start right now. And so, we could possibly see a front line that involves Podolski/Giroud/Winga’ and a MF with Cazorla/Ramsey/Arteta (with Jack possibly coming off the bench?). That would be fantastic, IMHO, and should be enough to win the game and get us the 3 points we have to have.

As an aside, more Arsenal baby bibs and an Arsenal teddy bear arrived today. Hmm… how did we get those? What honey? You think I ordered more Arsenal stuff? No… who would do such a thing???

So, I kept looking for kind of a cheat sheet for what remained on the schedule for the 4 teams vying for the last 2 CL spots and I didn’t find anything (granted, I didn’t look that hard… or at all really so I could just be killing time here). Thus, being the nerd I am, I decided to create my own running tab of what remains for us (and the others) so I can clearly see exactly how much alcohol I should consume in the early morning hours for each remaining match (kronk no like math). I will update/repost this after matches have been played.

Chelsea*, 61 points (Chelsea either Home/Away): Liv (A) +3, Swans (H) +3, Man U (A) +1, Totts (H) +3, Aston V (A) +3, Everton (H) +3

• 7 matches, possible 18 points (projected +16)

*Chelsea also have 2 Europa matches sandwiched between Liv/Swans match & Swans/ManU match

Arsenal, 60 points: Fulham (A) +3, Man U (H) +1, QPR (A) +3, Wigan (H) +3, New U (A) +3

• 5 matches, possible 15 points (projected +13)

Tater Totts, 58 points: Man C (H) +0, Wigan (A) +3, South (H) +3, Chelsea (A) +0, Stoke (A) +3, Sund (H) +3

• 6 matches, possible 18 points (projected +12)

Everton, 56 points: Sund (A) +3, Fulham (H) +3, Liv (A) +1, West Ham (H) +3, Chelsea (A) +0

• 5 matches, possible 15 points (projected +10)

Projected Finish (projected point total)

3. Chelsea (77)

4. Arsenal (73)

5. Tater Totts (70)

6. Everton (66)

As you can clearly see, Arsenal cannot lose a single match from here on out and at worst can only take one tie (and that is with Sp*rs dropping points to Chelsea and Man City). There are a lot of scenarios that can be worked out from here but I went with what I thought could be plausible versus what I hoped would happen. Given that Chelsea still have so many remaining matches I think they are almost a lock to make it which means, at this point, it is really going to come down to us and the huns to the north…

One of the benefits of being self employed, and having a preggo wife, is that I have the joy of picking and choosing work days right now. Today, I chose to take the day off to watch the match live instead of waiting to see it later via DVR. Right before it started, Fox Soccer had a condensed replay of the match between the two teams from the 2004/2005 season where Arsenal hung a 7-0 scoreline on the Toffs… Sadly, I wasn’t much a soccer fan, thus no Arsenal, and did not watch those glory days of the early/mid 2000’s. The game featured an Henry in his prime, an aging Bergkamp, and a young Arteta in the Everton side. It was a pleasure to watch the dominance of a team that was at 4th (Everton) and Arsenal “settling” for 2nd that year. Oh to have been a fan during those days… What is wonderful about coming to the game as a fan so late with Arsenal is that I have the pleasure of relishing in the history and looking forward to the future Gunners. I expect we’ll quickly hang 7 on Everton today, right? Well… not quite…

