Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal

I was lacking confidence heading into the second North London Derby of the season, but I sure did not think Arsenal would choose to lose like that. With the form Spurs are in at the moment (just one loss in 15 league matches since their 5-2 defeat at the Emirates), I was genuinely hoping for a draw before the match. A four-point deficit with 10 matches to go is far from insurmountable, but a seven-point gap would make it really, really difficult for us.

As the match began, I grew in confidence as Arsenal buzzed around the pitch with real intent about them while Tottenham barely had a kick of the ball. The Gunners lacked decisiveness in the final third, however, and failed to carve out a clear-cut chance to take the lead. (what's new?) Giroud and Ramsey had little sniffs at goal, but nothing concrete. Of course, as soon as I declared that we needed to make all this possession count for something, Gareth Bale tucked home a neat finish past Szczesny. Nacho Monreal and Thomas Vermaelen sprang the offside trap, but Per Mertesacker didn't get the memo. He played Bale onside and the Welshman easily converted 1v1 with Szczesny who was more focused on raising an arm at the linesman than coming out to smother. It was extremely poor defending that created the chance, but had Szczesny been more alert to the danger and come charging out, Bale would have had a tougher task to score.

Down 1-0 despite of dominating most of the first half is just business as usual for this Arsenal team, so I had a fair bit of hope that we could do our usual second half Houdini act and get back in the game. That hope was all but snuffed out when Aaron Lennon rolled in a second goal two minutes later that was basically a carbon copy of the first. Again Monreal tried to play the offside trip, but this time Thomas Vermaelen was caught completely unaware of his surroundings and allowed the impish Aaron Lennon to dart past him (close enough to pull the old tap-him-on-the-wrong-shoulder trick) and waltz through on Szczesny who stood no chance of reacting in time. It was shocking to see the team captain, in a massive derby match, switch off so completely. I tweeted that he ought to be stripped of the armband for that error alone and I still believe that even 24 hours later.

Per Mertesacker atoned for his first-half error with a glancing header from a corner that sneaked past Lloris just six minutes into the second half. Game on, right? Wrong. This time it was Arsene Wenger who let the team down by failing to throw the kitchen sink at the game just when it needed it. Three minutes later, Jenkinson nearly found Giroud at the near post for the equalizer and you could sense Spurs were on their heels a bit. Le Prof decided to bring on Rosicky for Jenkinson and shift Ramsey to right back. I thought Jenkinson had been having his best game for months while Ramsey had been booked early on. A straight swap for Ramsey would have been the right call.

We needed fresh ideas up front, but the manager failed to act again until he brought on Podolski for Arteta with just 13 minutes left. The German worked a clever 1-2 with Giroud, but his touch was heavy as though he was barely warmed up having just come into the game cold from the bench. Arsene Wenger never used his third substitution despite the fact that Walcott had been anonymous all day and Giroud looked gassed near the end. I know it's not our manager's style to make changes out of desperation, but perhaps a double change of Podolski & Rosicky for Giroud & Ramsey right at 60 minutes might have changed things up enough to spur the team on to an equalizer. Despite his struggles this season, I would have brought the Ox on for Theo at some point partly to change things down the right, but also to show Walcott that he can't disappear in big matches like this and expect to stay on for 90 minutes. Heck, would a triple change on top of Per's goal been out of the question?

As things were, the game fizzled out without Arsenal really threatening to get a second goal. Spurs actually had the best two chances of the second half with Sigurdsson especially culpable when he tried to center a pass instead of passing into an empty net. The Gunners were left to bemoan 120 seconds of incompetence that cost them the game. Arsenal sit fifth in the table, seven points behind Spurs and five behind Chelsea. We have the easiest run-in of those three teams by far, but frankly it's going to take a ridiculous turnaround for this team to put together the run of games that is now necessary to win back a Champions League place.

I said before the Villa game that Arsenal could possibly drop as many as 10 points from their remaining 12 games and still get to 70 points in the table which would hopefully keep them alive for a top four place on the final day of the season. Looking at the schedules for Chelsea and Tottenham, I think that could still work, but only if Tottenham really spit the bit over their last 10 games. Here are the final 10 matches for each team:

Tottenham:

@ Liverpool

Fulham

@ Swansea

Everton

@ Chelsea

Manchester City

@ Wigan

Southampton

@ Stoke

Sunderland

Chelsea:

@ Fulham (currently postponed)

West Ham

@ Southampton

Sunderland

Tottenham

@ Liverpool

Swansea

@ Manchester United

@ Aston Villa

Everton

Arsenal:

@ Swansea

Reading

@ West Brom

Norwich

Everton

@ Fulham

Manchester United

@ QPR

Wigan

@ Newcastle

Arsenal should be favored to win all of their remaining games except for Manchester United at home. Nine wins and a loss would mean that if Chelsea dropped nine points or Tottenham dropped ten, then Arsenal would nick a Champions League spot. Chelsea have already played more matches than probably any club team in the world at this point and are still alive in two cup competitions. It's entirely possible that they could be the more vulnerable of the two sides, especially when you take into account the angst among their fans about Rafa Benitez. As awful as it feels to almost resign to finishing below Tottenham, at this point Arsenal need to take whatever they can get if it means Champions League football next season.

