Struck by such a plethora of injuries, it seems pretty plain that Arsenal will have to buy a striker when the transfer market opens in January.What appalling luck they have had with their attackers!
In February of 2008 there was the horrific case of Eduardo, his leg smashed by a dreadful tackle at Birmingham.
He, thank goodness, is playing again and playing well. Now in horribly quick succession the Gunners have lost their two tall young internationals, Nicklas Bendtner of Denmark and worst of all, Robin Van Persie, severely hurt playing in a mere friendly for Holland against Italy.
Certainly Arsenal can call on the elegant Mexico international Carlos Vela, whom they parked in Spain for some time. Like Eduardo, for all his undoubted skills, Vela lacks physical threat. And all this just at the moment when the Gunners' bright attack, criticised for making but not taking so many chances, seemed really to have got into gear.
It may be some kind of consolation for manager Arsene Wenger that one of his brightest teenagers, Aaron Ramsey, recently dominated Wales' 3-0 humiliation of Scotland at Cardiff City Stadium. John Toshack, his manager with Wales, praised the gifted and incisive midfielder who, under Arsenal's aegis has gained a great deal in strength. But to me, he has seemed a star ever since Cardiff City brought him on, far too late, in the second half of that FA Cup Final at Wembley, against Portsmouth, when he was a revelation.
Utterly nerveless, never in a hurry, always shrewd in his use of the ball, quite ready to take on and go past older, more experienced defenders. The question then was, where would he move? Manchester United wanted him, so did Arsenal. The question also was, how much playing time would he get if he moved to either Titan? United seemed ready to let him stay on loan at Cardiff but it was to Arsenal he went and alas opportunities till now have been all too rare.
British youngsters, the dissident and greedy (£55,000-a-week is an insult) Ashley Cole being an exception, find it very hard to break through at the North London club. Indeed, one fervently hopes that a still more precocious figure, actually a 17-year-old Englishman in Jack Wilshere, will not be allowed to wither on the vine. Marvellously precocious on either wing or even through the middle, this is a very rare, exciting talent at a time when, alas, it hardly grows on English trees. When will there ever be another Paul Gascoigne?
England's display in that deeply unnecessary friendly in Qatar was that of a virtual second eleven. Yet I think I'd be more worried were I Dunga, the manager and ex-captain of Brazil. Yes, they won 1-0, missed a penalty and hit the woodwork. But with John Terry, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon and Steven Gerrard on the field, it could have been a very different story.
Incorrigible Alex Ferguson. Having been properly if controversially fined and suspended for a gratuitous attack on the fitness of Alan Wiley, referee of Manchester United's 2-2 draw with Sunderland (when Wiley proved to have run more than all but four of the United players) Fergie generously tells Wiley that he won't mind if he referees other United games!
Does he even pick his referees now? Does the Premier League know? Fergie, by the way, still refuses to attend post-match Premier League press conferences and gets away with it. And his long-running feud with the BBC shows no sign of abating. The referees' association have muttered about taking Fergie to court for his slights on Wiley, which has roused fury among his admirers, emphasising all he has done in and for the game. But is that relevant here?
