Looking forward

Hamburg is behind us, and it's time to cast our eyes to the weekend. Here's hoping we can capture some of that sparkle we had in Germany and use it on domestic soil. The weekend is fairly shimmering with mounting excitement. Arsenal travel to The Theatre of Stains to take on Fergie and his boys while the Reds from Liverpool make a journey south to tackle Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. I think it's a no-brainer as to which teams I'd like to see emerge on top of the blood-stained bodies of their opponents. The last time ManU(re) went 5 games winning, they went on to a full 10 games with out a loss or a draw. We'd really like to not see that again, because at the moment, ManU(re) are definitely the horse to stop. Of course, everyone wants to see Chelsea slip up. You're the man Liam! Back to Arsenal now; the Gunners make the trip to OT with both TH and RVP listed as doubts. Henry is still struggling with the knock he picked up on international duty, while van Persie gathered some sort of hip problem in the game against Hamburg the other night. Perhaps during his dive? On the otherhand, it appears as though Toure will be included in the squad even though he hobbled off the pitch barely 30 minutes in on Wednesday night. That's good news, because Fergie reckons that stocky little shit, Rooney will come to full maturity in the game and slip 20 goals past Lehmann. Whatever. Climb back inside your wine bottle, SAF, you belong there. That's it for now. I'm done being sick and back at work listening to Pandora's Music Genome. and feel free to send me any White Buffalos you run across.

Champion's League and bits and bobs

Champion's League, phase one of the group stage and Arsenal have found themselves in what appears to be an easy group, on paper anyway. We'll see Hamburg later today followed by FC Porto on the 26th of September (I'm a bit worred about this one) and then the last match of the first round of Group G against CSKA Moscow on October 17th. Then the reverse legs kick in. On paper, the Gunners are the best of the four teams; but the proof is on the pitch, or so they say. It sure could have been worse, though. ManU(re) are playing the Celtics today at Old Trafford in Group F, a group that also includes Benfica and FC Copenhagen. Yeah, I'd have not wanted the Arsenal in that group this year. Nor, I think, would I have wanted Group A which includes both Barcelona (last year's winners) and Chelski. I'll take our Group G opponents thank you very much. It turns out that Henry's injury is actually a foot injury that he picked up in the French international match last week. They doped him up with injections for the M'Borough game, but are choosing to rest him for this first CL match away to Hamburg. That, however, could throw some confidence in the path of a young Theo Walcott or perhaps to newcomer, Baptista both of whom have travelled with the team to Germany. And truthfully, I feel that he will be much more needed Sunday against ManU(re) than he will be today. So, good on you, boss. Right call. In other bits and bobs, it seems that Hoyte thinks he's good enough to replace Ashley. Whatever, Justin. You're deluded. You're not nearly the player that Ashley was and keep talking to the press like this, folks will start comparing you unfavourably to that wanker over at Chelsea. Gallas is a better option in the left-back role. Hell, Flamini is a better option. Give it up, son. I think that's all the important bits today, because frankly no one really cares who threw that pizza at Fergie, so long as it hit the bastard. Still sick, but hanging in there. So, perhaps a beer or a $17 million baby bigfoot is on the tap for me today. Until then, Wastrel On! (Listening to: Zealots by the Fugees)

Three games in...

It's three games into the season for the Arsenal (4 for nearly everyone else) and the boys still have not managed a win. They've not won at home, they've not won away; within the EPL that is. On the European stage, they're doing just fine having slotted Dinamo Zagreb to a 2-1 loss at the Emirates. Yes, just fine on the European front. But, if you can't win the EPL, where does that leave you? I'm positive it's not the announcer's fault. I'm equally positive it's not the length of the grass, although Wenger is just as unhappy about the height & depth of the pitch (so fix it already, it's your damn stadium, correct the issue and move on; this is a no whinging zone). So what is it? The Cole saga? Which, by the way, continues as the wanker serialises his "book" in the Times. The Reyes/Baptista swap-a-roo? The Walcott & Denilson hype? Maybe, the Arsenal just aren't as good as they used to be? Now, as I started this, we are only 3 games in; there are 35 more games to go in the Premiership and we will make up the ground. But, for my money, Mr. Wenger needs to get his team gelling on and off the pitch in ENGLAND. I realize the monetary need for Champion's League football and sure as hell not advocating a slow down of our progress on that stage, but dammit, the boys need to win a game in the Premiership. The game this upcoming weekend against ManU(re) would a great way to do that. That being said, the Arsenal are on their way to Hamburg to take a bite out of that little team in the first leg of this round. They are, however, making the trip sans Henry who picked up a mysterious foot injury in training yesterday. Yikes! Of course, since he's only scored once for us in the EPL and is still looking for his form, maybe the injury and subsequent rest from football duty is a good thing. Furthermore, it would appear that Arsene Wenger is not a fan of Ashley Cole's writing style while Fabulous Fabregas has agreed, verbally, to put pen to paper on a new 8-year contract with the Arsenal. In a radio interview, Cesc said: 'Everything with my new contract is agreed and next week I will sign it. ' That, my good friends, is excellent news for the Gunners. Fabregas will, no doubt, be one of the forces in EPL in a few short years. The boy has already gone from a no-starter, no-name to a star in the Spanish side. That's damned impressive. Right, that's all for now. I'm sick, my head feels like it's a mile wide and i don't believe in 6000 year old dinosaurs. Right. Ohh, and feel free to send killer frisbees my way. Wastrel On. (Listening to: Guilty by Tora Tora)