And so what do we know?  Now in our fourth year of the never-ending injuries we are trying and trying to beat Chelsea with six or more key players missing, and once again we have failed.  The manager can’t rotate properly and can’t pick the best players for each occasion simply because so many top men are not in the side.

For me, there’s no doubt that if we had had this level of injury in the early years of the Wengerian revolution we would not have been able to achieve everything we did achieve.  Likewise if we didn’t have the crisis we have now, we would have won against WBA and at least got a draw against Chelsea.

In fact even with the injuries we weren’t that far off, and were certainly a lot closer than last year.  And I would also say, despite two defeats in the league this early we’re still not done for.

But let’s look forward a little.

Let’s imagine (and I know this is a flight of fancy but let’s do it anyway) that the internationals in the coming days don’t generate any more injuries.

And let’s imagine also that the team who are injured start to come back by their proposed return dates:
Bendtner 16 October
Vermaelen 16 October
Fabregas 16 October
Almunia 16 October
Walcott 23 October
Van Persie 23 October
Gibbs 23 October
Ramsey mid-November

And let’s hope and pray that none of those 16 October players is picked up by his country who declare him fit, and play him, and put him out for another three months.

OK, I know, this is so much to ask for, but for once just let it happen.  And what then.

Our first team for our next home match would be
Goal: a choice of keepers – actually I thought we were ok in this  department but still a choice is always good.
Defence: Vermaelen comes back in. Squiallci has done well, but I would sooner have Vermaelen
Midfield: Add Fabregas to the mix, maybe giving Wilshere a break and letting him come on as a sub in the second half to allow Cesc to play his way in
Bendtner maybe comes on a sub either to replace Chamakh or if needs be to play alongside him thus causing havoc in the opposition’s defence.

Suddenly the picture looks different.  We don’t change the squad but we have options and possibilities depending on the way the game is going.  Arsenal playing with two big centre forwards?  Well, if that is what it takes to break down a 10 man defence, why not?  (If by any chance you caught a glimpse of Wigan v Wolverhampton you’ll know just how nasty football is getting at the moment.  When Henry of Wolverhampton was sent of no one even said “he’s not that sort of player, and we just had a keeper with nine defenders in front of him).

And then, let’s assume, against all the odds I know, but just have this flight of fancy, that no one new is injured that first week back after the internationals, and the following week we really do have Theo and Van Persie back as well plus Gibbs too.  As the Little Cup and the Champs League matches pour in we have a chance to rotate.  When we find ourselves up against the Wolverhampton style team bus we have ways of changing the game by changing the personnel.

Would we have won against The KGB in Fulham with Cesc, Vermaelen and Bendtner available?  I think we could have got a draw out of it.  With Van Persie and Theo as well?  Possibly yes.  As it was we seemed to have a huge amount of possession in that game, and that means that we were not at all far off.

Of course I know we lost, and of course I know we have slipped for fourth, and that is disappointing.  But the fact that we could put up such a good performance with so many players out gives me enormous hope for the future.  We are, in my view, still moving in the right direction.

But let me add one other point, if I may.  There is another issue that we have covered in this blog for the past three years and which is now top news: the demise of Liverpool.  In the summer there was speculation in the media that Liverpool would spend £35m on new players – and that plus whatever they got from a clear out of those players left over from the old regime and deemed to be not good enough to maintain Liverpool’s standards.  (Untold on the other hand was predicting the demise of the club… maybe the media should take more notice).

The argument put here was that RBS (the bank that runs Liverpool) would never allow any net spending when it was surcharging Liverpool £2.5m a week because of the failure to repay the loans.  To allow such spending would leave the bank open to claims of mis-management since spending on players would reduce the likelihood of the club being able to repay the loan.

That point is generally lost in the debate about Liverpool, and now attention is focussed on the fact that they are in the relegation places.  But it remains as valid as ever.  The club can only spend new money on players if it can be shown that doing so will enable those owed money by the club to get their money back.  Ending the season higher or lower in the league won’t make any difference to the income this season, and so the bank doesn’t care about players.

