Many of the Arsenal players are traveling for their international duty this weekend. However, when the original call-up lists were announced, we had Nasri, Denilson, Almunia, Bischoff, and Silvestre in our senior squad all staying at home.

Now the list is even larger with the addition of William Gallas (France). Unlike the rest, however, he has a thigh problem and hopefully he won't be out too long (although I know that some of you Arsenal fans reading this, based on his recent performances, will be extremely happy if either Djourou or Song replace him). He left the French squad and was replaced by a Lyon defender.

Our other newly injured man is van Persie. Hopefully that's not too shocking for you. He is not going to be risked for Holland's next game against Iceland but he may still possibly play when the Dutch traveled to Norway.

Also, Adebayor is returning to international duty after being internationally retired for, what, a gameless week maybe? Strange story but best of luck to Ade in his World Cup qualification hopes with Togo.

Expect more international coverage this weekend.

Elsewhere, Barcelona's sporting director Txiki Beguiristain commented on Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman failed to fit into the side since joining the club. He said:

He has not looked convincing and at times does not look like he fits into the team. Thierry arrived at a difficult time. He was having personal problems and the club was in crisis. He has to become a more central part of the team and we are beginning to see that happening. In each game he is having more of an impact and the coach [Pep Guardiola] is pleased with him."

I wonder if he will be offered to Manchester City in the January transfer window. It would be bizarre to see him back, but not in the Arsenal shirt.

Finally, it seems Gallas followed Van Persie in the injury nightmare we seem to always witness during the International break. Apparently, he was forced out of France's squad to face Romania in their World Cup qualifier this weekend because of a small tear to his right thigh. Now although I wouldn't miss Van Persie if he fails to make it for the match against Everton - as that would mean the change upfront I've been calling so loudly - I would not like the idea of not having Gallas back there. Sure, I also blasted the backline, but unfortunately, Silvestre is yet to feature and I have a feeling Djourou would feel the pressure considering the moment we're in.

Seriously, who would you replace Gallas with?

Elsewhere, William Gallas admits how his form has been "disappointing" in these last couple of months. He told L'Equipe:

I can say we have not seen the Gallas from 2006 this term so far. In a few matches, I have not been so good. With the French team in Sweden and Austria, I was not very good at some moments.

I would close my eyes if I would say I am strong. That would mean I don't recognise I did have a few bad performances, as recently with my club against Hull City. Maybe I feel a little tried.

Do I experience the most difficult period since I joined Arsenal? We could say yes. Above all I miss consistency. One match is good, the other one is not so good. However, I am doing everything to get to my best again.

Finally, on Rosicky, Wenger told the club's official website:

I monitor his progress very closely but at the moment it is very difficult to put a date on his comeback. We are not pessimistic about the future of his career but we still need more patience. If he comes back before Christmas we have done very well. I think we can achieve that. In December he can play again.

As always, such comments should be taken with a pinch of salt but as I said before, it would be a huge boost - during the final part of the season - to have Tomas back and fit.

All the expectations and pressure were on Arsenal today, with Sunderland absolutely happy to walk away with a draw.  Arsene Wenger picked a strange 4-2-3-1 formation for the confrontation today with the following formation:

------Almunia-------

Sagna    Toure   Gallas    Clichy

------ Song   Denilson-----

Walcott  Fabregas  vanPersie

-------Adebayor------

Subs: Bendtner (65th minute), Nasri (74), Vela (86)

Arsenal had gotten the lead from a van Persie goal around the hour mark and---wait, what?  Theo Walcott had supposedly dribbled out of play when he passed to the Flying Dutchman but replays suggested that he didn't and that our goal should have been kept.  But the idi--sorry, I'll try not to get too mad on this blog and try to keep my temper but, yeah, I was furious.  We should have been 1-0 up.

However, that gave Sunderland the chance to take the lead and they took it right near the end.  Me and I'm sure many other Arsenal supporters thought that this would be our doom and our 3rd defeat in 7 matches would surely spell our doom.  Sunderland substitute Grant Leadbitter scored from a magnificent long range shot and it looked as if Sunderland had caused a surprise upset.

