The title race …. will Arsenal wait on amber or go on green?

February 12, 2011

Nothing repeat nothing in football would make me happier than for Arsenal to win the title this season, if one could add the relegation of a Mick McCarthy team life would be even more rosy. Add in  the relegation of a Pulis team and my cup would runneth over (is that a naughty expression?)

Like millions of Gooners I was down-hearted at 5 p.m. last Saturday, despairing of my flimsy team and the imbecility of 3 men in black whom I wouldn’t trust to referee a park 5 -a-side. Who would have thought Wolves would cheer us up? Bottom of the table, managed by a Cro-Magnon man (just check his forehead) and playing a team who were unbeaten – no-one could have envisioned the result (though those with hindsight would point out Wolves fine record against the top sides).

Wolves last 3 victories were against MU, Chelsea and Liverpool – this is going to be no comfortable stroll, but if we are to confirm our pretensions to be Champions this game is a must win. No silly mistakes, no retaliation to what will surely be a very physical battle, and above all no drops in application or vitality. Hopefully last week’s lapse is a thing of the past and not a harbinger of a sad end to our season.

McCarthy is “bigging up” Jamie O ‘Hara saying he will have a major influence upon the game. Get a Grip man! This is a player who couldn’t get into the first team of Harry’s Muppets. That said, I expect us to go into the game with a weakened midfield, so perhaps MM will be right.

Diaby’s reaction last week undid the fine work he put in during the first half (despite the lengthy discussion on AA I still believe he cost us the 2 points). It is a shame as he played well for France midweek and today would certainly have started, instead I expect to see Denilson start. Song is just returning from a muscle injury and with Barca midweek he will surely be rested. Same with Nasri and JD.  Had Sagna not been banned for the midweek game I would have rested him but knowing that Messi will be fearful of playing against a rejuvenated Eboue, Sagna starts.

My Team:

This team will hopefully have enough to get the 3 points on offer. Depending on the fitness of Nasri I would play Arshavin, if there is any chance that Samir will not be fit for Wednesday, I would play Rosicky and rest AA who played a full game midweek.

I guess we willl all be tuned into the midday match. I hope for a draw which should Arseanl win would put us 2 points behind MU and 3 ahead of MC with a game in hand. A loss for MC will surely put them out of the title race. Actually, what I really hope for is an abandoned game due to an 18 man brawl with 5 red cards and a 3 points reduction, but if it is not to be I will take the draw.

England’s first ever automatic traffic lights were erected in Prince’s Square Wolverhampton. This is also the home of the mighty Noddy Holder and Slade. One of my early heroes was the Wolves legend, England Captain and Arsenal manager Billy Wright CBE, whom I once had the privilege of meeting. Another of my football faves was the Tipton Terrier – Steve Bull MBE, they don’t make them like him any more (for which Koscielny will be delighted!).

Let this be the continuation of our 8 match unbeaten PL run.

COYRRG

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Posted by Erik the Red

To read or not to read – To blog or not to blog?

February 10, 2011

Written by CarlitoII

Fabrication. Bending the truth. Saying that which is not true. Lying. Fantasising. Add to this any number of adjectives that sum up what a football supporter has to put up with in the course of feeding his obsession. It is increasingly difficult to know what to believe. Does anyone really care about the truth?

A good story, as they say, has legs. But the “Fabregas to Barcelona” story of last summer was the most Godzilla-sized millipede ever witnessed. Similarly, the “Cesc disparages ref” story last week was a ridiculously nimble crustacean whereas the astonishing refereeing displayed by the same defamed ref was eel-like in its lack of limbs.

Never let a fact get in the way of a good story, it is said. The yards of column inches in our tabloid press devoted to “definite rumours” of Arsenal signings each transfer window demonstrate this perfectly. I will call out the free gossip rag on the tube for some of the more heinous examples but there are also a number of websites that seem to get a lot of coverage for breaking the ninth commandment as their stock in trade.

And herein lies the rub! We click on these websites or pick up these papers for the promise of the headline, the excitement of the story or the controversy of the author’s standpoint. These actions earn the “news” outlet their money – newspaper circulation and page clicks online attract advertising revenue. A worthy article saying that Mason had written nothing in his match report about any comments from Cesc might get a trickle of Gooners reading it but nothing like the avalanche of eejits who clicked on the “Cesc Ref Rant” headline.

But I can’t stop reading these lies, damned lies and transfer rumours. I want to know everything that’s going on with my club and have had to develop a “nonsense filter”. But now there are blogs (I know they’ve been here for a while but I’m new!) and twitter and facebook groups full of conjecture, speculation and supposition. How good is my filter now?

