Wenger gets it wrong (yet again) in the League Cup

It was clear by the starting line-ups who was taking this more seriously, as Chelsea deservedly went on to progress to the next round of the Capital Once Cup with a 2-0 win over the Gunners.

Not for the first time this season, Arsenal were undone by a counter attacking goal that proved enough to knock them out of the Capital One Cup.

Chelsea were by far the superior side on Tuesday night, in what was a wasted evening up the local! Mata scored a well struck shot on the edge of the area in the second half as they sealed their spot in the quarter-finals of the League Cup.

But it was Wenger's usual approach to this competition that helped Jose Mourinho's side get the win and make it three defeats for Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium this season, with Wenger still without a win against a Chelsea-managed Mourinho.

I am more than with Wenger for his attitude on giving younger players who aren't on loan, a run out if we are against teams further down the football league. But we have all too often seen his thinking in putting out a weakened side against top teams, and it shoots us in the foot. We don't have as much strength in depth as Chelsea and it showed last night, and the likes of Bendtner and Park will surely move on in January or next summer.

Replacing Szczesny, Fabianski had little to do in between the sticks other than pick the ball out the net (twice) while reported want-out Vermaelen started at the back with Jenkinson to the right. An Ozil-less midfield still looked strong however with the likes of Wilshere, Ramsey, Cazorla and Rosicky. Ryo Miyaichi started out on the right wing but he lacked the desire and ability to break past the resilient Blues defence, and Bendtner, try as he might, was his typical self.

The fans cried for Giroud who eventually made way for the Dane but it came too late as Arsenal were already 2-0 down and looking all but out. Even Park made an appearance and that sums up Arsene's lack of passion for the competition. For a side who haven't won a trophy since 2005, and when up against a top side, can Wenger still be so nonchalant?

Nine lives: Mourinho has never lost any of the nine ties against Arsenal in his two
managerial campaigns with Chelsea.

I'm surprised Jenkinson played the full 90 minutes too. It was partially his error that led to Chelsea's opening goal. From our corner, they cleared and Eto'o brought the ball forward. The ball looped up in the air and Wilshere and Jenkinson both backed off the high ball, before the Finnish right back headed a woeful ball back to Fabianski, who was unable to get to the ball before Chelsea's own right back Azpilicueta.

He often needs a run of games under his belt, and simply returning last night against a strong Chelsea side showed he wasn't ready for that kind of match, looking a shadow of the improved player we saw last season.

Wenger will surely take the blame though for the side he chose to put out last night. Having said that, Liverpool are next up in the Premier League on Saturday evening (17:30pm k/o) so you can understand his reasoning for maybe wanting to rest some players. They currently sit two points behind in third (joint second with Chelsea though the Blues have a better goal difference by one), and Brendan Rodgers' side will again not make things easy for us.

However, after the losses against Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea, and a less emphatic display against Crystal Palace in-between, fans will be hoping a general dip in form among the who club isn't on the verge of culminating.

Mata (left), once an Arsenal target, proves his point to Mourinho
 as the Spaniard sinks us.

Unhappy birthday: Arsenal 1-2 Borussia Dortmund

Arsenal succumbed to their first defeat in 13 matches as Borussia Dortmund proved to be no walk in the park on match-day three of the Champions League Group Stage.

I felt this could prove to be their toughest fixture yet but they grew in confidence and perhaps, on the night, should have ended up winning the game. Dortmund took the lead, somewhat annoyingly due to poor marking at the back, when Henrikh Mkhitaryan received the ball in space and drilled the ball past Szczesny.

They came with a game plan and succeeded in pressurising Arsenal well, allowing us to have very little time on the ball. Perhaps Arsenal wanted too much time; Ramsey was often found caught in possession which is annoying to watch for someone who is filled to brim with confidence.

Ozil was quiet in the first half and it took me some time to realise he was on the pitch. Arsenal were not up to the standards they have set themselves in recent weeks, while Dortmund were on top of everything.

Still Arsenal drew level thanks to Giroud minutes before half time. Sagna's cross was somewhat flapped by Roman Weidenfeller in Dortmund's goal, and Giroud smashed the loose ball into the goal. Fair play to the French striker for not giving up on the chance, and he got his reward.

Dortmund, for all their abilities in pressurising Arsenal and possession building, looked a little lacklustre when it came to the final ball or troubling the goal. Then again, Arsenal weren't creating too much in the way of clear-cut opportunities either and tiredness, as shown against Norwich, started to creep in.

