Are Teams Starting To Fear Arsenal Again?

October 27, 2011

One of the saddest effects of our poor form during 2011 has been seeing how lesser teams no longer fear us.

The psychological advantage of having most opponents assume they would get nothing out of playing us has been whittled away by a series of unfortunate events.

Throwing away a four goal lead at Newcastle; losing to relegation-bound Birmingham in the Carling Cup Final; league defeats to the likes of West Brom, Stoke and Bolton:

All these and more have turned our shiny armour of invincibility into a tattered and battered old coat of rusty chain mail, pock-marked with holes.

Do you remember how it used to be?

From Arsène Wenger’s first Double-winning side right through to the best free-flowing days of the ‘Fabregas era’, most other teams were terrified of playing us.

They would look at the fixture list for the following weekend, see that they were up against The Arsenal and immediately go weak at the knees.

On match days, as they lined up in the tunnel alongside the likes of Bergkamp, Henry, Pires, Vieira, Adams, Bould, Campbell, Seaman, Keown, Ljungberg, Overmars, Lehmann, Fabregas, opposition players would have involuntary wee-wee incidents in their shorts.

It is rumoured that some managers had to use a cattle prod to get their players out of the safety of the dressing room when we were in town.

And I have it on good authority that at least two EPL clubs considered switching to brown shorts precisely to avoid the embarrassment of having what you might call “fear stains” on display.

Any sports psychologist will tell you that if you can win the battle in the mind, you will win it on the field of play.

We used to be so good at getting inside our opponents’ heads that most teams were beaten before they walked onto the pitch – you could see it in their eyes (and their shorts).

Lately only the Manchester branch of Surrey United have had that aura, although their own grip on the Fear Factor may take some time to recover after the humiliation at the hands of their lottery-winning neighbours.

Indeed it is the Sky Blue half of Manchester that can now truly be said to make opponents quake at the mere prospect of playing them.

So, having lost our fearsomeness, can we regain it?

I believe the answer is ‘yes’ – and, further, that we have already made some encouraging baby steps on the path to once again being truly dreaded by the opposition.

Crucial to our ability to inspire terror is one man. You won’t be surprised to know I’m referring to our very own Prince of Strikers, Robin van Persie.

Mid-to-low ranking teams usually set out with a game plan to stop Arsenal rather than outplay us. And with our recent history of defending set pieces (where we’ve been as watertight as a pair of paper knickers) they rightly feel that if they succeed in stopping us, they have every chance of grabbing a goal or two at the other end.

But there are some strikers, at certain periods of their careers, who are simply unstoppable.

Thierry Henry had it for years. Ruud van Nostrelflair had it for a while. Cristiano Ronaldo had it in England and now Spain. Drogba used to have it. Lionel Messi has it.

And Prince Robin has it, because no striker in England comes close to matching his hit rate right now.

And that inspires fear – even terror – in the hearts of opposing managers and defenders.

In the days of TH14, no matter how well set up a rival defence was, they knew that if Thierry wanted to play, there would be little they could do to stop him.

Of course there are other ways you can inspire fear in your enemies (and I don’t mean the Barton approach of stubbing out a cigar in their eye).

Having a genius midfielder, for example, whose passing can unlock any defence; having a team so technically gifted that they can one-two their way round the most resolute of opponents.

And a rock solid defence can also terrorise the opposing side.

The chant of “one nil to The Arsenal” emerged during the period when we had the ‘famous back six’ of Seaman, Dixon, Winterburn, Adams, Bould and Keown. The meaning of the chant was not to point out the score for the hard of thinking (there was a big score board screen to do that). It was to let the opposition players and their fans know that they had already lost because there was no way they were going to penetrate our back line.

We’re a long way from inspiring fear defensively or in midfield (although the more victories we accrue the more that will come). But at least at the striking end of things we are on the way.

And if we can get any kind of result at Stamford Bridge this Halloween weekend, we’ll be even better placed to put the frighteners on the (relatively) easy run of opponents we have between then and Christmas.

We need fear to be our friend again.

RockyLives

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Hide Park? – no longer

October 26, 2011

Last night saw Bolton put out of the Carling Cup by an Arsenal team containing a mixture of  new young players with the added bonus of the experienced Arshavin, Benayoun and the return of the Verminator. Many supporters had come to see if Ox, Park and Young could live up to their hype and whether they were ready for the first team.

These were the players that started the game Fabianski in goal, a back four of  Yennaris, Vermaelen, Squillacci and Miguel, a mid-field of Frimpong, Coquelin and Benayoun with a front three of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arshavin and J Y Park.

Surprisingly, Bolton played pretty much a first team and when they lined up it was difficult to know how the game would go.

Yennaris was really impressive at right back and Miguel – who I think is a great footballer – was played out of position at left-back and was very solid.

Bolton had the first shot on goal which Fabianski handled very well. Throughout the game his shot stopping couldn’t be faulted and he made some great saves but his distribution was appalling. Kicking up to Arshavin is never really going to work and he could have taken a bit of time to choose his man more carefully. Still, he kept us in the game on quite a few occasions and he’s good cover as a keeper.

