Arshavin's Brilliance Gives Arsenal Vital Win

We're back in it. This past weekend was just about as good of a weekend as we could have asked for in the Premiership. Chelsea dropped points at home to Everton, Man City drew with Bolton, and best of all, United lost at home to Aston Villa. Meanwhile, we played on Sunday, and it was a rough match up at Anfield vs Liverpool. Arsenal came out on top, and really showed some grit and character in the process. Down 1-0 at halftime, and inspired by a special Arsene Wenger team talk, the team fought back through an own goal from Glen Johnson and an absolute cracker from Arshavin gave us all three points and effectively put Liverpool in a position where they have a real uphill battle just to get fourth. So now we're only 3 points back of United and only 6 points behind Chelsea, with a game in hand. After we lost to Chelsea not many people would have put us in such a good position right now, but here we are and we're looking fantastic.

Arshavin's goal was really something special. This is the only link I could find for it now that hasn't been removed from YouTube. If you're really lucky, like me, you'll be a member of ArsenalTV Online and can just watch it over and over in high quality. It really was amazing though.

One of the main talking points for the match was Arsene Wenger's team talk at half time. Apparently it was a lot more harsh than it normally is, because Cesc had this to say about it:

"The boss screamed. I've never seen him like that before. He was really disappointed in the first half and said we didn't deserve to wear the Arsenal shirt if we played like that. And I think he was right. In the second half we turned it around."

Arsene Wenger gettin nice with it. I like that, even though I couldn't picture yelling saying that the players don't deserve to wear the Arsenal shirt. I think it's probably what the team needed though, as they turned around the result at a place where it's hard to get any result at all. He's normally a calm guy all the time, so you can see where this would have gotten a reaction from the players in this case, and that was exactly what was needed. He can't pull this out all the time, but he chose the time carefully and it paid off. There's only one Arsene Wenger!

After the match, Arsene had this to say:

"We were a bit lucky with our first goal, but the fear was in the Liverpool camp in the second half. It was an outstanding second goal and from then on Liverpool's pace dropped. Afterwards we were not under any real threat. For us, it gets us back into it. Mathematically we're in a good position again, especially with our game in hand. We knew with what happened with the results yesterday (Saturday), that we needed to win here. We did so and that's something very positive. Now it is down to consistency."

Consistency is exactly what it is down to. Beating Liverpool means nothing if we lose other matches that we should win. There are more losses by the top teams in the Premier League this year than I can remember in quite some time, so it's going to be all about who can stay consistent and beat the teams that they should beat.

So looking ahead to the next few league matches, we have Burnley away, home to Hull, home to Villa, and away to Pompey to close out the month. So three teams near the bottom of the table, and Villa, who just beat United at home. Burnley all really tough at Turf Moor so that one certainly won't be easy, just ask Alex Ferguson. It's a stretch of games that worries me honestly, but on paper you'd say it's easier than the last month we've had. We just seem to have most of our problems against the "weaker" sides in the league and we have three of them out of the next four matches.

It's a good time to be an Arsenal supporter. We play the best football, our players aren't cunts, and we're in with a shout in the title hunt. Raise your banners high, and come on you Gunners!

Arsenal To Sign Two Prospects and End of Year Survey

Good morning all. What did you think of the Champions League Final? If I had to guess I'd say you probably all enjoyed it immensely, getting to watch the red cunts from the north crying and getting crushed by a team that resembles a better version of our team. We tried to play that exact same game that Barcelona played, but there are just a few differences. Denilson is not Andres Iniesta, Theo Walcott is not Leo Messi, and Adebayor is not Samuel Eto'o. So as we get those slight problems worked out, we'll be as good as them! Really though, watching that Barca team is fantastic. Iniesta was man of the match for me. He was pressuring United all over the field and his dribbling and movement was astounding. Of course Messi was scary as shite every time he touched the ball, but that's just a given now. He's amazing. I was really hoping Thierry would score, and I loved when he skinned Rio Ferdinand and Rio ended up on his arse and Thierry got in a shot, but it wasn't to be. At least he finally got the medal he deserves though. I love TH14, and if it couldn't be Arsenal winning the trophy, then I think Barca deserves it more than any other team, for the way they play, the players they have, and the way they have dominated everyone this season.

