But, unfortunately, there’s some bad news as well. For starters, while I wouldn’t say we played poorly, we certainly could have played better. We did score twice, but our finishing was poor, and generally our execution in the final 1/3 of the pitch lacked quality. I’m not sure if it’s because of the drop in quality of players because of injuries, fatigue from the international break, or just because these players haven’t had the chance to really play together very much this season, but Standard’s defense was really there for the taking and we should have been quite a bit more lethal in attack. And despite the fact that Standard offered little going forward, we continued our worrying trend of only allowing a few shots, but allowing really dangerous shots when we do–Standard hit the post a couple of times. Almunia only made one save all game.

The main point of worry, though, is injuries. We suffered two injuries this game, and both came where we can least afford it. Gallas left at half-time–I assumed that it was because he took a nasty blow to the head when he and Arshavin tried to head the same ball (his eye was nearly swollen shut by the end of the half), but apparently he has an ankle issue, too. No word on how serious it is or whether he’ll be available for Chelsea on Sunday. More certain is the diagnosis of Kieran Gibbs, who, as cruel fate would have it, injured his foot a couple of minutes into injury time right before the final whistle. Broken metatarsal in his left foot, out for around 3 months. Frak. When I first saw it and read about it, I thought, “Arsenal medical staff strikes again,” thinking they had misdiagnosed his “bruised foot” from the international break and sent him out to play when he shouldn’t have been out there. But that injury was in his right foot, so the fact that he suffered two foot injuries in the span of little over a week appears to be just a coincidence.

Make no mistake–this is a real problem for us. With Clichy and Gibbs both out injured, our options at left back are distinctly unappealing. We have Armand Traore, a talented young player who doesn’t seem to have the defensive chops to play the position as well as we expect, or we have the option of playing one of our reserve center backs (almost certainly Silvestre) left-back; or we can move one of our starting center backs to left back, and either play reserve center backs or drop Alex Song to the backline. Any of these options make us significantly worse.

And the Gallas injury hurts too, because it forces Wenger to either play Song out of position or play Mikael Silvestre. I suspect he’ll go with the latter. You’ll remember last season that it was Silvestre, against Chelsea, who gave up on the ball that Didier Drogba beat him to score the goal which put us out of the FA Cup. Look, Silvestre seems like a decent teammate and a good guy. But there’s no escaping the fact that he has been exposed as a footballer well past his prime, and no longer able to play at the highest level of the game. He’s got some veteran savvy, but all the experience in the world does you no good if you can’t keep up with and physically impose yourself upon defenders.

And, unfortunately, he seems to be Wenger’s preferred option. I don’t think we’ve gotten the whole story on why this is, but Senderos seems to be out of the picture unless absolutely necessary. It’s a shame, too, b/c I’ve always thought Big Phil was a pretty decent player who just lost some confidence and made a few high-profile mistakes. Especially against a striker who relies on brawn as much as Drogba does, I think Senderos would be our best option on Sunday. But Senderos was pretty clear about wanting out of the club in August, and the relationship between him and the club seems to have soured. Although it is to his credit that, if this is the case, he hasn’t been giving a bunch of interviews about it like so many other players would have.

At any rate, I am very, very, very worried about the ability of a Sagna-Silvestre-Vermaelen-Traore backline to deal with the likes of Chelsea. Having no depth on the backline really cost us down the stretch last season, and it should have been very apparent to Wenger that we needed reinforcements this season. And yet, we just replaced Toure with Vermaelen. I don’t understand why it wouldn’t have been worthwhile to go out and get a player like Sakho or Bassong, young guys who would have been willing to be a back-up and play on the Carling Cup squad for a season or two with the implicit understanding that they’d have a chance at the first-team once Gallas moves on. For all Wenger’s genius in the transfer market, his persistent blind spots can be downright infuriating.

I have to hop on a plane in a bit, so I won’t give a full recap–I’m sure you’ve read about it and seen the highlights by now anyways. But we definitely controlled this match. Aside from a couple shots which hit the posts, Standard never really threatened. On the other hand, it felt like, especially in the first half, we created a lot of opportunities, but just lacked a killer instinct. It seemed like we hit the post or put balls a few inches wide half a dozen times. But Nasri’s goal was a very composed finish, and Denilson’s goal…well, the keeper should have saved it, but it was a brilliant, audacious effort, and sometimes those catch the keeper flat-footed and you get rewarded. It was a well-deserved victory, and frankly, the scoreline probably flatters them a bit, it felt much more like a 4-1 game than a 2-0 game.

On to the ratings:

Almunia 6.5. Only made one save (on a muffed shot) all match, and never had to struggle. It’s worrying that he seemingly never has to make saves, but neither of the shots which hit the bar were his fault. Another decent performance where he didn’t have much to do.

Eboue 6.5. Made a few decent runs, but wasn’t as involved as he could have been, and didn’t have too much to do at the back.

Gibbs 6.5.Solid performance from Gibbs, of the kind that I think we’re dearly going to miss for the rest of the calendar year. Sigh.

Vermaelen 6.5 Was solid at the back, but against a punchless team like Standard, really should be getting forward a bit more.

Gallas 6.5. Only played first half, but played well, and got his head on a couple of dangerous balls–could have been rewarded with a goal on another day. Here’s hoping he’s okay.

Denilson 8. Great performance on his return from injury, and showed that he’s going to be an important part of this midfield going forward. He also probably played well enough to make Wenger think about playing him in the holding midfield role and Song at center back if Gallas can’t play on Sunday. If everyone was completely healthy, who would be playing in our midfield? It would definitely be Cesc and Song, and I think Denilson may very well be the third member of that.