Once Bolton had a shot our boys decided they would also like to join the party and there were some rasping shots from outside the box. The link-up play between Arshavin and Park was a pleasure to watch with Benayoun doing a lot of the running to keep control of the game.

Frimpong and Coquelin were not having the best game in mid-field. Coquelin seemed to pick up an injury early in the first half but played on with too many of his passes going astray. He’s a terrier so when he loses the ball he fights to get it back. Frimpong we know can be a bit rash in the challenge so maybe his game was affected by the famous ‘hand-brake’.

The first half ended 0-0 which was pretty fair.

The second half started badly as we looked like we were half asleep and soon went behind – Coquelin and Frimpong were exchanging passes deep in our half and Muamba stole in to nick it off  Frimpongs foot and after a quick exchange with Tuncay slammed the ball into the roof of our net.

But, it was to be Arsenal’s night and within 10 minutes the tie was turned on its head.  Arshavin was having a great time playing in the middle behind the striker and soon got his chance to put us level, collecting a pass from Ox and drilling his shot into the bottom corner.

Within 5 minutes Park received another great ball from Arshavin and unleashed a curler into the top corner 2-1. This is what Arsène had to say about Park

For me I am very pleased with his performance. He had a very, very good game. He has shown intelligence in his link play with others. The quality of his movement was exceptional and his finishing is absolutely fantastic. He has shown tonight that he is a very, very good player. He is ready to play in league games, yes.

Compared to the player who played in the first match [against Shrewsbury] where he was a bit inhibited, tonight I felt he played with freedom and has showed what a good player he is.

So, it looks like Park really is the real deal. I was at the Shrewsbury game and he did look terrified to receive the ball whereas last night he played a big part in the fluency of the team and he has a great connection with Arshavin.

Vermaelen was subbed with four minutes to go which was really strange but I’ve read that he had tight calves and wanted to come off. He is such a classy player, he could have been on his own in central defence and we’d have been just fine although Squilacci played well too.

This is the ninth year that we have got to the quarter finals of the Carling Cup, whether you think it’s important or not we seem to always have a good run. Maybe we should just forget that we got to the final last year and see it a chance to win some silverware. The draw for the next round should be interesting.

It’s been said before but we do seem to be marching on.

peachesgooner

Some comments and player ratings from Harry

Morning all, sorry Rasp / Peaches just got into office and have a meeting at 10am, so havent time to write anything……

Shame because comments like Park isnt ready for the PL yet, are so far of the mark……….

I have read a couple of write ups and comments across the blogs, I am amazed of some of the comments………

So many positives out there last night……………….

I read somewhere that Benayoun was quite and had an ineffective game? what match was he watching……….?

The only player who had a poor game was Ox, he seemed to get annoyed with himself when he messed up a chance and he didnt regain his composure, his time will come…….

All others had good games, yes made some mistakes and misplaced passes which was our biggest weakness last night, but overall, everyone for me gets a 7 minimum except Ox probably a 6.

TV gets a 9, outstanding display………MotM, dynamic and powerful, name me a better defender in the premier league……?

Miquel and Yennaris both get solid 7.5………Take into account age and out of position for Miquel…….Squillaci gets a 7 for me, for all his criticism did ok………

Fabianski 7, did ok, some good saves, got down well and quick, one swerving shot was vicious and nearly caught him out. His weakness was his distribution which was scattergun effect…….gets a 7.

Frimpers and Coquelin, both get 7.5, hassled and worked hard throughout, soem great tackles, both were guilty of giving cheap possession away at times……..which is where their goal came from.

Arshavin 8 is an enigma, desperately lacking interest one minute to the sublime, stepped up when needed, gets a lucky 8 for me…..

Benayoun 8, was excellent throughout, gets a solid 8. always probing and driving forward.

Park 8 was excellent, his movement excellent and if the linesman knew the offside rule would have more chances. His touch was sublime and his goal, well if messi had scored it, the media would be creaming their pants…………

Subs didnt have time, but Ozakup looked as good as the reviews I have heard about him……..time will tell. Ryo is so fast and will definitely add a dimsension to our squad. Boateng was only on for minutes……

Overall, a good team performance by a mixture of youth and experience, held their own and rarely looked troubled…..Goal against was unfortuante, perhaps didnt quite get into gear from the whistle. But apart from that, the team defended ok. some great blocking and tackling,led by the imperious Vermaelen…..

Next up, Quarters, Palace at the Emirates would be nice with United playing City……….

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

The Young Ones: Carling Cup Preview.

October 25, 2011

Another night of stress-free excitement tonight. We love to see the kids play and we love to see them beat PL opposition even more.

Of course we have selection problems due to some of the second string being forced to become first string. For example, who plays RB? Can we rest both our CB? Is Squillaci fit and if so does he play? And what about LB? Dare we risk Santos? In fact I have no idea who AW will play at LB.

