A very good day to you all.

It’s Arsenal FC Weekly podcast time again as Arseblogger joins me to celebrate the wins over Tottenham and Liverpool and preview the week ahead. We discuss the confusion caused by Cesc Fabregas’ solo goal as well as the return of Manuel Almunia, so be sure to click the play button above and let the ear-magic begin.

Just another reminder that you can subscribe to the Arsenal FC Weekly Podcast via iTunes (click here) or alternatively you can just subscribe directly to the RSS feed (click here).

It’s AZ Alkmaar tonight in the Champions League with a win enough to see us qualify for the second round of the competition. With Chelsea and Manchester United achieving that feat last night it would be great to see our boys do the same and given our excellent home record this season I can’t see anything but an Arsenal victory.

The (very) bad news going into the game is that Gael Clichy has been ruled out of not only this game but potentially two months with a stress fracture in his lower back. Clichy is of course joined on the injury table by Nicklas Bendtner – who strained his groin at the weekend – while Tomas Rosicky will return to the squad for the first time in a few weeks.

Clichy’s injury is an hugely surprising and immensely disappointing piece of news, however it does open the door for Kieran Gibbs to show what he can do over an extended period of games. Personally I’m not as convinced by Gibbs as a lot of other Arsenal supporters are – I still think he can be defensively naive at times, which is to be expected of a young player – but he’ll be hoping to give Arsene Wenger a headache when Clichy does eventually return to full fitness.

As I said earlier I expect us to win and win well tonight and there’s not much more to say, really. Enjoy the game wherever in the world you may be watching it and I’ll speak to you tomorrow on the blog.

Have your say on the Arsenal FC Weekly Podcast or the Champions League clash with Alkmaar by leaving a comment.

Hello and a very good afternoon to you this fine Wednesday.

It’s the Carling Cup clash with Liverpool tonight and I have to say I’m getting extremely excited. A lot of that has to do with the fact that quite a few big guns will be on show with Samir Nasri set to play his first game of the season, Nicklas Bendtner, Eduardo and Carlos Vela likely to lead the line and Philippe Senderos on display at the back. On the injury front Jack Wilshere, who would almost certainly have played, is out with an ankle problem.

I mentioned yesterday that the manager’s choice of goalkeeper for this fixture would be telling and I’m happy to see he has gone with Lukasz Fabianski. The Pole, who is also playing his first game of the season, will be hoping for better than the last time he played against Liverpool and a good performance could see him in contention for a starting spot in the North London Derby. My personal hope and expectation is that Fabianski’s return will see Manuel Almunia restored to his rightful place as the club’s number one. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how the Pole performs.

Liverpool are likely to play something of a second-string side off the back of their draining win over Manchester United at the weekend. Their two danger men Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard will not be playing however their new midfield signing Alberto Aquilani may make his debut after being named in the squad by Rafa Benitez.

Whatever side Benitez puts out is unlikely to be as strong as ours and at home I fancy us to win this tie. Doing so would give us great momentum going into the Tottenham game and help put a difficult week behind us. Come on Arsenal!

Arsenal FC Weekly Podcast 9: Goalkeepers, complacency and derby day

After an extended absence the Arsenal FC Weekly podcast is back and it’s quite a good one. Jamie Sanderson from Young Guns is back again to discuss the  goalkeeper situation, complacency and the big games against Liverpool and Tottenham coming up.

You can subscribe to the Arsenal FC Weekly Podcast via iTunes (click here) or alternatively you can just subscribe directly to the RSS feed (click here).

Have your say on Arsenal v Liverpool or the Arsenal FC Weekly Podcast by leaving a comment.

The international break is upon as such there’s very little Arsenal stuff to talk about. Thank goodness for the Arsenal FC Weekly Podcast!

On this week’s pod Jamie Sanderson from Young Guns is back for Part 1 to discuss Olympiacos and get all philosophical while Pete from The Beautiful Groan makes his debut in Part 2 to marvel at Cesc Fabregas, laugh at Sam Allardyce and ponder just how much Arsenal fans will miss Arsene Wenger once he’s gone.

For the first time you can subscribe to the Arsenal FC Weekly Podcast via iTunes (click here) or alternatively you can just subscribe directly to the RSS feed (click here).

Enjoy – I’m off to have a beer!

Have your say on this week’s Arsenal FC Weekly Podcast by leaving a comment.

Hello, hello. I’ve got a quick Olympiacos preview for you today and some chat about Arsene Wenger’s unwillingness to spend money before the anticipated unexpected return of the Arsenal FC Weekly podcast.

We of course host Greek side Olympiacos in the Champions League tonight at the Emirates in a game where three points will be expected. I don’t think many people would disagree that our overall performance at Fulham on Saturday was not good enough despite the win and I believe the manager and the fans will want to see better from the Arsenal boys tonight.

