Welcome all,
Well its been another week of listening to critics, be it journalists, pundits or our own pessimistic fans. You get used to it after a while but the absurd things some people come up with can really bug me. When I read other blogs and people's opinions on Twitter its frightening to see the amount of people who think Wenger's time may be up as Arsenal boss. I understand the last few years have been difficult but stand back for a moment and have some common sense. Do you know how many clubs who used to be looked upon as major forces would kill to be us now. Leeds United were once a side were once a team that challenged for the Premier League, now you ask any guy what they are in and he wouldn't know. Liverpool have had a sticky patch, the list goes on and I can assure you there are big clubs now who will be a shadow of their present selves in a couple of years.
My point is, we may not have achieved the success we should have recently but I'm still grateful that trophies are expected of us. We could be in a worse state. The financial challenge which came with transferring from Highbury to the Emirates was handled brilliantly and the boss played a big part in that. He could have easily added to the debt and gone out and signed a few players for over £20m but he opted to work with what he had and boy has he done a magnificent job. Obviously he is a man that has his flaws like anyone else but I honestly don't think there is another manager that could have handled this club like Arsene has, in fact I know there isn't anyone out there.
The critisism he gets is out of order. I'm sorry but come on people, does this man who made Arsenal deserve to be insulted just because he sticks to his old methods. Call him stubborn but he, like all of us, wants whats best for this club at the end of the day and I'm sure he'll fill up that trophy cabinet once more. If you think his time is up then fair enough but no need to bitch about it 24-7 and question everything he does. Honestly, who knows better, Arsene Wenger, a man who has three Premier League titles to his name (plus a lot more) or a few fans on Twitter who can only brag about the amount of followers they have? Hmmm its a tough one but the former gets the nod for me.
Anyway, enough about that, he's the boss and all you loyal fans will stick by him till the end. Now this weekend was pretty shitty wouldn't you agree? Its been a while since us Arsenal fans have been able to relax and watch our side cruise to a victory. At the moment we're not even doing things the hard way, we're not doing them at all! The injury to Djourou has obviously unsettled our defence but there is more than enough experience in there to cope. Sagna and Clichy have been in quite a few title races now, Koscielny has been magnificent and is learning every week while Squillaci has played in almost every top league in Europe plus has several France caps to his name. The lack of height amongst those four is a bit concerning though. Our defending from set-pieces has always been dodgy but being forced to play a partnership made up of two guys who are barely six foot could prove rather difficult espeically from set-pieces. And its not like we make up for this lack of height in other areas of the pitch. Apart from Chamakh and Diaby we have a relatively small squad.
This weakness was exposed inside three minutes at the Hawthorns. Stephen Reid stole free from Aaron Ramsey and berried a header past the helpless Almunia. Ramsey should have made up for his poor marking by scoring soon after. Robin Van Persie's header came back off the bar and fell to the Welshmen six hards out but his left footed shot was straight at Carson. It was a typically frustrating Arsenal performance. We were seeing plenty of the ball but it was like there was a lack of urgency. At half-time the boss made a change bringing on Chamakh for Denilson who was terrible to say the least.
Before we even got a chance to settle West Brom almsost went 2-0 up. Chris Brunt latched onto Marek Cech's cross but his shot hit the side netting. Another warning sign for Arsenal. There didn't seem to be much of an improvement compared to the 1st half so Wenger gambled and threw on Bendtner in place of Ramsey. Having Arshavin, Nasri, Chamakh, Bendtner and RVP in the same side, well you might say its a bit suicidal but we were desperate for goals in this particular case.
However, we would suffer one hell of a setback. A seemingly harmless long ball saw Almunia needlessly come rushing out of his goal which somewhat confused the hell out of Squillaci leaving Odemwingie to nick the ball between the two of them and slot home Albion's second. Our title hopes had been dealt a major blow but there was time to repair some of the damage. That we did, Chamakh picked up the ball on the edge of the box, played it in to Arshavin who was just inside the box, he took a touch with his right foot and then smashed the ball past Carson with his left. Definately a contender for goal of the month, a magnificent strike, exactly the type of individual brilliance we needed to claw us back in the game.
Twenty minutes from time we equalised and it was that man again Arshavin who was at the heart of the move. He took on two defender before delivering a looping cross which Bendtner knocked back across goal, the ball got stuck between Meite's feet and RVP forced him into scoring an own goal. The comeback was complete but we still needed the win.
Substitute Marc-Antoine Fortune nearly put the Baggies back in front only for a superb block from Squillaci. We piled the pressure on them for the remainder of the game but there would be no breakthrough and the result would be made even more sickening when United nicked a late goal against Bolton to give them a 1-0 win and send them five points clear of us, although we still have a game in hand. I'm grateful that we came away with a point considering we were 2-0 down but these types of situations have happened too often. We start games sloppily and it takes conceding a goal to wake us up. Its not good enough if you want to win the league. You have to go out there and do everything you can to score straight from the off. If you don't you will be punished, that's the way the Premier League is.
Here are my player ratings:
Almunia: 4 - That error could cost us the league title, I don't want to heap critisism on the man but its the truth.
Sagna: 6 - Good and bad.
Squillaci: 6 - Hugely important tackles towards the end.
Koscielny: 7 - Wholehearted performance.
Clichy: 7 - Got forward well and delivered some great crosses.
Denilson: 5 - Shocking display and taken off at half-time.
Wilshere: 8 - The rating speaks for itself.
Ramsey: 6 - Should have scored in the first half and poor marking for the goal. Will improve with games though.
Nasri: 7 - Ran the show in the second half.
Arshavin: 7 Brilliant goal, really got us going.
Van Persie: 7 - Did really well to force Meite into scoring an og.
Subs:
Chamakh: 7 - Gave us a breath of fresh air and enabled us to try something different.
Bendtner: 6 - Did well for the second goal.
Now there's the international break. Our next league game against Blackburn isn't for another two weeks so some of the players can relax while other go away on international duty to pick up some injuries. (Heh just joking). I've heard Cesc, Theo and Song will spend the two weeks working on their fitness ahead of the game against Blackburn which is great news. Hopefully they will return for that game, it would be a massive boost. Anyway, I think I've written enough for one night plus my eyes are shutting.
Keep the faith Gooners, till next time.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
West Brom Preview & Injuries Mounting
Hello readers!
Well I thought the week was going relatively well until Arsene's press conference Thursday afternoon. We had a week to relax, regroup and refocus. Then we got the weekly dose of terrible news. It was like Wenger had a voodoo doll for every Arsenal fan in the world and he was repeatedly stabbing at it with a pin knife. First he confirmed Johan Djourou would be out for six weeks. It was first feared he would miss the rest of the season but there is a slight chance he may play a small part in the run in. Earlier in the week the Swiss FA claimed his injury wasn't as bad as first feared and that they were hoping he could play a part in their qualifier later this month. It was a bit out of the blue, a man dislocates his shoulder and his national team expect him back in two weeks. Strange gang them Swiss.
The boss went on to say that Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Alex Song would not feature against West Brom this weekend. Three key players that are of huge importance to this team but I think we can manage without them tomorrow. All three are also likely to stay with us during the international break which is positive news in a way. It certainly reduces the risk of them doing further damage plus you all know the story with Arsenal players going away with their countries and coming back crocked. The good news is that I've heard Theo and Cesc should be fit for our next league game against Blackburn. I haven't heard anything on Song's knee injury but it can't be too serious. There are whispers going around that Abou Diaby may be out for the season. I really can't comment on this because I have no knowledge of the situation whatsoever but if I do hear something I shall let you know via my Twitter page.
Don't think I'm finished with the injury news oh no! When asked about Thomas Vermaelen Wenger said:
"For Thomas Vermaelen the season is over. In fairness he has not played since September, I never expected him to be fit before the end of the season. He is not out on the field yet and it is impossible [for him to play] after six months without competition. I am confident he will have a full recovery but for this season we cannot rely on him."
It really is gut-wrenching news. I was really optimistic that the Belgian would return and play a key part in the latter stages of the season but clearly that is not the case. He has had setback after setback since he picked up that achilles injury on international duty (grrrrr) back in August. We know its a delicate area that needs to be treated with 100& caution but we didn't know at the time that we wouldn't see him again for months when it was originally thought that he would be back in action in a few days. It also puts further question marks around Arsene's decision not to sign a centre-back in January. He said he never expected Vermaelen to return so he obviously knew he was taking a huge gamble. I just hope it dosen't come back to bite him. After Djourou's recent injury we now have just two natural centre-backs. Alex Song can play there too but its not an option we want to be forced into. There were also suggestions we could bring back Kyle Bartley from Rangers but last night he was injured in their Europa League game and has been ruled out for a few weeks. We're sitting in a tight rope in this area. Fingers crossed everyone can stay fit.
That is it as far as injuries go. Now we're tasked with the challenge of overcoming West Brom tomorrow in a three o' clock kick off. The Baggies are still unbeaten since Roy Hodgson took over and as I tweeted yesterday, I'll be a very unhappy man if that is still the case tomorrow evening. They're on a good run of form at the moment. Last week they beat Birmingham City 3-1 at St Andrews, yes the same Birmingham that beat us in the cup final. I think we can win comfortably against this lot if everyone shows up. It can't be a case of the likes of Nasri and RVP carrying the team while the others coast through the game (Not everyone, just certain individuals). West Brom will work their socks off tomorrow, I can guarantee you that. They are just as desperate for points as we are because they're right in the middle of a relegation battle. The fact that we haven't won a game in a few weeks makes this game even more important. The players confidence has been shot recently but they need to turn over a new leaf now and remember our form in the league is still very good.
Here is the team I would like to see tomorrow:
Almunia
Sagna - Squillaci - Koscielny - Clichy
Nasri - Denilson - Wilshere - Arshavin
Chamakh - Van Persie
I know I've gone from the usual 4-3-3 formation to 4-4-2. I just think with the players we're missing in midfield it might be no harm to take a different approach. That midfield looks good to me, all those players are very good at keeping possession and are more than capable of creating chances. The worry for me and for a lot of you I'm sure is the Squillaci - Koscielny partnership at the back. We're relying on those two to click now and I think they can do it. They've played many games together earlier on in the season. Here's a list of them:
Bolton - Won 4-1
Braga - Won 6-0
Sunderland - Drew 1-1
West Brom - Lost 3-2
Belgrade - Won 3-1
Chelsea - Lost 2-0
Shakhtar Donestk - Won 5-1
West Ham - Won 1-0
Tottenham - Lost 3-2
Aston Villa - Won 4-2
Fulham - Won 2-1
Man.United - Lost 1-0
Wigan - Drew 2-2
Its an inconsistant record but they both have the ability to do the job required. We've still won big games with them at the back. Its been hyped as a nightmare partnership but it could be a lot worse, last year we had to turn to Silvestre. There are no more excuses now. There are ten league games left, win them all and we're champions. It sounds easy but it really is a monumental task when you look at the fixtures facing us. The good news is that United's ficture list dosen't look too rosy for them either and they also have a couple of injury problems to deal with. Let's take each game as it comes and treat it with the utmost importance. We can win the league but we can also really mess this up. Keep the faith and get behind the players for this big run in. It starts tomorrow. Come on Arsenal!
Till next time.
Well I thought the week was going relatively well until Arsene's press conference Thursday afternoon. We had a week to relax, regroup and refocus. Then we got the weekly dose of terrible news. It was like Wenger had a voodoo doll for every Arsenal fan in the world and he was repeatedly stabbing at it with a pin knife. First he confirmed Johan Djourou would be out for six weeks. It was first feared he would miss the rest of the season but there is a slight chance he may play a small part in the run in. Earlier in the week the Swiss FA claimed his injury wasn't as bad as first feared and that they were hoping he could play a part in their qualifier later this month. It was a bit out of the blue, a man dislocates his shoulder and his national team expect him back in two weeks. Strange gang them Swiss.
The boss went on to say that Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Alex Song would not feature against West Brom this weekend. Three key players that are of huge importance to this team but I think we can manage without them tomorrow. All three are also likely to stay with us during the international break which is positive news in a way. It certainly reduces the risk of them doing further damage plus you all know the story with Arsenal players going away with their countries and coming back crocked. The good news is that I've heard Theo and Cesc should be fit for our next league game against Blackburn. I haven't heard anything on Song's knee injury but it can't be too serious. There are whispers going around that Abou Diaby may be out for the season. I really can't comment on this because I have no knowledge of the situation whatsoever but if I do hear something I shall let you know via my Twitter page.
Don't think I'm finished with the injury news oh no! When asked about Thomas Vermaelen Wenger said:
"For Thomas Vermaelen the season is over. In fairness he has not played since September, I never expected him to be fit before the end of the season. He is not out on the field yet and it is impossible [for him to play] after six months without competition. I am confident he will have a full recovery but for this season we cannot rely on him."
It really is gut-wrenching news. I was really optimistic that the Belgian would return and play a key part in the latter stages of the season but clearly that is not the case. He has had setback after setback since he picked up that achilles injury on international duty (grrrrr) back in August. We know its a delicate area that needs to be treated with 100& caution but we didn't know at the time that we wouldn't see him again for months when it was originally thought that he would be back in action in a few days. It also puts further question marks around Arsene's decision not to sign a centre-back in January. He said he never expected Vermaelen to return so he obviously knew he was taking a huge gamble. I just hope it dosen't come back to bite him. After Djourou's recent injury we now have just two natural centre-backs. Alex Song can play there too but its not an option we want to be forced into. There were also suggestions we could bring back Kyle Bartley from Rangers but last night he was injured in their Europa League game and has been ruled out for a few weeks. We're sitting in a tight rope in this area. Fingers crossed everyone can stay fit.
That is it as far as injuries go. Now we're tasked with the challenge of overcoming West Brom tomorrow in a three o' clock kick off. The Baggies are still unbeaten since Roy Hodgson took over and as I tweeted yesterday, I'll be a very unhappy man if that is still the case tomorrow evening. They're on a good run of form at the moment. Last week they beat Birmingham City 3-1 at St Andrews, yes the same Birmingham that beat us in the cup final. I think we can win comfortably against this lot if everyone shows up. It can't be a case of the likes of Nasri and RVP carrying the team while the others coast through the game (Not everyone, just certain individuals). West Brom will work their socks off tomorrow, I can guarantee you that. They are just as desperate for points as we are because they're right in the middle of a relegation battle. The fact that we haven't won a game in a few weeks makes this game even more important. The players confidence has been shot recently but they need to turn over a new leaf now and remember our form in the league is still very good.
Here is the team I would like to see tomorrow:
Almunia
Sagna - Squillaci - Koscielny - Clichy
Nasri - Denilson - Wilshere - Arshavin
Chamakh - Van Persie
I know I've gone from the usual 4-3-3 formation to 4-4-2. I just think with the players we're missing in midfield it might be no harm to take a different approach. That midfield looks good to me, all those players are very good at keeping possession and are more than capable of creating chances. The worry for me and for a lot of you I'm sure is the Squillaci - Koscielny partnership at the back. We're relying on those two to click now and I think they can do it. They've played many games together earlier on in the season. Here's a list of them:
Bolton - Won 4-1
Braga - Won 6-0
Sunderland - Drew 1-1
West Brom - Lost 3-2
Belgrade - Won 3-1
Chelsea - Lost 2-0
Shakhtar Donestk - Won 5-1
West Ham - Won 1-0
Tottenham - Lost 3-2
Aston Villa - Won 4-2
Fulham - Won 2-1
Man.United - Lost 1-0
Wigan - Drew 2-2
Its an inconsistant record but they both have the ability to do the job required. We've still won big games with them at the back. Its been hyped as a nightmare partnership but it could be a lot worse, last year we had to turn to Silvestre. There are no more excuses now. There are ten league games left, win them all and we're champions. It sounds easy but it really is a monumental task when you look at the fixtures facing us. The good news is that United's ficture list dosen't look too rosy for them either and they also have a couple of injury problems to deal with. Let's take each game as it comes and treat it with the utmost importance. We can win the league but we can also really mess this up. Keep the faith and get behind the players for this big run in. It starts tomorrow. Come on Arsenal!
Till next time.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
No More Slip Ups Please
Welcome back all,
Its not often I post two blogs in one day but I don't feel like doing anything at the moment. When Arsenal lose big games like today it seems like everything in life is pointless. Luckily this spell of depression only lasts a couple of hours so I should be back to my old optimistic self soon enough. Today's game was huge for both sides. Neither had been in good form of late and a trip to Wembley was on the cards. What more of a motivation could you need? There was no real surprise in our starting eleven. Gibbs and Denilson came in for Clichy and Fabregas while Arshavin replaced Rosicky as expected. The United line up gave everyone a bit of a shock. Ferguson opted to go with seven defenders, yes seven! The Da Silva occupied the wings and John O'Shea sat in front of the defence. On paper it wasn't a United side that would give you a few nervous twicthes but the Rooney - Hernandez partnership up front was enough to keep our defence occupied.
The Old Trafford pitch looked as though it would suit us down to the ground. Much better compared to the one we played on back in December where we struggled to get any sort of rhytm going. We started the game well too, plenty of early possession which I'm sure the players found strange considering they were deprived of it on Tuesday night. However, we nearly fell behind when one twin crossed for the other but he headed over the bar, Gibbs the culprit for letting him go unmarked. We remained on top but in typical fashion we soon fell behind. A Hernandez header was brilliantly saved by Almunia but tapped in by the onrushing Fabio. It was a sickening blow. The defence had completely switched off and been punished severley. We could have equalised immediately as Van Persie turned Vidic but saw his shot saved by Van Der Sar. Nasri also came close to getting his name on the score-sheet with a clever snap shot but the Dutchman between the sticks saved again.
At half-time there couldn't have been a whole lot that Wenger said to the team. They were playing very well but just couldn't put the ball in the back of the net, sounds familiar I know. We came out in the second half and continued to dominate the game. We created an opening minutes in as Koscielny found himself in space in the United box, instead of shooting he tried to slip the ball back to Van Persie, Brown cut it out and almost scored an own goal only for Van Der Sar, the ball the rebounded back out to Laurent who forced the keeper into another brilliant save. How it was still 1-0 was beyond me and we would soon pay the price for these misses. United went down the other end, Djourou attempted to cut out a Rafael cross but the ball looped up in the air and Rooney headed it past Almunia. A truly sickening setback and an undeserved one.
The 2-0 score-line in favour of United was simply baffling. We controlled the game, we created far more and we looked more up for it. That's football for you, sometimes you just don't get what you deserve and it can be a huge psycological setback. The man of the match was Van Der Sar, need I say any more? I could go through the chances we had after Rooney's goal but I'd be here for the night, I'll leave you to watch the highlights.
A bad night was made even worse when Djourou was stretchered off with a dislocated shoulder. Since then it has been confirmed that he will miss the remainder of the season which is a huge blow. If I had to pick one defender that I'd want to stay fit between now and May it would definately be that man. He's been outstanding for us. We're now looking at a Squillaci - Koscielny partnership which really worries me. When they play together we concede goals, its a well known fact. However when either plays with Djourou we're okay. It puzzles me to be honest, maybe its the lack of height they share? What I do know is that we need Vermaelen back as soon as possible. I'm told he's progressing well but no definite date has been set for his comeback. I think we can cope for the next three weeks because we take on reasonably average opposition but then we have a hugely important run in and Vermaelen's presence would be fantastic if its possible. I'll keep you up to date on that one.
As for my player ratings on yesterday's game:
Almunia: 8 - Another solid shift for the Spaniard, won't do his confidence any harm.
Sagna: 7 - Got forward well, Fabio didn't cause him many problems.
Djourou: 6 - Okay but his evening ended on a sour note as he was stretchered off.
Koscielny: 7 - Reliable at the back.
Gibbs: 6 - Provided width going forward but unconvincing defensive wise.
Denilson: 7 - His best game in a long time, needs to build on this.
Diaby: 6 - Threatened to do things but lacked creativity.
Wilshere: 8 - Outstanding again, running out of words for this boy.
Nasri: 7 - Gave Evra all sorts of problems.
