Good news for you, Kurt.
Hleb, Clichy and Van Persie are injured, and Fabregas will almost certainly miss the upcoming Villa game.

I heard Hleb was out for 3 weeks and RvP was 'very doubtful' for the game. Fabregas I've not heard much on.

I hope that all 3 are missing since it will give us the smallest of chances. I only want them out for that game though, I still want you to win the league of the big 4.

Fabregas' got a hamstring, it seems our team is developing a "hamstring tradition".
Anyway, this is the lineup I expect Wenger to field:

--------------------Almunia------------------------
Sagna-------Toure-------Gallas----------Traore
Eboue------Flamini----------Gilberto-----Rosicky
---------------Eduardo---Adebayor--------------

No Senderos?

That's a shame, we would have at least scored then!

I can picture it.
Agbonlahor runs into the box, Toure prepares to tackle him, then Senderos takes a firm grip on his shoulder, pulling him down.
Penalty.
And so wer'e 1-0 down AGAIN...

Agbonlahor looked very hurt when he came off against Blackburn, he took stoods to the ankle, not sure if he's going to play. Reo-Coker is suspended though.

I would have been happy with 1 point from Blackburn and you pt together, so as long as we don't get stuffed by you, I won't be too disappointed whatever the outcome.

Alas, with Fabregas, Van Persie and Hleb out I fear any chance of a drubbing went out the window.
3 points would do though.

That's a midfield I don't like...

I doubt this is going to be the line-up anyway... then again, you follow Arsenal closer than I do.

Locke ought to know best after Arsene.

But if it were upto me, I'd play the pivot midfield, something like this though.

Eboue----Toure---Gallas---Traore
---------Flamini------Gilberto------
-----Walcott--------------Rosicky---
--------------Eduardo----------------
-------------------------Adebayor---

Denilson and Bendtner coming on sometime in the second half. Then again, since it's 'only' Villa and Arsene being Arsene, Denilson might start right from the beginning.

Ok, to be more presice...

----------------------Almunia-----------------
Sagna-------Toure----------Gallas----Traore
-----------Flamini---------------Gilberto------
Eboue----------------------------------Rosicky
----------------Walcott-------------------------
--------------------------Adebayor------------


And I doubt Wenger will underestimate O'Niell.
He's got a lot of respect for the guy.

Big statement. And he's only... 22.

Yeah it's frightening what he might become if his game evolves...

Modest ..... *highly unlikely*

Okay, Chelsea are a bunch of thugs.

They may be very talented, but they're still a bunch of thugs. Crowding the ref, nasty fouls, even the team captain grabbing a guy by the throat and pushing him because he didn't like a foul the other guy had made. Of course, no card for the throat-grabbing because it's John Terry, but still.

It was a hard physical game from both sides equally. In such hard game there are some pushing. So what? With so many dangerous tackels, it was expected.

Chelsea totlly dominated West Ham in the second half and pushed them until they scored the winning goal.

There's a difference between physical play and thuggery, at least in my mind. And this is far from the first time that I've seen Chelsea cross the line. yes, they did dominate the game - they're a good side - but they're still a lot more violent and just plain nasty than I like to see. (And yes, Fulham were just as bad. They don't do it on a regular basis, though.)

Chelsea don't do it on regular basis. That was just how the game went and West Ham were the ones who initiated this (and played much more damgerously than Chelsea), because it's the only way they stand a chance against a team like Chelsea.

I think we're going to have to agree to disagree on this one, Misha. I DO think Chelsea are thuggish on a regular basis. but...to each his own.

In other EPL news, City scored in the first minute against Wigan. Rar.

Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal HT.
Gardner scored first, then Flamini smashed in the equaliser.
Adebayor headed in the second. Very, very good game.

^^^

So who's giving CPR to kurt right now?

FT. Villa 1-2 Arsenal.
That kunt Carew injured Hleb...bad.

Another win for Arsenal! Good game but they allowed Villa to put them under much pressure in the end... 3 points though, that's what matters in the end of the day!

Well Villa played very, very well, they kept on fighting until the final whistle.
I can see them securing the UEFA cup spot, no doubt 'bout that.

Well done Arsenal (hard luck Kurt) ... They did well, and what a comeback

I think I shall have to even things out here, but it's not just JT and Chelsea who get 'benefits' from the officials. After Flamini scored yesterday he lifted his shirt to reveal something written on it - no yellow card was given. After EVERY foul they would crowd the referee complaining about it OR complaining to the ref for why a yellow card was give doing that hand gesture telling the ref to book our players. A few of Arsenals players even had the nerve to complain to the ref when Carew injured Hleb where 10 yards away Eboue had whacked Bouma in the face.

It is a minority at Arsenal that do this, Eboue, Toure, Gallas and Flamini were the ones I noticed yesterday. But Toure ran from his own 18 yard box to the edge of the Villa area to complain to the ref, there's just no need.


It really was a game of two halves. I think we may deserved a point from the game, but I don't begrudge Arsenal victory at all. I've never seen any team play that well before in the first half, just magical stuff!