But Arsenal had other ideas.  With about a minute remaining of stoppage time, van Persie's 94th minute corner was headed into the back of the net by none other than Cesc Fabregas.  He saved us from a very embarrassing loss and a lot of pressure on Wenger.

We should have won 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, or maybe something else completely but we have to settle for what we've got.  Our title challenge is still on and van Persie, Walcott, and Adebayor's fine form will hopefully continue after the international break.

Watch both goals here. Good quality, too.

PLAYER RATINGS

ALMUNIA: 7.5--I thought he did very well in goal and, say, if the match ended in the first half, he would have been man of the match.  He made some good saves in the first half and didn't have much to do in the 2nd until that wonder goal that even he could not prevent.  I only remember one bad delivery from him which almost costed us a goal early on but he was solid throughout.

SAGNA: 7--He did well defensively and pushed forward well.  His final balls going forward could have been slightly better but a very good performance nonetheless.

TOURE: 7--He prevented us from a goal early on with a ver, very good tackle in our penalty box.  His performance was impressive but he was under the pressure he has been of as of late and therefore did nothing else spectacular or noteworthy.

GALLAS: 6.5--He was in control at the back and rarely bothered there but he never can stick out as much as Toure, can he?

CLICHY: 6.5--His worst match yet this season.  He was good going forward like usual but strangely made a carelessly bad tackle and deserve the yellow card.  He also made a few mistakes and struggled to use his pace to his normal effect this time.

SONG: 7--He was very solid as defensive midfielder and an attacking threat, too.  He gave away some balls, though.

DENILSON: 5.5--Denilson was not very good throughout the match.  He helped the defense well but he gave away way too many balls and was not nearly as good as Song or Fabregas in the center.  Almost no positive impression by him whatsoever.

FABREGAS: 7--He showed glimpse of his astounding ability such as when he scored the equalizer but was for the most part, not as good as last season.

WALCOTT: 5--What happened, Theo?  Not his usual self going forward, bad balls, and a horrible back pass that was surely a goal if not for the amazing Almunia.  Ugh.  If he was always like this, he'd be pathetic and not even good enough for the Premiership or Championship.

VAN PERSIE: 8--Best Arsenal player by far.  Got an assist, a goal, and almost got gave us some more goals.  All from an attacking left winger position.  He's been our stand out player since the start of September and deserved the Arsenal 4 The Win Man of the Match Award.

ADEBAYOR: 6.5--Isolated out front and since he was the only striker, most balls were directed his way and the Sunderland defense came an marked him well.

SUBS: Bendtner--6.5, Vela--7, Nasri--7

ARSENAL 4 THE WIN MAN OF THE MATCH: van Persie

Chelsea though face an injury crisis before the tie agaisnt their so called bogie team Aston Villa. Nikolas anelka who already has 10 assists this season and was in a good goalscoring form now was supposed to lead the attack in the abscence of Didier Drogba who is out due to a Knee damage in the midweek Champions league match against FC Cluj. Looks like Kalou will lead the attack with teenage wonderkid Franco di santo getting a chance on the bench. Lets not forget that chelsea also has the promising English youngster Scott Sinclair in their ranks too. Apart from Anelka and Drogba absent in Scolari's squad, Deco, Ricardo Carvalho and Michael Essien are also out and four other first-team players are carrying knocks.

Liverpool will have a good chance to take a lead in the race of the big 4 but will have to cross the hurdle of defeating Manchester City to do so. Man city have been in a very incosistent form since the arrival of the brazilian superstar Robinho.

Arsenal face Sunderland whose performance agaisnt the big four has been horrid to say the least. But Roy Keane has invested in a lot of good quality players this summer at Sunderland and they can be the surprise club this season.But Arsenal have plenty to prove following their loss to hull city last weekend. Nasri will come in and eboue will make way for the youngster on the left. Walcott should play on the right and keep up his good run of form. Adebayor and Van Persie will continue their great partnership up front for Arsenal with Fabregas leading the centre of Midfield..