Arshavin: 7 - Looked dangerous but would have liked to have had a bigger impact on the game.
Van Persie: 7 - Lacked service but gave United problems when he got the ball.
Subs:
Ramsey: 7 - Looked very sharp, promising signs.
Chamakh: 7 - Got himself into some good positions, unlucky not to score.
Rosicky: 6 - Could have score from long range.
Its been another bad day in the office for our players but the hunt for the title is still very much on. We can now focus on this 100%. Of course all of us would still like to be fighting for more than one trophy but its time to move on. Next Saturday we are tasked with a tricky trip to West Brom. They're a side on form and we'll have to work our socks off to come away with the three points. Its good to finally have a week off, the players can clear their heads and regroup. Keep the chins up Gooners, there's still a hell of a lot to play for!
Till next time.
Its not often I post two blogs in one day but I don't feel like doing anything at the moment. When Arsenal lose big games like today it seems like everything in life is pointless. Luckily this spell of depression only lasts a couple of hours so I should be back to my old optimistic self soon enough. Today's game was huge for both sides. Neither had been in good form of late and a trip to Wembley was on the cards. What more of a motivation could you need? There was no real surprise in our starting eleven. Gibbs and Denilson came in for Clichy and Fabregas while Arshavin replaced Rosicky as expected. The United line up gave everyone a bit of a shock. Ferguson opted to go with seven defenders, yes seven! The Da Silva occupied the wings and John O'Shea sat in front of the defence. On paper it wasn't a United side that would give you a few nervous twicthes but the Rooney - Hernandez partnership up front was enough to keep our defence occupied.
The Old Trafford pitch looked as though it would suit us down to the ground. Much better compared to the one we played on back in December where we struggled to get any sort of rhytm going. We started the game well too, plenty of early possession which I'm sure the players found strange considering they were deprived of it on Tuesday night. However, we nearly fell behind when one twin crossed for the other but he headed over the bar, Gibbs the culprit for letting him go unmarked. We remained on top but in typical fashion we soon fell behind. A Hernandez header was brilliantly saved by Almunia but tapped in by the onrushing Fabio. It was a sickening blow. The defence had completely switched off and been punished severley. We could have equalised immediately as Van Persie turned Vidic but saw his shot saved by Van Der Sar. Nasri also came close to getting his name on the score-sheet with a clever snap shot but the Dutchman between the sticks saved again.
At half-time there couldn't have been a whole lot that Wenger said to the team. They were playing very well but just couldn't put the ball in the back of the net, sounds familiar I know. We came out in the second half and continued to dominate the game. We created an opening minutes in as Koscielny found himself in space in the United box, instead of shooting he tried to slip the ball back to Van Persie, Brown cut it out and almost scored an own goal only for Van Der Sar, the ball the rebounded back out to Laurent who forced the keeper into another brilliant save. How it was still 1-0 was beyond me and we would soon pay the price for these misses. United went down the other end, Djourou attempted to cut out a Rafael cross but the ball looped up in the air and Rooney headed it past Almunia. A truly sickening setback and an undeserved one.
The 2-0 score-line in favour of United was simply baffling. We controlled the game, we created far more and we looked more up for it. That's football for you, sometimes you just don't get what you deserve and it can be a huge psycological setback. The man of the match was Van Der Sar, need I say any more? I could go through the chances we had after Rooney's goal but I'd be here for the night, I'll leave you to watch the highlights.
A bad night was made even worse when Djourou was stretchered off with a dislocated shoulder. Since then it has been confirmed that he will miss the remainder of the season which is a huge blow. If I had to pick one defender that I'd want to stay fit between now and May it would definately be that man. He's been outstanding for us. We're now looking at a Squillaci - Koscielny partnership which really worries me. When they play together we concede goals, its a well known fact. However when either plays with Djourou we're okay. It puzzles me to be honest, maybe its the lack of height they share? What I do know is that we need Vermaelen back as soon as possible. I'm told he's progressing well but no definite date has been set for his comeback. I think we can cope for the next three weeks because we take on reasonably average opposition but then we have a hugely important run in and Vermaelen's presence would be fantastic if its possible. I'll keep you up to date on that one.
As for my player ratings on yesterday's game:
Almunia: 8 - Another solid shift for the Spaniard, won't do his confidence any harm.
Sagna: 7 - Got forward well, Fabio didn't cause him many problems.
Djourou: 6 - Okay but his evening ended on a sour note as he was stretchered off.
Koscielny: 7 - Reliable at the back.
Gibbs: 6 - Provided width going forward but unconvincing defensive wise.
Denilson: 7 - His best game in a long time, needs to build on this.
Diaby: 6 - Threatened to do things but lacked creativity.
Wilshere: 8 - Outstanding again, running out of words for this boy.
Nasri: 7 - Gave Evra all sorts of problems.
Arshavin: 7 - Looked dangerous but would have liked to have had a bigger impact on the game.
Van Persie: 7 - Lacked service but gave United problems when he got the ball.
Subs:
Ramsey: 7 - Looked very sharp, promising signs.
Chamakh: 7 - Got himself into some good positions, unlucky not to score.
Rosicky: 6 - Could have score from long range.
Its been another bad day in the office for our players but the hunt for the title is still very much on. We can now focus on this 100%. Of course all of us would still like to be fighting for more than one trophy but its time to move on. Next Saturday we are tasked with a tricky trip to West Brom. They're a side on form and we'll have to work our socks off to come away with the three points. Its good to finally have a week off, the players can clear their heads and regroup. Keep the chins up Gooners, there's still a hell of a lot to play for!
Till next time.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Manchester United Preview - Stop The Rot
Morning everyone,
I don't want to go into too much detail on the Barca game Tuesday night. As we expected they came at us straight from the start and contained them extremely well in my opinion. Yes they were good at creating space but failed to take advantage of it until the last minute of the half. Why were they struggling to take advantage of it? Good organisation on our part. The midfield sat deep and the trio of Cesc, Jack and Diaby did a pretty decent job of protecting pur defence. However, it was the former who would provide the home side with a helping hand. Just as it looked we would see the half out Cesc attempted to play a silly backheel to Wilshere. It was intercepted and picked up by Iniesta, he played through Messi who flicked the ball over Almunia and finished well. It was a sickening blow. Having defeneded so well as a team, you want to at least make Barca work for a goal instead of gifting them one.
At half-time it was clear Wenger would have to alter his tactics. We now needed a goal but also had to be wary of the threat Barca posed at the other end. We got our goal in somewhat bizzare fashion. A Samir Nasri corner was headed into the net by Sergio Busquets. A hilarious own goal and it couldn't happen to a bigger cunt (unless it was Danny Alves). It was a huge boost for the players but nobody could have predicted what was to happen next. Cesc played a ball over the top to the offside Van Persie who (not knowing he was offside) had a shot. This clearly pissed off Massimo Busacca who decided to give Van Persie his second yellow card which meant his night was over. It was the most ridiculous decisions I'd seen in a long time and I'd seen my fair share of rubbish calls. There was one second between the time the whistle was blown and when Robin kicked it. Busacca had made a tring of poor decisions on the night but this was by far the worst and it would be one that changed the game.
Twenty minutes from time Barca regained their lead. A beautiful swiftly flowing move resulted in Xavi finding the back of the net, albeit via the deflection from Sagna. Now it was an uphill task for us to get back in this game. Trying to get forward with no striker to aim at really was difficult, although it was a challenge we shouldn't have had to deal with. We wouldn't even get a chance to respond. Pedro was brought down by Koscielny, clear penalty and no complaints. Surprisingly Busacca got something right. Yet still, we only needed a goal to put ourselves in a winning position. That chance we all craved came moments from full-time. Wilshere's persistance won him possession deep in Barca's half and he played a sublime ball to Bendtner who's first touch was just terrible and Mascherano was able to get back and intervine. That was it, we had a chance to really sicken them but messed it up. You can only help but wonder what would have been the outcome had that chance fallen to RVP who should have been on the pitch. Thanks again Busacca.
That was that. Our players had given it everything and were undone in the end by a combination of silly errors, a refereeing howler and Barca brilliance. Its hard not say you feel unjustified. When your playing the best team in the world you want to be able to give them a game with your best players at your disposal and more importantly 11 vs 11. I know for a fact we would have had a better chance with Walcott, Song an perhaps Vermaelen in the side but that's football.
Here are my player ratings:
Szezesny: 6 - Had to come off early with a finger injury.
Sagna: 6 - Could have done with more help dealing with Villa and Adriano.
Djourou: 7 - The Swiss men had a good game, he's made incredible progress this season.
Koscielny: 7 - Seems to have put the Carling Cup Final behind him. Commanding performance.
Clichy: 7 - Wasn't helped by Nasri as much as he would have liked but had a really good game all the same.
Diaby: 5 - Very quiet, not a natural defensive midfielder either.
Wilshere: 8 - Brilliant performance. This boy is simply breathtaking
Fabregas: 5 - Bad day at the office for Cesc. Hamstring clearly affected his performance and eventually tweaked.
Rosicky: 6 - Worked very hard but offered little going forward.
Nasri: 7 - Kept possession well when we needed him to but the defensive side of his game was poor.
Van Persie: 6 - Quiet night for the Dutchman and was wrongly sent off. Appaling decision, rightly furious.
Subs:
Almunia: 8 - Incredible display considering he came off the bench. Has a big part to play for the next few weeks in Szezesny's absence.
Arshavin: 7 - Got stuck in straight away. His work-rate has improved immensley.
Bendtner: 6 - Should have won it for us in the end.
Now on to today's game. This game has now become huge for us after being knocked out of two competitions in the space of something like thirteen days. A win today would reinstall some much needed confidence into the players. They know what they've got to do but the big question is, can they go out there today and take the game to United? We've only one out of the last ten meetings against them. That is simply not good enough. They're 4-3-3 formation has frustrated us in recent years. The trio of Carrick, Scholes and Fletcher have always done extremely well in marking the likes of Cesc and Nasri out of the game. Of course there will be no Cesc today so I expect Nasri to move back into midfield and possibly see Bendtner on the right of the front trio. Szezesny will be out for up to six weeks so Almunia will be number one until he returns and who knows, if he impresses he might keep his spot in the team. Fair is fair after all. The good news is that Van Persie came through the Barcelona game unscathed and should lead the line today. We'll need a big performance from everyone if we are to win this game. To be honest I'd take a draw and have them back at the Emirates in the replay.
Here's the team I expect to see:
Almunia
Sagna - Djourou - Koscielny - Clichy
Nasri - Diaby - Wilshere
Bendtner - Van Persie - Arshavin
The boss said he'll play his strongest available team so granting nobody picked up any knocks he's not telling us about, then that should be the eleven we'll see today. I don't think certain players should be rested, we've got a week off after this so let that be their break. That back four has been fantastic for us in the past couple of months so its vital Wenger dosen't make any changes in that department. United aren't exactly in goalscoring form and the absence of Nani, Park and Valencia won't help their cause. All the same, they are notorious for scoring poxy goals against us so we'll have to be on our toes for the 90 minutes. Let's make a statement today, we're long due a win at Old Trafford. Come on Arsenal!
Till next time Gooners.
I don't want to go into too much detail on the Barca game Tuesday night. As we expected they came at us straight from the start and contained them extremely well in my opinion. Yes they were good at creating space but failed to take advantage of it until the last minute of the half. Why were they struggling to take advantage of it? Good organisation on our part. The midfield sat deep and the trio of Cesc, Jack and Diaby did a pretty decent job of protecting pur defence. However, it was the former who would provide the home side with a helping hand. Just as it looked we would see the half out Cesc attempted to play a silly backheel to Wilshere. It was intercepted and picked up by Iniesta, he played through Messi who flicked the ball over Almunia and finished well. It was a sickening blow. Having defeneded so well as a team, you want to at least make Barca work for a goal instead of gifting them one.
At half-time it was clear Wenger would have to alter his tactics. We now needed a goal but also had to be wary of the threat Barca posed at the other end. We got our goal in somewhat bizzare fashion. A Samir Nasri corner was headed into the net by Sergio Busquets. A hilarious own goal and it couldn't happen to a bigger cunt (unless it was Danny Alves). It was a huge boost for the players but nobody could have predicted what was to happen next. Cesc played a ball over the top to the offside Van Persie who (not knowing he was offside) had a shot. This clearly pissed off Massimo Busacca who decided to give Van Persie his second yellow card which meant his night was over. It was the most ridiculous decisions I'd seen in a long time and I'd seen my fair share of rubbish calls. There was one second between the time the whistle was blown and when Robin kicked it. Busacca had made a tring of poor decisions on the night but this was by far the worst and it would be one that changed the game.
Twenty minutes from time Barca regained their lead. A beautiful swiftly flowing move resulted in Xavi finding the back of the net, albeit via the deflection from Sagna. Now it was an uphill task for us to get back in this game. Trying to get forward with no striker to aim at really was difficult, although it was a challenge we shouldn't have had to deal with. We wouldn't even get a chance to respond. Pedro was brought down by Koscielny, clear penalty and no complaints. Surprisingly Busacca got something right. Yet still, we only needed a goal to put ourselves in a winning position. That chance we all craved came moments from full-time. Wilshere's persistance won him possession deep in Barca's half and he played a sublime ball to Bendtner who's first touch was just terrible and Mascherano was able to get back and intervine. That was it, we had a chance to really sicken them but messed it up. You can only help but wonder what would have been the outcome had that chance fallen to RVP who should have been on the pitch. Thanks again Busacca.
That was that. Our players had given it everything and were undone in the end by a combination of silly errors, a refereeing howler and Barca brilliance. Its hard not say you feel unjustified. When your playing the best team in the world you want to be able to give them a game with your best players at your disposal and more importantly 11 vs 11. I know for a fact we would have had a better chance with Walcott, Song an perhaps Vermaelen in the side but that's football.
Here are my player ratings:
Szezesny: 6 - Had to come off early with a finger injury.
Sagna: 6 - Could have done with more help dealing with Villa and Adriano.
Djourou: 7 - The Swiss men had a good game, he's made incredible progress this season.
Koscielny: 7 - Seems to have put the Carling Cup Final behind him. Commanding performance.
Clichy: 7 - Wasn't helped by Nasri as much as he would have liked but had a really good game all the same.
Diaby: 5 - Very quiet, not a natural defensive midfielder either.
Wilshere: 8 - Brilliant performance. This boy is simply breathtaking
Fabregas: 5 - Bad day at the office for Cesc. Hamstring clearly affected his performance and eventually tweaked.
Rosicky: 6 - Worked very hard but offered little going forward.
Nasri: 7 - Kept possession well when we needed him to but the defensive side of his game was poor.
Van Persie: 6 - Quiet night for the Dutchman and was wrongly sent off. Appaling decision, rightly furious.
Subs:
Almunia: 8 - Incredible display considering he came off the bench. Has a big part to play for the next few weeks in Szezesny's absence.
Arshavin: 7 - Got stuck in straight away. His work-rate has improved immensley.
Bendtner: 6 - Should have won it for us in the end.
Now on to today's game. This game has now become huge for us after being knocked out of two competitions in the space of something like thirteen days. A win today would reinstall some much needed confidence into the players. They know what they've got to do but the big question is, can they go out there today and take the game to United? We've only one out of the last ten meetings against them. That is simply not good enough. They're 4-3-3 formation has frustrated us in recent years. The trio of Carrick, Scholes and Fletcher have always done extremely well in marking the likes of Cesc and Nasri out of the game. Of course there will be no Cesc today so I expect Nasri to move back into midfield and possibly see Bendtner on the right of the front trio. Szezesny will be out for up to six weeks so Almunia will be number one until he returns and who knows, if he impresses he might keep his spot in the team. Fair is fair after all. The good news is that Van Persie came through the Barcelona game unscathed and should lead the line today. We'll need a big performance from everyone if we are to win this game. To be honest I'd take a draw and have them back at the Emirates in the replay.
Here's the team I expect to see:
Almunia
Sagna - Djourou - Koscielny - Clichy
Nasri - Diaby - Wilshere
Bendtner - Van Persie - Arshavin
The boss said he'll play his strongest available team so granting nobody picked up any knocks he's not telling us about, then that should be the eleven we'll see today. I don't think certain players should be rested, we've got a week off after this so let that be their break. That back four has been fantastic for us in the past couple of months so its vital Wenger dosen't make any changes in that department. United aren't exactly in goalscoring form and the absence of Nani, Park and Valencia won't help their cause. All the same, they are notorious for scoring poxy goals against us so we'll have to be on our toes for the 90 minutes. Let's make a statement today, we're long due a win at Old Trafford. Come on Arsenal!
Till next time Gooners.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Barcelona Preview - We Can Do It
Hello again readers,
Well the time is almost upon us. Its the game that has constantly been playing on the back of all our minds since both names were drawn from the pot. The victory over these big headed tools at the Nou Camp was one of my greatest nights as an Arsenal fan ever. It was a monumental performance from the players but nobody else will remember it if we go on and get knocked out tomorrow night. It is a possibility. Its so hard to be confident going into a game against a side of the calibre of Barca. We have an incredibly strong side this season that when fit can beat anyone in the world if they are up for it. The thing with Barca though is that they can be crap for 89 minutes and then BANG....Messi pops up and steals the show.
On that note, we can't focus all of our attention on this guy. I know people will look back to last season and think that we should man mark him. We don't have to, we can work as a team to keep him quiet. You could tell one or two players to focus solely on Messi but then what about Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Pedro? The list goes on. We just need to do what we did at the Emirates. Let them play their little keep ball sessions in their own half of they want to but when they cross the half way line then press. Press press press! You've just got to. If you give these guys space in your own territory they'll punish you in a split second. We saw that last season, I hope to God we've learned from our mistakes. And the thing is, even if we have learned our lessons it dosen't necessarily mean we have Barca's number. Messi at times is just unplayable. Like Wenger said, you can't bank on him not turning up. Messi always turns up, he's the greatest player to grace the game for quite some time now. Our defence and midfield were brilliant against him at the Emirates last season but then it all went sour in Spain. Again this year at the Emirates we limited him to a handful of opportunities. Again it could be a different story at the Nou Camp. Bigger pitch = more space for players to run in to.
Of course this is also an advantage for us. We have some of the best attacking players in the world at the moment. For me it all comes down to who defends better on the night. The Djourou - Koscielny partnership has been brilliant for us since they were first paired together. Let's hope they can turn in another brilliant shift tomorrow night. The full-backs will also be key. Bacary Sagna has been one of our most consistant performers this season and dosen't get the praise he deserves. Clichy had an average start but has come good lately. These four men will have to be at their very best tomorrow night and will need all the support they can get from those ahead of them.
Now onto the sensational news that Robin Van Persie has been included in the squad. It just came out of nowhere. Wenger didn't even mention his name in the press conference this morning. A few days ago Arsene said he hoped to return against Blackburn on April 2nd I think? Now all of a sudden he's ready in a few days? It really is bizzare and we had a similar situation with Eboue a couple of months ago. I won't complain though, that is for sure. There is no guarantee that the Dutchman will start but his presence on the bench alone will no doubt give the other players a boost. We are so much more dangerous with him on the pitch, I'll be over the moon if I see his name on the team-sheet tomorrow evening.
The bad news is that Alex Song misses out with a knee injury. Its a pity but I think we can manage. I reckon Diaby will come in for him and Wilshere will assist him in trying to protect the defence. Neither will be unfamiliar to the role, they both did it on the opening day of the season at Anfield and did I fine job there I must say and more recently at St James Park up until Diaby got sent off and well we just won't go there. Barca are a whole different package though. From the first second to the last they will just go hunting for goals. They can be ruthless and can make the best of tacticians look very silly indeed, ask Jose Mourinho. Wenger says we may need to change our style which is common sense really going to a daunting place like the Nou Camp. We do possess the players to really hurt them on the break and with Puyol and Pique both absent who knows? We might just have a feast of goals on our hands.
