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

Pick up the Pieces

October 16, 2011

At last the chance to write about something other than rumour, tittle tattle and economics. And what a game we have today, none of that nerve wrenching, gut mangling, behind the sofa stuff of our last match against the lowlife bottom feeders – today we welcome those fine upstanding men from the frozen wasteland of Sunderland, who will be looking to gift us 3 points in their push for relegation. A day for Arsenal to get back on track and pick up the pieces.

Sunderland are owned by an American, Ellis Short, who has recently become chairman succeeding the excellent Niall Quinn. Will this isolate Steve Bruce and lead to his replacement, or will it have no effect upon the on-pitch affairs? More to the point, do we really give a damn?

There are lots of interesting stats about today’s game, my favourite being that Sunderland have not won at Arsenal since 1983. There have been 3 90th minute goals in our last 6 meetings, and whoever scores first wins – usually us.

No Bendtner today which is a shame. I watched him in Denmark’s excellent victory over the slimy Portugese (any team with Ronaldo , Mereilles and Nani is slimy and deserving of a good beating!). Nik played centrally and was, I can find no other word, poor. He finished off a fine move for his goal but even Clichy could have scored it. Nik’s absence could give Connor Wickham his first PL start, an interesting player as he showed against us last season at Ipswich.

We are just one point and one place ahead of Sunderland …  bizarre. You all know the problems, we have discussed them endlessly, unfortunately no-one has come up with reasonable solutions other than buying better players. Mr. Wenger believes he has the squad to challenge and one can certainly find reasons (not excuses) for our poor start. Injuries to key players and a rash of red cards have hindered our progress.

It will be interesting to see how Mr. Wenger solves the right back problem. Can he rely upon a very inexperienced 19 year old Carl Jenkinson to be an adequate understudy to Sagna? Or does he play Koscielny or Djourou at RB?  Another possibility is Coquelin. If there are to be brickbats (whatever they are) to be thrown at AW, it is selling Eboue without buying an experienced stand-in RB.

Upfront, RvP is in the form of his life, can he continue and get a brace today? Why not?

With Rosicky regaining fitness , will AW continue with Ramsey? Despite his critics I believe Ramsey is a fine player and should get the shirt with TR substituting late in the game

Is there any possibility of Arshavin getting the central attacking midfield role? Not in my opinion, in fact I doubt whether AA will even start.

My team:

 

 

I am hoping we will really attack Sunderland who are likely to play long ball and  look for set piece opportunities, hence the choice of Santos over Gibbs.

The Americans will not appreciate my choice of inventor born in Sunderland. Contrary to popular belief the electric light bulb was invented by Sir Joseph Swan and not by Thomas Edison.  The electric lightbulb was first patented by Swan in 1878 and his house was the first in the world to be lit by light bulbs.  He received a knighthood and the French Legion d’Honneur in honour of his invention. Top bloke, top beard.

BigRaddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Ramsey Out?

September 30, 2011

A lot of people have got it in for Aaron Ramsey right now.

Following our victory over Bolton I read several comments on AA and elsewhere to the effect that our young Welshie had a bad game and should be dropped to the stiffs.

Before the match someone even said he was turning into the new Denilson – always passing backwards and sideways as if, having grown up in a rugby-loving country, he was unaware that, with a round ball, you’re allowed to pass forwards.

His short outing in our Champions League win over Olympiacos also drew quite a bit of criticism in the blog world.

Critics have gone so far as to suggest that he needs a spell on loan somewhere, possibly in the Championship.

Opinions are free and everyone is entitled to their own. But the trouble with free things is that often the reason they’re free is that they have no value. And there is no value whatsoever in an opinion that writes off a promising youngster like Aaron Ramsey before his career has even started.

It may seem like AR16 has been with us for quite a while – and in terms of years and months he has, having joined us in the summer of 2008.

But in playing terms he is effectively in his first season, thanks to the bone-snapping attentions of Frankenpulis’s monster.

In his entire Arsenal career Aaron has started only 19 EPL games. He has only started 35 games in all competitions, including the Carling Cup.

Jack Wilshere, by contrast, has started 31 EPL games and 51 in total. He is almost twice as far ahead in his first team development as Aaron despite being a year younger.

None of us can guarantee that a young player will achieve their potential (my mate got himself a Glenn Helder shirt after watching his first game for the Gunners – oh how we laughed in the following weeks). But sometimes you can just see things in teenage prospects that convince you that they are special (in a good way, not in a Gary Neville windscreen-licking kind of way).