With zero head-to-head matches left against Chelsea or Tottenham, all the Gunners can do is focus on winning all of their remaining games and hoping that their rivals slip up. Arsenal have four very winnable home matches and will at least have the homefield advantage against Manchester United. The problem I see is that all five away trips left on the schedule have traditionally been tricky ones for us in recent seasons. I would be stunned if we could manage five wins from five, but if results go our way in other games over the next couple of weeks, then maybe we could get away with a draw or two, but certainly no other losses unless we want to count on taking something from the United match. I think a scenario of WWDWWDLWWW could get it done if Tottenham go something like LDDWLDWWDW or Chelsea finish up LWWWWLDLWD.

It's mostly grasping at straws for me. We've made things as difficult as possible for ourselves yet again, but this time we don't have an RVP or Thierry Henry get-out-of-jail-free card. The bones of a creaky, unreliable squad have finally been stripped too bare over the last year and I don't think Arsene Wenger has enough to pull one more miracle Champions League qualification out of his hat. The Tottenham team that beat us yesterday really is not that good. Their team that made the Champions League two years ago was probably better. Neither Chelsea nor even the Manchester clubs are that great to be honest. Arsenal have sputtered along this season without really being properly punished for their true lack of quality.

Everton are just two points behind us despite drawing 12 matches. Turn four of those into wins and they would be six points clear. It's a worrying prospect, especially when a very young team like Liverpool is charging late with a combined 9-0 scoreline in their last two league games. Swansea won their first major trophy this season and West Brom have only one less win than Arsenal. While I sit here adding and subtracting points to create hope of a top four finish, the Gunners are, in reality, clinging to top 10 status in the Premier League. Thankfully they have ten days off now so I don't have to think about it anymore. Until that day.

Arsenal 2-2 Liverpool

I was as fed up and disgusted with the Arsenal last night as I have been since the 2011 League Cup Final. Every time I cross something off my list of necessary improvements for this team, I either simply wait another 45 minutes to add it back on at the bottom or find something entirely brand new to lament. 

Heading into the season, the biggest worry for this team was scoring goals. How would Arsene Wenger replace RVP's prolific scoring record? Here we sit, five months later, and our strike duo of Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud is the most potent in the Premier League. Our three summer signings have chipped in a remarkable 33 goals in all competitions while an increased role for Walcott has yielded 18. Conversely, the defense has gone from producing three clean sheets at the outset of the season, to producing only three over their last sixteen matches.

While the answers to Arsenal's goal-scoring questions have seemingly been found, the back four have turned into improv actors trotting out a Benny Hill routine rather than international-level defenders. The unintentional comedy of the team's defending reached an all-time high last night. Granted, the bounce of the ball ended up favoring Liverpool greatly at the crucial moment of both goals, there is no excuse for the domino effect of errors that led to them. Sagna slipped when it seemed easier to stand still and intercept a pass headed right at him. Vermaelen tried to clear the ensuing cross out of the other end of the stadium and completely whiffed. Then a haphazard series of bobbles and half-clearances ended with Luis Suarez's shot hitting the back of the net with almost an "excuse me" attached to it. Their second goal was so typical of our many ridiculous concessions this season that I could barely register a sigh. A simple long ball up field by Pepe Reina drew Vermaelen into a rash attempt to make a tackle that was easily sidestepped to open up the entire field. Santos was beaten for pace (shocking) and out-muscled in his own penalty area (by Jordan Henderson of all people!) before Ramsey's heroic saving block was bundled back to Henderson by the prone corpses of Mertesacker and the aforementioned Santos. It was a tap-in goal and Gooners everywhere were left to wonder just what they did to deserve this.

Down 0-2, Arsenal did just about the only thing you can expect from this team. They got up off the mat, removed their heads from their collective asses, and played lights out for 30 minutes. The Gunners pulled back both goals to tie it 2-2 (in the space of 3 minutes, no less) and really should have won the game based on the number of chances they created and the fact that Liverpool were mere pedestrians watching Arsenal's tempo and attacking verve pass them by. It was at this point that another confounding development over the last month became glaringly obviuous.

Arsene Wenger had zero options to bring on that could push his team over the finish line. The Gunners had dug themselves a massive hole early on, but climbed out of it to even the scoreline. They then climbed up the hillside during the last half hour, all the way to the precipice of winning the match, but ran out of steam in the last ten minutes. Jack Wilshere was completely gassed in the second half. Carrying this Arsenal team game in and game out has to be exhausting on top of Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva marking him out of the game. Olivier Giroud had run himself into the ground and fatigue was starting to seep into his game with poor touches and a lack of burst. Wenger could have brought Diaby on for Wilshere, but didn't seem willing to risk the Frenchman in this game while there was no central striker option at all to replace Giroud. The Ox could have come in on the right to move Theo to the middle, but we all know Theo works best coming in from wide or alongside someone like Giroud. As a result, the manger only made one change on the night, one that he was forced into.

Arsenal have had a very good record with injuries this year considering the long-term injuries to Wilshere, Rosicky, and Diaby that we knew about coming into the season. None of the "preferred" back four have missed more than the odd game or two while our three summer signings have been almost ever-present in all competitions. Arsene Wenger perceives this as proof that "we have a good squad" and yet a twang of Kieran Gibb's hamstring sent groans and shudders around the Emirates while Andre Santos began warming up on the sideline. One little twinge and suddenly there's a crisis. As a result, Wenger has dived headfirst into the transfer market, on deadline day, to find a suitable replacement for what's going to end up being a 3-4 week injury. Had the manager simply replaced Santos at the beginning of the transfer window, this wouldn't have been such an urgent need at the last minute. If Gibbs' injury had come on Saturday against Stoke, where would we be then?

