So an early start with a 5.55 P.M. kick off against the mighty Bate Borisov. Talking about mighty powers, I see the AST have written an open letter to EUFA complaining about the  K.O. time. Well I’m sure EUFA are shaking in their boots as the full force of the Arsenal fans are turned on them. WTF is that all about? Pretentious pricks that they are, anyway, I digress.

After last week’s poor show, this mundane fixture has taken on a life of it’s own. It’s now a huge game and the fallout from a defeat, or a draw which would eliminate us, would be of epic proportions,even for Arsenal fans. I don’t foresee that ever happening though. We beat them 6-0 at home last season with our 2nd eleven, and I suspect we will go full first eleven this time around, so surely a comfortable win is on the cards? Right? I said right?

I don’t think enough was made of the horrible conditions last week. The pitch was horrendous and the temperatures would have seen Polar Bears wearing thermals and an overcoat. With the milder climate in London and the carpet of a pitch, we should have far too much for these lads, even if they do have Hleb.

Aaron and Ozil are both back in full training so will be available to be dropped. I know, I know, I can’t help myself.

One thing I would like to mention, on the official website it says Emery was asked about “Wenger’s comments on Mesut Ozil”, well someone should have said “what comments on Ozil, he didn’t make any ,other than saying he was a £100m player”. I have watched the video 3 times now, and Arsene at no point said Ozil was in a comfort zone or suggested any problem at all. In fact he was at pains to point out that he was not talking about any specific player.

Ok you positive souls, enjoy the game and don’t be too disappointed if we don’t hit double digits.

Mesut Ozil, like any modern footballer, is a regular poster on social media. In the recent past he’s put up photos of him in training, has declared himself fit, has congratulated the team on winning a game he played no part in, been supportive in defeat, and then…He dropped a bombshell! A post so despicable in its cynicism, so patently damaging not just to the team, but also our club’s esteemed values. Like his insensitivity in accepting wages worthy of being the best No10 in the world when the club had no choice, his attempt to blackmail the club by declaring open war on Emery surely suggests that the club need to sort him out. The club can’t back down to this naked display of player power or else it will be anarchy.

He’s got a history of this sort of thing. Instead of knowing his place in the football world, he dared to openly challenge racist attacks on him for taking a photo with a person who is no longer the favourite of the Western world (not that they don’t do business with him, mind) Rather than accept he has to atone and prove his Germanness (Germanity?) again, and apologise for the disruption he caused in the team, he chose to highlight the unfairness, ridiculousness and subtle racism for what it is. But that was Germany, so what do we care.

Of course even with Arsenal he disrespected our legends. Pointing out how they go on national TV and betray the club with their negativity. This sort of unfiltered truth telling does no good to our reputation. The club is now trying to limit the damage by having a love in with media personality and pundit extraordinaire Ian Wright. You can blame Ozil for the fact that we are now subjected to images of Wrighty flying a dragon, or kissing a wall with the badge painted on it. These painfully cynical social media posts are the result of Ozil’s reckless behaviour.

And then we have the football. When it’s clear that we’re having an injury crisis in defense. When our first choice right back, who we don’t know if we’re supposed to like or not because of his pathetically honest views on AFTV but we’ll forgive him for now. Yeah so when this guy we’re ambivalent about gets injured and our whole attack falls apart, what is Mr Ozil doing? He’s not grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck. He’s not even grabbing the coach by the scruff of the neck to tell him to play him. No. Why? Because he’s lazy. He put a gun to the club’s head and forced them to sign a deal at fair market value, and now he’s satisfied with that and no longer feels the need to play.

So instead of accepting that the club no longer panders to his pathetically high ambitions of winning and playing well, and just jumping ship like the honourable players of the past such as RVP, Cesc and Nasri, this player has the gall to post this…this vile.. subversive message to his millions of followers on social media. Ozil has committed blasphemy. He invoked God, and used that to send out the message that he has found his home at Arsenal. Such insurrection against this club cannot be tolerated. You know our club motto which says Victory through self-harming. Or the glorious statement of remember who you are, what you represent, and know your place. No player is bigger than the private corporate club. It won’t help our valuatio…errrr.. values.

Henceforth, only officially sanctioned communications vetted by our esteemed blog commissars will be allowed to be posted by Ozil. By order of King Raul the First.

Shard @ShardGooner

I sat down at 5.55 PM , with my chilli and chips on my knee, are readied myself to watch what was a very strong Arsenal 11 about to play a very poor team from somewhere far off towards the east that hadn’t played a game for two months, I expected an efficient display and perhaps some scintillating stuff, perhaps even a large dose swash and some buckle.