Right, on to Arsenal then. It appears we're going to have two new signings, but don't get your hopes up because they are both 15 years old. Jamie Edge, from Cheltenham Town, has had a fee agreed on by the two clubs and just has to agree to personal terms. The other player is Martin Angha or FC Zurich. Edge is a midfielder and Angha is a defender. That's pretty much all I know about either of them.

This does tell us a lot more about Arsenal though. We have previously discussed which trophies Wenger prioritizes, but now we know the answer to that undoubtedly is the FA Youth Cup. We won it this year, and now he's restocking the team to make another run at it. No wonder we haven't been making many first team signings, it's because what really matters at the club is whether or not our 16 year olds can win trophies next year. Now I see the project finally coming to fruition, all this time I thought we were trying to get things like the Champions League and the FA Cup, but really it's about holding onto the Youth Cup. Everything is clear to me now. It's also being reported that we're after 16 year old Dutch youngster Luc Castagoines. We're really going to make a run at that trophy next year!

Robin van Persie has been looking to sign a new contract but says that right now there is "nothing to report." He still has 2 years left on his current deal but with the way players can leave on Webster's and Bosman's and all of that you can never have long enough contracts. Hopefully they get this one done pretty soon because we all know what an important player RvP is for Arsenal when he's healthy, which unfortunately is not enough.

And last but certainly not least today is Theo Walcott being called up for the Under-21 Championships this summer. A lot of people seem to be making a fuss about it, saying he will be tired from not having a summer break, but I'm not buying it. He's only 20, it can't be anything but good for him to play more. I hope Theo has a great time and while I'm not from England I'll be rooting for them to do well because of Theo.

That's about it for today. Hopefully there will be more news soon enough, because the last week or so has been dreadful for Arsenal news. Cheers.

I've also made a survey to poll responses from all of you Gooners to reflect back on this season. It's only 10 questions and takes all of 3 minutes, so please leave your input. It will be much appreciated. Thanks. Click Here to take the survey.

Gloom and Doom in the Arsenal Camp

Morning everyone. I could definitely use some coffee. Hang on I'm going to go make some. Alright, got that going now. On to Arsenal. Arsenal have been a bit puzzling lately to me. We'll start with two weeks ago at Manchester United in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. The lineup we sent out onto the pitch that night was one that none of us would have picked in a million years. Putting Nasri in the center wastes his skill that he has the chance to use out in the wide spots, putting Cesc as a support striker wastes his ability to pick out a brilliant pass, and Diaby is just a waste period. United ran us into the ground with a lineup clearly designed to defend, and only some brilliant work from Manuel Almunia kept us in the tie. Yet we all know what happened in the second leg. In between those though, we played Portsmouth away in the league. With what you'd probably consider a "reserve lineup" with all eyes on the second leg against United, we wiped the floor with them 3-0. I know it was only Portsmouth but when you see how well players like Vela and Bendtner played, it makes you wonder why on earth they didn't get a chance against United. You can't tell me that Vela doesn't bring more to the team than Diaby does, and you can't tell me that Adebayor (even though I still do support him, mind you) is in better form than Nicklas Bendtner right now.

In the second leg, Kieran Gibbs made a crucial error at the beginning of the match that allowed United to score. I don't blame him at all though, it happens to everyone. The problem I have is that Gibbs was having to play in that match in the first place. An 18 year old should not have to start at left back in the Champions League semi-final facing off against arguably the best player in the world. If Wenger didn't want to bring in someone as cover for Clichy, then he at least could have used Eboue at left back, who played well there against Portsmouth and has shown himself to be quite a capable full-back against top opposition, including the clean sheet streat in the 2006 Champions League. Silvestre as well, is not someone who I'd ever dream of lining up to face a team like United in such a big game, yet a refusal to buy last summer when everyone knew we needed to left us in such a position.


