Arsenal, Terry

Forgive the self indulgence but this is the first Arsenal piece I've written since my triumphant return to blogging. Since my last stint in January things have moved on quite dramatically for the Gunners, we're now in with a real chance of winning the league and Champions League. It would be too much to expect them both this year but I can make a real case that we have great chances in the two competitions. Our Premier League run in is considerably easier than our 2 rivals', the trickiest games will be Spurs away and Man City at home, the other fixtures are West Ham (h), B'ham (a), Wolves (h), Wigan (a), Blackburn (a) and Fulham (h). Yes yes the old cliche of 'no easy games' and the teams in that list will be 'fighting for their lives' blah blah blah, but really, would you rather have these or trips to Old Trafford and Anfield on the horizon? That's who Chelsea have to deal with, on top of Spurs away and Villa at home. It'll be interesting to see how they react to their European exit, some are arguing that it will make them more determined to win the league now. The other thing to consider is that the Man Utd v Chelsea game falls in between Utd's Champions League quarter final legs, how will Fergie approach the game post first leg? Utd have a tough run in too, we've already mentioned Chelsea at home but first they must face the old enemy Liverpool this very Sunday, at Old Trafford mind. Liverpool are a wounded animal, they've taken a lot of knocks this season but their good win and more importantly good performance against Pompey on Monday showed that they can still play some good football. Rafa finally played the team everyone has been wanting to see all season; Aquilani, Torres, Gerrard, Maxi, Babel all got in the team, and finally he saw sense to give Lucas and Kuyt a 'rest.' Don't forget that Liverpool battered Utd in this fixture last season, a crushing 4-1 win, I'd give my right bollock to see that happen again. Utd have other tough games away at Fulham, Bolton, Sunderland and Man City. As for Europe, English teams have recently been our nemesis, so the fact that there is only 1 other team left to face as opposed to the usual 3, has to improve our chances. I think there's only 4 teams who can win it now and that is Arse, Utd, Barca and Inter. If we avoid those 3 tomorrow it will be magical, and don't forget that we also get to see the semi-final split so we'll know the route to the final. Is this being too greedy - Arsenal v CSKA, Lyon v Bordeaux ---- Man Utd v Barca, Inter v Bayern. It's long been the belief that Europe is our best chance of silverwere, mainly because the European sides tend to come out and attack more, leaving themselves vulnerable on the break to our fast forwards - a little bit like the way we play. The big boys in England are big and strong enough to soak it up and then fuck us on the break, European teams don't tend to be as smart. In fact, last year Pep Guardiola said the one team he wanted to avoid was Arsenal. Now, I don't know if he really meant that, I suspect that Utd would be a tougher proposition (particularly over 2 legs, not like last years disapointing final) than us, but he clearly recognises that we would be a threat to his team. What a final eh? Arsenal v Barca, at the fucking Bernabeu, all the Madrid boys would be backing us, it would be a special night. I'll probably blog post-draw tomorrow so we can have a proper analysis....

The players have responded fantastically since those shocking defeats to Utd and Chelsea in January. We're unbeaten since then and have picked up the useful habit of scoring crucial late goals, see Stoke and Hull for details. Nick Bendtner has come back into the team and scoring goals, save for one day to forget against Burnley. As I said a few days ago, the fans who watch their team week in week for 90 minutes know who is playing well and who isn't. He gets a lot of stick big Nick, and yes at times he can make you shake your head in disbelief but he's still a young lad who is scoring goals. He's got 9 for the season, scored 15 last year and 9 the year before that, all when he's not a regular starter and about half of his Arsenal appearances have been from the bench. Our captain Cesc is doing superb, he looks bigger and stronger now, like a real leader. I think we all felt when Gallas had to go that making Cesc captain was more about keeping him here, keeping him happy and keeping him central to the future of the club than his natural leadership qualities, but it's a role he's grown into and is now florushing under. I could go all around the pitch but there's not a lot of point, our fringe boys have taken a big step forward this year and some of the older heads are proving what class they have. I'll stick my neck out and say yeh, we'll have a winners medal at the end of the season.

Finally, John Terry's season goes from bad to worse, as he's leaving Stamford Bridge after getting done by Inter, he hits a steward with his monster 4x4 and breaks the poor guy's leg. Furthermore, he didn't even stop (apparently not realising) and has yet to make any kind of apology. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, we didn't get an apology from him after shagging one of his best mates girlfriends (and the mother of his child) so why should we expect one now? I'm not saying we should have him hung drawn and quartered but as the England captain he was in a position on privelege, the most priveleged position you can have in English football, he's a role model and an example to all the kids growing up and this is how he behaves? Everyone makes mistakes but come on mate, you get paid £120,000 a fucking week, play football for a living and you still wanna be a complete tosser? What made it more hilarious was that Terry refused to step down (which would have got him some respect from England fans) and had to be sacked by the boss. I don't think his recent decline in form is any coincedence either, and the fact that what he did is forcing others to turn down international call ups is just a joke. Terry, you're a disgrace. Take her easy.