I have seen it argued recently that blogging is replacing journalism as a true conduit for news rather than rehashed press-statements. I find it hard to disagree that the overall standard of journalism has become sloppier, less investigative and less critical of the powers that be. I also think that in these times when anyone can cast aspersions on a man’s character, the paid journalists have a role to play in protecting the integrity of the information out there and not just picking up every rumour started in cyberspace.

Two articles recently have irked me. One claimed that Wenger was so thrifty because he was financially incentivised to make a profit on transfers. The other claimed that Rosicky was involved in deliberately throwing the Newcastle match. If either of these allegations appeared in a national newspaper they would expect to hear from the club’s lawyers but a website written by an anonymous author with an IP address outside the EU will probably be ignored. Yet some people will believe what they read, wherever they read it.

It obviously doesn’t help when managers deliberately obfuscate the truth, trying to send messages to future opponents, rivals in the transfer market, share holders etc. The number of wailing tweets I see complaining that “Wenger lied” just goes to show how powerful each written word is in fomenting opinion about anyone in the public eye. One of the dangers is the ‘witch-hunting’ tendency of the media to blame everything on foreigners, as has been much discussed on this forum lately.

I was going to end this piece by trying to decide whether it’s better to switch off the antenna that bring me this surplus of distortion and deception? Should I just get my Arsenal fix from arsenal.com, a reputable broadsheet and this fantastic forum of mainly sane people? I was going to ask whether the blogging community serves its purpose unless followed through with scrupulous attention to facts? But in both cases, I think I know the answer! You can fool some Gooners all of the time and all Gooners some of the time. But you can’t fool all Gooners all of the time!

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

No Retreat, No Surrender

February 3, 2011

Written by Wonderman

It was back in August 2007, I remember arriving at my new seat in the North Bank Upper  for the opening game of the season, to a fantastic view of the resplendent Emirates pitch.

Our opponents that day were Fulham,  ‘easy game’ we thought,  except David Healy and Jens Lehman had other ideas. Within 52 seconds we were 1 nil down, you could have heard a pin drop when the ball went in the net. But that day the boys refused to be beaten.

The spine of Lehman, Gallas, Cesc and Van Persie complimented  by the aggression of Flamini and footwork of Hleb  pulled 3 points out of the bag,  by virtue of a Van Persie penalty and an Alexander Hleb goal. Fast forward to the end of January 2008  and we had tasted defeat only once, away at Middlesbrough and even then the squad was robbed of Cesc, Van P, Flamini and Hleb  through our friend injury.

However,  before our very eyes we were  witnessing  the birth of a new paradigm – ‘no retreat  no surrender’ we were refusing to be bullied . It took an injury of savage proportions at Birmingham’s St Andrew’s stadium  to Eduardo to disturb that mental psyche, and it has taken 3 years to regain it.

This season we have the best away record in the league. We have gone to Liverpool, Blackburn Sunderland and Everton and not tasted defeat. Phil Neville was quoted as  stating that ‘Arsenal can’t be kicked off the park anymore’ in mid November . That is some compliment !!

The most emphatic sign of our rediscovered  ‘no retreat no surrender’ attitude was the home win against Chelsea the following month. In that game we were aggressive tactically by imposing our strengths. Walcott not only kept Cole back through Cole’s fear of his blistering pace , but he also defended like his life depended on it every time they tried to attack down that side.

And aggressive physically. Djourou dominated Drogba  for the entire game like never before, whilst Song and Wilshere kept Essien and Lampard quiet whilst Cesc weaved hs magic, it was an unbelievable sight especially as we had been the better team against Man U in the previous game only to return with no points. Our attitude made the most powerful team in the league look powder puff.

Is this a coincidence ? I think not . When you look at what is emerging as our preferred back four Clichy and Sagna are two aggressive full backs who give wingers no peace. I don’t know about you but the look in the eyes of Vermaelen’s first Arsenal photo’s scared me to death  before I even saw him play for us,  but even then, I only had to recall his duel with Van P at the Amsterdam tournament to know his temperament. Who remembers Djourou almost taking the head off a Man U loan player who I think was playing for Wigan at the time, never mind his neutering of Drogba. Kosser has been a revelation for his first season

In midfield we have Nasri who showed Barton what he was about early doors , Wilshere who almost cut Salgado in half at the Emirates cup a couple of years ago, Song  who scraps as much as he delivers exquisite passes, Cesc who gives as good as he gets and Walcott who showed against Chelsea he can deliver in both attack and defence with spite.

