We're still top of the League! Say we're still top of the League!

It feels like ages since I last wrote on here. In fact it's only eight days. I refrained from writing partially through being occupied and also because we lost to Man United. I find it hard to do anything when we lose a game whether it be read the match reports, write the match reports or even watch highlights occasionally. I can't tell if this makes me a good fan who can't stand to see his team lose or a plastic one who loses interest when the sun isn't shining. I sense probably the latter but I know that Jack Wilshere was born in Stevenage which in my mind qualifies me as a dedicated supporter.

Since we surrendered quite meekly to United, it's been quiet. And I mean really quiet. Even the tumbleweeds have headed on out of town. Arsenal players have been in action, but not in Arsenal shirts. I do try and follow how our players do for their national sides. I kind of get invested in them which means my interest goes beyond what they do when playing for Arsenal. I like it when Olivier Giroud scores for France or Santi Cazorla gets a run out for Spain. Granted it's because I want good form throughout the squad but I also still believe in the romance of international football. Well more than most people do. To me it's the pinnacle of a career and to have so many of our players playing at this pinnacle so often makes me proud to be an Arsenal fan.

That's not to say that there aren't problems. Alleged corruption at FIFA has been under the spotlight quite frequently in recent times and although I have no affiliation with Real Madrid (aside admiring their nickname which translates as 'The Meringues'), I still feel for the fans who have seen one of their star players suffer a potentially season ending injury in a friendly that is beyond meaningless. That's the nightmare scenario. It happens time and time again without anyone taking notice and when it happens to your own club, you feel like breaking a stick or crushing a grape, such is the fury it causes.

Arsenal players haven't had the best of times this week. The French trio of Laurent Koscielny, Olivier Giroud and Bacary Sagna saw their side go down 2-0 in Ukraine with the former sent off and the later sat on the bench. It will take something special from Les Bleus to qualify for the World Cup now which, despite their status as rivals of England, would be a shame considering the huge talent they have at their disposal. Jack Wilshere had a largely forgettable evening, save one sumptuous pass, for a disappointing England as they lost 2-0 at the hands of Chile. Ramsey missed the Wales game last night, Ozil played half an hour against Italy in Milan and Santi Cazorla may have scored but he was playing in Equitorial Guinea which was not, as I had genuinely believed, a joke.

They all go again on Tuesday when the second batch of friendlies and playoffs takes place. Cazorla and Monreal aside, all our players play fairly close to home with only Ozil and Metesacker away. They're convenietly playing at Wembley though so it's all good and Ozil is unlikely to feature at all anyway.

I'm going off on a tangent a bit here, but I have to say the England game was really underwhelming. I've said before that I try to support my home nation and although I wasn't expecting anything special against Chile, it was still a bit embarrassing. Yes the South American's had arguably the world's form player in Alexis Sanchez and yes our line up was 'experimental' (football lingo for not at full strength) but we still should have done better than we did. Leighton Baines was uncharacteristically poor for example and we showed none of the flair that the Chileans did going forward as they found holes in our backline that were at times wider than their entire country.

Despite the whole team failing to perform, there is one man who yet again proved to me why he is not cut out for this level. He's becoming a regular and his presence is representative of a real problem England have right now. He is of course Gary Cahill.

For a long time now I've watched Cahill in England games and thought to myself how ill-equipped we are at the back. He's somehow nailed down a spot as a starter at Centre Half and this makes me cry. Sometimes literally. He is just so out of his depth and I can't even describe how poor he is in my opinion. Regardless of how he performs for Chelsea, he is a liability for England and his mistake costing England the second goal had been a long time coming. If you watch carefully, you will see that he gives the ball away like that at least once a game for England and he is indicative of the problem that we have with producing players. He's made it because he's big, he heads well and he'll throw himself in front of the ball with regularity. These are good qualities but in other nations, that would not be enough.

Look at our own Per Mertesacker. He is phenomenally astute in possession and really knows what he's doing. I haven't always been his biggest fan and while he's not the World's best, he exemplifies that standard of international defenders. Every top nation has them and we don't. Cahill is nowhere near a Chiellini or a Pique or a Thiago Silva. They are Blue Sky and he's Chilli P (Breaking Bad reference alert!). I don't like either of them much but Terry and Ferdinand were leaps and bounds ahead of the current crop.

Rant over. In other news, Wojciech Szczesny has signed a new 'long term' deal. This is fantastic news but there's not a lot to say. I still believe 'long term' to mean five years and as long as he hasn't been given the 100k per week contract that some tabloids had suggested, it's solely positive as he's been almost flawless so far this season. Unfortunately another youngster seems to have suffered a setback. The Ox is set to remain sidelined until early 2014 at least. It's a huge shame for him as missing half of what was meant to be his real breakthrough season must be devastating. On the bright side, he'll be absolutely chomping at the bit when he does return and that sort of enthusiasm could be vital over the winter months. Luckily Theo Walcott looks set for a comeback against Southampton so it's not all bad news on the winger front.

I realise now that this week has been busier that I thought. Oh well. Till next time.