Four weeks ago, Arsenal’s title challenge was over. The home defeat to Chelsea had seen everyone and their dog line up to kick Arsene Wenger’s team. While they were still licking their wounds, Manchester City snatched a win against the usual collection of youngsters, sprinkled with experience in the League Cup. Not good enough, not strong enough, need another striker they cried.

Well here we are then, on December 30th, Arsenal are tucked in 3rd, with a game in hand, which is against Bolton Wanderers at the Emirates next week. Win that and they go second in the table. Yet as the Portsmouth fans who have witnessed tonight’s thrashing at the hands of the Gunners said, if they had a predatory striker, they’d have scored 20.

For all the failings that Arsenal are constantly accused off, it’s their lack of that predator in the box that seemingly holds them back from killing teams off that their rivals manage to snuff out. Yet, it feels churlish to criticise a side that have score 51 goals in 19 Premiership games and could be second this time next week. Of course, as my fellow EPL talk writer Eric Altshul wrote earlier this week, Arsenal have a crucial 4 game period coming up from January 27th.

The results against the other big clubs do not determine the Premiership title, you only have to look at Liverpool’s result last season to see how little it effects the Premiership outcome. It is the games that you should win, that slip through your fingers that cost you titles and cups. For every emphatic thrashing of Portsmouth, there’s a defeat at Sunderland or a draw at West Ham United. Those are the games, especially the West Ham match when Arsenal threw away a 2-0 lead that will keep them from going top next week.

Of course, Wenger is one of the best managers at protecting his players and keeping his cards close to his chest. If he thinks he needs a striker, he’s not the type to come out and say it, he usually just goes out and gets his man. Now, with Arsenal having a real chance to get their hands on the Premier League title, having someone who has an ability to scuff the ball in off his backside is exactly what Arsenal need. Financially Wenger could, within reason, land any striker outside of the Premier League to give them that final piece.

For all the doom mongers complaining when he sold Adebayor and Toure, for a combined £41 million, the dissenting voices seem to have grown increasingly quiet. Replacing Toure with the elegant Vermaelen was a masterstroke that has seen the Belgian weigh in with some important goals from the back. With the injuries to van Persie, Bendtner, Walcott, Denilson and Fabregas and the impending African Cup of Nations taking Song, Wenger may be forced into the market whether he likes it or not.

Of course, the one major bonus to the injuries that have blighted Arsenal is the continued presence of Andrei Arshavin, who has continued to rein in his own attacking instincts for the benefit of the team. The lad has given a real team performance over the last few weeks at the expense of personal glory and has re-affirmed his reputation as an excellent footballer.

So Arsenal finish a year which has seen them continue to play beautiful football, but miss out on the big prizes. Perhaps Wenger has already decided what part of the jigsaw is required to complete the beautiful with a little bit of brawn in the box.

There are plenty of spoof videos on the Internet, but most of them are cheaply done. However, I came across this one today that I think is one of the best ones I’ve ever seen that features Andrei Arshavin going “Back to the Future” to stick it to the Liverpool players and Rafa Benitez.

This is one video you have to watch!

Hat tip: The Offside Rules.

Patrick Barclay is one of Britain’s best known and respected football journalists. With a career of over 30 years working for a variety of publications and numerous appearances on television talking about the game, Patrick is always worthy of attention.Currently writing for the Times, Patrick has a wide knowledge of the beautiful game and many insights to the nuances of football

I was lucky enough to have the chance to speak with him on behalf of EPLTalk and discuss a variety football issues with him. It was a thoroughly interesting conversation covering a wide range of topics, so much so we ended up chatting for a lot longer than either of us probably imagined. Throughout the conversation he was polite, friendly and it was a really warm discussion. I hope you enjoy it.

EPLTalk: Firstly Patrick, thank you for taking the time to speak to us today, we really appreciate it.

Patrick Barclay: My pleasure, I’d much rather have a conversation than e-mail back and forth.

EPLTalk: You’re currently working at The Times, was it a wrench to leave to The Telegraph after 12 years?