The first half saw us pulling off our best impression of the first half from Norwich. Actually, no, we played quite a bit better than that and saw decent chances via Gibbs and then Ramsey’s great cross to a sliding Giroud just keeping us from going up. We didn’t exactly dominate the first half but we did play well enough that luck could have seen us through a goal or two. At the start, the ref seemed completely content to let a very physical match play out and only later in the first half did he remember that he had, and could use, a yellow card for fouls (wait, what the F are these things on my pocket?!). What was striking to me was how physical Everton came out to play and I quickly became frustrated that the ref seemed content to let them bulldog their way around the pitch before FINALLY pulling a couple yellows out for fouls on Theo (his pace was great to see early on). Also, I was waiting to see Jack just drop Fellaini for the strong arm shite he was pulling in the middle… just punch the arse Jack! In my opinion (which if you will recall is ALWAYS RIGHT), Gibson should have been sent off with a second yellow and his plays on Theo didn’t make them any more palatable  when the ref later calls a less harsh foul by Pienaar on Theo for almost the exact same play (we all could tell that  if Gibson hadn’t already had a yellow he would have gotten one with that second challenge which means he should have been given the second yellow dammit-just hand that man his bags and send him the F on his way!).

Anyways, for me, Ramsey was the man of the match. The bloke pressed Everton, was quick to get back, and seemed to be pulling off an incredible impression of Rosicky’s style of play before his little knock kept him on the bench. At first, when I saw the lineup I thought “Ok, well, with all the mids in there I would rather see Rosicky than Ramsey but I guess this could work…” Glad Ramsey proved me wrong as he continued is strong form as of late (his first half was no joke, the lad is getting his big boy pants on to play these days). While we didn’t make any big mistakes in the first half we also didn’t quite do enough to pull ahead and Everton could have easily been up 1 to nil as they had a decent goal scoring chance themselves.

Second half started much better and I thought we ended up playing well enough that we deserved the win. Late changes were made with AOC/Podolski coming on for Jack/Theo and again, the feel of the game changed quickly (I didn’t quite understand that Nacho change at all, maybe Arsene saw Gibbs with his hands on his hips one too many times?) We saw many opportunities to score late, AOC continued his brilliant runs at goal and Podolski even got himself going with plenty of early touches. That said, I still don’t understand why either of those guy didn’t start from the get go but it was nice to see such a positive effect on the game the instant they came in. Podolski, while not ripping one through one of the defenders, worked really hard and earned us quite a few corners late in the game. It was a welcome reminder that the guy is not just a leg but also a competent decision maker (Gervin-who?) by winning us many late game chances via corners. In the end, we ended up with many goal scoring opportunities but not much else to show for it.

That said, I would really like to criticize the starting lineup choice and blah blah blah about what could have happened with our chances if we had started a differnt lineup but sometimes I just think the soccer gods don’t give us that single goal we need to win the game. There were plenty of spots where we could have scored and you could see the momentous effort put out by the players but today we just couldn’t get one into the back of the net for the win. No doubt that we were the better team today, we deserved to win, and as the game wore on (and I was jumping up and down and yelling at the screen) I just felt like Arsenal were going to pull it out. Truth is, I feel like I could see that in the players too. While I want to be disappointed and pissed and all the other inappropriate things I would like to say, I do believe we still have the momentum going forward. We came away with points and there is a psychological advantage to knowing we are still ahead in the table and putting pressure on those below us (finally) to win games in order to keep pace. Additionally, I was REALLY happy to see  we didn’t make some silly mistake that had us gifting 3 points to the other side (seriously, how many times has that happened recently where we dominated a game and then lose on some shitty set piece).

All in all, I do feel a bit robbed but I really liked the effort today. Save for a little luck this one should have seen us take three but happy we took something none-the-less. Still many points ahead to be grabbed and lots of potential speed bumps for our competition; all is not lost… yet.

As for tonight, I will be touring a hospital. Yep. Wish me luck. (um, excuse me nurse? where is the bar? no? no bar? Can I keep my beer in your fridge then?)

One down. Two more to go for hell week. We came away with the three points we needed and now we have the extremely quick turnaround hosting Everton Tuesday. Given the way in which we won against Norwich, I believe Wenger has more questions about his starting lineup than answers (not a bad thing when the options are good)…

The unknowns:

Ramsey: The guy hustled his butt off, linked up well, and Arsene has confidence in slotting him back on defense if needed. A must start in my opinion.