The six bids that the press were so full of just a month or so ago have all vanished.  The Chinese Government has not expressed an interest, and all the people who were supposedly doing “due diligence” have vanished in the wind.  In the coming weeks the bank will make its next move and we’ll see exactly how it is going to get its money back, and what fight the current owners will put up, as a way of recovering some or all of their investment.  The whole situation could go to court, which would leave Liverpool in no-man’s-land

Whatever happens it is going to be a dreadful mess.  Meanwhile the finances at Arsenal are the reverse: our profits are enormous and the club is stable.  Of course everyone wanted victories against WBA and Chelsea, and we got two defeats.  But we are a stable club, pushing forward with only one major problem – the four year injury crisis.  And even with that we seem to be getting closer and closer to finding a way through.  We are, in my view, a lot closer than we were last year.  The journey does not have far to run.

So after the deja vu at Stamford Bridge (Drogba the killer in a fruitless Arsenal domination) which hardly needed a match report, here was the Arsenal manger’s immediate words.

“I don’t want to compare [the two teams] too much. I just think we have made a demonstration that you can play well and lose the game. The game should be over before we started it – we had the first two chances in the first minute and I don’t know how we managed to miss the header from six yards. At that level you can get punished.

“I think we were a bit unfortunate as well because the first goal was a foul on Song from Ramieres – 100 per cent foul. After that we made a mistake that should not happen at the near post and Drogba took advantage of it.’

“After the second half it was one-way traffic and in the last ten to 15 minutes Chelsea were counter attacking. But we missed too many chances at that level and in the final third you need to be more clinical offensively and defensively. We had a great team performance and great energy.

“You could see that Chelsea finished with cramps because they had to run a lot, so I give credit to my team. But we have to be more clinical to win championships – we can’t lose a game like that.”

Manager Arsène Wenger has explained his reasoning behind the tactic to go all-out and attack Chelsea at Stamford Bridge yesterday.

Many Arsenal fans feel that perhaps a more cautious approach should have been taken in yesterday's 2-0 loss, despite the North London club bossing the game for large periods, just failing to take their chances.

Wenger has been known to not adapt his side's style of play to the opposition, stubbornly feeling that it is up to the opposing team to worry, be it Barcelona or Bolton Wanderers.

And despite playing away at one of the more difficult grounds in the Premiership, the mindset of the team Wenger sent out was to attack, attack and attack.

Wenger said: "I felt we are a team who wants to have the ball and doesn't hide away from home.

"Any side who comes here and sits back gets punished. If you allow them to play in your half they have the quality [with their] strikers and take advantage of mistakes.

"I decided to play in their half and overall I think we did it very well and I can only give credit to my team. They have done marvellously well.

"You want to be rewarded when you produce a game of that quality and when you go home with no points we have to analyse why and be more clinical.

"The basis is there, the collective team quality is there but we have to transform that into points.

"I feel the two teams are really close. We have to give Chelsea today they took advantage up front. They were much more clinical.

"Today we had [the players] to win the game. No matter who was here, we had enough quality to win this game.

"There are many positives from the game because we dominated this game quite surprisingly in my opinion.

"We go home with zero points and if you look at the way we threw two points away at Sunderland last week and this week you see that despite our quality that is not enough."

When I looked at my TV seconds before the game I saw a to me unknown ref. It turned out to be one of the assistants and when I saw the smiling face of Mike Dean I was thinking  this could be an interesting game for the ref review. Was it? Just find out.

PENALTY: Chelsea shout for a penalty for handball from Koscielny but Mr. Dean wants nothing of it. Correct the ball hit him in his stomach and not his  hand. 1/1

OTHER/GOAL: Song gets tackled from behind with what we call in my country a scissors tackle. When you clamp both your legs around a player and certainly when you coming in from behind it is always a foul. Mike Dean sees nothing and give Chelsea the advantage and from the resulting possession they score the 1-0. A goal that never would have come when the ref had given the first foul. But the ref was some 20 meters away when the first foul was made on Song. Way to far Mr. Dean, couldn’t cope with the speed of the game anymore?  Mr. Dean is the first ref this season who has caused us to concede a goal. 0/1 and 0/1.