Patrick Barclay: Yes, I think it was 13 years but I was very used to the Sunday newspaper rhythm, so I was kind of nervous moving away from that. It does suit me better though, having the opportunity to write daily. There’s such a quality of writers at the paper, I feel that I have to fight for a shirt so I understand how Carlos Tevez felt last season at Manchester United. I had had enough of the Telegraph, there was few things going on that I didn’t agree with, so it was nice to have the opportunity to go to the Times.

EPLTalk: Well I first became aware of your writing when you worked at the Observer.

Patrick Barclay: Yes, Oh gosh! That was a great break, that was the first time I’d worked on a Sunday newspaper and the Observer at that time had a great writing tradition. Many great writers were there, especially sports writers led by Hugh McIlvanney. If you can’t learn anything working alongside McIlvanney, then you haven’t got much chance. So that was a great experience, I loved it and we had a great sports editor there, Simon Kelner and it was great fun.

EPLTalk: The other work I know you best from is doing the Sunday Supplement show on Sky Sports on Sunday mornings. So do you get fed as well as given all the coffee and croissants?

Patrick Barclay: I love it, when you get the chance to talk football, for an hour and a half with people you enjoy talking with, it’s great. You get a fee and you also get the chance to eat as much as you want! The only complaint I’ve got is when I’m eating my oranges, whenever I finish one, someone comes over and takes the peel away! (laughs) Someone is always tidying up!  It’s a great show though, I really enjoy doing it.

EPLTalk: So I’ve been reading that you’re a fan of Dundee, but I first saw it on Wikipedia, so I thought I’d better find a proper source!

Patrick Barclay: (laughs) Yes, I am very much a fan of Dundee Football Club. I started supporting the club in the 1950′s. My grandfather took me about 1955, when I was about 8 against Hibernian. I started going when I was old enough, about 11 or 12, to go on my own with friends. Within about 3 years we won the League, I went to the game that clinched it away at St. Johnstone in front of about 25-30,000 fans. I thought wow this is fantastic!! I doubt I’ll ever see them win the league again but I count myself very, very lucky to have seen that.

EPLTalk: Well I’m not holding my breath to see Tottenham win the league,the last time we managed it was 11 years before I was born!

Patrick Barclay: (laughs) Not another Yorkshire Spurs fan! Why do so many Yorkshire people support Spurs??

EPLTalk: I don’t know, my first game I really watched was the 81 Cup final and I was lucky enough to go to the F.A. Cup final the year after and it’s dogged me ever since.

Patrick Barclay: Spurs are a great club, there was a Dundee player who also played for Spurs who was a legend, but a little bit before your time, Alan Gilzean. Another one was John Duncan, the striker who went on to play for Derby.

EPLTalk: Ah, is that the John Duncan who managed Chesterfield?

Patrick Barclay: Yes, when they almost reached the cup final in 97, when they were denied by a strange refereeing decision.

EPLTalk: Ah yes, with the disallowed goal for a foul that no-one could work out what it was for.

Patrick Barclay: Exactly!I saw John the other day and he now works for the League Managers Association. He’s a lovely man. I still keep an eye out for Dundee’s results and I’m a member of a supporters club called the Dee’s Down South. In fact I’ve just renewed my membership but unfortunately I don’t get to see them much, the last time was probably about 3 years ago.

EPLtalk: I see you’ve a big game at the weekend against Annan Athletic in the cup?

Patrick Barclay: Yes, yes but they won on Saturday, 2-0 against Ross County with two goals from Leigh Griffiths and he scored the goal that also knocked Aberdeen out of the Co-op cup last week. So things are going well at the moment, though we’ve got Rangers in the next round. We’ve got a bit of money and the crowds are up to around 5,000 so it’s going well.

EPLtalk: Excellent, so I’ll be honest Patrick, I’ve only got one of your books, so please don’t think less of me! I’ve got the Mourinho one.

Patrick Barclay: Oh lovely, I’m glad you have. I’m currently writing one about Sir Alex Ferguson and that should be out this time next year. That’s what’s keeping me so busy at the moment.

EPLTalk: That’s great, I’ll look out for that one then. In the Mourinho book I just got a feeling of real admiration for him from yourself throughout it. Whenever I’ve read your articles or seen you on television when the conversation turns to Jose,  you do seem to have a lot of time for him.

