We are all Goonerish now!

By Wrighty7

A few days ago when England lost to Russia I was fed up of the national team raising our hopes only to be let down time and time again.

I decided that I will no longer be English and set up a new Nationality ...."Goonerish"!

And judging by the 7-0 thumping we gave Slavia Prague, there will be a lot more fans from all over the world adopting this new football nationality.

The poll we ran on this site on this very subject proved very popular. So popular that the high number of votes cast has prompted us to stop the poll prematurely and let you know of the results.

Fellow Gooners, it looks like a landslide for the Goonerish nation with 94% of you preferring the Goonerish nationality. We can’t argue with that!


Obviously there were votes from all nationalities, but when it comes down to it, we're all Goonerish really!

Are you English or Goonerish? Poll Results:

English 6%
Goonerish 94%

Total votes cast: 797

It was a good bit of fun and I thank everyone for their votes and comments.

Here are some of them:

Joe said...
Got to be Goonerish, international football is just a waste of space and despite being English I couldn't care less if England win or lose. If Arsenal lose, however, it's game over for the week.


Abby said...
Well, I put down Goonerish, but admittedly I'm American.


Sue said...
Goonerish all the way!


From Denmark
I’m Danish, but I would say the same about our national team. A weekend like the last one without prem footy just is no real weekend!

gooner geezer said...
GOONERISH all the way. i'm Zimbabwean by birth and my country won the Africa Cup of Nations final… !


By Anonymous
Arsenal every single time, every single match, every single player.


Ed: Thanks for your support, comments and votes!

We are all Goonerish now!

By Wrighty7

A few days ago when England lost to Russia I was fed up of the national team raising our hopes only to be let down time and time again.

I decided that I will no longer be English and set up a new Nationality ...."Goonerish"!

And judging by the 7-0 thumping we gave Slavia Prague, there will be a lot more fans from all over the world adopting this new football nationality.

The poll we ran on this site on this very subject proved very popular. So popular that the high number of votes cast has prompted us to stop the poll prematurely and let you know of the results.

Fellow Gooners, it looks like a landslide for the Goonerish nation with 94% of you preferring the Goonerish nationality. We can’t argue with that!


Obviously there were votes from all nationalities, but when it comes down to it, we're all Goonerish really!

Are you English or Goonerish? Poll Results:

English 6%
Goonerish 94%

Total votes cast: 797

It was a good bit of fun and I thank everyone for their votes and comments.

Here are some of them:

Joe said...
Got to be Goonerish, international football is just a waste of space and despite being English I couldn't care less if England win or lose. If Arsenal lose, however, it's game over for the week.


Abby said...
Well, I put down Goonerish, but admittedly I'm American.


Sue said...
Goonerish all the way!


From Denmark
I’m Danish, but I would say the same about our national team. A weekend like the last one without prem footy just is no real weekend!

gooner geezer said...
GOONERISH all the way. i'm Zimbabwean by birth and my country won the Africa Cup of Nations final… !


By Anonymous
Arsenal every single time, every single match, every single player.


Ed: Thanks for your support, comments and votes!

The young guns play the beautiful game (watch the highlights on video)

By 1970’s Gooner

One of the most satisfying aspects of last night’s performance is that the style of football played throughout all the Arsenal teams from the youth level to the first team is the same.

It is a style of football that has been labeled “beautiful” which very few teams in the world play. And this is instilled in the young guns from the moment they walk through the Academy doors.

You can watch the highlights on the video screen plus the goals and you will see what I mean.

Keep well.


Last night’s performance means that Arsenal will win trophies this year

Last night’s performance means that Arsenal will win trophies this year.

By 1970’s Gooner

While chatting over dinner the question was put to Arsene Wenger by some of the Arsenal directors:

“What would you do if we gave you £100m to spend on new players?” His answer was of course very revealing: “I would give it back to you”

Judging by last night’s excellent performance against Newcastle he was right.

You are only as good as your bench. This old football saying is very true in today’s highly demanding Premiership where the road to deliverance is like a marathon where every bit of each team’s components is tested to the full.

The components necessary to win trophies include not only ability, strength, determination, will and tenacity.

What is also required is a pool of players who although not usually expected to be named in the first eleven every week are nevertheless capable of performing at the highest level when they are called upon.

This is vitally important when you take into consideration injuries, loss of form, suspensions and international tournaments like the Africa Nations Cup which inevitably force managers to rely on all of their squad.

This was therefore an important match for Arsenal Football Club.

