That referee is a mofo - such a blatant push and no foul? He is a demented armadillo.  

No matter. . . .Arsenal marches into the next round.  

Eduardo scores his second goal in as many games, so does Ramsey. Bring it on!!  

hehe hehe! Good result!

We play Stoke away next in the FA cup.

Did Arsenal rape their daughter?

Why must we be playing only premiership sides every year?
Bring them on. We will win them.

Why we gotta play fuc.king premiership oppositions all the time manna  

We always seem to get premiership for real though.

Wenger was very coy about his buying this January,

I'm glad Diaby wasn't injured in that clash of the high boot on his shoulder. Excellent battling from Arsenal.

Wenger better loosen the purse-strings and BUY.

Why the away games na ? Anyways Ramsey seems to have a large appetite for goals, almost as greedy as a CF infront of goal. But what a difference Diaby made, my MAN !

Now dem wan spoil good win for me wit this twisted biased draws. . . . .if u belive dis draws are simply luck u r on a long tin. Oh wait, na Stoke sef. . .*hisses*. . . .

Well, bouf the game, when did West Ham start playing rugby football. No wonder they are in a relegation battle. They were actually doing just fine when they were playing football.

Like someone said, good thing we had game changing options on the bench. Not like those   make i call dem people wey bring in 2 retired soldiers and one recruit to try do wetin active generals no fit do.

Vela was pushed too much o the touchline, it wasnt even really stretching their defence cos when the attcak got there it seemed to even slow down. Had something to do it the narrow width of the pitch tho.  

Thank God Dudu got a rather extraordinary goal today considering he had to 'chance' the defender to score. Did you notice he tried 2 do the same thing twice after that? Thats what goals do for your confidence  .

Diaby, oya everybdoy wey yab this boy early season to the corner of the room. 24 press ups and 30 frogjumps.   How many awesome performances in a row now? How can cameos be murdering people  . First fabregas now Diaby  ?!!!

On to the next one. Bolton Wonderers at home, may they leave clueless and directionless as their name seem to imply!!!!

Its THE RED AND WHITE ARMY!!!!

Eduardo seems to be improving day in day out. that header was wonderful, good power on the air and  nice placing of the ball.

Slim did you say frog jump for the early season anti Diaby crew ? My friend will go and pluck branches which teacher Wenger will use on their palms ?
I don't know why Wenger frustrated Merida by playing him out of position, Merida was so miserable in that middle he couldn't pass anymore. Well, Bolton here we come,

The fans sang 'Eduardo,Eduardo'
Great header to get the second after Ramsey had equalized
Another cameo from Diaby and Prince Nas
Wiltshire needs to go on loan and Merida was awful tonight
Next up is Bolton and could be the game where we climb to 2nd and  be within 1 point of the Chavs
and could also be the day when we say bye bye to the scummies till next season
It's the Red and White Army
Set out to Crush anything on its way!!!

Ed infact koboko sef no go do. Debosky where ya dey. A-40 infact na 40 lashes of bulala for you.

Debo how far with end of year analysis nah. We need to know where we dey oh as against early September as things are getting interesting so.

Meanwhile please when is 4th round matches meant to be exactly. Need to know if Song will be back by then.

HNIC that match against Bolton feels like a final to me, i just feel like if we can climb up to second in january we have no other option than to lift it , that match is so big to me.

@slim sorry i forgot to respond to your question, we play stoke on the weekend of 23 & 24. So unless cameroon get knocked out early we'll not have Song. And don't forget immediately after that is when we have those tough matches.

@ slim no vex oh. . .I started off y'day but I got distracted. Will get to it now.

Part1: 2009 Arsenal Review

The last year of the previous decade started on a very sober note for Arsenal, yet was filled with promise. We had just recently come through a maelstrom of changes – William Gallas had been stripped of the captaincy, we had dropped out of the top 4 and to compound things, our talisman and new captain had been knocked out with injury for an extended period. From the previous year when we were top of the league and flying, all the mistakes of the summer and the disruptions caused by the will he/won’t he saga involving a main player had taken their toll. Wenger was getting more criticism than he had ever faced in his reign at Arsenal.

At the same time, a change of guard was occurring – our new CEO Ivan Gazidis was taking over and there seemed to be genuine questioning of the status quo at the club. In addition, the rumours about a pint sized Russian assassin joining the club were gaining momentum. We had hopes of an FA cup run and were through to the next CL round against favourable opponents. Sad in the league but otherwise not too bad.