Surely Arsene Wenger cannot seriously think about playing Santos at left back for the next month while Gibbs recovers. The fact that Santos made just 15 league appearances last season due to injury (many of those at LW late in the season) meant that he wasn't completely exposed as an inept defender and most Gooners probably thought he was salvageable as a utility squad player. This season has shown, definitively, that the affable Brazilian is simply not good enough for the Premier League and certainly not for a team like Arsenal that considers itself among that league's elite clubs. Warren Barton called Santos, "the worst player I've ever seen in an Arsenal shirt" on Saturday. Maybe Arsene Wenger will play Vermaelen at LB, pair Koscielny and Mertesacker a CB (our best pairing when both are on their game, IMO) and proceed from there. That's all well and good, but an injury or suspension to those three and suddenly Sebastien Squillaci, a player who the club have tried in vain to move on for over a year, would be suiting up in the first team. It's a no-win situation created by the fact that Wenger has built a pretty decent first team squad on top of a balsa-strength layer of deadwood and while doing nothing to remedy the situation over the last 5 months.

At the end of the day today, we might see a new left back come into the squad via the transfer market and maybe even a backup goalkeeper or the striker that every Gooner covets so badly. Considering the short-term outlook, these moves couldn't be seen as anything less than a positive. Taking a step back and looking at the holes in this squad that were so shockingly on display last evening against Liverpool, it's disturbing that those in charge at Arsenal Football Club were seemingly content to move forward with this sorry excuse for a "top four" team. As-constructed, they are not good enough to earn a Champions League place for 2013-2014 season. They are going to continue to blow hot and cold, concede silly goals, and score beautiful ones. Periodically, good results have papered over the cracks, but anyone who has watched them week in and week out (like, perhaps, their manager?) should be able to read the writing on the wall. It's been a good run, but by ignoring the same problems, refusing to invest, and spouting worn out cliches, the Gunners have finally given up their Champions League credentials. Erase it from the resume.

The most worrying thing of all is that it may be a very long road back. Until that day.

Swansea 2-2 Arsenal

If I were asked to choose one match result to sum up Arsenal's 2012/2013 season, it would be Sunday's 2-2 draw at Swansea City in the FA Cup third round. The Gunners dominated possession, went 1-0 down against the run of play, were outstanding going forward throughout the second half, and yet still found time to concede a sloppy equalizer after turning around the scoreline with two goals inside the final ten minutes. It was a fantastic cup tie, but one which left a bitter taste in my mouth after the elation of Gibbs' superb volley to take the lead was followed quickly by an all-too-familiar punch to the gut.

Arsene Wenger again decided against rotating the team even after a very poor 1-1 draw with Southampton. I am on board with fielding our strongest side in the FA Cup, as it represents our last real shot at winning a trophy this season, but several members of the squad are in dire need of a night off. Bacary Sagna was awful against Southampton and followed that up with another subpar performance against Swansea. Carl Jenkinson made huge strides while the Frenchman was out of action earlier this season and recently signed a contract extension. I think he deserves to rotate with Sagna once in a while based on his form alone and should certainly be considered when the former is running on empty. With Manchester City and Chelsea up next on the Premier League docket, it seemed like a match against Southampton or Swansea would be an ideal spot to give Sagna a breather.

The manager has chosen to rotate his central defenders and I think that's a good thing as Laurent Koscielny finds himself in need of matches due to several nagging injuries this campaign and Per Mertesacker should rest his ankles from time to time. Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla have played just about every game this season while Jack Wilshere has basically been ever-present since his return from injury. I feel like there are plenty of options in the squad to rotate a bit in midfield with Tomas Rosicky healthy, Francis Coquelin playing well, Andrei Arshavin still on the books, and Aaron Ramsey available to play centrally instead of (out of position) on the wing. It would seem, however, that the manager has no confidence in playing any of these players from the start or, as we saw on Sunday, even from the bench!

Beyond all the prematch decisions, Arsenal played to an annoyingly typical result for them this season. The first half was relatively tentative. Both sides passed the ball well and maintained spells of possession while creating little end product. The second half opened with Arsenal upping the tempo and the Gunners began to pepper the Swansea penalty area with attempts at goal. Just as Arsenal seemed poised to score at any moment, Olivier Giroud picked up a knock and required lengthy treatment. The break in play completely took the wind out of Arsenal's sails and allowed Michael Laudrup to regroup his team and make two changes; one of which was to bring on Michu.

Within minutes, a long hoof forward landed squarely on the Gunners' self destruct button and gave Michu the space to stroll into the area to coolly slot home the opening goal completely against the run of play. As we have seen all season, however, Arsenal played their best football once their nose had been bloodied and this display in particular was one to remember. Everyone got involved and suddenly the team looked like "our Arsenal" again. Kieran Gibbs provided a lethal supply line all by himself and when Arsene Wenger brought on Lukas Podolski, an equalizer seemed inevitable. It finally came when a corner kick was kept alive long enough to find the German international in position to fire home into the bottom corner. 

At this point, Swansea were there for the taking and the superb Kieran Gibbs wasted no time finishing them off. His pass to Giroud in a central position was expertly chipped in behind the defense to where Gibbs had continued his umteenth run of the night. The England left back fired an unstoppable volley into the roof of the net and sent this Gooner into a fit of fist-pumping rapture. It was here that I got nervous. The Gunners had done all the hard work, played their best half of football in ages, and deservedly turned around a 1-0 deficit. Surely the Arsenal defense could see out 12 minutes against a deflated Swansea team that had played out the match to this point in a manner of hoping not to lose.

