Well, a lot has transpired since our draw against Sunderland last week. Most of it good. Since I'm a bit in a hurry and having trouble focusing due to a horrific chest cold, I think I'll write this bullet style:
* We beat, beat, beat the Spudheads 4-1 in 120 minute match for a lovely Carling Cup victory on Tuesday. Beat, beat, beat them - in their house. Some say that Wenger has realized how important any silverware is and played a more experienced side. I say he knew the fans wanted vengeance for our painful defeat at White Hart Lane at the end of last season. And...Jack Wilshere was a revelation.
* Cesc may be back for Chelsea - healing quicker than anticipated. As Jack's been in good form, as well as Nasri - our creative midfield can wait until we have to go to Stamford Bridge.
*On an injury note, Gibbsy's metatarsal was not broken...just badly bruised in the CC match which is great 'cause Gael needs some competition, and Gibbs is up to the task.
*Fabianski let in the only goal of the CC match after seemingly stopping it with both hands and yet...Wenger is still defending him which leads to my next item...
Chesney came out to the the Polish press complaining, ummm, stating he is unhappy with his current position at Arsenal (which is fourth in line) and wants playing time. This came out, of course after the Carling Cup. I think Chez expected to play (as did many of us?) and was shocked to see Wenger giving Flappy another go. He also informed us - and this was a shock to me - that he only has one year left on his contract and insinuated he could look for a club who wouldn't be afraid of playing a 20 year-old in goal. How did we not extend his contract? It seems like we hear about every other tweener getting their contracts extended but some how Arsenal's future Number One slipped through the cracks? And what do we think about him going to the press complaining? Does that show mature professionalism or the poor judgement of a 20 year old? I think the latter and now worry that by trying to force Wenger's hand, he has actually tied them. If Wenger decides to give Chezzers a chance in goal, it could be construed that he was giving in to pressure from a player which would not be a great message. When asked in his press conference about Chezz's remarks, Wenger stated:
"He is right, he deserves a chance but the keeper is in front of him, Vito Mannone, deserves a chance as well," said Wenger.
"You can only play one goalkeeper. It's part of their job as a football player to live with competition and decisions.
"Impatience is a characteristic of youth. What they forget when they are 20 is that they can play until they are 40, whereas a normal player can only go to 32 or 34 if it all goes well. What they lose at the start they gain at the end of their career."
That said, Wenger is keen to keep Szczesny at Emirates Stadium.
"We will talk to him about a new deal. We rate him and we want to keep him," said the Frenchman.
"When you have educated a player like we have with Szczesny, who arrives at the age of 16, it is a long-term investment which costs a lot of money, so you want to keep the players."
It all seems a bit messy to me. The goalkeeping position seems to be the one area that Wenger seems to waffle on. Not letting Fabianski or Chesney go out on loan means four goalies to rotate between first team and reserves. Chezz got to play out on loan last season at Brentford and another season out would have shown confidence and investment in his development. Is Wenger giving Fabianski enough rope to hang himself so he feels justified in cutting him loose? I'm hoping we see some movement in January - which I think will be one of them going out on loan. A 20 year old talented player just sitting around is going to make unwise decisions. We need to be careful here.
*This morning we drew Newcastle in the next round of the Carling Cup competition at Tyneside. Why do we draw the Premier League teams? Newcastle threw out Chelsea Wednesday and will be brimming with confidence. Of course, that game is not until the week of October 25th which means - fingers crossed - players currently occupying the physio room will be on the pitch.
Other than that, the other news of course is our game today against West Brom who have been up and down between the two tiers for several years. They do have a lot of Premier League experience, and while they got gutted by Chelsea on opening day, they seemed to have found their pitch-legs and have settled down. We can beat them - no question. But we need to not be overconfident. We desperately need the three points and we need to obtain them while rotating keeping in mind our trip to Serbia on Tuesday. Diaby is back but will most likely just sit on the bench today.
I'll be back with a post match post (too much "post-ing" there. So with that I say...Go You Gunners!!!
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