Patrick Barclay: Yes I do, but I hardly know him. I met him for only the second time recently the day before the Inter/Barcelona Champions league game. I rang him up because I wanted to talk to him about Ferguson for the book and he invited me over to spend a little time with him. That’s really kind of him, but when I was researching the book, I just kept getting anecdotes from people saying what a nice guy he was. I’d made a calculated decision to write the book, I was in a little bit of a hurry, I only had 5 months or so and I made a decision that I wouldn’t try and be clever about it and just write it based on other people’s experiences of the man and what I knew.

For example, I was Lisbon for a Sporting v Newcastle match a few years ago. I was checking out of the hotel and the guy at the counter must have seen something and said are you from England? So I answered yes, and he said Ah, the country of Mourinho. So we laughed and the man said I’m from Setubal, which is Mourinho’s home town. So I asked if he knew him and he said no, but that young lad does, pointing at chap working in the lobby.

So quick as a flash, I ran over to him and said “Do you know Mourinho” and he said yes, I was in his class when he was a teacher. He talked about him with such admiration and the way that he took such an interest in the boys lifestyles, encouraging them to concentrate on football and their studies and not spend all night partying. One particular boy had tremendous talent and Mourinho went out of his way to encourage the lad and kept on at him, but unfortunately, whilst he played for Portugal schoolboys, he didn’t quite make it.

Yet he continually put so much of his own time in to trying to help and develop everyone in his class, they all adored him. Then he said, Funnily enough I saw him last summer when I went home. The lad was in a chicken shop and you know how the Portuguese love their fried chicken. Imagine his surprise when Mourinho walked in. The lad walked over to him and said hello Mr Mourinho. Mourinho studied him and went I know you, you’re Andre and then spent the next 20 minutes asking about him, his family and how he was doing, wished him good luck shook hands at the end and off he went to get the chicken home for the family.

EPLTalk: That’s brilliant, that just shows what effect he has on people.

Patrick Barclay: When you hear stories like that about the guy, you can’t help but understand why players want to play for him. It was purely a chance encounter but it was very helpful. It did make me genuinely like him and I thought it was typical of him to give up his time to talk about Ferguson if I wanted to pop over and see him.The other side of him, and this is the thing I keep learning about football management is that it makes monsters out of you. It makes them do things you wouldn’t do to your family or friends, like all the hoohah in the Barcelona game with Franck Rijkaard and the referee. They can do and say some pretty nasty things that they probably regret, I’d say that about Mourinho and the same is probably true about Ferguson to some extent.

EPLTalk: Yes, just from my own perception as a fan looking in, when you hear those stories about his teaching career, it’s no wonder he seems to have an ability connect with people and get them to run through walls for him.

Patrick Barclay: Oh yes, very much so. He is a leader, no doubt.

EPLTalk: Now, this season’s Premiership. There seems to be goals flying in from everywhere at the moment, I was reading yesterday in either the Times or the Guardian that there have only been 4 games that have finished in a draw this season. Now I find that astounding.

Patrick Barclay: Yes, especially after, what are we, a sixth of the way through the season, it’s almost one every two rounds.

EPLTalk: What do you put it down to? It can’t surely just be bad defending?

Patrick Barclay: I knew you were going to ask me that, I knew you would. (laughs)I really don’t know. I think and it’s a guess, that progressively that the 3 points for a win has changed the psychology of football. It’s the simplest things make such a difference, I think it was the great Jimmy Hill that came up with the idea. I think ever since then, there has been less of a fear factor. I disagree with people who think teams are more fearful these days. The counter attack has become the main, teams try to defend against it but the counter attack is what everyone is trying to perfect.

There’s definitely less fear but that still doesn’t explain why there aren’t as many draws. After all, a lack of fear could mean a team battling for a draw away from home when they’re 2-1 down, there’s definitely a more go for it mentality. I also think that they ways teams are set up now, that may reflect why so many teams go for it now away from home and leave themselves open to late goals. The other thing and I think this is the more likely fact for it is that there is a general recognition of the arithmetic of the situation that a side can go a whole season unbeaten and still be relegated with 38 points.

There is now a recognition that teams now say what the hell and go for it. If you go and win 13 or 14 games in a season, even if they lose the rest, you’ll probably stay up. The majority of teams in the Premierships main target at the start of a season is to get 40,41, 42 points so they go for it knowing if they win 14 games they’ll be safe. So for me, that’s the most likely factor, gradually the mathematics of the situation is coming to the fore.

