All is not lost.. But it IS a kick in the teeth

Arsenal lost again away from home. They didn't wake up until the last half an hour and the damage had already been done.

Arsenal have now taken 12 points from a possible 42 away from home in the Premiership.

That is a damning statistic and one which tells you everything you need to know about our current league position.

We have no leaders in the middle of the park, Jens and Kolo lead the defence pretty well and when Campbell (if he is of sound mind and body) and Cole come back I think we will at least be able to hold our own, and not concede with alarming consistency and regularity away from home as we have been.

Cole and Campbell will add some English steel and some much needed experience.

We have no real midfield leader.

It is unfair to and unrealistic expect an 18 year old to lead the engine of the team.

We need an experienced head in there who is not losing their ability. Reyes is NOT a leader, neither is Gilberto, Hleb or Pires. We need an aggressive more mature player in the centre of midfield. Let's hope Wenger acts on that in the summer.

Freddie looked good in the middle against Madrid and maybe that is an option for away games until the end of the season.

Maybe Lauren could play in the centre?

Henry seems in and out of games away from home. We need to start shooting more from outside the box as we are not as dominant as we have been in recent years. Therefore we must not try and walk the ball in all the time. Maybe we need Van Persie back?

If we can hold out for 0-0 at half time we seem to improve and be more dangerous in the second half of matches. We have the quality when the game opens up, too often we are already chasing the game.

We just need to be confident in each other and play from the start not when we have nothing to lose.

Wenger's biggest problem is that he doesn't know what his strongest XI is. Not in a good way either.

That is a terrible position to be in, and is key as to why we are in this predicament.

But at least this season could turn out to be exciting (even for the wrong reasons). Although I'd have settled for a boring 2nd behind Chelsea any day!

Tottenham have a tough run in, far tougher than ours but they are in the crucial 4th place and we cannot rely on them to lose it.

Bolton are up there fighting too and have just as much chance as we do.

We must beat Tottenham in the last ever north London derby at Highbury.

Nothing is to be written off yet. We still have a good chance of 4th.

It's not a good situation.

But this is the situation. We are chasing 4th.

We still have a chance but if we don't find our best XI and get some consistency and confidence we might not have Champions League football at the new stadium.

That is a sobering thought.

We have 11 games to save our season. Let's be positive.

Wenger The Real Hero Of Madrid

Arsenal produced a quality team display and ran out deserved 1-0 winners against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu last night.

What a result! Who would have predicted that?! Makes you proud to be a Gooner.

Henry scored the only goal, a brilliant individual goal on 47 minutes.

Arsenal were dominant and Real's insistence of playing 'their game' for 90 mins proved to be a hinderence and aided Arsenal's own adventure.

Real Madrid are a funny side, they play their own game, believing that is the key to victory. Essentially. 'We will score more goals than you'.

They don't play their opposition.

Arsenal battled man for man, won their individual battles and as a result were given the time and space to play their expansive brand of football, which embarrassed Madrid at times.

Arsenal bullied Madrid out of it, like has happened to us on so many occassions this season, not only were we physically superior but the quality of our play was also on a different level at times.

In all honesty we probably could and should have killed off the tie. The energetic Reyes, instrumental Ljungberg and irrepressable Henry missing good chances in the first ten minutes.

Arsenal's team ethic was key and we worked hard for the win. That is the key to victory, especially in Europe.

See here

Every player can hold their head up high. However, special praise for Arsene Wenger is also due, he picked Hleb which was a little out of the blue and he took advantage of the space offered and performed. He workd hard and impressed.

Wenger got the tactical side of it spot on and the players did the rest. But you need that confidence to base anything on and so credit Wenger for taking a risk and it paying off.

It was a very young team, with the experienced players chipping in. Toure and Lehmann creating an excellent relationship and defensive team in the absence of Sol Campbell.

The young players, Eboue, Flamini, Senderos, Fabregas, Reyes and even Hleb to a certain extent will take great confidence from this performance and rightly so. But the tie is by no means dead. We will need another perfomance like this in 2 weeks time.

Let's hope this is the kick start our season needs and we can improve in the league starting at Blackburn on Saturday.

