I'm Sol Excited To Have Campbell Back

Mornin all, it's been a while. I've really just been enjoying the season lately, and didn't feel the need to write about how splendidly it's been going for us so far (Knock on wood.) There is a news story worth mentioning though, and so here I am to get on with the mention. Sol Campbell has rejoined Arsenal, and I have to say I'm thrilled to have him back in the fold. Maybe it's because he is a reminder of the Invincibles, who have all departed in the past few years, but something about resigning a player that won so much with the club really makes me smile every time I think about it. And besides that, he can't possibly be anything but a good influence on the other defenders at the club. Immediately I think of the impact he could have on the reserves, such as Kyle Bartley, who he partnered at West Ham. And while it may not be a profound impact, he can also help out players such as Thomas Vermaelen for instance, who hasn't gone through the rigors of a title challenge or a cup final with Arsenal. His attitude and quotes have been brilliant since his return, and he seems genuinely fired up to come back and help out the team and Arsene Wenger.

I'll say it up front, I don't know how well Sol can still play. What I do know is that Arsene Wenger has watched him train for the past three months or so and Arsene wouldn't sign him unless he thought Sol could get into the team and do a job for us. I don't know how much he'll end up playing the rest of the year, and I hope it isn't a lot because that would mean Gallas or Vermaelen were out injured, but I like idea of having him ahead of Silvestre as a second choice center back. Not to mention he scored our only goal in our history in Champions League Finals. Good signing, good player, welcome back Sol.

So we play at Bolton tomorrow, and unless I'm mistaken, I believe it's Owen Croyle's first game in charge of Bolton. I think he must be a pretty good manager to have done what he's done so far with Burnley this year, but at the same time, Bolton are absolute shite and three points will be expected, especially with the return of our captain, Cesc Fabregas, who has recovered from his injury. Denilson and Bendtner are both out with injuries, but Gael Clichy is back after a really long injury layoff. Wenger says he may be in the squad because he's training well but I would guess that if he plays it'll only be a cameo appearance. To reiterate, three points must be earned in this match, and when we play them again next week we'll need three points there as well. Bolton are tossers, and if we want to maintain our title challenge then we need maximum points heading into our tough stretch against Villa, United, Liverpool, and Chelsea. If we get through those matches and are still in with a shout, then look out for the mighty Arsenal, because it's all downhill from there :).

Phillipe Senderos is wanting to leave Arsenal, and I can't blame him. Phil is a player I've always felt a bit sorry for. No he's certainly not a brilliant player, but I've always thought he put in a good shift when he got games. He's not gotten a chance since he came back from his loan spell so it's really no surprise he wants to go. I with him the best of luck and wouldn't mind seeing him go to Everton in exchange for Saha if Everton are up for it. Yeah he can't stay fit worth a damn but if he manages to stay a bit fit he can certainly put the goals in.

My last point for the day is on Arsenal TV Online, which has recently lost a lot of it's usefulness and attraction. One of the best features of the service had been that you could watch reserve games live online in full. So naturally I was thrilled that I'd be able to watch Sol Campbell's reserve debut against West Ham. I was mistaken, however. Upon arriving at the Arsenal.com website, I saw a post that said ATVO would no longer be showing live reserve games or full length matches. They said they would have an improved highlight system, but that really isn't the case because I watched the highlights the next day and they were the same as always. It's a crock of shit and I honestly would recommend that nobody sign up for the service until they fix it, because that was the best feature of the station. Now you really only get random interviews and press conferences, and not much else. I used to be able to turn on ATVO and watch a full day almost of Arsenal coverage. Now I can't find 10 minutes worth of good video I want to see. Write to the club and complain if you're pissed. It's a joke.

Alright that's all I've got for today. Leave your thoughts on Sol or Phil or Bolton or whatever. Cheers and come on Arsenal!

Top of the League, the Foul On Clichy, and Sheffield United

Well another win up the shanties of Bolton. I will have to mention that I did predict the score at 3-1 as well. So that win, combined with the rest of the results from Saturday and Sunday, put us top of the league. Liverpool found a way to draw with Stoke, and ManUre and Chelski played out a 1-1 draw, so it was great for us to get all 3 points away from home. It's obviously a good place to be, and we should be happy about it, but we also need to look at it in perspective. Man United have had to play Liverpool and Chelsea in back to back games away from home. In fact, we're the only top 4 team to have not played any of the other three. So there will still be lots of measuring sticks, but I think it is good for the squad to have these "easier" fixtures first. It's giving Denilson and Song time to develop. It's letting RvP and Theo get into their strides. I think when we do play the other big teams, we'll be ready.

The thing that still worries me the most is in central defence. Even when we win they look shaky at the back, and we don't have many options going forward to strengthen that. Djourou could be good partnered with one of Kolo or Gallas, but he would need a lot of games in a row to get used to that. Silvestre is not the answer at center back, and I think we shouldn't expect anything more than cover for all the defensive spots from him. Gallas' performances lately have really bothered me. The goal they scored against us this weekend was again because of a lack of marking on his part. He pretty much just watched the corner and it seems he is afraid to get up in the air and challenge for a ball. The rest of the team at least made an attempt to jump in the air but not Gallas. I'm running out of suggestions for Arsene but it seems that he is determined to stick with this partnership anyway.