I think you showed something yesterday that you haven't had to do so far this season, show your toughness and hang onto a win, since you're usually the team getting the late wins. You held on and defended well and picked up the three points. I don't mind too much since it helps you and not United.

I'm bemused as to some people not rating Carew, I don't know how bad he's been elsewhere, but he seems to have everything, he was even doing skills and tricks yesterday, he has pace and his strength and ariel ability is obvious. I think swapping Baros for him was the best deal we've ever made.

I can't believe this..

The FA Cup 3rd round has 64 teams in it, yet this is the 5th time we have drawn Manchester United in the last 7 years, the Gods hate us.

Swapping Baros with a bag full of crap would be a great deal too!

FT : Liverpool 4-0 Bolton

Hyypia goal: http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=1576974
Anelka with the miss of the century: http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=1577054
Torres goal: http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=1577068 [Class and super-pass by Gerrard]
Gerrard's penalty 3-0: http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=1577101
Babel makes it 4: http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=1577166

Is that possible!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!

Are Bolton really an EPL team? A couple of days ago they were lucky to equalize greek team Ares in the 93rd minute at Reebok and now I can't pick the worst piece of defending from the goals they conceded (and the one 'pool almost did)... Superb finish from Torres though!

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3nbf8_2-...on-021207_sport
From different angles.

A very composed performance by Liverpool today. 4-0 over a difficult team like Bolton.

Tottenham lost at home to Birmingham 2:3 Fantastic winning strike by Sebastian Larsson on the 92min.

Yeah, great goal. The new manager has pleased me, he's kept De Ridder in the team, probably the worst player in the EPL.

Spurs are in real trouble. They only have 2 wins so far, both were at home against the teams who currently lie 19th and 20th. They are in serious trouble with relegation, they just can't win games and have an awful defense. Berbatov is useless and they have no defensive minded players, even their defenders are better attackers!

I don't sure how many De Ridder games you watched (before he joined to Birmingham), but believe me he's far from being as bad as you portray him. Not every young player adopt to league like PL right away. He grew up at Ajax and was decent there (when given the chance), good at Celta in La Liga and good for Holland under 21.

I haven't seen many, only very few Celta games and then I saw him at the Under-21s.

As long as he carries on playing this badly for Bimringham, I'm not complaining.

Well, I can tell you that he's not bad player for sure. Maybe he needs more time or the EPL ain't for him. He's only 23 y.o. Plus he had that ancle injury at the beginning, and in his first full game vs Wigan he was good.

"This year Spurs will not only replace Arsenal as number four, they will even challenge the other three big teams"- Les Ferdinand.

I'm sure you are enjoying every minute of it

Every second.

Gosh, Locke.

Someone might just get the impression that you don't like Spurs!

I don't get it. Hating your rivals that is... I mean, if you lived in North London and had to put up with them I guess you'd do feel negatively about them. But is it that you feel obliged to hate them or what? ... It's not like they've ever been worthy foes of Arsenal, not ever since I was born at least... Same with Inter and Milan. I don't get it why many people in here hate them especially since they grew up watching them fail. I've always felt sorry for them (Inter) and that's not going to change because of their recent successes... it hardly ever will.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't or anything, do as you wish... it just seems so weird to me!

Enjoying them fail after all those big words is another thing of course, I do too! Mostly because I hate arrogance and hubris!

I actually agree with what you say.

The two teams I hate the most are Birmingham and United, and they're the two sets of fans I have to put up with the most, so it makes sense. But I do not hate Inter, and have no reason to. When it comes to Europe I actually prefer them over some teams, obviously I never want them to win anything and I love watching Milan beat them but as I have no interaction with any of their fans I have no problem with them.

I do think everybody has their reasons though. Rival clubs do tend to trade harsh words before derbies and such, and supporting a team may mean you take it somewhat personally, which would in turn mean you develop a hatred towards them!

Thing is, after Henry left and Spurs used an extreme amount of money during the transfer window, the Spurs fans have grown even more arrogant, petty and full-of-themselves than ever before.
During the summer there were magazines and newspapers feeding us with articles like "Bye, bye Arsenal", "Spurs:Champions League next" and such.
Believe me, I know a few Spurs fans, and the way they wallow in their overratedness is absolutely disgusting.

Now for the Italian fellows here, imagine this:
Next summer, Kaka goes to Liverpool, because he's not sure if Ancelotti will remain in charge.
Meanwhile, Inter buy players like Ribery, Klose, Sergio Ramos etc.
For two months theyl'l brag about their inevitable league and cup success, and talk about how they will rule europe in the following seasons.
Then, Pato and Gourcuff starts playing wonderful, Milan plays absolutely magnificent football, and Inter evolves into the big FLOP of the season.

How'd d'ya like that, eh?

inter always were a FLOP, now theu are turning into a nightmare !

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

(quick, someone pour dst a double ouzo.)

51' Man Utd 1-0 Fulham

X-teeaynou Rouneyldouh 11'
Wonderful goal: http://www.megavideo.com/?v=1PBCLRP1

Ronaldo with the 2nd of the game.

United fans just don't seem interested, there's barely a celebration when they score, they act like they're watching golf!

its because most manure fans don't know what they're watching!