Needless to say what was served up was about as far away from that as can be imagined. The first 10 minutes or so it looked like the mismatch it should have been, the following 84 odd minutes were rather a disappointment, to say the very least.

If you saw the game then there is no point me dissecting it, and if you missed it I will save you the pain.

The worst of it is that I wasn’t at all surprised. We have lost 7 of our last 14 games, and no one could say we have deserved better.

We might have beaten them 6-0 last season on the Emirates carpet? So we should see them off in the second leg. If we go through then I suppose that will be all that matters to many, but to me it does matter. There is something wrong. I will leave at that as this is not the platform for me to open up with a broadside.

Good morning all.

Later this afternoon we play Bate in a far flung freezing land. Perhaps not the most skillful of opponents, but certainly testing conditions. It will be something of a shock if we don’t return to London with three points in the bag.

After the result pulled off by our nearest, but far from dearest, neighbours last night ,against stellar opponents it would be nice if we impressed ourselves. This competition is Mr. Emery’s specialist subject, so there is zero chance of him allowing complacency.

Quite what sort of a team we will go with is beyond my powers of deduction, but I would guess it will be fairly strong. Of course we wont see Ozil or Ramsey, but we are used to that now and after the weekend I think we can be confident that Iwobi and Mkhitaryan won’t let anyone down.

I would expect Papastathopoulos (I had to google that spelling) to get some sort of a run out but whether that means starting is less certain.

This competition is our last hope of silverware this season and although it may be very much a second tier competition, it would be great to win it. Especially as I feel it is also our best hope of Champions League qualification.

So come on Unai and the boys. we are all behind you. Give us a treat.

When Arsene announced he would be stepping down I felt a little sad but mainly relieved. The infighting and media hounding had worn me down, I was glad it was over. However much I thought of him as a man and a manager I felt the time was right.

I thought we had a great squad of players and an outstanding first eleven when fit,  Ozil, Ramsey, King Koss, Santi, Hector, Lacazette, Xhaka, Monreal were all, for me, top quality and some of them exceptional. There were areas that needed to be strengthened and when Leno, Torreira and Papa tipped up it seemed to me we had done just that, and in fairness to them they have improved our strength in their positions, so we should be better.

Ivan was in the driver’s seat, Sven was going to unearth diamonds for us and we had new experts in contracts and negotiations. The future looked very bright,

Emery was appointed and immediately impressed. He said all the right things and his supreme efforts to master English endeared him to us further.

I was fully onboard with him and everything going on, Arsene had gone and we were set to build and improve.

Personally I felt I had supported Arsene to the end, through thick and thin,and I fully expected to carry on and do the same for Emery. At that moment I believed I would be as much behind Emery as I had been behind Wenger.

Here is where the problem starts, because now I don’t. I find myself questioning everything he and the club is doing and has done since the Summer. Quite frankly, I find myself up the moral shit-creek with without a paddle.

I certainly don’t want to be critical, but that’s where I find myself. I am now on the horns of a dilemma, do I feign faux positivity, or do I speak my mind? Do I risk being an enormous hypocrite or am I honest about my current feelings?

I listen to all the reasons why we should be patient,accept the logic of them and yet find myself drawing negative conclusions about the direction the club is going in.

We were told that Emey would build on what we had, not dismantle it and start afresh.

We were told the team would be built around Ramsey and Ozil, this couldn’t have been farther from the truth,

We were told we would play attacking adventurous football. How is that working out?

We were told we would play out from the back and dominate games! Is that right?

Ivan has gone and Sven right behind him. We now have a bunch of strangers running the club. Which is fine, if they had given reasons to think they were on a par with what went before,but they have not. Well, at least to me they have not.

I feel there are many like me that want to be fully supportive and positive but can’t reconcile that with how they actually feel.

Now I find myself making the choice of being a massive hypocrite or being honest. So I’m afraid I have to bite the bullet and accept that I can’t do that which I boldly claimed I would do, namely back every manager through thick and thin.

The next question is where now for this blog? It was set up as an oasis for people wanting to avoid negative people, so I certainly don’t want to be the captain that steers us into those troubled waters. So it’s up to the readers and the people who comment to set the tone. Ultimately you will be the ones in control of the conversation and direction.

I honestly feel I have let people down now. I’m sorry I feel this way and I don’t like it one little bit. Unfortunately that is where I am.

Well we won, 3 points away from home. That keeps our interest in the top 4 for now.

I thought Lacazette played well and Mkhitaryan did well to say he has just missed 10 games. Iwobi was dangerous going forward but very disappointing once he got near the box. Koscielny was also very good and Monreal did little wrong.