Up front Robin is as aggressive as they come and Chamakh has shown he is no slouch.

This season I have sensed a new found refusal to be denied . The key, I think,  is to ensure that the likes of Diaby, Bendtner, Denilson and in fact who ever comes on the field to bring with them our new found mentality … no retreat no surrender once they do that we will not be denied.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

The Sound and Fury of the Crowd- How to Foil a Masonic Plot!

February 2, 2011

Written by Carlito11

En route to meeting Peaches, Rasp, Chary and Harry pre-match I popped into “Drayton Park” Pub for a pint to find it had a majority Evertonian clientele.  Some friendly good-natured banter ensued- mostly at Liverpool’s expense but when we came down to the serious matter of the night’s game we were all able to agree – the first goal would be crucial and make it very difficult for the other team to get a result.

The game started off with plenty of pressure from the Everton midfield and we struggled to get our passing game going. A yellow card for Jack in the opening minutes for what looked an innocuous challenge – this set the tone early for a refereeing debacle – stifling his ability to get stuck in and Everton had the upper hand in central midfield for large parts of the first half – mainly through Fellaini who was everywhere.

The referee, Lee Mason, has a  surname that lends itself well to conspiracy theorists. He managed not to book blue players for similar or harder tackles than Jack’s and when he allowed Louis Saha in a clearly offside position to pick up a ball played through via a deflection off an Arsenal player and score the stadium and players were incredulous. When the big screen played the full replay including the offside pass the place went ballistic! Mason was forced to consult his linesman whilst the crowded howled and bayed but then allowed the goal to stand! Could we pull off a result? The doomers who sit by me informed me that Everton hadn’t lost this season when getting the first goal.

In truth the outlook at the end of the first half was bleak, an injury to Song, Jack tamed by the early yellow card and staunch defending by the Toffees could have left us with the familiar feeling at home this season that it was not be our night. But a sense of righteous anger prevailed and rarely before have all the spectators at the Emirates been so united and galvanized in their support of the team with every call the ref made being called into question, and for once it was wholly justified.

26May1989 summed it up beautifully in comments yesterday (and I believe he is a qualified referee):

“Don’t let anyone say that was anything other than offside. Under Law 11, a player is offside if he “gains an advantage” from being in an offside position. “Gaining an advantage” is explained in the FIFA handbook as including “playing a ball that rebounds to him off an opponent having been in an offside position”. There is even a diagram (diagram 12 on page 107 of the Handbook) that fits the position Caldwell, Saha and Koscielny were in perfectly.

As for the rest of Mason’s performance, absolutely woeful. Playing an advantage? No, won’t bother with that. Booking Arsenal players for minor fouls? Yup. Not booking Everton players for cynically stopping an attack? Nope. Missing a number of fouls on Arsenal players? Sure.”

Second half – the boys come out early to roars from those already in their seats. With the crowd united and decisions going against us, time flew by without enough chances for us but not many for them either. Diaby came on for Song in the second half. I feel the man is a kind of anti-Fabregas: where a simple pass is open he opts for close control and riskily taking on opponents- fine qualities in an attacking midfielder but a worry when shielding the back four. Nonetheless we started to exert more of a grip on the game.Tomas Rosicky was having an ineffectual night and was replaced by Arshavin in the first of 2 excellent attacking subs by the manager , the other being Bentdner for Jack.

The breakthrough came with 20 minutes to play. Fab4 was driving the team on, as he had been all game, and aimed a through-ball which deflected off Rodwell into Arshavin’s path. Showing no doubt he calmly beat Howard from the 6 yard box to cue relief, celebrations and a feeling that although everything was against us we could triumph!

Soon after our mercurial Russian enigma restored hope. Van Persie swung in a peach of a corner which was met emphatically by Koscielny and thereafter we displayed grit and confidence to hold on, bar a scare as Rodwell headed a corner just past the post in the dying minutes.

Much of the media today will focus on Moyes comments that Fabregas should have been sent off at half time for comments made to the ref.  Firstly, what a great smokescreen for defeat from Skeletor. Secondly, with that performance drawing allegations of bribery from even the meekest and most fair-minded fans around me, Fabregas would have had to be struck dumb not to have an angry word. An enquiry into the ref’s performance should ensue but I have a feeling that the press attention will mean our captain is under the spotlight again.