OTHER/CARD/OTHER: Sagna tries to clear a ball and Malouda comes in late. Malouda who seconds before had a nice exchange of words with the ref.  Mr. Dean gives no foul. A first miss in this situation. The ball comes back to Sagna who kicks the ball out and Malouda comes in standing with his foot over the ball and studs showing and going down on the leg of Sagna. Again the ref sees no foul. Malouda who knows what he did turns immediately away and plays the innocent party, putting his arms in the air expressing: I know nothing, what happened. Well played Mr. Malouda for me the signal that you did something really dirty.  Mr. Dean in my country when you are standing and coming in on a player like that you can expect a red card, I have seen legs breaking after such attacks.  0/1 and 0/1 and another 0/1.

OTHER/CARD: seconds later Diaby beats Essien when both go for the ball. Essien goes in on the ankle of Diaby and hits him hard. It looks really bad. And what does our beloved Mr. Dean? Nothing at all. No foul seen by him.  Now you might think that from the angle he was looking he couldn’t see it. Well  I really suggest you should look at Wilshere who was not that far away from the refs point of view. Wilshere immediately waves with his hand to signal there could be something terrible wrong with the situation. But I think Mr. Dean his hair was in front of his eyes, was it?.  Foul and a yellow card mr. Dean. 0/1 and 0/1.

OTHER/CARD: Sagna goes in on the ankle from Malouda just after the start of the second half. And again the ref doesn’t see the foul and doesn’t give a card. 0/1 and 0/1.

PENALTY: Chamakh goes down after contact with Cech. I would call it a Rooney penalty for Mr. Dean. Last year he gave it in favour of United against us in almost the same circumstances. Now he doesn’t? What would you have expected from Mr. Dean. So he was wrong now or last year. And as he thinks such foul is a penalty last season then he should give one now. Yes I know Chamakh went down in a nice style but fact remains that Cech touched him from behind. 0/1

CARD: Song is hanging on Drogba for some 20 meters before bringing him down. The ref shows no card? Amazing, amazing, amazing. A short pull can be left without a card. From the moment a player keeps hanging and pulling on his opponent you should always give a yellow card.  0/1

PENALTY: Koscielny brings Drogba down with a scissor tackle. Should have been a penalty. Again mr. Dean sees nothing. 0/1

PENALTY: Chamakh goes down but Ramirez got the ball so no penalty. Correct decision. 1/1

OTHER/OTHER: Foul from Terry on Wilshere, play on says Mr. Dean but then he sees the shirt pull from Drogba and give a foul. 0/1 and 1/1

GOAL: goal from Chelsea disallowed for offside. Great work from the assistant. He was correct. 1/1

CARD: Booking against Ferreira correct decision. 1/1

CARD: Koscielny gets a yellow card. Koscielny was lucky that Squillaci and Clichy were not that far away.  Correct decision. 1/1

GOAL: correct decision. 1/1

And this gives us the following totals:

OTHER: 1/7

PENALTY: 2/4

CARD: 2/7

GOAL: 1/2

TOTAL:            6/20 (30%)

As a ref this was a match where the ref lost it after half an hour. Was he getting tired from the high tempo that both teams played? Because in the first half hour he did very well. I was just thinking of writing this down in my match report. I was even asking myself: is this another ref but as Dean in disguise?  But then he suddenly lost it and he turned in to the Dean we got to know in the last years.

This was not only visible when he let the tackle on Song go but even more when Malouda planted his foot on the leg of Sagna, just before half time. I have seen this many times before and most of the time this ended with a red card. Now the ref did nothing at all. The signal for some kicking on ankles as the players felt he didn’t see it. From a refs point of view the foul from Malouda was the dirtiest.