It was the litmus test that the young guns had to go through so that they could convince Wenger that there is strength in depth in this squad and that there is no need to spend any of that £100m that was offered to him by the Board.

And these young guns will be called upon on many occasions this season as the injury list will not go away and the Africa Nations Cup is slowly getting nearer.

One aspect that seems to characterize this new Arsenal side is the real strength in depth that exists in the squad. And by real I mean that this squad has quality replacements in all positions.

Take for example the forward positions. Bendtner’s wonderful performance last night culminated in another excellent headed goal for the Arsenal.

He has proved that Adebayor’s departure for a month at the Africa Nations Cup will not be that painful. The same goes for Eduardo who will need these games to acclimatise himself with English football even more by then.

Look at the wide midfield positions where along with Hleb and Rosicky there is Eboue who has shown last night that he is a wonderful and powerful winger on an equal if not higher footing than them.

He would of course fill in at right back when required. And there is young Walcott who will, with more concentration and experience, be more than a viable alternative.

Consider central midfield where Diarra is the snitch of the year at £2m! Not to mention Denilson who is fast becoming the next star after Fabregas.

Song who although played in central defence is to me a very promising central midfielder. I rather rate him in that position having watched him put in an excellent performance for Charlton away at Man Utd last season.

Look at Traore and you think that you are seeing double. So mush resemblance to a young Ashley Cole and Gael Clichy is uncanny!

There are indeed a lot of choices open to Wenger.

When I suggested in one of my preseason postings titled: “Strength in depth eases Wenger’s team selection worries for the coming season” that there was a lot of strength in depth in the squad there was a lot of negative reaction from some readers who wanted Wenger to buy big.

Now no one is complaining.

I do not need to go on. But this performance last night has convinced me that Arsenal will win trophies this season.

Please note the use of the plural.

Keep well.

Arsenal battling with Manchester United to become the richest club

By 1970’s Gooner

Arsenal Holdings Plc has announced bumper figures for the year ended May 2006.

The results include the hugely positive effect of the extra revenues arising from the move to the Emirates.

Arsenal now take in £3.1m per match day as opposed to about half of that during the Highbury days.

What is also encouraging is that the debt taken up to build the stadium is only £260m and has now been wrapped up in a bond which has a 23 year repayment period with a very favourable average interest rate fixed at about 5.20%.

The stadium cost about £430m and the rest of the money not taken up as loans must have come from the company’s own cash and from advance sales of the property developments at Highbury, Hornsey Street and Queensland Road.

Bear with me a little longer till I give you the most important piece of information and then we will bring everything together to where we are all interested.

That is the cash available for transfers, the Board’s statement with regard to the use of the cash generated and where Arsenal would stand in the world rankings next year.

Arsenal have reported a net profit of only £5.6m. This is after tax, transfers, interest payments and a one off non repeatable expense of £21.4m (which represents fees and other expenses paid to banks for arranging the loans and the bond issue).

However when you take out the "one off non repeatable expense" then the profits rise to £27m! And this is after paying off the interest for the loans raised to build the stadium!

Most of this profit comes from match day revenue with only £6m from the sale of property.

So from the financial point of view the move to the Emirates has been a very sound investment decision which will continue to generate profits for years to come.

And these profits generate a lot of cash that are theoretically available for transfers; if Wenger chooses to use them that is!

The figure banded about of £74m is the cash sitting in the company’s bank account! And this is after paying out £38m for the property developments.

When this side of the operations is completed there will be even more cash available for transfers totalling about £120m!

It is very interesting to note what the Board have to say about how this cash is to be used:

“Despite the income and profits we expect to derive form the operations, shareholders should not expect growing profits and growing cash balances.

The Board believe that the best long term policy is to re-invest the cash back into the development of the team. The objective is to make available to the manager the maximum possible funds for the development of the playing squad.”

So this is a clear message that profit taking by the shareholders is not on the agenda. It is also an indirect way of implying that a new owner may wish to use the club’s cash for other reasons.

And these reasons maybe to recover the original investment, or provide a return for the capital invested and /or pay off of the debt that may have been incurred to buy the club in the first place!

None of these pressing targets are bothering the existing Board. And we should be grateful for that.

But this is not all. There are other variables not taken into account in these financial accounts that are going to push the revenues and profits to an even higher level than before, which may propel the club to the top of the rich club.

There is an additional £30m to come next year and every year after that from the new deal which the FA has concluded with regard to selling the Premier League TV contracts.