My main issue with how Arsenal have been managed though in the last few weeks is Arsene Wenger's prioritizing of competitions. He seems to be quite willing to give up some competitions to have more of a run at others. We already know he plays a bunch of kids in the Carling Cup, and I'm fine with that because I like to see what they can do against some top clubs and it is good experience for them. The FA Cup being pushed to the side though, is something that does not sit well with me. Wenger's quote to Sky Sports was this:

For me there’s two trophies really. The Premiership and the Champions League.

It shows why, even though Arshavin couldn't play in the Champions League anyway, he didn't play against Chelsea. Alex Song, who has been in the best form of his life, was left out in favor of Abou Diaby. We were in the FA Cup Semi-Final. A match that all of us were excited about, with the hopes of our first trophy in four years if we could just win the last two matches of the competition. Yet Arsene never cared if we won the cup at all. His thoughts were on the Champions League, which we went on to get crushed in anyway. So instead of having the FA Cup to still look forward to, our season, yet again, must be marked as a failure.

I've always enjoyed the FA Cup. It was the first trophy I ever saw Arsenal win live. It isn't like the Carling Cup where nobody really cares and not many teams put out their best sides. This is a prestigious competition that has gone by the wayside for Arsene Wenger's dream of winning the Champions League. When you prioritize competitions, you need to make sure you are winning the ones that you make a priority, or else your strategy was a waste. If we are not going to play our best team that gives us the best chance to win a trophy, why not just send the team out to lay down on the pitch? Because that's essentially what we were doing.

This isn't a bash Arsene Wenger post, but the signs are worrying that his stubborness has gone too far now. His refusal to buy in the summer when it was SO clearly needed still irks at me, and probably at the rest of you too. Imagine if we had bought Arshavin in the summer, so he wasn't cup-tied in the Champions League and we had had him against United. Does anyone think that that tie wouldn't have gone differently with him in the lineup? Yet we waited till January so we could save a few quid and we couldn't use him for our most important match of the year. In fact, we didn't use him in our second most important match of the year either, the FA Cup Semi. If we bring in some players for next season, should we expect them to start the year or just wait until halfway through? The youth project is not a failure, but it is not a success either. Success would be titles and trophies, none of which we have since the old guard left and was never replaced.

The upcoming offseason troubles me greatly. I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't worried about the potential of Cesc Fabregas leaving. He clearly needs and wants help in this team, and even asked for it in the for of Xabi Alonso, but help was never given to him. Lose Hleb, lose Flamini, lose Gilberto, and replace with only Nasri. That's never a good move, no matter how good you think your team is. If a bid comes in for Adebayor, I'd expect him to be sold. I've always thought he was a good player, unlike the majority of Arsenal supporters, but a decent offer for him won't be refused. I don't know that Bendtner is good enough to lead the line for us, which means we might need a striker in the transfer market too. I'm at the point though where I don't expect one to arrive. I don't really expect a midfielder, or a defender either. I'm getting to where I'm resigned to sending the same team back on the pitch to watch them fall short yet again.

It's painful as a fan, one who lives and dies with the club, to see them continually miss out on it's goals and nothing be done about it. We had to sign Arshavin just so we could finish in the top four this year, and that just isn't how it should be. I don't buy that this club has no money for signings, it just doesn't make any sense. It's just stubborness that says this team is good enough, and Wenger wants to prove every doubter wrong by winning with this young team. The problem is, when these young players get sick of not winning, they won't be in this team anymore. Just like Flamini, they will be seeking greener pastures. The time to win is the year that you are in. You can build to the future and still have a great squad. Look at what United have for example. They play a 35 year old in Ryan Giggs, who is a cunt of course but they still get the best out of him, and also have young players like Nani who can play in his spot. It gives them options and versatility that we don't have, and allows players to develop in training instead of on the spot like Kieran Gibbs had to. I'm sick of the excuses about how he doesn't want to stunt the growth of the young players, because competition only makes you better, not worse. And if bringing someone in the compete DOES crush their development, than they weren't good enough to play for Arsenal anyway.