Without a win the progress will yet again be dampened.

Come on you Gunners!

Diaby & Reyes in?

Arsene Wenger takes Arsenal to the Bernabeu tonight with crucial decisions to make.

Will he play Reyes up front with Henry in a 4-4-2? Or do we need Reyes' commitment in midfield?

Will he play Ljungberg AND Pires in the same midfield away from home?

Will Diaby play? Will he play Flamini at left back or opt for Djourou?

To my mind, if Reyes is fit. He must play. Real are scared of him as he destroyed them when playing for Sevilla. Plus his pace on the break will be a good asset as Pires and Ljungberg can no longer effectively keep up with Henry.

Diaby also is a must. He hasn't proved anything yet but he offers good defensive protection and particularly away from home his driving runs beyond the front player, dribbling ability and directness are essential.

I would sacrifice Pires, Ljungberg or Gilberto who have been lacklutre this season at best.

Walcott and one of the former can come off the bench to provide an attacking threat, as well as Djourou if the midfield or defence needs bolstering.

I would play a back five of:


LEHMANN


EBOUE SENDEROS TOURE FLAMINI/LARSSON


The midfield is where the problems lie, in terms of personnel and formation. Why not play a central midfield 3 with Gilberto sitting in front of the back four and Diaby and Cesc just in front of him. Allowing Diaby and Cesc both to get forward and support Henry.


GILBERTO
DIABY FABREGAS

This would mean Ljungberg/Pires on the right, in a wingers position, high up the field, ready to support the attack and com in off the flanks to help Henry in the centre. Not to get pushed too deep and keep Cincinho and Carlos quiet by making them defend.


PIRES/LJUNGBERG REYES



HENRY

That leaves Walcott to come on as either a winger or as a central striker if we switch back to 4-4-2, which will also mean Hleb, Pires/Ljungberg can come on as the 4-4-2 seems to work better later on in games and Pires in particular has made an impact when coming off the bench.

Whatever formation we play and who fills it, we needs to show passion, pride and a good work ethic. If we get a bit of luck we can get a result and keep the tie alive. That's what it is about tonight, everything to play for when the injuries have eased and some reults come together. Then anything can happen. We must try our best to score as we saw against Wigan, if you don't score away you leave yourself susceptible.

Arsenal Called On To Show True Class As Injuries Mean Backs To The Wall

An injury ravaged and stuttering Arsenal side play a confident and improving Real Madrid side in the European Cup last 16 on Tuesday night..

Arsenal only have one fully fit striker. At least that striker is Thierry Henry.

Arsenal have an opportunity to make something of this season and stand up and be counted, that chance starts tomorrow night.

Arsenal will have 3 of the first choice defence out. Although there have been overtures that Ashley Cole will make a surprise return, which would be excellent news. Little has been heard of his recovery but he HAS travelled to Madrid.

That would offer another attacking option. Improve the morale of the squad and serve as a huge and much needed boost. It is heresay as of now though.

The rumors have it Reyes isn't fit enough to start and Bergkamp hasn't been able to shrug off a thigh strain. (Yet to be confirmed)

Bergkamp could be a big boost as he brings the other midfield players into the game and isn't afraid to get stuck in.

Adebayor is ineligible and Van Persie has a foot problem. So the inclusion of Bergkamp could be pivotal in terms of formation. If he is fit 4-4-2 if not the hitherto unfruitful 4-5-1.

Walcott should be in the squad and what a first team introduction that would be. Lupoli will also be on the bench and so we will have options available.

Diaby is a must, he can give us some physical presence and will be an unknown quantity which could be interesting in conjunction with Bergkamp's potential inclusion.

However with all of the injuries, we still have a team which can cause them problems.

We just need to start believing, have a bit of luck, be solid defensively and more importantly take out chances.

Against Real we will have chances, like teams do against us, no matter how dominant we are. Like Villa last night, who should have lost by 2 or 3 goals, if you are ruthless you can take something from the game.

It is time to show some of the old fighting spirit, backs to the wall stuff.. If we can get a result against Madrid then we can get a result anywhere and play with some confidence and get the season going again.