The Essien on Diaby was more visible (apart for the ref) but this was more a challenge for the ball where Essien came late and was beaten by Diaby in speed.  As a result Sagna clearly paid back after the restart. This was all down to the ref not seeing things and letting everything go. Lucky for Dean the players thought it was enough and stopped kicking each other on the ankles.

The first goal from Chelsea was also a result from him missing a foul on Song. Yes he played the ball but the player was coming from behind going through Song and making contact with both man and ball. This is a foul. Forget the ‘he played the ball” mantra. You can only make such a tackle within the laws when you don’t touch the player. He touched him so it was a foul.

So for the first time I really feel that the ref has had an influence on the final result. And this is something that has happened before when we saw ref Dean on our playing field in the past. He really is one of the worst refs in the EPL and last year I have seen him in an European league game in my country and it was also a very poor performance that day.

But let me just add to this that I don’t think he wanted to favour Chelsea from the start. I really think it is down to incompetence and doing games above his weight. But he is a danger for the players on the field. Now the players stopped by themselves and went on to play football and stopped kicking each others ankles.

But when you get a team that doesn’t think and keeps on kicking because they feel they can do it without punishment,  you will see blood and I don’t think any of us is coming to the stadium or put on our TV to see blood.

PS: For those who think that this negative report was caused because I don’t like losing I just would suggest that you check my report on the ref of the Arsenal – WBA game where I gave excellent points to the ref despite our defeat.

PPS: The assistants yesterday did a great job! They had some difficult decisions to make but made the correct ones.

Чемпионат Англии. 7 тур. «Челси» 2 0 «Арсенал»
Бывают такие дни, когда вроде бы все делаешь правильно, а результата нет. Есть желание его добиться, ты прилагаешь к этому усилия. Ты стараешься и борешься, но в этот день не получается. Такие дни бывают у каждого человека. Такой день сегодня был прожит лондонским «Арсеналом». Гости с первых секунд матча заявили о том, что они приехали побеждать. И будь чуть удачливее Шамах, «канониры» могли открыть счет уже в самом дебюте встречи. Надо отдать должное и Питеру Чеху, чье мастерство позволило вытащить два мощных выстрела в створ ворот от Андрея Аршавина. Сегодня «Арсенал» уступил, но болельщики видели, как команда билась. Никто не посмеет упрекнуть своих игроков в нежелание победить. Это лишь первый матч против «Челси» в этом году. И почему-то мы уверены, что попадут еще снаряды из пушек «Арсенала» в ворота «Челси», причем в разных турнирах! Когда у совсем еще молодого Джека Уилшира так горят глаза, иначе быть просто не может. Просто сегодня был «такой» день…

«Арсенал» проиграл по делу?
Не знаю. Кто забивает больше, тот и выигрывает.

Дерби понравилось зрителям?
Мне кажется, команды провели хороший матч. Никто не отсиживался в обороне, играли в открытый футбол. Было много борьбы, но и была игра. Никто не хотел уступать. Но, к сожалению, у них, как всегда, забил Дрогба, и мы проиграли.

Чего же не хватило «Арсеналу», чтобы, как минимум не проиграть?
Голов. Двух, как минимум.

После 7 тура «Челси» оторвался от «Арсенала» на 7 очков.
Многовато. А что остается делать? Будем пытаться сокращать этот отрыв в следующих турах.

На стадионе было много болельщиков из России?
Да, на «большие» матчи многие прилетают. В принципе, и раньше на «Челси» Романа Абрамовича люди летали из России. Сегодня же были и российские болельщики «Арсенала».

Понятно, что сейчас Вы еще не отошли от этого поражения. Но в России все ждут от Андрея Аршавина многого. В каком настроении приедет наш капитан? Когда сможете «переключиться» на национальные интересы?
Все нормально. Мыслями я уже в сборной.

Когда прилетаете в Москву?
Сейчас я у Юры Жиркова дома. Жду, когда он переоденется, и мы едим в аэропорт.