EPLTalk: Yes, I watched the Sunderland v Wolves on Sunday and that was never a 5-2 game. Yet the fact that Wolves kept going at them desperately and managed to pull it back to 2-2  rather fortunately I thought, but they hadn’t had much luck in the first half. Yet, because they kept going for it, they got picked off everytime they lost the ball.

Patrick Barclay: It was smashing game, what we can find this season, last weekend most games went the way we expected apart from the Wigan Chelsea game yet even the one sided games were really good. Watching Liverpool mince Hull was quite good fun, but Burnley played some decent football even though they lost heavily at Spurs and but for an unfortunate rub of the green with the offside decision when it was 1-0, they may have equalised and made a real go of it. The 5-2 game was an outstanding thriller but someone will still complain about the defending! No doubt these people would have complained if they’d been at Hampden Park for the Real Madrid 7 Eintracht Frankfurt 3 game. They’d have said Ah, terrible defending (laughs)

EPLTalk: Yes you saw that last season, with the Arsenal v Liverpool game at Anfield

Patrick Barclay: The one when Arshavin scored 4?

EPLTalk: Yes and people were complaining it wasn’t a classic, the defending was dreadful, it was woeful. I thought it was an astounding game of football.

Patrick Barclay: So did I, some of the play by Arshavin was unbelievable. One of his goals, when he bent the ball late. Reina thought the ball was about to lodge in his midriff and probably had half a mind on where he was going to throw the ball. Then it suddenly veered away from him and went in to the corner of the net, to beat a goalkeeper of that quality with sheer craft was something memorable. It was just a great, great game of football.

EPLTalk: There have certainly been some fantastic games this season already that I think will be up there at the end of the season in any list of the games of the season. The Manchester derby was a great match and even the Tottenham Liverpool match was a really great game.

Patrick Barclay: Yes, especially when you think how far we are in to the season, there have already been some great games.

EPLTalk: Now you’ve been very complementary about England under Fabio Capello. Originating from Scotland, you manage to avoid all the jingoism that seems to afflict all Englishmen during a World Cup (laughs), but surely they can have a good World Cup. I don’t mean to win it, but have a good tournament nonetheless.

Patrick Barclay: Well, I don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t win it but I was talking to Gerard Houillier the other day and he said England wouldn’t win it unless they get a goalkeeper. I can understand that point of view, but my belief that they can win the World Cup is based on either James or Green or Ben Foster even who has had an impossibly patchy month will come good. You only need a goalie to have a good month. Brazil managed to win a World Cup with Tafferel who wasn’t brilliant or even Marcos who I’d never even heard of before 2002.

But they need avoid bad luck such as Robinson missing in Zagreb, or Carson letting one squirm under him at Wembley or even James messing up in that friendly in Denmark 4 years ago. It may go like that, but I still think England will win. They also have to find a right back, I’m not convinced about Glen Johnson, although he’s a wonderful attacking player, that he can defend and England will have to watch the space behind him.

So now you say, well if they need a right back and goalkeeper Patrick how on earth can England win the World Cup? The answer is that the other 9 positions pick themselves and you have really great back up players. Oh and one more thing, make sure that Rio Ferdinand’s injury problems are behind him, because I’m not convinced they are.

EPLTalk: Yes I agree, I think that’s one of the problems that Ben Foster has had. With both Vidic and Ferdinand struggling this season with injuries, that can’t have helped him. In fact,  in the Manchester derby, that was one of the worst games I’ve ever seen Rio Ferdinand have.

Patrick Barclay: Yes, yes, in the two years before that he’d been virtually flawless

EPLTalk: Indeed, he was even scoring last season. (laughs) Ok, well last question for you Patrick.

Patrick Barclay: No problems, fire away

EPLTalk: Bobby Robson passed away last month, it’s something that has surprisingly affected me deeply. He was my England manager and I’ve grown up with him all my football watching life. I wasn’t surprised about the outpouring of emotion from the football community towards him, but I was absolutely astonished by the emotional response the public showed outside of Newcastle and Ipswich. Were you surprised?

Patrick Barclay: I was actually, but I can tell even from talking to you for the first time, I’ve never spoken to you before today, that you are what I call a proper football fan.