Thus came the change in Arsenal's momentum as Santi Cazorla came on to replace Wilshere in the second half, and his impact suggested Arsenal would grab a deserved goal and victory. The Spaniard nearly scored himself, with only the upright denying him with a fierce shot from outside the area. But for all their new-found attacking flair, they were caught by a counter-attack sucker-punch inside the final ten minutes. Gündoğan, whose final ball had been poor all game, saw his deep cross volleyed powerfully by Robert Lewandowsi past his Polish counter-part Szczesny in Arsenal's goal.

In what was a very German affair with all of Dortmund's own, plus Ozil and Mertesacker for us, Wenger, who celebrated his 64th birthday today, brought on young Serge Gnabry late on but he had little time to show us his potential. Bendtner also came on as a late substitute as Arsenal hoped to get players forward and find that second goal.

It didn't come however as Arsenal will now feel a little more pressure on them. Napoli secured a 2-1 win against Marseille which now sees Dortmund, Arsenal and the Italian side all on six points in Group F at the half-way stage.

So Wenger would have wished for a better birthday present tonight, but he now begins life as a 64-year-old with thoughts of Crystal Palace, who are up next to face The Gunners on Saturday (26/10 12:45pm k/o BST).

Girooooud

Two month review: invincibles...anyone?

Arsenal have pushed on from their early good form and proved the critics wrong, by establishing themselves as a side ready to fight to keep their place at the top of the table.

Only one game has been drawn since my last review and the side continue to look more and more like the great sides of the past.

Norwich proved to be the next team to be swept aside by our in-form Arsenal, albeit a little lethargic Arsenal side. Looking a little tired, perhaps understandably with players only just returning from injury or international fixtures respectively, they mustered four goals against the Canaries, with some pure class football on display I'm sure Barcelona would be proud of.

We are now eight games into the league (with only one draw and loss), on match-day three of the Champions League Group Stages (already taken six points from six), and are through to the next round of the League Cup. It certainly hasn't been a bad couple of months since the season started.

So since that opening day horror, Arsenal haven't lost a match and, well, we are flying. Liverpool remain our closest threat in second place in the Premier League but with Mesut Ozil's influence on this side, there doesn't appear to be a team who can really match us at the moment.

Alongside Ozil, Ramsey has continued to be one of our best players and he scored yet another well taken goal n Saturday, cutting inside defenders before calmly drilling past Ruddy in the Norwich goal. He now has nine goals in the last 12 matches and there appears to be no stopping him.

Target man Giroud with the in form duo of Ozil and Ramsey.

The Champions League continues tomorrow, and Arsenal are already looking set to progress to the knock-out stages in style. Comfortable wins in Marseille and against Napoli have given us maximum points but last year's finalists Borussia Dortmund are up next tomorrow night (22/10 7:45pm k/o BST). They could be our toughest fixture yet, being a side who reflect Germany's position as a footballing force.

We all thought he was an assist magician rather than a goalscorer, but our own fantastic German Ozil has proved he knows where the net is at the Emirates. He opened his Arsenal account with a wonderful strike against Napoli and grabbed two at the weekend against Norwich. His talents are phenomenal and I'm sure even the stubborn Wenger will be pleased to see paying £42.5m has begun to pay off.

There has been negativity in the media though surrounding Jack Wilshere particularly, who was spotted smoking outside a club following our 2-1 win away to Swansea. Though he might not do his image any good to people who look up to him, he hasn't let this attention get to him as he helped lead England to the World Cup Finals, and has seen his overall form rise in an Arsenal shirt too!

After finding the next for the first time in around three years, he levelled against West Brom prior to the international fixtures and then I think we may have seen goal of the season on Saturday. Wilshere began the move from deep. As we burst forward Cazorla...well see for yourself!

Simply Sublime.

Since my last look at the season so far, Bendtner has slowly been reintroduced to the side - and I don't think many would have expected to see his face any time soon. He first played in the League Cup fixture against West Brom (of which he took and scored the first penalty in the shootout!) and he since featured on the bench a little before coming on as a sub against Norwich. He's in with a chance of establishing himself and, with a little more match experience to build his fitness, needs to prove himself. There will be no third chance.

Outside of Arsenal, England found the ability to raise their game and see off Poland in their final World Cup qualifier to finish top of the table and secure a place at next year's World Cup in Brazil. Gibbs got called up to stand in for (c)Ashley Cole but remained an unused sub with Leighton Baines starting at left back. Kept him fresh for us at least! Anyhow, it will be nice to see if Walcott, Wilshere, Gibbs, and/or Oxlade-Chambrlain get called up to go to Brazil but next year's tournament, regardless, will make for some exciting games to watch.