And there is the additional cash that may be generated from the progress of the club in the Champions League. Last season Arsenal were knocked out in the last 16 round. The year they reached the final the take was £20m!

Leaving the Champions League revenue out of the equation as it is uncertain at the moment and assuming a modest rise in other revenues it is conceivable that Arsenal’s turnover will rise from the 200m in 2006 to about £235m.

This however includes property development turnover of £26m repeatable for the next three years only.

Arsenal’s expected turnover does not include the profit from Wenger’s transfer activity this year which includes the £16m from Henry’s transfer to Barcelona plus the salary savings of the transferred players.

This is because this will not have an effect on the “operational” turnover figures of the club.

It will of course have a huge impact on the profits and cash generated (see my posting “Arsenal's transfer kitty is still bulging”)

Now let’s have a look at the big earners league table

CLUB REVENUE (2005-06 season)

Real Madrid - £202.0m
Barcelona - £179.1m
Juventus - £173.7m
Man Utd - £167.8m
AC Milan - £165.0m
Chelsea - £152.8m
Inter Milan - £142.8m
B Munich - £141.5m
Arsenal - £133.0m (rose to 200m for the 2006-07 season)
Liverpool - £121.7m

Arsenal are now second in the big earners table just behind Real Madrid. Next year they are likely to be pushing for first place.

This will depend on how well Man Utd do from the rise in their ticket prices, the increase in seating capacity and the new TV money.

My estimations are that their turnover will rise by about £65m to reach the level of Arsenal’s expected turnover of about £235m (Man Utd expect that their revenues per game will increase by 23% to reach the same level as Arsenal’s).

So both teams will be vying to be top of the League in both the football and financial arenas.

I think for now we would settle with staying on top of the League. Wouldn't you?



“Arsenal's transfer kitty is still bulging”

Fabregas is a more effective player than Scholes. The statistical analysis backs it up

Kanouté: “Arsenal have problem at the back”

By 1970’s Gooner

Frederic Kanouté speaking on the eve of Sevilla’s first Champion’s League game at the Emirates has pinpointed what he thinks is Arsenal’s major weakness and how Sevilla can beat them.

The Sevilla newspaper ABC.es quotes him as follows:

“Arsenal is a team that plays very rapidly in attack, it plays to feet, and I believe that it can have problems at the back because it is very offensively minded”

Kanute a summer transfer target for a lot of Premiership clubs (some newspapers included Arsenal in that list) got two of the four goals Sevilla scored in their demolition of Recreativo Huelva by 4-1 on Sunday night .

Sevilla were very impressive against Recreativo Huelva going 3-0 before the opponents could reply.

They also missed a penalty with the Russian international Kerzhakov, who played against England at Wembley last Wednesday, firing way over the bar.

He eventually added a second and Sevilla’s fourth with an impressive shot from a diagonal position just inside the area. He is another player the Arsenal defence will have to watch carefully.


Kanoute considers that Sevilla are now stepping into a competition which is of a higher level than the UEFA cup they have won on successive occasions.

“We are prepared to give a higher level of performance. I know that it will be more difficult to play before teams such as Arsenal”

Kanoute has also said that he considered Cesc Fabregas to be Arsenal’s main player, “the engine of the team” and the way to stop Arsenal playing will be to block the opponent’s key players.

If we can manage that and start quickly as always then we can achieve the win”.

Arsenal Vs Sparta Prague: Will Arsenal shoot itself in the foot?

By 1970’s Gooner

Arsene Wenger has said that two legged ties are usually won in the first leg. This is of course a very true statement as rarely a team that accomplished an advantage from the first leg finds itself not going through.

Unless of course it shoots itself in the foot.

This can usually arise through two ways. The club “lulls” itself into a false sense of security and therefore fails to give the tie the seriousness it deserves. Or the players get stuck into that “in between” state of mind which comes from not really having to win the tie.

This is the danger for Arsenal tonight when they meet Sparta Prague at the Emirates, leading 2-0 from the first away leg.

Sparta Prague have really nothing to loose and this state of mind often liberates players and allows them to express themselves without real fear of failure. If they score the first goal then the jitters set in and it becomes anybody’s game.

On the other hand the team in the lead from the first leg may try to get through the tie without exerting itself too much as there is an important League game coming up anyway in a few days time.

This state of mind was not evident at Anfield last night as Liverpool had only a one goal advantage from the first leg which made them vulnerable if they had conceded first.

They also had quite a few, shall we call them “fringe players”, who had something to prove to Benitez. Players like Crouch, Benayoun, Leto, Hyppia and others subject to the rotation policy.