So today is a day we can bask in the feeling that our team can fight for a victory against the odds, that we have a genuine 12th man and that Arshavin is back. Team spirit and righteous anger can defeat even the most determined Mason!

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Fàbregas Saves the Day.

January 31, 2011

Arsenal face Leyton Orient away in the fifth round after what turned out to be an unexpectedly exciting fourth round FA Cup tie against Huddersfield. I say turned out because for the first half hour Arsenal not only couldn’t move out of second gear into third they couldn’t even get out of first.

If the team win, the argument that the correct selection was made prevails, rightly so in my opinion and today was no exception. Wenger used the opportunity of playing lower league opposition to experiment: Nasri had his training wheels on, practicing the midfield play-maker role while trying on the armband for size; Diaby was given an opportunity to knock some of the rust off; Arshavin and Chamakh to restore confidence, Gibbs needs games, Bendtner to gain even more self belief by scoring more goals and Almunia to try and remind the Spanish footballing community that he is still alive and available for sale or loan.

With that amount of experimentation I doubt if too many expected grade A Wengerball, I certainly didn’t. Nevertheless Arsenal moved the ball around well enough creating a gilt edged chance after ten minutes for Arshavin who blasted over from six yards out. The next memorable opportunity occured just a few minutes later; the ball came across the box to the waiting Bendtner, it seemed to take for ever to get to him allowing us to wonder if he was going to carry on where he left off against Ipswich and produce yet another piece of Bergkampesque play and volley it home but alas, no, that was not the case, he completely missed it to the taunts of the Huddersfield fans. The thing that they would not have known is that when it comes to self belief our Nikki is head and shoulders above any other player they may care to name. It took only five more minutes for the next opportunity to arrive which he duly slid past the keeper and proceeded to taunt the Huddersfield fans himself by putting his finger to his lips in a gesture of who is quiet now.

What little urgency the game started with all but disappeared with the scoring of the goal; my mind started drifting to other more mundane things, I suspect the same happened with a few of our players because Huddersfield started creating some fairly good chances but as close as they came the alarm still didn’t ring and wake us into action. All this changed when Squillaci got himself sent off; suddenly the remaining players on the field seemed to take the view that the odds had been sufficiently evened out that it might now be a challenge worthy of their full attention and commitment.

Not happy to just reduce us to ten men the Gods of Football saw fit to try and even up the competition furthermore by having Nasri pull up with a torn hamstring which will probably keep him out for three weeks.

Arsenal held out until half time but there was little surprise that Huddersfield came out in the second half sensing they had a real opportunity and proceeded to throw everything they possibly could at us, getting their reward from a corner to make it one one.

Time for the biggest gun we have in our arsenal to be brought off the bench, the Spanish thirty six pounder was unfurled and proceeded to do what Fàbregas does best…add a world class dimension to the proceedings and win the game. And this is exactly what he did, stepping up to score what turned out to be the winning goal from a well taken penalty. Overall not pretty and not a game that will stay in the memory for too long but the Arsenal go marching on and I for one will settle for that.

———————————-

Player ratings:

Almunia: affectionately known as the Spanish Waiter was attentive, focused and available when needed but not overbearing, only dropped one plate but I think he can be excused for that. 7

Eboue: the best thing this Ivorian does is give Sagna a rest. 6

Squillaci: school boy error, totally unnecessary sending off. 5

Koscielny: we should not forget that he is playing out of position, he is a right sided CB and is only filling in on the left due to Vermaelen’s injury; with that in mind, I think he is doing even better than he is getting credit for. 7.5

Gibbs: a better game, better positioning, that’s not to say perfect, there is still a long way to go but these games are so good for him and his development. 7

Diaby: rusty, as expected but the gulf of difference (we’re talking Grand Canyon here) between him and Wilshere was there for all to see. 6

Denilson: hurry up Ramsey. 6

Arshavin: the Russian’s confidence is such that if someone flicked a two headed coin in the air I swear he would fear that it would come down as tails. 5………. but an extra two for the brilliant, brilliant tackle he made a yard away from the goal line. 7

Chamakh: they say that the first time you parachute out of an aeroplane you are not scared because you do not know what to expect, where as the second time you know exactly what is coming and you are cautious; the first half of the season was the Moroccan’s first jump into the EPL; Christmas has passed, he is now on his second. 5

Bendtner: he is getting better and better and we will need him if RVP gets injured. 7.5

Subs

Rosicky: Super Tom showed more determination than I expected, still fighting to be regarded as an important part of the squad. 7.5

Song: calmness personified 7.5

Fàbregas: simply the difference. 8

Van Persie: just for being an Arsenal player. 10

Written by London

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Posted by LB

Arsenal Plough their way to Wembley……..