Only God knows whats in store for us tomorrow. From the moment the eyes open tomorrow morning till full-time at the Nou Camp, the andrenaline will be flowing. At least I hope it is, last season watching the final twenty minutes was like watching a pre-season match where it was a case of damaged limitations. I'm confident that not only can we avoid a similar scenario but really take the game to these cunts in their own backyard. Just how sweet would it be for Cesc to score the winner? Anyway, I'll let you go and dare to dream people! This is not impossible, this team has something special, let's hope we see it tomorrow night.
Take care of yourselves and Come on Arsenal!
Well the time is almost upon us. Its the game that has constantly been playing on the back of all our minds since both names were drawn from the pot. The victory over these big headed tools at the Nou Camp was one of my greatest nights as an Arsenal fan ever. It was a monumental performance from the players but nobody else will remember it if we go on and get knocked out tomorrow night. It is a possibility. Its so hard to be confident going into a game against a side of the calibre of Barca. We have an incredibly strong side this season that when fit can beat anyone in the world if they are up for it. The thing with Barca though is that they can be crap for 89 minutes and then BANG....Messi pops up and steals the show.
On that note, we can't focus all of our attention on this guy. I know people will look back to last season and think that we should man mark him. We don't have to, we can work as a team to keep him quiet. You could tell one or two players to focus solely on Messi but then what about Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Pedro? The list goes on. We just need to do what we did at the Emirates. Let them play their little keep ball sessions in their own half of they want to but when they cross the half way line then press. Press press press! You've just got to. If you give these guys space in your own territory they'll punish you in a split second. We saw that last season, I hope to God we've learned from our mistakes. And the thing is, even if we have learned our lessons it dosen't necessarily mean we have Barca's number. Messi at times is just unplayable. Like Wenger said, you can't bank on him not turning up. Messi always turns up, he's the greatest player to grace the game for quite some time now. Our defence and midfield were brilliant against him at the Emirates last season but then it all went sour in Spain. Again this year at the Emirates we limited him to a handful of opportunities. Again it could be a different story at the Nou Camp. Bigger pitch = more space for players to run in to.
Of course this is also an advantage for us. We have some of the best attacking players in the world at the moment. For me it all comes down to who defends better on the night. The Djourou - Koscielny partnership has been brilliant for us since they were first paired together. Let's hope they can turn in another brilliant shift tomorrow night. The full-backs will also be key. Bacary Sagna has been one of our most consistant performers this season and dosen't get the praise he deserves. Clichy had an average start but has come good lately. These four men will have to be at their very best tomorrow night and will need all the support they can get from those ahead of them.
Now onto the sensational news that Robin Van Persie has been included in the squad. It just came out of nowhere. Wenger didn't even mention his name in the press conference this morning. A few days ago Arsene said he hoped to return against Blackburn on April 2nd I think? Now all of a sudden he's ready in a few days? It really is bizzare and we had a similar situation with Eboue a couple of months ago. I won't complain though, that is for sure. There is no guarantee that the Dutchman will start but his presence on the bench alone will no doubt give the other players a boost. We are so much more dangerous with him on the pitch, I'll be over the moon if I see his name on the team-sheet tomorrow evening.
The bad news is that Alex Song misses out with a knee injury. Its a pity but I think we can manage. I reckon Diaby will come in for him and Wilshere will assist him in trying to protect the defence. Neither will be unfamiliar to the role, they both did it on the opening day of the season at Anfield and did I fine job there I must say and more recently at St James Park up until Diaby got sent off and well we just won't go there. Barca are a whole different package though. From the first second to the last they will just go hunting for goals. They can be ruthless and can make the best of tacticians look very silly indeed, ask Jose Mourinho. Wenger says we may need to change our style which is common sense really going to a daunting place like the Nou Camp. We do possess the players to really hurt them on the break and with Puyol and Pique both absent who knows? We might just have a feast of goals on our hands.
Only God knows whats in store for us tomorrow. From the moment the eyes open tomorrow morning till full-time at the Nou Camp, the andrenaline will be flowing. At least I hope it is, last season watching the final twenty minutes was like watching a pre-season match where it was a case of damaged limitations. I'm confident that not only can we avoid a similar scenario but really take the game to these cunts in their own backyard. Just how sweet would it be for Cesc to score the winner? Anyway, I'll let you go and dare to dream people! This is not impossible, this team has something special, let's hope we see it tomorrow night.
Take care of yourselves and Come on Arsenal!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Bad Week But Keep The Chin Up
Welcome all,
Many times have I been tempted to post a blog after the Carling Cup Final but I opted not to incase I critisized this team so bad that it just made me out to be a tool which happens with a lot of other bloggers. People say this past week couldn't have been any worse. Rubbish, it could have been a whole lot worse than what it's been. We could have gone out of the FA Cup if we didn't turn up with the right attitude and we could have easily lost yesterday if it wasn't for a fantastic late save by Szezesny plus Liverpool did us a massive favour by beating United earlier today.
I'm not going to go through every game in detail because I know you don't want me to and who wants to hear me yap on about something that happened a week ago. Losing the final makes us all feel sick to our stomachs so I'm sure you'll all agree with me when I say we should just try and avoid bringing it up if its possible.
We all know how crucial it was to beat Sunderland yesterday. Somewhat unsurpisingly we failed to do so. We've been in this situation in previous seasons. Needing to beat the smaller teams but failing to do so for whatever reason. We've been through it all, lack of attitude, desire, urgency and so on. This team seems to be "learning lessons" every single season. When will they have enough knowledge to actually be able to win a trophy? The excuses are beginning to tire me now.
People who watched yesterday's game will tell you we dominated and deserved to win. Maybe we did but did you see the first half performance? It was flat, we lacked creativity and there was little or no urgency my the majority of our players to go and create chances. Around the 70th minute the players actually found out that there was the possibility that just turning up wouldn't be enough to take all three points (something they should have learned hmmmm about 2 years ago?). After that it was a barrage of attempts on the Sunderland goal. And when I'm critisizing the lack of urgency I'm not saying it goes for all the players. The likes of Samir Nasri and Jack Wilshere were superb yesterday. I can only imagine how hard it can be for them when they're doing everything they can to pave an opening yet the rest are inclined to relax and think the opportunities will come anyway. Sorry it dosen't work like that. There is no longer such thing as just turning up for the three points. Teams are now tactically more aware and have well thought out plans when going to places like the Emirates.
I did mention on my Twitter that I was slightly surprised to see Denilson and Diaby in the same team. Either can play the holding role so what's the point in both when your up against a side that's obviously going to defend for their lives for the duration of the match. You just knew Denilson was going to be sacrificed as time went on. He's a player that is seriously under-performing at the moment. He made a decent start to the season but its all gone downhill from there. I'm not sure if the holding role is for him and I hope the boss gives him the freedom to play next season when Frimpong and Coquelin return. I think it was the 2008/09 season when he got 11 assists? Not bad if you ask me.
We badly missed Van Persie and Fabregas yesterday but I'm just sick of using that excuse. You ask me if I think we would have won with those two and its a definite yes. Absolutely no doubt. We have to learn to cope without them though. Van Persie has a long term injury every season and when the day comes where Cesc says Adios then it will be a real test of this club's inner strenght. I'm not interested in discussing that at the moment though. They're both huge players for this club and the sooner they return the better.
Anyway, here's yesterday's player ratings:
Szezesny: 7 - Didn't have a lot to do but made a world class save late on to deny Welbeck.
Sagna: 7 - Got stuck in and gave everything. Typical Bacary.
Djourou: 7 - Comfortable as ever.
Koscielny: 8 - Last weekend's howler dosen't look to be playing on his mind, fine display.
Clichy: 7 - Got burned once or twice by Sessegnon but offered plenty going forward.
Denilson: 6 - Kept possession well but needs to add more bite to his game.
Diaby: 6 - Too square and struggled to get forward.
Wilshere: 7 - Whole hearted performance.
Nasri: 8 - Deserved to be on the winning side. By far the best player on the pitch, an absolute joy to watch.
Arshavin: 7 - Really gave it his all yesterday, can be proud of his performance.
Bendtner: 6 - Got himself into some good positions in the first half but faded.
Subs:
Chamakh: 7 - Looks to be finding his feet again and should have scored the winner.
Rosicky: 6 - No time to make an impact.
Its frustrating that we've only gained a point on United after the weekend. I was certain we could close the gap to a point with that all important game in hand. There's no time to let the heads drop though. We can still go level on points with them but now its time to put the league on the backburner for a bit. We've got an absolutely huge week coming up. We're away to Barcelona on Tuesday night in a game that's so big I'm getting butterflies as I type this. Then on the Saturday we go to Old Trafford in the quarter final of the FA Cup. This week really is make or break for us. All the odds are stacked against us. The media think we'll get thumped in Spain, lose at Old Trafford and then eventually fall in the league. As fans we need to stick behind the team. We've been in promising positions like this before and made a right duck's arse of it. This is a real test of how far this team has really come. Can we come away from both games with huge smiles on our faces? I believe so but you really can't predict anything with Arsenal. All it takes is another refereeing error or individual mistake for it all to blow up in our faces. Whatever happens we'll be behind the boys all the way.
On the injury front it dosen't make good reading. Fabregas and Song are big doubts for Tuesday's game. Jack Wilshere was initially put into the same category but today told us via his Twitter that he will be ready and raring to go for it. We all know Van Persie won't be back till April the 2nd at least but my main worry is Cesc. This team needs him so badly for Tuesday. He is a leader, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. All the players look up to him and if he's involved I'll be a whole lot more confident that we can finish the job. Song's involvelement is also crucial. We don't have any other natural holding men at the club right now that can protect the defence the way he does. Fingers crossed they will both be there. I think I've spoken enough for one night. I'll be back with a small preview of the Barca game soon.
Till then take care.
Many times have I been tempted to post a blog after the Carling Cup Final but I opted not to incase I critisized this team so bad that it just made me out to be a tool which happens with a lot of other bloggers. People say this past week couldn't have been any worse. Rubbish, it could have been a whole lot worse than what it's been. We could have gone out of the FA Cup if we didn't turn up with the right attitude and we could have easily lost yesterday if it wasn't for a fantastic late save by Szezesny plus Liverpool did us a massive favour by beating United earlier today.
I'm not going to go through every game in detail because I know you don't want me to and who wants to hear me yap on about something that happened a week ago. Losing the final makes us all feel sick to our stomachs so I'm sure you'll all agree with me when I say we should just try and avoid bringing it up if its possible.
We all know how crucial it was to beat Sunderland yesterday. Somewhat unsurpisingly we failed to do so. We've been in this situation in previous seasons. Needing to beat the smaller teams but failing to do so for whatever reason. We've been through it all, lack of attitude, desire, urgency and so on. This team seems to be "learning lessons" every single season. When will they have enough knowledge to actually be able to win a trophy? The excuses are beginning to tire me now.
People who watched yesterday's game will tell you we dominated and deserved to win. Maybe we did but did you see the first half performance? It was flat, we lacked creativity and there was little or no urgency my the majority of our players to go and create chances. Around the 70th minute the players actually found out that there was the possibility that just turning up wouldn't be enough to take all three points (something they should have learned hmmmm about 2 years ago?). After that it was a barrage of attempts on the Sunderland goal. And when I'm critisizing the lack of urgency I'm not saying it goes for all the players. The likes of Samir Nasri and Jack Wilshere were superb yesterday. I can only imagine how hard it can be for them when they're doing everything they can to pave an opening yet the rest are inclined to relax and think the opportunities will come anyway. Sorry it dosen't work like that. There is no longer such thing as just turning up for the three points. Teams are now tactically more aware and have well thought out plans when going to places like the Emirates.
I did mention on my Twitter that I was slightly surprised to see Denilson and Diaby in the same team. Either can play the holding role so what's the point in both when your up against a side that's obviously going to defend for their lives for the duration of the match. You just knew Denilson was going to be sacrificed as time went on. He's a player that is seriously under-performing at the moment. He made a decent start to the season but its all gone downhill from there. I'm not sure if the holding role is for him and I hope the boss gives him the freedom to play next season when Frimpong and Coquelin return. I think it was the 2008/09 season when he got 11 assists? Not bad if you ask me.
We badly missed Van Persie and Fabregas yesterday but I'm just sick of using that excuse. You ask me if I think we would have won with those two and its a definite yes. Absolutely no doubt. We have to learn to cope without them though. Van Persie has a long term injury every season and when the day comes where Cesc says Adios then it will be a real test of this club's inner strenght. I'm not interested in discussing that at the moment though. They're both huge players for this club and the sooner they return the better.
Anyway, here's yesterday's player ratings:
Szezesny: 7 - Didn't have a lot to do but made a world class save late on to deny Welbeck.
Sagna: 7 - Got stuck in and gave everything. Typical Bacary.
Djourou: 7 - Comfortable as ever.
Koscielny: 8 - Last weekend's howler dosen't look to be playing on his mind, fine display.
Clichy: 7 - Got burned once or twice by Sessegnon but offered plenty going forward.
Denilson: 6 - Kept possession well but needs to add more bite to his game.
Diaby: 6 - Too square and struggled to get forward.
Wilshere: 7 - Whole hearted performance.
Nasri: 8 - Deserved to be on the winning side. By far the best player on the pitch, an absolute joy to watch.
Arshavin: 7 - Really gave it his all yesterday, can be proud of his performance.
Bendtner: 6 - Got himself into some good positions in the first half but faded.
Subs:
Chamakh: 7 - Looks to be finding his feet again and should have scored the winner.
Rosicky: 6 - No time to make an impact.
Its frustrating that we've only gained a point on United after the weekend. I was certain we could close the gap to a point with that all important game in hand. There's no time to let the heads drop though. We can still go level on points with them but now its time to put the league on the backburner for a bit. We've got an absolutely huge week coming up. We're away to Barcelona on Tuesday night in a game that's so big I'm getting butterflies as I type this. Then on the Saturday we go to Old Trafford in the quarter final of the FA Cup. This week really is make or break for us. All the odds are stacked against us. The media think we'll get thumped in Spain, lose at Old Trafford and then eventually fall in the league. As fans we need to stick behind the team. We've been in promising positions like this before and made a right duck's arse of it. This is a real test of how far this team has really come. Can we come away from both games with huge smiles on our faces? I believe so but you really can't predict anything with Arsenal. All it takes is another refereeing error or individual mistake for it all to blow up in our faces. Whatever happens we'll be behind the boys all the way.
On the injury front it dosen't make good reading. Fabregas and Song are big doubts for Tuesday's game. Jack Wilshere was initially put into the same category but today told us via his Twitter that he will be ready and raring to go for it. We all know Van Persie won't be back till April the 2nd at least but my main worry is Cesc. This team needs him so badly for Tuesday. He is a leader, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. All the players look up to him and if he's involved I'll be a whole lot more confident that we can finish the job. Song's involvelement is also crucial. We don't have any other natural holding men at the club right now that can protect the defence the way he does. Fingers crossed they will both be there. I think I've spoken enough for one night. I'll be back with a small preview of the Barca game soon.
Till then take care.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Have That Tony Pubis!
Evening,
Last night we picked up what could be a crucial three points in the hunt for the title. We played nowhere near our best but the attitude was spot on and that's all that matters as far as I'm concerned. Stoke came with a plan to frustrate us which was clear from the start. That plan didn't pan out as they would have liked as they were 1-0 down less than ten minutes into the game. Bendtner did brilliantly to win a corner off Huth, Wilshere took it and found Bendtner who dinked it across the face of the goal for Squillaci to head in. A rare Premier League start and goal for the Frenchman.
It had been a flying start from our men. Squillaci's goal came just after Walcott had hit the post. Unfortunately there was bad news to follow. Only fifteen minutes into the game Cesc pulled up with a hamstring injury and was taken off. He wasn't limping but it is still thought to be serious. More on that later. Cesc's departure seemed to take the sting out of our attacking play. We no longer looked dangerous going forward, the play was flat and you just had to be grateful that we went 1-0 up before Cesc went off.
The loss of Cesc seemed to spurn Stoke on a bit and I mean only a bit because they had been pretty rubbish apart from their defence. John Carew took advantage of a loose ball and forced Szezesny into a brilliant save. Despite their mini revival we still looked comfortable at the back, any worries about Squillaci were quickly fading, the goal seemed to do him the world of good. A Samir Nasri free-kick was just about the only other moment that got the crowd slightly excited in a pretty dull half.
Even though the majority of us were fairly satisfied with the 1-0 lead, the lack of chances after Cesc's substitutions was rather worrying. We needed to rekindle that fire that had seen us destroy so many teams. The absence of our captain and Van Persie would not help our cause however. In the second half the Potters seemed intent on getting our faces and not enjoying as much possession as we did in the first half. They even had a rare goalscoring opportunity when Shawcross' header was blocked by the head of Johan Djourou. What a tragedy it would have been had that moron scored.
Robert Huth probably should have drawn the visitors level when he headed over from close range after another long Delap throw in. Infairness it was the first one we failed to clear, Djourou in particular was attacking every ball that came into the box. Theo Walcott perhaps should have eased our nerves when Arshavin superby flicked the ball past Shawcross and pulled it back to Theo but he sliced his effort well wide of goal. It wasn't the most entertaining of night and we were given a further blow when Walcott went down clutching his ankle. He looked in a lot of discomfort and was stretchered off with just over twenty minutes remaining. I'll come back to the latest on him and Cesc.
I expected to see Chamakh replace him but Arsene opted for Denilson instead, clearly taking no risks. Nicklas Bendtner had a chance to kill the game but he headed Jack Wilshere's corner well over the bar. Shortly afterwards he was replaced by Chamakh who is looking to recapture some of the early season form that saw plenty of praise heaped on him. The players kept the ball well for the remainder of the game despite a late scare when Jermaine Pennant when close with a free-kick but it hit the side netting which was about as good as it got for Stoke. We had to work for our three points but you have to give credit to the players for sticking at it for ninety minutes. In recent times we may have lost focus and dropped points under similar circumstances.
The player ratings are as follows:
Szezesny: 8 - Dealt with every throw in brilliantly and made a terrific save from Carew.
Sagna: 7 - As solid as ever and won some key battles in the air.
Squillaci: 8 - Best game for a long time and scored a crucial goal.
Djourou: 7 - Commanding in the air and never looked threatened.
Clichy: 7 - Quiet but solid game.
Song: 7 - Sat in front of the defence and did his job.
Wilshere: 8 - Ran the show once more. Such a good role model for any other young player out there.
Fabregas: 5 - Played only a quarter of the game before going off injured. Looked lively up until then.
Nasri: 7 - At the heart of nearly every attack but failed to create much due to resiliant defending.
Walcott: 6 - Unlucky not to score inside the first minutes. Stretchered off injured in the end unfortunately.
Bendtner: 7 - Worked his socks off and played a key role in the goal. Won corner and then set up Squillaci.
Subs:
Arshavin: 7 - Very lively and flashes of his old brilliance.
Denilson: 6 - Retained possession well.
Chamakh: 6 - Not much time to make an impact but some nice touches.
We've now moved to within a point of United. They have a game in hand which is Wigan at the DW Stadium this weekend in a game you'd think they should win but we also thought they would easily beat Wolves. Wigan are the most unpredictable side in the Premier League in my opinion and they could either frighten the life out of United or roll over and get hammered. We won't get our hopes up that's for sure.
Now as I've been writing this blog I've just learned of the news that Cesc Fabregas will miss Sunday's cup final. I can't explain how big a blow this is on so many levels. First of all for the player himself, he's been waiting for this moment for so long now and for it to be ruined by a stupid hamstring injury just about sums up his and our own luck over the past five or so years. I'm still think he will lift the trophy should we win it but this missing the game itself will be killing him even if he dosen't show it. Now think of the boost this will give the Birmingham City players. They would have been dreading the thought of a full strenght Arsenal team going at them but now that we're missing our most influential player they'll certainly fancy their chances of causing a major upset. Aswell as Cesc we'll be without Theo Walcott. Two massive players have just been taken out of this Arsenal team. Cesc has incredible vision and can split any team apart with his fantastic passing ability while Theo gives us width and can stretch any defence and out run any player. The next question is will they be out for the Barcelona game? The boss says Theo could be out for a few weeks so that obviously throws his involvement into serious doubt while nobody knows the exact extent of Cesc's injury but it is thought to be short-term. If I hear anything else I'll inform you via my Twitter account @ArsenesArmy.