The outcome of this particular tie therefore will depend more on how Arsenal mentally approaches the game rather than the employment of any specific tactics, formation or team selection. Although these are of course significant too.

The players will have to do a professional job, play their normal game and go for the win.

Getting that first goal will be vital as the opponents heads are likely to drop after that. Overcoming a three goal deficit will be insurmountable even for above average teams (which, having watched the first leg, Sparta is not).

On the subject of team selection: Does Wenger rest some of the key players and give games to players returning to the squad?

The sports writers of the national newspapers seem to think so as some, in their “probable” starting eleven, have RVP being rested or similarly Adebayor.

Others have Gilberto rested or starting at centre back. Flamini is at right back or midfield or rested according to which paper you read. Fabregas is rested and Diaby coming in. Others have Fabregas in…..In other words they are all confused!

Wenger will have to take this game very seriously as there is the factor of complacency creeping as explained above but also the (financial) cost of failure may prove too onerous for Arsenal Football Club to bear.

So he is not likely to take too many chances and will try to keep as close to his first team selection as possible barring injuries and fitness.

The two positions he has to make decisions on are the right back and centre back.

The choice at right back is between Hoyte and Flamini and he may go for Hoyte although Flamini perfomed very well against Man City. Wenger has belief in his players and he likes to show it to them for obvious reasons.

At centre back the choice is between Senderos and Gilberto. Does he go for an experienced but unfit player or does he give Senderos his chance?

But I think we will have to wait and see what Wenger decides.

It appears however that there is more strength in depth in this squad; much more than many people think.

Prediction: Arsenal do not shoot themselves in the foot. Home win. 1-0


Sparta Prague team news: Repka is a lot better and travels to London to face Fabregas


Fabregas has added a “Peter Storey” attitude to his vast arsenal of talents

Sparta Prague team news: Repka is a lot better and travels to London to face Fabregas

By 1970's Gooner

The news coming out of Prague is that Tomas Repka’s knee is a lot better. The swelling seems to have eased and this allowed him to be included in the squad that travels to London.

The Czechs are taking this game very seriously as Pavel Horvarth has postponed an operation so that he could also take part.

If Repka starts the game at the Emirates on Wednesday, all eyes will be on him and young Fabregas after the two clashed in the first leg.

It was Fabregas’s tackle that finally forced Repka out of that game and in a way helped Arsenal towards a fine 2-0 victory.

Repka was not included in the squad that were winners 4-1 away at Viktoria Žižkov last weekend.

The other team news coming out of Sparta is that their most influential player, Pavel Horváth, has postponed an operation so that he could take part in the return game at the Emirates.

He is considered to be Sparta’s creative player in midfield.

He started the game against Viktoria Žižkov but was substituted in the 75th minute. He scored the second goal from the penalty spot.

The other scorers for Sparta were Kisel, Abraham and Došek with another penalty.

Sparta is now lying second in the Czech League two points behind their arch rivals Slavia Prague with 10 points from 4 four games.

Sparta’s manager Michal Billic said in a press conference that it will be obviously difficult to reverse the 2-0 deficit of the first leg but they will certainly attempt to do it.


Fabregas has added a “Peter Storey” attitude to his vast arsenal of talents

Denilson runs the show but Fabregas does it again

Palacios has called home and he is alright. He has impressed Wenger and the medical people

By 1970's Gooner

After reporting that neither Wilson Palacios ‘s parents or his club, Olimpia, could confirm his whereabouts, the Honduran Newspaper “Tiempo”, has now been informed by Palacios’s father that he is alright and living in London Colney!

His father, Eulogio, was relieved to hear from him at last. His son who sounded well and lighthearted confirmed to him that he has been having a trial at Arsenal and that he has been able to satisfy the medical and fitness requirements. He will learn in the next few days whether he is kept on.

Wilson for the last 30 days has been traveling around Europe trying his luck with various clubs leaving a big gap in his home side’s line up as he is considered their top player.

His travels took him first to Serbian club Red Star Belgrade where he impressed but the deal was not concluded as their offer for the player was dismissed by Olimpia’s President, Osman Madrid, as way below his valuation of the player.

There were also rumours that Italian club Cagliary was interested but again Olimpia’s president denied there was anything in it.

Palacios next traveled to France and had a trial with Monaco but they seemed unable to take him on as the quota for foreign players has already been exhausted.

Wenger has been impressed

According to his father, Wilson has made a very good impression on Wenger who was quite happy with him. Apparently Palacios has understood that he is earmarked to replace Ljumberg as they are similar players.