Tottenham dropped another 2 points yesterday and if we can get a run going it is there for the taking. This is as important a time as I can remember in recent years. It could be as pivotal as Chelsea beating Liverpool to the fourth Champions League place a few years ago. John Terry could have left (possibly for us) and Abramovic might not have corrupted Chelsea with his millions.

As the season reaches it's climax..

It's time to stand up and be counted. No doubts about that.

Arsenal Lack of Midfield and Leadership Exposed

Arsenal lost AGAIN away from home.

Lehmann was exceptional but Arsenal offered precious little going forward and would have taken a 0-0 draw gratefully if it wasn't for Garcia's late goal.

Arsenal away from home has become depressing viewing. Arsenal have the 4th worst attack in the Premiership away from home. It is because we no longer have a viable midfield.

Pires and Ljungberg are no longer quick enough or dangerous enough to justify both of their inclusions in an away game.

Gilberto tries to compensate too much for the lack of physical power and continually gives the ball away and gets caught out of possession.

You will find it hard to score goals away from home if you cannot:

1) Win the ball back from the opposition.
2) Beat people on the flanks and through the middle with driving runs
3) Stay disciplined and frustrate the opposition into over committing
4) Shoot from outside the box
5) Make overlapping runs and commit forward and get into the box
6) Score from headers and knock downs
7) Chase the ball up front and work hard

Arsenal are failing to do ANY of these things on a regular basis. We have also been culpable in defence and made school boy errors, because half of the team is schoolboys. Is it any wonder we are not performing away from home?

Arsenal's best hope of getting anything away from home lies in the midfield. They were good at Birmingham. Diaby especially. We won 2-0.

Arsenal's best midfield away from home in my humble opinion is:

Reyes Diaby Gilberto Fabregas and Possibly Van Persie dropping in if we go a goal up (playing 4-5-1 come 4-4-2)

Diaby makes runs into the box and commits people going forward, and he can dribble and is strong on the ball. He is raw but needs to play.

He also gives Gilberto a purpose, and can let him concentrate on sitting and frees up Fabregas.

Clichy or Cole's return will also help the midfield and add another attacking option.

Why did Diaby not play against Liverpool?

What is the matter with Henry? He is not the right choice as Captain, Wenger did it to bind him further to club and it has back fired. Cole should be captain. He has passion and needs to commit himself to the club after the Chelsea incident.

There is a distinct lack of leadership out on the pitch and it must be addressed.

Wenger needs to sort his midfield out in the summer and hope we can get 4th in the meantime.

Justice done.. Van Persie would have completed the job

Arsenal drew 1-1 with Bolton at Highbury on Saturday.

Bolton started well and could have conceivably been 2-0 before they scored in the 12th minute, Kevin Nolan lobbing home after the ball had ricocheted into his path following Senderos' unfortunate clearance.

That chance typified what Arsenal themselves lacked on the day. The ball to drop in the right place for someone to finish it and a killer instinct.

Bolton were solid and frustrated Arsenal in the first half.

Faye could have been sent off for a crude challenge on Reyes which ended the Spaniards involvement but equally Flamini was a little reckless and could have been punished.

Pires came on for Reyes and looked quite lively.

Bolton didn't offer much in attack after their opening 20 minute salvo but also restricted Arsenal to very few chances themselves. Davies causing an aerial threat and Bolton working hard and being tactically aware.

Gardner and Nolan also particularly impressive.

Arsenal lacked invention and width and it took them until after Nolan had struck to get back into the game. Gilberto quiet and Diaby not providing an effective enough link between defence and midfield as Bolton closed down space well.

Half-time came and Arsenal needed to regroup.

Diaby, who hadn't done a lot wrong, was replaced by Ljungberg who provided some much needed width and Fabregas moved into the centre.

Arsenal seemed to come out more determind and dominated the second half. Bolton offered little more than pumping balls into the channels, time wasting, spoiling tactics and utter desperation to hold on to a 1-0 win.

Arsenal created several decent chances after dominating possession and it would have been ideal for Van Persie. Countless times we had the ball 20-25 yards from goal and Bolton sat off us, instead of banging a shot in we tried to thread a killer pass or play a one-two, which was over hit, deflected or intercepted.