Mr. Wenger instructing our new Left Back

If we have selection problems what do Bolton have?  6 points from 9 games, rooted in the relegation zone and away to Swansea on the weekend. Dare they play a full first X1? Cahill was missing when we thrashed them a few weeks ago and I expect he will be absent tonight. And …. what will happen to their fragile confidence should they lose to what will be virtually Arsenal’s C team?  You are right …. who cares!

We have already scored one against them this week albeit through one of our loanees. Nik got a tap-in to consign Bolton to a home defeat versus Sunderland. Bolton have some good players in their squad who didn’t feature at the weekend – Muamba, Klasnic, Kakuta and Tuncay among others

As I said this is a difficult team to predict but   ….

I think this team has a decent mixture of youth and experience  and should win tonight depending upon how seriously Bolton take the tie.  The Ox/Park combo is exciting.

It would be good if the ground was more than half full; perhaps the club could give away tickets to local schools in order to create a decent atmosphere – it would start some kids in their Goonerdom and become a regular feature of Arsenal in the Community.  It worked at Wembley and I believe would be beneficial to the club in the long run.

Is there another inventor from Bolton? Yes there is! Samuel Crompton who invented the Spinning Mule which revolutionised the  spinning industry. No pic because he is too ugly (not even sporting a handsome beard) and would not only frighten the horses but give the more sensitive nightmares. Google him at your peril.

It is 9 years since we failed to reach the quarter finals of the Carling Cup. Let’s keep up the good run.

COYRRG

Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Orcs! You shall not pass!

October 24, 2011

Written by oz gunner

How they lined up:

Arsenal (4-4-3)- Szczesny, Djourou, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Andre Santos, Song ©, Arteta, Ramsey, Walcott, Gervinho, Chamakh.

Subs: Fabianski, Frimpong, Rosicky, Benayoun, Arshavin, Park, van Persie.

Stoke (4-5-1): Begovic, Wilkingson, Shawcross ©, Upson, Wilson, Whitehead, Whelan, Delap, Ethrington, Walters, Crouch.

Subs: Sorenson, Huth, Shotton, Diao, Palacios (ex-scum), Jerome, Jones

Pennant failed to come up thankfully as he normally creates problems for us

Pre-Match Thoughts:

RVP needed the rest, so I’m glad to see MC lining up against the orcs (hopefully he can create room for Walcott and Gerv to work in).

Walcott needs to step up. He can’t fall behind the ‘youngster’ tag anymore, it’s time to take the game by the scruff of the neck.

Gerv needs to start hitting the target.

I’m glad Crouch and Upson are starting because I feel they are a lot less dangerous than Huth and Jones.

I’d like to see Arshavin come off the bench and deliver another great cameo.

I’d like to see a great defensive display against one of the most dangerous set dead ball teams in the league.

Lastly, no more injuries.

How it happened:

5’         Djourou sends in a poor cross (used up his good one in the CL).

6’         Ramsey picks out a great run by Walcott, however it’s just over hit.

9’         Corner sent in to a free MC…GREAT chance squandered. No pace or direction in the header really should of done better (that’s 2 goals in 31 matches for MC).

11’       Ambitious pot shot by Walters…fizzes wide. Song caught out in position but recovered well. Shot from distance by Arteta pulled wide.

12’       Crowd relatively quiet.

15’       Another great ball by Ramsey. Too hard for Gerv to control.

16’       Still no set piece for Stoke or Delap throw in.

17’       Spoke to soon. Boooooooooooo! BFG sorts out the danger.

19’       Great bit of skill by Theo (he needs to play to his strengths more often we’d all agree). Good cross, just a touch to high. Whitehead puts in a lousy slide on Arteta.

21’       Stoke are sitting deep and tight, it’s hard to get our passing game going.

22’       Arteta’s free kick spills to Gerv who tees up Ramsey who fires in a shot…just wide.

23’       Free kick to Stoke (Arsenal have conceded 5 goals from free kicks this season). Djourou headers clear.

26’       Hard to break down a well drilled Stoke team, conversely they are finding it tough getting forward.

27’       Ramsey chips a beautiful ball over the Stoke defenders, Gerv controls well with his chest and slots the ball under Begovic…GOAL!!! First goal at home for Gerv, Ramsey has been great.

28’       Fouls: Stoke 6, Arsenal 0

30’       Whitehead YELLOW CARD after another shocking slide tackle that just missed Arteta.

31’       Gerv great burst of pace, and a beautiful low cross, unfortunately no-one is there for the tap in.

33’       Stoke are playing very compact. Shawcross has the ball and Boooooo’s rain throughout Emirates and my living room.

34’       Stoke get a free kick after great and fair Kozza header (funny how Crouch rides over people all the time, yet when he’s on the receiving end he gets the foul. Ball sent wide to an unmarked Shawcross who headers the ball to Walters, ball headed to Crouch who taps it into an empty net. GOAL. Well thought out set piece by Stoke, Gerv should have done better.

35’       Wilkinson wrestles MC to the ground (Hulk Hogan-esque). How is that not a penalty? Very unlucky there!

38’       Delap throw #2. Ball ricochet’s around the box -> Corner

39’       Walters stop whinging.

40’       Arsenal have dropped off a little since we scored, half time can’t come soon enough.