Year in Review: Part 2

At the same time, a change of guard was occurring – our new CEO Ivan Gazidis was taking over and there seemed to be genuine questioning of the status quo at the club. In addition, the rumours about a pint sized Russian assassin joining the club were gaining momentum. We had hopes of an FA cup run and were through to the next CL round against favourable opponents. Sad in the league but otherwise not too bad.

A few months later it all crumbled – AA23 signed and Cesc returned, but we crumbled against Chelski in the FA cup semis, with Wenger’s arguably worst decision of the year – leaving Arshavin on the bench when he wasn’t eligible for the CL game in a few days, which we lost as well, disastrously too. Coupled with a crushing defeat by Chelski the next weekend, it was a distasteful period at the club. Fast forward to the AGM with Wenger getting the most aggressive treatment in his reign (not mentioning the geriatric comment ) and the board gets defensive too.

Year in Review: Part 3

In the end Villa faded away and we made fourth, we went on a semblance of a 20 game undefeated run and finished in two semis. Despite Wenger’s claims to the contrary it was one of the worst seasons in recent memory given the bubbling enthusiasm of the previous season. Wenger crucified for holding out too late for transfers over the summer – failing to replace Flamini and questionably replacing Hleb with Nasri. Further criticism came his way for keeping Adebayor when he was at his highest value and the disruptive influence that had on the club. A lot changed over the summer – out went Kolo (some grief), Ade (rejoicing by most) and in came Thomas Vermaelen. People said the boss was loony – no replacement for Ade, no DM and just ONE defender? Time will tell. . . This was a year not much was heard from Rozzi, and Dudu had a few cameos showing he was back to his best yet, but a period where Song came into the fore. This season also marked a milestone of consistently qualifying for the 2nd round of the CL – no mean feat considering the club’s financial restraints after the Emirates move.

And the red and white army marches on

Congratulations GOONERS

Year in Review: Part 4

And so the new season began – Dudu’s diving controversy came and went, RVP and Cesc started out on a red hot run and we looked competent. Comments are made on Wenger ‘needing’ to win a trophy. Gazidis puts together his management team and we can FINALLY allow Wenger to focus on Losses up in Manchester caused some doubt, but victories over lower opponents gave us a chance We mauled the North London pretenders and restored order to the world but the 3-0 spanking by Chelski caused wide outrage and had the pundits writing us off. Fast forward to December and the side is 4 points off the top, 51 goals in 19 games even without most of our established strike force. RVP is out long term and Cesc is once again injured, but not for long. The club has all but forgotten about Ade, while Kolo will always be fondly regarded. Song has become indispensable and Vermaelen is playing like he’s been here for years.

On the financial front, we’ve sold most of the Highbury developments and paid down the debt. We are now well on the way to paying off that debt and possibly realizing some profit from the property aspect of the business. Whether that will reflect on the football side of things remains to be seen.

Year in Review: Concluding Part

At the turn of the year we are still in the CL and an FA cup tie (subsequently won) beckons. Though out of the Carling Cup, the club has come through an almighty injury crisis and closed up the gap in the league at the same time. The premiership seems to have gotten tighter or the top teams have become weaker.

But questions remain – is this squad big enough to compete for the title? People ask – what happens if/when we lose Gallas and Vermaelen for a stretch? Will the side cope? What will we do without Song in January? Can we cope? If he gets knocked for a while, who replaces him? Can we cope without RVP for the season? Will Wenger buy in January, and if yes what position(s)? Will we win something this season and if we don’t, what becomes of Wenger? Will Theo come good this season?

Personally, I’m quietly confident about 2010. Some players like Diaby and Ramsey seem to be emerging as genuine forces in the team. The team seems to have learnt to defend better than before, albeit still shaky in that area. But most of all - a number of players have yet to hit top form and will be massively important for the run in – Nasri, Eduardo and even Arshavin can be classed in this group. All in all the team is a year older and wiser, the painful lessons of the past seem to have been learnt and also valuably, the opponents are not as strong as they’ve been previously. This remains a pivotal season/year for Arsenal FC.

It amazes me wen fans calls 4 d head of AW.

I'm not an Assnal fan, but, i c it as a NO-WIN decision if he's axed.

Who's d next manager gon' be? Graeme Souness??