Most of us saw it in Wilshere and many of us now see it in Ramsey. Don’t forget that only a couple of weeks ago he was MoTM in the Wales-England international.

Ramsey has composure, drive and a good engine. He can also score goals with well-timed late runs into the danger area.

The prospect of him and Wilshere running our midfield in years to come is mouthwatering.

But he is still in the shallowest foothills of his career and he will make mistakes, will drift out of games and will sometimes have off days.

When he does, surely the right thing to say is “Ramsey had an off day” and not “Ramsey is rubbish,” as I have seen written about him recently.

In short, he is a talented young man who needs support from the Arsenal faithful at this early stage of his development, not people writing off his entire Arsenal career after one or two performances (which, by the way, have been pretty solid all season).

Mark my words, this boy is going to go from lying on the turf at the Britannia Stadium with half his leg missing to being an Arsenal hero of the highest order. From leg end to legend. Just watch, and stop doubting.

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

A Taste of Honey.

September 28, 2011

A hot sunny Athens morning, greek yoghurt, fresh fruit, and some Greek honey. Lovely.

Olympiacos (we use a K, they use the C) come to town as Greek Champions , further than that I have little to tell you about them. They have over 80,000 members, the 9th highest in European football. They have a superb stadium, noisy, fanatical fans and a good home record. It is said they do not travel well, oh, and their Swedish player Olaf Mellberg scored the first PL goal at the Emirates (for AV)

The first round win by Marseilles  in Athens was a poor result for 4 reasons:

1. Marseilles are French.

2. Olympiacos are a tough proposition in Athens and thus Marseilles are well placed in the group,

3. Marseilles are French

4. Marseilles are French

With little insight into the Greek team I will concentrate upon the Mighty Arsenal. Needless to say we go into the game reduced by injuries. To add to the long term absentees we now have Gervinho, Walcott, Bennie, Miquel, Djourou and more importantly Koscielny injured.

Wenger appears to be forced into playing Song alongside the BFG (Mertesacker) but by doing so we lose our best midfielder.

I would like to see Santos get another game tonight, he must be raring to get his AFC career started and despite having played well recently Gibbs, as we all know, is made of glass.

Up front we have options for the first time in ages. Should we play 4-3-3 expect to see the Ox to get his first start and how exciting will that be? Arshavin or Ryo on the left? AA for me, we need to be on the front foot for this game.

My Team:

I have concerns about the number of games being played by Ramsey especially in light of the upcoming trip to WHL. Perhaps AW will give him a rest and play  Coquelin and Frimpong  in midfield, as it is I expect Frimpong to start.  This is a game made for our friend Abou Diaby, he is sorely missed (IMO).

The same could be said of Van Persie but he has become so important to the team that he must start, hopefully we will be a coasting on the hour and Chamakh can continue to get some pitch time.

Athens has been continuously inhabited for more than 7000 years (London has a measly 2000 year history). Athenians and ancient Greeks have gifted the world many wonders, among them – democracy, astrology, biology, mathematics, physics and the theatre, but for all their marvels they didn’t invent football, did they?

This is a tie we are expected to win and is probably our easiest fixture in the CL, anything less than 3 points will be costly,

Champions League campaigns may come and go but Arsenal are Forever and Ever 🙂

COYRRG

Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Mr. Wenger says the season starts here…..

September 10, 2011

The season starts here. The Boss said so?  No, the season started at Newcastle and we have one point out of nine, that’s right, one out of nine. Our worst start since Alex James took a drag from his Woodbine prior to walking onto the Highbury turf (perhaps).

Thankfully much has changed since OT and quite frankly it needed to. Lack of composure, lack of fit players, lack of tactics, lack of intelligence, lack of discipline and lack of creativity all added up to a team in excrement alley wearing open toed sandals. Arsenal’s response has been unprecedented in Wenger’s reign –  just look at the players in box on the right.

The International break reminded us of how good our players really are. Loads of goals, a number of MoM’s, and to a man they performed well. Even Theo!

Hopefully the dent to the confidence arising from the debacle at OT, has all but disappeared, which bodes ill for Swansea. This is Swansea’s first trip to The Emirates, and their first game against AFC since 1983. They play possession football and keep the ball on the ground – they should be the perfect opponents for the new style Gunners. Furthermore, Swansea have yet to score a Premiership goal.