Song 8.5 Man of the Match, for the second match running. My goodness, he’s having a good run of form. I think he represents our best hope of slowing down Chelsea–he’s got the physicality and aggressiveness to battle with Drogba & Co., and I could see him really disrupting that diamond formation.

Cesc 6.5. Not terrible, but just never really got it going. Gave away possession a few times on bad passes, and wasn’t a consistent threat. Also lost his temper again, and drew a yellow (although he incited retaliation which drew a red). Looks like a guy who could use a day or two off to me.

Arshavin 6.5. Confirmed what we thought–he really gave it a go as the center pivot forward in the 4-3-3, and I think he’s our best option, but several times got bullied off the ball by bigger defenders. Still, big ups to a guy whose head bleeds all over the place and just asks for a couple of stitches and a clean jersey and gets right back out there.

Nasri 7.5. Looked pretty good up front, and showed some poacher’s instincts on the goal. I like Nasri.

Vela 6.5. I also like Vela. He looked pretty solid, I thought–creative and dangerous, and really could have easily scored early in the game, when his shot off a corner kick hit the post. He’s got a world of talent, and I think he really could be a very good high-level striker in another year or two if he continues to get experience and mature. Plus, my roommate thinks he’s “soooooooo hot.” So he’s got that going for him.

Walcott 5.5. Looked off, couldn’t adequately use his pace and skills to create chances.

Rosicky 6. Decent substitute performance, especially considering he was playing further back on the pitch than he normally does.

Silvestre 6. Looked fine, as he played the entire second half. But the problem isn’t against lesser teams like this, it’s against teams which really test how much gas he’s got left in the tank. We may have to find out next week.

Well, that’s that–we have now made the knockout stages 10 years running, which is a remarkable level of consistency. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we should all be grateful to support a club that has established such a level of year-in, year-out success, even if it hasn’t translated to trophies the last couple of seasons.

Also, in good news, the club announced this morning that Alex Song signed a new long-term deal with the club. Song has really come into his own this season–there aren’t five better holding midfielders in the world at the moment. And it’s shown not only in the difference in possession we retain this season versus last season, but also in Fabregas’s performance. Song has given Cesc what he had in Flamini and what he was missing last season–someone to cover his back and allow him to go forward, but also to win the ball consistently and get the attack moving the opposite direction. Song has quietly become one of my favorite gunners this season, and I hope he plays for us for a long, long time.

I’m going to be traveling for Thanksgiving, but will try to drop by and update once or twice on goings on, and I should be able to have a preview of the Chelsea match up Saturday night. Hope you all have a happy and gluttonous turkey day.

Not to disrespect them, but Standard really shouldn’t pose much of a problem for us. Of course, they grabbed 2 quick goals against us at home and gave us a real scare, but we managed to come back for the 3-2 win. We’re much tougher at the Emirates, though. They’re currently 4th in the Belgian table, and missing talisman Steven Defour. It would be a shock if we didn’t come away from this fixture with a win.

It’s also a good opportunity for Wenger to rotate the squad and rest some players. I’m not sure if the international break was solely to blame, but it did seem like a lot of players looked tired and flat on Saturday. And with Chelsea coming up on Sunday, a lot of the players could probably use a few days to rest and refocus. My sense is that we’ll see a lot of younger players get some action tomorrow. Having said that, trying to predict a lineup is to some degree an exercise in futility. But here’s my best guess:

Almunia

Eboue-Gallas-Vermaelen-Gibbs

Fabregas-Denilson-Ramsey

Walcott-Eduardo-Vela

But Senderos, Rosicky, Song, Nasri, Silvestre, Wilshere, Arshavin, Mannone, or Traore could also be involved in the starting XI, and I wouldn’t be surprised.

In other news, Fabregas has responded to another upsurge in speculation that he might depart for Barcelona with characteristic awesomeness:

“It does not affect me at all because it’s been going for years. To be honest I just don’t think about it, I don’t want to and I don’t think I should because I’m at a great club and in a great team. I’m very happy where I am and there is very long season in front of us. The last thing I want to do is get disconnected from what I have to do which is to play football for my team and for the Club that pays me. I’m really looking forward to a great season with Arsenal.

When asked whether he thought he might stay at Arsenal for his entire career, El Capitan responded: “Why not? I have never thought about it. I’m only 22. You never know what your career will bring but why not? I’m in my seventh season now and I’m really happy, better than ever.”

Te amo, Cesc. Te amo. It must be so tiresome for him to have to deal with these constant rumors, and is, more than anything, unfair to him, because he’s been the consummate professional and team player throughout his time with the club, and has never given the slightest outward indication that he’s unhappy at the club or looking to leave.

In other news, Stan Kroenke bought 10 more shares of Arsenal stock, bringing him right to the brink of the 30 percent that would require him to make a takeover bid. I still have no idea what’s going on, but I wish he’d either make his intentions clear one way or the other so we’d know what the future of the club’s ownership would be.

Anyway, that’s it–here’s to 3 points and winning the group tomorrow. Come on Arsenal.

I opened up my preview for this match with the following paragraph:

Back in action at the Stadium of Light tomorrow, for what I expect to be a very tricky match. Seriously–this match scares the hell out of me. For one thing, it’s a road match against a top half side with a very good home record–those matches are always tough, no matter what. But throw in the fact that nearly half our first team is injured, and that everyone is already talking about next weekend’s matchup with Chelsea, and this has all the makings of an Arsenal stumble. I dearly hope I’m wrong.