43’       Delap throw #3…come on hurry up get on top of it ref! Handled well but out for throw #4 which comes back out to Delap who sends in an abysmal cross (shows just how one dimensional he really is, the rest of his game is poor).

44’       Great defending by Kozza who gets Gerv out of dodge.

46’       Arteta keeps it in well, great cross. MC misses it somehow and goes out via Upson.

47’       Wild shot from distance by Gerv, to no avail.

HALF TIME

Half time mullings:

A great start by Arsenal but we dropped off again after we scored. They are playing tight and defending well but because of it they are not creating much themselves.

MC we really need you to pull your finger out, yes your endeavour is there but as our second choice striker we need more out of you!

Bugger Chelsea away next week. If we play like we need against them last year we will be fine (oh how I miss that game. The full field press was amazing. Kozza will pocket Torres easy).

Gerv and Ramsey have played well.

Alarm set: 7 hours to work…mmm sick day?!

Second Half under way

46’       Poor effort from Walters, hit and hope if anything.

48’       Great ball through to Walcott, deflection, corner. Corner comes in and Kozza attempts a bicycle kick (love this kid).

49’       Cross sent in by Theo…ends up in row Z.

53’       Djourou sets up Theo to get flattened. Definently tell he is a CB playing at RB.

54’       RVP is warming up. How long before we see him? YELLOW CARD Wilkingson for holding Theo.

56’      Sixth corner for Arsenal. Orcs start falling over each other. Walters down after a tangle with Upson. Get up Walters two minutes have been wasted. Stoke appear to be playing for a draw. Stoke reconsider their sub.

59’       Whitehead is up there with Lescott in terms of ugliness.

60’       Song good hit on Crouch. Delap->off  Diao <- on. Well done Delap you have proved further just how pathetic of a footballer you are!

60’       Crowd chanting for RVP, only a matter of time you’d think as MC’s only contribution this half was a header to Crouch.

62’       Good build up play, bad pass by Song, crowd are getting restless. Kozza is playing great again. Unsure if these performances by Walcott can carry on. It’s surely only a matter of time before we see the Ox take his spot in the starting line-up.

65’       Stoke sitting very narrow and tight, Crouch still isolated. RVP is getting ready to come on. The crowd is shouting their love (please sign a new contract RVP… pretty please).

66’       MC->off  RVP<- on. MC was less than inspiring, guilty of wasting two great chances.

67’       Beautiful play by RVP, cross just too high for Kozza. Worlds #1 cheekily takes on Walters. Commentators condemning him saying he is naïve and has often made mistakes this season. Pretty harsh I think!

68’       Shawcross the sook forearms RVP in the head…no free kick given.

70’       Great pass by Song, RVP lays off to…no one.

71’       Theo->off  AA<- on. Hopefully another great cameo is on the cards.

72’       RVP’s cross splits the lot of them. We are controlling the game easily. BFG needs to assert himself better during our set pieces.

73’       Great run from Gerv, crosses into RVP who sneaks it past Begovic GOAL!!! 200th goal at the emirates in our 100th game. RVP’s positional sense is truly world class.

74’       Ethrington + Crouch-> off           Jones + Jerome<- on

76’       Gerv is looking great down the right hand side.

77’       Jones free header, Jerome goes for it but clatters into the World #1 (he’s not impressed by it). Nervous last 15 minutes coming up.

78’       Santos warned- Cool heads needed here. We don’t need to give away stupid free kicks this late into the game, especially not when Jones is on.

79’       Great piece of defending by Arshavin.

82’       Great pass by Arshavin finding Gerv’s run, he cuts back to RVP who taps it in GOAL!!! Begovic poor attempt at a save. 6 goals in 5 matches for RVP against Stoke.

84’       Two great defensive efforts by Santos. Great block by Kozza who was 1-on-1 with Jones.

87’       Arsenal is making a mockery of Stoke at the moment, passing it around like it’s a training drill. Stoke cannot get near the ball.

90’       RVP threads it through to Gerv, Begovic saves from a tight angle.

91’       Gerv-> off  Pong<- on

Arsenal control the rest of the game with great movement and passing. They can walk off the pitch with their heads held high after that one! The second half was all Arsenal.

FULL TIME

Player Ratings:

Worlds #1  6.5.   Had little to do, but was consistent when called into action.

Djourou 6.    Offered little going forward but did the job asked of him well. His extra height was needed against the Orcs.

BFG  6.5.    Consistent, keeps getting better each game.

Kozza  7.5.    Stand out performer in defence and is becoming one of the best defenders in the league at the moment. Love how he goes about his game. One on one he is a star, and controls the air well. Crouch had nothing all game

Santos 6.5.   Like BFG he is getting better as each game passes. Offers more attacking wise but is no mug defensively. Will be a great purchase once he settles in and lifts his cardio.

Song  7   You know what you get from Song, and he played well again today against Stoke. Stuck to his role well and allowed Arteta and Ramsey to go about their business. Hard to think this is the same Song who went out on loan to Charlton all those seasons ago.