Unfortunately the team news going into the match-up is not good. Nicklas Bendtner has been confirmed as unable to play until the weekend after sustaining minor injuries in a car accident. Meanwhile Denilson has received the rather bizarre news that he has fractured his back and will be out for another two months. I seem to remember Gilberto Silva sustaining the same injury as Denilson a few seasons back, so perhaps geneticists should be taking a look into whether weak spinal chords are more prevalent in Brazilian defensive-midfielders. Or something.

The point is that neither player will feature against Olympiacos and they are joined by Theo Walcott who is apparently set for a run-out against an Olympiacos reserve-team. I’ve never heard of a Champions League reserve game but if it gives Walcott the run-out he needs to get back to first-team football then I’m all for it.

As I said before Olympiacos at home should be a relatively comfortable three points and a good opportunity to rotate a couple of our underperforming or tired players. I’d like to see a couple of Kieran Gibbs, Emmanuel Eboue, Thomas Rosicky, Aaron Ramsey and Eduardo come into the side and it certainly wouldn’t be the worst idea to give a very tired looking Cesc Fabregas a rest. Meanwhile Hero of the Minute Vito Mannone will start again in goals and I think it’s going to be interesting to see how he backs up from his sensational performance at Fulham.

Moving away from the Olympiacos game and Arsene Wenger has reiterated yet again that he’s happy with the current squad despite the fact that he has significant money to spend on players if he wants it. In his own words he said:

“There is money to spend, but at the moment I am very happy with the squad I have. It’s not because I’m against spending money, I have nothing against spending money. But I do not spend money because out of (the) squad is Nasri, Walcott, Bendtner. If by December we need to buy someone to add to the squad I will do it. Success on the pitch is the most important by far, but success on the pitch cannot be maintained if you are in financial trouble.”

By and large he’s right, but I am still of the opinion that the squad could do with another Alex Song-like player to provide quality back-up. Denilson fans will say that he can do the job, while there is also the feeling that Wenger sees Samir Nasri as capable of doing the job but with both players currently out with fractures and Song away for the African Cup of Nations in January I still feel we’re a little short. 

Anyway, that’s that for the visual part of today’s post – now it’s time to tickle your auditory senses via the return of the Arsenal FC Weekly podcast.

This week I’m joined on the podcast by Jamie Sanderson from Young Guns in Part One to discuss the Carling Cup win over West Brom as well as Arsenal’s start to the season, while in Part Two Jammathon from Third Gen and discuss the 1-0 win over Fulham, Vito Mannone’s performance and why everybody seems to hate Abou Diaby.

Cheers and here’s to three points over the Greeks!

Have your say on everything Arsenal by leaving a comment.

Hello again from a disgustingly hot Brisbane. 33 degrees it was today and for late August, the tail-end of our winter season, that is just ridiculous.

Being Tuesday it is of course Arsenal FC Weekly podcast time and I’m joined in the studio by birthday boy Panda Bear. We ponder why despite scoring 12 goals our strikers have only got one and explain why it doesn’t matter, marvel at Thomas Vermaelen’s impressive start to the season and discuss just how Manuel Almunia was meant to stop AFL advocate Younes Kaboul.

We also preview the big (x18) clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford and predict whether a drunk Panda Bear will still be standing by the time the game starts.

As usual I’d love to hear your feedback and ideas and you can do so by leaving a comment on this post or by contacting me at arsenalfcweekly [at] arsenalfcblog [dot] com (just replace ‘at’ and ‘dot’ with the appropriate symbols).

Cheers and enjoy the rest of your week.

Have your say on the 6th Arsenal FC Weekly podcast by leaving a comment.

Hello and a very good afternoon to you.

It’s Arsenal FC Weekly Podcast time again today but before that I have a very quick preview of today’s Champions League first-leg qualifier against Celtic in Glasgow.

In terms of team news things are not as good as they could be with Denilson, Bacary Sagna and Cesc Fabregas all facing fitness tests and only Abou Diaby returning. The manager’s comment that Fabregas is “much more” than a 50% chance of playing suggests that he will start however the likelihood of Denilson and Sagna appearing is virtually unknown.

With Diaby returning and Emmanuel Eboue a more-than-adequate replacement for Sagna we shouldn’t be hurt too much by the injuries, although if Fabregas is not passed fit then a midfield containing Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey and the aforementioned Diaby will have to step up.

Arsene Wenger has said he will play the strongest side available and I believe the strong intention from the manager and the team will be to go to Scotland and return with an away win. With the return leg scheduled just three days before a crunch test against Manchester United a win tonight would take a huge amount of pressure of the boys and allow Wenger to do some careful rotating against both Portsmouth on the weekend and Celtic in a week’s time. In saying that it’s not going to be an easy test to beat Celtic at Parkhead, a ground where they are notoriously strong and consistently get good results against more fancied opposition.

I feel that the brilliant weekend win will give the boys the shot in the arm required to go to Scotland and put in another good performance. We should aim to take the sting out of the crowd by keeping the ball and if the likes Song, Vermaelen and Gallas can assert themselves in the same physical manner that they did against Everton then I think our extra quality will see us get a win at Celtic.