On the bright side Van Persie, Koscielny and Diaby will all return. I doubt Diaby will start but its no harm having him in the squad. Van Persie and Koscielny are two massive players for us as I explained in yesterday's blog. When Van Persie is out we don't score as much, when Koscielny is out we concede a lot more, enough said. Anyway, I'm trying not to let recent injuries to key players dampen my mood going into Sunday's game. No doubt we won't be as confident as we were yesterday but that's football for you, just never know what is around the corner. We've still got a squad full of players more than capable of putting the Blues to the sword. More on the cup final in the coming todays, I think I've said for one day.
Till next time.
Last night we picked up what could be a crucial three points in the hunt for the title. We played nowhere near our best but the attitude was spot on and that's all that matters as far as I'm concerned. Stoke came with a plan to frustrate us which was clear from the start. That plan didn't pan out as they would have liked as they were 1-0 down less than ten minutes into the game. Bendtner did brilliantly to win a corner off Huth, Wilshere took it and found Bendtner who dinked it across the face of the goal for Squillaci to head in. A rare Premier League start and goal for the Frenchman.
It had been a flying start from our men. Squillaci's goal came just after Walcott had hit the post. Unfortunately there was bad news to follow. Only fifteen minutes into the game Cesc pulled up with a hamstring injury and was taken off. He wasn't limping but it is still thought to be serious. More on that later. Cesc's departure seemed to take the sting out of our attacking play. We no longer looked dangerous going forward, the play was flat and you just had to be grateful that we went 1-0 up before Cesc went off.
The loss of Cesc seemed to spurn Stoke on a bit and I mean only a bit because they had been pretty rubbish apart from their defence. John Carew took advantage of a loose ball and forced Szezesny into a brilliant save. Despite their mini revival we still looked comfortable at the back, any worries about Squillaci were quickly fading, the goal seemed to do him the world of good. A Samir Nasri free-kick was just about the only other moment that got the crowd slightly excited in a pretty dull half.
Even though the majority of us were fairly satisfied with the 1-0 lead, the lack of chances after Cesc's substitutions was rather worrying. We needed to rekindle that fire that had seen us destroy so many teams. The absence of our captain and Van Persie would not help our cause however. In the second half the Potters seemed intent on getting our faces and not enjoying as much possession as we did in the first half. They even had a rare goalscoring opportunity when Shawcross' header was blocked by the head of Johan Djourou. What a tragedy it would have been had that moron scored.
Robert Huth probably should have drawn the visitors level when he headed over from close range after another long Delap throw in. Infairness it was the first one we failed to clear, Djourou in particular was attacking every ball that came into the box. Theo Walcott perhaps should have eased our nerves when Arshavin superby flicked the ball past Shawcross and pulled it back to Theo but he sliced his effort well wide of goal. It wasn't the most entertaining of night and we were given a further blow when Walcott went down clutching his ankle. He looked in a lot of discomfort and was stretchered off with just over twenty minutes remaining. I'll come back to the latest on him and Cesc.
I expected to see Chamakh replace him but Arsene opted for Denilson instead, clearly taking no risks. Nicklas Bendtner had a chance to kill the game but he headed Jack Wilshere's corner well over the bar. Shortly afterwards he was replaced by Chamakh who is looking to recapture some of the early season form that saw plenty of praise heaped on him. The players kept the ball well for the remainder of the game despite a late scare when Jermaine Pennant when close with a free-kick but it hit the side netting which was about as good as it got for Stoke. We had to work for our three points but you have to give credit to the players for sticking at it for ninety minutes. In recent times we may have lost focus and dropped points under similar circumstances.
The player ratings are as follows:
Szezesny: 8 - Dealt with every throw in brilliantly and made a terrific save from Carew.
Sagna: 7 - As solid as ever and won some key battles in the air.
Squillaci: 8 - Best game for a long time and scored a crucial goal.
Djourou: 7 - Commanding in the air and never looked threatened.
Clichy: 7 - Quiet but solid game.
Song: 7 - Sat in front of the defence and did his job.
Wilshere: 8 - Ran the show once more. Such a good role model for any other young player out there.
Fabregas: 5 - Played only a quarter of the game before going off injured. Looked lively up until then.
Nasri: 7 - At the heart of nearly every attack but failed to create much due to resiliant defending.
Walcott: 6 - Unlucky not to score inside the first minutes. Stretchered off injured in the end unfortunately.
Bendtner: 7 - Worked his socks off and played a key role in the goal. Won corner and then set up Squillaci.
Subs:
Arshavin: 7 - Very lively and flashes of his old brilliance.
Denilson: 6 - Retained possession well.
Chamakh: 6 - Not much time to make an impact but some nice touches.
We've now moved to within a point of United. They have a game in hand which is Wigan at the DW Stadium this weekend in a game you'd think they should win but we also thought they would easily beat Wolves. Wigan are the most unpredictable side in the Premier League in my opinion and they could either frighten the life out of United or roll over and get hammered. We won't get our hopes up that's for sure.
Now as I've been writing this blog I've just learned of the news that Cesc Fabregas will miss Sunday's cup final. I can't explain how big a blow this is on so many levels. First of all for the player himself, he's been waiting for this moment for so long now and for it to be ruined by a stupid hamstring injury just about sums up his and our own luck over the past five or so years. I'm still think he will lift the trophy should we win it but this missing the game itself will be killing him even if he dosen't show it. Now think of the boost this will give the Birmingham City players. They would have been dreading the thought of a full strenght Arsenal team going at them but now that we're missing our most influential player they'll certainly fancy their chances of causing a major upset. Aswell as Cesc we'll be without Theo Walcott. Two massive players have just been taken out of this Arsenal team. Cesc has incredible vision and can split any team apart with his fantastic passing ability while Theo gives us width and can stretch any defence and out run any player. The next question is will they be out for the Barcelona game? The boss says Theo could be out for a few weeks so that obviously throws his involvement into serious doubt while nobody knows the exact extent of Cesc's injury but it is thought to be short-term. If I hear anything else I'll inform you via my Twitter account @ArsenesArmy.
On the bright side Van Persie, Koscielny and Diaby will all return. I doubt Diaby will start but its no harm having him in the squad. Van Persie and Koscielny are two massive players for us as I explained in yesterday's blog. When Van Persie is out we don't score as much, when Koscielny is out we concede a lot more, enough said. Anyway, I'm trying not to let recent injuries to key players dampen my mood going into Sunday's game. No doubt we won't be as confident as we were yesterday but that's football for you, just never know what is around the corner. We've still got a squad full of players more than capable of putting the Blues to the sword. More on the cup final in the coming todays, I think I've said for one day.
Till next time.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Stoke Rugby Club Preview
Afternon readers,
We're back in Premier League action tonight and I don't think a lot of people realize how big a game this is in our season. A lot of minds are at Wembley on Sunday, I just hope the players are fully focused on this game. If we win it will put massive pressure on Man.United not to drop any points as they play Wigan, Chelsea and Liverpool over the next few weeks. Its an exciting time for us because this is the part of the season where many of us saw Arsenal taking advantage of United's difficult run of fixtures. We have to do our part though, Stoke as much as we hate them are a good side on their day and if we allw them to score first then we could be in for a very difficult evening.
Of course past events make this game all the more interesting but its important the players keep focus and don't get carried away. There might well be some crunching tackles out there tonight. No doubt the home fans will attempt to jump at the chance to yell at every Stoke player. I have no problem with that. My only concern is that ur players get involved in the tustle. Perhaps its a good thing that Diaby is suspended for this game because we all know his fuse has been trimmed lately.
The team news isn't as promising as we would have liked. Robin Van Persie has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. The boss says its short term and he's in with a chance of starting Sunday's cup final. Laurent Koscielny has also been ruled out with a back injury but he too could make Sunday's game. Diaby is suspended but would have been out anyway due to a calf strain, I'm not too sure about the extent of his injury. The injuries to Van Persie and Koscielny are massive blows I must say. Both have recently been playing the best football of their careers in my opinion and against a stubborn side like Stoke, you really could do with having your best players at your disposal.
I do think we can manage. This is how I see us lining up tonight:
Szezesny
Sagna - Djourou - Squillaci - Clichy
Fabregas - Song - Wilshere
Walcott - Bendtner - Nasri
People who think Walcott should play in the middle need to take a look at who we're playing. Shawcross and Huth would bully him all day. This game is perfectly suited for Bendtner, I know he's been playing on the right a lot lately and has done a decent job but he can be equally if not more effective in the centre. In fact he scored a terrific header against Stoke last season at the Britannia which set us on our way to a remarkable victory given the circumstances. If it wasn't for Djourou recovering from his back injury we might well have been looking at a Song - Squillaci partnership which would make anyone go to town in their underwear. If I had to chose a partner for Squillaci out of Djourou and Koscielny it would definately be the Swiss man. Look back to the start of the season and they were pretty solid together keeping clean sheets against Manchester City, West Ham and Wolves. They've got a major task on their hands trying to keep out the big duo of Kenwyne Jones and John Carew but I think they can if both bring their A-game.
As for the Stoke line up, heres how I think it will pan out:
Begovic
Wilkinson - Shawcross - Huth - Collins
Pennant - Whitehead - Wilson - Delap
Jones - Carew
Etherington is a major doubt which will do us no harm because he has been having a decent season up till now. I don't see a whole pile of danger in that midfield. Pennant is fast but I think Clichy is more than equipped to handle him. The only reason Delap is still a professional footballer is because of his long throws it seems. Laugh all you want its still a pretty effective tactic and we have got to be prepared for it. This is where Bendtner could come in handy too should he start. Up front you have Jones and Carew. I've already mentioned the threat posed by their strenght and height. When the ball is on the ground they aren't the most lethal of strikers you'll ever come across. Song may need to do some extra covering tonight.
Another man who may have a part to play tonight is Andrey Arshavin. The Russian has been speaking about how criticism dented his confidence but is delighted to be back to his best now.
"I think it was a combination, my form and they [the media] chased me a little bit as well," said Arshavin.
"Normally everyone expects something more from me and that is good to hear, because only from good players does someone expects something."
As happy as I am to see him finding his feet again I still think he has a lot of work to do to force his way back into the first team. Walcott and Nasri occupy his preferred positions and those two have been sensational for us this season. It may take an injury (God forbid) for him to be given a good run in the team. Still, he can make a huge impact off the bench as we've seen against Everton and most notably Barcelona.
I think I'll leave it there for today. Its a night where patience may be required but we'll stay behind the players for the whole 90 minutes and boo Shawcross till he cries heh. Speaking of Shawcross, check out this video I came across earlier. For some reason I think you'll like it: http://twitvid.com/7VIBG .
Anyway, enjoy the game folks, back tomorrow with a positive match report I hope!
Till then.
We're back in Premier League action tonight and I don't think a lot of people realize how big a game this is in our season. A lot of minds are at Wembley on Sunday, I just hope the players are fully focused on this game. If we win it will put massive pressure on Man.United not to drop any points as they play Wigan, Chelsea and Liverpool over the next few weeks. Its an exciting time for us because this is the part of the season where many of us saw Arsenal taking advantage of United's difficult run of fixtures. We have to do our part though, Stoke as much as we hate them are a good side on their day and if we allw them to score first then we could be in for a very difficult evening.
Of course past events make this game all the more interesting but its important the players keep focus and don't get carried away. There might well be some crunching tackles out there tonight. No doubt the home fans will attempt to jump at the chance to yell at every Stoke player. I have no problem with that. My only concern is that ur players get involved in the tustle. Perhaps its a good thing that Diaby is suspended for this game because we all know his fuse has been trimmed lately.
The team news isn't as promising as we would have liked. Robin Van Persie has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. The boss says its short term and he's in with a chance of starting Sunday's cup final. Laurent Koscielny has also been ruled out with a back injury but he too could make Sunday's game. Diaby is suspended but would have been out anyway due to a calf strain, I'm not too sure about the extent of his injury. The injuries to Van Persie and Koscielny are massive blows I must say. Both have recently been playing the best football of their careers in my opinion and against a stubborn side like Stoke, you really could do with having your best players at your disposal.
I do think we can manage. This is how I see us lining up tonight:
Szezesny
Sagna - Djourou - Squillaci - Clichy
Fabregas - Song - Wilshere
Walcott - Bendtner - Nasri
People who think Walcott should play in the middle need to take a look at who we're playing. Shawcross and Huth would bully him all day. This game is perfectly suited for Bendtner, I know he's been playing on the right a lot lately and has done a decent job but he can be equally if not more effective in the centre. In fact he scored a terrific header against Stoke last season at the Britannia which set us on our way to a remarkable victory given the circumstances. If it wasn't for Djourou recovering from his back injury we might well have been looking at a Song - Squillaci partnership which would make anyone go to town in their underwear. If I had to chose a partner for Squillaci out of Djourou and Koscielny it would definately be the Swiss man. Look back to the start of the season and they were pretty solid together keeping clean sheets against Manchester City, West Ham and Wolves. They've got a major task on their hands trying to keep out the big duo of Kenwyne Jones and John Carew but I think they can if both bring their A-game.
As for the Stoke line up, heres how I think it will pan out:
Begovic
Wilkinson - Shawcross - Huth - Collins
Pennant - Whitehead - Wilson - Delap
Jones - Carew
Etherington is a major doubt which will do us no harm because he has been having a decent season up till now. I don't see a whole pile of danger in that midfield. Pennant is fast but I think Clichy is more than equipped to handle him. The only reason Delap is still a professional footballer is because of his long throws it seems. Laugh all you want its still a pretty effective tactic and we have got to be prepared for it. This is where Bendtner could come in handy too should he start. Up front you have Jones and Carew. I've already mentioned the threat posed by their strenght and height. When the ball is on the ground they aren't the most lethal of strikers you'll ever come across. Song may need to do some extra covering tonight.
Another man who may have a part to play tonight is Andrey Arshavin. The Russian has been speaking about how criticism dented his confidence but is delighted to be back to his best now.
"I think it was a combination, my form and they [the media] chased me a little bit as well," said Arshavin.
"Normally everyone expects something more from me and that is good to hear, because only from good players does someone expects something."
As happy as I am to see him finding his feet again I still think he has a lot of work to do to force his way back into the first team. Walcott and Nasri occupy his preferred positions and those two have been sensational for us this season. It may take an injury (God forbid) for him to be given a good run in the team. Still, he can make a huge impact off the bench as we've seen against Everton and most notably Barcelona.
I think I'll leave it there for today. Its a night where patience may be required but we'll stay behind the players for the whole 90 minutes and boo Shawcross till he cries heh. Speaking of Shawcross, check out this video I came across earlier. For some reason I think you'll like it: http://twitvid.com/7VIBG .
Anyway, enjoy the game folks, back tomorrow with a positive match report I hope!
Till then.
Monday, February 21, 2011
The Blogger Is Back!
Afternoon!
Well its been quite a bit since I last posted a blog so I said I'd get back into the thick of things today while I'm off work. Sincere apologies for that, I know it can be annoying not knowing when someone is going to post a blog but I'll try to get it going on a regular basis again now. I haven't stopped tweeting so if you follow me you'll already be familiar with my thought with the latest happenings in the club. My last post was just after the Wigan game and I'm not going to go over every single game in detail since then but I will give you a quick recap and of course my own opinion on those games.
So where were we? Ah yes, after Wigan came the massive game against Ipswich Town in the Carling Cup second leg. We were 1-0 down from the first leg after a terrible lacklustre display at Portman Road. I still recall the feeling of nervousness going into that game. They had made public their plan to "park the bus" and I was worried it was going to be one of those nights where their keeper has the game of his life and our entire team leave their shooting boots at home. Thankfully, this wasn't the case. At half-time I was on the verge of pissing blood but early in the second half Nicklas Bendtner calmed all the nerves with a terrific goal. Shortly afterwards an Andrey Arshavin corner was met by the head of Laurent Koscielny who's bullet header left the Ipswich keeper helpless. Yet still, there was no time to relax as one goal from the away side would have meant extra-time and if both sides failed to score then the Tractor Boys would have been marching on to Wembley. Strange rules I know but we needed another goal just to be assured. That goal came soon enough from none other than captain fantastic as he was set through by Arshavin and finished well. It was a tie we made hard work of but you just have to be happy we're in the final.
Next up was Huddersfield Town at the Emirates in the FA Cup in a game many would have expected to be a walk in the park but it didn't quite pan out that way. We did make a bright start as Nicklas Bendtner's deflected shot just over 20 minutes in gave us the lead. At that stage you felt it was a matter of going up a gear and finishing them off but as the game went on the lower league side grew in confidence and it ended up being quite a tasty cup affair. Squillaci was sent off not long before half-time which didn't help matters at all and its fair to say they took the game to us after that. With less than a half an hour to go they equalised and you couldn't say it wasn't coming after a long spell of pressure. We were very much in danger of being knocked out of the FA Cup but the introduction of Cesc Fabregas saved the day once again as he converted from the penalty spot. Relief all round.
A midweek game against Everton at the Emirates was next in line. The Blues were on a pretty poor run of form but have a habit of producing top displays against the bigger sides out of nowhere. The evening looked to be turning sour early on as Louis Saha's strike was somehow not ruled out for offside. The goal rightly had Arsenal players fuming at the referee and the linesman but they came to the laughable conclusion that Saha was perfectly onside. It was going to take massive character for the players to drag themselves back into this game and Everton are quite a resiliant side when it comes to defending leads but we showed our true colours as Andrey Arshavin pounced upon a mistimed header back to Tim Howard and minutes later Laurent Koscielny put us head to spark wild celabrations inside the Emirates. It was a massive win end of story. I could go on about David Moyes' bitching after the game about Cesc but I won't waste my time.
We then went into Saturday's game with Newcastle high on confidence and boy did we show that in the first half at St.James Park as we went 4-0 up. Goals from Walcott, Djourou and a brace from Van Persie looked to have killed the home side off but no one could have predicted what was to come. First of all Johan Djourou had to go off just minutes into the half with a knee injury. If that wasn't bad enough Abou Diaby then got sent off for doing what we'd all love to do to Joey Barton. He grabbed him by the neck and tossed him to the ground. Unfortunately Phil Dowd dosen't condone wrestling and off he went. I might want to re-examine that last statement. Newcastle were awarded a penalty after Koscielny supposedly tripped Leon Best in the box. Barton converted the penalty but what Kevin Nolan did after that was ridiculous. Szezesny, as you can understand was in no hurry to give the ball back so Nolan grabs him in and head lock and pushes him to the ground. It was far worse than what Diaby did yet Dowd trots over and dishes the yellow card in Szezesny's direction, laughable. Worse again, this would only be the beginning of a string of comical decisions from Dowd and his tits. A Leon Best goal 15 minutes from time had the crowd anticipating a comeback but I was still confident our players would see out the job. What I didn't take into consideration was that Phil Dowd was one of the Premier League's worst referees. He awarded another penalty for Newcastle basically because Williamson slipped in the box. After all the laughing had stopped, Barton converted and we were well and truly on the road to meltdown. It was complete minutes from time as Tiote's stunning volley earned the home side an incredible point. Man of the match for me was Dowd for the assists, team of the week stuff I tell ya. Look out for him in future.
Our next game was exactly seven days later. The players had been away on international duty during the week which may have cleared the heads a bit. We simply couldn't afford to slip up at home to Wolves. We'd been let off big time the previous weekend. United and Chelsea had been beaten so after all that camotion, we'd actually gained a point on United and were now only four points off the top. Crazy I know. Anyway, Wolves were the team that actually beat United the previous weekend (heh, invincibles my arse) so they would have gone into this game high on confidence. An early goal would have calmed any nerves after last weekend and perhaps opened the floodgates. That early goal was exactly what we got. A left footed cross from Fabregas and a delightful right footed shot from Van Persie. One weaker foot to another. After that the chances began to flow and we could have found ourselves 4-0 up at half-time, the visitors rarely threatened. The second half was more of the same, chances coming left, right and centre but nobody could convert. Leave it to Van the man to show them how its done. A fast flowing counter attack resulted in Walcott sliding in for the Dutch master who calmly slotted home past the helpless Hennessey. That was that as far as goals were concerened. Three points in the bag and a solid defensive display, what more could you ask?
