Much like Mr Sheen, The Gunners have managed to resist hitting the self-destruct button after Sunday's monumental cock-up at Wembley (the footballing equivalent of a cocaine, vodka and hookers marathon, only this one happened live in front of millions of viewers and not in-between filming) and have instead demonstrated to the fans, the opposition and indeed the pundits the difference between this team's maturity and that of last seasons'. Beating Leyton Orient comfortably at the Emirates is the start of our Hollywood fairy story. Next stop, Old Trafford.
Much of the credit of course goes to Gooner Piers Morgan, who set up the surprise interview on CNN with the Two and a Half Men star a few days ago, not to gain network ratings, but to give Wenger an educational tool to teach his young guns a lesson in 'boucebackability'. In fact, I heard that Charlie himself was actually flown to London before the match to hand out Tiger Blood Soda to the players in the dressing room. It worked so well he's decided to market it as Sheenie in a Bottle, with the slogan "This stuff might fuck you up for a while, but it'll get you to where you want to go". I helped him brand it so hands off!
I'm extremely happy with this result for a number of reasons. Firstly, we're through to the next round of an important competition. That's one step closer to the ever eluding piece of silverware we so desperately desire (much like Charlie Sheen's yet-to-be-filmed 8 episodes). We may have to visit the United Scum of Manc Chester and undoubtedly face 12 men, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Second of all, NB52 found the net with three great goals. They weren't under the most pressuring of circumstances, but regardless the man needs momentum (not confidence. A Nicklas Bendtner without confidence is like a crack whore without herpes) to fill the void left by Robin van Persie and he's surely gained that today - a fantastic, pinpointed looping header in the far corner for number one; An Henry-esque side footed curler into the bottom right being number two; And finally a rifling spot-kick to complete his hat trick (his second in an Arsenal shirt). All three were the kind of goals that trophy-winning teams are made of, and I like to see that.
Thirdly, we got to see another British (near enough) youngster in the shape of Conor Henderson make his debut. He made a few bad choices in the 2nd half with his passing but the kid looks promising. Not Jack Wilshere promising of course, but nevertheless still impressive. I'm not sure what Wenger's plans are for him yet, we'll have to wait and see.
We also got to see a much needed tap-in from Marouane Chamakh, Clichy's 2nd ever goal in an Arsenal shirt (and what a goal it was) and another example of why Almunia isn't number one. Yes he made some decent 'catches' but at one point in the game he took a leisurely stroll off to the far right of his box like he had Alzheimer's before realizing he was supposed to be in between the posts (thankfully Orient couldn't capitalise).
Credit has to be given to Leyton Orient for not giving up until the end, even though they probably knew they were out of it at 3-0 down. Very sporting of them.
All in all, a great game, just what the doctor ordered after the weekend. What the doctor DIDN'T order was yet another injury, this time to Tomas 'Rosicknote'. I do hear he should be good for the Nou Camp trip but I would have liked to have seen him face Sunderland at the weekend.
Talking about this weekend, what a match that's going to be huh?! Thanks to Chelsea (no really, thanks) we sit just 4 points behind Alex Ferguson and his overpaid minions, with a game in hand. That means that the ball is firmly in our court - For the first time in a while, we no longer have to depend on other results in order to win the league, we are in TOTAL CONTROL OF OUR OWN DESTINY. If we get the results we want and we beat Man United at home the League will be ours! What a fantastic position to be in! It really puts a smile on my face. I know it's far from written of course. Anything can happen in this league.
The only thing we need to really worry about in the push for the title is injuries and fitness. RvP, Theo and Cesc's injuries are again demonstrating the lack of depth in this squad. Don't get me wrong, I think Denilson and Diaby had good games today but they didn't have great games. I'm not sure if they've got what it takes to really influence or change a match. For example, if Chelsea lose Lampard, Drogba or Essien they have Ramires, Torres or Mikel to step in. If Man United lose Wayne Rooney, there are the likes of Berbatoss, Hernandez or even veteran Michael Owen to call upon. If Gerrard goes AWOL, Liverpool can replace him with Lucas, Meireles, Rodriguez or Joe Cole. They may not hold the key when it comes to inspiration like SG8 but they're still workhorses nevertheless. Hell, even if Sp*rs lose key players like Van der Fart or Defoe, they can call upon a whole list of experienced and eager bench-warmers. In fact, I think that's been the key to Tottenspam's success so far this season. Like it or not as a Gooner, Harry's done a great job of giving his squad real depth.
All in all, a great game, just what the doctor ordered after the weekend. What the doctor DIDN'T order was yet another injury, this time to Tomas 'Rosicknote'. I do hear he should be good for the Nou Camp trip but I would have liked to have seen him face Sunderland at the weekend.
