Stroke it up

Evening Gooners.

 It has been a long hiatus from the world of blogging on my beloved AFC due to personal shit that hit the roof. With most of it sorted out i now look forward to getting back to daily blogging with a vengeance, much like Arsenal in last nights game against the Thugs from Stoke Rugby Association.

The game was one which would not stand out in terms of the beautiful football that we are known to play. Instead we were witness to a game which was won because our team spent 95 minutes of their lives grinding out a result which all of them should be proud of. Stand out performances from yesterday came from our very own Jack Wilshere who was absolutely brilliant in the center of the pitch. It amazes me how a boy so young has the kind of ability to read the game, control and dictate terms. Had it not been for the average height of 9 feet that the thugs have in their side, we would've seen some exceptional long balls played by Jack being met by the attack. A tip of the hat to Arshavin as well, the little Russian showed us that he is definitely on the way up when it comes to form. Brilliant play between him and Nasri in stoppage time to keep posession of the ball and had he expected a cross from Nasri we should've sealed the game around the 93rd minute. Our defense yesterday was superb and with each passing game Johan Djourou's stature as a solid CB keeps growing. Who would've expected a bloke who was out of the first for all of last season to come back into the squad and have such an impact. I cant wait for Wenger to finally have a selection headache when it comes to defense once TV5 returns. Imagine having to choose between TV, JD and LK as your first choice defensive pairing. Surely a headache most managers would cut their arms off for !!

Another player who did a lot in the background was our very own Wojecsjddjfdkll Sczeajdhdky (or whatever it is that his name is, i prefer the alias Chesney as made famous by our very own Ladyarse). He, for me is one in the Wilshere mould and made a hell of a difference when it came to defensive organisation in front of the goal. He was loud, shouting out instructions and moving his team mates as would like them placed before Delap plonked one into the box from one corner of the ground into our penalty area. I cant remember the last time my nuts were in the sack where they belong, instead of rolling out on the floor when we played Stoke. I credit this to the brilliant season our keepers Fabianski and Chesney have had and i can truly say our back 4 and the keeper is a department that we need not worry about too much for now.

Wenger speaking at his post match conference gave credit to the team saying

"We did the job in a very professional way. We faced a Stoke team that defended very well, very compact, but we were intelligent, calm, patient and overall I believe that we were resilient as well when Stoke had their strong moments because we didn't give in when they did what they do very well.Tonight was a night when nobody else played [well] and if you can take three points and glide closer to the top, that means that your team is really hungry for success. The number of games we play, not to make a mistake at any stage... we were less sharp creatively but you could feel the team did not want to make a mistake and that's a very positive sign."

So a 1-0 victory over the thugs has now put us a point behind Utd and 7 ahead of Shitty which gives us a good breathing space between us and them, while it piles pressure on Utd to get a result in their next. Considering the nature of fixtures that they have in their next 3 i would bet my mortgage that Utd are bound to drop some points and thats where we need to ensure that we collect all 3 points from now, going on until the time overtake Utd for the pole position. Lets hope our friends the Russians (Chavs) and The Americans (Liverpool) do us a massive favour and turn this title race on its head. We've done you favours in the past havent we, time you paid us back, methinks.

Awful news on the injury front with Walcott having being ruled out for the cup final and fab due for a scan later today. It would be a shame for them as players and for us as well if these two werent part of the team that beats the Brums on Sunday. Massive miss for the team. The injury for Cesc seemed to have him disappointed and distraught when he asked to be taken off. Wenger had to say

" He was very upset, I am as well, but it is not his fault and it is not my fault, it is part of sport. It's strange that it happened early in the game but we have to face it. Theo is disappointed of course."

While El Capitan was busy on twitter speaking like the man who has simply spent too much time dreaming of the day and feels cheated that an injury could keep him away from leading his team to glory in a cup final on Sunday. He said "I dont know if ill make sunday or no, but all i know is that from this moment to sunday 16.30 i wont sleep if its necessary. Ive waited too long to captain a final for arsenal and i wont give up till the last second "

What more can one say about his commitment to the Red and White and to our cause. Folks these are words from a man who lives and breathes Arsenal and see's the injury set back as one which could ruin his dream of lifting our first piece of silverware for Six years and break into the virginity of the Trophy cabinet at the Grove.

Lets hope we have good news coming out of our Colney Medical center and hope that RVP's placenta doctor is no where near El Capitan promising him a miracle recovery.

Thats all from me for today. Promise i'll be updating this often than i should.

Follow me on Twitter @Indigooner if you like what you've read, if not i suggest you develop better taste in what you read ;)

Have a good evening wherever you are.