It could be a tough transfer season this summer yet again, but I hope, for the club's sake and for the fans' sake, that Arsene Wenger decides enough is enough and makes some changes. Cheers.

Leave your thoughts. I'm going to try to do a podcast later today too on the new computer, so I'm hoping for some good quality. If you have any ideas or things you want to hear on there, leave them in the comments or email me. Peace.

Arsenal-Manchester United Reaction

Morning all. Well, it was pretty bloody awful wasn't it? This match is like Chlamydia, it's awful and disgusting and yet it just will not go away. While I'll admit to not being confident heading into yesterday, I was at least hopeful. I thought maybe we could at least get the first goal and give ourselves a chance to prove we could hold them off, but I was wrong. Most of the match, I sat in my chair, not making a sound, just kind of absent-mindedly gazing at the screen in hopes that maybe an Arsenal goal would snap me out of my trance.

We did start brightly, holding the ball for just about the whole first five minutes of the match and flowing well. No real end product though meant it all went to waste, and it only took United one attack to deal a hammering blow to us. Ronaldo crossed into the box low, Gibbs tripped and fell, and Park finished. The crowd was stunned, I was stunned, I think everyone in the world was stunned. Nobody had envisioned it going like that. Three minutes later, Ronaldo went down from a soft foul, rolled around like a girl, then got up, took the free-kick from 30 yards out and of course sent it right into the net.

The tie was pretty much over after just 11 minutes in the second leg. Watching the rest of it was like sitting through torture. We couldn't get a goal back and we really went off of our game after that second goal. It sucked the life out of the players, the fans, and even Arsene Wenger, who was visibly shocked. I have never seen him with his hands over his face so many times in one match. To the fans' credit, they did keep singing a few times even though we were dead men walking. That always makes me proud to be a Gooner.

The second half wasn't really any better. They scored another on a ridiculously good counter attack while we were pushing everyone forward to try and score four goals in 45 minutes. That one really put it to bed. We managed a consolation goal from an RvP penalty, but it didn't matter. I didn't cheer when it went in or anything. I was just too downhearted. In our biggest match ever played at the Emirates, we failed miserably.

I felt bad for Kieran Gibbs. While he's certainly at fault for the first goal, he's so young and inexperienced and was forced into the match by a lack of cover for injuries to our defenders. With experienced players like Gallas and Clichy out, we have to turn to Gibbs against a team with Ronaldo in it, and that's a tough matchup for anyone in the world, and certainly for an 18 year old. I hope he recovers from this one. Mentally it can be a huge blow when you make such a big mistake so early in a huge match.

Nobody really had standout performances for us, but if I had to pick two players that I thought did well I'd take Nasri and Song. Nasri was running everywhere chasing the ball, and when he got on the ball he made some really crafty runs with it. Sure, the end product could have been better but that's a given when you look at the scoreline. Song did pretty well breaking up play in the middle and worked really hard again. He's definitely having the best few months of his career lately.

Although it's unpopular to say, Cesc had a pretty bad game. He didn't get on the ball much, and when he did, a lot of his passes missed their targets. I said yesterday that he would be the key to the match, and he never really got into it. I'm definitely not blaming him for the loss, because that would be incorrect. I'm only pointing out what I saw in the match, and I didn't see a lot of Cesc Fabregas.

