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Watching the Arsenal play in the League home game against Newcastle, gave me food for thought. I know the season isn't over yet, there's a lot more to come, and things may yet change however I feel the need to ask the question at this juncture. Virtually all of our players this season have raised their game, but if forced to choose, who would you say is our most improved player for 2007/2008? So, launching our brand new Poll Of The Month series, now is as good a time to ask that question as any. I'm sure you have your own ideas, however in my opinion, the following players would have to be at least up for consideration...

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Newcastle gave this game their all but were outplayed all over the park, and frankly, Arsenal didn't need to step up gears at any point during the game. I'm not going to give a ball-by-ball account, as as usual, other blogs cover this quite well. Suffice to say that Kevin Keegan's Newcastle turned up, but just couldn't match our game play. The fact that both scorelines were 3-0 to the Arsenal for both Saturday's FA cup game and today's Premier League game speaks volumes. Newcastle had a couple of chances, but these were few and far between, and with their confidence as low as it is at the moment, their misses seemed to be accepted with little passion. Flamini's cross in the 40th minute was...

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So, we've been drawn against Manchester Utd in the 5th round of the FA Cup. This is a bit of a pity, as this tie could have made for a good final - Arsenal v Manchester Utd in the FA Cup final is not usually a boring affair. There's a perverse side of me that prefers us to go up north to play the Mancunian's on their home turf. I've always felt that Arsenal as a squad, plays better when we are the underdog. We aren't always at our very best when we are widely expected to do well, to crush a struggling opposition side that could soon be fighting to stay up (1-1 draw Birmingham, anyone). On the bigger stages, we tend to perform better than expected against supposedly (on paper) stronger sides, and I'm hoping that this draw will be no different. Manchester Utd, playing at home, should...

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And in other news, it seems celebrity hot-gossip couple Ashford Cale and Sharon Tweedlum's seemingly 'unbreakable' relationship has finally "hit the rocks" with shocking revelations of a 'tapping up' nature, after Ashford had been allegedly spotted in the restaurant of a well-known central London hotel, having 'transfer discussions' with a very attractive looking lady hairdresser without the permission of Sharon, a.k.a., Mrs Cale. Ashford, who has long claimed to be a childhood fan of Sharon, now appears to be ready to move on after having found 'pastures anew', in the form of blonde hairdressing bombshell, Ms Wowton.Petra Canyon, Chairperson of Chelsea Slags and best mates with Ms Wowton, insists that the...

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Updated on Sunday, January 27, 2008 at 05:48AM by kojodinho - talkingOfArsenal.com

Uh oh. You can see what's coming, can't you? Kolo Toure has suffered a groin injury playing for the Ivory Coast against Benin in the African Cup of Nations 2008 being held in Ghana, West Africa. The Arsenal player had to be substituted late in the first half, in a game in which the Ivorians won 4-1. It's difficult to judge how serious the defender's injury is watching the footage, and much as I respect a player wanting to do their utmost for his country, I sincerely hope he is not pressed back into service before the injury is fully healed. We are fast approaching...

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This is going to be a difficult post to write - I shall do my best to write with my head, and not my heart. For the first time since 1999, we lost to Tottenham, and painfully, by a large margin too. The truth is, there was always going to be a first time when it was going to happen, and yesterday unfortunately was that day. One might look at this result in a couple of ways - the smaller picture, or the bigger picture. Let's do both starting with the smaller picture, the actual game itself. Firstly, you could argue that this was a big game to be playing Walcott in, considering the fact that the lad needs to build up his confidence in order that his natural talent can flourish. You could also make a case that Gilberto still isn't match fit, and for a...

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A late posting on the Fulham game at the weekend, a look forward to our Young Guns' Carling Cup semi-final game against Tottenham's first team, and a group of players (non-Arsenal) being worked to the bone. Rather than a full match report of the Fulham game, I will bow to more detailed treatises elsewhere, and limit my comments on the game to a few words. A solid result against Fulham was always a minimum requirement if both players and fans were to rejuvenate the belief that this team has title winning credentials. And a solid result it was, with two goals...

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This is just a quick post on a most bizaare thing. I've just seen this weeks Match Of The Day from the BBC, and caught what I thought to be a very rude gesture from Alex Ferguson towards what looked like either the Reading bench or fans, just after the second goal went in. Is Fergie beginning to crack under some kind of, as yet undefined pressure? I searched high and low on t'internet, and the only reference I could find regarding this was on ...

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I really didn't think I'd be writing anymore on this issue, however needs must. It would appear that the (cough) midfield maestro extraordinaire that is Diarra, is already talking about life after Portsmouth, with the ink from his pen on the contract hardly dry. It looked to me as though the lady newscaster on Setanta Sports News who read the report just about kept her laughter under control, such was the ridiculous nature of the story she had before her. The news report, also quoted in The Guardian, had Diarra...

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A few websites are reporting that they believe that a deal has been struck between Arsenal and Portsmouth for the transfer of Lasanna Diarra, less than six months after the Frenchman joined the North Londoners from Chelsea. The young player held a lot of promise that he really never fulfilled - and this wasn't down to a lack of being selected in the first team. I have touched on the Diarra situation in the past, and to save you having to go off and search for it, I include the excerpts here. If Diarra leaves, it would be a pity indeed. Were he more patient, I could see him at the age of 24, seizing his opportunity off the back of another players injury, and commanding a first team place from then onwards. Contrary to what he thinks of himself, he will not...

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