Главный тренер "Арсенала" Арсен Венгер заявил, что умеренный подход "канониров" к сделкам на трансферном рынке может продлиться ещё около 20 лет, сообщает ukfootball.ru.


Ранее французский специалист неоднократно выступал в защиту основанной на тщательной экономии политики клуба, и хотя коллекция трофеев не может пополниться вот уже пять лет,  в обозримом будущем болельщикам не стоит ждать, что в этом отношении что-то изменится.

Переезд "Арсенала" на "Эмирейтс" привёл к долгам на сумму в £239 млн, которые также потянули за собой ежегодные "выплаты по ипотеке" на £20 млн, и полностью рассчитаться с ними клуб сможет не раньше 2031 года. И хотя другие виды деятельности приносят "Канонирам" прибыль, главная проблема - постоянно растущий фонд заработной платы игроков, который только по состоянию на конец прошлого сезона составлял £110,7 млн в год.

"Да, наш подход к зарплатам будет оставаться прежним вплоть до того времени, пока мы не рассчитаемся с долгами по стадиону. Когда это, наконец, случится, мы сможем увеличить и эту статью расходов, однако мы не можем доминировать на трансферном рынке, потому что, когда ты покупаешь игроков, ты тратишься не только на сам трансфер, но и на его зарплату", - сказал Венгер.

Напомним, что по состоянию на 31 мая 2010 года прибыль "Арсенала" выросла по сравнению с аналогичным периодом  прошлого года на  £10,5 млн и составила £56 млн, а общий оборот денежных средств главным образом за счёт продажи недвижимости достиг отметки в £379,9 млн - год назад эта сумма составляла £313,3 млн.

Таким образом, подписание свободных агентов вроде Маруана Шамаха и развитие молодёжи останутся у "Арсенала" на первом месте и дальше.

Главный тренер "Арсенала" Арсен Венгер раскритиковал свою команду за неиспользованные моменты в проигранном матче против "Челси" (2:0).


Гол Дидье Дрогба с игры в концовке первого тайма и точный удар Алекса в концовке второго решили судьбу воскресного дерби на "Стэмфорд Бридж" в пользу "синих". Подопечные Арсена Венгера отстали от лидера уже на 7 очков, и тренер очень сожалеет об этом.

"Мы должны были решать игру до того, как она началась. На первой минуте у нас было два момента, и один очень простой. У нас возникал шанс за шансом, но мы никак не могли отправить мяч в сетку. Забитые голы никогда не бывают слишком ранними, и я думаю, что Лоран Косьелни (на первой минуте) должен был попасть хотя бы в створ".

"Поражение расстраивает, потому что мы показали хорошую коллективную игру. Вблизи штрафной соперника мы были напористы. Особенно это было видно в первом тайме, когда мы нанесли несколько непростых ударов. Команда потрясающе боролась и показала отличные качества".

"Мы должны извлечь положительные моменты из этого большого разочарования. Мы настраиваемся на победу в своих матчах, но с таким результатом мы остались на почтительном расстоянии (от "Челси"). Мы показали отличные качества, и мы должны продолжать сражаться и надеяться на возвращение в строй ключевых игроков. У нас потрясающая команда".

"Если объективно смотреть на ход матча, можно сказать, что мы можем сильно жалеть о том, что проиграли его", - цитирует Арсена Венгера The Sun.

Лондонский "Арсенал" проявляет интерес к защитнику "Ньюкасла" Стивену Тэйлору, информирует FootballPress.

Ожидается, что 24-летний игрок обороны перейдет в стан "канониров" в январе. Отметим, контракт Тэйлора с "сороками" рассчитан до июня 2011 года.

Лондонский "Арсенал" не оставляет попыток заполучить форварда бельгийского "Андерлехта" Ромело Лукаку. "Канониры" готовы заплатить за нападающего 15 миллионов евро, сообщает FootballPress.

Отметим, Лукаку может перейти в "Арсенал" следующим летом.