Redemption Song; Match Preview

January 9, 2012

This will be a grown up post.

BR has had many years of intensive therapy following which has been able to overcome most of his childhood resentments. If he can come to terms with personal issues then surely it is possible to find it in his heart to cease a lifelong hatred of a Leeds team which went out of existence 40 years ago?

For year upon year Dirty Leeds were my most hated team – even more than the N17 Miscreants (who let us be honest deserve sympathy not disdain).  Today BR will make peace with the nemesis of his youth – – – –  Leeds, you are exculpated

The Leeds team who gave us such a scare last season at the Emirates were not even born when that little swine Johnny Giles was kicking lumps out of George Armstrong. They came to entertain and entertain they did, forcing a 1-1 draw and  it was only  a fine away performance that took us through (3-1) to the next round.  Let us not forget that the year earlier Leeds had won at OT. They can upset any of the big sides and an Arsenal team sans RvP will have to be on their mettle to win tonight.

Of course, the opposition is secondary tonight. The roar when the homecoming hero comes off the bench will be heard by our Canadian correspondents, our Californian friends and our Aussie mates. We all wish we could join in the fun. Can he perform? Of course he can.

A little older, a little facial hair but still alarmingly attractive

On Saturday we had a fine discussion about tonight’s game which encompassed much of what I would have written today. I would especially like to thank Deano for giving the Leeds perspective in a non-aggressive way. His insights (reproduced in the paragraph below) into the Leeds team are far more informed than mine could ever be.

Ross Mc Cormack on his day can be a real handfull and certainly knows where the net is. Luciano Bechio is a big strong lad more in the fashion of a typical English CF, not Argentinian type, but he has a good first touch and can hold the ball up well and bring players in, heads the ball well also but has been far from his best of late. Aidy white is a young FB with loads of pace and bags of potential and works the overlap well when not on the back foot. CB’s could be a problem as most are injured and we only have 2 fit. Tom Lees is a big lad who watches the ball well and has good potential but very inexperienced as yet. Darren O Dea is on loan from Celtic and is steady but not exceptional.

Johny Howson our Captain and CM star is a very good box to box player but is out injured which is a loss. Adam Clayton on his day is a very good young midfielder from Man City who can strike from distance and has a good touch, again a little out of sorts of late. Ramon Nunez is a very skillfull Honduran international who got player of the tournament at the Copa America. Still getting used to English game but with the ball at his feet is a good lad. Andros Townsend on loan from Spurs at the mo seems a good young winger with pace and I am sure He will be up for it if picked. Somma, Snoddgrass, Kisnorbo, and some others are all injured so maybe Mikael Forssell could get a game and you know all about him I am sure.

In short, Deano said that Leeds were capable of beating anyone but were suffering from injuries to important players (sound familiar!). Managed by Simon Grayson, they suffer from the Bates effect  i.e a megalomaniac who has unrealistic expectations and is interested purely in profit thereby selling all the best players and signing ex-“names.” (Gradel sold to St Etienne/ Forsell signed). He almost bankrupted Chelsea who unfortunately were saved by the Russian.

As our team, I expect AW to put out as strong a side as possible. We have only 4 games in January so burn-out is not an issue .

My Team:

Not sure whether Chamakh will be with Morocco , if he is the Park would play centrally. Park, Ryo and The Ox all played 90 mins for the reserves on Weds loss to Sunderland which may be an indicator they will start tonight. Your guess is as good as mine!

It is fitting to find a fan who was around during those Dirty Leeds days, a man who despite being a true Rock God maintained his Goonerdom whilst touring the world, who when I saw him play a gig at The Lyceum came on stage wearing a red and white scarf. The man in question is Robert Nesta Marley. A man who knew all about forgiveness and redemption. Mr Marley lived in Islington for some time and being a football nut often went to Highbury; unusually his timing was off as he started going in 1972 – the season after the Double

Bob. St. Thomas’s Rd. 1973

My name is Big Raddy and I am an Arsenalholic..

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Posted by Erik the Red

Don’t FAC(it)up

January 6, 2012

We are still a few days away from the Leeds game and I don’t want to step on what will surely be another (auto paste here) splendid pre match from the master himself. But without wishing to step on toes I want to get some thoughts off my chest.

Having spent most of Christmas and New Year struggling to find the back of net I have started to change my mind about the importance of this game and who should be playing. Up until Monday I had reasonably assumed (and accepted the fact) that we would probably be giving opportunities to youngsters and squad players to get some game time.