We all know what was up next. It was the game we'd been anticipating for quite some time. Arsenal vs Barcelona. The kind of game that sent a mixture of andrenaline and nerves down you and made the neutrals literally cream their pants. This season there was more of a "we've got nothing to lose" type attitude. All the pundits had written us off, everyone. We had to go out there, play our game and show Barca that true Arsenal which we didn't show last season. We had made massive progress since last season in many people's eyes including my own. This would be a huge test just to see how much. Barca looked pretty much unstoppable throughout the season. The news we all wanted to hear before kick off was for the boss to confirm that Samir Nasri was starting. He did so and it gave us a much better chance of turning these big mouths on their heads. Barca were without their captain Carlos Puyol which was something of a boost but they had players of equal quality to step in. They dominated in possession for much of the half and the first major opportunity fell to Messi and he dinked the ball over Szezesny but it screened just wide of the post. It was a let off on our part but the Catalans would soon make up for the miss. Messi played Villa through and he finished neatly to give the Spanish giants a big advantage. A response was needed fast but not before we nearly fell two behind but thankfully, Messi's headed goal was ruled out for offside. At half-time you just had to be grateful that we were still in the game. In the second half we saw the Arsenal we all know. The passing was sharper, we closed them down, the defence was better as a unit and Koscielny stuck to Messi like glue. It was brilliant, all that was missing was a reward. That reward came somewhat unexpectedly. A beautiful ball from Gael Clichy put Van Persie into space inside the box and just as you thought he'd square the ball for Bendtner he went for the audacious shot in true RVP style and somehow pulled it off. Goal of a genius and we were right back in this one. The crowd were buzzing and roared the team on everytime they went forward. Barcelona tried to keep the ball to set the game at their pace but they couldn't and we set off on the counter attack again. This was brilliant, Bendtner gave it to Wilshere who played it first time to Cesc who set Nasri on his way to goal with a fantastic pass. Nasri cut back and slid the ball across the box to Arshavin who curled the ball into the back of the net and sent the Emirates crowd wild like I hadn't seen them in a long time. Truly wonderful scenes as the man who had taken so much critisizm over the past couple of months stepped up to the plate when we needed him most. There was still work to do as Szezesny was forced into a couple of saves and a few scrambles in the box but we held out for a famous victory. Wash your eyes all you want people, Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona. To this day I still celebrate when I see the goals going in.
From the buzzing Emirates to the small gloomy Matchroom Stadium. It was a big difference but Wenger had decided to rotate as you would expect. The players that had come in didn't do themselves justice in the previous rounds of the cup against teams like Leeds and Huddersfield. A big improvement was needed from the likes of Squillaci, Denilson and Chamakh, the latter of whom had been so impressive earlier in the season. The pitch wasn't great so it was clear we were going to have to get our hands dirty to come away with the win. Early on we enjoyed some possession but failing to pose any major threat to the home side. Chamakh having the best of very few opportunites. Arshavin again looked lively but not much was coming off for the Russian today, can't question his effort though. The second half was more of the same, were were knocking it around while Orient sat back satisfied with the lack of urgency we showed to get forward. However, shortly into the half we took the lead and it was Rosicky of all people. With the way things were going for the Czech, you'd have put money on Almunia to score before him. His first goal in a million minutes (or something like that). I was delighted for him to get the goal he'd been desperate for. Hopefully that boosts his confidence because his form hasn't been great lately. From there we controlled the game and perhaps should have killed it when Arshavin ran through on goal but his shot hit the post and went wide. Then out of nowhere Orient sub Tehoue somehow managed to dazzle past Gibbs and Miquel and then fired straight through Almunia. Much better to be expected from those three. A very disappointing way to end the game and we now have to play a replay. Many people are complaing of fixture congestion but look at it this way, the likes of Denilson, Chamakh, Squillaci and so on don't get much game time anyway, better have them get 90 minutes under their belt than watch the others play week in week out. That same eleven is more than good enough to kill off Orient back at the Grove. I also thought Miquel was very impressive on his debut for the first team. However, don't get too carried away. It was only a lower league side at the end of the day and stiffer competition awaits.
Anyway, so much for the small recap heh. I think I'll leave the round up there for today. Hopefully (you know you can't trust me) I'll be back tomrrow with a preview of our game with Stoke City Rugby Club.
Till then, enjoy the rest of your day.
Well its been quite a bit since I last posted a blog so I said I'd get back into the thick of things today while I'm off work. Sincere apologies for that, I know it can be annoying not knowing when someone is going to post a blog but I'll try to get it going on a regular basis again now. I haven't stopped tweeting so if you follow me you'll already be familiar with my thought with the latest happenings in the club. My last post was just after the Wigan game and I'm not going to go over every single game in detail since then but I will give you a quick recap and of course my own opinion on those games.
So where were we? Ah yes, after Wigan came the massive game against Ipswich Town in the Carling Cup second leg. We were 1-0 down from the first leg after a terrible lacklustre display at Portman Road. I still recall the feeling of nervousness going into that game. They had made public their plan to "park the bus" and I was worried it was going to be one of those nights where their keeper has the game of his life and our entire team leave their shooting boots at home. Thankfully, this wasn't the case. At half-time I was on the verge of pissing blood but early in the second half Nicklas Bendtner calmed all the nerves with a terrific goal. Shortly afterwards an Andrey Arshavin corner was met by the head of Laurent Koscielny who's bullet header left the Ipswich keeper helpless. Yet still, there was no time to relax as one goal from the away side would have meant extra-time and if both sides failed to score then the Tractor Boys would have been marching on to Wembley. Strange rules I know but we needed another goal just to be assured. That goal came soon enough from none other than captain fantastic as he was set through by Arshavin and finished well. It was a tie we made hard work of but you just have to be happy we're in the final.
Next up was Huddersfield Town at the Emirates in the FA Cup in a game many would have expected to be a walk in the park but it didn't quite pan out that way. We did make a bright start as Nicklas Bendtner's deflected shot just over 20 minutes in gave us the lead. At that stage you felt it was a matter of going up a gear and finishing them off but as the game went on the lower league side grew in confidence and it ended up being quite a tasty cup affair. Squillaci was sent off not long before half-time which didn't help matters at all and its fair to say they took the game to us after that. With less than a half an hour to go they equalised and you couldn't say it wasn't coming after a long spell of pressure. We were very much in danger of being knocked out of the FA Cup but the introduction of Cesc Fabregas saved the day once again as he converted from the penalty spot. Relief all round.
A midweek game against Everton at the Emirates was next in line. The Blues were on a pretty poor run of form but have a habit of producing top displays against the bigger sides out of nowhere. The evening looked to be turning sour early on as Louis Saha's strike was somehow not ruled out for offside. The goal rightly had Arsenal players fuming at the referee and the linesman but they came to the laughable conclusion that Saha was perfectly onside. It was going to take massive character for the players to drag themselves back into this game and Everton are quite a resiliant side when it comes to defending leads but we showed our true colours as Andrey Arshavin pounced upon a mistimed header back to Tim Howard and minutes later Laurent Koscielny put us head to spark wild celabrations inside the Emirates. It was a massive win end of story. I could go on about David Moyes' bitching after the game about Cesc but I won't waste my time.
We then went into Saturday's game with Newcastle high on confidence and boy did we show that in the first half at St.James Park as we went 4-0 up. Goals from Walcott, Djourou and a brace from Van Persie looked to have killed the home side off but no one could have predicted what was to come. First of all Johan Djourou had to go off just minutes into the half with a knee injury. If that wasn't bad enough Abou Diaby then got sent off for doing what we'd all love to do to Joey Barton. He grabbed him by the neck and tossed him to the ground. Unfortunately Phil Dowd dosen't condone wrestling and off he went. I might want to re-examine that last statement. Newcastle were awarded a penalty after Koscielny supposedly tripped Leon Best in the box. Barton converted the penalty but what Kevin Nolan did after that was ridiculous. Szezesny, as you can understand was in no hurry to give the ball back so Nolan grabs him in and head lock and pushes him to the ground. It was far worse than what Diaby did yet Dowd trots over and dishes the yellow card in Szezesny's direction, laughable. Worse again, this would only be the beginning of a string of comical decisions from Dowd and his tits. A Leon Best goal 15 minutes from time had the crowd anticipating a comeback but I was still confident our players would see out the job. What I didn't take into consideration was that Phil Dowd was one of the Premier League's worst referees. He awarded another penalty for Newcastle basically because Williamson slipped in the box. After all the laughing had stopped, Barton converted and we were well and truly on the road to meltdown. It was complete minutes from time as Tiote's stunning volley earned the home side an incredible point. Man of the match for me was Dowd for the assists, team of the week stuff I tell ya. Look out for him in future.
Our next game was exactly seven days later. The players had been away on international duty during the week which may have cleared the heads a bit. We simply couldn't afford to slip up at home to Wolves. We'd been let off big time the previous weekend. United and Chelsea had been beaten so after all that camotion, we'd actually gained a point on United and were now only four points off the top. Crazy I know. Anyway, Wolves were the team that actually beat United the previous weekend (heh, invincibles my arse) so they would have gone into this game high on confidence. An early goal would have calmed any nerves after last weekend and perhaps opened the floodgates. That early goal was exactly what we got. A left footed cross from Fabregas and a delightful right footed shot from Van Persie. One weaker foot to another. After that the chances began to flow and we could have found ourselves 4-0 up at half-time, the visitors rarely threatened. The second half was more of the same, chances coming left, right and centre but nobody could convert. Leave it to Van the man to show them how its done. A fast flowing counter attack resulted in Walcott sliding in for the Dutch master who calmly slotted home past the helpless Hennessey. That was that as far as goals were concerened. Three points in the bag and a solid defensive display, what more could you ask?
We all know what was up next. It was the game we'd been anticipating for quite some time. Arsenal vs Barcelona. The kind of game that sent a mixture of andrenaline and nerves down you and made the neutrals literally cream their pants. This season there was more of a "we've got nothing to lose" type attitude. All the pundits had written us off, everyone. We had to go out there, play our game and show Barca that true Arsenal which we didn't show last season. We had made massive progress since last season in many people's eyes including my own. This would be a huge test just to see how much. Barca looked pretty much unstoppable throughout the season. The news we all wanted to hear before kick off was for the boss to confirm that Samir Nasri was starting. He did so and it gave us a much better chance of turning these big mouths on their heads. Barca were without their captain Carlos Puyol which was something of a boost but they had players of equal quality to step in. They dominated in possession for much of the half and the first major opportunity fell to Messi and he dinked the ball over Szezesny but it screened just wide of the post. It was a let off on our part but the Catalans would soon make up for the miss. Messi played Villa through and he finished neatly to give the Spanish giants a big advantage. A response was needed fast but not before we nearly fell two behind but thankfully, Messi's headed goal was ruled out for offside. At half-time you just had to be grateful that we were still in the game. In the second half we saw the Arsenal we all know. The passing was sharper, we closed them down, the defence was better as a unit and Koscielny stuck to Messi like glue. It was brilliant, all that was missing was a reward. That reward came somewhat unexpectedly. A beautiful ball from Gael Clichy put Van Persie into space inside the box and just as you thought he'd square the ball for Bendtner he went for the audacious shot in true RVP style and somehow pulled it off. Goal of a genius and we were right back in this one. The crowd were buzzing and roared the team on everytime they went forward. Barcelona tried to keep the ball to set the game at their pace but they couldn't and we set off on the counter attack again. This was brilliant, Bendtner gave it to Wilshere who played it first time to Cesc who set Nasri on his way to goal with a fantastic pass. Nasri cut back and slid the ball across the box to Arshavin who curled the ball into the back of the net and sent the Emirates crowd wild like I hadn't seen them in a long time. Truly wonderful scenes as the man who had taken so much critisizm over the past couple of months stepped up to the plate when we needed him most. There was still work to do as Szezesny was forced into a couple of saves and a few scrambles in the box but we held out for a famous victory. Wash your eyes all you want people, Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona. To this day I still celebrate when I see the goals going in.
From the buzzing Emirates to the small gloomy Matchroom Stadium. It was a big difference but Wenger had decided to rotate as you would expect. The players that had come in didn't do themselves justice in the previous rounds of the cup against teams like Leeds and Huddersfield. A big improvement was needed from the likes of Squillaci, Denilson and Chamakh, the latter of whom had been so impressive earlier in the season. The pitch wasn't great so it was clear we were going to have to get our hands dirty to come away with the win. Early on we enjoyed some possession but failing to pose any major threat to the home side. Chamakh having the best of very few opportunites. Arshavin again looked lively but not much was coming off for the Russian today, can't question his effort though. The second half was more of the same, were were knocking it around while Orient sat back satisfied with the lack of urgency we showed to get forward. However, shortly into the half we took the lead and it was Rosicky of all people. With the way things were going for the Czech, you'd have put money on Almunia to score before him. His first goal in a million minutes (or something like that). I was delighted for him to get the goal he'd been desperate for. Hopefully that boosts his confidence because his form hasn't been great lately. From there we controlled the game and perhaps should have killed it when Arshavin ran through on goal but his shot hit the post and went wide. Then out of nowhere Orient sub Tehoue somehow managed to dazzle past Gibbs and Miquel and then fired straight through Almunia. Much better to be expected from those three. A very disappointing way to end the game and we now have to play a replay. Many people are complaing of fixture congestion but look at it this way, the likes of Denilson, Chamakh, Squillaci and so on don't get much game time anyway, better have them get 90 minutes under their belt than watch the others play week in week out. That same eleven is more than good enough to kill off Orient back at the Grove. I also thought Miquel was very impressive on his debut for the first team. However, don't get too carried away. It was only a lower league side at the end of the day and stiffer competition awaits.
Anyway, so much for the small recap heh. I think I'll leave the round up there for today. Hopefully (you know you can't trust me) I'll be back tomrrow with a preview of our game with Stoke City Rugby Club.
Till then, enjoy the rest of your day.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Top Performance & Hazard Latest
Evening,
Instead of typing up a preview this morning I decided to catch up on some sleep and instead type up a match report after the game. Luckily for you, its going to be another positive post. When I woke up today, there wasn't the usual nervous feeling in my gut. I was very confident. It wasn't the overly type confidence where your certain your team has won before the game has even kicked off but that feeling where your really optimistic over something and I had it.
Wigan came to the Emirates with more or less a full strenght squad bar Alcarez which meant the Caldwell brothers would partner each other at the heart of the defence. In midfield you had the threat of N'Zogbia who is a bit like Arshavin in the sense that you don't ever know what your going to get. Up front Rodallega was the lone striker and he is more than capable of causing any team problems. We were going to have to be on our toes for this one. It was always going to be a test of our character because Wigan are a side who are often underestimated. We've been complacent in far too many games this season, we couldn't afford to do it here. A win the least expected.
The usual gang returned to the fold for us. This is our strongest possible side bar Vermaelen in my opinion. When he comes back we'll take some beating. We're very hard to break down as it is but there's always room for improvement. Anyway back to the game and we began brightly as we always seem to do and Al Habsi was forced into action early on as Samir Nasri drew a smart save from him. Minutes after the keeper made an unbelievable save to deny Van Persie from close range. Nobody could believe we weren't a goal up already. The chances just kept on coming as Wigan fought with desperation. This time Walcott dazzled down the wing before showing brilliant vision to pull the ball back to Fabregas in space but his shot was blocked by Caldwell. The fact that we hadn't scored yet was a mystery but we didn't have to wait much longer. Just over twenty minutes in, Song set Van Persie through on goal with a delightful pass and the Dutchman finished with applause. 1-0 Arsenal and it was about damn time.
The barage of attempts on the Wigan goal continued. First Al Habsi was forced into action again by Fabregas before the Spaniard was denied an easy finish by Maynor Figueroa. Theo Walcott was the next player to waste a chance as he was put through one on one with the keeper but went for the unselfish option and squared for Fabregas who was tackled by Diame before the ball fell back to Theo whos shot was blocked by Caldwell. Samir Nasri had a shot from twenty yards out tipped over before Al Habsi denied Cesc yet again. At half-time there was feeling of sheer frustration. We should have been out of sight. Even if we were 3-0 up, we still would have felt unjustified. The worry now was that we'd lose our momentum and offer Wigan a way back into the game. We've been guilty of doing it before. We needed to make sure it wasn't going to happen today.
Ahead of the second half Wigan made two changes. Franco Di Santo and James McArthur replacing Diame and Stam. They weren't the kind of changes that made you shivver in your boots but it gave the away side fresh legs and they obviously had a plan. And so it did breath fresh air into the visitors perforamnce as they showed more of an urge to get forward. They still didn't look like they were going to score but we needed to be on our toes all the same.
Frustration began to grow around the Emirates as there was a hint that the players had taken their foot off the gas but thankfully they responded with immediate effect. Fabregas picked out Van Persie with a brilliant 30 yard pass who got the better of Caldwell before volleying past Al Habsi who had been brilliant all day. It was a huge relief as we looked to be getting a bit sloppy. It was now a case of remaining disciplined and seeing out the game which we had done very well in recent weeks.
Twenty minutes from time Van Persie was presented with the opportunity of getting his hat-trick from the penalty spot. Gary Caldwell had pulled Fabregas down in the box to deny him a chance of scoring so he recived his marching orders. Up stepped Van the man who was usually ever so clinical in front of goal but somehow blazed this one over the bar. Not long after his curling shot struck the post and it just didn't look like he was going to notch up his first hat-trick for Arsenal.
Did I speak too soon? You bet I did. Walcott held the ball up well in the box before teeing up Van Persie who fired home from a tight angle. His first of many hat-tricks for the club I hope and this was one he thoroughly deserved. He worked so hard to get back to his best after a long frustrating spell out of the game. It just makes you smile when you see him out there again and playing as well as he is at the moment.
That was that. We'd done our part. Unfortunately a hapless Birmingham side were crushed 5-0 at Old Trafford so we didn't make up any ground on them but Spurs could only manage a point at St James Park and City were beaten 1-0 by Aston Villa so its not been a pretty good weekend so far. Chelsea travel to Bolton on Monday night in what promises to be a very tough game for them.
Enough about our title rivals, here are the player ratings after today's game:
Szezesny: 6 - Had nothing to do which I don't mind.
Sagna: 7 - Typical whole-hearted performance.
Djourou: 7 - Solid as always.
Koscielny: 7 - Comfortable evening.
Clichy: 7 - Back to his best.
Song: 8 - Getting better every week.
Wilshere: 7 - Another dominant midfield display from the youngster.
Fabregas: 8 - Influential in every move. Brilliant as always.
Nasri: 7 - Always a threat.
Walcott: 7 - Got into some very good positions and his end product is improving.
Van Persie: 9 - My man of the match without a doubt despite penalty miss. His first hat-trick and no more than he deserves.
Subs:
Denilson: 6 - Did his job.
Chamakh: 6 - No time to impress.
Arshavin: 5 - Struggling for confidence.
Its great to see we've put that little hoodoo we had at the Emirates to bed and we can now go all out for silverware. I think we could do with a centre-back but we'll have to wait and see what the boss thinks. He's giving nothing away but I'll tell you if I hear anything.
Now onto the latest news on Eden Hazard's future. Our interest in the Beligan international is well documented and from what I've heard we have made some progression in our bid to bring him North London this summer. Many of you will already know that we have first refusal on the player and I now understand Arsene Wenger has already held talks with him. And yes it was with the permission of Lille. Those talks must have been very positive because the young man has his heart set on a move to the Emirates apparently. However, there is a twist. Lille value Hazard very highly and want something in the region of £30m while we're only willing to pay £14m. Our valuation is a long way off what they value him at so this is a big concern from our point of view. The worst case scenario now is that someone like Manchester City come in, offer well over £30m aswell as a high enough salary to turn Hazard's head. Let's hope not. I'm remaining optimistic about the chances of seeing him in an Arsenal shirt next summer.