The financial side of the deal has not yet been discussed but the whole thing may be finalized in the next few days.

His father said:

“this is not important for us, what I want is that my son continues playing in England. The probabilities of remaining are great.”

The Honduran Newspaper has even given the Arsenal shirt numbers that Palacios could choose from!

These are indeed numbers which have not yet been allocated:

8, 12, 14, 18 and 23.

Palacios labeled the “magician” is considered one of the national team’s best players.

He is 23 years old and a right midfield player who can also play in defence.

He is most remembered for scoring a goal from the half-way line against Marathón in the final minutes of a game in 2006. You can watch it on the video window.


Wilson Palacios Fact File

Date of birth July 29, 1984 (age 23)
Place of birth La Ceiba, Honduras
Playing position Midfielder
Current club Olimpia
Appearances 102
Goals 10


Preview of Sparta Prague Vs Arsenal. Part I: Sparta’s manager fears Rosicky

Spurs fly like a bee and sting like a butterfly!

Preview of Arsenal Vs Fulham. Breaking up packed defenses is hard to do

By 1970’s Gooner

You knew what you were going to get from Fulham when Chris Coleman was in charge. Attacking football home and away, having a go at you with the midfielders and full backs encouraged to go forward.

His philosophy was that if you put a lot of players behind the ball you will eventually succumb. Attack was the best form of defense.

This was the reason that Fulham surprised a few teams but it was also the reason why they ended up letting in fours and fives, as in their opening game of last season against Manchester United.

They did in fact concede 60 league goals last season. As compared to Watford’s 59 and Sheffield United’s 55. Both went down.

Judging by Northern Ireland’s excellent performances on the international scene, Lawrie Sanchez appears to be of the other persuasion.

Stick men behind the ball and pack the midfield whose first priority will be to adopt a more conservative approach.

And become more adventurous through quick counter attacks when the opportunity arises.

Sanchez’s recruitment strategy has reflected this mentality.

The players brought in are not necessarily top quality but they are well equipped for tough battles out there on the football field.

Also in Kamara and Buazza they have two very pacy players who can hit you on the counter attack.

The problem however will be to assimilate all these new players in the squad and also keep them happy. Not an easy task.

So it will appear that Arsenal will return back to familiar ground.

No I don’t mean that they are by now used to the Emirates; it was to me a very feeble excuse anyway, invented by Wenger, in desperation, to keep the players’ morale up when points were being dropped at home left right and centre.

What I mean is that Arsenal are likely to face a packed defence. And we all know that breaking up packed defenses is hard to do!

This is what Arsenal failed to find answers to last season. And if they haven’t learned their lesson then this game could turn out another first home fixture where points are dropped; again.

Remember Aston Villa last season?

It is this background that Wenger’s team selection will have to take into account for the two positions that are really still open.

These are deciding on who to partner Robin Van Persie in the forward areas of the pitch and who to trust for the wide left slot.

I say this because the occupants for the rest of the positions are either well known or have passed their trial during the “perfect pre-season”.

The right midfield position has to my mind been successfully claimed by the excellent Eboue and the right back slot by the new recruit Bakary Sagna.

These two have gelled together very quickly and they compliment each other very well.

Now who will partner RVP up front is not as straight forward.

I have advocated for Bendtner’s inclusion before for the fact that he compliments RVP very well who himself is better deployed not as a front man but playing off the centre forward.

But obviously Wenger thinks otherwise so who am I disagree!

I believe therefore that Hleb should get the nod before Eduardo as he has played very well in that position during pre-season.

He showed that his skills in close ball control and dribbling can be very effective when playing off a front man.

More importantly however these are the skills that will come in very useful when trying to unlock defenses, as I suspect Arsenal will be trying to do on Sunday.

There is no obvious candidate for the wide left midfield spot simply because no one from the usual suspects impressed there during pre season.

Rosicky who may get the nod was not up to his usual standard. Clichy did impress but he will be trusted with the left back spot.

Wenger may make therefore the pragmatic decision and play Hleb on the left and partner Eduardo with RVP instead.

I personally would keep Eduardo on the bench and introduce him to Premiership football in a more gradual manner rather than throwing him in at the deep end.

