Injured Party

After Walcott, Vela and Denilson came back, it was only fair that at least one more player be ruled out for a few months. It's not looking good at left-back, unless Armand Traore steps up his game. And as if Eliaquim Mangala's pretty vicious challenge on Gibbs wasn't damaging enough, Arshavin had to somehow injure one of our key defenders who is about eight times his size. Aside from that, he defended admirably for Liege, making a vital goalline clearance.

Wenger's got a lot of thinking to do before the Chelsea game. Whatever happens, he's likely to spring a surprise with his lineup, with things looking pretty bleak at the back. Senderos probably isn't an option if Gallas is out - he tends to not really understand what's going on in these fixtures - which leaves the reliable fans' favourite Silvestre to fit seamlessly into the defence as he always does, holding the offside trap and reacting quickly to through balls. Just to clarify, I'm pretty sure that Silvestre will single handedly throw this game for us.

Left-back is a trickier problem - do we keep faith with Traore after a dodgy performance against Sunderland, or move the more experienced but significantly slower Silvestre out from the middle? If so, that might require moving Song to centre back, where he tends to play very well when required, but we will need some midfield steel against Essien and Mikel.

With Diaby injured and Ramsey evidently not the player to complement Fabregas and Denilson, I should think that Wenger will keep Song in midfield. If Gallas isn't back in time, which unfortunately looks very likely, this is the lineup I expect he'll put out:

Almunia
Sagna
Traore
Vermaelen
Silvestre
Song
Denilson
Fabregas
Rosicky
Arshavin
Eduardo

I hope Rosicky starts because he's been excellent since he returned. Nasri or Walcott could well be in the forward three, but Walcott might be more useful as an impact sub when Chelsea inevitably turn sluggish in the second half. Arshavin's form has been patchy of late but he has a habit of saving his best for the big games, but Eduardo will be more difficult to predict. He's been shaky so far, but should be more confident after a successful international break.

Here's hoping 'short-ankled' Denilson can hit another screamer on Sunday...

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Hands Clean

I expected Henry to eventually release a statement about Wednesday's match - after all, he wrote a letter to the Arsenal fans when he left - but never expected him to come out in support of calls for a replay. Most fans of this club knew and admired his character, and he has shown that he is still the same man. The handball was clearly "instinctive" as he says and, although I'm still unhappy about the way he celebrated the goal, the cheat tag is unfair.

FIFA were always going to say no to a replay, which leaves the FFF with the opportunity to save its national team's reputation. The world (minus Roy 'Ray of Sunshine' Keane) is clamouring for a replay - even several of their own politicians and celebrities agree - so hopefully the French will surrender to the pressure. (buh dum...)

Wenger's called for the use of video replays, which have been given another boost by this whole mess. I disagree. I still believe extra linesmen (one behind each goal line) are the answer; they would be very unlikely to miss handballs or penalty shouts seeing as that would essentially be their job. The most important thing to bear in mind when considering video replays is how they could feasibly be used throughout football. Yes, they would make the top leagues in the top countries a lot fairer, as well as international matches, but what about the less lucrative leagues below? How could Woking possibly challenge an injury time penalty shout against Bromley in the Conference South when their stadium barely has the facilities to let fans sit down? It's simply not practical, and although they're still not completely precise (hell, even the odd video replay doesn't help), extra linesmen would still prevent situations like this, and so I hope they're a success in the Europa League this season.

As for that club I sometimes talk about, Wenger says that Fabianski, Traore and Vela are all off the injured list and Denilson and Walcott should be in the squad for tomorrow, so we should be able to scrape together a starting XI by the time the nice men from the Ledley King care home come back for Robin. Maybe, just maybe, Sunderland won't be the disaster we were expecting.

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French Inquisition

The French Football Federation should offer Ireland a replay, plain and simple. The French team and public could feel no pride in reaching the finals next summer if they had won a place by so blatantly flouting the rules.

Thierry Henry is, and always will be, a club legend. Last night, he had a split second to choose how to react to the goal, and he made the wrong decision. He clearly regretted this as he immediately spoke to and consoled Richard Dunne after the final whistle, but he knows full well that post-match niceties count for nothing when he should have owned up to the handball straight away. He always played with integrity and honesty during his time at Arsenal, but his conduct after the goal last night was a real disappointment. If he's the player we all remember, he'll do something to clear his name.