My guess at the team:

This seems to be a conservative selection, however, when the suspensions are over and the new players have received their visas we will see some exciting teams. Our midfield and attack have so many options and I hope to see a return to the superfast football one associated with the Invincibles. The midfield pairing of Frimpong and Ramsey is likely to be the fulcrum of the team in the years to come (should Frimpong continue his development) however, they will be dependent upon Arteta to be not only creative but also authoratative. I am very excited to see our new Spaniard, and believe much of the season’s success will rest upon his slight shoulders. The arrival of our giant German is also very exciting, he is just what we have been asking for since Kolo left and I cannot understand the criticism from some sectors of the fans – if his name was shorter I would have it on the back of my new shirt (you know, the one which has been a Jonah so far this season and which will be binned if we lose today).

I would love to see The Ox come on for Theo at 60 mins and Park get 10 minutes towards the end. More likely will be Benayoun for Arshavin as the Russian tires (is it true he is the most substituted player in the PL?)  I expect the adrenalin of the Welshmen’s first visit to the THOF will wear off at 75 minutes and we will dominate the last quarter, particularly if the speedster  Chamberlain comes off the bench.

At present we hold the PL record for players sent off in consecutive games, can we add to our record and make it 4? Don’t bet against it, the referee is Andre Marriner, whose last visit to THOF was in the infamous 101 minute long game v Liverpool.

Ed “Taffy” Bowen who invented the hugely influential Radar, was born in Swansea. So was Dylan Thomas, who as everyone knows was a lifelong Gooner and had a season ticket in the East Lower.

This is not a game for fancy football, it is a game where the 3 points are essential for the well-being of us supporters, anything less and we face another week of ridicule and shame.

COYRRG

Written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Arsenal Win 8 : 2

September 3, 2011

How did our lads fare in the recent spate of meaningless  important Internationals?

Well, first up was our shiny, new striker from Korea, Mr Young, who opened the week with a hatrick., and a fine one at that. The first being a quick run behind the last defender and a powerful volley. The second, a towering header from a corner (watch and learn Chamakh) and for the third he received the ball in the Theo position then struck a firm drive past the beleaguered Lebanese keeper. It is true that Lebanon are more the Hendon of the International football firmament, but they still have to be beat 🙂

Theo played 80 minutes for England, setting up the third goal for Rooney and generally looking threatening. He missed a sitter but the commentators said the ball had bobbled, didn’t see it myself..

Aaron Ramsey another of our Captain’s scored the second for Wales in a 2-1 victory with a fine drive. Lovely.

RvP smashed 4 goals past a sorry San Marino side but in the words of the great prophet Glenn Hoddle “you can only play against what you play against”. And RvP must have left the pitch delighted.

Benayoun played 90 minutes for a losing Israel.

Arshavin got an assist for Russia’s only goal win against Macedonia. He also played the full game.

Per was an unused substitute for. Germany

Sagna was an unused substitue for France.

Oh and Cesc scored twice and missed a penalty  in a comeback win for Spain.

As far as I can see no Arsenal players were injured but we have the midweeks to come.

All in all a fine night for our Internationals with 8 goals and 2 assists.

Written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Europe – guess who is back?

August 25, 2011

14 years in the Champions League and counting!

 By TotalArsenal

 

 

— Udinese – Arsenal: 1-2 Match Report —

 Let’s open with a cliché: this was a game of two halves. The first half was ok, but possibly not good enough to qualify for this year’s CL. During the second half Arsenal found its identity again and deservedly beat a spirited, and at times attractively footballing, Udinese football team.

We started very well in the first half, which was incredibly important, given everything that happened to Arsenal over the last few months – on and off the pitch. It was a warm and humid night, and the pitch in the Stadio Friuli looked great (on TV). We started with Szczesny in goal, a back-four of Jenkinson- JD – TV – Sagna; Frimpong, Song and Ramsey in midfield; and Gervinho, Theo and RvP upfront. I had hoped we would play Frimpong and Song together in midfield, but had not expected Ramsey to be the advanced midfielder. I thought Arsene would put Rosicky there from the start, but he kept him on the bench instead – and what a clever move that turned out to be!

Jenkinson started ahead of Traore in our back-four and it is almost a football-fairytale story how the young ‘prince’ Jenkinson has made it to the first eleven of our team in such a short period; and what a prospect he is! Sagna was moved to the LB position, but it was there where we were at our weakest during the first half – and Udinese at their strongest.