I don’t know if I’ve ever been so disgusted to be right.

All year, I (and many others) have been talking about how different this season’s Arsenal squad is from last season. After today, though, you’d have to say: maybe not so different as we thought.

Last year’s team, you recall, made a habit of mailing in awful performances against teams we should have been expected to win against, only to turn around and turn in strong performances against our fellow top 4 clubs and in the Champions League. The only possible explanation is that the club, while capable of playing great, simply didn’t have the focus and mental strength to play their best week in and week out. That’s basically what happened today.

I know, I know, we have plenty of at least somewhat legitimate excuses–injuries, tired from the international break, etc. But you know what? (1) Sunderland had plenty of injuries/suspensions of their own; and (2) we had plenty of world-class players–Fabregas, Arshavin, Eduardo, Nasri, Song, Vermaelen, Gallas, etc. To be blunt, all of those players are likely better than any single member of Sunderland’s squad. We should have won. Period. And we didn’t, because Sunderland wanted it more than we did, and they came out and outworked and outplayed us. Full credit to them for that.

I generally try to avoid hyperbole, so I won’t say that this match ended Arsenal’s title hopes. We’re 8 points behind Chelsea, but with a head-to-head match-up next week and a home game against Bolton in hand. If we were to win both of those matches, we’d be just 2 points behind, easily within striking distance. But I will say that it’s hard to imagine a league-winning side turning in a performance as lackluster as what I just saw from Arsenal. I was at the pub, and the Arsenal game was playing right next to another tv, which was showing the Chelsea-Wolves “match.” The contrast between the quality and composure of Chelsea and Arsenal was disturbingly evident–it didn’t make for a very good morning for me, I have to say.

Like we did so many times last season, we seemed overly content with merely retaining possession and passing the ball back and forth outside of the proximity to goal where we needed to be to cause any real danger. We had 65% of the possession, yet you wouldn’t really say that we dominated the match. Tomas Rosicky missed a beautiful chance inside of 5 minutes, but the entire rest of the game, we only created a few chances and never again forced unproven keeper Martin Fulop into making a difficult save.

This is also the first time we’ve been kept off the scoresheet since the 0-0 draw with Manchester United last season. To be blunt, I think a big part of it was Robin van Persie–we miss him more than even I thought we would. Eduardo certainly didn’t play well, but only so much of the blame can fall on his shoulders, because he’s just not the kind of player to fill that position. Robbie’s position in the 4-3-3 is the fulcrum for the entire attack, constantly getting the ball into feet and sending back out again to someone in a dangerous position. On the other hand, Eduardo is most comfortable as a true poacher, probing for weaknesses in the backline without the ball and popping up to take one touch and get a shot on goal from a dangerous position. For a guy who should have been involved in the attack a lot, Eduardo seemed awfully invisible for almost all of the match. I’m not sure what the answer is, but I do think Wenger needs to go back to the drawing board in terms of who should take RvP’s place as the center forward, b/c Eduardo isn’t up to the task–if it means temporarily abandoning the 4-3-3 until van Persie returns from injury, so be it.

Anyway, as to the match itself, there isn’t much to say by way of recap. Fabregas created a beautiful chance for Rosicky which he wasted by shooting directly at the keeper in the 5th minute. After that, there just weren’t too many chances. Eduardo had another great chance inside the box, but instead of just shooting low to the side of the keeper, where he had room, Eduardo tried to be too clever and chip the ball over the keeper, and his chip went well wide. We had a couple of quality balls into the box late after Sunderland had scored, but couldn’t get anyone on the other end of them. Sunderland didn’t fare too much better–Malbranque had a couple of shots inside the box unmarked (apparently Traore doesn’t quite understand what a left back’s duties are just yet), but in the 73rd minute, off a corner kick, the ball ricocheted around and came straight onto the foot of Darren Bent, who just had to poke it past Almunia. The marking was very poor, and as the ball came back into the six-yard box, Rosicky just stared at the ball, apparently attempting to clear it through the use of telekinesis.

On to the ratings:

Almunia 6.5. Didn’t really have too much to do. His best save of the game came on a play where Darren Bent was offsides anyway, but patrolled his area well.

Sagna 7. Another good performance–good getting back on defense, but seemed consistently involved going forward as well.

Traore 5.5.I’d say that he confirmed Arsene Wenger’s preseason statement that Traore lacked the defensive chops to really play left back. He looked decent going forward, but was pretty calamitous at the back–left Malbranque unmarked in the box twice, and generally just kind of ran around aimlessly when Sunderland had the ball. Took a yellow on a very dangerous tackle in injury time for good measure. His future is not at left back.

Vermaelen 6. Defended well, and stayed tight at the back, but didn’t get forward in attack as much as he could have.

Gallas 6. Ditto.

Ramsey 5.5. Woof. Big step back. Looked tentative and confused, and generally just didn’t look like he knew what he was supposed to be doing. Doubly bad because this probably paves the way for Diaby’s re-entry into the starting XI when he comes back from injury.

Song 8. Man of the Match. Maybe the only bright spot. Aggressive and strong in the middle of the field. On several occasions he would go into an exchange alone against multiple Sunderland players and would come out with the ball on the other side. I know he’s only really come into his own this season, but I’m calling it–he’s one of the best holding midfielders in the world right now.

Cesc 6. Seemed strangely timid and frustrated the entire match. Couldn’t find much in the way of through balls, and kept losing his temper. He’s got to be more composed and influential if Arsenal are to ever become an excellent team.

