Title race? We were never out of it were we?

So we're travelling to visiting les spuds tonight then, at least it's not a long journey, just got to get from the good part of North London to the sh*t part. This is it then, regardless of the result this is where we see whether or not the team want it. Manure didn't pick up the win yesterday, it's a North London derby and questions have been asked about your mentality. If you ever wanted to prove you could perform on the big stage, tonight is bloody well the night. Cesc Fabregas has been speaking as well, saying that the club is at a 'crossroads' and must decide whether to become a bit more ambitious in the transfer market and be champions or become also-rans.

The boss has been urging the side to kick on and prove they have what it takes this evening, you'd think this isn't necessary ahead of a match of this importance, but never mind that, let's focus on the match. In the build up, the boss spoke about the difference STD and Monkey-man have made to Spuds. Let's move on to the good team though, with Song and Sagna both fit to start against the anti-Arsenal Tottensh*t. We should pretty much have a full team then with only Fabianski and Vermaelen still not involved so will probably line up with something like:

------------------Szczesny------------------

--Sagna---Djourou--Koscielny---Clichy--

-------------Song------Wilshere------------

--Walcott-------Fabregas---------Nasri---

---------------------RVP--------------------

As always an Arshavin could creep into the line-up, Nasri played the full 90 minutes on Sunday while Tottertott rested last weekend, but that's a decent shout for the line-up I reckon.

One other thing, speculation about a centre-back in the summer seems to have unsettled Kyle Bartley, make your own mind up about this one but personally I'd rather keep him than buy someone else. As always, videos galore so here's the boss pre-match. Enjoy and let's hope for three points tonight. :)

No rest for the wicked...

Never mind Liddlepuddle, we're facing the Spuds tomorrow. Let's hope Bacary Sagna is able to return after resting this weekend, as Emmanuel Eboue is a bit of a liability at the back as usual. With Carl Jenkinson set to sign in the summer, is this the end of the road for Eboue's Arsenal career? Talkshitesport have been talking as well; with Perry Groves saying we should sell Cesc Fabregas if the right offer comes in. I think the problem is that the right offer isn't coming in, rather than us not accepting it. The club have been linked with Frieburg forward Papiss Demba Cisse, but speculation is that the club will need to part with £13million to sign him. A striker coming in? You'd have to think that this heralds either a return to the 4-4-2 or an exit this summer for one of our current strikers.

I've also heard (from admittedly an unreliable source) that the club have offered PSG £13million for Mamadou Sakho, but the Mirror reckon he's content to stay in France for the next few seasons. The Mirror also have a piece on Jack Wilshere, wanting not only to play for the U-21s this summer, but in the Olympics next summer as well as the European Championships. I understand that he's young and wants to play as much football as possible, but isn't that stretching it a bit?

Wojciech Szczesny has been talking about how he hopes to cement his position as the No.1 at the club so that the boss doesn't need to buy a keeper in the summer. With Fabianski and Szczesny both kicking on this season, I don't see why a keeper would be brought in during the summer, with Mannone more than adequate as a No.3. Theo Walcott has also been talking about how he has kicked on this season, he's been both scoring and assisting more and it's been good seeing him do so well.

Finally, a piece in LadyArse about Benik Afobe's loan spell written by a Huddersfield fan and a match report as Arsenal cruised into the semi-finals of the Dallas Cup with a 6-0 victory over Panamian Chorillo FC.

A few videos for you then pre-match interviews ahead of tomorrow from Theo Walcott and Robin Van Persie. A Theo Walcott compilation as well, plus Carlos Vela vs Chelsea and Henri Lansbury vs Nottingham Forest. Enjoy.

Be sure to comment or contact me (details near the bottom) if you have something to say. Have a nice Tuesday and lets hope the barcodes win today. ;)

It's been just like a mini-interlull

Having used up it's supply of soft-news in the interlull, Arsenal have been under some kind of media-lock down; with pretty much nothing coming out except a bit of chat from Emmanuel Frimpong. Anyways, Arsene Wenger had his pre-match press conference today, but I'm afraid I don't have a video for you as of yet. I do have the news though, Manuel Almunia is set to continue in goal, Nasri deserves being nominated for PFA player of the Year and that the team 'want to show they're up for it'. Heard it all before springs to mind, seen it all before doesn't, but with reports of a few chats behind the scenes, let's hope some of the players are a bit more motivated than they have been in recent months weeks. Obviously a lot of Arsenal fans have been disappointed with recent results, but I think it's only fair to wait until the end of the season before judging, a la Arsenal Supporter's Trust.