Arteta  6.5.    Started every Premier League game for Arsenal this season. Delivered another good performance both offensively and defensively, unfortunately will allows be compared to Cesc.

Ramsey  7.5.    Amazing game from young Ramsey. Cesc-like passes (especially the assist to Gerv), great work rate and dangerous shooting. He is going to be an Arsenal legend no doubt about it. Glad Shawcross has not ruined the great career he will have,

Gerv  8.    Man of the Match for me. Showed Theo how it’s done with great drive and low crosses. When RVP came on he lifted immensely. Great control and finish from Ramsey’s pass, and two good assists. Another Arsene steal considering his price.

MC  5.   Endeavour is there, just not his finishing. As though he’s scared to shoot with his feet. Wasted two great opportunities. Fans are losing patience with him, me included. Hopefully he snaps out of it though, I want him to succeed at Arsenal

Theo 5.    Good in patches. However those patches were few and far between. He NEEDS to deliver more, and his high crosses are a waste especially when playing a team like Stoke. Ox is breathing down his neck.

RvP   8.   Amazing cameo, the fans got what they asked for and he showed just why we love him so much. Two goals thanks to good positioning and passing by Gerv. We need him to stay he is World Class and a great captain.

Arshavin  6.5.    Good little cameo again. This might be how we get the best out of him for the remainder of his time at Arsenal.

Ref  4.    Didn’t get on top of the time wasting, missed a penalty and was pretty much poor all game.

The game was nerve racking for a moment there but we controlled it for the full 90 minutes. This team is getting better and better each game and looks very determined to give their all for the cause. I’m loving it, come on you mighty Gunners. Well played. Next up Chelsea.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Going Underground? Match preview

October 23, 2011

The arrival of the beetle-headed dung-munching orcs from Stoke will be the first real test of our newly found confidence. Can Arsenal overcome these mutants and gain 3 points without a slew of injuries? Furthermore, can Arsenal get through 90+ minutes of  battle with 11 players on the field – another red card for the good guys would not be a huge surprise.

Shawcross, Delap and Hoof go forward for a corner

Stoke are a different team this season having spent heavily in summer on another bunch of giants. With an average height of 1.83 they are the tallest team in the PL, and it is working for them, they lie in 7th, 2 points ahead of us. Stoke have also cleaned up their act (or more probably have become cleverer at rotational fouling) – they have yet to receive a red card and have only 16 yellows in 8 PL games; we have received 3 reds and 19 yellows.

Tactics are normal Pulis – long ball,  focus on set plays, Delap’s throw-ins and a solid defence allied to the pace and power of Kenwyn Jones who really should be in better company. The signing of Crouch says it all, with his thrust Stoke have managed to score just 6 goals in 8 games. Walters is a Pulis favourite and we can expect him to cause his usual problems. Pennant has been injured but could be back to test our full backs.

A depressing stat is that since we last beat Stoke 1-0 at the Emirates we have not won 2 PL games in succession (according to OPTA), a better one is that Stoke have not beaten us at home since 1981.

Which brings us to Arsenal’s team. Let us start with a positive, Thomas Vermaelen is back and available for selection; I do not expect him to start but perhaps he will get some minutes later in the game. Problems abound at right back with both our squad RB’s injured, as such we will see Djourou continue, I wish him well. At left back Gibbs is out for a minimum 2 weeks with a stomach strain, so Santos gets the shirt. Santos has been both superb and a liability in his short AFC career, he has pace, good control, can cross and has already scored, but he was lucky to stay on the pitch in Marseilles, has been prone to pass to the opposition and his positioning has been suspect, that said, he is learning the Arsenal way and IMO will prove to be a fine signing.

We looked better at Marseilles when Ramsey came on and despite Rosicky’s good form I would start the Welshman in a game which will have strong resonance for him. To make Shawcross look even more stupid will complete Aaron’s recovery. He will score if selected.

My team:

Despite Mr Wenger’s statements, Arshavin’s recent performances have been, what’s the word?  OK …. crap. A 10 minute cameo aside, AA has  been our most frustrating player. I would not even put him on the bench and allow him some time to recover his vim and vigour, because I can only assume his focus has been upon getting Russia into the Euro’s.

RvP or Chamakh? Sure Robin needs a rest, but now is not the time. We need pace to break down Stoke because we will not out-muscle them, however, Stoke have a poor record when returning from Europa Cup duty so we can hope they will tire.

An inventor from Stoke? Not many but stand up Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge. Involved in the development of wireless telegraphy, he also invented electric spark ignition for combustion engines.  Had a fine beard as well ….

This is a winnable game against a team who in recent years have become possibly more disliked than any team outside of Manchester and N.17. Despite being unconvincing we have been getting back on track, let us continue today.

Don’t forget the Victoria line is not working today. Stay and watch the Under-18’s strut their stuff ….

