As much depth as a puddle

International break is finally over, and real football can now commence again. Thank goodness for that... because of my remote location, I rarely manage to see any International matches because, when they can be bothered to show it, we get American commentators... and i'd rather poke my own eyes out with a with a rusty pen knife than suffer through that kind of torture. There's only so many times you can put up with the phrase 'stick it in the old onion bag'.

This week sees us up against the non-American Merseyside team, and this is shaping up to be a real test of our squad depth. It appears our first team has been hit hard by injuries from their travels with their national teams, leaving King of the Sit-Ins our with a hamstring injury, Bendtner and Sagna both struggling to be fit, and even Super Cesc has somehow managed to get his nose broken. However, the biggest shock team news is that Abou Diaby is available for selection. Better make the most of him kids, it might be his only run before he injures his nasal passage or comes down with a rare blood disease. Meanwhile Tomas Rosicky is due back in.... erm.... hmmm.

So with injuries mounting, the chance is there for our squad players to prove themselves. A lot has been said about our lack of experience and that our first team is as good as any, but our depth is sub standard.

At the back with Sagna and Gallas both out, I would expect Mikael Silvestre to come in to Centre Back for his debut. Clearly the partnership between Touré and Gallas has been working about as well as Kurt Cobain and shotguns, so this may be a blessing in disguise. Silvestre certainly has loads of experience, and that funny shaped head of his might just be able to win the occasional aerial challenge.

At right back Wenger has a decision to make. He can either bring in Eboué, who once again would manage to keep a starting spot (why does he never get injured during International Week?) or there is the option of Djourou, though he is recovering from a concussion. He certainly gives more presence than Eboué (mainly because he stays on his feet) but his natural position is more central, so we would lose our attacking threat from the fullback slot.

With these changes, our bench starts to look thin. I would expect Vela to be the option on the bench should we need to bring in another striker, and he looks to be like a star in the making. We have a strong group of strikers at the moment, but with injuries to Eduardo and Bendtner and Van Persie still recovering from a mild hamstring strain this might be the moment Vela steps up - and I wouldn't be surprised if once he got a starting position, he might not let it go again.

Either way, it looks like it is time to see whether Le Gaffer was right to bank on yoof this term rather than bring in some experienced names. Certainly Fabregas seems concerned that he is now the elder statesman at 21 years of age. Our opponents have struggled for form this term, so a lot will be riding on this match. We can't afford to drop more points, and they will be desperate not to lose touch with the top half. I'm just desperate to hear a football match without hearing the phrase 'great offence from the Gunners'.

By Paul Wright - Allgoonerdup roving reporter

'Thomas - it's up for grabs now' - Where was you?

As part of this season and trying to tie in with all the 20th anniversary shenanigans of that famous last minute championship win, allgoonerdup.com is doing a 'JFK where was you moment'. But obviously the moment we're doing is - 'Thomas - it's up for grabs now' moment. Every Gooner knows where they were when that goal went in and we're going to publish your tales. The idea is to do one Gooner's piece a day, so get amongst it and send your emails in via the contacts page and mark the subject line 'Thomas - it's up for grabs moment'. I'll be doing some sort of fancy graphic and that just to give the piece some 'air play'. Get your emails in and we'll get the ball rolling with your 'Thomas - where was you moment'. Hopefully your tales of that wonderful night will get other people sharing their 'Thomas - it's up for grabs now moment'!

Girl in a shirt

Allgoonerdup is looking to give the Goonerbabe page a bit of a boost and we're going for a 'Girl in the Shirt' approach. Do you have any pictures of your girl in the shirt or girls get yourself seen on the Goonerbabe wall and send in your own pictures. Lets get this party started right. Send your pictures in and tell us your name, favourite player, favourite all time player, favourite drink and if you have anything else to declare to babe@allgoonerdup.com

Win a new tee...

That's right you can be the owner of this spanking brand new bit of kit 'The Joy of Cesc' from our Online Shop.

All you need to do is tell us, and keep those eyes peeled people because we're changed the question, on what famous 1970's book is the tee 'The Joy of Cesc' based on? Simple? Great - now get involved and let us know your your answer, name, address and t-shirt size via the contact form and mark it 'T-shirt competition'. Lovely, job done.

Competition ends 20 October 2008.

Goof luck Gooners.

Son of Allgoonerdup comments section

As well as the main site Allgoonerdup has the comments section Son of Allgoonerdup courtesy of WordPress. The stories on the main site will appear on the comments section so you Gooner's will have the pleasure to have some banter with one another and see just what the general shenanigans of the day is, let your fellow Gooner mates know about it too and lets share in all things Arsenal. You don't need to sign up, there's no long drawn out signing up process either - so jump on and have a skive when the boss isn't looking.