Cesc's hammy, Wenger's ban + Arsecast 54

Good Friday to you all. There’s a good few bits and pieces to get through so we shall crack on without further ado.

There’s still no definitive word about Cesc’s hamstring but it does look likely that he’s going to miss the Villa game at least. His enthusiasm and willingness to play will be tempered by the medical staff who will ensure he doesn’t aggravate his hamstring and spend longer out. With Flamini back though and Gilberto, Diarra and Denilson all there it means there’s plenty of cover, but we’ll miss him, no question.

Hleb and Clichy will have fitness tests on thigh and hamstring respectively but they too could be short. Even more worrying is the fact that according to Arsene Wenger Robin van Persie is not due back for ‘another two or three weeks’. Now that’s a bummer. There was talk he’d be back for the Wigan game but I suppose we have to wait until he’s properly mended. However, when you remind yourself of what he did to his knee I think we can count ourselves lucky it wasn’t a lot worse. Fuller team news and a preview of the Villa game tomorrow.

Arsene Wenger says he won’t appeal his touchline ban after being sent off during the Sevilla game and has called it ‘artificial’, saying there’s always a way to communicate with the players. He says:

It is a very artificial rule. If I say something to the guy next to me, he can communicate with the guy down on the bench. I don’t need to communicate directly. It is a little bit an artificial ban. You can always communicate if you really want to.

That will no doubt go down very well with UEFA who are already considering a longer ban but he’s right. Perhaps if they put him under house arrest he might have more problems. Never one to miss a chance of a dig at an old enemy Arsene also joked about increasing the size of our laundry baskets, with Mourinho rumoured to have been wheeled into the Chelsea dressing room during his touchline ban. I think he should just wear a disguise. A giant Womble suit or maybe Arsene could be Gunnersaurus for the day. The idea of the lads being given a half-time teamtalk by a 7′ green dinosaur is rather amusing.

Manuel Almunia could be on the verge of a call-up to the Spanish national squad, according to the boss. They do have a wealth of decent keepers over there. Casillas is the number 1, but Reina is on the scene and Valdes from Barcelona can hardly even get a look in, although that’s down to him being a fucking clown more than anything else.

Carlos Vela will come to Arsenal in the summer and fight for a first team place next season. The boss says:

He will straight away be with the first-team and after that it is up to him to get a place in the side. I sent him to Spain because he comes from a Mexican culture and it is easier to adapt in Europe. He has what we like here at Arsenal. He is a good passer of the ball and a finisher. He has that intelligent movement with very good technique and great pace.

He certainly looks like a good player from what I’ve seen. He’s only started 3 league games for Osasuna this season but has scored one goal and made two assists and is now becoming more regular in their squad. We’ll keep an eye on him and keep you updated as to his progress in La Liga.

Double-D offers Sp*rs advice about their new stadium. Hilarious. “Don’t do it! No. You don’t need it. What about ground-sharing at Wembley instead?” Twat.

Now, it’s 1990. Time for the Arsecast.

In this week’s chock-a-block Arsecast, sponsored by OleOle.com, I chat to Goonerholic about the Sevilla game, Philippe Senderos and the three league games coming up away from home, The Man in the Bar has a player history, AWH is there, there’s an exclusive interview with a Spanish journalist about Carlos Vela and, amongst other things, I’ll announce who the winner of the Savile Rogue scarf was.

To subscribe to the arsecast in iTunes – click here. To download this week’s arsecast directly – click here (16mb MP3). You can find the arsecast archives here. And you can listen directly below without leaving this very page.

And that’s it. More tomorrow. Have a good day, Arsechums.