It’s fascinating. As I sat down to write this last piece of the year, I ended up looking back at September 2, 2008, day on which I decided to open a blog about Arsenal, and I realise that in a way, it can no longer be called a blog because it grew so much in size that the term “website” is surely more appropriate.

As I always say, all this wouldn’t have been possible without you, the reader, the contributor in the comments section. You all know how much I appreciate the contribution of our readers, especially those who contribute after every game and even if I will not mention any names, for obvious reasons, you know who you are.

As I look at statistics, I see that we had more than 1 million visits in a year and that fills me with joy because The Gunning Hawk is not me, it’s not Hasmat or Renzo and Jeffrey who update the site every day. No, we are a family and our readers are part of it. And speaking of statistics, make sure to check some related to our website, at the bottom of this article.

And now, the Pompey game.

Portsmouth

What was a relatively easy win has told a lot about the present and future of our club. Abou Diaby is no longer a poor player who did well in one-two games. No, he is finally the player we always wanted him to be and the 8, 8.5 and 7.5 ratings I gave him in his last three games clearly show this.

Aaron Ramsey. What a beautiful player he is. Don’t get the wrong idea, I’m talking football-wise of course. Let’s start from this: he cannot be compared with Denilson, it would be foolish to say whether you prefer one or the other for the Arsenal midfield. They are different and this is a big advantage to us. I firmly believe that we should see more of Aaron when we play at the Emirates against easy opposition, because those are the games where we spend most of the time going forward, on the attack and he is amazing in those situations.

The Brasilian, on the other hand, is excellent in doing that dirty work in midfield which usually goes unnoticed, such as the game against Aston Villa. Alex Song, our best player so far, may be going away for a couple of weeks but as I see it, Denilson and Aaron Ramsey – not to mention Abou and Cesc of course – can cope in midfield without the Cameroon International.

Sign, Sign, Sign!

How many players do we need this January? Weeks ago, I was of the opinion that we needed a strong striker but let’s face it, we did improve up front in these last couple of weeks, didn’t we?

I’m not saying so because we enjoyed wins because after all remember, if there’s someone who is not shy to highlight problems after wins that’s me. I’m saying so because losing such a crucial player like Robin van Persie is not easy, and finding the perfect solution to such a “problem” requires time. And now, I believe we found this solution. What if we sign someone who doesn’t settle down as easy as Andrey did last January? You may go out there with a new striker who fails to live up to the expectations, draw or lose two games because the squad is no longer a balanced one and goodbye titles hopes.

Besides, if you sign a new face, an old one has to leave. You sign a striker and what about Carlos Vela’s future? You sign a midfielder, what about Aaron Ramsey? The priority is not to sign, the priority is to keep the squad united, just as they are at the moment. You can sense this from the way they play, the way they celebrate goals, the overall body language. Incidentally, if I really had to choose an area where to sign, I’d say the backline. But even in this department, it’s not a must. For months and months we’ve been asking what would happen if Thomas and/or Billy suffer injuries or suspensions. But remember, these two have played almost all games, always until the end, and they are yet to suffer any injuries.

So who knows? Maybe we really don’t need any new signings. Arsene Wenger keeps on saying he will evaluate the status of the injured players before deciding, and that’s the right attitude. Then granted, if he believes we need more depth in the side because maybe Denilson’s and Bendtner’s injuries are more serious than we think, then let it be, but the situation is not as serious as many want us to believe.

Some Gunning Hawk Statistics To End The Year

Unlike many of the statistics we read everyday, these are as real as our title hopes this season. As I promised in the second paragraph, here are some statistics on our website which I’m more than sure you’ll find interesting.

Launch Date:
02/09/2008

Total number of articles:
1775

Most Popular Author:
Renzo, 656 articles published

Total number of comments:
10,688

All-time most popular article:
Villareal vs Arsenal: Match Video Highlights, including Adebayor`s super goal: 9,017 views

With the above stats, I retire for a couple of days. I wish you, your family and friends a wonderful 2010, hoping that it will see the Arsenal lift the Premiership trophy. If you drink heavily to celebrate, don’t drive of course and remember not everyone is in a position to celebrate so spare a thought or two for those who need it when you lift your glasses of champagne.

See you this weekend friends. Until then, take care!