Initially Udinese had no answer to our formation and we started to take some control over the game. It was great to see our attacking intentions from the start: Gervinho, Theo, Ramsey and RvP were all hungry and had shots on goal whenever possible. We were also happy to play the long ball on occasion, which gave us the necessary variety in our attacking strategy.

The beauty of winning 1-0 at home, is that an away goal counts double and that is such a psychological advantage during the second leg of a CL qualifier. It totally suited Arsenal who do not know anything else than go out there and attack. The pressure was with Udinese, who knew very well that scoring two goals could still not be enough, as Arsenal are always capable of scoring the all important away goal (or two!).

Gervinho was the most dangerous for us and what a gem Arsene has bought for us this summer. The Gerv just sticks to his role and does it diligently and oh-so effectively. It looks so simple what he does, but how good is it to have a player again who loves to attack space and take on defenders whenever possible for 90 minutes long. The partnership between him and RvP is already looking fantastic and they have only played together for two months.

Frimpong had a good first half, but Song did look a bit lost and rusty at times. Slowly but steadily, Udinese got more grip/dominance on the game during the last twenty minutes of the first half, and in Di Natale they have a player of great quality. He was a joy to watch throughout the game; such clever runs, such energy, such a good balance and body strength, and such lethality in front of goal.

Udinese started to put up two rows of four – very close together – in front of our attackers and we started to struggle a bit to get through. We were vulnerable for attacks from Udinese’s right wing, but luckily we escaped a couple of times. It was, however, during this period that Arsenal had their best chance to nick the all important away goal in the first half. Gervinho found his way into the box with a brilliant move and pulled the ball back perfectly for Theo. The latter hit the ball low and hard – and on target – but the impressive Udinese goalkeeper Handanovic made a great save. RvP received the rebound, but could also not find a hole in the Udinese defence, resulting in another good save by their goalie.

Finally, Udinese found the opening with a couple of quality moves:  Pinzi, with some quick thinking, found Di Natale with a good cross, who had positioned himself cleverly between Jenkinson and Djourou – who both should have been tighter on him. Di Natale – the ex-international – proved why he has been the Italian top scorer for the last two seasons, by scoring a classy header over our goalie, from only a half chance. Szczesny had no chance at all. All in all, Udinese deserved to be in front at the break.

In the second half, Rosicky came in for – the impressive  Frimpong. This was clearly no reflection on Frimpong’s performance but a tactical change. And what a difference it made. Arsenal started to look again like the Arsenal that we have come to know in recent seasons. Song, back in the DM position, became an absolute beast in the second period: what a transformation. Ramsey looked a lot more in his element, and chapeau to Rosicky who brought some well-needed freshness and directness to our attacking play again.

 

In the 55th minute, Gervinho’s efforts were rewarded. He made it relatively easy to the by-line and passed cleverly back to RvP: 1-1! With the all important away goal in the bag, it was important to stay calm, but we did the opposite by conceding a penalty, which seemed harsh to me at the time. Anyway, what came next is all that matters: a world-class save by Szczesny – one that we will remember for decades to come and provides us with the final proof that this man is ready for the big stage. Let’s hope that the strength Szczesny showed in his left arm is symbolic for the found again strength and belief within the entire team.

After that save, the Udinese players and their fans never believed in it again. And Arsenal dealt a final blow by a superb goal from the man who loves space as much as Na$ri likes oil-smeared cash. The always impressive Sagna combined cleverly with Theo and the latter finished coolly and professionally. Job done and we are once again, for the fourteenth time in a row, back in the Champions League!

Arsene Wenger has shown everyone again what really matters in football: a well-thought-through system and eleven talented players on the pitch, with hunger and desire to win, and who love to work for each other till the end. Forget about transfers today, just enjoy the moment.

Player ratings:

Szczesny: 8.5 – did not make a single mistake and made a world-class save tonight. Superb.

Jenkinson: 7 – confident, energetic, good awareness and calm under pressure: what a buy – he could well be the transfer of the season!

TV: 7 – solid, but gave a penalty away at a crucial time, which could have cost us dearly.

Djourou: 7 – also solid, but should have been putting pressure on Di Natale before he was able to score. Still a fine performance though.

Sagna: 7 – struggled in the first half quite a bit, but played out of position, and is of course not left footed. Combined very well Theo for 2nd goal.