Given our long injury list and those that we are told have been struck down with a bug I suppose a win is all that matters!

Or is it?

I mean seriously, is it really?

I’m sorry, but the football was horrid.

Let’s make on bones about it, Huddersfield are rooted at the bottom for a very good reason, they are a very poor PL team. Yet the had more shots. more shots on target and more possession. The only time we looked half decent was when the front three were breaking from our own half, with ball at feet. Our passing and decision making was woeful. I’ve not seen anyone mention it, but I thought Guendouzi had an absolute mare. AMN went from being a danger to them, to a danger to us at times.

Seriously, is a backs against the wall performance against Huddersfield where we are at now? Even taking all the absentees into account? Perhaps it is and I am just a curmudgeon.

The words of Jack Nicholson keep coming to me “what if this is as good as it gets?”

But hey, we won ! Imagine what I would be like if we had played like that and lost?

Good morning people.

You might note that I said “people”,  and I haven’t used the normal “good  morning positive people”.

I revisited the ABOUT US on the site and  immediately felt glum.

“If you are a fan of the club who needs to vent their frustration by denouncing players who are “Notfittoweartheshirt”, or who delights disparaging the efforts of the club’s former or current coaches then the site is probably not for you. If you are an expert in the football transfer market, in sports medicine, in the mechanics of running a £1.5 billion sports business etcetera then it may be that PA is an insufficient platform for that abundance of your accumulated knowledge. There are many other blogs on which you will be much, much more at home.

To enjoy supporting Arsenal is a choice. Choose wisely.”

I have to ask myself , is that still us?

Now here is the problem for me, I have been as responsible as anyone for the current mood. I certainly can’t be casting the first stone. I have somehow allowed myself to compartmentalise the club and take sides. I have sided with players I like against the other parts that I have imagined are against them.

The rule was that once we were in Positively Arsenal, we were free to say as we liked, to who we liked, as long as it wasn’t aggressive. So I am not telling anyone how to behave , think or act, I’m simply reminding everyone , not least myself, what the essence of the site is.

Miraculously we find ourselves in 4th place this morning, and it’s a reminder that there is still plenty to play for and look forward to. Again, I’m not trying to do anything other than remind myself, what the site is for.

I will try harder, I hope you will too, let’s not become that which we once detested.

@LaboGoon says …..

Good day one and all.

Arsenal host Cardiff at the Emirates Stadium in a match that will have huge implications at both ends of the Premier League table; while the Gunners hope to maintain a push for Champion League qualification, the Bluebirds are aiming to move clear of the relegation trapdoor.

When these teams met earlier this season Arsenal won 3-2 in a game, it has to be said, we hung on for large parts as Cardiff threw everything at us trying to at least take a point. I’m not too sure though if that is going to provide the away fans any comforts because the Bluebirds’ form on their travels are nothing to put on a postcard and write home about. From 11 away games they took back to the Welsh capital just 5 points, which compounded by the fact that Arsenal have won 14 of their last 17 home PL matches… can I just say I do hope they enjoy the sights and sounds of London.

Now does that mean I think the match will be cakewalk for the Gunners, not at all but I do think we will find a way to get a result even if we have to drag ourselves over the line – especially considering our home form against teams outside the top-six.

The FA Cup defeat to Manutd in front of the Emirates faithful may have knocked the wind from some of our sails, but Unai Emery always seem to put a team out that gets a result when our backs are up against the wall following a poor result. Anything but will be if the players go in with their heads elsewhere. Thus they need to be focused, not get ahead of themselves and be careful not to be caught out from a counter-attack… again. Let the Emirates crowds’ confidence carry them.

There’s no need for apprehension ahead of the game, Cardiff haven’t exactly been slaying dragons. They have lost each of the seven game against the top-six opposite thus far, conceding 25 goals in the process. In their 11 games on the road they average one goals scored every two games and two goals conceded each game.

Arsenal go in the match a bit thin at the back due to injury. So we might see young Mavropanos selected tonight – be it as a starter or the bench remain to be seen. In the few games we saw of him toward the end of last season it looks as if there’s a good defender in there that can’t wait to pop out. Mesut Özil too may get a rare start if he is part of the plans to outsmart Pep Guardiola’s Mancity team this coming weekend. The team selected tonight may give us an idea on whom will start at the Etihad.

15 PL league games left and one get the feeling each one is ‘must-win’ for the Arsenal.

Tick this one off tonight and we are still at the races for top-four. If not and we are in danger of being overtaken by Manutd and any top-four hopes out of our hands.