The boss reckons that it's vital to trust the players now, having put in so much energy to bring them this far. I agree with him in general, and I don't think any of us disagree with bringing up young players, youth certainly isn't an impediment to success; but it's hard to trust a player who doesn't show any desire to win. At the end of the day, all we ask of players, at least all I would ever ask is that they give their all. Some of them haven't in the past, so why should I trust them to in the future? Sometimes you have to prove yourself. Anyway, as I said hopefully they've had a banana shoved up their back-sides and are ready to turn over anyone we face in the next eight games.

A bit of an early Blackpool preview then, as already mentioned Manuel Almunia will carry on in goal. Cesc Fabregas is fit to start against Blackpool but Alex Song is set to miss out, he will probably be joined on the sidelines by Bacary Sagna who won't be risked after a knock on his knee. Theo Walcott faces a late fitness test while Aaron Ramsey looks likely to feature in the squad after overcoming a groin problem.

In nice news, Arsenal Ladies travel to Lyon for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Saturday evening. Let's hope they do better than the men have this season.

Now although I don't have Wenger's pre-match press conference for you (yet), I do have some other videos; a compilation of potential Arsenal full-back Carl Jenkinson playing for Charlton vs. Notts County. Take a look at Eboue's replacement?

We've also got an interview with Jeremie Aliadiere talking about random stuff, I think his Arsenal career is mentioned. He hasn't looked too bad for the reserves barring a bit of rustiness, is a contract really that unlikely? Who knows.

Anyways, that's it for now. I might update later if I get the pre-match press conference soon, it not then I'll probably have it by tomorrow. Have a good Friday night. :)

P.S. Vote in the poll!!! Right hand side of the page: 'Can Arsenal win the League?'

I swear this week has gone on forever...

Of course watching the Spuds get munched was entertaining, and hopefully an open game when Chelsea  travel to Old Trafford to tire everyone out. Anways, news is slowly dripping out regarding something happening in the boardroom. Nobody's really sure yet, but if anything is announced on the club's official website we can obviously expect it to come out sometime around April 13579. If anything interesting happens, I'll be sure to write up an article on Gunnersphere (@Gunnersphere on twitter) to cover it in more detail. I won't waste a blog post with it because I know it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Anyways, other news coming out as well. The stage is all but set for Carl Jenkinson to move to Arsenal this summer, as revealed by YoungGuns. Does this leave the door open for a Eboue to leave in the summer with Jenkinson, who can play across the back four, filling in as a young right back? I suppose the plan for next season will only become clear in pre-season.

In other news, Arsenal reserves beat Sunderland reserves 4-2, with Jeremie Aliadiere scoring and linking up well. Jens Lehmann made a lot of noise at the back, but being honest he doesn't look the most agile he's ever been. Let's just hope he doesn't have to come off the bench. Emmanuel Frimpong also made a long awaited come-back, following ligament damage. He's been speaking to the official site about how he's been waiting nine months to get back on the pitch, so it's no surprise that he was delighted to be back on the pitch. He's also been speaking about injuries and hopes he can get the rub of the green while he tries to break into the first-team. Neil Banfield spoke after the match on being pegged back twice, the quality we had and of course the return of Emmanuel Frimpong. You can find the highlights of the match here.

One other video as well, a close-up interview with you ball-playing midfielder Conr Henderson. Not the most exciting but if you want to find out more about the young Irishman, don't look any further than right here.

One last thing, be sure to vote in the poll on the right hand side of this page and say whether you think Arsenal still have a shot at winning the league. That's all for now folks, more on Blackpool next time.

A footballing feast in store for us?

It's the big one this evening, as we all know my hometown team Crewe Alexandra will be taking on local rivals Macclesfield Town in the South Cheshire derby; but perhaps just as importantly it's the second leg of our champions league tie against Barcelona. Where to begin?

I suppose team news would be the best place to start with uncertainty in Barcelona's defence and our attack. With Pique suspended and Puyol set to miss out as well, it looks like Busquets and Abidal are set to deputise in central defence, although both are good players, they're not Puyol and Pique. As excpected Maxwell should feature at left-back and Mascherano as the holding midfielder. On to the good team now, Szczesny should feature in goal, with the Clichy-Djourou-Koscielny-Sagna defence basically first choice. Hopefully Koscielny has got the Wembley horrors out of his system and will be more than ready for Barcelona. In midfield Fabregas looks set to feature, declaring himself ready not only physically, but mentally as well.