COYRRG

Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

In the line of duty

October 22, 2011

Written by MickyDidIt89

After logging off last night , I became the recipient of some most disturbing news. I have been ousted as The Chairman of my local Wiff Waff Club (Ping Pong to some). It is a very small select club which makes pinpointing the bad seed very straightforward. You see, a minor incident took place at a less than sober gathering of the local Cider Circle on Thursday night at which a close friend and member of the Whiff Waff Club let slip to Mr Baxter (husband of Mrs Baxter) that two last minute re-scheduling of Wiff Waff Club meets were as a direct result of my Arsenal commitments. Now call me vindictive, but I can assure you the next time I am swinging the bat with Mrs Baxter, I shall not hold back. I only reluctantly let her join as a result of her very fine nibbles (which have turned out to be, shall we say, at best inconsistent) and certainly not as a result of either her conversational skills nor those of bat and ball.

This tale brings me nicely on to the subject of today’s post. How far have you been in the line of duty?

Like many here, I eagerly await a new seasons’ fixture list for two reasons. One is to see how the run-in looks and whether we are likely to become Champions on home soil, and the second reason is to head straight for the diary thus rendering myself “unavailable” for other distractions for one or two days of the year.

Of course shit happens, as indeed it did this week. Twice. Firstly, I had Marseille down for the Tuesday (hence re-scheduling The Wiff Waff Club to last night), and secondly my AFC Fixture List had Stoke down for Saturday. This works in my favour as it means I can go tomorrow, but this only shows how easily difficulties can arise, thus heaving at the strings of one’s loyalties.

My own favourite took place one day in the autumn of 1997. I had recently become engaged,  and the previous day my then girlfriend and I had resolved to put a day in the diary for the momentous occasion in the Spring of the following year. She later found me on the phone to the FA enquiring about the dates of the Cup Final. When asked I merely explained that my wedding day was to be the most important day of my life (cough 26.05.89) and could she imagine how distracted I may be poncing down the aisle with ear piece in as we headed into extra time at Wembley while chasing the double. You never know, I said, it could happen.

So it came to pass that a short week after goals from Marc Overmars and DennisBergkamp against Newcastle at Wembley saw us take The Double, ‘err outdoors become ‘err indoors. So all in all a happy tale of dual commitment and loyalty.

My message to Mrs Baxter: Kiss my pert arse!

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Why We Should Be Top Three By New Year

October 21, 2011

No, I haven’t been taking the Kool-Aid.

If you look at the fixture list between now and the New Year (well, January 2nd to be precise) you can see that we have every reason to be optimistic.

We have 11 games between now and then, taking us conveniently to the half way stage of our campaign. Six are at home, five are away.

The home games are:

Stoke
West Brom
Fulham
Everton
Wolves
QPR

All eminently winnable and, consequently, I have us down for the maximum 18 points from them.

Away from The Emirates we face the following:

Chelsea
Norwich
Wigan
Man City
Fulham

I’m going to be pessimistic and assume only one point from the combined Chelsea and Man City games. But we should win the other three, giving us 10 points for the five away fixtures.

That would give us a total of 38 points after 19 games at close of play on January 2nd.

To get an idea of what that means, let’s look at where we were last season at around that stage: on January 4th 2011 we were sitting third with 39 points, having played a game more (20 as opposed to 19). The Chavs were two points ahead of us and the evil empire of Darth Fergie was five points ahead.

It is perfectly reasonable to believe we will be in as good a position at the start of 2012 as we were at the start of 2011, although we may be more than five points behind the leaders.

My theory is further supported by the fact that between now and the New Year, several of our main rivals have games against each other and will take points from each other.

Man City have to play United, Liverpool and Chelsea.
Chelsea face Liverpool, Man City and the Spuds.
Liverpool have Chelsea and Man City.

Less beneficial is the fact that Man Utd and the Spuds have an easier time up to the end of the year, United having only the City game, while the Spuds face only Chelsea from among the ‘top’ teams.

Nevertheless, on the morning of January 3rd 2012 I expect the table to show Man Utd sitting top, with Man City second and us third. There won’t be many points between third, fourth, fifth and sixth (with Chelsea, Liverpool and the Spuds occupying the three places below us). Newcastle will have slipped down to mid table.

This Arsenal team has been substantially rebuilt and has struggled to find its feet quickly, but we are much better than our current league position indicates.

We have some very classy players who are only going to improve the more they play together and we should not underestimate the brilliant coaching ability of Arsene Wenger. It’s no coincidence that he has produced two wonderful, trophy-winning teams and one wonderful team that just fell short of winning the big prizes.

For all the recent criticism of him as a coach, he has a philosophy of football that is second to none and that has made him more successful than most of his peers.

I firmly believe that with the same resources as AW has had in recent years, not even the Purple-Nosed Gorbalian or the Special Needs One would have been able to keep a team in the Champions League every year.

The more he works with the likes of Arteta, Ramsey, Gervinho, Santos, Jenkinson, Benayoun and Oxlade-Chamberlain, the more they will find that Wengerball will become second nature to them and the more we will sweep away the opposition.

So sit back and enjoy our rapid climb up the table, starting on Sunday, when we grab our pitchforks and march against Baron von Frankenpulis’s Monster Army.

