Well the news is that Le Gaffer Arsène Wenger OBE is taking the second leg of the Carling Cup a bit more seriously as Wenger has named his team and included the likes of captain William Gallas, Alexander Hleb and top scorer Manu Adebayor for the short trip to that shit tip known as Shite Hart Lane. I'm sure even the most die hard Gooners will agree the kids got completely out played spurs' first team last time round and if Le Gaffer harbours any ambition for the kids to reach another final they will need a bit of a helping hand - not a lot but some. But lets put this in perspective there's no shame in the kids only getting a draw with spurs first team, and whilst keeping that perspective the kids played badly as they ever could, which makes the 1-1 draw that more palatable - not much mind you - but a bit.
I'm getting excited about this game but I must admit a certain part of me is going nuts with anticipation, spurs will beat us one day - I just don't want this to be it, especially with 90 minutes and a couple of goals away from another final. I'm actually surprised spurs supporters aren't saying The Arsenal are cheating by slipping in a few first teamers, oh well you know those mugs are always good for a moan, so I'm sure it's coming.
Anyway - short and sweet write up today. Hope you Gooners enjoy the game and The Kids™ give us all a reason to get 'on it' and text/phone all spurs supporters we have the misfortune to know and claim another bunch of North London bragging rights! C'mon!
Any road up, if you want to know a bit more regarding the possible team line ups and trivia, the folks at the Beeb have done all the stats and that malarkey, so have a butchers to get yourself up to speed. The Tale of the tape: spurs versus The Arsenal - Carling Cup semi-final
Back to our winning ways on the weekend, and not a moment too soon as we travel to the Lane tonight in hopes of dispatching Spurs on our way to Wembley. Not even the most flagrant Gooner optimist would say we put in a solid performance two weeks ago, but there's nothing like a trip to N17 to galvanize The Arsenal.
So it's time to take care of business up the road tonight, and I've got a feeling about this one. Despite the sentiments of other bloggers I was shocked to read two weeks ago who were hoping to lose to Tottenham simply to get the monkey off our back, we grinded out a result thanks to the most fortuitous of goals by Theo. Tonight sees Gallas anchoring the back, likely alongside Gilberto or Hoyte. Djourou is still unavailable, and while I wholeheartedly approved of Fulham's Clint Dempsey giving John Terry a nice kiss with his elbow earlier this season, I was far less enthused when he broke Big Phil's big schnoz on Saturday, rendering the big Swiss useless for this evening. Wenger also hinted of Messrs. Fabregas, Rosicky and Da Silva being made available from the bench. As much as Wenger is a developer of talent, he is above all a winner and will not want to arrive unprepared should things turn south on the pitch. But with Eboue gone and most of the first team rested, I'll be curious to see who he picks in midfield. I wouldn't be surprised to see Randall out there, for one.
Saturday's fixture at Fulham was just what we needed—a return to our winning ways, and doing so seemingly with some reserve in the tank. Though it's odd enough that we score our first two goals on headers—from outstanding crosses, no less—the fact that one came from Clichy was inspiring. I'd just about given up on his crossing ability and he goes and floats in the prettiest from him I've ever seen. Secondly, Flamini's challenge to send the ball Hleb's way in the buildup to our second summed up everything I love about this guy. And for our third near the end, was I the only one who got Pires flashbacks after seeing Rosicky flying into the box late to put it into the back of the net? On top of all this, Eduardo looked tip top, and Hleb on the ball is simply mesmerizing. Let's hope for some memorable derby moments in our favor tonight.
Now, in honor of both our trip north this evening and Spurs' laughable pre-season ambitions, here's my Top Four White Heart Lane moments of this season:
(4) Villa supporters singing "Happy Birthday" after going 4-1 up on Tottenham's anniversary — an occasion for which the Spuds inexplicably donned Blackburn-looking shirts
(3) Adebayor's powerful header past a Paul Robinson trapped in no man's land.
(2) Cesc's go-ahead laser strike in the same match.
(1) Just for posterity, Adebayor's turn-and-volley to put the game out of reach and ensure more Tottenham tears.
Wembley awaits … come on you Gunners!!!
By Adam Elder
Latest news today
'Ze German mentalist' Jens Lehmann: He's staying. End of.
Verdict: The grumpy old man is going nowhere, he's here to terrorise our defence and strikers alike
Nada:
Doesn't look like anyone will be joining up at this rate.
| In (yeah really) | ||
| Player | From/To | Readies |
| Out | ||
| Lassana Diarra | Portsmouth FC | £5.5m (apparently) |
| Matt Connolly | Queens Park Rangers | £1m (apparently) |
| Vincent van den Berg | Go Ahead Eagles | Loan |
| Fran Merida | Real Sociedad | Loan |
Here's your chance to start the new year with some brand new clobber, which is nice. Allgoonerdup is once again running a win a t-shirt competition and the chance to win this fab Cesc Fabregas t-shirt. Available in different colours.
To have a chance to win this Arsenal inspired number and get picked out the magic hat just tell us who The Arsenal got the Spanish midfield general from?
Send your answers, name and postal address plus your choice of t-shirt, colour and size to:
iwannafreebie@allgoonerdup.com
Competition closes Monday 4 February.
Good luck Gooners.
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Got something to rant about? Want to see what the discussion of the day is? Well jump on board The Allgoonerdup Forum and register if you haven't done so already and have your shout about Arsenal and general football topics.
He came in a glare of publicity and was mooted as being the 'next big thing' being compared (if slightly unfairly) to the likes of Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney - whoever the boy Walcott hasn't quite lived up to his big match billing, even by the managers own admission. So what do we reckon, The Boy turns 19 in two months time - will he become an Arsenal leg-end or a Frannie Jeffers?
Topic of the day - Theo Walcott
Double top: Did you realise that The Arsenal have double the points of our neighbours (not 'rivals') spurs - well you do now. Top four team my arse... Almunia for England? The Spanish aluminum topped stopper is still banging on about swapping countries. Almunia has once again said he would fancy the chance of playing for England. Not sure about you boys but I prefer Almunia not to be playing international football, at least there's less chance of him being injured of following in the famous footsteps of England's clown school for goalies headed up by Paul 'Fatty Arbuckle' Robinson and Scott Carson...That's your lot, we out of here, au reviour mon amis...
We are Arsenal.
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