Arsenal play new boys Swansea City tomorrow and need to rebound from the terrible defeat away to united. This match can definitely be used as a springboard to get the season up and running (after the disaster that was the first three matches). This could be especially true, with the signings most likely taking part and adding some new flavor into the squad.

In terms of the team news: some people are returning and some are are retreating to the depths of the treatment room, never to be seen again. Jack is out for six to eight weeks with his mysterious ankle/foot thing that is apparently very serious. Vermaelen had surgery on his own foot/ankle thing (shit, it’s contagious!) a few days ago and won’t be seen for four to six weeks as well. This is devastating news. They are arguably the heart and soul of the team now and we saw two weeks ago what a match without both of them can be like.

Rosicky is a possibility after getting his knee kicked on international duty. Andre Santos is not yet match fit either after a delay to the start of the Turkish league. He may feature on the bench though considering we are pretty light at fullback. In better news Theo and Gibbs should be available.

Swansea are one of the newly promoted teams and we should probably be able to beat them…..cough……West Brom……cough cough……Hull. I saw most of their match against Man City and they played them very well, even if the result ended up being 4-1. They are tough, and we have had issues with these lesser teams before. Hopefully the boys will be focused and looking to give the supporters something, especially on the back of the last match.

Come on down to Beulahland tomorrow at 7:00 am sharp to cheer on the boys to what hopefully will be the first win of the campaign. See you there…and Come On You Gunners!!!

Arsenal have officially completed the signings of German center back Per Mertesacker and Brazilian left back Andre Santos from Werder Bremen and Fenerbahce respectively. The club has also made deadline day deals for Yossi Benayoun (from Chelsea) and Mikel Arteta (from Everton).

Andre Santos has 22 caps for Brazil and has played in Turkey since 2009. Last year he helped Fenerbahce win the Turkish league scoring 10 goals in the process. He looks like more of an attacking fullback, which is Arsenal’s style for sure, with some great skill on the ball (he is Brazilian so was likely born that way).

Mertesacker is the former captain of Werder Bremen and has 75 caps for Germany. The 26 year old is 6’6″ which makes him the tallest Arsenal player by about 20 miles. He should provide some skill and experience at the back that is much needed. He has a lot of experience in Europe with Bremen as well (mostly Europa League).

Yossi Benayoun is the captain of the Israeli national team and has six years of Premier League experience with West Ham, Liverpool and Chelsea. He is a little old at 31 and had a major calf injury last year (out six months) but is a good deal on a season long loan from Chelsea. He is a midfielder that normally plays out wide and is a creative attacking player.

With about 15-30 minutes left in the transfer window, Arsenal secured the signing of Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta. He reportedly took a 20 million pound pay cut to sign for us with the deal being off and on again throughout the day. Mikel is a creative central midfielder that would help fill the empty “Cesc” (sigh…) roll. He also has six years of Premier League experience, all with the toffies. He is a former Barca (c*nts) trainee and has also played for PSG, Rangers and Real Sociedad. The deal is still subject to the formal registration process but should go through. He has had some injury issues in the past as well.

A signing! It’s a miracle. A cheaper one but a miracle non-the-less. Chu Young Park has signed for Arsenal from Monaco for around three million pounds. Park is a striker and the captain of the South Korean national team. From what I have seen of him he seems like sort of a poachy type of striker, a-la Eduardo (pre-leg break by Birmingham cretin), which is something The Arsenal could use for sure.

We actually took him away from signing for Lille, which he was about to do. On a bad note, this probably means an end to any hope of signing Eden Hazard from them.

Hopefully this is the beginning of the floodgates opening with strong rumours of the signings of German international centerback and Werder Bremen captain Per Mertesacker as well as Brazilian international left back and Fenerbahce player Andre Santos. Bring it on Arsene…

Is there anybody out there that can play midfield……

Tomorrow the boys travel to Manchester to face the reigning champions/team with the worst hair plugs…

This is always a tough match but even more so when we have a practically non-existant midfield. Jack is still out (fix that kid dammit), and Song and Frimpong are suspend which cut’s down on the teams mohawk percentage but leaves us absolutely zero defensive midfielders. This could be a big loss facing Rooney and any one of Chicarito/Berbatov/Park. Song did a good job on Rooney in the match we won at home last year, so there should be some trouble getting a hold of their attack. Gibbs, Bendtner and Squillaci(thank god) are out. Vermaelen and Koscielny faced fitness tests but should make it. Rosicky and Djourou had knocks after Udinese but should be ok as well.

Our midfield lineup should be interesting. Rosicky and Ramsey will more than likely be in but the third could be any ones guess. Could maybe see Arshavin dropping back or the young man Lansbury put in. Reserve player Oguzhan Ozyakup is also travelling and could get the call up. He is a pretty good, young dutch midfielder who has been the creative engine for the youth teams for awhile now.

In terms of United, both starting center backs are more than likely out. Vidic is out for a number of weeks and Ferdinand has had an injury and could be given further time to recover since supposedly their two understudies have been playing well. Valencia and Rafael should be out as well. Maybe the center back situation is something we can take advantage of.

This match looks like a big ask on paper in terms of a result. However, I think the boys showed some grit and a bit of fight in mid weeks Champions League qualifier. This could bode well for having to go into old trafford with a short handed squad. If they can show that same fight then we might be able to get something from this match. A draw would not be a terrible result, but of course I hope we go and kick the ever loving shite out of them (especially that guy with the hair).

Cheers.

Well, they made it through…..

The match yesterday was a good result. Another fairly decent defensive game, a good match for Gervinho (assist included), and a legend making save from Sczezny (including pre-penalty shit-talking to Di Natale). A little sketchy at times, but all in all a good win with some actual showing of mental strength.

That win means The Arsenal were in the draw for the Champions League group stages (for the 14th time in a row I might add) today. The results of the draw (typical easy draw for man united…wankers) see us facing: Borussia Dortmund, Olypiacos and Marseille, twice each, over the next few months. Schedule here. This looks like it could be a tough draw.
Borussia Dortmund are the reigning German champions (why they were in pot four for the draw I have no idea). They play an attacking brand of football similar to Arsenal (try to keep the ball on the deck with quick counter attacks). They dusted the competition last year and boast some very promising up and coming players including: Shinji Kagawa (attacking midfield), Robert Lewandowski (striker), Lucas Barrios (striker) and Mario Goetze (midfield). They could pose a stern test but could also be a better match up for Arsenal due to their style of play.

Marseille finished runners up in Ligue 1 last year. Eight points behind champions Lille. They were also involved in last years champions league where they finished second in the group stage behind chelsea and were knocked in a close round of 16 match up with man united (2-1 aggregate). I saw one of the matches with united and it was tight and a little boring. united dominated the match at home and Marsielles didn’t look interested a lot of the time. I have yet to see them play this year but they could form a tough match up in France.

Olympiacos are the Greek champions, but I’m not sure about them other than that. We had them in the group stages two years ago. We handled them easily at home but lost 1-0 away. That loss was in a match that didn’t matter and with a very young squad though(Jack’s first Champions League match…how quickly they grow up). Not too sure on their players. I think it might just be Olof Mellburg (ex-villa, probably about 50 years old now) and a bunch of Greek guys.

One thing that’s nice is no far trips to Eastern Europe in the middle of winter. Hurrah!

Well, we get Champions League after having to sweat it out a little bit. Props to Arsene for doing it 14 years in a row. Hopefully, this means we can attract some players in the week before the window closes…….hopefully.

Cheers.