Not been a good week has it? Losing a Wembley Final, losing Cesc, losing Walcott, losing Van Persie, seeing our super new goalkeeping wonderkid make his first serious mistake, and having people who have no interest in football call take the rise. No, all in all it has been a crap week.

But within this settimana terribili we fought and gained 3 points against tough opposition, and tonight we will continue our hunt for the 3 remaining trophies. The Bookies have us at 5 to 2 on not to win a trophy, which must be worth a flutter.

Between us and a trophy stand Man Utd; should we win tonight, United away are our next FAC fixture, and we will win tonight. Make no mistake. Orient will put up a fight but our lads will be looking to return to winning ways and I expect us to do so in style.

The defence almost picks itself assuming Mr Wenger will gve another start to Miquel who had a fine debut. Hopefully Ramsey is available to start, he will receive a fine welcome home.

We looked toothless at Brisbane Rd. The Chamakh/Bendter frontline has yet to click, and playing Nik wide right is bringing neither him nor the team any benefit. Once again, I am left questioning the decisions to send so many players on loan. Vela would  surely have started tonight, instead Arshavin or Nasri will have to start in order to give us some width and pace. We have to give Wilshere a rest – he has been giving is all for too long and surely we have enough in midfield to create a win without him. This team is going to be a case of Hobson’s choice.

My team?

Probably not what AW will go for (I expect him to leave Ramsey on the bench and play Song/Rosicky) and I am unable to get into the Arsenal website to check the injury status of Diaby.

Orient gave us a fright in East London, though to be honest we totally controlled the game and they scored with virtually their only opportunity. Will they be able to do the same on our home turf? I think it highly unlikely and our B team have some work to do to improve our image of them. Some are playing for their Arsenal careers.

Much has been written about the lack of enthusiasm from the Arsenal section of the Wembley crowd, I expect a subdued atmosphere tonight and quite a few empty seats. It is up to the team to return the feelgood factor and I am sure they will – it is time to put the smile back on Arsene’s face.

We have been charitable to a close neighbour, allowing them the opportunity to garner some much needed cash and have a week of glory. Orient have had their Cup Final and got the result they needed – we had ours and didn’t. Arsenal need to get back to winning ways,and tonight  will be the start of another winning run of games

Continuing our heavy metal theme. I have it on good authority that Mick Box guitarist with Uriah Heep, and Phil Collen, lead guitarist of Def Leppard were from Leyton but then so was pianist Bobby Crush (only known to the older readers!)

p.s. This was written prior to Chelsea’s win last night. Had I written it this morning the opening of the post may well have been more upbeat. Such is the wonder of football!

COYRRG

Written by BigRaddy

What a run we are on!  Can our East London neighbours stop the momentum this team is building? If Arsenal were to lose today would it have a knock on effect for the rest of the season? What do you think?

I know what I am about to write will be as popular as a root canal treatment but I can see advantages to our suffering a cup upset. Hold hard before you jump on me and allow me to explain……

The magic of the FA Cup. Let’s be honest, it has disappeared as the Champions League and  TV saturation of the Premiership has developed. Gone are the days of the plucky young David’s defeating the Goliath. Nowadays we see Man Utd put out a team with 10 changes from their regular PL side scrape past Crawley – does SAF take this action because he believes in the sanctity of the FA Cup? No, he does so because he puts a low priority on the Cup with big games to come for his side. I expect Mr Wenger to do the same today. In my youth, the Cup was as important as the League and I travelled near and far to watch the Arsenal (one particularly gruesome and bitterly cold trip to Yeovil stands out in the memory). Today, that excitement has dissipated..

It would be great for the future of the Cup if a minnow won and reached the final rounds, and why should it not be Orient? A club which many Londoners and in particular Arsenal fans look upon with affection. Headlines would be written around the world about how the mighty Arsenal having just beaten “the best team of all-time” have been beaten in the World’s oldest Cup competition. It would be a superb advert for the Cup. Surely we can be that generous to the long term future of the FA Cup.

And how would a loss affect our side? In my opinion we would have a group of deeply ashamed and embarrassed players who would gird their loins and refuse to allow that ever to happen again. Sometimes a good kick in the kischkas is the propellant required to push a team to glory.

Plus we would have one less competition to worry about. One could argue that there are only 3 decent sides left in the competition and we have a real chance to win another domestic Cup Double, to which I can only agree.

Games like today raise questions about our loan system.  Most of our loanees would have played today  – Mannone, Cruise, Traore, Bartley, Ramsey, Vela, Coquelin, JET, Randall, Lansbury to name but a few. Instead AW will be forced to play a number of members of his first team just a few days prior to a tough game at home to Stoke.

This is my guess for today’s line-up:

This team should certainly have enough to beat a determined Leyton Orient.

Leyton is mentioned in the Domesday Book. It was severely damaged by Zeppelin raids during the First World War who were trying to bomb the local docklands. Iron Maiden , those true English gentleman who carry the banner of Proper Rock to the world were formed in Leyton.

COYRRG

Written by BigRaddy