We gave as good as we got against Manchester United

The press are having a field day. Arsene Wenger 'has' labelled Manchester United anti-football. Now I don't for a second agree with that and I certainly do not believe that Wenger is having a direct pop at United. His frustration is more than likely being aimed at the referee and I make him right.

United fouled Arsenal plenty of times in the match and that is something I expected to happen anyway. It is a fierce match. But to be honest I reckon Arsenal gave United as good as they got. We wasn't bullied off the park, in fact we more than held our own. I think the main problem was the inconsistency of the ref, Mike Dean.

That game on Saturday needed a strong ref and lets be honest here, Mike Dean isn't a strong ref. In fact he is a pretty shit ref. More shit than shite itself. And I'm surprised to be honest that he didn't lean towards Arsenal. He is from Wirral and apparently is a Liverpool fan!

Perhaps all the shenanigans of the press calling Arsenal cheats was playing on his mind and subconsciously he felt that he needed to back that up by booking more Arsenal players than necessary. I'm not being biased here but if Arsenal deserved having six players booked then so did United. In fact, Darren Fletcher could have been booked more than those six players all together!

Football is a physical game but ref's need to be consistent with their whistle blowing antics. They can't book one player for something and then not book another for the same thing. I saw plenty of incidents on Saturday where United were given the decision and Arsenal wasn't. It's hard to stomach but ref's always lean towards the home side. Especially if its United.

Despite the defeat I was impressed by Arsenal. We dominated for large periods of the game at the champions home and that is no mean feat. I always felt that to beat United you have to go at them. We did that and were unlucky not to win.

I don't want to put the entire blame of the defeat of the ref's shoulders but he did contribute to it. I'd still argue now that Rooney dived for that penalty but if it happened at the other end would the ref have been strong enough to give it? The answer is obviously no because Arshavin was a denied a clear cut penalty and he didn't certainly didn't dive.

There is no doubt about it that this campaign is going to be be exciting one. It's shaping up to be a difficult season and I honestly believe, from what I've seen so far, that Arsenal can mix it up and challenge for the title this season. Some believe that we need to sign a couple more players and I would like that to happen. It adds more depth.

It's a shame we wasn't playing Manchester City this week. I really feel that we would batter them despite their good form. The players would be eager to shake this defeat out of their systems and what better way is there than to get back on the pitch together and do that? Instead we have internationals and to be honest I probably won't even watch. Fingers crossed we don't get any injuries!

Keep it Goonerish.............

An e-mail from a Celtic fan

Hi

Wrighty

Had a great time in London and a great pleasure to visit Arsenal one of the great teams in europe , You have to believe we have some real clowns in our support and do not tar us all with the same brush.

Before the first leg it was all about keeping the score down for us I am afraid , But it was a great experience to be in the new stadium and to mix with the Arsenal fans who treated us with great dignity.

I hope UEFA do not find Eduardo guilty as the Celtic centre forward would have done the same thing in the same situation , I wish Arsenal all the best for the season and hope it is your year in the EPL and in Europe.

My Club Celtic are playing in a very poor SPL and this was reflected in the scoreline and as for the fans who wanted Eduardo's leg broken they are just low life who just mar the good name of Celtic FC.

Good Luck

That was an e-mail from a Celtic fan.

I know that all Celtic fans are not like that. In fact, it's not just Celtic, every club has fans like it. Even Arsenal.

A friend of mine went to the game and he said that Celtic fans were awesome, in the stadium and out. That's the opinion I have of Celtic fans too. I've always liked Celtic.

Maybe I was being over-sensitive? I just think that all the attention on Eduardo is unfair. OK, he did go down very easily and I completely understand Celtic's frustrations but I do feel he is being unfairly treated here. Especially when Rooney, Gerrard and Owen do it all the time!

I'm glad he enjoyed his visit. I would love to have gone to Celtic Park because I know that its one of the best atmospheres in the world.

I wouldn't tar all Celtic fans with the same brush. I know for a fact that Celtic are a decent club with decent fans.

This e-mail proves that as does most of the experiences I've had with Celtic fans in the past.

