Round 1 of 12

So with another weekend of news and excitement out of the way where do we now stand. Firstly it's a trip to the Midlands to take on a team that will be well-organised and willing to get stuck in, without our seasons best defender. No problem. Then we welcome the reigning kings of Europe to the Emirates. They'll be spear headed by the best player on the planet who is striking incredible form. No problem.

My, how things have changed. Only a few short weeks ago our pourous excuse for a defence was being heralded as not good enough. The so called experts said Wenger was delusional in saying we were still in the title hunt and surely the only way forward for Arsenal was to follow the example of the others in the so called 'Big Four' and put our club in a financially perilous situation to sign not just the next big name but the next few big names.

Some consistently hard fought victories later along with a few tricky hurdles cleared we are now keenly in the hunt both in Europe and at home. All logical thinking would lead you to think that we won't progress past Barcelona. I disagree. Football in large parts isn't a logical game, thank God.

Were we to take an optimistic look at proceedings one could reasonably hope that Clichy won't make the mistake of many and try to kick Messi or even jump into a tackle when Messi is in clean possession. Avoiding such obstacles with ease is what has made Messi the player he is. I would hope that Clichy would invite Messi into a dual, which includes Clichy's strongest point. A foot race.

How many of us, quite rightly, marvelled at the exquisite and spell binding hat-trick that the Argentinean scored last weekend. Or the one he scored the weekend before. How many though noticed that on each shot at goal he had earned himself some space by riding all tackles and hence left a trail of defenders in his wake who were no longer able to influence the game. Had there been another defender there to tackle or block as he shoots then you could reasonably hope to influence the resultant shot.

Before the emotional return of Henry we must of course focus on our late charge in the Premier league. Having already travelled to the KC Stadium and the Britannia Stadium and come away with maximum points one should be hopeful that our focus and drive remains in tact. The drive and focus shown by our players are to be commended, however stopping now will lead to nothing. Chelsea slipped up again last weekend and don't seem to have the focus or happy camp cohesion being displayed by ourselves and United. I feel confident that the three horse race has now become a two horse race.

Speaking of horses, who watched the build up to last weeks Gold Cup. The pre-race talk was constant about the long standing big two favourites. Denman and Kauto Star. In fact you could be excused for thinking it was a two horse race. That was of course until the first favourite fell and the second favourite was outpaced when it mattered most by a younger and unheralded outsider. All sounds a little familiar...

User Comments

User Comments

• Got something to say?
• Read comments

Vs chelsea