Manchester United visit Ewood park to face a Blackburn Rovers side that has failed only thrice to score against Man united at home. Man united too have gone 29 games without scoring but will be without Rooney and Niville who are both carrying knocks. Scoring should not be problem still for United with a side boasting the likes of Ronaldo, Berbatov and Tevez. I want to see Ronaldo return to his free scoring form like last season and ManU to become the indomitable team that it looked like last season.

We might have to wait to see how the big 4 clubs of Barclays premier league fair this weekend. But looks like none of them will have a straight forward and easy victory. But the ones that really show the effort on the field will not be denied fruits is what i feel. Hope we have a great weekend of football ahead of us..Enjoy it..I know i will...

The two have started together upfront 6 times this season (it would have been 7 but Van Persie started on the left against Kiev) and between the pair have scored 11 goals. True, the figures are slightly exaggerated by their exploits against Blackburn, Newcastle and Porto but so far it is an encouraging statistic.

New Henry and Bergkamp?

On paper the partnership looks lethal. One is tall, pacy, hard working and likes to play behind the defence; the other prefers to drop deeper, skilful and has a powerful shot. However they've been criticised in recent times. Van Persie said not to be doing enough in terms of link up and Adebayor is too selfish and keeps on wasting good chances.

Against Blackburn we saw a masterclass of movement from the two, both alternating dropping deep or staying higher up. The movement was not only limited to up and down, by moving left and right also the two opened up holes and dragged the defenders out of position. Arsenal fans can hope they will see more of this performance rather than the one against Hull City as they seem to compliment each other well.

The two can get better and work on their games individually and as a partnership. Adebayor said:

“We have a great partnership. In our heads we have the same ambition, which is to help this team win something. He's here for that, I'm here for that, so I think we can do something great. We're trying to create a relationship and I think [against Porto] we have shown quite well that we can do something together. Everyone is pleased.

“Of course, there is more to come. He's just back [from injury] and we've only had five or six games together. Hopefully, as we go game to game, we will get to know each other better and learn how each other plays better. If Robin is fit for the whole season, we have a chance to do something special, that's for sure.”

And what about off the pitch?

“Yes, we are quite good friends, he's a good guy - not like my best friend ever, but sometimes we go to restaurants together. He has a contract with the same sponsor as me, so sometimes we do the publicity for them together. Three days ago we did an advert together, which was good fun.

“As players, we talk about how we are going to find a solution. You always have to discuss what you have done well and what you have done badly. Those are the things that we will start on to see how we can improve for Saturday's game against Sunderland."

Arsenal took on FC Porto the other night and won with style as the Gunners slammed four goals past the visitors.  Despite a shaky first 20 minutes, Arsenal took the lead in the 32nd minute and never looked back.  The scoreline could've reached Slavia Prague proportions if not for some profligate finishing. Here are Arsenal Station's player ratings:

Almunia: 7.5 Not too much to do from Almunia but there when called upon.  He made a fantastic save in the first half to prevent Porto from taking the early lead which could've led to a very different result.

Sagna: 7.5 Solid as usual for Bakary.  He was tidy in defense, made some good tackles and recovered well when beat.  He was again a vital part of the Arsenal attack as he got forward and provided crosses and link up with the other attacking players.

Toure: 6.5 Decent game from Kolo.  Really ought to have done better on Porto's first chance when Toure's loose marking left Cristian Rodriguez in the middle open for a diving header.

Gallas: 6.5 Nothing much to say about Gallas other than, again, like Toure, he looked as shaky as ever on set-pieces.  I don't know what the manager has to do to get our two center-backs to defend properly but whatever it is I hope he figures it out quickly.

Clichy: 8 Great game from Clichy.  Linked up well down the left and got forward often.  He was there in defense when called upon and as always was Arsenal's Mr. Consistent.