Eduardo 5. You know, in a sense, it’s not entirely his fault, because he was being asked to play a role that doesn’t suit his skill set. And van Persie didn’t take to the role instantly, either. But even considering that, he was awful–the center forward role in a 4-3-3 is the focal point of our attack, which makes it baffling that Eduardo was almost completely anonymous. He squandered the one decent scoring chance he did have.

Rosicky 5.5. Missed a tremendous chance very early in the match, and despite having possession in Sunderland’s half on many occasions, struggled to create anything at all.

Nasri 6. Not too bad, but has yet to settle in and find his role in the 4-3-3–based on what we’ve seen so far, I’m not sure forward-wing is the best fit, although with his preseason injury he’s only been able to make a couple of appearances.

Arshavin 6. Created a couple moments of real danger, but didn’t look like his normal self, justifying Wenger’s decision not to start him.

Vela 6. Wasn’t as involved as he could have been, but almost drew a penalty in injury time.

Walcott 6.5. Worked very hard in his substitute cameo–how many times in the last 15 minutes of the game did Walcott get forward with the ball only to find himself surrounded by Sunderland shirts with no Arsenal shirts anywhere near him? It seemed like he was the only one who was really desperate to get forward and equalize. Made a claim that he should be in the first XI if he’s healthy.

Truly a wasted chance. A wasted chance to keep pace with Chelsea and Manchester United, and a wasted chance to put some space between us and Aston Villa, Manchester City, and Liverpool, all of whom dropped points today. But we lost, and we’ve got to look forward. We’ve got a chance to win our Champions League group on Tuesday at home, and then Chelsea travels across town to the Emirates on Sunday for a big showdown. If we’re to have any hope of winning the league, you’d have to think that’s a must-win–at the very least, a loss would put us 11 points behind, which you’d have to think would be a mountain too tall to climb.

I think Wenger isn’t going to be sleeping too well tonight, as he tries to figure out whether, in van Persie’s absence, he still has the personnel to operate the 4-3-3, and if so, exactly how. We’ve only got two days off before Tuesday’s matchup with Standard, and then five days later it’s Chelsea. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, I’ll be back with a preview for the Standard match on Monday.

Sunderland: Starters: Fulop, Bardsley, Mensah, da Silva, McCartney, Henderson, Reid, Cana, Richardson, Henderson, Bent. Subs: Nosworthy, Healy, Zenden, Murphy, Ferdinand, Campbell, Carson.

Arsenal: Starters: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Traore, Fabregas, Song, Ramsey, Rosicky, Eduardo, Nasri. Subs: Mannone, Silvestre, Arshavin, Eboue, Walcott, Denilson, Vela.

Traore starts at left-back. It’ll be interesting to watch him this game–I think I remember coming into the season Wenger saying something to the effect that he didn’t consider Traore a left-back anymore, that his defensive deficiencies made him a left winger exclusively. I’m also glad to see Ramsey in there–I thought he was still hurt from internationals, but he impressed in his previous start and earned the chance to build on that. Another good performance or two and you’d have to say he’s passed Diaby on the depth chart. Rosicky and Nasri, who are more traditional wingers than strikers, play on the forward wings, so Eduardo is our only true striker, as Arshavin and Vela both start on the bench. On the plus side, though, injuries and suspensions have forced Sunderland to field a pretty improvised lineup, too.

It’ll be a tough fixture, but we need three points here if we’re really title contenders–let’s get out there and do it. Come on Arsenal.

Position: 8th, 5-2-5 (17 points, +1 goal differential)

Recent Form: DWLDL

Home Form: 4-1-1

Last Meeting: Arsenal 0-Sunderland 0 (2/21/09)

Back in action at the Stadium of Light tomorrow, for what I expect to be a very tricky match. Seriously–this match scares the hell out of me. For one thing, it’s a road match against a top half side with a very good home record–those matches are always tough, no matter what. But throw in the fact that nearly half our first team is injured, and that everyone is already talking about next weekend’s matchup with Chelsea, and this has all the makings of an Arsenal stumble. I dearly hope I’m wrong.

Sunderland is a quality side, much improved from last season. This is due mainly to the hire of Steve Bruce as manager–Bruce did wonders at Wigan, bringing in quality bargain buys like Valencia and Palacios, as well as youngsters like Lee Cattermole, who followed the gaffer north to Sunderland. The club also gave him a bit of money to play with over the summer, and he appears to have spent it wisely–his main transfers were Darren Bent, who has already shown himself to be a bargain (honestly–compare his production with strikers who were much more costly, like Berbatov, Santa Cruz, and Pavlyuchenko); Lorik Cana, who was immediately appointed captain and has become a mainstay in their midfield; and the aforementioned Cattermole, one of the more promising young midfielders in the Premiership.

Sunderland still plays a very English brand of football–disciplined, tight at the back, and relying a lot on toughness and physicality. But they have opened up a bit under Bruce, who has brought in some skilled players and installed a little bit of an attacking mentality in the club, which is in stark contrast to the way Sunderland played under Roy Keane and Ricky Sbragia the last couple of seasons. And even then, they managed a draw in both their games against us last season.

You wouldn’t necessarily characterize Sunderland as an explosive team per se, but they do have two quality strikers who complement each other well in Darren Bent and Kenwyne Jones, who have combined for 13 goals this season. Their midfield is full of battlers like Steed Malbranque and Lorik Cana, and their backline is anchored by Anton Ferdinand and Michael Turner. We catch a little bit of a break tomorrow, though, as starting keeper Craig Gordon and Cattermole are both out injured, and Kenwyne Jones and Turner are both out on suspensions–in particular, Jones is exactly the kind of bruising physical striker that has given us problems in the past, too.