So it's another season without silverware. That makes four straight years. It is what it is. When you have a manager like Arsene Wenger, you can always expect a few things, including beatiful football and stubborness. The board have backed the youth project, and that's how it's going to be. We have to remember that Cesc, Theo, Clichy, Bendtner, Song, Nasri, Denilson, and Djourou are all under the age of 23, so it's not like the window to win trophies is closing. We need to be able to keep our players though and also add some more. We've seen the impact that Arshavin has had on this team, so why not add a few more players with his type of experience in the summer?

Remember Gooners, we're all Arsenal supporters. Some people are mad at Wenger, some are mad at the players, but nobody should be mad at the other supporters. We're all one club, and we all want them to win everything every year. Sometimes it just doesn't go that way. Arsenal have gone a lot longer that four years without a trophy before, so let's be patient. Manchester United were a much better team this year, but we've seen that we can beat them on our day, and I think we're only going to get better. So while it feels miserable right now (and believe me, it bloody well does) tomorrow is another day. They'll be giving away trophies again next year, so let's all hang in there and be ready to back the team again next year, hopefully to many finals and championships.

Come on you Gunners!

Arsenal-Manchester United Prediction Contest/Preview

Morning all. Going to be a quick one this morning as I've got some stuff to get done today to make sure I have my afternoon clear for tomorrow's match. Everyone getting excited yet? I've been thinking about it since last week's match on and off but I think it's just now setting in that the game of the season is tomorrow.

Today I want predictions, thoughts, and everything else to go along with the match tomorrow. If you've got what you think is the score, share it with us, and if you think you can guess Arsene Wenger's lineup then go for it.

I think the match really depends a lot on the first 20 minutes. If we come out and we're playing well and controlling the ball, even if we haven't scored I think that will give us a huge boost for the rest of the match. If we could get an early goal that would be immense because theoretically we could win the match 1-0 and still go through on penalties but that is leaving too much to chance and I don't know that any team can shut out United when they need a goal in a match this big. It's all down to how our midfield and defense can stifile players like Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, and Berbacunt and control the ball. Against Portsmouth we had a lot of possession and the game turned out like you'd want any game to. The last United match though we were pressured and couldn't hold onto it like we needed to and well, we were awful going forward.

The key to the day is yet again Cesc Fabregas. Wenger needs to play him in his central midfield role and not as a support striker. His passing, vision, and control, not to mention his cool, are just what we need in midfield. He dictates our tempo and sets the table for players like Walcott, Adebayor, etc. Speaking of Adebayor, I'm not sure if he'll get to start or not tomorrow, with Bendtner having a good match against Pompey Saturday and Robin van Persie training today. A player like van Persie is important to have because he has a dimension that Adebayor and Bendtner don't really have, and that is some trickiness and cleverness with the ball. I don't know if he will start or not but I'd expect to see him at some point for sure.

Obviously if United score the task becomes a lot more difficult a lot more quickly. Clichy and Gallas are still both out but Silvestre is back training so he should start. Eboue could play at left back again or Gibbs could slot in there. Either way they have a rough task on their hands. United aren't going to sit back with just a one goal lead, nor do they every just sit back and defend. Ronaldo and Rooney are real game changers, who even if United aren't playing well can score a goal on their own that puts us in a really tough spot of having to score three goals. Almunia needs to have another top notch day but he really needs some quality help from his defenders.

Theo Walcott will be important down the right-hand side. Patrice Evra hasn't had his best season for sure at left back and we'll need to try to get him into some space where he can use his pace and quickness. I hope to see Nasri on the left instead of that awful central midfield role that Wenger had him in last week which was really not playing to his abilities. And I'd like to see Alex Song continue in the team in the holding midfield role. Of all our players, I think he's improved the most this year and his work ethic in trying to shut down the other teams attack is one to be admired. He's certainly not the prettiest out there, but he has been effective and we need him in there for such a big match.

So like I said, I want to hear from all of you today. I want score predictions, lineup predictions, and how you think the match will go as a whole. I'm going to make it into a little bit of a contest, with the winner getting a £10 gift card from Arsenal.com. All you have to do to win is predict the match score along with the scorers. I'll even pay for the shipping. So submit your predictions either to my email, which is ArseNole[at]arsenole[dot]com or just leave it in the comments with your name. Remember, you have to be IN the contest to WIN the contest, so you might as well get your name in! Come on you Gunners!

