Last 7 games (in all competitions): 0-0, 1-1, 0-0, 0-0, 4-0, 0-0, 1-0

There was a time when Arsenal used to struggle to keep a clean-sheet but had no trouble putting the ball into the opponents net. Times have changed. But now that the current team has had some practice of keeping a clean-sheet, scoring some goals (especially in the league) is essential to get things moving in the right direction again.

Plenty of stalls so far but with 12 league games remaining Arsenal have to get going against Fulham, a team against whom Arsenal put in a dismal performance in their first away game of the season. The starting 11 from that 1-0 loss were Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Walcott, Eboue, Denilson, Nasri, Adebayor, Van Persie with Song (77 min) and Bendtner (65 min) coming on as subs.

So have all the lessons being learned? Can a win finally be earned? Will Arshavin get his first Arsenal goal? or will it all hinge on Van Persie again?

Answers anyone?

The Champions league is back and there are some mouth-watering ties to look forward to it. Interestingly 6 match-ups stack up evenly given the opponents relative domestic league standings.

1) Arsenal vs Roma

Arsenal currently lie in 5th place in the EPL 17 points off the top. While Roma lie in 6th place in Serie A 16 points off the top. Both teams possess enough talent on their lineups but unfortunately both have been off key in their respective domestic league season. Roma had an awful start to the domestic season when they found themselves lingering near the relegation zone. The Roman club have recovered since then but still can be found putting in below par performances.

2) Inter Milan vs Manchester United

Inter are 9 points clear at the top of Serie A while Man Utd are 7 points clear at the top of the English league. Essentially both teams have the fate of their respective domestic titles in their hands. For Inter the European trophy represents that elusive holy grail as they seek to improve on the two titles they have won, with the last one coming back in 1965, and continue to live in the shadows of their rivals AC Milan who currently have 7 European titles. The tie promises to garner enough attention because of the Jose vs Fergie mind games but it also brings together the meeting of football’s highest paid player (Zlatan) vs the current world player of the year.

3) Chelsea vs Juventus

Chelsea are 3rd in the EPL 10 points off the top while Juventus trail Inter by 9 points and lie in second place. Both have produced some average performances throughout the season but Chelsea are now under a new manager and might be on their way up. Juventus got some good news recently with the return of Trezeguet after his long injury lay off and do still have Del Pierro who certainly turned it on against Madrid in the group stages.

4) Real Madrid vs Liverpool

Both Madrid and Liverpool lie in second place in their respective leagues 7 points off the top. But Madrid are on the way up and have won 9 straight liga games and gained 5 points against Barcelona in the last two weekends. Liverpool on the other hand have dropped key points in the league since January with 4 draws and have given up their lead.

5) Lyon vs Barcelona

Lyon have been the top team in France for almost an eternity now but this season they briefly slowed down a bit to let other teams believe they had a chance before pulling ahead with a 6 point lead. Barcelona were on an amazing run with 10 straight liga wins until their 2-2 draw with Betis 10 days ago. This weekend’s shock home derby loss to Espanyol certainly has shown Barca to be human. It will be interesting to see if Barca can put the loss behind and regroup.

6) Sporting vs Bayern

Both teams are 4 points off the top in their domestic league with Sporting in 3rd place in Portugal while Bayern are in 4th spot in Germany.

7) Atletico vs Porto

Despite having some very talented players on their squad Atletico Madrid’s domestic season has been a huge let down as they trail Barcelona by 24 points after 24 games. While Porto are where they normally find themselves in the Portuguese league, at the top.

8 ) Villarreal vs Panathinaikos

Even though Villarreal have been another let down in Spain they still manage to produce some decent results. Robert Pires has shown that he still has some flair left. Panathinaikos trail rivals Olympiakos by 9 points in the Greek league so they will be looking forward to their European tie. The tie also brings together some former Gunners in Cygan, Pires and Gilberto.

Even though all match-ups look promising, they also might end up producing some cautious results because each team has a unique reason to win the Champions league. Still hoping for some great games.

“Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been warned by the club’s new chief exective Ivan Gazidis that finishing out of the top four signals a season of failure.”

Amen! It is sadly refreshing for someone at Arsenal Management has stepped up to the plate and served it starkly COLD.

Point fingers at whomever, but we are facing a crisis that could impact the club for a decade.

From a fan’s position, what signs should we be looking for to give us a warm fuzzy about the teams future?

Theo, Cesc, Rosicky, Eduardo have sustained long-term injuries. SHOULD WE ANTICIPATE THEY CAN RETURN TO PREVIOUS LEVELS OF PLAY? AND WHEN WILL THAT BE? We can hope, but we all have been in the ‘hope mode’ since August.

Every week we scramble to view the full roster to search out who is a healthy body for our next match.

With so many lineup changes, can we ever expect continuity?

Song, Denilson, Ebou, Diaby, Vela, and Bendtner – with any 4 (or more) in the starting line up, we cannot expect much more than the same frustrating results. This is not to say they are not Arsenal quality. Due to their age, they need more talent around them to make their game grow. The line up can withstand 1 (maybe 2) , but no more.

The heart of our problems, in my opinion, has been the mid-field.
Mr. Fabregas, with all his talents, is a physically limited player in EPL. For him to be most effective, he needs a supporting cast like Rosicky, Hleb, and a Flamini – confident and experienced hard workers, WHO ARE SKILLFUL RISK TAKERS with the ball at their feet.

Through injuries, our team has morphed to a tentativeness style of play. So afraid to make a mistake, followers have to endure 90 minutes of hair pulling lateral passing.

I believe that Song or Denilson can be our DM, only if the 2 wingers are STRONG and experienced. (that does not include Theo) For now, they are both too young to provide what the team is needing in the spine – case in point, our fall performance when Cesc was healthy.

I believe if someone in Management had spoken the opening words of this blog in early December, Mr. Arshavin would have been signed January 2nd and not February 2nd. In hindsight, we would be sitting with a much stronger point total.

Do I like our prospects for the future? Absolutely, if our experienced players can stay healthy. Do I have assurances that next year won’t mirror this year? NO.

So now we must watch the season play out and hope for the best. More importantly to see how the Board and Wenger wake up, and approach not the balance of this year, but our future. Future for keeping our key players and providing Arsenal a better balance of experience off the bench.