Arsenal Review USA

Injuries and unpredictable lineups characterized Arsenal's stuttering performances throughout the week, first in a disappointing Capitol One Cup loss to Southampton and then in a slightly frustrating league draw with the Tiny Tots at home. Helping us sing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's praises, patch holes in the lineup for Arsenal's injury-prone midfield and (try to) predict the amount of pragmatism Arsene Wenger will employ against Chelsea will be 7amkickoff.com's Tim Bostelle, along with some rather depressing "Who's Scored Twice against Tottenham?" trivia and rather mean-spirited Chelsea build-up...

Arsenal hit both poles of their performance capabilities with a toothless loss to Dortmund away followed by a timely win against 2nd place (?!?) Aston Villa, so to help us make sense out of this unlikely sea change, flimsy formations and Wide Ozil vs Central Ozil will be returning guest Martin Tomlinson of the DC Armoury, plus some Sp*rs-gutting trivia for this week's Arsenal SWAG…

Arsenal's attacking strengths and defensive flaws both took center stage as they rode out a disappointing draw against champions Manchester City, a result that left us to wonder when exactly Wenger's side will rediscover its winning ways against the top teams. Helping us discuss the tough squad decisions and build up ahead of the Dortmund match will be returning guest and Twin Cities Gooner Garry Bowman, plus we'll extrapolate as much unjustifiable information out of Danny Welbeck's chip off the post as possible and put some much-needed South American spin on the new two-prize contest…

The early season lethargy continued with a narrow win over Besiktas to secure Champions League qualification and an uninspiring draw against Premiership newboys Leicester City, causing many to wonder just how many disinterested Arsenal midfielders it takes to unscrew a tightly-held Premier League defense. Helping us answer that question, discuss the level of leadership qualities in the squad and evaluate Arsenal's Champions League group will be Michael and Brandon from the Queen City Gooners, plus our *spoiler-free* take on the impact of the summer transfer window...

Arsenal's growing pains continue with a lackluster draw in Istanbul followed by a last-gasp draw at Goodison Park, leaving the Gunners with plenty of work to do in the Champions League and in the tactics room. Helping us talk center forward shuffling and Champions League qualifying nerves will be Chris Jenkins of Arsenal America, followed by Jordan and Channelle of the Fresno Gooners recounting their 6,000 mile trip across the US -- and all their stops in between -- to see Arsenal in New York City, plus the Wanker of the Week resurrected, some prize trivia involving Dennis Bergkamp's favorite opponent and a fairly lengthy primer on current Arsenal beards...

Arsenal carry their choice brand of knife-edge entertainment into the new season with a nerve-shredding, last-gasp win at home over a well-organized (read: medievally defensive) Crystal Palace side. Helping us pick out the positives from Arsenal's setpiece defending (no, we weren't aware of these positives either), decide between an increasingly difficult Giroud-Sanogo selection choice and shuffle lineups pre-Besiktas will be returning guest Elliot Smith, plus your feedback on vanishing spray, unidentified flying bird poo and contest SWAG courtesy of Ruffneck Scarves...

Arsenal showed they were bound and determined to right their big game wrongs as they piled the pressure on Manchester City from the get-go and earned a well-deserved 3-nil victory in the process, their first Community Shield win since 2004. Joining us to relive another glory day at Wembley, discuss the departure of Thomas Vermaelen and the resulting depth issue in defense will be Sam Limbert from SamsMatchReports.com, along with some listener feedback on the captaincy reassignment…

Arsenal come up one Atkinson short of Emirates Cup glory as they follow their 5-1 thumping of Benfica with a disappointing loss to Monaco, leaving us to wonder if they'll come good in time for next Saturday's Community Shield showdown against Manchester City. Joining us to reminisce on the New York Arsenal weekend, gauge the adequacy of the post-World Cup preseason and perform a squad depth checkup is USA.Arsenal.com's Kevin Mooney, followed by a comprehensive 15-second description of the podcast's new additions for the 2014/15 season...

After a season that tested the cardiac durability like few others before, it should come as little surprise that it took an absolute barnburner for Arsenal to capture their first trophy in 9 years, coming from behind to beat Hull 3-2 in the FA Cup Final. Helping us relive the nerve-shredding experience will be Arsenal commentator Dan Roebuck followed by some end of season perspective and a fresh outlook on Arsenal's new winning era from Charm City Gooner Mike Kavanagh. Throughout the pod we'll weave in listener reviews, regrets and highlights of the season, and to cap things off we'll name the four participants who made out with some silverware of their own…

Arsenal lay a fitting bookend to their efficient season by comfortably easing out relegation fodder Norwich City at Carrow Road before turning their sights (if they hadn't already) to the big one at Wembley, the FA Cup Final on Saturday. On hand to discuss this golden chance at silverware, probable starting lineups and suitable midfield selections for an underdog opponent like Hull is Sam Limbert of SamsMatchReports.com, followed by absolutely no Wanker of the Week candidates whatsoever (it's hard when your opponents applaud your goals) and a big prize addition to our extended End of Season Catharsis...

Arsenal start to assess how much they need to save in the tank for May 17 as they stroll through two fairly comfortable home wins, first against Newcastle then West Brom on the weekend. Helping us decide whether or not this constitutes good FA Cup preparation and starting the process of reviewing the season as a whole will be returning guest and Arsenal America writer Chris Jenkins, along with a Wanker of the Week who's duller than Tony Pulis and details on how YOUR thoughts on Arsenal's season work into OUR new prize contest…

A resurgent Podolski and the returning midfield duo of Ramsey and Ozil give Arsenal the shot in the arm they need to pad the goal difference against Hull at the KC Stadium after another great escape in midweek against West Ham. Discussing the ever-evolving, give-and-take dynamic between Wenger and Podolski, a more penetrative offense and FA Cup preparation will be returning guest Elliot Smith, followed by a host of misguided Wanker of the Week candidates and things that come in pairs for Arsenal prize trivia…

Arsenal return to their best "winning ugly" form with a nerve-shredding penalty shootout win over Wigan at Wembley thanks to the offensive prowess of Per "Better Than Bendtner" Mertesacker and the goalkeeping heroics of Lukas "FA Cup or Bust" Fabianski. We'll discuss the suddenly-cagey tactics of both teams as well as Arsenal's slightly puzzling starting lineup with 7amkickoff.com's Tim Bostelle before handing out some nostalgic penalty kick trivia and naming possibly the most useless Wanker of the Week ever...

Arsenal continue to suggest they're buckling under the pressure of maintaining 4th place as they fall to up-and-comers Everton at Goodison Park, leaving us to wonder where exactly the squad will draw some much needed inspiration for the final few games of the season. We'll pick over the Mertemaelen partnership (see, that doesn't even sound like it would work), discuss the sell-by date on the team's defensive midfield shield and stick as many pins as we possibly can in the voodoo doll that is Everton's remaining league schedule, all before going the nostalgia route with some FA Cup trivia and selecting a repeat offender for the Wanker of the Week…

Arsene Wenger's men felt the residuals of last Saturday's thumping as they looked out of luck and out of ideas first against Swansea on Tuesday and then for the first half against Man City before a rallying Mathieu Flamini and all-around solid team effort helped the club salvage a much-needed point in the second half. Evaluating the damage control of these two draws in light of some key upcoming fixtures will be Matt Williams of the Chicago Gooners followed Arsenal matchday commentator Dan Roebuck touching on his favorite moments of the season, plus some suitably "meh" (but easy) trivia and a nearly unintelligible Wanker of the Week…