Hitting Southampton For Six

Arsenal 6 - Southampton 1

After the first two games of this season against Sunderland and Stoke City, when we did not score a single goal, I must admit I started to wonder where our goals were going to come from this season. I mean, we had sold the most prolific striker in the premiership during the summer and brought in three players with a lot of promise that on paper made us look a much better team than we were last term but after both games, it looked like it was going to be a while before the team will gel as a unit and start delivering on that promise.

Preview Southampton | Giroud's Duck Breaking Day?

It's match day at last and am I glad it is? After a two week international break I have developed all the withdrawal symptoms of a junkie -anxiety, dilated pupils, agitation, goose bumps, sweating, yawning. Have to seriously start considering rehab.

Our opponents today is Southampton FC, the team that gave us Walcott and  The Ox. Southampton was relegated to the Championship in 2005 after playing in the top flight for 27 consecutive years. In 2009 they were again relegated to League 1. That seemed to be the spur they needed to knuckle down as they gained back-to-back promotion to find themselves back in the Premiership after spending one year in the third tier of English football guided by their new manager, Nigel Adkins.

Watch Wenger's Pre-Southampton Press Conference | Thoughts On Issues Raised

            

 Arsene Wenger's press conference yesterday ahead of this weekend's home game against Southampton provided enough material to make up for the dearth of Arsenal news for the past two weeks while the international break lasted. He never disappoints when he has a microphone (or a bank of them as in this instance) stuck in his face. As usual he shot from the hips.

Is Wenger The Man To Lead Us Forward?

The best man to lead us forward?

Ivan Gazidis' interview yesterday in The Telegraph in which he paid glowing tribute to Arsene Wenger is the topic of most conversations this morning. Depending on which side of the pro and Anti Wenger divide you find yourself in, you may or may not agree with the club's plan to offer Wenger an extension of his contract beyond 2014 when it's due to expire.

“It’s not a sense of sentimentalism, not a reward for services, it’s a belief that we have an incredible manager who loves this club and is the best man to lead us forward,”

The excerpt above is one that has drawn the ire of fans who believe that a lack of trophies in the past seven years hardly qualifies Wenger as the "the best man to lead us forward."

Taking Stock After The Internationals | Played Fifa13 Demo Yet?

On song for France

The last of the international games were played yesterday evening; thank goodness for that. Now we can all turn our attentions to some real football this weekend.

Before we do that though we need to take stock and assess the state the boys who left to do battle for their countries have returned in.

I guess everyone's biggest worry was Abou Diaby; he was mine. After what I saw him do against Liverpool in the last domestic game before the international break, I believe he's an integral part of this team and it was with trepidation that I watched him go off to play for his country. The France game against Finland was not aired in my neck of the woods but I monitored it closely and was glad to hear he scored the game's only goal. I was even more glad to hear that he came out of it unscathed.