I am mad, I know I am mad, just like everyone else!

There is a dark side of the moon, I know I am sitting in it. It's bleak, cold and very very dark! Well enough of reading the sports press about Arsenal. By the way Frank McKlintock, my hero from 1971 and my first final with my dad as a fully fledged Gunner, shame on you for jumping on the press Arsenal thumping band wagon! You said less on Talksport but to lend your name to that article? Well you broke a little 1971 boys heart today. Once again the Arsenal bashing taxi has been around all the redtops and broad sheets, must be because it's a cheap fare and gets you noticed with little effort! No 3 wins in 3? Of course not. Praising our youngest CL goal scorer, Oooh to dull for us! Arsene's 15 year anniversary? is he not sacked yet? BBC5 mmmm poor to say the least, jumping on the Silent Stan express too., and RVP to Money City?

Well enough of that, we are Arsenal after all and all Gooners are used to it. It will soon be Spud time again and I for one, though nervous on our defence side, think this could be the game to turn our season around. Not because it's the yids. Far from it in fact. I just feel it would be something special to look back before the forth coming interlull with 4 wins out of 4 when most expect us to fall flat on our Arse (sic)

I had some good chats with fellow gooners on Twitter today and what a great bunch of fans we have and guys look out for other contributions from them in the coming weeks. Thanks guys.

Tomorrow I will be doing the pre game stuff and setting up the tone for the weekend. Good bye for a while to Almunia, as he joins the Bentner, loan circuit and most of all a big Happy Birthday to Ceti, one of the big founders of Gunning From Sussex. Sorry I cannot be there but have a really fab night.

So big blog tomorrow but enjoy your Friday and I will now head off to my padded cell on the the dark side of the moon. Big thanks to Pink Floyd for today's theme.

Laters

Smashing my plates

Hello and sorry for the late blog.My kitchen is a mess with broken plates from last night and the shouts of oophaa still ringing in my ears. Beer and ouzo? Is that how you spell it? Christ never drink it when watching football! Well we won. I will say it again WE WON! Yes we looked out of sorts defence wise at times, yes we can do better, but to be the only winning team from England in the CL you would expect plaudits all round.

However, this is the UK and with our press if it ain't Manc it ain't worth reporting well. See Ladyarse or Johnny O'Neil on twitter to see what I mean. With a cold and headache from hell this this a short blog but boys we are proud of you. The ox is our new youngest goal score holder. 3 wins in 3 different competitions, but as the press would have it we are still poor.

Sunday is a big test but I really now have faith in what we are doing. Can you imagine a fully fit Arsenal team? So to the media I say I hope you get to eat your words and never under estimate a wounded Gooner. We have real bite.

Later and ice bags please,

Last nights comedy and a big fat greek win

I sat looking at my drink thinking, has it been spiked? Am I on hard drugs? No I am not Titus Bramble, (allegedly charged), just watching the Mancs champions league comedy channel. Lets get one thing straight. If it had been Arsenal last night throwing away a 2-0 lead it would be a major crisis at the club. For those who I cannot name, just a blip, "we rescued it" was the comment from the Scot, I wonder if he was that kind to the players in the dressing room at full time. Funny how that was brushed over by the Chicken on Talksport this morning. As for the press well don;t get me started.

As for Money City? It goes to show that cash a club does not make. Would an Arsenal player refuse to get off the bench? I doubt that. If a player says he is not mentally or physically fit he should be no where near the team, let alone the bench. Of course it could be said he is on £100k an excuse and that would explain why he is performing well in that area. Just not in his football. Sheik ManUnsure must be splitting blood over this and I for one would be surprised if he wears a Money City shirt again. To see Nasri sitting next to Tevez looking scared was a pleasure, he is only himself to blame but his wallet will help him get over that. It seems that Money City stagger from one embarrassment to another what with the chairman resigning, Balotelli, fights on the training ground. So be careful what you wish for!

So tonight we face Olympiacos, they have played in England 9 times and lost 9 times with only 1 goal in that period. Arsenal on the other hand have the chance to win 3 games in 3 different competitions. Something we have not done since Feb of this year. Injuries apart, we have a chance to cement our position in the champions league and take that confidence to the Spuds on Sunday. It will be interesting to see who Arsene goes for in midfield, Frimpong or Coquelin and hopefully the OX will get a run out tonight too. It was nice to see Arsene and Arteta showing a sense of humour at the press conference so hopefully we will be approaching tonight from a good good place.

