Crucial Run of Games Coming for the Gunners

We’re back to our regularly scheduled programming. I’ve gotten myself all caught up with recent events. So, I hear we’re going to some place called ‘Wembley’? That’s nice. Oh who am I kidding? I’m so excited! Woooooo!!! We’re going to Wem-ber-ley!!! I know it’s just the Kiddie Cup, but it will be my first cup final with the Arsenal. If we win it, it will be the first time I get to see us lift some silverware, so I’m really happy we got ourselves to the final.

Martin was talking to JG in the comments about how the hell we actually got here, and I have to say I agree with them both. Wenger saw that our first tie was against the Spuds and there was no way he was going to go out that early in a derby by playing the U8 reserves. He put out a stronger team, which caught the spuds out by surprise a little. It turned out that most of the big teams had been knocked out early, making us early favourites with ManUtd, but then even they got knocked out. Suddenly, it looked like we could actually win the damn thing, so hey, might as well go for it. Maybe then everyone will stop going on about how we haven’t won a trophy for five years. Then again, we’ll probably just hear people say instead “Arsenal are still in the title race after winning their first trophy for five years”. They’ll get it in there somehow.

It’s nice that it worked out this way because it seems to have given the players something to strive for and it’s still only January. The final will be on February 27, which means our match against Tottenham will be rescheduled. We will be facing Birmingham, who came back from the dead against West Ham yesterday to get themselves through to their first Wembley final since 1956. I was hoping for a London derby at Wembley so we could get some cup revenge against the Hammers, but Birmingham for the final should be an interesting game in itself. If we can win the Carling Cup, it could give the players the boost in confidence they so desperately need to push on for some of the bigger trophies still up for grabs this season. Not to mention, as some of you already pointed out to me, it has given the likes of Arhsavin, Bendtner, and Denilson some games to get back in form and show their worth to the team. I was happy to hear that they all did well against Ipswich on Wednesday, and the more players we have doing well, the better it is for the team.

Looking ahead to the next month, it looks like we’ve got a jam-packed schedule. There are many important games coming and this is going to be a critical period in the season where we need to stay consistent and focused. Here are the upcoming fixtures:

Jan 30 Huddersfield FA Cup (H)
Feb 1 Everton Premier League (H)
Feb 5 Newcastle Premier League (A)
Feb 12 Wolves Premier League (H)
Feb 16 Barcelona Champions League (H)
Feb 19/20 Possible FA Cup 4th Round Replay/FA Cup 5th Round
Feb 22 Stoke Premier League (H)
Feb 27 Birmingham Carling Cup Final (Wembley)

That’s possibly 8 fixtures in a month. The good thing is that we have 5 home games and a final at Wembley. We’ll probably see some players rested for Huddersfield and put out a strong team against Everton and Newcastle to keep up our good run of form in the league. We have our FA Cup match on Sunday and our game against the Toffees on Tuesday, so thanks again to the FA for scheduling that. Everton face Chelsea in the FA Cup this weekend, which is a tough draw, but they also have an extra day to rest. The biggest game is, of course, Barcelona. Wenger will have an interesting dilemma as to who he plays against Wolves. I suspect he will rest some key players, so it is important that our squad is in good shape. Stoke comes after the Barcelona game so at least we can put off worrying about picking up debilitating injuries until then. If all goes well and we haven’t been completely demoralized by any bad results, we’ll end the month with a chance to win a nice, big, shiny trophy.

Looking at the other teams in the top five (ManUtd, ManCity, Chelsea, Tottenham) they are all still in the FA Cup and have upcoming European ties like we do. The biggest difference seems to be that the other teams have a lot more away fixtures in the coming month than we do. It will be an important time in the Premier League to see how all the teams will cope with multiple competitions and squad rotation. It is a huge opportunity for us to get ahead in the Premier League race, so let’s hope the players stay healthy and motivated these coming weeks.

There has been some transfer activity, but through loans, not actually us buying any players (read: defender). Aaron Ramsey will be on loan to Cardiff until the end of February while Craig Eastmond has made a loan move to Millwall for the rest of the season. It looks like Ryo Miyaichi will also be completing his loan move to Feyenoord. Carlos Vela is still looking at all of his options and it seems likely that he will go to Bolton. I hope he does choose to go to Bolton since it is a Premiership side and Owen Coyle seems quite keen on bringing him into the team. We all saw how Jack Wilshere benefitted from his loan spell there last season. Bolton is doing well this season and he is sure to get minutes on the pitch, so let’s hope this deal goes through, and soon.

Finally, congratulations to Kos whose girlfriend is pregnant and expecting in March. Turns out that was the meaning behind his celebration. You know, the players seem to have a lot of babies for a team so young! That’s ok. It just means that the Arsenal U2s have a great shot at winning their first title soon.

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Category: Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal News, Birmingham, Carling Cup, Carlos Vela, Transfer News and Player Movement