I suppose the pressure of playing for such an underachieving team, with a clueless poodle for a manager and a simply bizarre lineup behind him, may have got to him. He seemed to resign himself to the euphoria sweeping the stadium, and his celebration has rightly been met with fury by Irish and neutral fans. The relief amongst his teammates was palpable, and perhaps he was torn between his sportsmanship and his loyalty to his country; if nothing else, I can at least understand his frustration at effectively being given the job of taking over from Gignac's special needs carer for an evening.

No one seems to have noticed Gallas' behaviour in all of this. For a player known for having about as much professionalism as Domenech has tactical awareness, it may have come as no surprise to many that he had no qualms about rushing off to celebrate despite clearly seeing the handball, but I was beginning to think after his performances over the last year that he had matured. No doubt if Ireland had scored the decisive goal in the same manner, Gallas would have screamed uncontrollably in the officials' faces, refusing to leave the pitch even after the wincing, spit-speckled referee had peeled the Frenchman's strands of phlegm from his person and brandished the red card.

A replay is unlikely, but the FFF would be foolish not to offer one. They would probably win anyway, considering the enormous pressure on Ireland to produce another performance, and would be acclaimed for the finest show of sportsmanship in the history of football. If they don't take the risk, the French national team will forever be known as cheats.

Which would be pretty crap for us. Can't wait to see Gallas and Sagna running out at the Stadium of Light on Saturday...

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Several Injuries, No Deaths

"England Under 21s v Portugal... no, [the Fates had] done the 'no left backs' thing before, and we'd ended up reaching the Champions League final."

                                         - This website. Monday, 16 November 2009

Here's hoping we prove them wrong again. I'm sure we're due yet another injury tonight; Sagna and Gallas will be playing in a heated encounter against the Irish, while Arshavin will take part in a vital away game against Slovenia, who have an away goal and are only one down from the first leg. As for the pointless games, Fabregas will probably play 90 minutes against Austria after a rest against Argentina, and Eboue will be hacked to pieces by the Germans. Take your pick, it's going to happen again. The current first-team injury list:

Lucasz Fabianski
Johan Djourou
Gael Clichy
Kieran Gibbs
Armand Traore
Denilson
Abou Diaby
Theo Walcott
Nicklas Bendtner
Jack Wilshere
Carlos Vela
Robin van Persie

If we're lucky, Armand Traore and/or Abou Diaby will be okay for Sunderland - if not, this is what our starting XI could look like, on the off chance that the players in action tonight are available:

Almunia
Sagna
Gallas
Vermaelen
Silvestre
Song
Fabregas
Ramsey
Rosicky
Arshavin
Eduardo

On paper, still a pretty strong team - a result on Saturday might silence the critics who say we lack squad depth, at least until the Chelsea match. Anyway, we have some positives to take out of the weekend: Sagna and Gallas looked pretty sharp against Ireland, Vermaelen scored yet again for Belgium, and Eduardo should be buoyed after netting two for Croatia. Ramsey destroyed the Scots without getting kicked to a bloody pulp by some toothless Glaswegian lout or hit by some obscene missile from the Cardiff faithful directed at Swansea's Ashley Williams which, if the media hype was to be believed after the Welsh derby the previous weekend, could have ranged from coins, bottles and phones to ninja stars, sledgehammers and grand pianos. Seeing as Ramsey is likely to be a more regular starter in the coming months, particularly during the ACN, this is surprisingly good news.

Lastly, Stan Kroenke's right-hand man Paul Andrews has hit out at media outlets who have been using the deeply offensive nickname "Silent Stan", insisting that he is "passionate" and "hard-working". What exactly that has to do with commentators rightly pointing out that Kroenke has kept quiet about his intentions, I have absolutely no idea, but he really went off on one.

"Any moniker placed on him, such as 'Silent Stan', is very unfair and really should not be used in any form in the media because he is a brilliant man."

Okay Mr Andrews, but again, what are his plans surrounding Arsenal Football Club?

"He has to be a brilliant man to be what he is in the world today."

I'm sure he's lovely, but we really would quite like to know what's going to happen to our club?

"(He is a) regular guy, a tremendous leader and visionary, a guy that, if he was sitting in here today, would be very eloquent, and very respectful of you and the rest of the media."

I can only imagine that he was choking back the tears as he continued: "He is passionate about sport. He wants to win, he is driven to win."

Thanks for clearing that up.
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