Walcott: 8.5 Theo caused trouble for Porto all night long and grabbed an assist on van Persie's second goal.  Theo has shown that even when he doesn't get on the scoresheet he contributes a lot to this team.  His close control and lightning quick pace are conmstantly an asset on the pitch.  While he always looked dangerous against Porto, on a few occasions his decision making seemed lacking.  I am sure this will however get better with time.

Fabregas: 9 Great game from Cesc.  The best so far this season.  He hustled in defense and utterly dominated the midfield.  I hope this is a sign of what is to come from our true leader as he still looks to get completely back on track after a long summer.

Denilson: 7 Going forward has never been Denilson's issue.  Rather it has been his ability to fulfill the defensive part of his midfield roll.  I remain unconvinced.  He hardly shields the back and I cannot remember the last time I saw him put in a decent challenge.  The kid has skill surely and in the attacking half he is a great asset but when the opposition get the ball the young Brazilian seems to go missing.  Perhaps it is time for Alex Song to get a proper run out.

Nasri: 7.5 A solid return performance from Samir.  It was quite clear he had been out for a bit and a game like this with a solid 60 minutes will go a long ways towards improving his match fitness.  Other than that, he seemed to hook up well with Clichy and showed good skill on the ball.  His passing was a bit off but he did again show his willingness to shoot and get inside the box, something this Arsenal team could always do with more of.

van Persie: 9 Fantastic game after a woeful performance on Saturday.  The Dutchman still seems to be getting to full fitness and this game surely silenced some who said he should lose his place in the line up.  Some great bits of skill, terrific vision and clinical finishing capped off a great night in Europe for Robin.

Adebayor: 8.5 Good game from Ade who scored two and set up another quite nicely.  He generally caused problems for the Porto defense but his finishing could still use some work.  For a player who gets as many chances as he does it would be nice if he could have a higher rate of conversion since as all Arsenal fans know, not every night is like the one we just had.

SUBS:

Bendtner: 7.5 Did well to win the penalty and had some nice link up with the rest of the team.  He played a nice ball through to Adebayor as well for what should've been his hat-trick.

Eboue: 7 Really ought to have put his chance in.  Other than that, he used pace well and showed a few bits of skill every once in a while but someone should tell him to leave the step overs to others.

Vela: 7.5 Did well against Porto.  Kept the ball close and almost had a chance himself.  Showed good pace and generally looked threatening.  Games like this will prove crucial in the development of the young Mexican striker and as the season goes on I can only see Carlos pushing more and more for a permanent spot in the first team.

Man of the Match: Robin van Persie looks to have finally gotten back to his usual self.  His finishing touch was brilliant and he even nabbed an assist to go with his two goals on the evening.  Hopefully this game will mark his true return to fitness and help him get in confidence back.  A fit van Persie certainly gives Arsenal another dimension.  Let's all hope Robin's fitness is here to stay.

Risultati e marcatori Seconda Giornata Champions League:

Bate Borisov-Juventus 2-2
17′ Krivets, 23′ Stasevich, 29′ e 45′ Iaquinta

Fiorentina-Steaua Bucarest 0-0
Nessun Marcatore

Zenit-Real Madrid 1-2
4′ autogol Hubocan, 25′ Danny, 31′ van Nistelrooy

Bayern Monac-Lione 1-1
25′ autogol Demichelis, 52′ Zè Roberto

Aalborg-Mancheter UTD 0-3
22′ Rooney, 55′ e 79′ Berbatov

Villareal-Celtic 1-0
67′ Senna

Fenerbahce-Dinamo Kiev 0-0
Nessun Marcatore

Arsenal-Porto 4-0
31′ e 48′ van Persie, 40′ Adebayor, 71′ rig. Adebayor

Inter-Werder Brema 1-1
13′ Maicon, 62′ Pizarro

Bordeaux-Roma 1-3
18′ Gourcuff, 64′ Vucinic, 71′ e 83′ Baptista

Anorthosis-Panathinaikos 3-1
11′ autogol Sarriegi, 15′ Dobrasinovic, 28′ rig. Salpingidis, 78′ Taher

CFR Cluj-Chelsea 0-0
Nessun Marcatore

Atletico Madrid-Marsiglia 2-1
5′ Agüero, 16′ Niang, 22′ García

Liverpool-PSV 3-1
4′ Kuyt, 34′ Keane, 76′ Gerrard, 78′ Koevermans

Shakhtar-Barcellona 1-2
45′ Ilsinho, 87′ e 94′ Messi

Sporting Lisbona-Basilea 2-0
55′ autogol Zanni, 86′ Derlei

Bilan - .... ???

