By Chris Wright

Right. Straight off the bat, Pies would like to clarify that we’re not saying this is 100% definitely the design for Arsenal’s new home kit for 2012/13.

What we are saying is that this mock-up has been drafted by Arsenalinsider, who have a decent hit-rate on these sorts of things and who are also claiming to have been privy to a photo of the actual design courtesy of a deepthroat informant in the Nike camp and that they are willing to stand by their reproduction ‘such is the strength of belief in their source’.

Make of that what you will.

Here’s AI’s preliminary mock-up, which is just an altered version of an existing Arsenal strip, which shows that – along with the classic ‘red with white sleeves’ formation – Nike are hell-bent on tagging on a set of gruesome navy blue (they look black/dark grey on the image, but AI claim they’re navy) collars and cuffs…

Pies verdict? We’re remaining suitably dubious, but that’s nasty. Looks like an knock-off Egypt strip from the early 1990s. For Arsenal’s sake, here’s hoping it’s a wind-up.

Believe/cast aspersions as you see fit, but one thing’s certain; if this design actually comes to fruition, there’s going to be a lot of jilted Gooners out there. How can you get such an elegant strip so wrong?

Anyone out there a fan? Anyone?

[Image: Arsenalinsider]

                          

By Alan Duffy

Arsenal 7 (Seven)-1 Blackburn Rovers – Premier League – 4th February 2012

After a sustained period of dismal performances and almost no points, Arsenal needed to rediscover their mojo on Saturday if they were to stay in the hunt for a top-four finish. And rediscover it they did, demolishing a Blackburn side that look destined for the drop.

Dutch goal-machine Robin Van Persie opened the scoring after just two minutes of play, tapping in after excellent work from Theo Walcott. The same combination would give the Gunners their second goal on 38 minutes, but only after Morten Gamst Pedersen had fired home a superb curling free-kick.

Rovers’ very own wolf-man, Gael Givet, was then sent off for a two-footed lunge on Van Persie, which basically ended the contest. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is looking more and more like the new Wayne Rooney, with his mix of power, pace and technique,  made it three before the break after deftly rounding Paul Robinson and slotting home.

Mikel Arteta made it four after the break, firing home after Blackburn failed to clear a corner, before Oxo-Chamberpot bagged his second, courtesy of yet another Walcott assist. Van Persie then completed his hat-trick, firing home after excellent work from Francis Coquelin.

With the game dead an buried, Arsene Wenger brought on Thierry Henry, leaving is side to play the “can we get Thierry to score” game. They eventually won that game too, after another Van Persie assist.

Along with Oxlade-Chamberlain, Coquelin also produced a superbly mature performance at right back for the Gunners, as the north Londoners steadied the ship in convincing style. As for Steve Kean’s Rovers, there is little positive to say, to be honest.

Photos…

Highlights…

Photos: PA

                          

By Alan Duffy

Young, l’il-bit-wappy midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong is one of the Premier League’s more charismatic chaps, with his all-action and passionate performances on the pitch endearing him to Wolves’ fans ever since he made his loan move from Arsenal.

The Ghana-born youngster is also a major Twitter personality, with his online spats with Piers Morgan in particular, only adding to his popularity. However, now the 20-year-old has entered the John Terry/alleged racism debate, questioning the rather slow  actions of The FA over the affair.

Frimpong Tweeted:

“Wanna no if Anton Ferdinand was in the England team and was being charged for racism would the FA wait till the summer to charge?outoforder”

He followed that Tweet with:

“If I ever get Racially Abused I wouldn’t think f telling the FA…..I would rather tell my mum.”

You can bet that Frimpong isn’t the only player with this opinion, either, which isn’t a very good indicator of how the country’s young black footballers view the authorities at the moment.

                          

In which former Arsenal saint Dennis Bergkamp rattles off a beautiful first-timer, latching onto Frank De Boer’s (not a bad coaching set-up they’ve got there!) enticing cross-field arc during an Ajax training session yesterday afternoon.