Talking about this weekend, what a match that's going to be huh?! Thanks to Chelsea (no really, thanks) we sit just 4 points behind Alex Ferguson and his overpaid minions, with a game in hand. That means that the ball is firmly in our court - For the first time in a while, we no longer have to depend on other results in order to win the league, we are in TOTAL CONTROL OF OUR OWN DESTINY. If we get the results we want and we beat Man United at home the League will be ours! What a fantastic position to be in! It really puts a smile on my face. I know it's far from written of course. Anything can happen in this league.
The only thing we need to really worry about in the push for the title is injuries and fitness. RvP, Theo and Cesc's injuries are again demonstrating the lack of depth in this squad. Don't get me wrong, I think Denilson and Diaby had good games today but they didn't have great games. I'm not sure if they've got what it takes to really influence or change a match. For example, if Chelsea lose Lampard, Drogba or Essien they have Ramires, Torres or Mikel to step in. If Man United lose Wayne Rooney, there are the likes of Berbatoss, Hernandez or even veteran Michael Owen to call upon. If Gerrard goes AWOL, Liverpool can replace him with Lucas, Meireles, Rodriguez or Joe Cole. They may not hold the key when it comes to inspiration like SG8 but they're still workhorses nevertheless. Hell, even if Sp*rs lose key players like Van der Fart or Defoe, they can call upon a whole list of experienced and eager bench-warmers. In fact, I think that's been the key to Tottenspam's success so far this season. Like it or not as a Gooner, Harry's done a great job of giving his squad real depth.
Coming back to Arsenal, if we lose Fabregas, who do we have? Wilshere is the ideal guy to do the job in the immediate term, but Wenger still likes to keep him anchored in front of the back four alongside Song, which is fair enough because he aced it against Barca. Nasri has vision nearing Cesc-levels but he spends most of his time out on the wings, usually the right. Denilson and Diaby haven't had enough games and Rosicky just can't seem to find form. So we come to Aaron Ramsey, but he's out at Cardiff trying to get back to his best.
The Cesc situation above is just one example, if we look at RvP we have the same problems. Thankfully I'm starting to understand why Bendtner is so cocky - his head isn't actually all the way up his arse like I thought, he's definitely got the talent and the drive. But he doesn't have the same kind of explosive ability that RvP does, or for that matter Chicharito, five-goal Berbatov, Anelka, Peter Crouch etc. I think we need these types of players just to give us that extra firepower to recover from another inevitable injury disaster.
The Cesc situation above is just one example, if we look at RvP we have the same problems. Thankfully I'm starting to understand why Bendtner is so cocky - his head isn't actually all the way up his arse like I thought, he's definitely got the talent and the drive. But he doesn't have the same kind of explosive ability that RvP does, or for that matter Chicharito, five-goal Berbatov, Anelka, Peter Crouch etc. I think we need these types of players just to give us that extra firepower to recover from another inevitable injury disaster.
Oh by the way, in response to Pedro Pinto's blog entry on CNN titled "Is it time for Wenger to change his Philosphy?", I say this: Pedro, you're a nob. You are a 'World Sports Anchor' for CNN. You clearly know very little about 'soccer', but for some reason you have found a way to hate on Arsenal.
Jog.
On.
You.
Muppet.
I don't think Wenger needs to change his philosophy and buy big at all. I think he just needs to add a dash of salt here and a sprinkling of pepper there to give us the full taste. We're so nearly there.
And you know what, he's a fucking clever guy that Wenger. He just announced, as I'm writing this, that Arsenal are now prioritizing the Premier League. And why has he done that all of a sudden, after continually saying that they treat each game as they come? Normally he would just be vague and tell the media that "every game is important". Well, I'll tell you why. I already explained it above - We're in control now. This is the chance to pounce, the chance to turn up the heat. Arsene has timed his comment perfectly, and now he's breathing down Sir Alex's neck to the point where it might actually be considered homo-erotic. Put that in your pipe and smoke it you big bunch of glory-supporting wankers! Ha ha!
Every end has a start, the win against Orient could be ours. Just like Charlie Sheen is doing right now, we're WINNING! Lets keep it that way!
Come On You Gunners!!!
So, to finish on a positive note (I've heard enough already that I'm full of negativity and I'm just a 'big moan'), we got exactly what we needed yesterday after Sunday's shocker, we're well on our way to a trophy or two and we have a manager that knows how to use the media to the team's advantage.
Every end has a start, the win against Orient could be ours. Just like Charlie Sheen is doing right now, we're WINNING! Lets keep it that way!
Come On You Gunners!!!