Standout performance to me came from Theo Walcott. Everytime he had the ball there was an excitement. He has improved quite a bit and I feel this year he will score some goals and assists. Well he better...

It is nice to see both your key strikers scoring goals and Adebayor did have some chances to score a hat-trick but he missed out. He provided an assist to Van P for his goal.

Fabregas was regaining his touch with some awesome through balls. I thought he had a very good match and he is getting used to playing next to Denilson.

The doubts I have are on our defensive form. Though Wenger came out and praised the defence a day before the Hull match, I seriously feel that they lack the discipline, especially from Gallas. There was a specific incident where Gallas went ahead on the left side and passed it to Nasri who lost possesion. Porto were starting an attack and our man Gallas was leisurely coming back to the line when Porto forced a save out of Almunia. Gallas should have rushed back to protect the goal instead of hopping back to the backline. Sometime I feel he needs to be shouted at. I still have this grudge against him for shouting at Clichy(one of my fav Gunners) for giving away a last minute penalty against Birmingham, which started the slide last season.

We need to win consistently in the league to top it and the next one against Sunderland will take us a step closer to that goal.

Sadly, I didn't get to watch this one, as the channels here elected to show the Man U win over Aalborg instead. Disappointing, really. But, I caught all the highlights online later last night. It appears our boys were having a grand old time and Porto were made to suffer after our humiliating defeat to Hull.

Emmanuel Adebayor got himself a brace, one a bouncing header off a corner and then a penalty kick after a somewhat suspicious foul on Bendtner. I'll give Nik the benefit of the doubt on this one, but I'd say it appeared he went down a bit too easily on the corner of the area after Guarin came up an kicked the back of his legs. A shot there can take the largest of men down, but in the replay, it didn't seem like much of a shot. Whatever... only Nicklas knows for sure.

Robin van Persie also got himself a brace with two excellent goals. The first, a lovely little slide in front of the defender to flick home a byline cross from Adebayor. And another quick run through traffic to left foot a nice low shot past the Porto keeper. Would that we could see goals like that from Robin more regularly. We'd be unstoppable.

Next up, Sunderland. After Hull, I'm not sure what to expect with this match. I'll have to mull it over.

Porto are not a bad team at all, they have a very good attack, some defensive errors yesterday but they have Alves who is experienced and generally a very experienced team, with the Incredible Hulk on the bench to also make a difference. I seriously think Hulk should tattoo himself green! He would be an international superstar!

To say Porto are a good team shows how classy Arsenal were yesterday, they had full strength out yesterday bar Denilson, who I still am not a fan of yet, but he played well, there was no Eboue in the team which was good, as when he gets annoying he really gets annoying! Nasri and Walcott were the wingers who were immense throughout the game, especially Walcott, who looked like he was having fun racing everyone out there, Adebayor and VP used Theo's pace really well, giving him impossible balls to chase which he did and always got there! His first touch is near perfect too.

Fabregas was the main man though, had control of the whole mid-field being the key for the first goal with his ball to Adebayor, who had great composure to pick out VP to get the goal. The whole game Fabregas was excellent, his passing was the top of his game and Porto just didn't do enough to man-mark him.

The second goal was a perfect header from Adebayor and they went into the half 2-0 up, 3^rd goal, quite funny actually, Van Persie somehow seemed to walk into the box when he clearly should have been tackled and toe poking it in to make it 3, Adebayor made it 4 with a penalty.

