A Few Items Ahead of the Hammers

By: travis | January 31st, 2009

Well, I didn’t get to write a recap of the Everton game. Perhaps it was due to the shock of seeing Arsenal score so late in the game. When I saw Timmy Cahill score — the lad is on fire as well — I hung my head in disgust and thought “there’s no way Arsenal will fight back.” They were in the midst of another dreary and dreadful performance, one that signaled that this team might not make the Champions League. It’s a looming fear of most Arsenal fans, but the truth is, more performances like that one combined with the surge of Villa and it might become a reality. Cue Van Persie to step up (again) and lash home a terrific shot. Perhaps Howard could have saved it, but do people really think that? Bottom line: the Dutchman has saved this team time and time again this season, and it’s a miracle that he has stayed healthy almost the whole time. I’m shocked. Nevertheless, a point is a point, and when you look at it from the right perspective, maybe it’s not the worst result in the world.

Moving along, today West Ham comes to the Emirates, and you’d have to say it’s a good chance for a win. The Hammers are enjoying a fairly good season, sitting in eighth place with 32 points. Not a bad return for Gianfranco Zola, and he’ll no doubt be looking to spoil Wenger’s afternoon. Still, West Ham doesn’t exactly have a side that strikes fear in your heart, no matter how badly Arsenal is playing these days. I have a hard time knowing what to say about it — three points is definitely a must, and fingers crossed that Villa might actually lose for once. Continuing the nine game unbeaten streak would be nice as well, depending on if it’s a win or a draw.

Even though I refuse to talk about Arshavin, I noticed an interesting article on the official site. Wenger has revealed why he wants to sign the Russian. Take a look:

“He’s a guy who can go past people in the final third,” said the manager. “He can have the key, individually and collectively.

“He is an experienced player, 27, a good age and we are a very young side. We will not have Fabregas in the next six to eight weeks, we will not have Walcott in the next five weeks, Rosicky in the next eight weeks.

“You can see with the replay of the FA Cup we have the desire to do well in every competition and one more body could help us.”

Funny that the decimation of the midfield has cued this move, one that could have helped the team even with a healthy Cesc, Adebayor, and Rosicky. I guess you can’t live in the past though. As usual, there is news coming from all angles that Arshavin has signed, he hasn’t signed, word is that he’s taking a boat to London from Russia, another paper says that he has secured a work permit without a deal — who the heck knows. Point is, whether he comes or not, I will rejoice when this transfer window closes.

Let’s get three points today, shall we? Thoughts and comments below please.