That's it from me for now folks. I shall be back when I can gather enough information to write a blog on.
Till next time, take care.
Instead of typing up a preview this morning I decided to catch up on some sleep and instead type up a match report after the game. Luckily for you, its going to be another positive post. When I woke up today, there wasn't the usual nervous feeling in my gut. I was very confident. It wasn't the overly type confidence where your certain your team has won before the game has even kicked off but that feeling where your really optimistic over something and I had it.
Wigan came to the Emirates with more or less a full strenght squad bar Alcarez which meant the Caldwell brothers would partner each other at the heart of the defence. In midfield you had the threat of N'Zogbia who is a bit like Arshavin in the sense that you don't ever know what your going to get. Up front Rodallega was the lone striker and he is more than capable of causing any team problems. We were going to have to be on our toes for this one. It was always going to be a test of our character because Wigan are a side who are often underestimated. We've been complacent in far too many games this season, we couldn't afford to do it here. A win the least expected.
The usual gang returned to the fold for us. This is our strongest possible side bar Vermaelen in my opinion. When he comes back we'll take some beating. We're very hard to break down as it is but there's always room for improvement. Anyway back to the game and we began brightly as we always seem to do and Al Habsi was forced into action early on as Samir Nasri drew a smart save from him. Minutes after the keeper made an unbelievable save to deny Van Persie from close range. Nobody could believe we weren't a goal up already. The chances just kept on coming as Wigan fought with desperation. This time Walcott dazzled down the wing before showing brilliant vision to pull the ball back to Fabregas in space but his shot was blocked by Caldwell. The fact that we hadn't scored yet was a mystery but we didn't have to wait much longer. Just over twenty minutes in, Song set Van Persie through on goal with a delightful pass and the Dutchman finished with applause. 1-0 Arsenal and it was about damn time.
The barage of attempts on the Wigan goal continued. First Al Habsi was forced into action again by Fabregas before the Spaniard was denied an easy finish by Maynor Figueroa. Theo Walcott was the next player to waste a chance as he was put through one on one with the keeper but went for the unselfish option and squared for Fabregas who was tackled by Diame before the ball fell back to Theo whos shot was blocked by Caldwell. Samir Nasri had a shot from twenty yards out tipped over before Al Habsi denied Cesc yet again. At half-time there was feeling of sheer frustration. We should have been out of sight. Even if we were 3-0 up, we still would have felt unjustified. The worry now was that we'd lose our momentum and offer Wigan a way back into the game. We've been guilty of doing it before. We needed to make sure it wasn't going to happen today.
Ahead of the second half Wigan made two changes. Franco Di Santo and James McArthur replacing Diame and Stam. They weren't the kind of changes that made you shivver in your boots but it gave the away side fresh legs and they obviously had a plan. And so it did breath fresh air into the visitors perforamnce as they showed more of an urge to get forward. They still didn't look like they were going to score but we needed to be on our toes all the same.
Frustration began to grow around the Emirates as there was a hint that the players had taken their foot off the gas but thankfully they responded with immediate effect. Fabregas picked out Van Persie with a brilliant 30 yard pass who got the better of Caldwell before volleying past Al Habsi who had been brilliant all day. It was a huge relief as we looked to be getting a bit sloppy. It was now a case of remaining disciplined and seeing out the game which we had done very well in recent weeks.
Twenty minutes from time Van Persie was presented with the opportunity of getting his hat-trick from the penalty spot. Gary Caldwell had pulled Fabregas down in the box to deny him a chance of scoring so he recived his marching orders. Up stepped Van the man who was usually ever so clinical in front of goal but somehow blazed this one over the bar. Not long after his curling shot struck the post and it just didn't look like he was going to notch up his first hat-trick for Arsenal.
Did I speak too soon? You bet I did. Walcott held the ball up well in the box before teeing up Van Persie who fired home from a tight angle. His first of many hat-tricks for the club I hope and this was one he thoroughly deserved. He worked so hard to get back to his best after a long frustrating spell out of the game. It just makes you smile when you see him out there again and playing as well as he is at the moment.
That was that. We'd done our part. Unfortunately a hapless Birmingham side were crushed 5-0 at Old Trafford so we didn't make up any ground on them but Spurs could only manage a point at St James Park and City were beaten 1-0 by Aston Villa so its not been a pretty good weekend so far. Chelsea travel to Bolton on Monday night in what promises to be a very tough game for them.
Enough about our title rivals, here are the player ratings after today's game:
Szezesny: 6 - Had nothing to do which I don't mind.
Sagna: 7 - Typical whole-hearted performance.
Djourou: 7 - Solid as always.
Koscielny: 7 - Comfortable evening.
Clichy: 7 - Back to his best.
Song: 8 - Getting better every week.
Wilshere: 7 - Another dominant midfield display from the youngster.
Fabregas: 8 - Influential in every move. Brilliant as always.
Nasri: 7 - Always a threat.
Walcott: 7 - Got into some very good positions and his end product is improving.
Van Persie: 9 - My man of the match without a doubt despite penalty miss. His first hat-trick and no more than he deserves.
Subs:
Denilson: 6 - Did his job.
Chamakh: 6 - No time to impress.
Arshavin: 5 - Struggling for confidence.
Its great to see we've put that little hoodoo we had at the Emirates to bed and we can now go all out for silverware. I think we could do with a centre-back but we'll have to wait and see what the boss thinks. He's giving nothing away but I'll tell you if I hear anything.
Now onto the latest news on Eden Hazard's future. Our interest in the Beligan international is well documented and from what I've heard we have made some progression in our bid to bring him North London this summer. Many of you will already know that we have first refusal on the player and I now understand Arsene Wenger has already held talks with him. And yes it was with the permission of Lille. Those talks must have been very positive because the young man has his heart set on a move to the Emirates apparently. However, there is a twist. Lille value Hazard very highly and want something in the region of £30m while we're only willing to pay £14m. Our valuation is a long way off what they value him at so this is a big concern from our point of view. The worst case scenario now is that someone like Manchester City come in, offer well over £30m aswell as a high enough salary to turn Hazard's head. Let's hope not. I'm remaining optimistic about the chances of seeing him in an Arsenal shirt next summer.
That's it from me for now folks. I shall be back when I can gather enough information to write a blog on.
Till next time, take care.
Optimistic Days
Welcome all,
I know its been quite some time since I last posted, shortly before the Carling Cup first leg against Ipswich I think. As I mentioned in my last blog, I have been very busy lately and simply haven't found the time in the day to post a blog. Even as I begin to type this one I can feel my eyes closing. I know we take on Wigan tomorrow at the Emirates but I'll hopefully remember to post a detailed preview on that in the morning. For now though I want to concentrate on the latest ongoings at the club over the last few weeks.
We'll start with the horror show at Portman Road not so long ago. It was a game I went into fully sure that our boys would be pumped for and determined to kill it off in the first leg but then I remembered that's not the Arsenal way is it? We have to make everything seem like a challenge. Basically the game was crap. You would have heard pundits and football fans alike praise Ipswich for their "magnificent performance" and so on but the truth is, we were just awful and didn't deserve anything from the game. Obviously we didn't have our strongest side out but we shouldn't have needed to. Ipswich were on the back of a 7-0 mauling from Chelsea a few days before hand. The least I'd have expected would have been a scarppy 1-0 win but to lose and to do so by rarely threatening the opposition was not acceptable at all. Not only did we lack creativity but Ipswich looked like they could score everytime they hoofed the ball forward. Eboue looked more like an attacking winger than a right-back. He was caught out of position countless times. Koscielny clearly has difficulty dealing with balls over the top. He's an expert at beating his man to the ball but loop it over him and he's in trouble. Djourou put in another top notch display. This man has grown to be a fan favourite recently, amazing what hard work and determination can do for you. Anyways, this was not a good day for the Gunners and a response was a priority and I was sure we'd get one. We always do with this Arsenal side.
Usually going into a game against a team in the relegation zone at this stage of the season you'd be pretty nervous because you know your going to have to battle for the three points. Ahead of this game I was quietly confident. The players, I know would have been determined to make up for the defeat to Ipswich. My confidence was further boosted by the news that Scott Parker would miss the game. For me he has single handedly kept them afloat up to now and I knew his absence was a major blow for them, particularly because we are masters at over running teams in midfield.
It didn't take us long to come bursting out of the blocks. Thirteen minutes in Samir Nasri let a Theo Walcott cross run through his legs fooling defender and the ball fell to Van Persie who tucked it away beautifully with his right foot. You could tell by his early touches that he was regaining his sharpness but that just summed it up for me. It should have been 2-0 not long after. This time RVP set Theo through on goal, he chose to shoot with his left foot and just didn't catch hold of it at all leaving Green with an easy save.
West Ham were very nearly gifted an equaliser courtesy of a rare error from Johan Djourou. He made a balls of an attempted back pass to Szezesny but the Polish keeper saved his arse by spreading himself and pulling off a great save. Van Persie was presented with the opportunity to make it 2-0 just before half-time but his shot crashed against the post and came back out. We were now controlling the game, the second goal seemed inevitable. My only worry was that we would lose our momentum at half-time and the Hammers would come out fighting like they did in this fixture last season. Thankfully, that didn't look like being the case this year as Van Persie found himself in more space in the box, he cut the ball back to Walcott who fired home to make it 2-0. Wayne Bridge who was making his debut for the home side was being tortured by Theo down the wing.
In the second half we maintained our high energy performance. We didn't give West Ham time on the ball or give it away cheaply. I have to say I was very impressed because usually we'd switch off and offer the opposition routes back into the game. You could see how much the players wanted to see out this one. The Hammers did well to get a sniff on goal when Freddy Sears forced Szezesny into a fine save. There was to be no comeback this year though as with just over ten minutes to go Wayne Bridge topped off his awful evening by bringing down Walcott in the box. Up stepped Van Persie to cap off a great day for him and he did so with a fine finish. 3-0 and we were untouchable if that's not too strong a word to use. We got the job done and I have to say I'm delighted to see us keeping clean sheets these days. Let's hope we can keep it upand more importantly avoid injuries.
There was no time to dwell on this performance. It was brilliant, yes but we've been guilty of not being able to maintain these sort of displays. Do so against Leeds and the confidence would be brimming through the squad. There was a lot of talk before hand about the hostile atmosphere the home fans would provide. I wasn't worried, we've been there before and come out on top. The only thing I was worried about was that we'd turn up with the wrong attitude. The boss made some changes as expected. Plenty of players with points to prove came in. Denilson, Bendtner and Arshavin to name a few and Sagna returned from suspension.
Similarly to the West Ham game, we came out firing on all cylinders and took the lead after only five minutes when Nasri latched onto Arshavin's pass before cooly slotting home. Chamakh's header was somehow kept out by Schmeichel. Shortly after the same man made a darting run the right wing before sliding the ball across the box to Arshavin who once again made scoring look like an impossible task. Arshavin was presented with a second opportunity soon after and this time forced the keeper into a smart save.
It was left to Bacary Sagna to show the frontmen how its done as he drilled home from the edge of the area. It was a stunning goal which the keeper could only get fingertips to. Just as we thought we'd seen the goal of the night, up stepped Leeds left-back Johnson who blasted home from about 30 yards out. He couldn't have hit it any sweeter. It was always going to take something speical for Leeds to get back in the game and thats exactly what they got. The home fans now had something to cling onto going into the break.
We had to approach the second half in the exact same way we did in the West Ham game at the weekend. Give Leeds no time to breath on the ball and don't allow them to gain momentum. Again, we achieved that as the midfield worked their arses off in closing down every white shirt. Song's work rate in particular was so impressive. Arshavin's night was topped off when he blazed the ball so high over the bar it literally left the stadium. With just under twenty minutes left the boss decided to introduce Fabregas and Van Persie. Two players very much in form. Their impact was immediate as both got on the ball and made it even more difficult for Leeds to win back possession.
Shortly after their introduction we killed the game off. Bendtner who was iffy all night provided Van Persie with a beautiful cross and the Dutchman met it with some conviction as he powered home the header leaving the keeper with no chance. Job done again Arsenal. Brilliant men!
What is crucially important is that we put in these sort of performances every week. Its not impossible. Barcelona do it and Guardiola dosen't do much rotating so the only way I can see our season plumetting is if we get raped by injuries again. I've said quite a few times about how I felt we'd learned our lessons from complacency and I'd been proved wrong because it was only two weeks ago when we turned up at Ipswich with the completely the wrong attitude and were beaten. Have we learned our lesson now? Who knows? What I do know is that we are faced with another massive test tomorrow as we entertain Wigan at the Emirates. A win is a must. Another good performance would be nice too. I should be back tomorrow with a preview.
Till then.
I know its been quite some time since I last posted, shortly before the Carling Cup first leg against Ipswich I think. As I mentioned in my last blog, I have been very busy lately and simply haven't found the time in the day to post a blog. Even as I begin to type this one I can feel my eyes closing. I know we take on Wigan tomorrow at the Emirates but I'll hopefully remember to post a detailed preview on that in the morning. For now though I want to concentrate on the latest ongoings at the club over the last few weeks.
We'll start with the horror show at Portman Road not so long ago. It was a game I went into fully sure that our boys would be pumped for and determined to kill it off in the first leg but then I remembered that's not the Arsenal way is it? We have to make everything seem like a challenge. Basically the game was crap. You would have heard pundits and football fans alike praise Ipswich for their "magnificent performance" and so on but the truth is, we were just awful and didn't deserve anything from the game. Obviously we didn't have our strongest side out but we shouldn't have needed to. Ipswich were on the back of a 7-0 mauling from Chelsea a few days before hand. The least I'd have expected would have been a scarppy 1-0 win but to lose and to do so by rarely threatening the opposition was not acceptable at all. Not only did we lack creativity but Ipswich looked like they could score everytime they hoofed the ball forward. Eboue looked more like an attacking winger than a right-back. He was caught out of position countless times. Koscielny clearly has difficulty dealing with balls over the top. He's an expert at beating his man to the ball but loop it over him and he's in trouble. Djourou put in another top notch display. This man has grown to be a fan favourite recently, amazing what hard work and determination can do for you. Anyways, this was not a good day for the Gunners and a response was a priority and I was sure we'd get one. We always do with this Arsenal side.
Usually going into a game against a team in the relegation zone at this stage of the season you'd be pretty nervous because you know your going to have to battle for the three points. Ahead of this game I was quietly confident. The players, I know would have been determined to make up for the defeat to Ipswich. My confidence was further boosted by the news that Scott Parker would miss the game. For me he has single handedly kept them afloat up to now and I knew his absence was a major blow for them, particularly because we are masters at over running teams in midfield.
It didn't take us long to come bursting out of the blocks. Thirteen minutes in Samir Nasri let a Theo Walcott cross run through his legs fooling defender and the ball fell to Van Persie who tucked it away beautifully with his right foot. You could tell by his early touches that he was regaining his sharpness but that just summed it up for me. It should have been 2-0 not long after. This time RVP set Theo through on goal, he chose to shoot with his left foot and just didn't catch hold of it at all leaving Green with an easy save.
West Ham were very nearly gifted an equaliser courtesy of a rare error from Johan Djourou. He made a balls of an attempted back pass to Szezesny but the Polish keeper saved his arse by spreading himself and pulling off a great save. Van Persie was presented with the opportunity to make it 2-0 just before half-time but his shot crashed against the post and came back out. We were now controlling the game, the second goal seemed inevitable. My only worry was that we would lose our momentum at half-time and the Hammers would come out fighting like they did in this fixture last season. Thankfully, that didn't look like being the case this year as Van Persie found himself in more space in the box, he cut the ball back to Walcott who fired home to make it 2-0. Wayne Bridge who was making his debut for the home side was being tortured by Theo down the wing.
In the second half we maintained our high energy performance. We didn't give West Ham time on the ball or give it away cheaply. I have to say I was very impressed because usually we'd switch off and offer the opposition routes back into the game. You could see how much the players wanted to see out this one. The Hammers did well to get a sniff on goal when Freddy Sears forced Szezesny into a fine save. There was to be no comeback this year though as with just over ten minutes to go Wayne Bridge topped off his awful evening by bringing down Walcott in the box. Up stepped Van Persie to cap off a great day for him and he did so with a fine finish. 3-0 and we were untouchable if that's not too strong a word to use. We got the job done and I have to say I'm delighted to see us keeping clean sheets these days. Let's hope we can keep it upand more importantly avoid injuries.
There was no time to dwell on this performance. It was brilliant, yes but we've been guilty of not being able to maintain these sort of displays. Do so against Leeds and the confidence would be brimming through the squad. There was a lot of talk before hand about the hostile atmosphere the home fans would provide. I wasn't worried, we've been there before and come out on top. The only thing I was worried about was that we'd turn up with the wrong attitude. The boss made some changes as expected. Plenty of players with points to prove came in. Denilson, Bendtner and Arshavin to name a few and Sagna returned from suspension.
Similarly to the West Ham game, we came out firing on all cylinders and took the lead after only five minutes when Nasri latched onto Arshavin's pass before cooly slotting home. Chamakh's header was somehow kept out by Schmeichel. Shortly after the same man made a darting run the right wing before sliding the ball across the box to Arshavin who once again made scoring look like an impossible task. Arshavin was presented with a second opportunity soon after and this time forced the keeper into a smart save.
It was left to Bacary Sagna to show the frontmen how its done as he drilled home from the edge of the area. It was a stunning goal which the keeper could only get fingertips to. Just as we thought we'd seen the goal of the night, up stepped Leeds left-back Johnson who blasted home from about 30 yards out. He couldn't have hit it any sweeter. It was always going to take something speical for Leeds to get back in the game and thats exactly what they got. The home fans now had something to cling onto going into the break.
We had to approach the second half in the exact same way we did in the West Ham game at the weekend. Give Leeds no time to breath on the ball and don't allow them to gain momentum. Again, we achieved that as the midfield worked their arses off in closing down every white shirt. Song's work rate in particular was so impressive. Arshavin's night was topped off when he blazed the ball so high over the bar it literally left the stadium. With just under twenty minutes left the boss decided to introduce Fabregas and Van Persie. Two players very much in form. Their impact was immediate as both got on the ball and made it even more difficult for Leeds to win back possession.
Shortly after their introduction we killed the game off. Bendtner who was iffy all night provided Van Persie with a beautiful cross and the Dutchman met it with some conviction as he powered home the header leaving the keeper with no chance. Job done again Arsenal. Brilliant men!
What is crucially important is that we put in these sort of performances every week. Its not impossible. Barcelona do it and Guardiola dosen't do much rotating so the only way I can see our season plumetting is if we get raped by injuries again. I've said quite a few times about how I felt we'd learned our lessons from complacency and I'd been proved wrong because it was only two weeks ago when we turned up at Ipswich with the completely the wrong attitude and were beaten. Have we learned our lesson now? Who knows? What I do know is that we are faced with another massive test tomorrow as we entertain Wigan at the Emirates. A win is a must. Another good performance would be nice too. I should be back tomorrow with a preview.
Till then.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Mixed Week and Transfer News
Welcome back all,
Sorry I haven't posted in the last week. Been up to my eyeballs with other work and didn't have the time to do any blogging but I do now, albeit little time. I did make the odd tweet but I can bring you all up to date with the past week now.
Obviously my last post was a preview ahead of the City game which we drew 0-0. It panned out just as I predicted. We did all the pressing, created several opportunities, failed to take them, City eventually settled and put eleven men behind the ball for the rest of the game. We could and should have been at least 2-0 up inside the first twenty minutes. A barage of shots on the City goal left Joe Hart on his arse on numerous occasions. Wilshere, Nasri, Fabregas, Van Persie and Walcott all failed to find the net and even when they beat Joe Hart the post was there to deny them. At the time it felt the goal was coming, you were just preparing to roar and celebrate a well deserved goal like mad but it never came.