Granted, it’s not the finest goal he’s ever scored and it’s not really the finest camera angle of ‘not the finest goal he’s ever scored’ – but it’s Bergkamp, and I’m all over anything that graceful Dutch silkworm does like a sticky paste…

Happy Morning everyone!

*I love you Dennis*

Video: 101GG

                          

By Alan Duffy

Bolton Wanderers 0-0 Arsenal – Premier League – 1st February 2012

Arsenal match reports are starting to write themselves – loads of possession, nice passing, loads of chances, no goals. More often than not you can even tag “concede late goal from set-piece” onto the end of that, although on this occasion, the Gunners did manage to go off-script and keep their sheet clean for the night.

On a right wintry evening at the Reebok, the visitors started quickly but just couldn’t convert any of the myriad chances they created, with Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey and Robin van Persie all spurning great chances. The Trotters could’ve opened the scoring themselves, however, with David Ngog almost scoring a Ngoal.

Dutch striker Van Persie conjured up a superb chip in the second-half, only for the ball to bounce onto the woodwork (he’d hit the post earlier as well), and that moment summed up Arsenal’s frustrating evening, an evening which leaves them in seventh place in the table, a long way from a Champions League spot.

Bolton, on the other hand, move two points clear of the drop-zone, as the early season gloom starts to lift.

Photos…

Highlights…

Photos: PA

                          

By Alan Duffy

After watching his side throw away a two-goal in a bizarre seven-minute second-half capitulation at the Emirates, Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish is apparently desperate for some kind of retribution, with Arsenal captain Robin Van Persie firmly in his sights.

The Scottish manager claims that the Dutch striker, who scored two penalties in the game, launched a pre-meditated elbow into the face of Villa’s Carlos Cuellar during the game. Now McLiesh wants The FA to investigate.

The Villa boss has always been one to laud the physical nature of this ‘man’s game’, so it is simply a question of sour grapes, or does Van Persie indeed have a case to answer for? Watch the video evidence here and judge for yourselves…

                          

By Alan Duffy

Arsenal 3-2 Aston Villa – FA Cup – 29th January 2012

With Aston Villa going in at half-time two goals up, Arsene Wenger would no doubt have been preparing himself for a mountain of abuse from the Emirates crowd for the rest of the afternoon. However, thanks to a superb seven-minute surge straight after the break, the Gunners secured a vital victory and a place in the fifth round of the cup.

It was business as usual for the home side in the first-half, having the majority of the possession without scoring before crumbling at the back, not once but twice, against a fleet-footed Villa side.

Football’s one and only Honey Monster Richard Dunne opened the scoring for the Villans just after the half-hour mark, as the Gunners once again failed to deal with a set-piece, leaving the Irishman to head home from a corner. Darren Bent then doubled the score on half-time, netting superbly from the narrowest of angles after Lukas Fabianksi had stopped his first effort.

Whether or not Wenger produced a hairdryer moment in the Arsenal dressing room remains to be seen, but on the re-start the Gunners were a different side, cutting through the Villa defence again and again. Robin Van Persie netted the first of two spot-kicks for the Gunners on 54 minutes, after Dunne fouled Aaron Ramsey, before scoring his second penalty of the game just seven minutes later, this time after a rampaging Laurent Koscielny was felled by Bent. Those two RVP penalties sandwiched a rather fortunate Theo Walcott goal, with the ball coming back off Shay Given before rebounding off the winger’s face and back into the Villa goal. Although to be fair, Walcott had created the initial chance himself superbly.

Oddly, after ripping Villa to shreds in the first half of the second period, Arsenal then dropped deep and allowed the visitors to once again threaten Fabianski’s goal. Indeed, Stiliyan Petrov and the rather disapppointing Stephen Ireland had decent chances to level the scores again. However, ultimately, Wenger would find himself on the receiving end of some cheers rather than jeers, as the Gunners battled through to the fifth round of the Cup.