Alongside him, we can obviously expect to see Jack Wilshere in his usual role, alongside either Diaby or Denilson. This is the first contentious point. Diaby offers a greater threat and is able to surge forward with his runs from deep, but he's also more of a liability as Denilson usually plays the safer pass and slots into the defence better. I think Denilson will get the nod to fill in for Song here, but I could easily be wrong. In attack, we can obviously expect to see Nasri and Arshavin on the flanks. Up front is a real tricky one. We know that Robin Van Persie's return is a major boost for the club, as reiterated by the captain, but is he really fit enough to start?

If so then problem solved, if not then it's a toss-up between Marouane Chamakh and Nicklas Bendtner. Take your pick again really; Bendtner is a more varied player and definitely looks to have more goals about him, but Chamakh holds up play and links up better than Bendtner, important if we look to play on the counter. I'll probably go out on a limb and say the Great Dane will start, but once again I wouldn't put money on it. We're yet to see who will be trimmed from the 19-man squad. Van Persie will be included provided he passes his fitness test which I've been led to believe he has. Someone along the lines of Rosicky or Gibbs will probably find themselves axed then.

Other kind build-up stuff: Arsenal icon Nigel Winterburn has been speaking to TalkShiteSport about just how important the return of RVP could be; the Mirror on how much Cesc wants to shut people up and just wants to win and also the Mirror again with some less than less than polite words from Pep Guardiola about Jack Wilshere.

Loads of news as well, Wenger says that 'Fabregas is a winner' and that winning is going to be the only thing in his mind tonight. As with quite a few other players, Gael Clichy's contract talks will be sorted in the summer. Two stories from the Metro, I don't believe this one and don't care about this one. This is from caught offside, I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted him given his brilliant performances in the Dutch league, but they'll most likely have to keep their grubby hands to themselves as I'm sure this is one Wenger will look to hold onto. Former Gunner Mathieu Flamini has been talking about how he likes beating Spurs to help Arsenal, that's nice of him, let's hope Spurs get humiliated in midweek then. Also, another ex-Arsenal man in the form of Jeremie Aliadiere has been training with the club, which is nice for him. He never really had the ability to make it at Arsenal and injuries were a problem for him as well, but I hope that he finds himself a decent club for next season, he's certainly good enough for most teams.

Remember people, Macclesfield - Crewe tonight. It just doesn't get bigger than this.

Hey, the only way is up right?

Winston Churchill once said, "Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential." We've lost cup finals before and we will in the future, we know the feeling and by supporting Arsenal we know that it won't be the last time. Kudos to Birmingham, they didn't try and break legs, they defended resolutely and looked to nick it, which they did in the end. I wouldn't go as far to say that they deserved it more, but they certainly desired it more and linking back to my Churchill quote in the beginning they seemed to have a bit more determination. There were a few players who would die on the pitch for Arsenal: Nasri was always trying, Van Persie's knee exploded as he scored the equaliser and of course there's Jack Wilshere; unfortunately they were the exception rather that the rule.

Where to begin with young Jack? There's not a single match this season where I haven't watched him and thought "Wow. He will be incredible". The best part is it's true, whisper it quietly, but I think he has the potential to be the best, possibly the very best. That's not the brilliant part though, the brilliant part is that he's Arsenal through and through, obviously he showed it at the final whistle, but make no mistake about it, I would quite happily take this season as successful if Jack Wilshere carried on developing at this rate throughout the season.That was raw passion and real emotion we saw from him and that wouldn't go amiss from a few more players.

More news expected with regards to RVP's shattered knees, but he could be a doubt for the Nou Camp, at least Bendtner knows how to score there though. I suppose the brief respite we can take from the loss is that, after performances like that the team usually bounce back on the biggest stage, but before looking ahead to Barca it's the O's that could pose a problem in medweek, we can't be complacent.

Remember what it means to be a fan, as someone said yesterday on Twitter: "Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it.". It's times like this the the crowd really have to get behind the team and ensure that the desire is always there for every match, whether we're playing Barca, Birmingham or Bournemouth.


Anger fades and tears dry, but my love for Arsenal will never die. Through think and thin, highs and lows, a Gunner to the end.