January 26, 2011

Before I speak of a match that had all gooners on the edge of the seats for far too long, I will just say what a great night it was for my boys, tonight my youngster Reece was one of 12 lucky Junior Gunners to form the Guard of Honour as the teams came on, my eldest Luke is a ball boy all season, so all round, how jealous, but proud, am I?

Back to the match, Arsène stated in his programme, he will select his strongest team available for each match, although he started with a reasonably strong team, I always worry when Cesc and Denilson start together as I feel they don’t gel well……

Nasri and Walcott were on the bench alongside Song, but red hot Robin was on the pitch, so Wenger was certainly taking Ipswich seriously.

Arsenal started with a good tempo and had some early chances, RVP turning and hitting a shot wide.  Cesc was bundled over and from where I was sitting, it looked a stone wall penalty, but the ref waved away the claims……It should have been a scrum down at least?

A scary moment occurred after about 15mins or so when Chez went up for a corner and went straight through Sagna,  Eboue was soon into the fray as his replacement……Hope Sagman is ok……

Throughout the game Cesc took quite a bit of stick, I’d be surprised if he can walk in the morning……Talking of stick the Tractor boys were giving our fans a right bashing and clearly out sung us in the first half, milking their moment as we struggled to get the goal to get us into this tie, when will our fans learn…?

Bendtner soon floated a delightful cross over and RVP smashed a header against the bar with the keeper Fulop well beaten…….Would we score or would it be a night to forget?

Then a ball over the top, into the path of the on running Cesc, through the defence, slanting his body and hitting across the keeper, but agonizingly wide again…..

For me we were trying too hard and not holding our nerve, to get the pass right, as we tried to force the play, Ipswich stood firm and resolute, hoofing the ball away.  We needed to expand our play, and try to create an opening, rather than thread it through a gap, tighter than Wengers wallet…

The boys were trying though and notably Little Jack was growing every minute and becoming more and more involved, perhaps because most of the Ipswich team were intent on marking Cesc, that was giving Jack a little too much room, which he exploited…….

Half time came, and then the 2nd half started the same, admittedly I was crying out for Nasri to come on and make a difference, but it was a sublime ball from little Jack on 60mins that got the break through, deep in his own half, he collected the ball, looked up and sprayed a ball right to forward left, as super Nik ran onto the ball cushioned it down, ran on and cut back inside the defender, before curling a lovely right footed shot into the far corner, cue eruption and fans singing……….

Moments later and Kosser headed in a beauty from a corner delivered from the left by Arshavin, 2-0 and the boys went wild, with all the subs part of a mass team hug……It was good to see a corner actually getting into the box, when was the last time that happened?

Ipswich started to wade through mud now, looking for a Tractor to pull them out as they noticeably tired….

The 3rd goal was started with a cracking intervention by Denilson, who stole in and took the ball off Edwards and played straight to Cesc, who run forward and played onto Arshavin, who ran at the defence, cut inside and just as you felt he would go for goal, he slipped it back outside to the in running Cesc as he came into the box who then slipped it through the keepers legs, game over………3-0.

Nasri and Walcott came on for Rockin Robin and Arshavin for the closing moments as Arsenal knocked the ball about and round a now down trodden Ipswich, who for 150mins had held the Arsenal at arms length………and kept the Arsenal fans too quiet for my liking………….

Player Ratings:

Szczesny: Little to do, but oozez confidence, which I think settles the defence at times. Error of judgement when he clattered Sagna, but he will learn as he goes…. 7

Sagna: Unfortunately, short outing……..gets a….7

Djourou: Much better display than at Portman Road, strong and tenacious, read the game well and pushed forward when he saw openings….7

Kosser: A very solid game, pushed forward well, got booked harshly..Great Goal…7.5

Clichy: I think his performances are getting better defensively week by week. Good going forward, only caught out once at the back that I noticed…..7

Denilson: Industrious and plugged away against the backdrop of moaning fans, admittedly I wouldnt have started with him, but he did ok and his interception set up the move for the 3rd crucial goal….7

Cesc: Kept the team pouring forward and closed down very quickly and worked very hard, not at his dazzling best and should probably scored in first half, but still instrumental and probably would have done more if kicked less.. Scored a great 3rd goal….7.5