Instead of keeping possession, slowing the tempo, and closing out a hard-fought win, the Gunners completely switched off and gave Swansea new life. After a few close calls that failed to wake the Gunners from their post-scoring slumber, a succession of corners led to Danny Graham slamming home the equalizer for the Swans. Mikel Arteta was the one caught ball-watching as he failed to close him down. The match ended all square as the Gunners decided against making things easy on themselves and instead chose the road less taken. A replay at the Emirates isn't the most daunting of fixtures, but sandwiched between a visit from Manchester City and a trip to Chelsea is certainly not convenient timing. With the previously mentioned squad and rotation issues already at the fore, the last thing the Gunners need is to add to a crowed January schedule.

As it stands, this month will be do or die for Arsenal. Wins over Manchester City and Chelsea would go a long way toward establishing a challenge for 4th place. The makeup of the postponed match versus West Ham will also be important as it will complete our game in hand and the Hammers have already made several moves to strengthen in this transfer window. Lastly, the Gunners will host Liverpool who have been a much-improved team since Arsenal last saw them in September.

In spite of the daunting weeks ahead, I am cautiously optimistic about their chances of getting some important results when they matter most. As we saw last year, this team is capable of great things even when the situation seems altogether dire. In a season of "the worst [insert statistic here] under Arsene Wenger", a second-half turnaround that netted a trophy, or even just a fourth place finish, would be Le Prof's greatest Houdini act yet. Until that day!

Early Transfer Talk

As the January hot stove heats up, I thought I would throw out some thoughts on the initial rumblings about Arsenal's transfer business.

Theo Walcott's Contract: There was word yesterday that he was ready to sign a 4-year deal worth £90,000 per week and that a meeting was set between representatives for Theo and the club. It has not happened yet, so I'll believe it when I see it, but it would be fantastic news if this were true. In the broad picture, it seems strange that Theo would earn more than Jack Wilshere's reported £80,000 per week, but Theo has been in the first-team set up longer, is three years older, and has arguably accomplished more for club and country than Jack has. In a couple years' time, Jack will no doubt get a big pay raise on his way to becoming the club captain and the face of the team. Get it done, Arsene!

Johan Djourou to Hannover, Italy, or France: While this move would leave us an injury or suspension away from Squillaci starting meaningful games for the Gunners, I imagine it would coincide with a move for a new, more versatile defender who would cost far less per week than Djourou. While many have forgotten altogether that Djourou was one of our best players down the stretch in 2010/2011, he certainly has had a rough time over the last 18 months. I think it's time for a change of scenery and I for one would be fine with a combination of Ignasi Miquel, Squillaci, and/or a new recruit filling the 4th-choice void in central defense. This move would also likely bring in a small fee and free up wages as well as a critical roster spot for a new signing.

David Villa to Arsenal from Barcelona: I am on the fence about this one. As an initial loan with an option to purchase in the summer, I would be fine with it. As a £16 million transfer for a 31-year old striker coming off of a major injury, I would stay far far away. Villa is a world-class player and would be an immediate upgrade for this Arsenal squad, but the fact that Barcelona seem so eager to move him along raises a huge red flag for me. This is a player they've had in training and matches for three years both before and after his injury while watching every step of his recovery along the way. If he was 100% healthy and the same great player he was when he arrived at Barcelona, then why would they want to unload him? Arsene Wenger should tread very carefully here and take as much time as possible to assess the situation before splashing cash on what would amount to a stop-gap player in the long run.

Adrian Lopez to Arsenal from Atletico Madrid: Lopez seems like a typical Wenger signing, but how does he improve our squad today? He would likely replace Gervinho as the winger/striker who can run for days and play in all three forward positions. That sounds like a good swap to me on paper, but one that seems more likely resolved in the summer when some team might talk themselves into taking a punt on Gervinho heading back to France or to Turkey. Lopez only has one prolific season under his belt and would not be an immediate upgrade over Theo, The Ox, Lukas Podolski, or Olivier Giroud. Arsene Wenger needs to make one or two impact signings while Lopez looks to me like something of a project that would make more sense to undertake during the offseason.

Mario Balotelli to Arsenal from Manchester City: There is no denying that the Italian's skill set is off the charts. His blend of power, speed, and precision is completely unique. So is his propensity for self-destruction. The Gunners have dealt with enough upheaval over the past two years and finally look like settling on a new core group of players that Balotelli seems unlikely to mesh with at all. Adding a volatile sideshow to a still-shaky rebuilding project is foolhardy in my opinion. Were Balotelli to come waltzing in the door on a free transfer at reduced wages, I might be persuade to take him in on a nothing-to-lose proposition. Investing any kind of capital in a player like that just doesn't mix with what Arsenal are working on today. I imagine his representatives know that the situation at the Etihad is untenable at this point and need to use false interest from big clubs around Europe to keep his value afloat. I would be 110% shocked if he signed for Arsenal.