Their home record is very good–they’ve only lost once, to Chelsea, in 6 matches at the Stadium of Light. In their two best results of the season, they beat Liverpool at home and drew at Old Trafford in a match they very easily could have won. I watched that match in its entirety, and I can definitively say that this is a team that will make us pay if we expect to just show up and win. That happened with alarming frequency last season, but with the exception of the West Ham game, we’ve so far been able to avoid that pitfall this season. But hopefully the team isn’t suffering from too much of an international hangover and comes out focused and motivated.

In squad news, obviously the injuries are a big concern. van Persie is out for a while, and while Gibbs’s injury is apparently minor and he may be able to play on Tuesday against Standard Liege, he is out tomorrow. In better news, Theo Walcott is back in the squad–I still doubt he’ll start, but don’t be surprised to see him come on as a late substitute. Denilson, Traore, Wilshere, and Vela are also supposedly going to be available, although I don’t see any of them starting unless Wenger is really convinced that they are match fit–the midweek Champions League fixture would be a much better chance for them all to get a run out. It will also be interesting to see how those who played full matches on Wednesday fare. Fabregas and Arshavin played the entire match, as did Eboue, and Sagna and Gallas both played a full 120 minutes against Ireland. I’m sure there’s others I’m forgetting, too. For example, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sagna get a breather this game.

Lineup:

Almunia

Eboue-Gallas-Vermaelen-Silvestre

Fabregas-Song-Nasri

Rosicky-Eduardo-Arshavin

(UPDATE: So it sounds like Wenger is thinking that Vela will start, and that Arshavin may not play because of the fatigue from internationals. Honestly, I have no idea what to expect in terms of a starting XI tomorrow.)

But given those tired from internationals and those returning from injuries, it wouldn’t surprise me if our lineup was significantly different from that. Between injuries and fatigue, the Emirates is basically a field hospital right now, and Wenger’s just going to have to check with the players and trainers on an individual basis to see who’s really ready to play.

This is a tough match, and given all the surrounding circumstances (injuries, internationals, etc.), it’s the kind of match that last year’s club would have either lost or drawn. But these are exactly the kind of matches a team has to be able to win if it’s a serious title contender. Tomorrow could reveal a lot about what kind of team this Arsenal squad is. A win keeps us clear of United and keeps the pressure on Chelsea going into the the showdown at the Emirates a week from Sunday. Let’s get those 3 points.

Come on Arsenal.

FELIPE MELO Arsenal were probably linked with Felipe Melo this summer more than any other player. The biggest difference between Arsenal’s 2007-2008 season and our 2008-2009 season, which saw the club take a large step backwards, was the absence of Mathieu Flamini. He did a great job protecting our backline and winning possession, and freed up Cesc to roam a little bit and probe for weaknesses in the other side’s defense. It was only logical, then, that the area many people thought Arsenal should address was a defensive midfielder. Melo seemed a logical candidate–the young (26) Brazilian impressed at Fiorentina and for the Brazilian national team, but was ready to move on to a bigger stage. Arsenal were clearly interested, but apparently were unwilling to meet Fiorentina’s high asking price, and Juventus swooped in and scooped him up.

allesio from Juventus Offside:

Juventus pursued deep-lying playmaker Gaetano D’Agostino of Udinese for much of the summer. On paper, it looked perfect; he was a childhood Juventus fan, a playmaker that was sorely missed in midfield, and fairly young. Udinese played hardball, and rumors exploded one day that Juve had given up and focused on Felipe Melo. It was the opposite with him; Juventus does not have a history of signing Brazilians, his previous club, Fiorentina, has a very bitter rivalry with Juventus, and everyone wondered if we needed another defensive midfielder having signed Sissoko and Poulsen recently.

Felipe Melo, for the most part, has integrated brilliantly into the team. Typically, he sits just ahead of defense and breaks up play, though he has many qualities that defensive midfielders generally lack, ie- good shooting ability, some dribbling skills, and a decent passer of the ball. Sissoko generally runs around after the ball, but Melo is a great reader of the game instead. He has been generally top-notch, although he has a very dangerous and annoying habit of trying to dribble out of defense, which has punished Juventus several times. He has scored two excellent goals, to boot. Despite his occasional stupid plays, the fans have taken very warmly to him.

Was he worth the money? No, €24.5 million is quite excessive for a transfer in Italy (EPL market seems generally inflated), somewhere around €15-16 million would have been more appropriate, but he had just come off a successful Confederation’s Cup and that was the recission clause in his contract. That said, he has integrated very well into the team very quickly and is a constant in the Starting XI, picked ahead of Sissoko and Poulsen. If we can get him to stop mucking around the 18, I have no doubt he is going to be considered one of the best midfielders worldwide. I think he would have played very well at Arsenal and though I am a very casual viewer of the EPL, (at best) I think he would have added something significant to the team. The team, since Vieira’s departure, seems to me to be lacking grit and steel in midfield.

MAMADOU SAKHO Young? Check. Unknown? Check. French? Check. It’s unclear whether Arsenal were ever actually interested in Sakho, but if they weren’t, you can understand why the rumor started, since he seems like the archetype of an Arsene Wenger signing. Arsenal were rumored to be sniffing around the 19 year old French center half. He’s big, he’s talented, and he’s a leader–he is the youngest player to ever have captained a Ligue 1 side, having worn the armband for the first time at the age of 17. He’s represented France at numerous youth levels, and seems a good bet to play for the senior side someday soon. He also seems unlikely to stay at Paris St. Germain for too long if he continues to develop. But no deal ever materialized, and that native Parisian started the season with his hometown club.