Little Jack: Head and shoulders above everybody else on the pitch in my opinion, he grew as the game went on and ran the show in the 2nd half, his pass for the first goal was pure class.. It was going to be something special to get the break through. Only a goal was missing from his night….8.5***MoM

Bendtner: Another player who gets the moans and groans from most fans, but worked tirelessly and made things happen, won most of his duels in the air. His goal was sublime…….8

RvP: A continual handful, who tried to get the break through and his endeavour really pushes us on. Hit the woodwork in the first half and had another couple of chances…..7

Arshavin: Kept going and had two assists on the night, better, keep going little fella, we all love you really, just we know there is so much more in your locker……..7

Subs:

Eboue: Solid and kept attacking, still throws himself around too much for me, but a great squad player for me….7

Nasri and Walcott had too little time to comment.

Overall:

After 150mins, the Tractor choked , spluttered and the Gunners blew them away with 2 quick goals, a third near the end ensured no slip ups. Wembley here we come at last……..

Wengers young team, will now take on West Ham or Birmingham as they try to win some silverware after 5 long years, so in the competition that Wenger has bloodied his young boys in over the last few years, might just be the one that breaks the Hoodoo that hangs over us, lets pray, 27th Feb will be our day.

One final note, fair play to Ipswich, you did yourselves proud with your efforts….

Written by Harry

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Wembley Awaiting or Despair Descending?

January 25, 2011

Who would have thought that Ipswich at home would be our most important game of the season to date? Some may say that beating Chelsea and overcoming our Big 4 hoodoo was vital but a loss tonight is unthinkable, especially for Mr. Wenger.

Ipswich were superb at Portman Rd. They deserved to win and but for a fine Chesney save could have won by more. It wasn’t that Arsenal were poor, more that Ipswich came out with a gameplan which they applied with great determination and skill, and Arsenal didn’t have the cojones to deal with them. One would have thought that our midfield would be quite used to playing against less talented but very dogged opposition, and that AW would have sent out his team fully aware of the dangers of underestimating any opponents.

I highlighted Conor Wickham before the game and he showed why he is so highly rated. I am sure that if one were to check the statistics he would have run twice the distance of Nik B and with far more effectiveness. To see him  – a 17-y-o. – closing down Eboue in the corner and then tracking his run up the pitch was an object lesson to all our players. Hard work reaps benefits.

Ipswich’s central defence was never ruffled nor were their full backs given the grilling one would expect, though to be fair to Nik B and Theo, they didn’t get any decent service from the players around them. Even Cesc had an off day. The side that took the pitch at Portman Rd should have won; it was packed with Internationals (Chesney was the only player without caps) and every player had bags of PL experience – they just didn’t gel. Arshavin and Eboue had stinkers resulting in a very narrow attacking area and no cutting edge.

The old adage “form is temporary, class is permanent” is apt for Arshavin this season. He WILL come good and looked to be determined to work his way back to form last time out. This applies to Chamakh as well, what has happened to our star striker? Can he regain his blistering early season form? Will AW play them, particularly in light of the kicking Nasri got at the weekend and Van Persie’s notorious chocolate legs?  It should be pointed out that we have Huddersfield in the Cup on Sunday and can therefore choose when to rest players.

In view of the importance of this game I would start with the A team, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see the famously stubborn AW stick to his principles of playing some members of his B squad.

 

Tonight Arsenal have to walk onto to the pitch with the correct attitude – losing is not an option.

COYRRG

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Posted by Erik the Red

Wenger’s Barca Raid

January 24, 2011

If Saturday’s performance proved anything, it was surely that Arsène Wenger’s plan to bring Barca-style football to North London is succeeding.

It’s no secret that the boss admires the style and manner with which the Catalans play. Now he has shamelessly lifted their football manual (or should that be Manuel?) from under their very noses and put a red and white stamp on it.

Barca’s front six of Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Pedro, Villa and one of Keita or Mascherano play beautiful pass-and-move football, denying their opponents the ball and carving their way through the most resolute of defences.

After much experimentation, Arsène now has his own ‘Super Six’: Cesc, Song, van Persie, Nasri, Walcott and Wilshere.

What both ‘sixes’ have in common (and why I have referred to them as ‘front sixes’ rather than the more familiar midfield/attack definitions) is that all the players swap positions at will and all pose an attacking threat.

After the two Champions League games against Barca last Spring I wrote a post saying that “Arselona is Closer Than We Think.”

Despite the outstanding first half from the Spaniards at The Grove and despite the Messi master class at the Nou Camp, I took heart from Barca’s exhibition because it showed what Arsenal could aspire to.