What is wrong with having a shot? Van Persie is one of the few Arsenal players to attenpt to score regularly from the edge of the box. I am convinced if he had played on Saturday we would have won.

Is it a sign of fallen expectations that a draw at home to Bolton is not that bad a result? Sometimes I think we are in such a crisis that we just look at the performance over the result to make sure we are going the right way. So an improved second half display and late late goal means I take some positives from the game.

There would have been a time when we would have been more concerned by the lacklustre first half. But it appears those times have gone.

Toure and Eboue add some experience to the back 4 now they have returned and they will be needed at Anfield. If we can get a result there it could give us a much needed boost in confidence.

It is still in our own hands and I am sure we will get 4th place, let's hope we can start pushing on towards it tomorrow night.

Why Wenger changing to 4-3-3 is nonsense

I have heard a lot of pontification and opinion as to how Arsene has bought a lot of versatile young players in the last couple of seasons in the midfield/forward category and that he will gradually build a new system and change formation based on these new players.

The change to 4-4-3 to accommodate the 'new breed' maybe part of his development for the club.

I cannot believe that he is going to change his preferred formation of 4-4-2 for one minute.

He may play 4-3-3 if either he has no choice or he plays it against another system to counter it, but for someone who has predominantly played 4-4-2 throughout his career (certainly at Arsenal) I don't think it is likely.

Wenger has pretty much played a version of 4-4-2 since he came to the club and has had amazing success, helping to raise standards of football in the premiership and set footballing records which will stand for generations.

The way I see it is that Wenger is just preparing for the inevitable departure of Pires, Bergkamp and to a lesser extent Ljungberg & Gilberto.

I seriously think Wenger intends to have 4 strikers - Henry, Adebayor and Van Persie and possibly one of Lupoli or Bendtner. All the while he can assess and play Walcott and find out what his best position is. If he turns into a great striker (which I think is Wenger's plan) then he can be the fourth and will be nearing his prime as Henry departs, perfect!

It means that Reyes, Fabregas, Diaby, Hleb, Flamini and possibly Ljungberg and Walcott will be his first choice midfielders. I think his long term plan is to pair Fabregas and Diaby in the middle and have Reyes on the left with one of Hleb, Ljungberg or Walcott (depending on his development and preferred position) on the right.

No-one can predict how players are going to develop and how to help them fulfill their potential. I seriously doubt Wenger is gambling on players being able to fit into a system which is untried. I think he will see how they develop and possibly alter the 4-4-2 (like he did for Pires and Ljungberg, as they are not natural 'wide' players) but that will be Wenger's framework.

Admittedly Wenger doesn't have to stick to one formation (he played wingbacks at Monaco to accommodate players so maybe I'm wrong) and could chop and change from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 however we saw what a lack of consistency did for Ranieri.

For someone who has had so much success, has such an idiosyncratic style and need to do things his own way I can't see Wenger adopting a 4-3-3 on a regular basis anytime soon.

It is an interesting subject and there is no right or wrong answer.. It would be good to hear some views of fellow Gooners on this one.. What do YOU think?

How 'missing' Vieira becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.. How to beat Bolton

Bergkamp, Wenger, Fabregas, Henry and every journalist under the sun has come out and said that we miss Vieira and will have to adapt and settle for standards lower then when he was captain of the club, and accept a transitional season.

These are the same journalists who were saying last season, that he wasn't the player he used to be, maybe the younger guys would oust him if he carried on playing without passion and desire, that he wouldn't sign a new contract and would leave for free and wanted to move to Real Madrid every summer.

The fact that we have lost Vieira isn't the main factor in our current position. It was the failure to replace him.

Last season he was the cause of the problem, now he is the answer.

All of a sudden the players and manager have started to believe their own lies. If you say it and hear it enough you can convince yourself it's the truth.

We miss a physical midfielder as it was imperative in the style of play we adopt. Vieira was an exceptional physical midfielder and any side would have missed him. Even more so if they failed to replace him.

However, the players have decided that we miss Vieira and have started to believe that when it is not necessarily the case. Let's hope Diaby can do a good enough impression of him and restore the harmony of the squad.