A funny moment in the game was when Carlos Vela dribbled all the way in the box, great little ‘Maradona' run, passed to Bendtner, who began acting like a mad man, it seems like he was tackling him self, and then, the funniest thing, he kicked the ball out for a throw-in, while he was sick yards from Porto's goal!!! Bendtner has improved but he does do things that make him look dumb at times. Last season he cleared a shot off the line, only thing was it was the oppositions goal and it was Fabregas doing the shooting!!

Great game for Arsenal, the thing is when the first half of the season goes as good as this they tend to crumble, but... they have a much better squad than last year, no worries about injuries now, they have plenty of replacements - Vela, Bendtner, Wilshire, Ramsay, and don't forger Da Silva and Rosicky to come back, they may just have enough to get that trophy they need!

Almunia - 5/10 - Can't give him a higher score because he didn't do anything

Sagna/Toure/Gallas/Clichy - 6.5/10 - All looked solid enough. Gallas looks very nervy though, I'm feeling he's lost his confidence, and hopefully his arrogance.

Walcott - 7.5/10 - Another good performance from Theo. Died out in the second half but always looked dangerous. He's learning so much every game, and he's getting better and better.

Denilson/Fabregas - 6.5/10 - Nothing outstanding from these two. Steady.

Nasri - 8/10 - My man of the match. This guy is different class. Never loses the ball, and always looks to create something. I like him a lot.

van Persie - 7/10 - Two goals, but nothing outstanding from him.

Adebayor - 6/10 - Two goals, but looked diabolical. I'm fed up with sticking up for him, I think I've had enough!! Changed my mind, and we should've took the money from Barca.

Subs:

Bendtner - 7/10 - Looked quality when he came on.

Eboue - 5/10 - Looked dreadful. All over the place.

Vela - 6/10 - Had a couple of decent little touches. Never looked out of place.

That's it from me. Porto were a diabolical team and I'll be surprised if we didn't batter them at there gaff too. See you everybody.

OUCH!!!...Maybe RvP saw this as he rolled through the Internet and this inspired him on tonight. I swear he shouted out something as he scored his first goal!

Why Van Persie should be sold (Sep 29, 2008)
By Myles Palmer

Robin van Persie doesn't make it. He is a bang!bang! striker whose style does not fit the way the team plays. He is not a team player and will never be a team player. He plays far too selfishly, most of his passes are afterthoughts, he slows the moves down, and he shoots from silly angles again and again and again.Van Persie is a current international striker but he hasn't made it. He's had his chance and he's not good enough. He will never be any better than he is now. Arsene Wenger should not deny that for one more day. Robin van Persie should be sold......LINK

A great game tonight for RVP,I hate the smell of humble pie in the morning! : )

Sorry Myles : )

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Bate Borisov-Juventus 2-2 Pagelle
17' Krivets, 23' Stasevich, 29' e 45' Iaquinta

Fiorentina-Steaua Bucarest 0-0 Pagelle
Nessun Marcatore

Zenit-Real Madrid 1-2 Pagelle
4' autogol Hubocan, 25' Danny, 31' van Nistelrooy

Bayern Monac-Lione 1-1 Pagelle
25' autogol Demichelis, 52' Zè Roberto

Aalborg-Mancheter UTD 0-3 Pagelle
22' Rooney, 55' e 79' Berbatov

Villareal-Celtic 1-0 Pagelle
67' Senna

Fenerbahce-Dinamo Kiev 0-0 Pagelle
Nessun Marcatore

Arsenal-Porto 4-0 Pagelle
31' e 48' van Persie, 40' Adebayor, 71' rig. Adebayor

Inter-Werder Brema 1-1 Pagelle
13' Maicon, 62' Pizarro

Bordeaux-Roma 1-3 Pagelle
18' Gourcuff, 64' Vucinic, 71' e 83' Baptista

Anorthosis-Panathinaikos 3-1 Pagelle
11' autogol Sarriegi, 15' Dobrasinovic, 28' rig. Salpingidis, 78' Taher