Etienne Capoue, Afriyie Acquah, other "defensive midfielders": I have not seen either player, so I will have to trust those that have scouted them on whether or not they are good enough to move to the Premier League. Personally, I would throw some money at Celtic for Victor Wanyama to be our new midfield enforcer. I have watched him a lot this year and I do not see any reason that he couldn't be a very good player for Arsenal with room to improve and become something special. Capoue sounds a bit more like the finished article waiting to make a step up in his career. Acquah sounds like a project, complete with the "new <insert formerly great player here>" moniker and all! Any of these players would be a welcome addition to the squad and might help strengthen our midfield platform by allowing Arsene to move Jack to attacking mid, Santi to the right wing, and Ox to the left. I am starting to believe that maybe Arteta & Wilshere are not the right pairing in front of the back four. It does not sound like we would be bringing in a player at this position to immediately come into the starting eleven either way. We shall see what happens.

Marouane Chamakh to West Ham United: Do not hesitate. Accept whatever they're offering and move on!

That's about all the rumors that I have read more than just a single tweet or article about, so there it is. Hopefully the stream of news picks up and Arsenal can clear out much of the deadwood while bringing in some talented new blood. Until that day!

Gluttons for Punishment

Arsenal Football Club sank to an even lower low point in their season with a defeat on penalty kicks to League Two side Bradford City in the League Cup. After every slip-up, the Arsenal players have stated that "we must respond!" Instead, these same players that can churn out miles of cliche quotes on Arsenal.com have found new and greater ways to disappoint. Let's review.

The 1-0 loss away to Norwich was a poor performance for sure and a 0-2 defeat at home to Schalke four days later felt even worse. Ten days after that, Robin van Persie scored against his former team as the Gunners were dominated by Manchester United at Old Trafford. Arsenal then threw away 2-0 leads in back-to-back matches before reaching the season's apex with a 5-2 win over arch-rivals Tottenham. Since that point, the team has been in freefall. A 0-0 draw at Aston Villa was on of Arsenal's worst performances under Arsene Wenger and playing out a tame 1-1 draw at Everton was a maddening result after taking the lead inside the first minute of the match. The Gunners have since slumped to a last-minute 0-2 loss at home against upstart Swansea City, mailed in the second half of a dead rubber match against Olympiakos, and then finally found rock-bottom with an utterly embarrassing defeat to Bradford City; a team 65 places below Arsenal in the English league tables.

The League Cup offered Arsenal the quickest route to a trophy over the next year. The Gunners clearly are not good enough to compete for the league title with the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City standing in their way. Arsenal are still alive in the last 16 of the Champions League, but even the most optimistic Gooner would have a hard time making a case for this team to be considered a real contender for the cup. Only five Premier League teams remained in the last eight of the League Cup. Of those clubs, only Chelsea has been a perennial contender for the top places in recent seasons. That long overdue trophy that Arsene Wenger has failed to deliver "for seven years!" was on a silver platter of its own. Arsenal had even survived a 4-0 deficit at Reading in the round of 16 to reach the quarterfinals. If anything went wrong, surely it was fate and destiny that would eke Arsenal through to Wembley Stadium! 

With the pressure mounting on everyone associated with the club and with so many recent listless performances leading to poor results as a guide, how in the name of Tony Adams could Arsenal's strongest possible lineup not turn up for such an easy matchup?! No team is ever beaten before the final whistle and Bradford City played well enough to be in a position to win the lottery of a penalty shootout, but if Arsene Wenger and Steve Bould cannot get their players to show up for this match then what the hell are they good for? In years past, we might have been unlucky enough to draw one of the Manchester clubs or Liverpool or another "top" Premier League club at this stage in the League Cup and it would have just compounded the team's recent run of poor form. Despite all that has gone wrong for this team over the past 15 months, here was a moment where the football Gods were handing the Gunners a lifeline.

It has not been a tough six weeks or so to be an Arsenal fan, but the team caught a break with the easiest quarterfinal draw on paper if they took the opportunity seriously. Against his usual playbook, Arsene Wenger took no chances and named the strongest squad he could for this match just in case. Bradford were resolute, but all our players had to do was reach top gear for long enough to net a couple of goals, settle the nerves, and then pass it around and wind down the clock. Instead, as our players have been wont to do this season, they made it as difficult as possible and put themselves in the best position to get unlucky or to simply lose outright. If Arsene Wenger and Steve Bould or even Thomas Vermaelen and Mikel Arteta could not make it clear to the team what needed to be done for themselves, the good of the club, and the fans, then none of them deserve employment at a professional football club.

It is astounding that even after nine or so awful performances already this season that the team could sleepwalk through 85 minutes of this match without even starting to try a little harder and make the extra effort to earn a result that professional footballers at the highest level should be able to achieve. How is it possible that these players could not reflect back on those other performances? How could nobody stand up and say, hey guys let's not let what happened before happen again? Are the players told this by anyone? If they are, do they not listen? If they do listen are they just unintelligent? If they are prepared in this way, listen closely, and process the information heading into the match, then are they just poor footballers? I'm starting to think the answers along this line of questioning will not please any Gooners.