City gradually dropped deeper as the game went on and made themselves very difficult to break down. And as if slicing their defence open was proving to be a challenge, beating Joe Hart was another story. In the in second hald we continued to press but lacked the cutting edge we possessed in the opening twenty or so minutes. I honestly felt for our defenders. They must have been bored off their heads. City were showing no interest in scoring whatsoever. It was clear Mancini had one intention and that was to nick a 0-0 draw. It was the same story last year and I pity the neautrals. At this rate, Sky will stop showing City live on television and rightly so. It was so so boring. Still though, people saying he shouldn't be allowed do that did jump the gun a bit. Its his team so he's allowed do whatever the fuck he likes with it. I don't really care but I'm glad we're finished with City this season. At the end of the game you could sense the frustration around the Emirates but our players were the last ones to be blamed. What can you do when a team defends tirelessly for the whole 90 minutes? The major talking point in the second half came when Sagna and Zabaleta clashed off the ball. Song overhit a pass to the Frenchman which went out of play and he slipped. Zabaleta then came over and made an insulting remark to which he reacted furiously and pushed his head against the Argentine's. Both were sent off at the time but Zabaleta has had his over-turned since while we didn't bother appealing Sagna's. To be honest I felt the City player deserved his red. If you give abuse to the referee you get shown red don't you? Shouldn't the same apply when you talk shit to your opponents? I think so.
Anyway there was no time to reflect on a frustrating night of football. We had another big game on Saturday against Leeds United in the FA Cup. As expected, the Leeds supporters came in their thousands and created a magnificent atmosphere inside the Emirates which was great to see even if a lot of fans do despise of them. I'm not particularly fond of them either but I do feel they belong in the Premier League. They're a great club with a brilliant history and passionate fans who give this league the incredible reputation it currently has.
Arsene made a few changes for this one but there was plenty of quality on the bench incase of emergency. Surprisingly enough, Djourou played his third game in a row which is really encouraging because there have been quite a few people concerned about the durability of his knee. Koscielny got himself a well earned rest after a really busy Christmas period. We were all well aware of what Leeds achieved at this stage last season. They went to Old Trafford, nicked a goal against United and fought for that lead with every bit of energy they had in them and got themsleves a well earned spot in the 4th round at the time. It was vital we were fully focused going into this game.
We should have taken the lead early on as Rosicky set Arshavin through on goal with a brilliant pass which cut the Leeds defence wide open. Unfortunately, Arshavin did the hard thing and took the shot on with his left foot and fired it straight at Schmeichel. At the other end, Szczesny was out quickly to save at the feet of Leeds striker Luciano Becchio. Denilson had a 25-yard shoot pushed around the post as we looked for a crucial early lead. Chamakh was next to test the keeper as his header was straight at the Dane. Leeds were very much on the back foot and Bendtner was unlucky not to give us the lead but the keeper saved again.
At half-time, you just felt anxious to get that goal or else we would be punished in typical, poxy fashion. Ten minutes into the second half, that just happened. Max Gradel dribbled into the box before falling over Denilson's outstretched leg. It was a ridiculously stupid tackle from Denilson who should know better at this stage. It gave Leeds the chance to go 1-0 up and give us an uphill battle to fight our way back in the game. Snodgrass stepped up and fired the visitors into the lead and left the travelling supporters ecstatic. I feared we would now start rushing our play and begin to panic. We needed to be patient and the chances would inevitably come. Fabregas replaced Song with a half an hour remaining which gave the rest of the players a much needed rest. We so nearly went 2-0 down as Snodgrass' corner was met by the head of Becchio but Szezesny saved brilliantly to deny him. Soon afterwards Walcott was introduced for Chamakh and Bendtner moved into the centre as Theo and Arshavin operated down the wings. We were desperate at this stage. Offered me a draw and I would have bitten your hand off.
Walcott's first chance arose when he was set clean through but his effort was tame and easily gathered by the keeper much to everyone's frustration. It looked like we had been awarded soon after as Alex Bruce was adjudged to have tripped Walcott. The referee pointed to the spot but then decided to consult his linesman before changing his mind and awarding a free out. I cursed the shit out of him but not long after Walcott was fouled yet again and this time the referee had no option but to point to the spot and stick to his guns. Up stepped Cesc Fabregas and he put it away. 1-1 and there was an uproar of relief all round the Emirates. Four minutes of stoppage time meant there was still time to win the game. We should have done just that as Fabregas picked out Bendtner with an incredible long ball. The Dane only had the keeper to beat but his left shot was as wonky as Carlos Puyol's hair. That was all she wrote and it set up a tasty replay at Elland Road next week.
Here are the player ratings from that game:
Szezesny: 8 - Kept us in the game, owed big time.
Eboue: 7 - Lively thoughout but didn't get tight enough to the wingers.
Squillaci: 6 - Early mistake but not much to do otherwise.
Djourou: 8 - Dealt with everything, fantastic yet again.
Gibbs: 7 - Tested by Watt but was reasonably comfortable.
Song: 7 - Sharp passing and gave everything. All you can ask.
Denilson: 7 - Gave away a stupid penalty but played well otherwise and nearly won the game with a brilliant shot towards the end.
Rosicky: 7 - Full of ideas but not many worked out for him.
Arshavin: 4 - Dreadful is the only word if I'm honest. He tried but nothing would work. Really bad day at the office.
Bendtner: 6 - Worked his socks off but looked out of place on the wing.
Chamakh: 6 - Looked hungry for goals but nothing would fall for him.
Subs:
Fabregas: 8 - My man of the match. Completely changed the complexion of the game and netted a penalty.
Walcott: 7 - Another who made a huge impact when coming on. Tormented Leeds defence.
Vela: 5 - Pretty ineffective, didn't have time to do much.
I have to say we got off the hook on Saturday and I'm pretty grateful that we're still in the FA Cup. Going to Elland Road will be no easy feat but I suspect we'll see a stronger side for some reason. The winner will face Huddersfield in the 4th round. Don't know about you but I really fancy that at the Emirates. Let's make sure it happens. Benik Afobe says he won't play against us should it pan out that way. spaeking of Afobe, he has agreed to extend his loan at the Galpharm Stadium until the end of the season. Anyway we've got a big game tomorrow night to focus on, hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with a detailed preview of that. I'm hearing the reserve team captain Miquel is in the squad again.
Now for the latest on our transfer targets. Its obvious we're going to have to dip into the market this month for a centre-back. Squillaci suffered a hamstring injury against Leeds on Saturday and will be out for a minimum of two weeks. We all know the story with Vermaelen. He just can't seem to get on with his rehabilitation without suffering a setback. His achilles is meant to be fine but he has this pain which the medical staff can't seem to find the solution to. The boss says he's seeing the best consultants in the world anyway so hopefully the problem will be resolved sooner rather than later. We will have to be prepared for the worst case scenarion though and that being he might well be out for the remainder of the season.
Lots of possible recruitments have been mentioned so far. A lot of you appear keen on Gary Cahill. He has played well over the last two or so years for Bolton but we have to be cautious if we are interested in him. Bolton want upwards on something like £15m. That'a a lot of money to spend on a centre-back and I know for a fact that Arsene will get the blame if he flops. Remember everyone wanted Hangeland last year? We didn't get him and he's been very average this season so we do have to be very careful.
I do have a bit of interesting news on our search for a centre-back over the summer. Our number one target from the beginning was Phil Jagielka. We had a £6m bid rejected by Everton which is understandable because even I know he's worth more than that. They wanted in excess of £12m which we thought was over-priced. Our next target was Per Mertesacker. We had a £10.7m bid rejected and didn't continue our pursuit in him from there although I understand we are still interested in him. No contact has been made with Bremen since the summer though. Milan are also thought to be monitoring his situation. Towards the end of the summer we offered Blackburn £10m for their highly rated youngster Phil Jones. The offer was rebuffed though and we were forced to search elsewhere. We definately won't be going back in for this lad this month as he's out for the remainder of the season. Emir Spahic was another player who Arsenal were after in the summer and we were certainly talking to him. Talks broke down at a pretty early stage though. His form has since dropped and is currently serving a ban for smashing a guy across the face so its hard to see us rekindling our interest there.
Christopher Samba is a player who we could go for this month. We haven't singled our interest yet but he wants out of Blackburn and they would be willing to sell. Personally he's not my first choice but he wouldn't be a bad player to have as back up either. Its hard to see us going for Gary Cahill. We were definately interested in him before but since then we splashed £10m on Koscielny who is similar in age to the Bolton defender. Still wouldn't completely rule it out though. Sol Campbell is a name that has popped up in the last few days. He wants out of Newcastle and they're willing to let him go. I really wouldn't go there unless we were at the stage of panic buying to be honest. He's old and the legs are only getting slower. Not exactly the player you want to call upon when your desperate. There are also unconfirmed reports of a summer bid for AC Milan's Thiago Silva. Appraently if they signed Mertesacker we would look to take the Brazilian off the Italians. We also made a bid for Pepe Reina which Liverpool rejected. That has been a blessing in disguise if you ask me because we have seen Fabianski's true colours this season and of course Szezesny has the scent of the first team.
Its going to be a very interesting transfer market as far as we're concerned. Wenger will act fast in my opinion because of the injury situation and that fact that he generally likes to get the business out of the way as quick as he possibly can. That's all for now folks, may be back tomorrow with a preview of the Ipswich game. Take care.
Sorry I haven't posted in the last week. Been up to my eyeballs with other work and didn't have the time to do any blogging but I do now, albeit little time. I did make the odd tweet but I can bring you all up to date with the past week now.
Obviously my last post was a preview ahead of the City game which we drew 0-0. It panned out just as I predicted. We did all the pressing, created several opportunities, failed to take them, City eventually settled and put eleven men behind the ball for the rest of the game. We could and should have been at least 2-0 up inside the first twenty minutes. A barage of shots on the City goal left Joe Hart on his arse on numerous occasions. Wilshere, Nasri, Fabregas, Van Persie and Walcott all failed to find the net and even when they beat Joe Hart the post was there to deny them. At the time it felt the goal was coming, you were just preparing to roar and celebrate a well deserved goal like mad but it never came.
City gradually dropped deeper as the game went on and made themselves very difficult to break down. And as if slicing their defence open was proving to be a challenge, beating Joe Hart was another story. In the in second hald we continued to press but lacked the cutting edge we possessed in the opening twenty or so minutes. I honestly felt for our defenders. They must have been bored off their heads. City were showing no interest in scoring whatsoever. It was clear Mancini had one intention and that was to nick a 0-0 draw. It was the same story last year and I pity the neautrals. At this rate, Sky will stop showing City live on television and rightly so. It was so so boring. Still though, people saying he shouldn't be allowed do that did jump the gun a bit. Its his team so he's allowed do whatever the fuck he likes with it. I don't really care but I'm glad we're finished with City this season. At the end of the game you could sense the frustration around the Emirates but our players were the last ones to be blamed. What can you do when a team defends tirelessly for the whole 90 minutes? The major talking point in the second half came when Sagna and Zabaleta clashed off the ball. Song overhit a pass to the Frenchman which went out of play and he slipped. Zabaleta then came over and made an insulting remark to which he reacted furiously and pushed his head against the Argentine's. Both were sent off at the time but Zabaleta has had his over-turned since while we didn't bother appealing Sagna's. To be honest I felt the City player deserved his red. If you give abuse to the referee you get shown red don't you? Shouldn't the same apply when you talk shit to your opponents? I think so.
Anyway there was no time to reflect on a frustrating night of football. We had another big game on Saturday against Leeds United in the FA Cup. As expected, the Leeds supporters came in their thousands and created a magnificent atmosphere inside the Emirates which was great to see even if a lot of fans do despise of them. I'm not particularly fond of them either but I do feel they belong in the Premier League. They're a great club with a brilliant history and passionate fans who give this league the incredible reputation it currently has.
Arsene made a few changes for this one but there was plenty of quality on the bench incase of emergency. Surprisingly enough, Djourou played his third game in a row which is really encouraging because there have been quite a few people concerned about the durability of his knee. Koscielny got himself a well earned rest after a really busy Christmas period. We were all well aware of what Leeds achieved at this stage last season. They went to Old Trafford, nicked a goal against United and fought for that lead with every bit of energy they had in them and got themsleves a well earned spot in the 4th round at the time. It was vital we were fully focused going into this game.
We should have taken the lead early on as Rosicky set Arshavin through on goal with a brilliant pass which cut the Leeds defence wide open. Unfortunately, Arshavin did the hard thing and took the shot on with his left foot and fired it straight at Schmeichel. At the other end, Szczesny was out quickly to save at the feet of Leeds striker Luciano Becchio. Denilson had a 25-yard shoot pushed around the post as we looked for a crucial early lead. Chamakh was next to test the keeper as his header was straight at the Dane. Leeds were very much on the back foot and Bendtner was unlucky not to give us the lead but the keeper saved again.
At half-time, you just felt anxious to get that goal or else we would be punished in typical, poxy fashion. Ten minutes into the second half, that just happened. Max Gradel dribbled into the box before falling over Denilson's outstretched leg. It was a ridiculously stupid tackle from Denilson who should know better at this stage. It gave Leeds the chance to go 1-0 up and give us an uphill battle to fight our way back in the game. Snodgrass stepped up and fired the visitors into the lead and left the travelling supporters ecstatic. I feared we would now start rushing our play and begin to panic. We needed to be patient and the chances would inevitably come. Fabregas replaced Song with a half an hour remaining which gave the rest of the players a much needed rest. We so nearly went 2-0 down as Snodgrass' corner was met by the head of Becchio but Szezesny saved brilliantly to deny him. Soon afterwards Walcott was introduced for Chamakh and Bendtner moved into the centre as Theo and Arshavin operated down the wings. We were desperate at this stage. Offered me a draw and I would have bitten your hand off.
Walcott's first chance arose when he was set clean through but his effort was tame and easily gathered by the keeper much to everyone's frustration. It looked like we had been awarded soon after as Alex Bruce was adjudged to have tripped Walcott. The referee pointed to the spot but then decided to consult his linesman before changing his mind and awarding a free out. I cursed the shit out of him but not long after Walcott was fouled yet again and this time the referee had no option but to point to the spot and stick to his guns. Up stepped Cesc Fabregas and he put it away. 1-1 and there was an uproar of relief all round the Emirates. Four minutes of stoppage time meant there was still time to win the game. We should have done just that as Fabregas picked out Bendtner with an incredible long ball. The Dane only had the keeper to beat but his left shot was as wonky as Carlos Puyol's hair. That was all she wrote and it set up a tasty replay at Elland Road next week.
Here are the player ratings from that game:
Szezesny: 8 - Kept us in the game, owed big time.
Eboue: 7 - Lively thoughout but didn't get tight enough to the wingers.
Squillaci: 6 - Early mistake but not much to do otherwise.
Djourou: 8 - Dealt with everything, fantastic yet again.
Gibbs: 7 - Tested by Watt but was reasonably comfortable.
Song: 7 - Sharp passing and gave everything. All you can ask.
Denilson: 7 - Gave away a stupid penalty but played well otherwise and nearly won the game with a brilliant shot towards the end.
Rosicky: 7 - Full of ideas but not many worked out for him.
Arshavin: 4 - Dreadful is the only word if I'm honest. He tried but nothing would work. Really bad day at the office.
Bendtner: 6 - Worked his socks off but looked out of place on the wing.
Chamakh: 6 - Looked hungry for goals but nothing would fall for him.
Subs:
Fabregas: 8 - My man of the match. Completely changed the complexion of the game and netted a penalty.
Walcott: 7 - Another who made a huge impact when coming on. Tormented Leeds defence.
Vela: 5 - Pretty ineffective, didn't have time to do much.
I have to say we got off the hook on Saturday and I'm pretty grateful that we're still in the FA Cup. Going to Elland Road will be no easy feat but I suspect we'll see a stronger side for some reason. The winner will face Huddersfield in the 4th round. Don't know about you but I really fancy that at the Emirates. Let's make sure it happens. Benik Afobe says he won't play against us should it pan out that way. spaeking of Afobe, he has agreed to extend his loan at the Galpharm Stadium until the end of the season. Anyway we've got a big game tomorrow night to focus on, hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with a detailed preview of that. I'm hearing the reserve team captain Miquel is in the squad again.
Now for the latest on our transfer targets. Its obvious we're going to have to dip into the market this month for a centre-back. Squillaci suffered a hamstring injury against Leeds on Saturday and will be out for a minimum of two weeks. We all know the story with Vermaelen. He just can't seem to get on with his rehabilitation without suffering a setback. His achilles is meant to be fine but he has this pain which the medical staff can't seem to find the solution to. The boss says he's seeing the best consultants in the world anyway so hopefully the problem will be resolved sooner rather than later. We will have to be prepared for the worst case scenarion though and that being he might well be out for the remainder of the season.
Lots of possible recruitments have been mentioned so far. A lot of you appear keen on Gary Cahill. He has played well over the last two or so years for Bolton but we have to be cautious if we are interested in him. Bolton want upwards on something like £15m. That'a a lot of money to spend on a centre-back and I know for a fact that Arsene will get the blame if he flops. Remember everyone wanted Hangeland last year? We didn't get him and he's been very average this season so we do have to be very careful.
I do have a bit of interesting news on our search for a centre-back over the summer. Our number one target from the beginning was Phil Jagielka. We had a £6m bid rejected by Everton which is understandable because even I know he's worth more than that. They wanted in excess of £12m which we thought was over-priced. Our next target was Per Mertesacker. We had a £10.7m bid rejected and didn't continue our pursuit in him from there although I understand we are still interested in him. No contact has been made with Bremen since the summer though. Milan are also thought to be monitoring his situation. Towards the end of the summer we offered Blackburn £10m for their highly rated youngster Phil Jones. The offer was rebuffed though and we were forced to search elsewhere. We definately won't be going back in for this lad this month as he's out for the remainder of the season. Emir Spahic was another player who Arsenal were after in the summer and we were certainly talking to him. Talks broke down at a pretty early stage though. His form has since dropped and is currently serving a ban for smashing a guy across the face so its hard to see us rekindling our interest there.
Christopher Samba is a player who we could go for this month. We haven't singled our interest yet but he wants out of Blackburn and they would be willing to sell. Personally he's not my first choice but he wouldn't be a bad player to have as back up either. Its hard to see us going for Gary Cahill. We were definately interested in him before but since then we splashed £10m on Koscielny who is similar in age to the Bolton defender. Still wouldn't completely rule it out though. Sol Campbell is a name that has popped up in the last few days. He wants out of Newcastle and they're willing to let him go. I really wouldn't go there unless we were at the stage of panic buying to be honest. He's old and the legs are only getting slower. Not exactly the player you want to call upon when your desperate. There are also unconfirmed reports of a summer bid for AC Milan's Thiago Silva. Appraently if they signed Mertesacker we would look to take the Brazilian off the Italians. We also made a bid for Pepe Reina which Liverpool rejected. That has been a blessing in disguise if you ask me because we have seen Fabianski's true colours this season and of course Szezesny has the scent of the first team.
Its going to be a very interesting transfer market as far as we're concerned. Wenger will act fast in my opinion because of the injury situation and that fact that he generally likes to get the business out of the way as quick as he possibly can. That's all for now folks, may be back tomorrow with a preview of the Ipswich game. Take care.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
City Preview
Evening all,
Tonight's game is huge for us. It dosen't seem to be getting hyped up like our game with Chelsea was. Even some Arsenal fans seem to be taking it as just another game and reckon we should beat City with ease if we play like we did against Chelsea. But that's just the thing. Can we play like we did against Chelsea? Do the players know this game is just as big and City are equally if not more of a threat than Chelsea? I for one am very confident going into this game but I'm also wary.
City have done very well against the top sides since Mancini has taken over. I wouldn't say he's got his tactics spot on against the big teams but he certainly knows how to contain them. Last year he came to the Emirates looking for a 0-0 draw, he got it. This season they kept clean sheets against Chelsea and United at Eastlands by sitting back for the whole game and looking to hit them on the break. We have to be very careful. If we give them a sniff on goal, they will punish us. They have the quality in Johnson and Tevez to do so.