But after 5 games in which we have only mustered 5 goals, the drought is concerning and could cause the green shoots of recovery seen since 1 September to wilt away again. Actually goals have dried up before this recent spell, since Wigan away we have only scored two goals on one occasion.

After Leeds we face a trip to Swansea who have the joint best home defence of all Premier League teams. Not the place to visit when we are misfiring.

Because of the above I am starting to think that maybe Monday is not the best time to play the youngsters and the squad, perhaps its time to send out the first team and tell them to fill their boots against what should be a very beatable opposition. If they can’t or don’t then it adds further weight to any arguments Wenger may or may not be having with the board about the need for some new signings.

I know there will be some who say we are approaching red zone and that the players cannot play every game and maybe that is true, but when a team is winning and playing well fitness becomes far less concerning. In January we have only 4 games including the FA Cup game, is it really a step too far to imagine that a player cannot play 4 games in 22 days. (Admittedly if we beat Leeds there will be another game to squeeze in).

So lets put the first eleven out especially Theo and AA or the Ox  (Gervinho is unavailable due to the ACN)  and tell them to run riot and grab as many goals as they can. Treat it like the first team game it should be. I know we have a lot of games this season, but their is something about the FA Cup that I don’t think we should dismiss too lightly, who knows maybe its this cup this year that helps us kick on, and at least with the final at the arse end of the season it means we can’t suffer a slump like we did last season from 1 March onwards if anything untoward happens in the final.

Written by Gooner in Exile

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Posted by Gööner In Exile

What should Arsenal fans realistically expect us to achieve next season?

May 30, 2011

Today is going to be a very slow news day on the blogosphere. The transfer rumours are only just gaining momentum and most expect Arsenal to either take second pickings behind the big spenders or to sign players who would not be targets for other top clubs.

Following on from yesterday’s debate, I thought it would be interesting to have a benchmark at this point to refer back to at the end of the summer, or at the same time next season.

The question I would ask is…. “What should Arsenal fans realistically expect us to achieve next season?”

Our happiness or disappointment is simply a measure of how the outcome compares to our own individual expectation.

For Arsenal to have progressed next year I would expect the following:

1. Top 3 in the Premiership

2. Top of our group in the CL and reach the quarter finals

3. To win a cup competition if we choose to put out our strongest side

4. To have shored up the defence

5. To have a strong finish to the season

These are just talking points, but it would be interesting to see how the expectations of the ‘cup half full’ers’ compare to those branded as being half empty. Paradoxically, the level of expectation is likely to be inversely proportional to the level of optimism.

What would be the least you would be happy with as an Arsenal fan at this time next year?

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Posted by Rasp

Did chasing tin cost us silver?

May 13, 2011

Written by GoonerinExile

We all know hindsight is a wonderful thing, but the depressing end to this season has led to many fans looking back to see what went wrong, and exploring theories for the pitiful end of season run in. We have heard people accusing Arsene and the team of lacking ambition, we have heard the players are bottlers, that the team is missing several key ingredients. I place my blame elsewhere, the pursuit of a worthless trophy.

I was never sure about going all out for the Carling Cup. During the Wenger years I have enjoyed seeing the potential stars of our future (with some assistance of a couple of senior pros) beating established teams. The delight of giving Spurs a whipping in the third round of the cup with a mixture of youth and experience would have done for me this year, bigger fish to fry for the team, but its always good to put those down the road in their place.

Unfortunately this season Wenger changed tack and appeared to give in to the demand for a trophy. He fielded more first teamers than normal through the rounds to ensure progression, four started against Spurs, three against Newcastle, five against Wigan, seven in the first leg against Ipswich, nine in the second leg, and ten in the final (which would have been eleven if Cesc had not been injured against Stoke).

Whilst this approach didn’t affect the results immediately surrounding the cup games it was adding 90 minutes football to legs which were set to get wearier. It also meant that Arsene needed to field weakened sides in the latter stages of the Champions League Group Stage to keep legs fresh when the Christmas fixture pile up approached and the team was playing every three or four days.

The killer blow to our season came when the team were riding high, unbeaten in the League since the 14 December, just beaten the best team in the world in the home leg of the Champions League Knock Out stages, the future was very bright and everyone was confident about the trophies the season would hold for us.