Thomas from PSG Offside:

To put it quite plainly, 19 year old Mamadou Sakho has been far and away PSG’s most reliable defender this season. He has put in excellent performances against quality Ligue 1 attacks despite being played alongside the less than stellar and aging Sammy Traore. He was vital in shutting down the Lyon attack, arguably one of the best in Europe, in their 1-1 draw with PSG (replays showed that Bafe Gomis’s goal was quite clearly offside). He has played well despite coming down with swine flu in late November, which is a stunning feat in itself. He is a fan favorite at the Parc des Princes as a native Paresian, but he has also captained the side at times and has wonderful leadership abilities. I would love to see Sakho become a “franchize player” after coming through the youth ranks from an early age, but I fear that the attention from the giants of Europe may force a sale. I think hanging on to him for another two seasons is a feasible goal.

PATRICK VIEIRA We all know this name, of course. Paddy expressed unhappiness when he was dropped from the French national team. He felt it was because he wasn’t playing regularly enough at Inter, and wanted to move somewhere where he would be firmly entrenched in the first team. Sensing a prodigal son story, the media immediately began to speculate that Vieira would return to Arsenal, and it did seem like discussions took place. But my sense is that if they did speak, Wenger told him that if he did return, he would be used as a substitute/reserve, which, of course, wasn’t what he was looking for. So the deal didn’t go through. Thankfully, neither did the speculated move to Spurs.

The Arsenal legend and former captain has been playing for Mourinho at Inter Milan for the past couple seasons after his year at Juventus. He spent 9 seasons in North London, the last 3 as captain. He provided the thunder to Thierry Henry’s lightning at Highbury–he was one of the greatest holding midfielders in Premiership history, and provided toughness and grit in the midfield for Arsenal. Beyond that stuff, though, which he always gets credit for, he was a much better technical player than he gets credit for–at his best, he was flawless at always being one step ahead of his opponents mentally, and always seemed to anticipate how the play was going to develop before it happened. And his height and rangy build, combined with his technical ability, made him one of the best pure tacklers I’ve ever seen–you just could not get by him with the ball.

But enough about the player he was? What kind of player is he now? He’s still an important part of the first team at Milan, but is on the fringes of the first 11. He’s made 5 starts and 3 substitute appearances for the club in Serie A matches so far this season, and has also come on as a late sub in 2 of Inter’s Champions League matches. I haven’t seen Inter play all season, but according to Goal.com’s player ratings, which do generally run a bit harsh, Vieira has averaged just over 6 (6.06, to be exact) in his 8 appearances. That’s pretty much the very definition of mediocrity.

The bottom line is that Vieira is at the point in his career where the decline can be pretty steep, and it would seem like we’re seeing it. His international career is likely over, and if he wants to continue playing club football after this year, a move to a smaller team (possibly back in his native France) may be in order. If he’s been mediocre with Inter, it’s hard to see how he would have offered us anything more, so it’s probably just as well that the move never materialized.

But, obviously, that doesn’t take away from what Vieira accomplished with Arsenal. In a fan poll last year, he was ranked the 5th greatest gunner of all time. Three league titles and Four FA Cups in 9 years with the club. His last kick of the ball in an Arsenal shirt was the penalty which won the 2005 FA Cup. We haven’t won a trophy since, and it’s probably not a coincidence. His time has passed, but he’ll always have a place in North London.

Conclusion You know, I guess I wish we had brought some guys in, but frankly, I’m kind of glad we ended up not going out and getting a big, expensive name like Melo. He’s a good player, to be sure, but at this point I’d much rather have Alex Song at his age playing that role. And I don’t think we really needed someone like Chamakh, and I’m not sure how well he’d work within our system.

But what I would have really liked to see is just to go get a couple of guys for cover. It would have been great to get someone like Lorik Cana or Blaise Matuidi who could have provided cover for Song in the middle of the field and taken his place in January when he’s gone to the ACN. I also would have liked to see another center back in the fold to provide us cover. We’ve been incredibly fortunate this season in that we haven’t suffered any injuries to our starting center backs–Gallas and Vermaelen have started all our big games. Not to be a pessimist, but we can’t count on that continuing all season. And in case of injury, we’ve got Silvestre, who is terrible, and Senderos, who is unhappy to be at the club. It would have been great to get a guy like Sakho, who is young and promising and probably wouldn’t mind biding his time and learning under more experienced players for the time being. And then in a season or two he could step into the first team for Gallas.

But we didn’t. In terms of what we may be looking at in January, expect to hear Chamakh’s name come up a lot more. He’s out of contract at Bordeaux at the end of the season, so if he still wants to leave, Bordeaux will likely be willing to let him go for pretty cheap. Other than that, it’s not clear what Arsenal’s goals will be. Barring a complete collapse in November and December, Arsenal won’t go into January in a desperate situation like we did last year, where we needed an impact player to avoid finishing outside the top 4, and Arshavin fit that bill. But Arsene has never been afraid to bring in guys in January, so don’t be surprised if we see an out of leftfield transfer at some point.

And with that, the international break is, essentially, over. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this–thanks to vespo for the idea. Sunderland preview coming tomorrow, and Saturday, we’ll have actual football to talk about.

