Arsenal appear to be experiencing what Bayern Munich and AC Milan did in the past few years. The side has transparent flaws which from the outside seem quite easily fixable, with balance being the buzz word bandied around Arsene Wenger’s recent press conferences, along with the now-famous quotes such as ‘We lacked a little bit of sharpness’ and ‘We played with a little bit of a handbrake’. The imbalance in the side has meant neither priority of goals and clean sheets is fulfilled simultaneously.

Early in the season, creatively and goals were at a premium, unfortunately for Arsenal, at both ends of the pitch. The lack of a midfield shield or enforcer meant too many runners bypassed the ball-watching Denilson and Arsenal were conceding far too many chances. The focus shifted once Fabregas strained knee ligaments in the home clash against Liverpool, with Song the only viable option. The decrease in attacking potency catalysed a shift to a more defensive approach, with Clichy and Sagna reducing the frequency of their attacking forays, Song and Denilson breaking up opposition attacks but creating largely nothing. The pressure of creativity fell largely on the shoulders of Samir Nasri, a promising signing in his first six months of English football. To be fair to the former Marseille youth, he had largely adapted very swiftly, but on several occasions, he has opted to pass back to his full-back rather than attempt to put his marker on the back foot, ending any attacking momentum. The club was also reliant on Robin van Persie for goals and assists; he provided both through the whole of January. Such pressure on two players is in most cases ephemeral.

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The anonymous HATCHET MAN, who writes for the Daily Mail, attempts ‘hard-hitting’ journalism, which is a positive spin on articles that are generally full of sensationalist drivel. No wonder the columnists who write it retain anonymity.

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Don’t you just love deadline day? Brian Swanson and Dharmesh Seth repeatedly refer to their millions of sources and contacts around the footballing world and attempt to break news every other second. The obsession of the 24 hour media and its constant need for new news and exclusives is hilarious. The number of times Sky Sports News has contradicted itself over the past 72 hours is quite frankly disturbing. This is supposed to be a reliable source of news not a tabloid or the disgusting excuse for a website in tribalfootball.com

Take for instance, the ‘sagas’ of Robbie Keane and Andrei Arshavin. This morning we were told that Arshavin had arrived in London for talks if a fee was to be agreed. Then suddenly, the deal was off, as Arsenal and Zenit couldn’t agree a fee. Arshavin was supposedly off to the airport, despite all flights from Heathrow being cancelled.

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Raul had already cemented himself in Real Madrid history for the plethora of trophies that have arrived at the Bernabeu. The trio of Champions League titles, together with six LA Liga titles and four Spanish Super Cups has made the Spaniard one of the most successful players for Los Blancos. Yet in Soria this weekend, Raul Gonzalez equalled the goal-scoring record of Real’s greatest ever player and a genius who is considered by some to be the greatest of all time. Raul did so by scoring the winner in the away game to Numancia. Robben got the second, assisted by a Raul pass.

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