Theo: Had great pace, is well rested given that he only finished off the game against Norwich. Put him up top and let him run wild.

AOC: He quickly injected the stuff people like about Gervinho and his run at defense set up one of the goals against Norwich. Getting closer and closer to that form of last year…

Podolski: Some miscues on first touches but his great shot from outside the box is exactly the shot we tend to miss in the lineup this year. I think he has earned a starting spot this time around.

Gervinho: He had some great runs against Norwich but his typical miscues has caused the cat to go “missing” and the remote to be glued back together… Give him starting minutes to stroke his confidence? Hmm… I think I agree with one writer who pointed out that a professional player shouldn’t need confidence stroking to play well.

Jack: The poor boy had a bit of down game and that is not to be unexpected when you are coming off an injury with a lengthy spell of not playing… Sorry Jacky boy but I think it best for you to sit this one out at the start.

Rosicky: The man has been the older, wiser and more palatable version of Ramsey and him fit again means some competition in the midfield. Not a bad thing, but we still have another game this weekend and rotation isn’t a bad thing right now. Not sure I would put him back in quite yet.

Defense: The back line almost worries me more than the mid/front right now. BFG vs. TV is a wash to me; I almost don’t care who starts because either one could have a great game or a miscue and I am not too concerned with either lacking “pace”. Same kind of argument goes to Sagna for me right now. His crossing has been subpar as of late but the guy is always capable of putting together a stellar game and I would rather him get his minutes than not; unless the boy is dog tired and then rotation becomes necessary. The harder decision for me is Monreal vs. Gibbs. I really enjoy watching Gibbs’ style of play. He moves well, is quick to get up to the attacking third and tracks back really well. Gibbs also had that booming shot earlier in the season that was a peach to watch on replay. Monreal appears to be more the “quiet” defender but that isn’t a bad thing. I like not hearing anything about my defenders because their play just shuts stuff down. Nacho also has the familiarity with Cazorla that could pay dividends in the link up action. Here, I think I give Monreal the start knowing that there is another game coming up and I want fresh legs for what we know is a better team in Everton. I also have to give the edge to Nacho in the experience column because the man has played against some serious attackers in La Liga (some dudes name Ronaldo and Messi I hear are quite good at this soccer game).

I think my starting lineup for Tuesday would be as follows:

Poldi-Giroud-Theo

Cazorla (if he needs the rest then perhaps Rosicky?)-Ramsey-Arteta

Monreal-Kols-BFG-Sagna

Fabianski?

Here is why: I think we need Podolski’s shot interjected with Theo’s pace. The lay off and shoot approach can really work well for Arsenal when they actually do it (seriously, how awesome/hot was that chest down to Lukas from Giroud that just nicked the bar? That is the kind of shit that really gets me excited about our team chemistry). If I was Wenger, I would take the German aside and make sure he understands that I bought him to load that shotgun leg of his up and shoot at the damn goal. His attempted layoff to Cazorla late against Norwich was cute but I would rather him pull the trigger next time. If Poldi ends up tired, etc., then you can put AOC or Gervinho in to keep the pressure on Everton’s back line. If you can’t stomach him starting then maybe this time we pull Giroud off early and put Lukas in the middle paired with some pace at the end. Either way, the benefit of AOC/Gervinho not starting is that if we pull another Norwich we can yank any combination of the three up top and put in two sets of fresh legs to create some havoc in the down the lines and in the middle. As I said before, instant pace creates instant space and that is how we score our goals. Additionally, the benefit of Jack staying on the bench this time around means that he can easily take the place of any of the mid-fielders and just needs the instruction from Arsene on what to do: hold, attack, defend. Pretty simple (so says the armchair quarterback). Plus we can keep him fresh for Fulham and what is another three points we must take.