If you haven’t: there was a cross into the box which fizzed past the far post, and looked like it was headed over the touchline for a goal kick. But off one hop, it hit the arm of Thierry Henry, and deflected back into play in a perfect spot for him to center it directly into the path of the oncoming William Gallas, who headed home the winning goal. Two former Gunner captains combining for the golden goal. Ireland, who played bravely and who would have otherwise gone to penalty kicks for the right to go to the World Cup, feel aggrieved. And I absolutely, positively sympathize with them. To come so far, to play so well against a more talented team on their home field, only to be sent home by a goal which should have been disallowed…Well, that’s just awful (not the mention UEFA’s decision to adopt the seeding system for the playoffs after qualification had already started, which was complete b.s.). And I know they’re hurting today. Just to be clear–the goal shouldn’t have counted, and Henry could very well have been (justifiably) carded.

But I’m writing this because I think once the European/English media gets a chance to react to it tomorrow, we’re going to hear terms like “cheat” applied to Thierry Henry. The state of the modern/online media and blogosphere is that whoever can write the most controversial/provocative thing is going to get the most attention, so I fully expect to read outlandish pieces calling for Henry to retire from international play, admit to cheating, be banned, etc. Unfortunately, it’s the nature of the beast. But the bottom line is this–the play we got to watch over and over again in super slow motion happened to him instantaneously. He had to make a decision, which was more pure reflex than anything else. But the media tomorrow might try to interpret this as some premeditated decision which reflects poor judgment and/or malicous intent on his part. It was not.

Now. I’m not saying he was right, and I’m not saying the goal should have stood. But I’m a full-grown adult, who probably shouldn’t have football players as role models, but I do. And # 1 on that list in Thierry Henry. And it’s not just because of how great he was on the field, but it’s because of the character and class he showed off the field over the course of many years as a Gunner. We know that. We remember that. When the Lilliputian scene of hundreds of small, petty “journalists” and bloggers trying to take down a true giant of a man takes place tomorrow, I would urge all Arsenal fans, and all football fans in general, to reflect on the fact that what happened yesterday is completely incongruous with what we’ve seen from Henry over the course of the last decade or so:

I guess all I’m trying to say is that I think the haters may be out in force tomorrow, but no matter what they say, we all know that Thierry Henry was always, is, and will always be a class act, through and through. And we’ll never forget it.

First, and most importantly, Kieran Gibbs did not break his foot, only suffered brusing, and is expected to be back and ready for action against Chelsea on the 29th. That still leaves us scrambling for cover on Saturday, but the Chelsea game will be very important, and we’ll really need him at left back. Good news.

In other news, Eduardo signed a new long-term contract with the club. Terms (both in terms of years and wages) were not disclosed, as is common with the club. I’ve been skeptical of how helpful Eduardo can be given that he seems much slower than he was before the injury, but given that it wasn’t that long ago that it was a question whether he would ever come back at all, you’ve got to be happy for him. And I think he’ll always be a useful guy to have around in reserve and as an impact sub. Also, judging from the picture accompanying the story, Eduardo met with Gazidis to sign the contract at what appears to be my grandparents’ house. Weird.

Young midfielder Henri Lansbury has extended his loan with Watford to the first of the year. He’s not making it into Arsenal’s first-team this season, and is playing well at Watford, so it makes sense for everyone involved.

The club is auctioning off four of the shirts featuring the rememberance poppy worn against Wolves. Cesc’s shirt is already at over £3,000. And once again I curse myself for not being an eccentric, foolish millionaire.

Eboue claims he wants to go into acting after his football career is over, and he wants to be “the next Eddie Murphy.” This is, of course, ridiculous, but you know what? (a) Eboue couldn’t possibly make movies any worse than Eddie Murphy has made the last 10 years; and (b) if anyone from Hollywood is reading this…if you remake “48 Hours” with Eboue and Bendtner playing the Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte roles, I will TOTALLY pay $10 to go see that. Probably 2 or 3 times. Let’s get on it. Between how appreciative Eboue always is of the fans who travel to watch the club on the road, the fact that he is always the first guy to sprint over and join the goal celebration with a huge smile on his face, and the fact he’s just generally a bit loony and lives on his own planet, I can honestly say he’s one of my favorite players on the club. It makes me feel guilty for writing this on my old blog. Sorry, Eboue.

Wenger has also addressed the issue of Song’s absence from the squad in January. As you know, I’m very worried about this–we’re a different squad when Song doesn’t play, and missing him for a month is going to hurt us. I had speculated about who might play the holding midfield role, but according to Wenger, it will be Denilson, not Nasri. It’s still a bit worrisome, but it’s the right choice–I never quite understood why Wenger seemed to want to play a player of Nasri’s skill and attacking capability as a holding midfielder.

Finally, there’s this:

It’s the video of the charity event I posted a pic of last week. It’s kind of cheesy, but has some good moments, even if a lot of it looks to be at least semi-staged. I liked the dog chewing Sagna’s arm (or is it wing?), and the slow-mo “badass” walking together shot cribbed from “Reservoir Dogs”–dear god, I hope they were being ironic when they included that. I also enjoyed Theo scratching his ass at the very end. The way things were going, I guess we should just be glad they didn’t find a way to injure themselves in the stunt.

Okay, unless something really monumental happens today, that’s it until tomorrow.

EDIN DZEKO Arsenal were heavily linked with the 23 year-old Bosnian striker early in the transfer window. He was coming off of a wonderful season in the Bundesliga, in which he led Wolfsburg to a surprise championship and led the league in goals, with a phenomenal 26 strikes in 29 appearances. He was ready for the big time, and many questioned whether Wolfsburg could hold onto him. However, AC Milan was also sniffing, and Dzeko made his feelings pretty plain that he’d rather play for AC than Arsenal. In the end, though, Wolfsburg managed to hang onto him, and he’s started the season with the club again.

