With the sweet memories of the win over Chelsea fading, the mid-week Carling Cup fixture is upon us today. But before that, a few more thoughts from this past weekend. While it is a great result indeed, Arsenal still has much to prove. This is the second win over a "big four" squad this season, but that doesn't subtract the five losses that this team has already suffered - two more than last season.

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Morning. It's been a long week and I apologize for not getting something up after the win against Kiev. It was a hard-fought match, and Arsenal was quite lucky to come away with a win. They didn't play particularly well for long stretches of the game. The ball Cesc played to Bendtner for the winner was great; but you can't help but admit the refs handed us a break.

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Matchday 5 of the Champions League is upon us, and after a short respite, the nerves must be high for Gunners fans around the world. With title aspirations waning, competitions like the Champions League and the FA Cup seem to be the only likely sources for silverware this season. The record has been woeful as of late, with just one win in the past six fixtures - EPL and CL included.

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Kickoff is in t-minus 10 minutes so there isn't much time for a preview. Consider this a thread to leave your thoughts before and after a must win game for the Gunners. Hard to see how this season could get much worse, but if this squad has any character, they can bounce back and win this game. Here's a look at the squad changes via the BBC Live Text

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger leaves skipper William Gallas out of the squad after the player made derogatory comments about his team-mates this week - and Emmanuel Adebayor is also excluded.

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There's a fair amount of news heading into the weekend, with a big game against Aston Villa on the schedule. A quick look at the standings shows that the Villains are just two points behind us in the UEFA Cup slot - it'd be good to have a little breathing room between them and us, especially as the season goes on.

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This weekend we have one of the most intense derbies to watch, the derby between Roma and Lazio. For more team-specific info, read the Lazio and Roma Offside blogs. I chose to show the highlights of one of the most interesting derbies, the 3-3 draw in 1998-99. Video after the jump.

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While most of Red Bull Nation is just starting to realize they aren't dreaming, the Red Bulls find themselves less than 48 hours away from the final judgment. It's sink or swim at Rio Tinto Stadium as the Bulls take on RSL in Utah for the Western Conference Championship.

This match will be unique in the sense that both teams symbolize a Cinderella story, much like Columbus in the *ahem* East.

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The Wizards play the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals tomorrow at Columbus Crew Stadium, as they take on the Crew. After some trouble failing to clear the ball late in the second half of the first leg, the Wizards go into the game tied on aggregate with the Crew 1-1. The "180 minute game" enters the second half tomorrow. Click to continue reading...

It's Friday and tomorrow's match against Manchester is tomorrow. I mentioned a few things to look for in my previous post, and a few more things have come up today. The first is the shocking news of Wenger exit, something he denies. I know that people are rumbling and grumbling that his philosophy and stubbornness is starting to cost Arsenal, but isn't it a bit too soon to really dive into that?

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It's another action packed weekend of football in Scotland. In the SPL we've passed the magic "11th game barrier, meaning that all the sides have now played each other once already this season. For some teams it's a chance to extract revenge, for some a chance to get some more easy points on the board. Click to continue reading...

Another calamity. Well, maybe not a calamity. But it's a continuing trend that seems to be marking a significant decline on this season. And with Manchester United looming over the weekend, it's not the right result. It never is.

Yesterday's match brought back recurring themes. Lots of ball control, slick passing, poor finishing in the final third.

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Greetings, and it's Matchday 4 today. A big one in London with the Turks coming to town, and they'll be gunning for us. With a 5-2 win in Istanbul a few weeks ago, they'll no doubt be seeking revenge. It's something of a must-win game with two poor results setting things back in the league.

A win tonight would be huge to ensure qualification to the next round, something that would be encouraging for a struggling club.

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It's playoff time again, and once again the Wizards are into the playoffs. Tomorrow the Wizards playoffs kick off at Community America Ballpark, as the Wizards host the Supporter Shield winning, Columbus Crew. The Crew won the season series against the Wizards, winning two and drawing 1. While the Crew scored 8 goals against the Wizards this season, the Wizards scored 4. Click to continue reading...

Jings, it's November already. We're three months into the season, we've played three World Cup qualifiers, the League Cup is at the semi-final stage, the Scottish Cup at the third round point and we've already lost two managers - where the hell did the time go? The SPL league table is taking on a familiar pattern. Click to continue reading...

I have to hand it to the Footie God of SBI, he has been covering the Red Bulls / Dynamo series like butter on a hot bagel. What has he taught us?

- Seth Stammler is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

- The Red Bulls are relying on past experience to assume that the Dynamo hate playing on the Giant Stadium turf/cement (as evidenced by the 3-0 destruction that took place earlier in the year).

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Tonight is a huge game for the fans. But is it as important for the current crop of Arsenal players? I came across an article that highlights a point - a lot of the foreign imports playing at Arsenal would rather beat the likes of Chelski or Man United than Tottenham. A valid point, but the fans care.

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Just a heads-up on the week ahead in Scottish football. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the quarter final games of this years League Cup take place. The fixtures are as follows, with all games kicking off at 19:45. Tuesday, 28 October Dundee Utd v Dunfermline Falkirk v Inverness Caley Thistle Rangers v Hamilton Wednesday, 29 October Kilmarnock v Celtic [. Click to continue reading...

The Wizards will end the regular season tomorrow night in New England, as they take on the Revolution. After last night's loss by New York, this game means a lot less than it did at one time. Instead of this being a battle for a playoff spot vs home field advantage, this game has become much less. The only thing still to play for, is whether the Wizards will take on Columbus or Houston in the first round. Click to continue reading...