On a nervous note, turns out that Fabianski may be out against Everton. I might normally be concerned but I actually believe we have quality depth (albeit not necessary greater or less quality) at the keeper position this year and the fact that we can slot in the man who was our starter for most of the season is pretty nice. Szczesny has experienced his ups and downs this year but the guy is young, big, strong and I think the spell on the bench has probably done him some good. If Fabianski is truly out tomorrow, as Wenger is casting doubt on him playing, I am not too worried about the young Pol’ slotting in Fab’s place. And for the record, no I don’t particularly think we need to spend big money on a keeper this off season (that can/will be a different post).

Additionally, there is news that Rosicky is back fit and training with the team. I like to take the approach of working guys back into the lineup after injury; not throwing them in. That being said, if Rosicky truly is healthy, here is my prediction for what Arsene will actually start tomorrow:

Cazorla-Poldi-Theo

Ramsey-Rosicky-Arteta

Whatever the hell here…

Szczesny

Check back after the match starts to see exactly how far off I was…

Wow… First off, this was NOT the way this game should have gone. You could actually do a complete reversal of minutes and that would have made far more sense than what just happened today. Second, I was not thrilled with the starting lineup. I suggested Jack not start, I suggested AOC/Poldi start on the wing and leave Jack off with Santi running as a true CAM… Instead, Arsene started Jack, played Santi out of position (again) and we essentially formed a 4-4-2 instead of a 4-3-3. The result? Arsenal played sluggish and Norwich went ahead on shite defending on a set piece (seriously, can the game get any worse at this point?).

Before we get into the last 30 minutes of the match, I have to touch on what I watched for the first 60 minutes. Jack should have never started. That was obvious from the get go. He was a bit sluggish, off on his passes and had trouble holding on to the ball in situations that normally he would have easily controlled. You could tell from some of his dejected looks after misplaying the ball that he was not happy with his form (boy wears his heart on his sleeve). Look, this was a reminder that our golden boy is playing in what is his first full season with first teamers and he is going to have some ups and downs along the way; especially when he hasn’t played in weeks and he gets thrust back into the starting lineup in a must win game! That said, I am happy Jack was able to play 60 (albeit too many in my opinion) and stayed healthy throughout the match.

Next, don’t get me started on Gervinho. Look, I know there are many fans that say Gooners are quick to turn on the lad. Hell, the announcers even touched on that during the match and I am not without guilt as I don’t hide my distaste for him or his boneheaded play. But the Ivorian is like that girlfriend you dated not once, but twice. Things started out good but never worked out and so you broke up. Then, you reconnect after some time has passed, think she has changed and things yet again start off well. After a some nice flashes in the pan with her you quickly start to see the girl of old and why you broke up the first time. That is my relationship with Gervinho and this game proved it to me. He had the WIDE OPEN play, took an extremely heavy touch (no excuse for a guy who is “in form”) and ran himself out of an easy goal. We don’t need that. Not now, not ever. We need the guy that steps up in those situations; not buggers it up for all to see. That, my friends, was my moment where we broke up again. Sorry mate, your real nice and I’m sure someone out there would really love you but it’s just not working for me anymore. I’m gonna need my key back…

Now, on to the meat of the match. As I said before, this game should have been a complete reversal of what happened. We should have went up 3-0 quickly with Poldi/AOC in the lineup already. Then, after we hopefully had the lead, the late subs should have been defensive or about getting Jack/Theo minutes to get back into the rhythm of the game. Instead, we went down in our usual fashion by playing tentative football and allowing an EASY set piece goal. What is it that causes our heads to burrow up our arses when we defend set pieces? That damn goal looked like training ground perfection against the U-18 defense… shitty. Just no other way to put it. BUT, like it our not, we know that is our weakness and achilles heel this year so I guess I just have to get passed it until we can get that damn problem out of our heads…

Once we gave up the goal, I was happy to see Wenger move quickly to interject some pace/speed into the lineup in hopes of equalizing. The moves, with enough time to actually do something (thank God), were exactly what we could have hoped for: Jack/Gervinho off, Poldi/Theo on. The changes show just how serious Arsene was taking this game and the effect was instantaneous as Arsenal almost converted instantly. Theo’s movement and pressing behind was exactly what we needed (and were missing all day). After the first set of changes, Santi slotted back into his correct position (WHY!? Why don’t you just start him there from the get go Arsene!?) and Poldi sat waiting to use that rifle leg of his (his first touches looked like a guy who hadn’t received much first team football-hint hint Arsene, start that man more).