RockyLives

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Not beautiful, not sexy – but a critical win for Arsenal

October 20, 2011

Marseille 0 – 1 Arsenal: Match Report


Now, this was not a game for the purists of total football – for those who love sexy moves and scintillating finishes: the Arsenal of ‘old’ (at least for now). It will not go into the history books as one of Arsenal’s great CL evenings, but let’s not fool ourselves: this was a critical win for Arsenal.

Before the game, I thought about the likely consequences if we would have lost tonight. The media-scripts were, without any doubt, ready to be released by our friends from the redtops. At this brittle period of rebuilding our team, the CL qualification and subsequent group results have been the one shining light in the dark tunnel of the 2011-2012 season. A loss today and the media would have been putting their daggers into that last bit of success and dignity that Arsenal have been hanging onto this season, the Doomers would have joined them en masse, and we all would have really suffered from it. Even the biggest optimist would have struggled to keep the belief.

Yet tonight, Arsenal made an important step forward, and we should be all pleased by this. Arsenal are now top of the group and Marseille and Dortmund still have to come to the Emirates. All at once, there is reason for some renewed optimism. It was not beautiful, it was not sexy, but it was just what the doctor ordered. Games like these can lay the foundation for a turnaround of fortunes.

 

First Half

Both teams started nervously with a lack of ball control/possession and some defensive mistakes as well. It was tight in midfield and Marseille made it hard for us to dominate the game. However, after a while we started to make a number of good runs on the right-hand side, which led to some good, and some not-so-good crosses into the box. Unfortunately, the Marseille defence dealt with these easily albeit at the expense of a number of corners. From one of those corners we produced our best chance in the first half. Diawara cleared a header from Robin van Persie off the line, but we should have had a penalty, moments before that, when the same Diawara – very cunningly – had handled the ball in the air.

Marseille best chance came after 30 minutes: the occasionally impressive Remy showed some great agility to leave the BFG rooted to the ground (or should that be: anchored to the sea-floor?), and to get past Jenkinson. However, the latter was just able to stick his foot brilliantly in front of Remy’s diagonal shot at goal, and his attempt was deflected past our goal.

Just before the end of the first half,Santos did something inexplicable. Already on a yellow card, he decided to handle the ball whilst under no pressure to do so. It could have so easily been a second yellow card, and the team would have been put under immense pressure for the rest of the game. Santos, who really impressed me at the Emirates against Sunderland on Sunday, had a bit of a shocker of a first half, but luckily he improved somewhat during the second half.

Second Half

Arsenal, as so often this season, started the second half really well. Jenkinson, who had already impressed during the first half, showed great energy and determination to make a difference on the right, but was not helped by a few sloppy passes from Walcott and Rosicky at this stage. Jenkinson had to come off and Djourou replaced him. I am sure, I was not the only one to think that Marseille would now start to test the right-hand side of our defence, but just as they had not tried to put more pressure on Santos in the second half, they also refrained from targeting Djourou. The referee even helped them by giving Johan a yellow card almost straightaway, and unjustly so! It only then dawned on me that Marseille were actually aiming for a draw.

After 60 minutes, Song and Rosicky combined to play the ball to Theo just inside the box. Walcott got past the throughout-the-game very impressive N’Koulou, but his shot is too soft and too close to the goalie. Arsenal keep dominating without creating too many chances, as both Song and Arteta become stronger and stronger in the second half. Wenger changed Theo for Gervinho and straightaway there was more threat and creativity to our attacking play. Gervinho did really well to run past a few Marseille players and to play a great ball into box for Robin. Unfortunately, van Persie needed to use his right foot and his shot was stopped by the also impressive Mandada. It then looked like we were heading for a draw, which in itself would not have been a bad result for us.

But there was a final sting in the tale, and justice was done. The only team that tried to play football in the second half was rewarded for its efforts. Johan Djourou puts in an early cross and, for once, Robin van Persie is not alone in the box – Gervinho is there as well – and the Marseille defence is under pressure. Gervinho tries to control Djourou’s cross, but inadvertently (?), he produces the perfect assist for Ramsey, who also made a good run into the box. Ramsey controls the ball well with his first touch and finds time and space to coolly slot the ball, with a low, hard and placed shot, past the goalkeeper’s right-hand side. Ramsey, another one of our players who received a lot of criticism from his own fans recently, showed some great maturity at that moment in time – and just as much as Arsenal made a step forward today, he made one himself as well.

Player Ratings:

Szczesny: not much to do, but was calm and confident (which goes a long way) – 6.5

Mertesacker: read the game well defensively, but was often hesitant passing the ball going forward, and once or twice to static in the box. I still like him a lot and he is just what we need at the moment – 6.5

Koscielny: incredible, gutsy performance. He and Mertesacker compliment each other really well and over time this could become a good partnership – 7.5 Joint man of the match

Santos: gave the ball away a lot, and already on (an unjust) yellow card, he decided to handle the ball. He looked tired and slow, but also showed some glimpses of real quality –5

Jenkinson: very impressive game, defensively and especially going forward. I just loved his energy and eagerness, and in my view, he set an example to some of his colleagues tonight – 7.5 Joint man of the match