Arsenal will now play six games over the next three weeks with two against Borussia Dortmund, a League Cup fixture against Chelsea, and Premier League matches against Liverpool and a trip to Old Trafford, plus next weekend's trip away to Crystal Palace.

This period could prove a mammoth task for anyone, but we've continued our exceptional form and don't look like letting go of our focus. And as long as there are no more injuries, particularly up front, there is every chance we can take on all of these sides and take maximum points. There is certainly belief again, from both those involved at the club, and the fans.

We are considered to be title contenders after our great start, certainly alongside Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea (can eighth placed Manchester United close the gap?) Yet could we witness the return of the invincibles? 7/49 games to level the record so far...and counting!

Will we witness scenes like these come May? 

Arsenal return to top the table after World Cup qualifiers

As the Premier League returned this weekend, so did Arsenal's winning mentality as they brushed Norwich aside 4-1 at the Emirates.

Wilshere scored his second goal of the season, before Ozil grabbed a double with Ramsey, on as a substitute, adding a late fourth, and his ninth of the season.

Despite picking up a knee injury midweek, Ozil was declared fit enough to start on Saturday, which also saw the return of Cazorla and Sagna, and Bendtner featured as he replaced Giroud late on.

Congratulations go out to England, after they succeeded in topping their group in the World Cup qualifiers. In what was a tense, but enthralling encounter, seeing off Poland 2-0 ensured their place at next year's major tournament in Brazil. Of course nobody will expect them to go on and compete against the likes of Germany or Spain say, but I think we're seeing more young talent inject something a little more exciting and I can't wait to see the likes of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wacott and Wilshere featuring more, alongside the country's new hero in Andros Townsend (This is no credit to Spurs!)

Having said that, few would have thought Arsenal would have been playing the football and be in the form they are, so who's to say England can't surprise a few.

So Arsenal returned to Premier League action with a good win over the Canaries; a win they knew which would see them go ahead Liverpool on points after they drew with Newcastle in the lunchtime kick off. And Manchester United ey? Who are they I hear you ask.

I think people expected them to be below the level we have associated the Red Devils as being with the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm. His successor David Moyes was hoping to have secured his first back-to-back win as manager but a late Southampton goal put an end to that. They are a force though with talent in the likes of De Gea, Rooney, Van Persie but this is the problem; they lack depth and talent throughout the squad. Fergie, for me, held the key to their success and now he has moved down from his managerial role, their bossiness and stature in the league has certainly slumped.

Are they en-route to do 'an Arsenal'? I don't think many will really see it coming (Van Persie certainly won't be hoping for it) but I have an inkling for some reason they face dark times ahead - something they aren't used to. Here's hoping anyway.

Arsenal play Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday (22/10, 7:45 pm k/o BST), in what will be a great fixture against last year's finalists. Our good form will give us a fine chance and I can't wait to see how we do in what could be our biggest test of the season so far. 

Spot the ball: Ramsey completes the rout 

The Wilshere-Media row: Smoking and what is being English?

He's not had a great couple of weeks, media-wise, has Jack Wilshere? While international football has taken over, he's certainly kept Arsenal fans with something to talk about.

Firstly he was publicly ridiculed for smoking a cigarette outside a nightclub following Arsenal's 2-1 win against Swansea, and then criticised for comments made about what makes a footballer eligible to play for England.

Let's get things straight on the smoking front.

I am not a smoker but neither do I judge those who wish to smoke, either casually or regularly. Jack Wilshere is a human being as well as a footballer. Sound obvious, but many people seem to need reminding of this simple fact.

Smoking isn't recommended as a professional footballer, as is drinking, but everyone enjoys a tipple now and again without it doing damage to your health and the same applies to a cigarette. We all know about the build up of tar and such other horrible things, but one cigarette being smoked outside a club...really?

I get he's a public figure in the football world and may have an image to abide by, but in his own personal life (like I said, don't forget footballers have lives off the pitch too), he should be allowed a break.

Having a puff: The father of two is disgraced by the media for his actions

The 'racist' row if we can call it that, has similarly been met by those on both sides of the fence, but perhaps a little too much negativity has been made of his remarks.

He openly denied that his comments were made about Manchester United's rising star Adnan Januzaj, who faces the options of representing either England, his country of birth Belgium, or his parent's respective country of births Turkey or Serbia. He would be able to represent the English national side from 2018, after living in the country for what would make five years.

The midfielder faced a host of backlash from other sporting professionals including cricketer Kevin Pietersen. The south-African born Batsman quizzed our number 10 on the eligibility of non-ngland born sports men and women playing for England in their respected sports.