My starting eleven would therefore be:

Lehmann

Sagna Toure Gallas Clichy

Eboue Fabregas Diaby Rosicky

Hleb

RVP

Prediction: Arsenal carry their pre-season form into the League and hit the ground running. 2 - 0

Arsenal look ready to hit the ground running, more so than the others
What does Arsenal need to do to challenge for next season?
Bendtner makes a case for starting against Fulham

Arsenal look ready to hit the ground running, more so than the others

By Arsenal Analysis season ticket holder at the Emirates, South Stand: Row 5

The two pre-season tournaments that Arsenal participated in proved the perfect vehicle for fostering team spirit and bonding between the players. And this involved playing time for all the active members of the squad.

The excellent work done on and off the pitch at the Emirates and in Amsterdam culminated in that performance against Ajax.

Arsenal proved to everyone watching, but more importantly to themselves, that they can cut it against tough tackling and intimidating teams.

I was impressed by the way the players fought against a team that had pretty clear instructions to kick them off the park in order to unsettle their rhythm.

Throughout pre-season Arsenal played as a team and look ready to hit the ground running, more so than the other contenders.

Their pre-season was mainly centred in different geographical zones with strange and hard surfaces. The result is that players are fatigued with injuries creeping in.

Also they played against relatively weaker opposition whereas Arsenal had to face tougher opponents from Europe. When compared to Arsenal they do not seem to be as battle ready.

In addition Arsenal made some important "discoveries"

Gael Clichy:

Has achieved consistency and maturity in his play. He is extremely important as he will be providing the width from the left, releasing the likes of Rosicky to play more of a free role. Potentially player of the season.

Denilson:

Have you ever seen anyone get the ball off him? Amazing balance, extremely quick feet and a passing range rivalled only by the very best. He is only 19 but showed that he can be trusted in any kind of game.

The Sagna & Eboue combination:

These two have gelled well together very quickly and they compliment each other very well. Eboue is far more dangerous going forward and Sagna has the pace and power to cover any empty space left behind.

Defensively Arsenal are now more stable and against Ajax the back four showed for the first time they can form a formidable unit.

Bendtner:

He has bags of talent and tremendous self-belief. Did you see the boy claim the penalty against PSG; nobody challenged him.

He scored a couple of un Arsenal like goals and will provide a different option up-front. Wenger will have his hands full to keep him happy.

Diaby:

No words needed; the guy is awesome, a powerhouse, he is going to help our counter attacking style by winning the ball and setting up attacks with his powerful running and robust frame

Not sure about Dudu yet simply because I haven’t seen enough of him. I have a feeling he is going to score a few for us this year. He is a good finisher and moves very well without the ball, Cesk and him will link up very well

Hleb showed during the last few weeks how dangerous he can be when deployed centrally. I fully expect to see him playing there this season.

For all the positives however some of the old problems persist. If a serious challenge is to be mounted then the silly defensive errors, especially from crosses have yo be eliminated.

On the other hand we haven’t seen anything new from the other top three.

They haven’t assimilated their new players in, to the extent that Arsenal have done; they haven’t introduced any new youngsters with any success and to me they looked as though they have not reached the same level of fitness as Arsenal’s.

This was pretty evident during the Charity Shield where both teams looked out of sorts and disjointed; still going through their paces.

United have still to bring in Hargreaves, Scholes, Neville, Saha and Tevez. All have to get fit and taught how to play together. But time is running out. I am not mentioning Anderson and Nani as I think until at least December they will be restricted to cameo appearances.

Chelsea have still to get Drogba, Terry, Ballack, Shevchenko and new signings Pizzaro and Alex fit. They still have to assimilate Malouda in his new surroundings and they still have to buy a new right back let alone get him battle ready!

Liverpool, well what can you say! So many new players in and such a short time to assimilate all of them in the team. The players need to play consecutive games together in order to learn each other’s way of playing and find the time to gel.

Benitez is good tactically but, like Houllier, I think he will end up wasting a lot of money with little to show for it.

I hope that this is not me being over optimistic, but I think we will surprise a lot of people this year.

I think that the team will gel defensively and because of our pace teams will find it difficult to get in behind us. And defensive efficiency will give confidence to the attacking players to perform more freely.

I am not saying we will win the league, I am not saying we will not. It’s too early. As usual the team with the least amount of injuries will be the most consistent team. And we all know that the most consistent team wins the League.

But for now just bring on Fulham, I have a feeling we will score a bagful on Sunday.


Who will win the title? Arsenal against the odds?
Salzburg v Arsenal 1-0. Diaby is the new Vieira and even better
Bendtner makes a case for starting against Fulham.

Ed: You can leave a comment on what you think and also vote on the poll we have set up "who will win the title?"