Why?!?!

Arsenal's like a fine woman really. She'll tease you and tease you and just when you think you're getting somewhere she'll kick you in the bollocks. You're back at square one with sore testicles and wondering what you have to do to have a good night without being assaulted. Unfortunately, yesterday was one of those days.

While Crewe won 8-1; Arsenal could only manage a 0-0 draw at home to Blackburn. I don't even know where to begin. I won't bother telling you what happened, visit Arsenalist for highlights. Almunia was Almunia, caught a few corners, flapped a shot and came out for a punt he didn't get to. I think he's just waiting for the summer to be honest, just like the rest of us then. Bacary Sagna was Bactastic. Same old reliable Bac, no real worries, not the greatest attacking threat. Slid into a 50-50 early on, neither player came off particularly well. Clichy was a bit better, got down the left well, combined well with Arshavin as per usual and got in some decent crosses. Am I the only one who thinks his crossing is a lot better on his weaker foot, we certainly score more from those, e.g. Song at home to West Ham. The Squillaci-Koscielny partnership didn't really have that much to do, kept Santa Cruz quiet and were mostly solid barring the occasional punt upfield from Robinson.

Song picked up a knock followed by a booking but played the whole ninety. He lost a bit of mobility with the knock and maybe should have come off for a striker as Arsenal chased the win and the defence weren't exactly under the kosh. Jack Wilshere, same as always, tried to drive forwards, seemed to lack a little bit of spark, like most of the team. Missed a sitter around half an hour in. Samir Nasri played in the advanced role. Nasri looked to try and break through the Blackburn defence early on before a clash of heads. He came back on, bandaged up with a bump that could easily be mistaken for a baseball. He was shifted wide with the introduction of Cesc Fabregas before making way for Nicklas Bendtner. Bendtner did what he always does, provided a presence and mixed things up; he put in a few good crosses and tried to make some chances. Questions remain about why he played wide right rather than centrally though.

Theo Walcott started brightly, tormenting the left-back, although he faded as the game went on and service fell away, he certainly looked sharp. He came off for Marouane Chamakh who added a presence in the area and looked to get on the end of crosses, unfortunately he didn't really do that much. Andrei Arshavin started on the left, he completed 90 minutes twice for Russia in the international break but he looked sharp, running with the ball, making chances and taking them he was a bright spark in a dull first half. He started the second half sluggishly, not to be expected given the amount of football he's played and was brought off for Cesc Fabregas with half an hour left. Questions remain about why he came off instead of Song who offered less in attack, was on a booking and looked to have picked up a knock. Fabregas came on but looked rusty and not really fit enough to be playing Premier League football, certainly not fit enough to prove the difference in this match. Let's hope he can improve his match fitness before we travel to Blackpool. Robin Van Persie played well, not his best game ever and he didn't add to his Blackburn tally but he popped up in a lot of places and did his whole Van Persie thing.

So yeah, not that great but it remains to be seen what this means for our season, more on that in the coming days. After the match the boss spoke to the press, you can take a look at the transcript here or just watch the video if you're too lazy to read it. His interview with the BBC can be seen here and the interesting bit that Skysports picked up on was a 'lack of energy', is that a motivational problem; a problem following the international break? Maybe because we had so many players who were returning from injury. There was certainly a noticeable lack of sparkiness as the match wore on.

That's the match news done then, and rumours abound this week regarding Gael Clichy, with Bayern Munich and Italy likely destinations apparently. We know he only has one year on his contract and that Arsene could be tempted to cash in, but these kind of deals are usually resovled in the summer so I wouldn't be that worried. I would be worried if he was sold and nobody brought in. While  Keiran Gibbs has the potential, he's not yet ready to be the first-choice left back and injuries seem to be a problem as well. One name that has been touted is Leighton Baines of Everton. Very much an attack-minded full back, he is second in the assist league since some time in 2009, with only Cesc Fabregas ahead of him. Not bad for a left-back, obviously the Premier League experience is a big plus as well. It has been reported that Everton have debts upto £45 million, although the summer will see how this one pans out.

Some other news then, Kyle Bartley is out for the rest of the season and is returning to Arsenal from Rangers where he impressed on loan; Arsenal have signed a young Swede and ex-Charlton boss Phil Parkinson is set to become Arsenal's scout in North East England due to his knowledge of the lower leagues. With the likes of Adam Johnson and Andy Carroll coming from the North East, it is hoped that Parkinson can catch a similar starlet.

A few videos the, Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey on Football Focus, an Aaron Ramsey interview with the official club site and also the highlights of Arsenal Reserves 2-1 loss to Wigan reserves. Be sure to check out Jens Lehmann in goal and Jeremie Aliadiere as number 10. Two good compilations as well, the progress of Oguzhan Ozyakup this season and Benik Afobe against Notts County.

Anyways, I know yesterday was depressing but remember, at least you're no Spud. Toodle-oo.