I reflected that there were three differences between the sides: Barcelona had more money, they had better players and they worked harder.

Revisiting those thoughts today, the picture has changed.

Do Barcelona have more money? It subsequently became clear last season that they were grossly in debt and in no position to keep making huge-money purchases. Then some rich Qataris came calling and in the blink of a cheque book Barca threw their much-vaunted principles in the bin (along, presumably, with all their Unicef shirts) and accepted a shirt sponsor in exchange for £125m. Given how high their debts were, this is hardly a licence to buy big, although it gives them more clout in the transfer market than they would otherwise have had. Arsenal, meanwhile, continue to revel in the best financial model in big time football, and you really get the feeling that if Arsène made the case to the Board for a £50m signing they would give him the money. Admittedly, he’s as likely to ask for fifty million quid as Wayne Bridge is to ask John Terry to tea.

Do Barcelona have better players? They may just still shade it, but that gap has closed considerably.  Fabregas or Iniesta? Nasri or Messi? Pedro or Walcott? Van Persie or Villa? Those questions don’t produce the simple answers they would have done a year ago. And both our so-called holding players, Song and Wilshere, have more innate footballing talent than either Keita or Mascherano. Earlier this season I was moaning about Alex Song’s forward tendencies, but he has won me over completely. He is becoming a true box-to-box player with silky skills to go along side his wrought iron commitment. Wilshere, meanwhile, at just-turned 19, is surely heading for world superstardom. We’ll certainly be cheering on little Jack long after the name Balotelli has faded from memory.

Do Barca work harder? The answer to that one is still ‘yes’ overall. The genius of that team is that they work as hard when they don’t have the ball as when they do have it. And it’s still an aspect of the game that has let Arsenal down this season. However, I truly believe that our first team DOES have the right work ethic and has demonstrated it repeatedly since the Christmas period.

To summarise, I would hazard that Arselona is just about here. The players, the style of play, the swagger – it’s all coming together beautifully.

We’re reaping the benefits in the domestic competitions and there’s no reason why we can’t also succeed in Europe.

Certainly the games against Barcelona this year will be very different. Barca are a great team and may still beat us over two legs, but I expect things to be much more competitive this time round. Our players know exactly what they’re up against and, let’s not forget, we were decimated by injuries last year.

All of which is not to say there are no concerns.

This Arsenal team still desperately needs some silverware and, psychologically, that may yet be a big step to climb. The Carling Cup would be a great way to start.

I would also like us to sign a good centre back this January. I would feel even more comfortable with some cover for Alex Song, who has become so crucial to our success. And I fret every game about the fitness of key players like Robin, Cesc, Theo and Samir.

But if Lady Luck favours us with a smile, good things could really happen this year.

RockyLives

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The Stuff of Champions

January 23, 2011

If you don’t tingle with pride at being an Arsenal supporter today then you my friend have a severe case of Jaguaritis and that is not good because yesterday we walked with giants and witnessed the quality of champions.

How dare these pie eating upstarts take two points off us up North? How dare they? Well the natural order has been restored after the good guys put on a football display to make Barcelona sit up and think very seriously about what they are about to face in the not too distant future. You may say that it was only Wigan but what kind of opposition do you think Barcelona make mince meat of every week? Wigan are exactly the kind of opponents the Catalans meet save for two Saturdays in the season when they face Real opposition.

Seriously, Wigan; Spanish manager, limited resources, what’s the difference between that and what Barcelona play practically every week?………bring em on, I say, we are ready.

The game, yes, yes, the game I should say something about that; we completely out played Wigan, different class from start to finish, total domination, absolute control.

We all knew what the line up would be: the A team was required and the A team dutifully appeared. It took no time for the gulf of class to be established: chances were continuously created and missed throughout the first half, only interrupted by Van Persie’s hitting the back of the net after 30 minutes. The rest of the time Walcott was carving out opportunities left and right for his team mates, all of whom went close but all were denied by one Wigan limb or another thrown in the way. There were so many chances in the first half I honestly lost count, just to say that it was an absolute miracle that Wigan went in at half time only one nil down.

Our Northern opponents took heart from the generous score line coming out after the break and trying a bit of quick closing down themselves, it looked quite good for all of fifteen minutes, that is until Fàbregas sent a world class pass over forty yards to Van Persie who volleyed it into the Wigan net.

