Let he who is without sin cast the first stone… The muck raking exploits of the tabloid which made allegations against our manager should be placed where it deserves to be be, in the bin. Our great club is not unusual, we have had scandals from Tony Adams and Ian Wright, to Robin van Persie and Niklas Bendtner, the most important thing for most Gooners, is that what happens off the pitch stays off the pitch. Throughout some pretty horrible headlines, we have supported each other, and not made moral judgements. George Graham apart, we tend to be quite forgiving. I intend to not comment further as Arsene and his family deserve the privacy to sort out their lives, we are all human after all. The media hacks will try to make mischief at the next press conference, so remember, all they want to do is sell their copy and move on, if it means that they destroy football icons or football clubs, what do they care? Ask Wayne Rooney. Today I shall be singing “There’s only one Arsene Wenger” please join me!
So back to footballing matters, the visit of Newcastle United is interesting in that the result that they suffered in the Carling Cup against our second string, is unlikely to be repeated. The presence of Andy Carroll up front from the start will be challenging to say the least. Fabianski should retain the number one spot with Szczesny number two. Clichy who is close to signing a new deal will remain our first choice left back for the rest of the season. The centre back pairing remains the most worrying at the moment. Squillaci is yet to settle completely, and I wish him well. Today should see the return of Koscienly. Sagna should return to right back after Eboue’s shaky tenure of that berth. At least one can see why Arsene make the decisions that he does. Hopefully the return of Cesc Fabregas will bolster our midfield. It will be interesting to see how Arsene juggles the availability of Jack Wilshere and Alex Song and Arshavin.
I would like to see Theo start, with Chamakh, leave Arshavin on the bench, and place Wilshere and Nasri alongside Song and Fabregas. The most important thing with Manchester United getting their streaky win yesterday is to keep pace with them. If Chelsea slip up at Anfield, which seems unlikely at the moment, we must be in a position to capitalise on that. I am fed up of the routine it’s either Man United or Chelsea for the league. Arsenal have finally come of age. Today will lay down a marker prior to our trip on Wednesday night to the cauldron that is Molineux. I shall be making that trip and please, Gooners, stick to the official routes and stewarding as their fans are bit feisty. I shall be wearing my colours proudly as Wolverhampton was the town of my birth. I recall the Wolves legends that my father took me to see as a child. Derek Dougan, Peter Knowles who turned to religion, and of course the lightening fast David Wagstaffe down the left wing. Over the following years, I have kept an eye on that team, but I have never ever possessed an item of “Old Gold” so there will be no conflict of interests, for I am and will remain ARSENAL ‘Til I die…
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