Photos…

Highlights to follow…

Photos: PA

                          

By Alan Duffy

Wenger needs to buy five new players now, and five experienced ones at that…

Where would we be without Twitter? It provides us all with a never-ending conveyor belt of controversy and quirkiness, which us lazy writing types can quickly and easily fashion into a nice little story. The latest uber-Tweet to whet the appetite of us football obsessed smartarses has come courtesy of none other than the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame.

The 54-year-old big cheese is a massive Arsenal fan and like many of his fellow Gooners, he is rather unimpressed with Arsene Wenger’s stewardship of the club at present.  Indeed, so unimpressed was Kagame after Arsenal’s defeat at the hands of Manchester United on Sunday,that he Tweeted:

“I very much support Arsenal – but to be honest Wenger needs to coach another team now and Arsenal needs another coach.”

“When a good team (players) and a good coach fail for long to deliver, one of them has to change, or even both!!”

“The real/main danger is for anyone to get used to mediocre/lacklustre performance and/or results and accepts to live with it … or keeps finding excuses for it!!!”

Many Arsenal fans will no doubt agree with the sentiment, which is sure to irk Wenger, who is aware of Kagame’s love for the club. Indeed, Wenger even wrote him a letter on his 50th birthday in 2007. I imagine Kagame won’t be getting another one from the Frenchman.

I can’t wait of Prince William’s scathing analysis of Alex McLeish’s managerial performance at Villa to appear across our social media platforms. Until then, this will have to suffice.

                          

By Alan Duffy

Having found himself in the middle of the Andrei Arshavin/Arsene Wenger booing controversy at the Emirates at the the weekend, teenage winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has apparently now played himself into Fabio Capello’s plans for the Euro 2012 finals.

The ex-Southampton starlet was arguably Arsenal’s best player in that 2-1 defeat Man United on Sunday, and his performance obviously impressed the watching England boss, who is planning to try out the attacker in a number of friendlies ahead of next summer

Oxo-Chamberpot has been in superb form for the England U21′s, even bagging a hat-trick against Iceland last October, but is he really ready to play a role in the Three Lions’ Euro 2012 campaign? Or will it be another case of too much too soon á la Theo Walcott?

                          

By Chris Wright

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Remember on Sunday afternoon? Against Manchester United? When Robin van Persie mouthed the words ‘oh no’ as Arsenal’s most enterprising attacking threat was substituted off for Andrey Arshavin? Apparently that was a thing. ‘Oh-No-gate’, if you will.

Skipping over the fact that Van Persie was obviously only miffed about the fact that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal’s best player on the night, and RVP’s main supply line) was being taken off, rather than the fact that it was Arshavin waiting on the touchline to replace him – it appears that ‘Oh-No-gate’ has been taken as a clear indication that the Gunners’ captain had lost all faith in his manager’s ability. Something like that anyway.

According to The Sun (among others), Van Persie’s reaction was ‘controversial’ and, as such, the Dutchman has been forced to explain his heretic ways in an exclusive interview with them:

“I was not having a go at the boss on Sunday – I was just sad to see Alex leave the pitch as he just gave the assist for our only goal.

“I was not questioning his judgement – I know it’s not my place to challenge what Arsene Wenger does. Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain had a calf injury. We [the players] did not know that, but the boss did and brought Andrey Arshavin on.”

“The manager and I are fine and my relationship with the club is good. There is no problem, there is no conflict and there is no controversy. The boss knows that, I know that and the players know that.”

Thank Jesusallahbuddha for that. Crisis averted. Whisper it, but it looks like the harmless mouthing of the words ‘oh’ and, indeed, ‘no’ on a football pitch may just have been completely insignificant all along.

Christ on a bike. While we’re on the subject, I’m just going to leave this here…

Via the ever-awesome FitbaThatba.