Arsenal-Red Cunts From the North Preview

That's right bitches, I have a new computer and I'm back just in time for the most important match of the season, and possibly of my life. As some of you may know, my brother is a United supporter (only to spite me, I might add) so sitting in the same room with him watching this match is going to be difficult. Personally I don't see how someone could possibly cheer for fat scousers and diving, cheating Portuguese while players such as Cesc Fabregas are on the same pitch, but that's for him to decide. Like I said though, it is by far the most important match of our season to date, and a good result is of the upmost importance. It doesn't have to be a win, but an away goal is so crucial in these ties and we certainly need at least one facing a team like United.

Injury news sees Robin van Persie, William Gallas, and Gael Clichy all ruled out, and Silvestre and Gibbs both have fitness tests this morning. Hopefully they'll both make it through those fine, because we need all the defensive help we can get. Assuming they pass, I think the lineup will look like this:

Almunia
Sagna-Toure-Djourou-Gibbs
Walcott-Denilson-Song-Nasri
Fabregas
Adebayor

Hopefully Wenger doesn't do like he did in the FA Cup against Chelsea and throw Diaby out there, because I've come to the opinion that he's pretty much useless. How nice would it be to have Arshavin in the Champions League? Sure wish we had bought him in the summer.

I was nervous before we played Chelsea in the FA Cup. I was nervous playing Villareal. Oddly though, the nerves have not set in for the match today. Is it confidence? I'm not sure. I definitely think we have the ability to win, certainly. I think what it really is though is I'm trying to enjoy the moment. If we win it'll be one of the best moment of my Arsenal-supporting life. If we lose though, there's still hope with the return leg.

I am going to be wearing my Cesc Fabregas away kit, the current year's of course. I find it is more important to be wearing the correct home/away kit than any of my other superstitions, although I will of course be going through my entire library of Arsenal songs (over a hundred) on my iTunes. My brother doesn't have any United songs, so he just walks around saying how they are European Champions and some other shite like that. Cunt.

I think the key to this match is in the midfield. We've seen how our controlling the midfield wins and loses us matches this year. When we can hold the ball and get some decent service to Adebayor, we generally do well. When we can't get the ball and don't have any good service to him, we usually don't get any goals at all. So Denilson and Song will be the key. How they match up with Carrick/Anderson/Scholes/Giggs/some other cunts will determine the way this tie goes. I think that United are going to get goals, they usually do, but it's how we respond to those goals. I don't think this is the time to sit back and try to defend. We need to be at our attacking best, and get that crucial away goal.

I watched the Chelsea/Barca match yesterday, and Chelsea really put on a clinic of how to shut down an attacking team. But even though they held Barca to no goals, they didn't score any either, and I think that will be their downfall. When they have to open it up and try to score at home, they're going to give Barca space as well, and that is never good. That's why I don't want us to play like Chelsea. While it shackled the other team well, it doesn't give them any real advantage going home. I'd rather lose 2-1 today than go home 0-0.

Alright, it's 3 1/2 hours until match time. Time to start the Arsenal playlist. I think all of you should as well. Let's give these northern cunts a beating. Come on you Gunners!

A Disappointing Draw, But On To United

Morning all. It's a nice day here in Florida, which puts me in the mood to look ahead as opposed to looking back on the last week, which saw 3 crappy results for us. Our most important stretch of matches so far this season takes place in the coming month, starting this Saturday with Manchester United. It could either be the end of our title challenge or the start of some new momentum that could push us on to glory. It's a fixture where they really separate the men from the boys, and we'll surely find out what our squad is really made of.