A lot of people are expecting City to come to the Emirates and make a game of it. I've seen predictions such as 3-2 and 5-3. I mean come on people. This is City we're talking about. Mancini is Italian. The Italian way is to first make sure your opponent dosen't score. Despite City being incredibly hard to break down, we're also very hard to contain as many teams have found out this season. Van Persie is finding his feet again, Nasri is on the form of his life, Fabregas appears to have overcome his injury problems and Walcott is eager to keep Arshavin out of the team. If the Arsenal team we all know show up, we could be in for a very pleasant game of football.
Here is how I expect the teams to line out beginning with ourselves of course:
Fabianski
Sagna - Djourou - Koscielny - Clichy
Fabregas - Song - Wilshere
Walcott - Van Persie - Nasri
Yes, its the same team that brushed aside Chelsea and Birmingham so I can see no reason as to why Arsene would make changes. My only worry is Djourou. That boss has, in the past voiced his concerns about the durability of his knee. We still have to be very cautious with him. Its not often he has played a game at the weekend and then again midweek but hopefully he will do this week because he has become a very important player during Vermaelen's absence. Apart from that, I'm quite confident we'll see all the others line out as listed above.
Now for the City side I assume we'll see:
Hart
Boateng - Toure - Kompany - Zabaleta
Milner - Toure - De Jong - Barry - Johnson
Tevez
Don't expect to see free flowing football from this side. Toure, Barry and De Jong will do all they can to frustrate us and that includes kicking lumps out of the likes of Cesc and Nasri. Those three will cap outside our box with Barry and Toure taking turns in aking the odd run forward to see if they can sneak a goal on the break. Some of you may be surprised to see I put Zabaleta at right back rather than Kolarov. Well anyone who watched City host Blackpool on Saturday will know why. Some average player tore gave Kolarov are a torrid time and he was hauled off before the hour mark. Defending clearly isn't his strong point and I can't see Mancini throwing him in there against Walcott tonight. Toure should return to partner Kompany despite his little bust up with Adebayor on the training ground during the week which I found highly amusing. As for the wingers, they do pose a threat but I'm pretty sure Mancini will be drilling it into them that they're first priority is to defend. Up front you have Tevez who we all know is one of the best finishers in the business but I can't see him getting much service tonight. Still, our defenders will need to be on they're toes.
Now I know a few of you have been going crazy about a tweet from Cesc yesterday when he told us not to be surprised if we saw a new player in the team. Well it was directed at Song who seems to have come up with a new funky hairstyle. As far as I know its red and looks crazy. We'll have to wait a couple of hours to see the full extent of the damage.
Aaron Ramsey is back at the club after his loan spell at Forest expired. He didn't get as many games under his belt as we would have liked due to postponements but he will continue his quest to get back to his best with us. A lot of people reckon he's going to come straight back into the squad and do miracles. Sadly, that's not the case, the boss even said today it could take him around two months before he's anywhere near his best and understandably so.
Finally, it looks as if Carlos Vela could be off to Bolton. There have been several rumours floating around regarding his future, including some saying he's set for a permanent move to Spain. Those rumours are complete nonsense. Wenger has high hopes for the Mexican and will only allow him to leave on a loan deal.
That's all for today folks. Back tomorrow with a positive match report I hope.
Till then.
Tonight's game is huge for us. It dosen't seem to be getting hyped up like our game with Chelsea was. Even some Arsenal fans seem to be taking it as just another game and reckon we should beat City with ease if we play like we did against Chelsea. But that's just the thing. Can we play like we did against Chelsea? Do the players know this game is just as big and City are equally if not more of a threat than Chelsea? I for one am very confident going into this game but I'm also wary.
City have done very well against the top sides since Mancini has taken over. I wouldn't say he's got his tactics spot on against the big teams but he certainly knows how to contain them. Last year he came to the Emirates looking for a 0-0 draw, he got it. This season they kept clean sheets against Chelsea and United at Eastlands by sitting back for the whole game and looking to hit them on the break. We have to be very careful. If we give them a sniff on goal, they will punish us. They have the quality in Johnson and Tevez to do so.
A lot of people are expecting City to come to the Emirates and make a game of it. I've seen predictions such as 3-2 and 5-3. I mean come on people. This is City we're talking about. Mancini is Italian. The Italian way is to first make sure your opponent dosen't score. Despite City being incredibly hard to break down, we're also very hard to contain as many teams have found out this season. Van Persie is finding his feet again, Nasri is on the form of his life, Fabregas appears to have overcome his injury problems and Walcott is eager to keep Arshavin out of the team. If the Arsenal team we all know show up, we could be in for a very pleasant game of football.
Here is how I expect the teams to line out beginning with ourselves of course:
Fabianski
Sagna - Djourou - Koscielny - Clichy
Fabregas - Song - Wilshere
Walcott - Van Persie - Nasri
Yes, its the same team that brushed aside Chelsea and Birmingham so I can see no reason as to why Arsene would make changes. My only worry is Djourou. That boss has, in the past voiced his concerns about the durability of his knee. We still have to be very cautious with him. Its not often he has played a game at the weekend and then again midweek but hopefully he will do this week because he has become a very important player during Vermaelen's absence. Apart from that, I'm quite confident we'll see all the others line out as listed above.
Now for the City side I assume we'll see:
Hart
Boateng - Toure - Kompany - Zabaleta
Milner - Toure - De Jong - Barry - Johnson
Tevez
Don't expect to see free flowing football from this side. Toure, Barry and De Jong will do all they can to frustrate us and that includes kicking lumps out of the likes of Cesc and Nasri. Those three will cap outside our box with Barry and Toure taking turns in aking the odd run forward to see if they can sneak a goal on the break. Some of you may be surprised to see I put Zabaleta at right back rather than Kolarov. Well anyone who watched City host Blackpool on Saturday will know why. Some average player tore gave Kolarov are a torrid time and he was hauled off before the hour mark. Defending clearly isn't his strong point and I can't see Mancini throwing him in there against Walcott tonight. Toure should return to partner Kompany despite his little bust up with Adebayor on the training ground during the week which I found highly amusing. As for the wingers, they do pose a threat but I'm pretty sure Mancini will be drilling it into them that they're first priority is to defend. Up front you have Tevez who we all know is one of the best finishers in the business but I can't see him getting much service tonight. Still, our defenders will need to be on they're toes.
Now I know a few of you have been going crazy about a tweet from Cesc yesterday when he told us not to be surprised if we saw a new player in the team. Well it was directed at Song who seems to have come up with a new funky hairstyle. As far as I know its red and looks crazy. We'll have to wait a couple of hours to see the full extent of the damage.
Aaron Ramsey is back at the club after his loan spell at Forest expired. He didn't get as many games under his belt as we would have liked due to postponements but he will continue his quest to get back to his best with us. A lot of people reckon he's going to come straight back into the squad and do miracles. Sadly, that's not the case, the boss even said today it could take him around two months before he's anywhere near his best and understandably so.
Finally, it looks as if Carlos Vela could be off to Bolton. There have been several rumours floating around regarding his future, including some saying he's set for a permanent move to Spain. Those rumours are complete nonsense. Wenger has high hopes for the Mexican and will only allow him to leave on a loan deal.
That's all for today folks. Back tomorrow with a positive match report I hope.
Till then.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Perfect Start To The New Year
Welcome all,
Well I don't think any of us could have asked for a better start to 2011? St Andrews is one of the hardest places to go and get three points but we made it look so so easy. Wenger has come in for critisism this week for resting several players against Wigan. We saw yesterday just why he did it. We were fresh and hungry for goals. Birmingham, who played the exact same eleven that took a point off United Tuesday night, looked tired and lacked ideas throughout the game. You'd be surprised what a good rest can do to the way your perform on the pitch. We have come very close to completing a perfect Christmas. The draw at Wigan was very disappointing but if you offered me seven points out of the last three games I would have bit your hand off.
Prior to the gameI stated that it was a must win obviously because we dropped two valuable points at the DW Stadium midweek. We began this one brightly, Walcott getting the better of Ridgwell before hitting the side net. Van Persie then tested Foster's resolve after being set up by Fabregas. Roger Johnson somehow escaped a red card after he went in to a challenge with Cesc with his studs up. Despite the commentator saying "he went for the ball" it was obvious he also wanted to make his presence known as he caught the Spaniard on the shin. Thankfully though he got up and carried on without making a fuss of the challenge. soon after Van Persie was fouled by Scott Dann outside the box. There didn't seem to be much contact and the Dutchman took the free-kick himself. His shot took a deflection off Lee Bowyer, sent Foster the wrong way and found its way into the back of the net. 1-0 Arsenal. As much as the Brum players were disgusted at the foul which led to the free, it was justice for Johnson's wreckless tackle on Cesc.
Birmingham nearly responded immediately. Fabregas conceded a cheap free-kick just outside the box. Up stepped our former player Sebastien Larsson and he forced a fantastic save from Fabianski. Shortly afterwards we should have made it two. Nasri went on one of his dazzling runs before slipping through Van Persie with a clever pass but he miscontrolled the pass and it rolled harmlessly to Foster. Birmingham were struggling to carve their way through us so they reverted to long balls as expected. We were dealing with them well but got off the hook on one occasion when RVP appeared to handle the ball in the area. Much to our relief the referee waved play away. The Dutchman was at the centre of attention again as he wasted another opportunity. He was set through one on one with Foster again but instead of doing the basic thing and putting his foot through the ball, he decided to try and chip the keeper but didn't get enough height on it and he saved with ease. You get the feeling a Van Persie at 100% would have put away all of these chances. We were very nearly made to pay as Roger Johnson got on the end of another long ball but he blazed over from about six yards. The replays showed he was offside but thankfully we weren't punished.
At half-time the majority of us were worried that we weren't taking our chances and if this continued it would have resulted in similar fashion to previous games at St Andrews. We needed to take our chances. Shortly after the game resumed for the second half Wilshere wasted a magnificent opportunity. Walcott's cross found Nasri who brought it down perfectly for the birthday buy but he blazed over. As my nerves grew and nails began to disappear we soon found the goal we all craved. Nasri and Cesc exchanged passes beautifully before the Frenchman finished past the helpless Foster. 2-0 and I was dreaming of a long awaited victory at St Andrews.
Eight minutes later we wrapped up the three points in somewhat bizarre fashion. Nasri picked the ball up in the box, he slid through Fabregas who shot from a narrow angle, Foster saved and the ball rebounded off Dann and then Johnson and somehow found its way into the net. It was quite hilarious and you did have to laugh as you celebrated at that massive cunt Johnson. In previous games you still felt nervous when we were 3-0 just because of our past. But now you get the feeling lessons have been learned and the boss has a good idea of what his X1 is. We could have had more if Fabregas, Walcott and Van Persie were a bit more clinical in front of goal but 3-0 was more than expected and capped off a truly magnificent display. Birmingham did all they could to try and stop us playing. The pitch was awful and I'm pretty sure instructions were given to the ground staff to have it that way. There were also several challenges from the opposition which should be reviewed and will be if the FA have any sense. Lee Bowyer took two swipes at Sagna yesterday. One was a stamp and would have definately been a straight red had the referee seen it. Cameron Jerome also tried to play Mr innocent as he trodded on Koscielny's ankle. These thugs will get their come uppings hopefully.
Let's not take the shine off what was a performance full of steel and resilliance. That was our first clean sheet in a long time and its not just coincidence that they come around when Djourou plays. I have to say now that the Squillaci - Koscielny partnership is one that should be avoided. they are both defenders I like but they're also both generally small for centre halves and lack Premier League experience. Djourou has all the aspects of a quality centre-back. I'm actually shocked at how much progress he has made in the last few years. I honestly looked upon him as just another Justin Hoyte who we would try and make money out of. Clearly this lad is determined to make it at the top level. Its a pity he stuggles to play two games back to back but I'm sure he'll be 100% soon.
Anyway here are the plater ratings from yesterday's game:
Fabianski: 7 - Wasnt too busy but made a brilliant save just after we scored.
Sagna: 7 - I said he's the best right-back in the Premier League and I've been proven right.
Djourou: 7 - Another solid display, improving with every game.
Koscielny: 7 - I thought he'd struggle against Birmingham's big players but he put in another sturdy display.
Clichy: 7 - Reasonably untroubled but solid throughout.
Song: 7 - Beginning to remember he's actually a holding midfielder again. Played well and broke up the play.
Wilshere: 7 - The birthday boy impressed once again but should have scored.
Fabregas: 8 - Looks to be finally over his injury worries. Brilliant and gets my man of the match.
Nasri: 8 - Another sublime display. Just behind Cesc for man of the match.
Walcott: 7 - Caused Ridgwell problems.
Van Persie: 7 - Scored but should have had a lot more.
Subs:
Denilson: 6 - Did his job.
Arshavin: 7 - Realises he's got a lot to do to get on the team. Nearly scored.
The big games just keep on coming now. We've got a huge game against City Wednesday night at the Grove and then we entertain Leeds in the FA Cup. Two games I'm confident we can win if and that's a big if, we play the way we have recently. Otherwise question marks will resurface about this team.
Arsene has been speaking about transfers again:
“I haven’t ruled out signings,” he said at Friday’s press conference. “If I have an outstanding opportunity, maybe I will take it.
“I do not want to sit here and say we won’t, then people can come back and say ‘but you said you wouldn’t sign anyone’.
“There’s still a big chance we won’t sign anyone because it’s difficult to find better players than what we have, but if there’s an exceptional opportunity, you never know.”
We shouldn't expect anything to be honest. In my opinion we've got great strenght in areas all over the pitch. Enough to cope if we're hit with a similar injury crisis to that we suffered last season. Its always nice to get a few fresh faces in though so if Arsene feels the need to open the wallet, I won't complain. Anyway I think I've blabbered enough for one day. Back soon.
Well I don't think any of us could have asked for a better start to 2011? St Andrews is one of the hardest places to go and get three points but we made it look so so easy. Wenger has come in for critisism this week for resting several players against Wigan. We saw yesterday just why he did it. We were fresh and hungry for goals. Birmingham, who played the exact same eleven that took a point off United Tuesday night, looked tired and lacked ideas throughout the game. You'd be surprised what a good rest can do to the way your perform on the pitch. We have come very close to completing a perfect Christmas. The draw at Wigan was very disappointing but if you offered me seven points out of the last three games I would have bit your hand off.
Prior to the gameI stated that it was a must win obviously because we dropped two valuable points at the DW Stadium midweek. We began this one brightly, Walcott getting the better of Ridgwell before hitting the side net. Van Persie then tested Foster's resolve after being set up by Fabregas. Roger Johnson somehow escaped a red card after he went in to a challenge with Cesc with his studs up. Despite the commentator saying "he went for the ball" it was obvious he also wanted to make his presence known as he caught the Spaniard on the shin. Thankfully though he got up and carried on without making a fuss of the challenge. soon after Van Persie was fouled by Scott Dann outside the box. There didn't seem to be much contact and the Dutchman took the free-kick himself. His shot took a deflection off Lee Bowyer, sent Foster the wrong way and found its way into the back of the net. 1-0 Arsenal. As much as the Brum players were disgusted at the foul which led to the free, it was justice for Johnson's wreckless tackle on Cesc.
Birmingham nearly responded immediately. Fabregas conceded a cheap free-kick just outside the box. Up stepped our former player Sebastien Larsson and he forced a fantastic save from Fabianski. Shortly afterwards we should have made it two. Nasri went on one of his dazzling runs before slipping through Van Persie with a clever pass but he miscontrolled the pass and it rolled harmlessly to Foster. Birmingham were struggling to carve their way through us so they reverted to long balls as expected. We were dealing with them well but got off the hook on one occasion when RVP appeared to handle the ball in the area. Much to our relief the referee waved play away. The Dutchman was at the centre of attention again as he wasted another opportunity. He was set through one on one with Foster again but instead of doing the basic thing and putting his foot through the ball, he decided to try and chip the keeper but didn't get enough height on it and he saved with ease. You get the feeling a Van Persie at 100% would have put away all of these chances. We were very nearly made to pay as Roger Johnson got on the end of another long ball but he blazed over from about six yards. The replays showed he was offside but thankfully we weren't punished.
At half-time the majority of us were worried that we weren't taking our chances and if this continued it would have resulted in similar fashion to previous games at St Andrews. We needed to take our chances. Shortly after the game resumed for the second half Wilshere wasted a magnificent opportunity. Walcott's cross found Nasri who brought it down perfectly for the birthday buy but he blazed over. As my nerves grew and nails began to disappear we soon found the goal we all craved. Nasri and Cesc exchanged passes beautifully before the Frenchman finished past the helpless Foster. 2-0 and I was dreaming of a long awaited victory at St Andrews.
Eight minutes later we wrapped up the three points in somewhat bizarre fashion. Nasri picked the ball up in the box, he slid through Fabregas who shot from a narrow angle, Foster saved and the ball rebounded off Dann and then Johnson and somehow found its way into the net. It was quite hilarious and you did have to laugh as you celebrated at that massive cunt Johnson. In previous games you still felt nervous when we were 3-0 just because of our past. But now you get the feeling lessons have been learned and the boss has a good idea of what his X1 is. We could have had more if Fabregas, Walcott and Van Persie were a bit more clinical in front of goal but 3-0 was more than expected and capped off a truly magnificent display. Birmingham did all they could to try and stop us playing. The pitch was awful and I'm pretty sure instructions were given to the ground staff to have it that way. There were also several challenges from the opposition which should be reviewed and will be if the FA have any sense. Lee Bowyer took two swipes at Sagna yesterday. One was a stamp and would have definately been a straight red had the referee seen it. Cameron Jerome also tried to play Mr innocent as he trodded on Koscielny's ankle. These thugs will get their come uppings hopefully.
Let's not take the shine off what was a performance full of steel and resilliance. That was our first clean sheet in a long time and its not just coincidence that they come around when Djourou plays. I have to say now that the Squillaci - Koscielny partnership is one that should be avoided. they are both defenders I like but they're also both generally small for centre halves and lack Premier League experience. Djourou has all the aspects of a quality centre-back. I'm actually shocked at how much progress he has made in the last few years. I honestly looked upon him as just another Justin Hoyte who we would try and make money out of. Clearly this lad is determined to make it at the top level. Its a pity he stuggles to play two games back to back but I'm sure he'll be 100% soon.
Anyway here are the plater ratings from yesterday's game:
Fabianski: 7 - Wasnt too busy but made a brilliant save just after we scored.
Sagna: 7 - I said he's the best right-back in the Premier League and I've been proven right.
Djourou: 7 - Another solid display, improving with every game.
Koscielny: 7 - I thought he'd struggle against Birmingham's big players but he put in another sturdy display.
Clichy: 7 - Reasonably untroubled but solid throughout.
Song: 7 - Beginning to remember he's actually a holding midfielder again. Played well and broke up the play.
Wilshere: 7 - The birthday boy impressed once again but should have scored.
Fabregas: 8 - Looks to be finally over his injury worries. Brilliant and gets my man of the match.
Nasri: 8 - Another sublime display. Just behind Cesc for man of the match.
Walcott: 7 - Caused Ridgwell problems.
Van Persie: 7 - Scored but should have had a lot more.
Subs:
Denilson: 6 - Did his job.
Arshavin: 7 - Realises he's got a lot to do to get on the team. Nearly scored.
The big games just keep on coming now. We've got a huge game against City Wednesday night at the Grove and then we entertain Leeds in the FA Cup. Two games I'm confident we can win if and that's a big if, we play the way we have recently. Otherwise question marks will resurface about this team.
Arsene has been speaking about transfers again:
“I haven’t ruled out signings,” he said at Friday’s press conference. “If I have an outstanding opportunity, maybe I will take it.
“I do not want to sit here and say we won’t, then people can come back and say ‘but you said you wouldn’t sign anyone’.
“There’s still a big chance we won’t sign anyone because it’s difficult to find better players than what we have, but if there’s an exceptional opportunity, you never know.”
We shouldn't expect anything to be honest. In my opinion we've got great strenght in areas all over the pitch. Enough to cope if we're hit with a similar injury crisis to that we suffered last season. Its always nice to get a few fresh faces in though so if Arsene feels the need to open the wallet, I won't complain. Anyway I think I've blabbered enough for one day. Back soon.
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