EPLTalk: Well, thank you very much. (laughs)

Patrick Barclay: You obviously love the game and are curious about all the facets of it but so many football fans these days indulge in such childish and baby like behavior. They seem much more interested in hating rivals, such as Arsenal fans hate Tottenham and vice versa. You see people who bring their child up to indulge in offensive hand signals and swearing. There is a vindictiveness and a lack of dignity in the game so that said, I was very, very surprised that Bobby Robson seemed to bring  out a latent unity in people. That they do actually like football and they respect humanity, I mean Bobby Robson was no angel but he was enormously charismatic and a lovable man.

I think so many memories were stirred by his passing, I kept thinking back to when he was treated as a punchbag when he was England manager. It wouldn’t surprise me if Steve Mclaren used the same pragmatism to rise above it as Bobby did. I’m not saying Steve Mclaren is comparable to Bobby Robson, in a managerial sense but maybe Bobby showed him how to rise above it, you know? I think he just proved to be an inspiration to everybody, a unifying force in the game which is mind-blowing. Not only in Barcelona and everywhere in Portugal, but I even think that if you had a service for him in Scotland or a minutes silence in Scotland, you’d have the same reaction.

To the footballer lover, these people are immortal really. It wasn’t his ability as a player either, though he won 20 caps for England, but he wasn’t as good as Haynes and the like or his abilities as a manager as he probably wouldn’t rank above Ferguson or Clough but just his sheer admirable qualities and presence. He made everyone smile and that’s always a good thing.

EPLTalk:Well that’s it. Thank you for your time Patrick, it’s been great. I was terrified you’d be bored to tears!

Patrick Barclay: No I’ve really enjoyed it, we’ll do it again sometime, thank you.

You can read Patrick’s column with the Times online and I personally can’t recommend him highly enough.

Former AS Roma manager Luciano Spalletti has long been linked with Zenit St. Petersburg.

In partnership with Russian Football Now, EPL Talk presents the second episode of RNF’s podcast.

An active week in papers sees former AS Roma manager Luciano Spalletti take an additional step toward the long-rumored more to Zenit. Meanwhile, Roman Pavlyuchenko gets priced out of his move to St. Petersburg, instead staying in London. While this was happening, the Russian National Team was gathering in St. Petersburg in anticipation of the week’s World Cup qualifiers, for which they look to be without Yuri Zhirkov, Denis Kolodin, and Andrei Arshavin (at least for the first match).

Russian Football Now’s podcast discusses all the plus runs down the Premier League table for you in this, their second full-length podcast.

Football fans are not the most patient of breeds and short memories  are part and parcel of the game. As Arsenal hit top form and sit comfortably within the coveted Champions League places, few Gunners will recall that spell between January and February when their attack floundered haplessly.

Shorn of their captain Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal stumbled to three consecutive goalless draws in the league at the Emirates and left Arsene Wenger’s side desperate for extra attacking impetus. Since the beginning of March Arsenal have scored 22 goals in just seven games in the Premier League and are repaying their manager’s abundant faith in their ability.

Attacking abandon has returned to North London and is encapsulated in the form of Russian wizard Andrei Arshavin. Arsene Wenger’s theory of a six-month bedding in period for foreign players arriving in the Premier League has been thoroughly tested by a player who has provided six goals and six assists since his big money transfer from Zenit St. Petersburg in January.

Wenger’s distaste for the January transfer window is well known but this season he cast those prejudices aside and spent big. That confidence is now being rewarded in spades by a player who looks to the manor born in the hectic pace of the Premier League.

From his stunning strike against Blackburn to his four goal spree at Anfield, the diminutive Russian has added an extra dimension to Arsenal’s attacking play. Arshavin’s blend of vision, pace and technique has spurred the Gunners on and dovetailed superbly with the return to the team of captain and totem, Fabregas.

Against Middelsbrough on Sunday the Spaniard and Arshavin once again hinted at a creative partnership that could be the envy of the league next season. With Fabregas deployed in a more attacking role the pair linked up fabulously throughout the match, Arshavin displaying a sublime range of passing. There may have been a couple of comical efforts on goal thrown in but once again Arshavin was bright and industrious. Arsenal followers must wince at his omission from the starting line-up for the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.