While he’s certainly played well, he hasn’t quite matched his amazing nearly 1 goal per game ratio from last season. He’s scored 8 goals in 17 games in all appearances, including a goal at Old Trafford in the Champions League. However, 5 of those goals came in a 4-match stretch from mid- to late September. Outside of that stretch, he’s been distinctly average in his return. He’s really thrived in internationals, though, scoring 9 goals in 8 World Cup qualifying games and almost singlehandedly carried Bosnia-Herzogovina into the two-leg playoff against Portugal for a spot in South Africa.

BREDE HANGELAND The big Norwegian center back scored the winning goal against us last season in his breakthrough campaign, and was widely being hailed as the best defender in the Premiership outside of the Big 4. With Kolo Toure leaving and Arsenal famously vulnerable at the back, especially from set pieces, and Hangeland already in London, he seemed like an ideal fit. And it did seem like there was some interest on the part of Arsenal, but if there was, Wenger was not willing to meet Roy Hodgson’s price for the 28 year-old.

timmyg from the Fulham Offside:

Brede Hangeland was Roy Hodgson’s first signing as Fulham manager. Although the transfer price was undisclosed, no amount of money could match the signing’s effect. It would turn out to be to a harbinger of the quality, successful football to come. You could win any argument with a Fulham fan that Roy built the club around our defense, particularly Hangeland.
Although this season Brede hasn’t appeared to be as astute as last year or the year before that — silly tackles, very out of position in a few games — his pairing with Aaron Hughes remains a huge catalyst toward Fulham’s success. So much so that Fulham are currently tied with Arsenal, City, and Brum for fourth-best defense; and last year actually had the fourth-best defense while maintaining four clean sheets in 8 games against the Big Four.
On set pieces he is probably our greatest threat despite only scoring one league goal (against Arsenal last season) and one in the Europa League against Roma earlier this month.

So yeah, Hangeland has been a huge success at the club and amongst the fans. Don’t know what else to say really.

KLAAS-JAN HUNTELAAR We were heavily linked with the Dutch fox in the box after he was made surplus when Real Madrid spent all summer blowing through money like Lindsay Lohan in a Tijuana drug store. The former Ajax assassin had actually put in a relatively decent goal-scoring rate at Real, but was going to be moved anyway. Everyone mooted Arsenal as a possible landing spot, as it was speculated he could replace Adebayor. But it seems like it was almost all media speculation, and AC Milan showed interest and ponied up € 15 million for him.

In 8 games this season for the Italian giants, Huntelaar has already scored countless goals. And by countless, I mean less than can be counted. As in 0. The big zippo. And he’s yet to play a full game, either coming on as an impact sub, or, more often, starting and coming before the 60th minute–I’m not sure if this is a reflection of his fitness or his level of play. In AC’s last 9 games, Huntelaar has been an unused substitute. Yeesh.

SALOMON KALOU Granted, this seemed to be a weird one, but Wenger confirmed that he had been interested in Kalou in the past, which renewed speculation that Wenger may dip in for the 24 year-old Chelsea striker.

Our good friend Jack from Chelsea Offside:

To paraphrase a Telegraph piece I read at the end of October: Many Chelsea fans reacted to the new three-year contract Salomon Kalou inked early in the season by asking whether the Ivory Coast striker was able to put pen to paper at the first attempt.

Hilarious. Yet a genuine concern.

This article, of course, was published shortly after Kalou had netted twice against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. This performance, in particular, represented everything Chelsea supporters have come to love — and hate — about Kalou.

He bagged a brace, true. But Kalou also missed at least four fine opportunities and denied Lampard an early goal by loafing into an offside position. All these shambolics arrived before he finally found the back of the net.

So, in short, it’s been business as usual for Kalou this term. He’s scored four times in 13 appearances (8 starts). He’s provided some sharp displays, most quickly forgotten in wake of the horribly-predictable consecutive no-shows that follow.

Whether the man should be sold is up for interpretation. It’s difficult to find a player of his talent/potential willing to work from a reserve role — although Kalou typically responds to starts more so than substitute appearances. Selling to Arsenal would be a negative in any instance; selling outside the Premier League, now that probably wouldn’t hurt at all.

BLAISE MATUIDI This is the hardest one to write. Not because of any emotional attachment or wish that Arsenal had gotten Matuidi, but because St. Etienne Offside’s blogger didn’t respond to my email, and I couldn’t find any player ratings site that did Ligue 1 matches. So I’ll keep it short. The 22 year-old French holding midfielder seemed to meet a need for Arsenal, and was supposedly available at a relatively affordable price. Like Bassong, he, too, came out of the same academy that produced Thierry Henry, William Gallas, and Nicolas Anelka. He represented France at numerous youth levels and has become a mainstay in St. Etienne’s first choice eleven, representing the side in both Ligue 1 and the UEFA Cup.

Beyond that, I can’t tell you much–he’s played 11 matches (all starts) for struggling St. Etienne so far this season, although he had to miss St. Etienne’s 1-0 loss to Lyon on Halloween with an injury which kept him out of the next match as well.

Many thanks to Timmy, who has great taste in music, and the inimitable Jack, who was kind enough to contribute his thoughts on Kalou despite the fact that I lurk on his comments page and trash Chelsea at almost every opportunity. Part III to finish up this series tomorrow, and I’ll give my thoughts about which of these players I wish we had signed, and who we should maybe look at in the January window. Until then–hopefully no one else will get hurt today.

If you’re curious, we have 29 players listed in our first-team. Which means we are only a few injuries away from having literally more than half our team injured. Maybe there’s something to this November curse after all.