Arsenal have played 25 matches this season in all competitions. Their record stands at 11-7-7 with 50 goals scored, 31 goals against, and seven clean sheets. New players have "bedded in". Injured players have returned. We know who these players are and what they are capable of on both good days and bad. There are no excuses left. This is a bad team made up of mostly unreliable players who are either are not good enough to make up an upper-echelon side, don't want to be here, or simply don't care one way or the other and are happy to just collect a paycheck while riding the pine. If I could pull up outside the Emirates in a yellow school bus and choose which players came with me to start the basis of a new Arsenal squad, there would not be very many seats taken. (I know I'm stealing the Tuesday Club's VW bus idea, but forgive me) 

Bus Driver: Me
Row 1: Jack Wilshere & Wojciech Szczesny
Row 2: Mikel Arteta  & Carl Jenkinson
Row 3: Olivier Giroud & Kieran Gibbs
Row 4: Laurent Koscielny & Thomas Vermaelen
Row 5: Per Mertesacker & Santi Cazorla 
Row 6: Francis Coquelin & Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Row 7: Thomas Eisfeld & Serge Gnabry

Sadly, there are 16 other players in the first 28 names on our squad list that I wouldn't have on board. These players either don't want to be at the club or don't deserve to be. I truly am embarrassed to be a Gooner today and I just don't know how to explain my club right now. I hope that the board and Arsene Wenger can work together on a solution that begins in January with all whole bunch of outgoing players in addition to a fair amount of new recruits or players promoted to the first team. Barring a turnaround that would border on the ridiculous at this point, Arsenal will not make the Champions League for next season and will charge headlong into an eighth year without a trophy.

I feel like the writing is on the wall for Arsene Wenger's time at the club and whether things get worse and he's sacked or the he walks away in June, there will not be any glory found with this man coaching these players. I sincerely hope that Le Prof has one more miracle up his sleeve, but I fear that the club has gone a bridge too far. Perhaps unfortunately, we will learn what those in charge of turning this thing around are made of sooner rather than later. Until that day, fellow Gooners.

Arsenal 3-3 Fulham

I could really just copy-and-paste my thoughts from the Schalke game on Tuesday and they would cover the majority of what I have to say about the Fulham match. Once again we came out slowly and allowed our opponents more of the ball in the early stages. With one of our first forays forward, Theo Walcott floated in a fine corner kick that Olivier Giroud headed home with aplomb. Twelve minutes later we were 2-0 up and looked like cruising to a convincing home win.

At this point, I turned to a group of Fulham fans watching at my local soccer bar and said not to worry because we would concede a goal just before halftime to let them back into the game. It's what Arsenal do! Seventeen minutes later it was tied 2-2 and after 67 minutes Arsenal were behind. It was one of those moments of clarity where you realize that this year's version of your favorite team is shit. We were playing at home, had been 2-0 up in the first quarter of the game, and yet had to play catch-up just to nick a point against Fulham.

Martin Jol has put together a competent team that can certainly score goals in addition to conceding their fair share. The frustrating part is that Arsenal, supposedly, aspire to be so much more than an even match for a club like Fulham. Our board touts a desire to compete with the top clubs in the world, to win trophies, and maybe even be champions of Europe. I could have believed them a few years ago when Arsenal were still making cup finals and hanging around in the Premier League title race into the spring. We have barely scratched double digit games played in the league and Arsene Wenger is being asked to determine whether we can "challenge for the title" from 11 points behind.

I have watched all our matches with my own two eyes. Manchester United seemed annoyed to have to turn up at all for a match with Arsenal and ended the game as a contest after just three minutes. On the flip side, the Gunners have measured up dead-even with mid-table teams like Liverpool, West Ham, and Fulham. Sure we can dispatch teams like Reading, Southampton, and QPR with relative ease, but that is just about the entire list of teams that I feel supremely confident in getting three points from. Where are those teams in the league table? Oh yeah, just the bottom three sides.

Even after 90 minutes of entertaining disappointment, Phil Dowd gave us brief hope that despite being outscored 1-3 after going 2-0 up, the Gunners might get the "big club" benefit of the doubt and steal an undeserved win with a bullshit penalty in the waning seconds of stoppage time. Would we have complained? Hell no! Manchester United plays their get-out-of-jail-free card every week! Unfortunately, the vice captain could not make amends for giving away a penalty earlier in the match. Mikel Arteta and Gooners alike were left to rue an opportunity missed and more points dropped with their head in their hands. Now that I have made myself thoroughly depressed about this match yet again by reliving it, I will offer some final thoughts in the style of one of my favorite movies in an effort to cheer myself up.

THE GOOD
Olivier Giroud scored twice and seems to have formed a potent partnership with Theo Walcott who assisted on both goals. Giroud also hit a post and was a handful throughout the match. A run of three starts in a row has yielded three goals from the Frenchman. Lukas Podolski has looked lively in his last two matches and seems to be over whatever ailment or mood had cast a pall over his form. The German scored on Saturday after recording an assist against Schalke on Tuesday. Laurent Koscielny put in his best performance of the season with several timely interceptions and full-blooded blocks to keep his team in the game. That was great to see from Kosc the Boss! Aaron Ramsey, The Ox, and Andrei Arshavin all made an impact as substitutes which had been a shortcoming in recent weeks with so many injury problems plaguing the team. It's good to see a bit of depth available even with Jack Wilshere suspended and Szczesny, Rosicky, and Diaby still on the shelf.