Our manager knows our concerns over the injuries etc and we are in the same boat as other teams, check out Fergies list, but tonight's game is at home with a team we are capable of beating so it all looks good, even if we are 8 first team players down. Harry "what taxes" Redknapp admitted on Sky Sports News, you cannot afford to write Arsenal off, a good side and a great manager! Lets give him reason to fear us tonight and hopefully we will be laughing at the Spuds come Sunday. Please insert your own jokes here such as mashed and roasted!

Anyway good luck to the boys tonight and as always keep the faith Gooners, as last night showed anything can happen in football and regularly does. By the way look out for tomorrows blog. No pressure Ceti,lol

Laters

A Greek Tradegy or do we need a sense of Humus?

Well another day brings another role call of missing players from our squad. Koscielny, Walcott, Gervinho all ruled out and Yossi is also a doubt. To add to that it now looks like we will be without Jack Wiltshire till February at the earliest. Although in some press I notice it will be April or May, he won't play for England and so on and so forth! I actually thought that after the summer of doubt, late signings and that dreaded 8-2 by those I cannot name, things were beginning to look up for us. However it would not be Arsenal if it was all plain sailing. It is a blow for us but perhaps it gives a chance to Frimpong and Coquelin, who was outstanding against the Shews, the chance to shine in midfield. It will be interesting to watch them develop over the coming games.

Our new German defender or The BFG, big friendly German, Mertesacker meanwhile has said that the team are becoming closer. That is a good sign for all of us that the team are beginning to gel but we will have to wait and see. A team spirit has always been at the core of an Arsenal team so that kind of attitude should be applauded from the roof tops. I just hope some of the shush crowd at the Emirates join in with the rest of us and roar the team on.

Whilst on the subject of support, a big thanks to Brighton and Hove Albion manager, Gus Poyet for coming to the defense of Arsenal and Arsene Wenger in his press conference. The man talks very well and he gave them something to think about with their digs. I will be adding a Seagulls link to the site as a big thanks.

So to Jack but also Diaby, get well guys and don't let the new guys get to comfortable in the team and come back fighting fit. Plus to Captain Fantastic, keep up the good work and lets have 103 against the Spuds! Please sign a contract too!

So Olympiacos tomorrow, more of that in the later blog but lets hope we role them up in a Gooner style pitta bread and use them for dipping.

Laters

A lesson from history?

It was as far back as 1934 that the then Arsenal manager, Herbert Chapman spoke in the Sunday Express about players.
   "It is sometimes said that if the old players were to come back they would show the limitations of today. But there is no coming back. I know how boldly and confidently the old timers speak of their prowess and are inclined to belittle present players To support their arguments they point to the difficulty of managers trying to build up a stable national side. England teams come and go. From one season to the next they can scarcely be recognized. They have unfortunately to be altered from match to match. Men, good one day, fail the next. They do not even play consistently for their club side. This is one tale tell piece of evidence of how football has changed. In the old days the right of six or seven men to be picked was not questioned and they never let the side down. Because of this, team selections was a comparatively easy matter,

I am not prepared to depreciate the men of today, being fully conscious of the many matters, which have added to their difficulties. Competition has heightened enormously and it is no longer possible for teams to play how they like. Thirty years ago men were sent out with the fullest licence to display their arts and crafts. Today, they have to make their contributions to a system. Individuality has to be subordinated to team work. Players have to take part in many more matches and the strain on their physical resources has greatly increased, The strain too, has been intensified by the demands of the public. This is a point which, I am afraid is only slightly appreciated."

Did Chapman have a crystal ball where he could see football in the future? The above seems all the more to speak of today with Money, Business all having an opinion on who should do what and why without looking at the facts.

The fact our players get injured is down to the level of competition and demands put on them, perhaps something we should look at at Arsenal! I just hope RVP does let fans know where his last big pay day will be rather than the same old Cesc and Nasri long drawn out saga.

Anyway on the plus side Jack has had his op, we won at the weekend so Monday is not as bad as it seems. Laters

Welcome from the south

26/09   Well a new week and a new Arsenal blog to add to the ever growing family of Gooners the world over. One question we kept being asked was why another blog? Well why not? We know that there are many fantastic blogs out there, some not so but every fan should get a chance to say something on a subject which is close to there hearts and also to get an exchange of views both good and bad. We will try to tell it how it is without the usual press style comments and digs which we as fans have had to deal with over the years. Also to get people who may not have ever written anything since the "what I did on my holidays" time at school. Most of all it is to get Gooners together to say what is on their mind and if we can help other clubs too, the Likes of Plymouth Argyle spring to mind here, so much the better!