Although personally I think Diaby is a slightly different and more dynamic midfielder, albeit in terms of potential whereas Vieira was the finished article, no pun intended.

This Saturday we play Bolton. There are only 10 matches left at Highbury (maximum) to ensure Champions League football at Ashburton Grove.

It is imperative we beat Bolton, to take 3 points off of our rivals. That is the fact of the matter. Bolton, Tottenham and Wigan and not Chelsea are our rivals this season.

To beat Bolton we must score first and try and get in behind them. I hope Diaby and Adebayor play some part and we out muscle Bolton early on. That is the key.

If Bolton realise in the first 25 minutes that we are strong and willing to work as hard as them they will get deflated as that is their route to victory.

If they question the route to a Bolton victory then we are half way there.

I have seen Bolton at Highbury in the last few seasons, somewhat of a stock game for me and it isn't a bad indicator of how your season might go.

I am confident we will win, we owe Bolton.

Diaby and Adebayor to help put Arsenal into the Box Seat

Arsenal beat Birmingham 2-0 at St Andrews, we played well and showed a good response from the West Ham game.

The West Ham game was not the best of days and the less said about it the better. It didn't help that Gilbert got injured and we were wasteful in front of goal.

It reminded me of the Leeds game back in 2001/2 which we lost 2-1 at Highbury. An error from Tony Adams that day let in Mark Viduka.

Does Sol Campbell need to take some time out like Tony did in 1998 to increase the longevity of this career? I don't know..

On Saturday Diaby drove on the midfield and gave Cesc a little more freedom. He added some power, height and muscle to the midfield. He helped to shield the defence. But more importantly he added dynamism.

Diaby makes runs into the box. Adebayor makes runs and likes to play in the box.

Diaby has only played 3 full games but he is exactly what the team needed. He offers something different, he is not frightened to take the ball and run with it, he wants to shoot and makes runs into the box in order to score.

Adebayor added physical presence and wants to take the ball to feet and hold it up. He wants to play high up the pitch and get into scoring positions. Cesc wants to be free and be able to thread killer passes. Together they can compliment each other.

A good indication of how well he has settled in and how good Wenger thinks he could be, is the fact that he has allowed him to play first team games straight away.

Wenger doesn't do that with many new signings.

Wenger seems confident Henry will sign a new 4 year deal. What a boost that would be.

It is well documented that Arsenal need to replace Bergkamp. Henry can be that man. I have always said that. Henry can play the killer passes. He has the composure, that extra bit of time on the ball. Henry has the class and can feed fast players because he once was that goal scorer, the man making that run at hyperspeed.

So it looks promising, with Diaby playing well in the middle, Adebayor another option up front, both unknown and offering us something different, that coupled with Cole and Gilbert to return from injury shortly and there's cause for optimism.

Strange given last Wednesday's debacle.

On top of that Toure and Eboue are set to bolster the squad when they return from African Nations Cup duty, which could be soon depending on how Ivory Coast get on against Nigeria this afternoon.

I fully expect the fluidity to come back and us to put together a strong run of results and cement fourth place. Starting at home to Bolton on Saturday.

3 Games To Prove Our Class Starts Here

Bolton 1 - 0 Arsenal. We were NOT bullied. We WERE the better side. We WERE unlucky.

Diaby gave us a better balance in the centre of midfield. He gave some energy and made forward runs, dribbled the ball through the middle. Gave us some directness back.

I hope Diaby plays tonight.

Campbell was made captain. He was excellent for 84 minutes and then due to lack of communication and decisiveness was at fault for Bolton's winner. An improvement nonetheless.

However how far we have come after a better showing at Bolton remains unseen. Birmingham away is a game we should win.

West Ham at home tonight. Our home form is Championship form.

Tonight, as every game from now on will be labeled. Is a must win game.

If you can't beat West Ham United at home, with all to play for, then you have no right to finish fourth.

I think we will and we will. Blind faith I guess, but we are better than Sp*urs, Bolton and Wigan by a considerable margin.

Over the next 3 games:

West Ham (h)

Birmingham (a)

Bolton (h)

Let's prove it..