Yesterday, the big news came from the AGM and it was mostly good news. Arsene chatted up with fans, shareholders, and journos who came out for the spectacle. Of note, Stan Kroenke was out for a little meet and greet, although no sign of Alishar Usmanov, which is probably a good thing.

The squad is healing quickly ahead of this weekend and Gallas, Toure, and even Sagna for next week against Spurs.

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Ah, when Saturday comes. As the economy flaps around our ankles like a pair of wet Y-fronts, for ninety-minutes (or ninety-five if you're rangers and you're a goal behind) we forget all about the impending collapse of capitalism and the rise of world communism and put on our scarves and rosettes and head down to the [. Click to continue reading...

The Wizards close out the home portion of their regular season tomorrow night at Community America Ballpark against the San Jose Earthquakes. And it'll have big implications for the Wizards and their playoff chances. After last night's win by DC United, the Wizards are now holding onto the 8th and final playoff spot. Click to continue reading...

It seems like ages since we've done one of these match previews. Despite all the excitement and talking points that the international break has brought, league football is really what we're into here at Inside Left, so where glad to be talking about the action taking place across the country. There's not that many games on [. Click to continue reading...

The Wizards head into the final 3 games in the thick of the playoff chase. With 2 home games left, these two become critical if the Wizards want to make the playoffs, especially with the team's poor road form. They welcome New England tomorrow out at Community America Ballpark. This is the second time the team's meet this year, the first, New England took 3-1 back in April. Click to continue reading...

On Saturday afternoon at Hampden, Scotland play the third game of their World Cup 2010 campaign when Norway come to Glasgow, a qualifying match which we should, given the confidence that has recently been instilled in the national squad following their win over Iceland, win - in theory anyway. Squad Currently, three players have pulled out of [. Click to continue reading...

The Red Bulls will be following Leonardo the Lion and the rest of RSL to Rio Tinto Stadium for the inauguration of the teams new home. It is this blogger's hope they don't go there bearing any gifts . . .

That means no own goals.

No more than 1 goal against.

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The Wizards enter the home stretch of the season, and face what basically amounts to 3 must win games at home to make the playoffs. The race for the 7th and 8th playoff spots is on, and it's not going to be easy for the Wizards to get either of those spots. The good news for the Wizards, though, is the fact that the Wizards have 3 of the last 4 games at home, and are unbeaten in their last 7 home games, dating back to late June. Click to continue reading...

Aye aye, fit like theday? There's another full card of fixtures this weekend across every division in Scotland, so without further messing about, let's get to it. Probably the game to keep an eye out for is the one taking place at Pittodrie as Aberdeen take on Hibernian. Following a poor set of results which has [. Click to continue reading...

I don't have much time this morning for a preview. Not even sure if I'll be home to watch all of the game. But it's an important match after a lackluster affair from the weekend. Also creating significance is the need for points in our group.

Ahead of today's match the boss speaks on how it is easier to win the Champions League than the Premiership.

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Well, not quite, but with 4 players on Chivas, and their coach being former Kansas City Wizards, it certainly seems like it. There will be plenty of old faces on the opposite side of the ball tomorrow, as Chivas has former Wizards Carey Talley, Shavar Thomas, Alex Zotinca, and recently acquired Sasha Victorine, along with the greatest Wizard of all time, Preki on the Chivas USA bench. Click to continue reading...

CURRENT SITUATION

The Bulls find themselves six points behind Chicago, and two over DCU. In this pivotal playoff chase, the Bulls, on paper, have the safest challenge of the above teams this week, facing an underachieving and unstable Colorado side. United finds themselves on the road against a resurgent Dallas squad.

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Another Friday means match day is soon to come. This week it's newcomers Hull City visiting the Emirates. It was a crazy week, as the youngsters were the toast of the Carling Cup's third round with their thrashing of Sheffield United. Lots of interesting news to go around as a result.

Cesc talks about fearing for his first team place with the sort of young talent below him.

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It's another gala weekend of domestic football action across Scotland this weekend. With the teams recovered from their mid-week cup success (unless you're St. Mirren) they're all no doubt chomping at the bit to get back into the saddle as they jockey for position at the top of the table. Dispensing with the horse metaphors for [. Click to continue reading...

Good morning folks. Another important fixture on the road at the Reebok against Bolton. Not going to be easy, this one, as the squad is probably a bit tired from its trek down and back to Kiev. That'll be no excuse, says the boss in part of the match preview. Bolton has given us difficulties in the past, especially at the Reebok.

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Sorry for getting this out a little later today, went to the Kevin Hartman book signing in Lee's Summit tonight. Had a good time there. Anyways, the Wizards are back home at Community America Ballpark to take on the Canadians, Toronto FC. The Wizards come in off the 2-0 win over LA, while Toronto comes in off of a home draw with top of the table Columbus. Click to continue reading...

Man Utd vs Villarreal - Group E Man Utd Offside preview Man Utd vs Villarreal LiveBlog Celtic vs AaB - Group E Celtic Offside preview Steaua Bucharest vs Bayern Munich - Group F Lyon vs Fiorentina - Group F Lyon Offside preview - Fiorentina Offside preview Lyon vs Fiorentina LiveBlog on CL Offside Porto vs Fenerbahce - Group G Porto Offside preview - Fenerbahce Offside [. Click to continue reading...