I’ll be watching the game on SBS One in Australia (4.30am kick-off) and I’ll be cheering the boys on madly. Come on Arsenal!

Now, onto this week’s Arsenal FC Weekly. It’s a little bit of a different podcast today as Panda’s absence and no guest interviewee means I fly solo throughout. In saying that it should still be quite a good listen as I review the sensational 6-1 win over Everton and look ahead to the Celtic game. Enjoy!

As usual I’d love to hear your feedback and ideas and you can do so by leaving a comment on this post or by contacting me at arsenalfcweekly [at] arsenalfcblog [dot] com (just replace ‘at’ and ‘dot’ with the appropriate symbols).

Cheers, and here’s to a win in Scotland!

Have your say on the Celtic game or the Arsenal FC Weekly’s 5th podcast by leaving a comment.

Hello again Arsenal FC Bloggers.

It’s the return of the Arsenal FC Weekly podcast today and I’m joined in the studio by regular Panda Bear as well as special guest Arseblogger to preview the 2009/10 season. We discuss the quality of the squad, Arsenal’s chances for next season as well as preview the first game of the season against Everton and the Champions League qualifier against Celtic.

As usual I’d love to hear your feedback and ideas and you can do so by leaving a comment on this post or by contacting me at admin [at] arsenalfcblog [dot] com.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a written post but until then, enjoy the podcast and have a lovely Monday.

Have your say on the Arsenal FC Weekly Season Preview podcast by leaving a comment.

Update: I’ve re-posted the Arsenal Season Review podcast today because I there were a couple of technical problems with it yesterday. For one, Panda Bear’s voice was way too quiet and for some unknown reason the podcast ended 6 minutes before it was supposed to. As a result, I’ve re-posted it today with all the technical issues fixed up.

To all the people who requested written results of the season survey, I’ll have them for you in tomorrow’s post. Thanks for understanding.

It’s the final Arsenal FC Weekly podcast for the season and I’m joined in the studio this week by regular podcast partner and dressing-gown wearer Panda Bear to review the year that was.

Last week I asked you all to answer the first ever Arsenal FC Blog survey and fantastically, 361 of you did. Four of you - ’willfletch’, ‘ra’, ‘jsloam’ and ’henrykissinher’ - have won copies of the great book ‘The Last Game’ courtesy of Simon & Schuster. I’ll email you shortly to grab your details. To the rest of you, thanks so much for voicing your opinion; it made for great discussion.

On today’s podcast we run through the findings of that survey to announce the Player of the Season and a host other awards, as well as looking at your thoughts on everything from the manager, the need for a centre-back and Emmanuel Eboue’s dancing skills. Enjoy!

Remember I’d love to hear your feedback and ideas and you can do so by leaving a comment on this post or by emailing arsenalfcweekly [at] arsenalfcblog [dot] com.

I’ll be back tomorrow to discuss further. Speak to you then.

Have your say on the Arsenal Season Review by leaving a comment.

I’m joined in the studio this week by Manchester United supporter and regular reader of the blog, Ronaldo7.

We discuss Arsenal’s 1-0 first-leg defeat to United and preview the second leg at The Emirates. We look at good and bad performers in the first game and chat about the possibility of Arsene Wenger or Alex Ferguson making any tactical changes, as well as discussing the importance of who scores first in London. 

There’s no chat about the win over Pompey (unfortunately I missed it!) but I will be announcing the winner of the SoccerPro.com Arsenal shirt competition so get involved and have a listen by clicking the play button below. 

Remember I’d love to hear your feedback and ideas and you can do so by leaving a comment on this post or by emailing arsenalfcweekly@[deletethis]arsenalfcblog.com.

Have your say on Arsenal’s win over the Arsenal FC Weekly podcast by leaving a comment.

Arsenal FC Weekly Podcast – Episode 1

It gives me great pleasure to announce that the very first episode of Arsenal FC Weekly – The Arsenal FC Blog’s Weekly Podcast is available to download from today’s post.

The podcast, hosted by myself and Panda Bear, features thoughts on both the Liverpool and Middlesbrough games, discussion on the upcoming clash with United as well as some comments on PFA Awards. There’s also a competition to win an Arsenal home shirt courtesy of the lovely people at SoccerPro.com, so get involved and have a listen. As this is the very first episode of the podcast I’d love to hear your feedback on it and you can do so by leaving a comment on this post or by emailing arsenalfcweekly@[remove]arsenalfcblog.com.

You can listen to Arsenal FC Weekly by clicking here (21:45 mins -19.9mb MP3).

Anyway, that’s it for me – I’ll speak to you tomorrow. Enjoy the podcast and be sure to let me know what you think. All the best.

Have your say on Arsenal’s win over the Arsenal FC Weekly podcast by leaving a comment.