I am sorry to remind us all of the result and more regrettably the way we conceded that second goal, but that loss in that final killed our season. Since that hateful day in February we have won three of twelve games in all competitions (Leyton Orient (replay), Blackpool and Manchester United).

Three wins in twelve games!

Can anyone else remember a time when that has happened under Wenger, or any other manager?

The Carling Cup final was meant to provide our springboard to success, but unfortunately it became a dead weight around the necks of our players. Its as if they were convinced they were not winners that day, that somehow they didn’t deserve it, that they were too soft and could not compete when it mattered. They have failed to lift themselves from that disappointment.

Even if we had won the Carling Cup I don’t think it would have pacified the more disgruntled fans without additional silverware on top. There would still be fans calling for Arsene’s head describing the Carling Cup as Mickey Mouse, the most fervent of the Arsene out lobbyists would be calling for his head if we won the league as they would say that it was in spite of him, or because the league has weakened.

We have again made the Champions League and we will be back again to have another run at the Premier League. I ask fans to seriously consider whether we need to chase the Carling Cup, and maybe even the FA Cup. It is unimportant, it is for the teams without a chance of winning anything else. Let Arsene play the squad players and the youth, don’t expect the star names to come out to play, these non squad and youth players need the game time and the experience.

Lets forget the tin next year and lets concentrate on the big stuff, the silverware we would all love to see return to the home of football.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Up for the Cup??

March 12, 2011

Lucky Arsenal? This season we have drawn Newcastle and Spurs away in the Carling Cup, Barcelona in the CL, and now Man Utd away in the FA Cup.  I can only imagine Mr Wenger has spent the season walking under ladders and crossing the path of black cats. No-one wanted this fixture, neither Arsenal who are coming off the back of an emotional defeat at Camp Nou nor Man Utd, who are facing Marseilles in an important contest on Weds.

And yet neither manager will give up on this game. In my opinion both will put out as strong a team as injury permits, pride will dictate their actions. However, we are without (I hate writing this …) Vermaelen, Walcott, Fabregas , Song, Fabianski and Szczesny, and United are without Nani, Ferdinand and Park.

The loss of Szczesny has brought about the situation that (almost) all Gooners feared – a run of games for Almunia. Many point out that Manuel had a fine game in Spain and it would be churlish to argue. However, there is a reason why two Poles under the age of 23 are ahead of him in the AFC rankings and that is because Almunia is notoriously inconsistent. It was said at the start of the season by most pundits that Arsenal cannot win the league with Almunia, unfortunately we are about to find out. That said, I am sure he will give his all for the cause (and promote his flagging career). He must be given 100% support.

Having a more reliable defence will give Manuel confidence. We have tightened  to the point where there appears to be some understanding at the back; something missing since Sol left. Who would have thought that Djourou would be the man to come to the fore (apart from GG, and yours truly)?

We still have the midfield creativity problem in Cesc’s absence. Many have called for Nasri to take Cesc’s role, which make much sense. He has the vision and pace to push the team forward and has been given the Captain’s armband (though Almunia will take it tomorrow) which indicates he has the character to lead the team, and character he will need because at OT Fletcher has the licence to kick anyone off the park. Song is a big loss – Diaby plays better when he has the security of a strong defensive midfielder. Will Mr Wenger dare to start Ramsey rather than Denilson? I would take the risk but this is more a reflection of my opinion of Denilson. The Brazilian has much to recommend him, but not at a team at the level of Arsenal. I am sure he will be a huge success in Malaga, Mallorca or Juventus but not at the Grove – sorry.

Up front Van Persie will be chafing at the bit after his infuriating red card, he is playing as well as any time during his Arsenal career.  Bendtner will be desperate to show that with more than 10 minutes on the pitch he can score, but if Nasri and Arshavin are to start I see no place for him. I expect Nik to leave in summer (and I will be sad to see him go), if I was him I would be fuming that having played in most rounds of the Carling Cup and being one of the main reasons we got to the Final, he was dropped for RvP.  Vidic is back for MU which is a huge fillip for them, and a negative for us. Time for Arshavin to rediscover his shooting boots.