CFR Cluj-Chelsea 0-0 Pagelle
Nessun Marcatore

Atletico Madrid-Marsiglia 2-1 Pagelle
5' Agüero, 16' Niang, 22' García

Liverpool-PSV 3-1 Pagelle
4' Kuyt, 34' Keane, 76' Gerrard, 78' Koevermans

Shakhtar-Barcellona 1-2 Pagelle
45' Ilsinho, 87' e 94' Messi

Sporting Lisbona-Basilea 2-0 Pagelle
55' autogol Zanni, 86' Derlei

Looking at the chances we had and the build up play, he didn't play too badly against Hull, but overall, his shooting, free kicks and general play can be very poor, 75% of his shots hit the top tier which is the most frustrating thing in the world once he's done the hard part and edge onto his left side.

Wenger also admited a lack of height at the back, well why has it taken until September to recognise this, 29 days after the transfer window closed? Even without a new signing, I'd love to see Djourou in for the Porto game, I believe he deserves a chance and I believe he can do a very good job next to King Kolo, ideally someone like Sol Campbell would partner him but those days are gone.

Song's out of the squad, Nasri is back in thank God, but no clue whether Wilshere is back in after his rest against Hull to prevent 'burn out'. We know Inter and monitoring his progress and so are Chelsea, but realistically, is he going to leave? He's 16, already played twice for the first team and scored, is rated extremely highly and has many friends and admirers here, his parents are keeping his feet on the ground and I really don't think, like Cesc Fabregas, he'll need to move club to make it in football. £15,000 from the 1st January (17th Birthday) is the deal rumoured to be offered to Jack, that's £765,000p/w. So adding bonuses, endorsements and other such luxuries, he'll be a millionaire at 17!

Back to tomorrows game, Nicklas Bendtner and Johan Djourou need to start in place of Adebayor and Gallas, I feel van Persie deserves to stay if we're judging on the Hull game and I really don't want wholesale changes, we deserved to win looking at the chances and just because Hull City scored twice, let's not get too carried away and say we played badly, having watched the game again, we really weren't that bad.

Almunia

Sagna Toure (c) Djourou Clichy

Eboue Ramsey Denílson Walcott

Bendtner van Persie

How I'd like to see us line-up, Eboue has been brilliant this season and although inneffective on Saturday, let's not call a non-sunny day, Winter. Have a good evening Gooners, our Reserves takes on Aston Villa inb 10 minutes, be sure to watch it on Arsenal TV or Arsenal TV online, I can't find a stream but if I can, I'll get a link up.

Have a good one Gooners!

you play in the emirates and give that shoddy display after mauling sheffield united midweek...consistency is the key and 2 defeats already seems to say that we may just end up 4th!!

right from kick-off it seemed as if hull wanted to prove a point more than arsenal...and with the gunners reverting back to the "passing the parce right in front of the box" game again i couldn't but help remind myself of Henry-atleast he had the guts to kick the ball goal wards!!

what the fuck to you want to show wenger--making them kids pass the ball in the penalty area...afraid to take a strike...leave alone adebayor...eboube,walcott(why the extra touch buddy??),fabregas,toure,et al....van persie didnt look great either...shooting the ball helter skelter!!!!

now to move on to a more significant point...we don't need a fucking mad man right out of Mourinho's shit pot(aka Gallas-no wonder he had ego problems bigger than that of "the special one"!!)this piece of arrogancy satnds in the middle of the bunch apparently talkin gr8 stuff---but gallas can't you see it on your players faces...you are humiliating and undermining them in this way---make a huddle the next time and let everybody talk about how they feel abot the game---don't be surprised if another mad fan kicks your butt hard at the end of season man...u aint no leader....there's no motivator in the arsenal line-up....!!!

now to wenger...wow,it won't matter how hard you chuck that water bottle n the ground...you lost bad boy....here's a tip

sagna-djourou-toure-clichy

nasri-(a bloody good and experienced defensive midfielder)-fabregas-can some one please ask reyes or pires if the'd like another shot

van persie-bergkamp(had the guts to go for it man unlike your pussies of today!!)

no wonder Flamini left....could see that the manager was gonna take his youth thing too far...kudos nice choice..atleast you get to wear that ac milan shirt man...lucky senderos too man!!