Rosicky: struggled at large parts of the game to impose himself and seemed to disappear a lot. But he does bring shape to our team and has plenty of class –6

Arteta: a solid performance, doing a lot of the hard, often unnoticed, work in front of our defence. I like this guy a lot – 7

Song: he is a bit like an old-fashioned locomotive: he seems to start games rusty, even clumsy, and slowly, but the longer the game goes on, the sharper and stronger he becomes, and at the end of the game he is just unbelievable! –7

Arshavin: not a good game. Tried to set up a few attacks but just did not work out for him on the day. Gave the ball away too many times – 5

Van Persie: worked hard for the team, but was often isolated, and surrounded by a couple of very strong CB’s. The introduction of Gervinho seemed to really make a difference for him and he almost scored at the end –7

Walcott: a couple of decent runs and crosses into the box, and some good defensive support at times, but we did not get enough from him this game – 5.5

Substitutes:

Johan Djourou – did ok after a couple of very difficult months for him, and played a good, aggressive cross into the box that led to Ramsey’s goal –6

Gervinho – brought class, aggression and incisiveness to our attacking play – 6.5

Ramsey – made a difference straightaway and a great goal to win the match – 6.5

TotalArsenal

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Short trip to Marseilles

October 19, 2011

Our first trip to France since 2002 when we beat Auxerre 1-0. A similar scoreline tonight would see Arsenal in the box seat in the group.

Marseilles are in the same type of form as Arsenal, lying 15th in Ligue 1 and struggling to get back in touch with their last season’s form.  Their win over Borussia shows just what they can do when playing well – our esteemed manager stating he was “surprised and impressed.”  Mr. Wenger went on to say he expects Marseilles to play on the counter-attack and that they have a number of fine players.

Playing teams committed to counter-attacking football has become the norm for AFC because the opposition are fully aware of the pace of Theo, Gerv and RvP. Furthermore, with the amount of possession we usually have counter attack is the only way to play against us.

Gibbs is injured and Ramsey is expected back …..

My team

A big night for Mertesacker who up to now has shown himself to have the turning circle of  an oil tanker, his football nous will be sorely tested as Marseilles play with pace upfront;  in Remy and Ayew they have much admired strikers and many a club have tried to sign Mbia (allegedly).

Good omens:  We have played 7 times in France and have yet to lose. Marseilles have won only one of their 10 league matches this season and drew 0-0 on Saturday. We have won 4 of our last 5 games. Ayew may be suspended.

Not so dusty:  Marseilles are top of the CL group and have yet to concede a goal.  OM are strong at home and in Didier Deschamps have an excellent manager. Gignac is back to fitness and is a fine player – he should get at least 30 mins.

Henri Fabre, the inventor of the seaplane was born in Marseilles. His   seaplane first took off in 1910 and later is planes  saw action in the First World War. Fabre died in 1984 at the age of 101.

This is an important game for Arsenal, we know the result of coming second (or heavens forbid third) in the group.

COYRRG

Big Raddy

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Van Persie? I’d sell him….‏

October 18, 2011

It is often said that absence makes the heart grow fonder, well for me it’s quite the opposite when thinking about our Captain Marvel. I had written him off, I wanted him gone from our club, he was never available, when he was he never scored, he blasted free kicks into Row Z (ok he still has a propensity to do this), complained if the ball wasn’t played exactly where he wanted it, I preferred Adebayor.

Don’t worry I have been to see Father Bergkamp and have said one thousand Hail Henry’s to atone for my sins, and have indulged in a spot of self flagellation for good measure.

I was so wrong. I have fallen in love all over again, and this time it’s for keeps. And here’s why:

Premier League goals per game since 1 January:

van Persie 23 goals 25 games
Rooney 19 goals 25 games
Lampard 13 goals 25 games
Sturridge 12 goals 19 games
Hernandez 12 goals 22 games

In fact in Europe he is bettered only by three men

Ronaldo 30 goals 25 games
Mario Gomez 26 goals 25 games
Messi 24 goals 26 games

These three play for the the top teams in their respective countries and with supply lines that our captain can only dream about.

It is these stats combined with the passion and commitment he shows week in week out that have turned me back to the light.

Now I have some questions for others, given the above can someone explain why I still hear calls for Wenger to buy a proven goalscorer or a predator in the box?

We have all witnessed the teams efforts since the Carling Cup final and bemoan the lack of creativity or penetration from our midfield but Robin has still managed to set the target for other Premier League strikers to be judged by.

Also I hear the common complaint that he should be set free in the hole, again I have to question this, why fix what’s not broken?

If there is one thing that Robin van Persie has proven in the last few months it is that he is a striker. He is perhaps the most complete striker/goalscorer we have had at the club since Ian Wright, he knows where the goal is, he can play back to the goal or facing, he finds space in the 18 yard box that few others can match, he can score with both feet, volleys, power, precision, deft touches and even with his head.

So I am asking for three things, for fans to stop calling for a “proper” striker, for the midfield to start adding a few goals to help him out, and finally for forgiveness for ever doubting the magnificence that is Robin van Persie.

Written by Gooner in Exile

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