Arshavin’s signing has been hugely important on the pitch as his arrival has re-ignited Arsenal’s season and seemingly put to bed the challenge of Aston Villa for the last Champions League spot. Equally significant though has been the symbolic effect his transfer has had at the North London club. After losing established players like Flamini and Hleb last summer many in the media have been labeling Arsenal a ‘selling club’ that fails to hold on to their big players.

This perception may be off the mark but there certainly seemed to be an unease emanating from the dressing room over Arsenal’s transfer policy. At different times this season both Fabregas and Robin Van Persie have commented publicly on Arsenal’s need to show a little more ambition in the transfer market. By signing Arshavin Arsenal have certainly done that and shown that when the player is right Wenger is not afraid to loosen the purse strings. Arshavin has adapted to Arsenal’s distinct style almost immediately and is clearly revered by his teammates.

Arsenal fans may have to sit through another summer of transfer speculation over Cesc Fabregas but this signing should go a long way to convincing those at the club that Arsenal mean business. It is amazing the difference a couple of months and an infusion of Russian class can make.

Stoke City or Portsmouth Fans Didn't See Much Football Today

For seventy minutes at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke City and Portsmouth football clubs were getting very close to contending for my ‘worst match ever watched’ title. The last twenty minutes redeemed it.

When it’s all said and done we will remember one thing from today’s match between Stoke City and Portsmouth, the penalty that should have never been given.

Just minutes after the incidental one-two Niko Kranjcar played with David Nugent to put Portsmouth ahead, Michael Jones calls a ridiculous penalty on Glen Johnson. Sol Campbell’s flick on put Johnson just out of position, but when he went to control the hand was never used, only the chest. The eyes deceived Jones and Stoke City were level, for all the wrong reasons.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear, this game deserved to end level. However in the events leading up to the goal, Portsmouth were edging their way into the ascendancy. Pompey were the ones who looked like they were going to steal three points. Only Everton, Chelsea and Manchester United have gotten the max at the loud and vocal Britannia.

How Portsmouth allowed Danny Pugh to get in that much space after Stoke went level is just beyond me. Even more so, how did James Beattie head that slow bouncing shot in? While I think Portsmouth were in the ascendancy in the build up to their first goal, they allowed one bad call to nearly give Stoke City another three points at home. Portsmouth in the end, were lucky to get a share of the spoils thanks to a poor Hermann Hreidarsson shot that ended up deflected in by Ryan Shawcross.

Michael Jones called an extremely soft game, one that a Premier League referee should not call. He left a card too many in his pocket, but didn’t leave the whistle down when he should have done so.

Other Thoughts From Today
I do feel sorry for Aston Villa. They deserved something from their game with Chelsea. If Arsenal wasn’t doing everything in their power to not climb into fourth, Aston Villa’s home form would be a worrying sight heading down the stretch.

For being unbeaten in twelve, would you want six of those to be draws? Would you want the last three to be nil draws? Then again when looking at the lineup, the only two names that struck fear were Andrei Arshavin and Robin Van Persie. Arshavin I feel was subbed off too soon (maybe over cautious by Wenger after what happened to Eduardo on Monday), Robin Van Persie was kept in check all afternoon.

Bolton will have a few weeks to breathe away from the relegation zone after getting two quick goals in the first half, putting West Ham away. West Ham though looked like they could have went a month without getting an equalizer.

So Manchester United have finally given up a goal in the league. However with Edwin Van der Sar not in goal, how soon will we grow old of hearing about ‘Van der Sar’s streak’ instead of the one Manchester United had for so long? Cristiano Ronaldo’s free kick that proved the difference was simply sensational.

 Micah Richards wins the Christmas stupidity award.

It took seven weeks, but we find out tonight that Micah Richards was arrested over a December 24th attack outside a Hale nightclub.  It is alleged that Richards attacked an eighteen year old male. In something that Mark Hughes has had some practice with, he’s already coming out in support of his defender.

With all the money these players make, with the big houses these people have, why is it they feel like they need to go out. Nightclubs are a recipie for trouble and when players can have all they need at home, take advantage of it. Look I understand players are as human as I am. But they have to be just a little bit more responsible when it comes to their actions. Their stupidity will end up on the back pages, ours won’t.