After threatening multiple times it turns out that it was the pull on Giroud that gave us our first goal (via penalty of course). It was pretty obvious that Giroud was pulled to ground and I was glad to see the linesman call it but thought it should have been called by the head ref (maybe he didn’t want to impact the game with a call?). Anyways, I always get nervous at penalty shots; especially when our set taker had missed one earlier in the season. I worry that Arteta’s mind goes straight to the one he missed and surely if I was a defender that is all I would be screaming about. Thankfully, Arteta slotted home and the race was on to try to slot home the winner.

Shortly after the penalty we nabbed not one but two goals (LOVED the Podolski shot, so glad he popped one into the net) to put this one away: instant pace created instant space and in less than 15 minutes we had this one in the bag.

It was obvious that the pace put in to the game that late, via Theo and AOC, was WAY too much to handle and Norwich were  on their heels trying to cover defensively in an instant. In the end, I’m still not happy about how this game played out but more than joyous that we took 3 at home. We should have won 3-1 in a much easier fashion but I’ll give it to our boys for sticking with it and not settling for a tie and instead going for the win (really fun to see Poldi/Theo/AOC/Giroud/Cazorla all on the pitch at the same time pressing forward).

Now, who to start come Tuesday…

Well, news has it that Wenger himself is declaring Rosicky highly unlikely to play this Saturday. Not an exciting proposition given that it has been my position to slowly work Jack/Theo back into the lineup once we had hung 3 on the little birdies… Really not happy about this news but I do have an idea and it is a bit risky which means it will in all likelihood never happen. Here goes…

Gervinho…..Giroud….AOC/Podolski

Ramsey….Cazorla….Arteta

Sagna….Kols….TV….Monreal

Fabianski

And here is my thinking: Arsenal don’t have a possession problem, generally speaking. They have a kick the fuckin’ ball in the net instead of slowly carrying the damn thing all the way there problem. This lineup, albeit a bit risky on a number of fronts, would really push us forward a bit and rely on the speed of our front guys to get back and help on D. That is what I would emphasize in the locker room too: push forward, possess and attack from the wings (sounds pretty much the same as usual) and IF/when we lose possession haul your ass back and help on D.

Here is what I like about that lineup and why I think it will work: Gervinho has been in form (keep his confidence up), Giroud keeps his man-presence in the middle and AOC brings that Walcott-like pace albeit fit and 100% healthy. I would suggest that it be Podolski but there have been rumors flying that he has some sort of injury (?) and is actually unavailable. Personally I would rather it be him because I think he is one of the few not afraid to cannon it from distance but AOC would do just as well for me if the German is truly unavailable. Ramsey (in my opinion) has been playing well as of late, you finally put Santi in his natural position and let him roam as he always does regardless of where you put him and Arteta continues to act as our CDM. The back stays the same (albeit without the BFG pursuant to his argh for fuck sake red card). If we go up quick and keep the pressure on you can always take Ramsey off and go back to your 5 man wide back line with Gibbs taking his place (who always seems to do a great job getting forward anyways) and you can stay sharp on the counter. Late in the game you bring Jack in for Santi and push Theo in for AOC (Theo in for AOC would also work if we find ourselves in a nil nil situation as well, same goes for the Jack/Ramsey swap).

To me, the above suggested lineup keeps the players who are 100% healthy and in form in the damn game. If you want to run Jack in once we are hopefully up big you could also sub him for Santi to give him a breather as well.