THE BAD
Vito Mannone came through for the Gunners against QPR, Manchester United, and Schalke before dropping an absolute stinker on Saturday. He got a hand to a frolicking header from Kacaniklic and yet could only palm it into the side netting for Fulham's second goal. Mannone then had to face a Dimitar Berbatov penalty kick in the second half and looked as though he had never seen someone take one before! Berbatov did a slow stop-start walk-up for his kick and basically tied Mannone into knots without even really trying. Younes Belhanda made the Italian look similarly silly with a chipped penalty down the middle of the goal in the Champions League. I'll be very relieved once Szczesny is healthy and in the team again. Bacary Sagna had his roughest outing for a while in which he didn't break his leg. He made poor passes out of defense, lost possession without being pressured, and generally went missing on his marking assignments. After a great game in midweek it was quite a letdown to see him struggle so badly. Santi Cazorla looks completely knackered and yet must fly to Panama with Spain for a Wednesday friendly and will probably only return to London just in time for the match on Saturday. FIFA really needs to do away with ridiculous money-grab fixtures like this in the middle of an already crowded schedule for teams in every league. It's asinine which I suppose isn't all that surprising considering who is in charge.

THE UGLY
I hate throwing Mikel Arteta under the Fulham bus, but he was utterly terrible in this game. The poor showing is greatly mitigated by the fact that it was probably his only truly awful performance since joining the Gunners over a year ago. Arteta was eager to make up for his mistakes by stepping up to take the all-important penalty kick, but it was one of those days where he only compounded his problems the harder he tried. I still salute the Spaniard for a great effort, but it was not meant to be his day. Arsenal's defending was atrocious for all three goals they conceded and it is no wonder that they have only kept one clean sheet in their last 14 matches. The first two came from free headers inside of twelve yards and the last was the result of a clumsy challenge after Arteta was caught in possession just outside his own area. Per Mertesacker and Bacary Sagna both forgot how to mark for much of the match and Thomas Vermaelen was ok at left back (certainly better than Santos), but the captain still did not exude a ton of confidence overall.

The sooner we can forget about most aspects of this match, the better! Hopefully our players will come back from international duty in one piece and we can get our heads right for what shapes up as a massive fixture with Tottenham Hotspur. It will either be sunshine and rainbows on Saturday afternoon or even more misery and questions asked. Oh to be a Gooner. Until that day!

Premier League Predictions: Matchday 11 Pitstop

With 109 Premier League matches in the books for the 2012-2013 season, I think the time is right time for me to offer a one-off revision of my preseason predictions now that I have been able to watch each team play at least 10 times. Firstly, here is my preseason table predication in case you missed it:

1) Manchester City
2) Arsenal
3) Manchester United
4) Chelsea
5) Liverpool
6) Everton
7) Newcastle United
8) Tottenham Hotspur
9) Stoke City
10) West Bromwich Albion
11) Fulham
12) Queens Park Rangers
13) West Ham United
14) Norwich City
15) Wigan Athletic
16) Southampton
17) Sunderland
18) Reading
19) Aston Villa
20) Swansea City

You can find the Premier League Table as it stands today on ESPN Soccernet. Below are my thoughts on each team at present as well as their prospects for the rest of the Premier League season.

20) Reading (-2 places)

Unless Brian McDermott can solve his team's defensive woes, then Reading will not be long for Premier League. Their 12 goals scored is a fine output in just nine games, but 18 conceded (exactly two per match) is not good enough at this level. Nothing has typified Reading's season more than their League Cup match with Arsenal where they led 4-0 at home only to lose 5-7 in extra time.

19) Aston Villa (no change)

Paul Lambert has gotten more out of a sorry bunch than even I thought he would with two league wins in their first 11 matches. Their decent run of form is about to change course, however, with their next two matches coming against Manchester City and Arsenal. While three points clear at this point, it's likely that Villa will be in the bottom three by the time the calendar turns to December.

18) Southampton (-2 places)

The Saints have scored 15 league goals this season which is 10th among Premier League clubs. On the opposite side of the ledger, Southampton have shipped a stunning 29 goals which is nine more than even the second-leakiest defense which belongs to QPR. Being outscored 2 to 1 is a recipe for Championship Football in 2013 and Nigel Adkin's men are headed there quickly.

17) Sunderland (no change)

As I said in the preseason, Sunderland have struggled mightily to score goals. Their stout defense has allowed them to eke out six draws, but their attack is utterly toothless. Late-August signing Steven Fletcher has five of the team's six goals scored to his name (the other was via an own goal). Without him, they might very well be bottom of the table.

16) QPR (-4 places)

Rangers are tied for the second-worst goal output in the Premier League while also possessing the second-worst defensive record. There is enough top-flight experience on this roster to make a late-season charge to safety and I think a new voice in the dressing room could get the revolution started post-haste.
15) Stoke City (-6 places)
This might be a slight overreaction on my part, but Stoke have looked very poor from the start. Their steely midfield has not produced many scoring chances and their clumsy strikers have not put away the ones they have had. It seems as though Tony Pulis has spent far too much money on Tottenham castoffs to be competitive!
14) Norwich City (no change)

The Canaries seem to be getting on track after a dismal start to their season. With two 1-0 wins and two draws in their last four matches, things are looking up. The team has not showcased the same magical qualities they did last campaign, but they are good enough to finish comfortably above the relegation zone.

13) Wigan Athletic (+2 places)

Roberto Martinez has the Latics playing as well as they did down the stretch last season. If they can avoid a prolonged run of poor form, then they should plug along and avoid the relegation dogfight for the first time since 2009.

12) Swansea City (+8 places)

The Swans are the team I was the most-wrong about heading into the season. Manager Michael Laudrup uncovered low-cost gems from the Spanish Primera Liga in Michu and Pablo Hernandez. Former winger Scott Sinclair has barely seen the field for Manchester City (who narrowly won 1-0 at home against Swansea two weeks ago) and must be pining somewhat for a return to the simpler life in Wales.