Song: 8 – struggled quite a bit in first half, but what a second half! Once Song gets going, there is no stopping him.

Frimpong: 7.5 – fine first half –worked hard and broke up a lot of attacks. What a prospect!

Theo: 7.5 – good, solid performance. Aggressive from the start and scored a very important, and well taken, second goal.

Ramsey: 7 – still finding his way without either Cesc or Wilshere on the pitch, but improved considerably in the second half. Decent performance overall.

RvP: 7.5 – worked hard and scored the all important first goal.

Gervinho: 8.5 – Man of the Match for me. Song was my MotM in the 2nd half, but overall, Gervinho deserves it in my opinion. He is focussed, works hard for the team, unselfishly looks for the best attacking opportunity, and just added that bit of extra class which made the difference tonight.

Rosicky: 7 – helped Arsenal to find its identity/shape again and worked hard.

Traore & Arshavin – not enough playing time to make a judgement.

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Posted by WiganGooner

Jones and Smalling: should Arsenal care?

August 6, 2011

I’ve always had the impression that the stories about Arsenal matching the offers of manu for Smalling and Jones only to be turned down as being a yarn purposely spun by the manu PR machine in a sad attempt to redress the balance after we publicly rubbed their noses in it for missing out on Ramsey. It is worth remembering that Ramsey was a self confessed manu supporter as a kid, it is also worth remembering just how much the Arsenal PR machine revelled in telling anyone who would listen that it was the fact that Arsène Wenger interrupted his summer holiday to speak to Ramsey and family personally rather than the mere Gary Neville who manu sent that swayed team Ramsey’s final decision to sign to the good guys.

It makes very little sense for Smalling and Jones to have wanted to sign for Arsenal regardless of what we offered whereas it makes complete sense for them to want to sign for manu. In the pecking order up there they only have Vidic and Ferdinand in front of them, the latter of the two is, as we all know, becoming more and more injury prone meaning that either Smalling or Jones will have a serious chance of breaking into that first team in the not too distant future.

At Arsenal, by contrast, they would have to get passed Vermaelen, Koscielny and Djourou. I have never been one of those people who believes the grass is always redder in Manchester and I refuse to start now. Koscielny and Djourou are better than Smalling and Jones and Vermealen is better than them all.

Very simply, the manc pair have a better chance of first team football in the red half of Manchester than they do with us and that above all was, in my opinion, the reason why they signed for who they did and the very same reason that Ramsey signed for Arsenal.

Let’s sign Cahill.

I love the way so many Arsenal supporters trot that line out. Whenever I read it I want to ask the author: how many times have you been to the Reebok to see him play? Most people who cry out for him to be signed have next to no idea just how good he really is. I have never been to the Reebok but there is nothing that I have ever seen that convinces me that Cahill is better than Koscielny. That being the case, why on earth would Cahill give up the opportunity of playing first team football to sit on our bench? I know injuries are common but what if we don’t get our usual quota? He could waste one of the most important years of his football development due to lack of playing opportunity and let’s not forget that we are not Man City who can afford to double someone’s wages as compensation for rotting on a bench. Cahill will want to play first team football and that will not be guaranteed at Arsenal so for the same reason that Smalling and Jones never came to THOF I do not expect to us to sign Cahill.

Don’t get me wrong.

I might think that Vermaelen and Koscielny are a better combination than Cahill and either of those two along side him but that is not to say that I think everything is rosy in Arsenal’s defensive garden. The idea of going into the coming season with Squillaci in the squad fills me with horror; he is about as mobile as a wooden stake driven into the ground; Bartley would be a better fourth choice CB but like Cahill a season of potentially warming the bench at Arsenal was never going to float his boat — solution: Jagielka, he can play anywhere along the back as well as giving Song a bit of competition for the DM spot. The Englishman with a Polish name offers as many possibilities to the defence as the Ivorian with a Brazilian name offers to the attack.

So Arsène, as soon as you have had your coffee this morning here’s what to do: sign Jagielka, sort the Nasri contract out, tell Barcelona to sling their hook and we are good to go.

Written by London

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Posted by LB

Wenger Has Made Two Signings That Will Transform Arsenal’s Season

July 28, 2011

While we all wait eagerly to see who else will be added to Arsenal’s squad this summer, it’s worth pointing out that the two most important signings have already been made.

Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere were signed to long term contracts in June and November last year respectively.