Right, more on this to come once we get a bit closer to the game and I should have some pre-match thoughts up here sometime Friday.

Double Impact (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Double Impact was probably one of my favorite movies when I was growing up. Who doesn’t like a double dose of Van Damme? It’s like a regular Van Damme movie only you get twice the ass kicking in every scene! That is hopefully what we have on tap over the next week as Arsenal takes on Norwich this Saturday and then turns around and plays Everton on Tuesday (and then off to Fulham 4 days later!). The next two matches are at home and both require us to inject a little Van Damme into our play.

First up, Norwich. We owe these guys. We already endured a loss to them earlier this season and with these tweetie birds coming to OUR stadium playing against OUR home crowd we should handle them the way Van Damme handles all his enemies: with a swift flying split kick to the face! Actually, can you imagine how awesome that would be to see Van Damme round house a canary across the room?  Really though, this game is extremely important and we HAVE to win to carry momentum into the quick turn around with Everton. Our “soft” exposure this season shows how quickly our confidence (and form) can swing and last thing we need is a loss coupled with an Everton team ready to jump us in the table. And this is why I don’t want to see either Theo or Jack in the starting lineup on Saturday. We need Arsenal (as the lineup looked the last two weeks) to dominate, pull ahead, put the game away and then give those two a few minutes to get re-aquianted to the pace of play so we can inject them straight away into the match with Everton (if needed?). With our team playing as they are right now (what is that feeling? confidence?) there is even the argument that if they dominate Norwich do you even risk changing the lineup against Everton? My answer is yes, yes you do…

Everton. We are going to be tired (emotionally, physically, mentally) from our win (oh God please let this be) against Norwich and the need for pace and the likes of Wilshere’s possession game could be exactly what we need against a team like Everton. They are the blue collar workers of the EPL. They don’t mind getting dirty, they do what they can to win, and they will definitely punch you in the face if you bad mouth their mother (notice I didn’t say wife). That is why we have to inject pace, possession and the likes of a fully fit Theo (who maybe needed a bit of a mental break and less pressure) and Jack (who just physically probably needed the break after the shit hits that guy seems to take-c’mon ref!) in order to keep Everton where they belong; solidified and stable in the mid table.

Look, this is a tough call heading into the weekend. Right now Arsenal are playing well enough to win without the likes of Jack/Theo. The current lineup seems to have a solid understanding of their game right now adding in some growing confidence and they can smell the Champions League qualification (oh it would be SO great to slip in again this year while gut punching Sp*rs out!). If you are Arsene, do you risk messing with that chemistry? Do you tinker just because you have arguably (I’ll give ya Wilshere but Theo has been a bit off lately) better options coming back? In baseball, when we would get on a winning streak you didn’t mess with it until you lost. However, here, I think the added likes of Jack, more than Theo, is where we can tinker without messing with the chemistry. The guy is a proven worker and ego is not a part of his game. Theo, however, could be the right amount of pace if, and God help me that I am about to say this, he would interject a little more of Gervinho’s attacking style into his play (and couple it with Theo’s own foot which is a much more spot on shot on goal).

This is where the “in Arsene we trust” really comes into play. Love him or hate him, the lineups we roll out over these next two games will determine an enormous outcry heard ‘cross the world for Arsenal fans if we don’t win them both. Truth is, at this point I don’t care what lineup is strung out there so long as by Tuesday night we have 6 points to claim from the two matches.

On another note, there is an interesting bit on the possibility of Arshavin retiring on ESPN (who the hell knows how true it is). I wasn’t a huge follower at the time he played a lot but in the few minutes he played this year there were some moments where he definitely still showed that he belonged on the EPL pitch. Very sad to see that he didn’t get regular playing time and I feel like he might have done well to be pulling minutes on one of the lower tabled clubs. Anyways, if he wants to move on then good luck to him and I hope he discovers the joy of the game soon again.