Speaking of Johan Djourou, he's signed a new long term contract with the club.

As for Kevin Davies' tackle on Clichy...I honestly didn't think it was the worst thing ever. Yes, it was certainly a foul, but I didn't think instant red card or anything like that. Kevin Davies is definitely a cunt, but he did go in to get the ball and succeded in doing that at very least. The best news out of all of it though is that Clichy isn't injured too badly. That's very important, especially while Traore is out on loan, because he's a huge player for us.

So we look forward to Sheffield United in the Carling Cup tomorrow night, and Arsene may field the youngest side in Arsenal's history. The manager talked about how young the squad will be:

“There is a possibility [it will be the youngest side ever],” said Wenger. “In the first team there are many players around 20. In the Carling Cup we will keep a few in there but the side will be more between 16 and 19. At Arsenal you can say 20 and 21-year-olds are the experienced players.

“You are likely to see Gavin Hoyte, Abu Ogogu, Aaron Ramsey, Mark Randall, Jack Wilshere, Fran Merida and Carlos Vela. Maybe Bendtner will play. Song, Djourou and Lukasz Fabianski will be the experienced players. But you will have players like Emmanuel Frimpong and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas so it will be a very young side.”

So it should definitely be a fun one to watch and I'll be rooting hard for the youngsters because I love watching them progress through this cup and seeing them mature right in front of us. I'll be back tomorrow with a full match preview and some more stuff. Until then, Cheers!

Early Bolton Preview, and Kroenke Joins The Board

Morning all. The match preview is a day early this time because I'm headed to Tallahassee tomorrow to watch Florida State beat Wake Forest. I'll be back Sunday and will hopefully get a match preview up then.

So we've got Bolton at the Reebok Stadium tomorrow. This used to be really a tricky fixture for us, although since Fat Sam left for Newcastle they haven't been the same. Last year was that incredible game where we were getting murdered in the first half, then had Abou Diaby sent off, so we were 2-0 down, away from home, and playing with 10 men. In the 2nd half however we made the greatest comeback I remember seeing from Arsenal, with Gallas, RvP, and an own goal somehow giving us the win 3-2.

Injury news ahead of the match isn't too bad as we haven't lost anyone that was healthy for the Kiev match. We still have Nasri, Diaby, and Silvestre out though. Nasri is one that I'm worried about. I think the injury he picked up was supposed to just be a little one but it's putting him out for a lot longer than expected. I really hope it isn't like a Rosicky or RvP injury that never really goes away and we end up having to give him a bionic leg.

The lineup will probably look like this:

Almunia
Sagna-Toure-Gallas-Clichy
Eboue-Denilson-Cesc-Walcott
RvP-Adebayor

I actually really liked the setup we used against Kiev with Song in the middle and Denilson playing out wide and Eboue not on the pitch. It was great but I think we'll probably see Eboue back in the side since it's a league game.

Like I said, Bolton haven't been the same since Fat Sam left, and it's a match we could really use three points from. Bolton are pretty much shite, and we are of course, not shite. Cesc was in and out of the game a little bit against Kiev so let's hope he gets back on track this match and hopefully the ref won't give any terrible penalty calls like the one he called against Sagna. That said, I think my score prediction will be 1-3 to the Arsenal. I think we just have too much quality for Bolton to match up with man for man. They will put everybody in front of the goal and try to make a wall but I think we'll be able to break them down. I really hope I'm right.

So that's enough for the match preview. There is a SLIM possibility that I'll be able to get a podcast done before I leave for Tally tomorrow but I have to pack and have practice today, then I have to coach my team in the morning and leave right after that. But there is a slim chance still because I haven't gotten one done in a while.

The other big news of the day is that Stan Kroenke, that's right, an American, has joined the Arsenal board. I think it's great because not only am I American of course but Mr. Kroenke has had a very successful career running sports franchises here in the states for those of you who don't know much about him. Kroenke has agreed not to increase his stake beyond 29.9% of Arsenal's share capital in the next year unless a takeover bid is launched by the fat Russian cunt, in which case he could buy more of the club with the consent of the rest of the board. So basically this is all to prevent Usmanov from trying to get into a bidding war for the club because guess what, the shareholders will sell to Kroenke before they would to Usmanov, and the board clearly feel that they can trust Kroenke.

A statement from the club read:

"Mr Kroenke fully supports the approach the board has taken in setting the direction of the club," the statement read.

"The board believes Mr Kroenke's experience in sports team commercial management, sports marketing, media and new media rights as well as real estate development will be of great value."

So we'll see how it works out but I think it is a great move for the club.

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So that's about it. Hoping for 3 points tomorrow, and a big win for FSU. Go Noles. Cheers all.