11) West Ham (+2 places)

Sam Allardyce has the Hammers playing well and it's great to have them back in the Premier League. West Ham should have defeated Manchester City (they wound up with a 0-0 draw) and have been playing very well at home. With a fairly talented roster and an experienced coach, the Hammers should be no sweat to finish mid-table.

10) Liverpool (-5 places)

I knew that Brendan Rodgers' new direction would take time to settle in, but I didn't think it would be such a trainwreck at the outset. The Reds were torched 3-0 by West Brom on the opening weekend of the season and have been on a rollercoaster each time out. Liverpool's over-reliance on Luis Suarez to score all their goals (more than half their output) will come back to bite them sooner or later.

9) Fulham (+2 places)
Martin Jol compensated for the loss of Clint Dempsey by signing Manchester United castoff Dimitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian striker has been as classy as ever for Fulham while the rest of the team has stepped up to share the goals. Their aging defense has been creaky of late, allowing eight goals in their last three matches, but this team will finish in the top half of the table.
8) Tottenham (no change)
The Spurs have struggled to cope with the loss of Luka Modric as well as the Thursday-Sunday Europa League-Premier League schedule. The result has been poor form across the board as Tottenham sit 2nd in their Europa League group, were eliminated from the League Cup by Norwich, and have suffered four league defeats. The North London derby on Saturday will go a long way to determining which direction their season is headed in.

7) Newcastle (no change)
The Magpies have been just what I expected them to be; not as fantastic as last season, but still very solid. Newcastle had only been defeated by Chelsea and Manchester United before falling 0-1 at home to West Ham on Sunday, but have also recorded disappointing draws with Villa, Reading, and Sunderland. The firepower of Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse will keep Newcastle plenty competitive throughout the season.

6) West Brom (+3 places)
New manager Steve Clarke has tightened up the shortcomings that plagued the Baggies last season and they have reaped the benefits in a big way. West Brom even had league champions Manchester City on the ropes before falling apart and losing in the final seconds. On their current form, the Baggies could compete for a Europa League place, but I also expect them to come back to earth slightly over the next month.
5) Arsenal (-3 places)
The Gunners started out with an unbeaten run of seven matches in all competitions before hitting the skids following an early-October international break. Arsenal should be able to advance to the knockout stages of the Champions League from their current position, but challenging for the Premier League title seems like a longshot. Arsenal are 11 points behind league-leading Manchester United and four points out of fourth place. The result of the North London derby could be a massive tipping point in their season. The Gunners looked down-and-out last season before overturning a 2-0 deficit against their arch rivals and surging into third place. Gooners everywhere will hope that the same result can take place on Saturday morning, but I'm not optimistic. I think the jig is up for Arsenal's fourth place "trophy". Ironically, while their league form has slumped, the team are favorites to win the League Cup. Could Arsenal end their trophy drought in the same season that they fail to qualify for Europe for the first time under Arsene Wenger?
4) Everton (+2 places)
David Moyes has finally gotten the best from his team starting on matchday one. By avoiding their usual early-season slump, Everton have been near the top of the table from the off. Marouane Fellaini has been a revelation for the Toffees and Nikica Jelavic has kept up his fine form from the second half of last season. Everton worked through a mini-slump of four straight draws by coming from a goal down to beat Sunderland on Saturday. If they can weather a tough schedule to close out 2012, then expect David Moyes' men to be right there in the hunt for a place in the Champions League.

3) Chelsea (+1 place)
The new-look Chelsea attack has settled into place much more quickly than expected. The Blues' only loss in the Premier League was against Manchester United and under extremely controversial circumstances. The defense has been much better than I expected and Juan Mata has made the leap from a very good midfielder to the world-class playmaker Chelsea have been seeking for years. I think the Manchester clubs are still a nose better at this point, but Chelsea are right there in a three-horse title race.
2) Manchester City (-1 place)
Robert Mancini's team does not possess the killer instinct that the displayed last season in winning the Premier League title. The Sky Blues are unbeaten on the season, but have been fortunate to escape defeat several times against inferior opponents. City's poor form in the Champion's League sees them on the brink of elimination after just four matches. Trouble brewing in the dressing room will be enough to overturn the slim margin of victory that City enjoyed last May.
1) Manchester United (+2 places)

The world-beating form of Robin van Persie has taken an otherwise suspect United team and transformed them into a juggernaut. Arsene Wenger might long rue the day he endorsed a check from Sir Alex Ferguson that sold van Persie to his arch rival. The Red Devils have scored 29 goals in 11 Premier League matches and only Everton (on the opening day of the season) have kept a clean sheet against them. Despite a flappy goalkeeper, an aging defense, and a thin midfield corps, Sir Alex Ferguson's gamble on goals has paid off handsomely thus far. They're the team to beat in England.

Finally, here is a recap of my revised Premier League Table prediction. Please discuss your thoughts with me on Twitter @maxhouseholder. Until that day!

1) Manchester United
2) Manchester City
3) Chelsea
4) Everton
5) Arsenal

6) West Bromwich Albion
7) Newcastle United

8) Tottenham Hotspur

9) Fulham

10) Liverpool

11) West Ham United
12) Swansea City
13) Wigan Athletic
14) Norwich City
15) Stoke City
16) Queens Park Rangers

17) Sunderland
18) Southampton

19) Aston Villa

20) Reading