I say thanks for wishing us well. That shows true class. I too hope Celtic do well and hopefully we'll meet again in the near future and the circumstances will be different.

Keep it Goonerish..........

If Eduardo is treated with suspicion today then Rooney and Owen should be too!

I'm really worried about Eduardo today. It's not the booing and jeering that he will undoubtedly face. Its the referee.

Of course you can say that Eduardo has brought it upon himself to be viewed with suspicion when he is challenged in the area but I hope that Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen are too.

I don't deny that Eduardo went down easily the other night. It was a little embarrassing in fact. But the facts are Eduardo is being targeted very harshly by the media and fans alike.

I don't remember Michael Owen being targeted like this for winning England a penalty against Argentina. I don't remember Wayne Rooney being targeted like this for diving against us in 2004 to win a penalty. But its OK. They are English.

I'd even go as far as saying Rooney and Owen have been involved in far more diving incidents than Eduardo but you'd think that Eduardo was the first to dive in the entire history of the sport.

It's smacks of hypocrisy to me. I can't believe that Eduardo is being singled out like this.

Diving is part and parcel of the game these days. I don't like it but that is fact. The problem is that UEFA cannot just single out Eduardo. Where is the fairness in that?

If Eduardo is punished and players like Rooney, Owen and Gerrard aren't then is that fair? If Eduardo and Rooney, Owen and Gerrard are too then I have no complaints.

UEFA are going to cause a huge problem for themselves if they ban Eduardo. It will open a huge can of worms and I hope they are ready for the huge workload they will get with cases like this in the future.

I have no doubt that if Rooney and Eduardo are involved in similar incidents today's then Rooney will get the benefit of the doubt. Is that right?

I really hope that the ref is strong and treats the Eduardo the same as he would Rooney or Owen. I doubt he will be though.

Keep it Goonerish.................

"Break his f**ing legs!" I hope that is not the attitude of all Celtic fan(atics)s!

For those concerned of my recent whereabouts don't worry, I'm back. There was nothing mysterious about my disappearance. I wasn't kidnapped or tortured although you could say being on holiday with the missus for a fortnight is like being kidnapped or tortured!

Anyway I'm fresh, revitalised and peeling more than a ripe banana. Am I glad to back? Hell no! I love Lanzarote and having been there more times than I can remember I can honestly say I hardly remember any Arsenal defeats in my time spent there. Ever.

Maybe the Sex on the Beach (cocktail, for the filthy minded!) has helped blot out any defeats but I have to say how good have Arsenal been so far this campaign? Fucking excellent in my book. Written off by everyone, slammed by everyone, we are going a long way to shutting those dimbalo's up.

Of course I'm not getting carried away. This is a marathon not a sprint but I'm just happy we have started with a sprint and not the "Oh, we'll just catch up later in the season, oh it's too late" attitude of last season. We have started well and the players seem more up for this campaign than any I've seen in recent seasons.

A big holler has to go to William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen. Readers of this blog will know that I love big Will like a brother. He has started this season like a man possessed more than that eerie little girl from the film Exorcist. I spoke of being fresh and revitalised I reckon Gallas went to Lanzarote too. His partnership with Vermaelen, who has fitted in as good as Sagna did, is blossoming into a beautiful defensive flower.

Obviously being in Lanzarote I watched the Arsenal-Celtic games there. I have to say the massive hoo-haa over Eduardo is fast becoming a vicious son of a bitch. I admit, he went down easier than Jordan aka Katie Price but the way some Celtic fans are acting you would thought that the penalty was the only difference between the sides.

They seem to forget that they were outplayed and outclassed over 180 minutes. I have to say I was disgusted by some of the Celtic fans sitting near me. I know that football is an emotional game and it can leave you as high as a kite or as low as Flo-Rida but the shouts that followed Arsenal's opener sickened me slightly.

"Break that cheating cunts legs again" was a mild put-down that Eduardo received when he appeared on the big screen. I couldn't stomach it really. Despite the fact there were children around it didn't stop them. We were in a family bar too. I decided to point out that their very own favourite son, Henrik Larsson, suffered a similar injury in the past. Did the trick for about 5 minutes.