Two nil, game over, time to sit back and enjoy the master class in front of us; chances kept appearing until eventually it all got a bit too much for Wigan and they couldn’t stop themselves hacking down one of our players, (still haven’t seen MOTD so not sure which one) in the area, up stepped Van Persie but instead of scoring his first ever professional hat trick in his career and that includes his Feyenoord days, he skied it in what I can only describe as one of the worst penalties I have ever witnessed. We had to wait a bit longer for the Boy Wonder to break that duck and much credit has to go to Walcott who held off the Wigan defender, very cleverly enabling Van Persie to fulfil my prediction of three nil to the good guys.

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Player ratings:

Szczesny: had little to do but what he did he did perfectly. 10

Sagna: we have a quality right back. 10

Djourou, calmness personified. 10

Koscielny: I wonder if he communicates with Szczesny in Polish. Faultless.10

Clichy: good runs, good positioning, good tackling. 10

Fàbregas: my MOTM, he was more World Class than The Boy Wonder today even though he didn’t score. 10

Song: Rasp was the first person I noticed to use the adjective imperious to describe our Alex, it struck a cord with me, since then I use it when ever it is mertited and today Alex Song was imperious. 10

Wilshere: this young man is surrounded by world class midfield players and yet at the tender age of nineteen he still manages to hold his own which is quite astonishing. 10

Nasri: Wigan systematically clipped the ankles of our players, they were obviously not Shawcross tackles but they were dirty and sneaky, most of our players survived but poor old Super Nas caught it and hobbled for most of the game. 9

Van Persie: This man can take us to the Promised Land. 10

Walcott: good, good, good a better game than might meet the eye, watch how clever he was for RVP’s third. 10

Written by London while drinking a bottle of Rioja, Gran Reserva, 2002.

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Who is the Leader of the Gang?

January 18, 2011

Were you ever in a gang at school or shortly after, maybe not a gang but a group of people you always gravitated towards?

Security in numbers: there is often a leader that others look to whose presence empowers and energises the rest; when missing there is a tangible drop in the collective self belief but on his return confidence is restored and a feeling prevails that things can be achieved when at other times they might not.

I am, of course, talking about Robin van Persie, the return of the Boy Wonder has reenergised the whole team, giving them a self belief that was clearly lacking in his absence.

The person who benefits the most from this is Cesc; the difference in his attitude is chalk and cheese, look at his play against Ipswich and West Ham, in the former he looked as though he was just going through the motions where as in the latter he was world class. It’s true that West Ham were very poor but the observation still holds true in my opinion when the Chelsea and Birmingham games are brought into the equation.

This confidence is infectious, when Cesc is on his game Nasri is lifted. Samir is Cesc’s present day Hleb: Fàbregas used to love playing with the Belarusian; he could always find him and our captain knew he would always get the ball back which encouraged him to drive forward just that bit harder. Nasri is obviously head and shoulders better than Hleb his goal tally says it all.

You can probably sense the elephant in the room right now; the one that you possibly think I am ignoring, the “I” question. To many Van Persie is a brittle as a Kit Kat, an injury waiting to happen; the most persuasive argument I have ever read on this point was written by Rocky.

RockyLives says:

December 9, 2010 at 8:13

“Where I disagree with you (I think) is when you suggest that the chances of all players suffering an injury are equal. I believe some players’ bodies are less prone to picking up strains and sprains than others’. All players have an equal chance of being Shawcrossed, or of breaking a leg in an unfortunate fall, but I don’t think they share the same likelihood of picking up smaller, niggly injuries.
I would be prepared to bet quite a few bob that in the next 12 months RvP misses more time through injury than Chamakh. Again, no blame attached to RvP, it’s just a fact that he suffers a lot of injuries. Some people have more robust physiologies than others.”

This had me flummoxed and has taken ages to put into words why I disagree:

The fact is, we only know that a player suffers more injuries than others at the end of his career, it is only then can we average out if he has spent more time in the sick bay than others. While a player is still playing there is no certainty that that player is more likely to be injured than any other. It is like the heads or tails trap that people fall into when flicking a coin; the mistake is to assume that after the coin has landed on heads five times, for example, then by the law of averages it is more than likely to land on tails the next time: this is not true, there is still only a fifty fifty chance that the coin will land on tails the next throw.

Clichy backs up the point I am trying to make; he seemed to be permanantly crocked in his early days at Arsenal but now he has the reputation of being one of the least likely to be injured. This could just as easily turn out to be that case with the present day Mr Arsenal.

Van Persie is the leader of the gang and when he is around the others are cocky as hell, he fills them with a self belief that they can win anything.

Written by London

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