Good game, Bolton's next. As we do not have anyone in yet, we will have to take the games one at a time.

Wenger says we have 9 injuries. Thats a lot if you ask me but as we are talking about Arsenal here,

Personally I think we need at leats three signings (or loans). One Centre Forward, One DM and One Centre Back.

The centre forward needs to be someone who can fit in straight into our team. As it is, RVP may not be back till May and Wenger seems not to be sure of Bendtner's injury so we are left with Edu who is gradually getting back to form but he isn't there yet and Vela who will probably do better on the wings. Arshavin has done well so far in that position but we still need help in that area.

As per DM, I can be a bit tolerant on this one. We only need someone to fill in for Song who should be back latest January ending depending on Cameroun's performance at the Nations Cup. I really wish we had someone in the team to fill this vacuum. If Eastmond had had enough exposure Ild have suggested him but then, I'm not sure of his performance and this is no time to experiment considering our fixture list for this month and early next month. However, we could try play Denilson (when he is fit), Cesc (see Denilson) and Diaby. Ramsey, Eastmond may fit in when needed.

As per the CB, Gallas and Vermallen have done well so far. But with Djorou out and with Wenger not seeming to trust Senderous for the position, We only have Silvestre as back up. God has been gracious to us so far but I really do think we need a long term back up. First, I do not see both Senderous and Silvestre at Arsenal next season and secondly, we really do need quality back up and someone to play FA Cup games.

Overall, I must say the Arsenal squad has surprised me this season but we must be honest with ourselves, apart from the goal scoring exploits we have not really done too well as per points gained on the table compared to last season. Chelsea and ManUtd have dropped points that if anyone had told them they would drop at the beginning of the season, they wouldn't believe, infact I wouldn't believe.

Now that its down to the second half, like I said somewhere else, I believe the regular top 4 teams will begin to show their stuff and gain points from being consistent and begin to separate themselves from the rest of the board. But would ManCity / Villa / Spurs have something to say about that?

tayo_ast:

It amazes me wen fans calls 4 d head of AW.

I'm not an Assnal fan, but, i c it as a NO-WIN decision if he's axed.

Who's d next manager gon' be? Graeme Souness??

And who asked for your very lame opinion

EDUARDO!

A tale of two halves, not the best start for Wilshere n Merida, but i'm sooo glad we won this one!

The intro of Prince Nas n Diaby brought abt the change we needed to win this one. Is it me or did anyone notice that after West Ham had scored, their players would take turns sitting on the pitch like they'd be struck by lightning (Diamanti n co?? ).

The look on Zola's face was "idiotic" after the first goal went in. . .*worth my 2cents*

DUDU, dude is really filling up the void left by RVP  ,Diaby . .   

Bolton who?. . A back-spanking bolt of lightning @ the emirates is what y'all need!

Oya na, let's WENT there! Na 1 point now o!

Gunners 4 life

Am not one of those that criticised Diaby earlier in the season but we can't compare his performances now to the past. We are high in spirit and goals hopefully, it will continue till end of the season.

yousouph:

Am not one of those that criticised Diaby earlier in the season but we can't compare his performances now to the past. We are high in spirit and goals hopefully, it will continue till end of the season.

Diaby always had the required individual technical ability but needed to fine tune his tactical aptitude and there is no other way to do that than getting game time which is what he is doing now. These 3 lads (Song, Denilson and Diaby) developed before our very eyes without the opportunity to establish themselves in a smaller club prior to coming to Arsenal. They were thrown in at the deep end and I'm glad they are swimming. 

Where are our resident Tormentors Crizzle and Sauron? licking their Jermainio Beckfordio inflicted wounds I think. Does anyone remember my prayers when this new thread started?? I'm puzzled about which to start, A babalawo consulting center or a church pls I need your advice? 

Yes o, the "triad" were given a good baptism of fire and have cum out unscathed like Shedy,Meshy n Abednedy!

God i'm loffin Arsenal like norrin else!

When will the myopic Diaby traducers show remorse for their gross mischaracterisation of the great Ivorian?  

Some dudes just dont know nada about footie. For how long will they continue to mis-analyse the talents of top gunners like Diaby and Song?  


Anyone deducing that Eduardo is the answer must not understand the question.

His header was out of kilter with his overall performance, and anyone lauding his talent now will cringe when his ephemeral genius is revealed to be nothing but the proverbial flash in the pan over the fullness of time.