They left because I told them that Arshavin hadn't even warmed up yet but still scored after about 90 seconds of coming on. They mumbled something about what Manchester United, a proper team, would do to Arsenal this Saturday. They sounded like bitter Spuds!

I've never met such bad losers! Honestly they embarrassed themselves. I always thought that Celtic fans conducted themselves better. I can understand why they were angry, I would be too but to act in such a manner? They were so bad one of their mates who stayed behind when they left actually apologised for them and bought me a beer. He happened to be a top bloke. I don't want to tar all Celtic fans like these idiots, and I know all clubs have them, but it pissed me off.

Keep it Goonerish..............

Why aren't Liverpool dug out as much as Arsenal?

Let me start by saying I don't want anyone, Gooner or Liverpudian, to take this as a dig at Liverpool Football Club. I'm merely using them as an example.

In fact, if Arsenal don't win the Premiership title then I hope Liverpool do. I think there is an affinity between Arsenal and Liverpool supporters. We respect each other and have a bond, especially over the Ray Kennedy fund.

I didn't want to write this, because of my respect for Liverpool, but I felt I had too.

All summer long I've heard that Arsenal are on the wane and are the side most likely to be replaced in the so-called top four. I keep hearing that 2005 was the last time we won anything and that barren run is probably going to continue. This comes from the so-called experts of the media. I hate the media.

The media, more than a senile tape recorder, repeat the fact that the last time Arsenal won anything (2005) the dinosaurs were still in town. Sure, it feels that long ago but I never hear that the last time Liverpool won anything (2006) was in fact only a year later when cavemen took over the planet.

Not a major difference? So why is it that we only hear of Arsenal's trophy-less run?

Last summer it went into overdrive, this year it's even worse! We are being written off more than my old Fiesta and I can't deny it frustrates me. Badly.

If the last time Arsenal won the league was in 1990 I'm sure the media would be wanking. Why is that Arsenal are dug out? It is xenophobia? If that is the case then I'd say the media were hypocrites. They cream their knickers when watching Arsenal at full flight but can't wait to stick the knife in about the amount of foreign players we have.

As I've said, last summer we were dug out more than a fossil would be. It would have been three years since our last trophy. Liverpool are at that stage now but has it actually been mentioned? I'll eat my own pants if it has!

Now let me apologise for using Liverpool as an example. I really hope they have a great season. Of course not at the expense of Arsenal! As I've said if Arsenal don't win the league, I hope Liverpool do.

But this is a perfect of example of the media using Arsenal to get headlines and it pisses me right off. I hope we smash the fucking league and that Arsene Wenger sticks his fingers up the hypocritical wankers.

Keep it Goonerish..............

Is Champions League football really a prize?

I read Peter Hill-Woods interview and while I agree with the notion in the ocean that we both hope Arsene Wenger remains at Arsenal for a long time I couldn't agree with the fact that qualifying for the Champions League is a prize.

It makes me proud that Arsene Wenger has achieved getting us there every season. It is quite remarkable but despite it being a financial necessity for the club it isn't a trophy is it?

It made me wonder what my fellow Gooners thought. I'm going to ask a question;

Would you accept a 5th place finish and a trophy? OR would you accept Champions League football, without a trophy?

Personally I'm torn on that question itself but I'm actually confident that we will win the league this season anyway!

What about you?

Keep it Goonerish.....................

Stuttgart, Fiorentina, Atletico Madrid, Celtic, Anderlecht, Timisoura, Dinamo Moscow stand in the way

Fancy a trip to Germany? How about Italy? Spain is pretty nice this time of year!

Either Stuttgart, Fiorentina, Atletico Madrid, Celtic, Anderlecht, Timisoura, or Dinamo Moscow stand in the way of our progression to the Champions League pwoper (as Danny Dyer or Jonathon Ross would say).

There are some big names there but at the end of the day I'm sure the team that most of those clubs would want to avoid drawing is Arsenal.