Other Stories
Aston Villa won’t make any complaints over the Andrei Arshavin transfer. I’m glad to hear that. The other 19 clubs didn’t say anything either at today’s Premier League meeting.

Three weeks looks to be the amount of time Gerrard will miss with his hamstring injury. Hopefully Gerrard will be available for at least the second leg of the Real Madrid tie.

Joe Kinnear will not be dealing with his contract as long as Newcastle are in a relegation fight. Smart man, because I’m sure he knows if they go down, he won’t be needing to bother with a new contract.

Charles N’Zogbia keeps saying that he found it difficult to work with Joe Kinnear and that’s why he wanted out. I wonder what will happen once Steve Bruce gets tough with him?

I don’t think Lucas’s apology will help him after Wednesday night.

Sylvain Distin doesn’t seem to have the right attitude about Portsmouth’s chances at staying up.

Now Michel Platini wants to get into the whole transfer window debate…oh goody.

And finally, while Manchester United are still in for the quadruple, Sir Alex Ferguson is realistic about his team’s chances for silverware.

Well we know the Andrei Arshavin deal according to the Premier League is complete, but how much trouble was there in completing this deal?

It seems that lawyers had to be called in to make sure everything was in order as this deal was finally competed almost twenty-four hours after the deadline. What’s making this deal even more questionable is that reports are coming out that paperwork submitted to the FA post the five pm deadline had ‘small issues‘.

Now I’m pretty sure the FA and Premier League are going to continue to say this deal is valid, but I have just a few questions that I think need answering by the FA.

1) Since Arshavin was already in London on Monday, why was this deal green lighted for a post five pm completion other than the fact the fee wasn’t agreed upon?

2) So the FA are saying it’s okay to ratify a deal when forms aren’t completely filled  out?

3) If this deal was for a club like Hull City, West Bromwich Albion, ect, would the FA had been so kind to green light the move?

While I will be so happy once this is all said and done, some serious questions need answering. Sadly, I don’t think we will get any of those answers. Again, we aren’t talking about this had the deadline simply been midnight.

So Sky Sports have won four of the six TV Rights packages for the 2010-2013 seasons. What is good news for the Premier League is their fears of having to take a pay cut on the rights in the UK are for naught. The deal Sky made for the four packages they have won will guarantee that with the other two packages, the sum of the packages will at least match what the current deal is. The only question about the last two packages is…will Setanta and ESPN partner on getting those last two packages?

Other Stories.
Frank Lampard’s red was rescinded. There’s a shock…not.

Here’s another one of Rafa’s crazy rants. This time about Robbie Keane. Hey Rafa, have you for one second stopped to ask yourself this question…did you properly know how to use Keane? It seems to me you were trying to jam the square peg into the round hole…it never works.

But Rory Smith of the Telegraph comes out in response of Rafa’s comments with a statement about the lack of options up front for Rafa should there be a single injury.

Could this be why Fulham got rid of Jimmy Bullard? Bullard’s only played one game for Hull City, and has already needed a knee scan.

So Sam Allardyce has made a promise to Roque Santa Cruz…keep Blackburn in the Premier League and you can go. I wonder if that’ll be motivation enough to start scoring the goals again.

Looks like Criag Gordon will have to be content until the summer with being Sunderland’s number two.

Nicky Butt will be staying at Newcastle United until the end of next season. I wonder if he’ll call it a day after that?

Don’t you just love the weather?

Thanks to snow that has been unkind to transport within the UK, the five  pm transfer deadline got extended. Now obviously the catch to that was deals had to already been agreed and loose ends tied up, but just the fact the transfer window had to be extended makes me question the 5 pm ending to begin with. Yes I understand having the window end on a Sunday wouldn’t have been so friendly, however who in their right minds decided that a 5 pm deadline was the right choice?

Deadlines are always going to be arbitraily set, but setting it at 5 pm wasn’t wise. Historically the deadline is midnight, and it would have been wise to have kept it that way. Just because Sunday wasn’t smart for a transfer deadline, having to ask permission to extend the deadline was equally not wise. Had the deadline been set at midnight, like every other transfer deadline, everything would have been just fine. Yes the weather was bad, but setting a bad deadline only made matters worse. I just hope the reason 5 pm was set as the deadline was because the Premier League would be spending Tuesday going over bids for the UK TV rights.