Given the near certainty that we will start the new season without either or both of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, it is tempting to feel downhearted.

Losing Cesc, in particular, would be a body blow because he is rightly regarded as one of the top players in the world. For the statisticians among you, I believe he was named as the most effective player in Europe last year.

But even were he to go I just cannot join the ranks of the breast-beaters and hair-wringers, precisely because we have Jack and Aaron waiting in the wings.

Jack has already demonstrated – in just one season of first team football – that he is one of the best players in the EPL.

I was challenged in comments recently to outline what Jack currently contributes to the team (as opposed to what he might contribute in the future).

The more I thought about it, the more obvious it was that his contribution is phenomenal: short passing, medium passing, long passing, defence-splitting through balls, vision, ability to pick out attackers’ runs, non-stop effort, tackling, tenacity, courage, leading by example…

Frightening when you think that he is not the finished article yet. But he is already good enough for the England manager to build the national team around him and he was one of the stand-out players across the whole of the EPL last year.

Aaron’s development, as we all know, was delayed by the thuggishness of Ryan Shawcross, but he made a welcome return to the first team towards the end of the last campaign.

Before his horrific injury he was showing a Gerrard-esque ability to dictate play, pass the ball and make surging runs into the box. He also has a knack for finding the back of the net (something Wilshere has yet to acquire).

Again, he is an outstanding talent who will prove to be one of the best midfielders of his generation.

That Arsenal should be lucky enough to have two such prodigies available to us is a cause for huge optimism. I fully expect them to form a midfield partnership that will be unsurpassed in the English league for years to come.

Incidentally, I rate both of them as already having more talent that Samir Nasri. I love Nasri’s dribbling ability and his finishing, but whenever he has played in the so-called Cesc role he has looked lost and the team has struggled. He does not have the vision or passing range of either Wilshere or Ramsey.

If Cesc stays for one more year I will be delighted. But if not, it will be time for the next generation to step up.

Get ready for the Jack and Aaron show. It’s going to be something really, really special.

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

Why Arsène won’t replace Clichy – The disassembly of the clique

July 8, 2011

Written by Wigan Gooner

Arsène won’t replace Gael Clichy. He believes he has a ready-made replacement in Gibbs. Similar to the transfer of Cashley in 2006, Arsène thinks he has a player-in-waiting.

I like Kieran Gibbs. I like his desire to get forward and his determination. He’s got more obvious drive than Clichy who I always felt was very laid back, so laid back he was horizontal at times and I feel that is where his complacency has stemmed from and why his performances have dropped over the last 3 years.

I’m delighted that we have sold Clichy to be honest, he didn’t want to re-sign for us and every penny we get now is better than nothing in 12 months time. Frankly, I don’t want 12 more months of Clichy’s abject performances.

Don’t mistake my happiness at seeing Clichy leave for anything other than frustration at his poor performances last season. For a quick defender with 8 years of top flight experience he spends a lot of time being tricked and then eventually falling over.

I like the guy, but its time he left. We have 3 different options at the club already in Gibbs, Botelho and Traore and I think Arsène will look at them in pre-season before making a decision on signing a replacement.

One of the big question marks over last season was the mental state of the squad. Over the course of the season we became victims instead of heroes, also-rans instead of winners. After promising so much the team delivered so little and had no excuses for it other than “there was something missing” – a quote from Alex Song.

Too many times last season we saw a little shrug here and a shake of the head there when things were going wrong. Our top-class defenders were making bad mistakes, infuriatingly so at times.

It’s the meek, victim mentality of “it’s not my fault!!” instead of “let’s sort this cr#* out and get back on the front foot against these guys”.  Our defence was too submissive and too quiet when needing help.

In the players at Arsenal I see similar traits between them. The silent strop that does not achieve anything except make the player himself lose focus, an inability to pull their socks up and regain initiative.

I think Arsène has seen the emergence of Jack, of Rambo and of Gibbs and he’s forming a new clique, a British one. A clique with fight and passion. A clique full of guys wanting to prove themselves because on the International Stage they’ve won nothing and they’re judged by the International Football community on their medals and trophies. Using their supposed lack of technical ability to drive them on and prove it’s right to have faith in the British players.

Arsène is right, but is he already a year too late with the likes of Young, Jones, Smalling already at Manchester United, has he missed the drag-curve on the best British talent?

Which begs the question, in a football context “Has Britain Really Got Talent”?

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

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