Like Luke Skywalker on our day I believe that we are a true force in Europe. We can compete with the best and while there is always a concern at this stage in the Champions League about who you get I believe we have enough about us to beat any of those sides.

All this qualifying lark for the group stage is becoming a rather familiar sight for us Gooners but I'm confident that sooner rather than later we will qualify as champions rather than going this potential banana skin route we seem to take!

Keep it Goonerish.............

I don't want Emmanuel Eboué to leave!

I expect to receive a bit of stick for writing this but I don't mind!

There are rumours that Emmanuel Eboué is to follow his African buddies Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor out of the Emirates door and I'm sure that there will be many Gooners who won't be losing any sleep over this.

I'm not one of those Gooners.

Sure he can be infuriating with his diving and antics but he is working hard on stamping this out of his game. To be fair to Eboue these antics that piss people off should have frowned upon from the beginning by the coaching staff at Arsenal.

Of course Eboue should take the majority of the blame for this part of his game but had it been eradicated when he first arrived at the club I have no doubt that he would be a fans favourite.

Since he was booed last season I think we have seen that Eboue wants to get his act together and I believe he has done a great job since.

There is nothing wrong with his ability, he is a fine athlete and he is supposedly one of the dressing room favourites so he has more than the basics to become a great player.

If he remains at the club and continues to work hard then I see no reason why he cannot build bridges with Gooners. Especially if he plays with a smile on his face.

Of course I can understand why Gooners booed him but I don't condone it. I thought it was wrong and if people wasn't saddened by the look on his face then they aren't human.

Eboue past antics haven't helped him but I believe that himself and Bendtner have been made scapegoats in the past due to many Arsenal fans frustrations at not winning things. This is wrong. Its not entirely their faults!

In the past Eboue has been an asset to Wenger and Arsenal. Remember the Champions League run-in a few years back? I can see no reason why this shouldn't be the case again.

I don't want Eboue to leave because I reckon he has a lot to offer the club still. He is a versatile player and that versatility is crucial to any squad.

I'm not saying he is a world-beater but he could become an important player. Maybe a pass-master!

Keep it Goonerish...........

I reckon the next Arsenal manager should be a former Arsene Wenger player. Vieiraball anyone?

Despite the fact I'm struggling to see at the moment due to the copious amounts of free booze I consumed at a wedding yesterday I read with interest about the 'Shock Vieira deal twist' story on News Now.

It got me thinking. And believe me thinking hurts me at the best of times. Today the pain is excruciating so bare with me!

If the story had some substance and Patrick Vieira did come back to us eventually becoming the next manager of Arsenal I would be happy. I would be as happy as Wayne Rooney would be in an over 65's knocking shop.

We have become accustomed to a certain type of football style under Arsene Wenger. Wengerball. I think a former player such as Vieira would continue that kind of football. In fact I wouldn't mind seeing Vieiraball.

The story goes that Wenger would move upstairs and oversee Vieira's steps into management. People might suggest that would be a problem for any manager because of Wenger's shadow at the club but I think it would be okay. Especially for Vieira. It would help him.

There will be a day that Wenger calls it quits and I'd argue that the next manager of Arsenal has the second biggest job in the world to fill. Alex Ferguson's successor being the first.

Fortunately for the next Arsenal manager the set-up and the financial future for the club seems pretty secure and a big part of that is down to Wenger. Fergie doesn't seem intent on creating this at Manchester United. I think Wenger deserves some credit for this.

Putting more thought into it I think it is essential that the next gaffer at the club is an Arsenal man. I heard people suggest Tony Adams but I hope he isn't touched with a barge pole. I love him and he is a true legend at the club but I don't think he is cut out to be a manager.

I much rather a Vieira or Bergkamp come in and do the job. Perhaps Vieira, Bergkamp and Keown could form a team? Vieira as manager, Keown as number 2 and Bergkamp as a coach?

I reckon that Vieira would be an excellent choice and in my opinion whoever eventually gets the hot-seat has to be a former player who has played for Arsene Wenger and is an Arsenal man.

There are many candidates!

Keep it Goonerish.................