Arsenal traveled to the bowels of Eastern Europe last night to take on Kiev in thier Group G opener for the Champions League.  The game that was marked by rugged play saw the Gunners robbed of all three points by a dodge penalty decision.  Luckily the brilliance of Theo Walcott combined with the touch of William Gallas earned Arsenal a draw.

Almunia: 6.5 Had little to do all night but appeared to go down way too quickly on the penalty, making it all the easier for the Kiev goal scorer.

Sagna: 7 Harshly judged for what replays showed to be utter cheating nonsense, Sagna was the one to "concede" the penalty.  However, his brilliance in defense as well as his ability to get forward in support showed that even when one bad decision goes against him Sagna is still a rock we can rely on.

Toure: 7.5 Toure looked brilliant all game.  His marking was very solid and he was quick in the recovery when he was beaten.  He made some very crucial tackles as well and had an all around great performance.

Gallas: 6 While Gallas deserves credit for grabbing the equalizer it is impossible to skip over his utter ineptitude as a central defender.  He was caught out on multiple occasions, his marking was all over the place and his judgments were suspect.  All of this from the man who is supposed to lead us to glory.  All in all a very disappointing game but nevertheless expected.  Perhaps Gallas should spend some more time concentrating on the job he actually gets paid to do.

Clichy: 7 Another solid display from Gael.  Linked up well with Denilson and Van Persie and did just about all one could ask for in defense.  He we creative going forward and continues to bring a vital part of Arsenal's dynamic play with him to each and every game.

Walcott: 8.5 The kid has now played 3 games in just over a week yet he continues to bring it.  Theo showed last night he would not be bullied or kicked off the pitch.  He was tidy in possession, excelled going forward and terrorized defenders as well as set up the winning goal.  It appears that with each game Walcott goes more and more.  The kid is on fire and truly showing that for him, the sky is the limit.

Fabregas: 6.5 Disappointing outing for Cesc to be honest.  The others out shone him.  I thought at times he looked to play the long ball a bit too much.  Credit to him for being hard working and tidy in defense but based on his usual class this would have to be a disappointing game for him.  He had one good shot on goal that he really ought to have put away and a shot from distance that seemed week.  It appears that Cesc is still just trying to get back into it and I hope that this comes sooner rather then later.

Song: 7.5 Song had a fantastic match.  He was a rock in defense, helped add some steel and grit to the midfield and protected the defense.  He put in nice tackles and had good distribution.  I would like to see Alex get more of a run in the side as I believe he is a class player who brings a much needed defensive element to the team, as he showed last night.

Denilson: 7 He was good in possession but what stood out was his tenacity to chase the ball.  At times he looked lethargic but in farness he has played every game this season.

Van Persie: 7 Had a good game, set up some good chances and helped out a lot in the midfield but Robin did have two chances himself to put the game away and failed to capitalize.

Adebayor: 7 A decent game.  He troubled defenders all-night and linked up well with the rest.  He held the ball up well and put in some good crosses.  But, like Van Persie, he had two good chances that he failed to convert.

SUBS:

Bendtner: 6.5 Nick certainly looked creative but seemed to hold onto the ball too long.  He also seemed to have a hard time adjusting to the flow of the game and in the end had little impact.

Eboue: 7 Eboue was fantastic off the bench.  He used his space well and made good runs as well as linking up well with the rest of the team.  From the season so far it appears that Eboue is finally starting to show what Wenger has seen in him all along.

Vela: 6 Invisible really.  Failed to make much of an impact on the game but I believe that goes down more to the 8 minutes he played rather then a lack of class.

Man of the Match: Theo Walcott showed last night he is no lightweight and will not be kicked off the field.  Foul after foul yet Walcott kept running.  He even got right in the face of one Kiev player after a very poor tackle was made on the Englishman.  At the end it was Walcott's own inspiring display that set up the equalizer.  Well-done Theo!