We'll be without RvP, Adebayor, Eboue, and probably Gallas and Walcott, which leaves us in quite a bind for players. This isn't a match preview so I'm not going to predict a lineup or a score yet but the point is it's time to really show what kind of character we have. I'd love to see Djourou get to play in the match with Toure, but the boss seems to not like playing him very much. We need our key players like Cesc, Clichy, Toure, and Almunia to really have good games if we're going to win this one. I'm excited for the match, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous about it as well.

The good news for the day is that Arsenal are top of the table...the Fair Play table. Arsene Wenger talked about it because he was still mad about Stoke "intentionally" trying to hurt our players, which was really just playing tough.

“You can look at the Fair Play table, who is top? Arsenal Football Club. So first of all we have no lessons to learn from anybody on that front. Look at the team with the least fouls in the Premier League - it is Arsenal Football Club.

“I am responsible for the behaviour of my team and when you look at the Fair Play table, you see that Arsenal are top. And that [includes] the behaviour of the manager on the touchline and the players on the field. I do not make that table."

A couple quick things on this point. First of all, you don't win any trophy for being top of the Fair Play table Arsene, and I don't think any of us fans are busy celebrating being top of that table either and thanking you for your leadership in guiding us to this accomplishment. Second, when we were winning titles, we got loads of cards. Patrick Vieira, the last real captain we had, used to get red and yellow cards all the time. There is nothing wrong with fouling as long as it leads to wins. Would anyone be mad if we were last in the Fair Play table and top of the Premiership? No we'd all be thrilled to have won the title. I've got a new slogan for Arsenal to use..."By Any Means Neccessary." We should go into every match thinking that and we would be a lot better off. If you have to foul someone and pick up a card, then do it. Quit worrying about the Fair Play table and make sure you win matches you should win. Get physical and grow a pair.

That's about all I've got. I may do a podcast tomorrow if you guys send some emails in, if not then I'll just do one next week. But yeah, send some emails in or leave some comments so I can use them in the next one. Let's hope some players get healthy before Saturday. Cheers.

Arsenal Sign Mikael Silvestre...WTF?

Alright I'm back. Went to Tampa for the past like five days for the girlfriend's 21st birthday, and I've come back to quite a shocker...Arsenal have signed Mikael Silvestre from Manchester United. Yes, I'm serious. And I'm frankly astonished. Yes, I've been saying we need a new defender all summer, but this wasn't what I had in mind. A player I've been hating for as long as I remember is now a member of my beloved Arsenal. Not only that, but he's 31 and far past his prime. Would anyone say that Silvestre has been in his best form over the last few seasons?

No, this isn't a case of Wayne Rooney or John Terry showing up at Arsenal, but it's not what I would have asked for. I wanted a fairly young (27 or below would have done) and experienced defender that had several good years to come. This isn't that signing.

I do worry about this being our "one new signing" before the end of the transfer window. Surely this isn't the one Arsene has been talking about? I know I joked the other day about how funny it would be if Arsene signed some other position than central midfield, but now that it really happened it isn't funny at all. I think this must have just been a bonus signing that wasn't expected and it just happened because the price was so good or something. The fee was undisclosed of course but I can't imagine it being much at all. Buying Manchester United rejects is disheartening.

Arsene spoke about the new signing to Arsenal.com, saying:

“We have a strong squad but a young squad and Mikael’s versatility, experience and calibre will provide the extra depth we need to reinforce our challenge for honours this season. His defensive adaptability will serve us well and it’s a big plus that Mikael has top level experience and a great understanding of football in the Premier League.”

Yes he does have experience, which is the bright side of all this. If we win the title I reserve the right to take all of this post back. Hopefully he can provide a lot of good help to the youngsters and can maybe even teach Kolo and Gallas a few things. I think he'll be decent cover too, but I wouldn't expect him to start many games.

So I'm still hoping for one more signing. I really really hope this wasn't the last one. I'll get something else up tomorrow. Let me know what you think about Silvestre's signing. Guess I'll go add him to Arsenal on my FIFA game.