Now obviously the big story of the day was the will it/won’t it happen between Arsenal and Zenit St. Petersburg over Andrei Arshavin. From headlines of “Arsenal ‘fail’ in bid to sign Andrei Arshavin” to “Arshavin deal collapses as Arsenal target heads back to Russia” back to “Confusion over Arshavin move”. It continues with headlines of “Arshavin’s a Gunner! Arsenal get their man on the cheap after day of tense negotiations” and it finally ends up with this one “Arshavin conclusion on hold“. Now I’ll admit, I didn’t think this deal would end up happening. If we want to get into technicalities, the deal still isn’t finalized. Fact remains that all the FA are going to do tomorrow is green light the deal. And for Arsenal, it could be just what the doctor ordered.

Here is this January by the numbers, and here is a list of players who went on deadline day (until 8 pm)

Now the other story of the night is also snow related, and it’s something I happen to agree with. Due to the weather and the uncertainty of it, the FA and Football League have already called off games for Tuesday night, including Arsenal’s FA Cup replay with Cardiff City. If the weather continues, Wednesday’s games aren’t entirely safe either.

This is a good idea. With the number of fans that would be on the roads traveling, and public transport operating at limited capacity (or not at all in some spots), it’s best to give as far in advance notice about postponements as possible. Let’s hope Wednesday’s games aren’t affected as the games Tuesday night have been.

Other Stories
Thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Paul Birch, former Aston Villa and Wolves midfielder, who died Monday after a long battle against bone cancer.

Well Joe Kinnear is admitting he pressed Shola Ameobi was more or less forced into playing last weekend against Sunderland.

Well Mike Riley is admitting he got it wrong, cue me going ‘WHAT A SHOCK!’. I do however have to thank Sam Dalton for taking the words right out of my mouth with regards to Jose Bosingwa. Sorry, but saying sorry doesn’t cut it Jose.

Remember the source on this one, but Tony Adams might have only three games to save his post at Portsmouth.

Sam Allardyce will be without Brett Emerton for the rest of the season.

Graham Poll has his take on Mike Riley and leaves some interesting thoughts in his path.

Jermain Defoe will be spending between 2-3 months on the sidelines after undergoing surgery for a stress fracture on his foot.

Could Mike Ashley be looking to sack Dennis Wise?

Arsenal’s weaknesses have been prevalent in a season more perilous than any under the Wenger regime.  Arsenal have neither an experienced nor a competent holding midfielder.  Their central defense has been inconsistent.  Incompetent moments at the back have cost them points.  As of right now, they are the favorites to drop from the Champions League places.

The obvious, standard move would be to acquire a burly, possibly English midfielder to provide some steel or a veteran defender who can play with either Toure or Gallas.  Arsene Wenger, paradoxically, has spent the entire transfer window signing Russian attacker Andrei Arshavin.  Wenger seems to be intent to get the player Arsenal least need.  But, here is a possible explanation.

Arsenal did not beat West Ham, but after Vela entered the match they, for one of the few times all season, played Arsenal football, even if it amounted to nothing.

Two elements make Arsenal’s system successful.

When Arsenal play well, they dominate possession of the ball.  They shuffle it up and down and from side to side looking for an opening.  They keep the other team on the back foot.

To capitalize on the possession, Arsenal need penetration.  They get through the first line of defenders, with an incisive pass or a skillful run.  The defense panics.  The wall-passing and five-a-side skills come out, and Arsenal attack the goal.  Total football.  Lovely.

In most matches this season, Arsenal has reasonably held possession.  The problem has been in penetration.  Which is no coincidence, considering major injuries to players like Theo Walcott, Cesc Fabregas, Eduardo and Tomas Rosicky.  Arsenal have not penetrated all season, resorting to hoofing the ball up to Adebayor and hoping something happens.

Arshavin could replicate the role of these players, providing his own invention and creating additional space for players such as Nasri and Vela.  If he gets the system working, Arsenal’s game will hold opposing teams behind the ball, thus mitigating their need for a defensive midfielder and a defender.

Could this work or has the esteemed Arsene Wenger truly lost it?