On-loan Arsenal striker Jay Simpson struck his eighth goal for QPR in their 2-2 draw with Coventry this afternoon. Coventry took the lead through Leon Best on 16 minutes but Simpson resotred parity ten minutes before the break after latching onto a lofted through-ball and finishing calmly. Akos Buzsaky put the Hoops ahead in the second period only for Richard Wood to equalise with 80 minutes on the clock. Coventry had Stephen Wright sent off for a foul on Buzsaky and Simpson completed the 90 minutes, putting in an impressive shift.
Henri Lansbury played the whole game as Watford suffered a humiliating 3-o defeat away to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Victor Moses got the ball rolling for Palace after just two minutes and the lead was doubled just three minutes later via Alan Lee. Darren Ambrose added gloss to the scoreline in the second period but Watford were left rueing a penalty miss by Danny Graham after Lansbury was brought down in the area.
Rhys Murphy came on as an 89th minute substitute for Brentford as they beat Walsall 1-0 at Griffin Park to move into the FA Cup third round. Leon Legge scored the only goal of the game on 13 minutes, with Murphy replacing Tottenham loanee John Bostock as the clock ticked down towards the final whistle. Wojciech Szczesny wasn’t part of the matchday squad on Arsenal’s c0nditions.
Gavin Hoyte returned from suspension to play the full quota of a tumultuous FA Cup clash between Brighton and Rushden and Diamonds which the Seagulls edged 3-2. Liam Dickinson put Brighton ahead early on but Lee Tomlin soon levelled after skipping past Hoyte. A penalty from Nicky Forster restored Brighton’s lead but Rushden came back again, this time via Aaron O’Connor. Both sides pushed for a winner and the decisive strike came five minutes from time, with Dickinson finding the net to send Brighton into the draw for the 3rd round.
Havard Nordtveit was competent in holding midfield but his Nuremburg side still went down 1-o to SC Freiburg, with Resinger scoring the only goal.
Pedro Botelho was again left out as Celta Vigo took on Cadiz.
Jeorge Bird's Arsenal Youth 
If Simpson can continue to improve his technique, movement and hold-up play then he can still be useful player for us bcuz of his speed and isnt very small either
WTf is happening with pedro botelho? He should be playin more? His he injured or is it is behaviour of the field?
How come JET came back so early? i thought he was doing ok at Blackpool
I think AW is thinking of using as a target striker bcuz thats were the reserves tried him.
With vP out for 5 months might need to recall Jay Simpson, if only to add some physicality to a very diminutive forward line.
LOOOL, the goal for freiburg against nordveith scored Reisinger, Beendet is the german word for “finished” and is not even a real player. xD
Botelho may as well book a flight to Barbados and go on holiday.
Can we bring Simpson back anyway?
Looks like Pedro isn’t playing much, any reason why?
Another lovely finish by Jay Simpson. Good stuff.
Interesting that Hoyte was allowed to play in the FA cup but Chesney wasn’t, I guess Hoyte isn’t really rated at Arsenal any more.
That is not interesting at all….. Lansbury and JET was aloud to play in FA cup too and now Rhys Murphy too. Are they not rated at the club? Gilbert is the RB right now for the tournament. He is 22 after all and this is his last chance of making it, he will not make it unfortunely. Hoyte still have a chance to make it.
Almunia is our #1 and Mannone the current #2 but Fabianski is equaly as good as Mannone. He was saved just in case if we lose fabianski and manonne. fabianski is injury prone so…
Funny (or sad) how Wenger always talks about how few shots on goal we allow. He says we aren’t weak defensively because we let so few shots in. And he talks about the 4-1 Chelsea game last season and says they only had 5 shots on target, which somehow should make that defeat less embarrassing. Can’t he see that it’s a proof that our goalkeepers are just terrible? If your opponents only hit 5 shots on target but still manage 4 goals, that is a pretty good indication that your goalkeeper is suited for the Spanish second league than playing at Arsenal. I hope our reluctance to let Szczesny play in the FA Cup means we might recall him in January and make him our no. 1. He is better than Almunia. Tell me I’m over-hyping here but seriously, this kid has talent, Almunia doesn’t.
And btw. http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/11/29/1654786/arsenals-reserves-can-beat-full-strength-manchester-city
Jack says he will be ready. Not we need a run of victories, starting today against the scums from near the park.
I do not believe that Jay Simpson will make it at Arsenal. He will have a decent career a la Sidwell. He will end up at a premiership club but at a champion’s league club.
Gibbs was a midfield player and now is definately considered as left back. When he refused to retrain as a right back, Henry Lansbury may have missed his big opportunity to make a career at Arsenal. Right back is the only position where we may need a backup. Sagna is the first choice, but Eboue is really Mr Versatility.
Henry Lansbury is a good player, but he is still not ready to play in Arsenal first team. His contract is up at the end of the season. Will he be offered a new one? He does not know it, but he may have already played his last game for Arsenal.
Murphy, Gilber, Randall, Botehlo, and probably Barazite don’t look strong enough to break into the Arsenal first team. I expect them all to be moved on withinn the next couple of seasons if not sooner.
JET is still a big question mark and Lansbury is an even bigger one, but they do seem to still be developing at a level that makes the first team a realistic shot, unlike the others.
Simpson is probably not good enough either, despite his impressive goal-scoring rate at QPR. At 22, he should be doing it here in the first team. AW must still not believe he’s got the stuff for the first team.
If Arsenal don’t resign Lansbury, then they will lose out on a nice transfer fee. Lansbury is progessing will become a very good premiership player and possibly an England international. The decision to resign him should be an easy one.