But what makes a person English? To me nobody belongs to a country. If you believe the research done into the history of civilisation even, we all descend from Africa. Does that make us African instead? I'm not Wilshere's personal family historian but there would have been a point in time where his family crossed over to England.

I don't think he's racist and for the development of young hopefuls already in England, and for the national team to become a strong side, who's to say even restricting the number of recent foreign born players would be a bad thing?

The highly rated youngster is rumoured to have been offered 60k a week at Old Trafford.

German football has been growing and we are seeing, and have seen the talent and capabilities the national team are producing. So Podolski, Kheidera, Gomez and Klose had / have other nationalities but again this backs up nobody really belongs to a country but they chose a national side who have become second to Spain, whereas we remain a little further behind.

Something still needs to change but England are currently top of the group heading into the final World Cup qualifier against Poland tomorrow (15/10/2013 7:45pm k/o BST) night.

Wilshere need not let all the media focus effect him in a bad way, for no matter what he does off the field, on it is what England fans and Arsenal fans alike will judge him by.

Wilshere recognises the support of his fans.

Second chance for Nicklas Bendtner

Nicklas Bendtner has spoken of how he feels he is a different person now, via the Arsenal website.

Our number 52 featured against West Brom in the League Cup last month, to make his first Arsenal appearance since 2011. For the last two seasons he has been on loan at Sunderland and Juventus respectively, but his attitude to the game clearly has put himself above who he actually is.

I remember seeing him at Euro 2012 and saw a Bendtner I hadn't really seen in an Arsenal shirt. He was playing well for the Denmark national side, suggesting there is some talent within him.

Talking to Arsenal player, he revealed the birth of his son and other experiences away from the pitch have made him a different person.

The perception of him as a footballer has come down to his attitude and performances on the pitch. Arsenal fans have generally taken a dis-likening to him, but the Dane says the wider perception of him is wrong.

Hands up: No apology as such but Bendtner says
he is a different person now 

He also denies his comments suggesting he feels he is bigger than the game. Wenger hasn't been able to shift him on though because of his wage demands, and his performances haven't matched his worth, so how good does he think he is?

So are his comments just a cover? It was circulating in the past that he never wanted to put on an Arsenal shirt again. Now nobody appears to want him, and with an opportunity to break into our side, is he desperate to make amends?

For me, with Bendtner coming back into the side, this is his second chance. He now has to prove he is worth something to the team, who are on such a high following their superb undefeated streak. But should Wenger put him back into the Arsenal side? With Giroud our only recognised, injury free striker left in the side (not including Park, I'm sorry), now is a better time than ever for the 25-year-old to up his game. He certainly has a point to prove.

He says he is ready to make the step up and fight. Is he a different person and player now? I suppose there is only one way to find out.

The article and video can be found here (Arsenal.com).

Beardy man: New look, new player?

In other news, Aaron Ramsey has been awarded Arsenal player of the month for September; the third month in a row he has now won the monthly accolade.

The Welshman is certainly deserving of the achievement, who has maintained his fine display on the pitch, week in week out. He scored five goals last month, bringing his total to eight goals, in eleven matches across all competitions.

Arsenal top table as Gibbs gets England call up for international break

Arsenal had to claw a goal back after falling behind to West Brom on Sunday; the first time I felt a little concerned this season for them since the opening couple of weeks.

They did well to draw level (1-1) and take a point in the end though as they continued their undefeated streak.

Jack Wilshere got his first goal in around three years for the club to avoid a disappointing result, in a game that might have swung either way. Both sides had spells and opportunities but nevertheless, Arsenal had to settle for the point that sees them joint top of the league alongside Liverpool.

It's the return of the internationals now with England (bore) up against Montenegro and Poland in the next week as they aim to qualify for the World Cup finals which take place next summer.

Gibbs has been called up, and deservedly so, to England's defence with Ashley Cole injured, though Leighton Baines is most likely to get the nod ahead of our left back.

Wilshere, who is buoyed by the returns of Rooney and Sturridge as the BBC are reporting, will aim to be the play-maker who can help to England qualify from Group H though Theo Walcott remains sidelined through injury.

Could the break deter Arsenal from their fine recent performances? A dip in form could always be around the corner for any good team as I wrote a few weeks ago. Regardless, I hope England will qualify and that all our players do well for their respected countries...and not pick up any more injuries in the process!

England's final fixtures:

v Montenegro (H) Fri 11th, 20:00 k/o BST

v Poland (H) Tues 15th, 20:00 k/o BST

Gibbs gets the call by Roy Hodgson