Man Utd have been an anomaly; at no time have they looked a title winning team and yet they have led the Premiership for most of the season. With a dull but effective midfield they rely on power rather than guile. What would they give for a young Bobby Charlton? In losing their last two big games they have seen that Giggs and Scholes fading powers are useful but not dependable. Expect a buying spree from SAF this summer –  a GK, a left back (who wants the lamentable Evra?), 2 creative MF’s, and a CB –  Modric, Rodwell, Bale, Cahill, Neuer have all been mentioned. Valencia has suffered from injury and can perhaps become the Giggs replacement, but MU have yet to replace the brilliance of Ronaldo. What they have replaced is Ronaldo’s penchant for acting with an even worse cheat in Nani. – fine player, shame about the histrionics. Rooney has flickered all season, capable of the brilliant but then petulant and obnoxious – once again his career has been boosted by SAF’s influence at the FA. . Berbatov is the PL’s top scorer and yet remains as unreliable as ever – another capable of brilliance or anonymity. His place is under threat from Hernandez who looks a fine signing –  that valuable fox in the box.

Mr Wenger has continually stated Arsenal will fight on all fronts this season, and I expect him to put out his strongest available 11.

My team:

Personally, I expect us to lose; we are not playing with fluency nor with confidence; we usually go down at Old Trafford and we will be forced to play against 14 men (11 players and the officials). Arsenal have yet to score more than one goal in a game at Old Trafford in the PL, so we are unlikely to see a goal-fest. To win we need to score first and force Man Utd to come onto us, thereby allowing Arsenal to play on the counter-attack. And above all, we need a good and fair performance from the referee, Chris Foy.

It is the final game of the season against Man Utd on Mayday which is more important to me and I imagine to both managers –  this is just the Hors d’oeuvre. I would give the Claret- nosed Caledonian (Thank you RL) the win today in exchange for the 3 points at the Grove.

COYRRG

written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Super Nicklas Bendtner

March 3, 2011

Written by GoonerinExile

After the disappointment of Sunday we all wondered what team Arsene would go with, I for one was hoping he would put the same players back in the firing line, let the Emirates crowd show them some love, let them score a few goals and wrap the important ones up in cotton wool with 30 minutes left.

Instead as always Arsene knew better than that, and trusted in much the same team that attempted to win at Brisbane Road two weeks ago.

The game was played at a pedestrian pace, Orient intent on parking the bus, when they got possession they tried to pass the ball out from the back which if we had had our first team on the pitch would surely have led to a goal feast.

On the seven minute mark, the ball broke to Tomas Rosicky whose driving run in to the box and resultant pull back was precisely finished by Marouane Chamakh. I hoped then that the floodgates would open, but much like we have come to expect with this team of squad players the ball started to go sideways and backwards rather than going forward in an attempt to maintain the one goal lead rather than press home the advantage.

On the half hour mark Gibbs seemed to get tired of this passing and delivered a good cross to the far post from which Nicklas Bendtner rose impressively to send a towering header into the left corner of the goal from 12 yards out. Despite having to help out on the right hand side when we lost possession it was good to see Bendtner, sniffing a hatful, spending more time around the 18 yard box.

Soon after a flick to Chamakh had brought groans from the crowd the ball was back at Bendtner’s feet, running at the defenders he moved the ball twice with good control before steering a fine finish into the bottom right hand corner which any keeper would have found hard to stop. His celebration to cup his ear to the Orient fans was unnecessary he should have probably done that to the home fans who seem to pillory every misplaced touch or pass of his.

So it was we went in at three nil up all very comfortable. Well, comfortable except for an absent Eboue, who seemed to also want a slice of goal mouth action and allowed Orient an easy outlet ball into space behind him. This led to Orient having a few half chances as the defence was pulled out of shape.

The second half finished much as the first half had ended with Orient trying to keep the score respectable while the Arsenal moved the ball until we could find an opening. It was Gibbs again who provided the impetus for the fourth goal, driving in to the box and forcing a clumsy challenge that resulted in Lee Mason pointing to the penalty spot. The shy retiring Nicklas Bendtner reluctantly picked up the ball to complete his hat trick, not for him setting up others, no he wants goals, and that is why he would be my pick as Centre Forward while Van Persie recovers.

There was still time for us to add a fifth after the introduction of Samir Nasri, Wilshere, and Clichy. Good work down the right from Eboue who smashed a cross which Chamakh dummied (why?) and evaded Jack, but fell kindly to Clichy who firmly sent the ball back in the direction it had come to make it five.

We won’t often be given the kind of space and time like this for the rest of the season, so it was good to see us make use of it and to stamp our authority on the game. We were well worthy of the five nil win and if anything we never had to get out of third gear, my worry is that there will be tougher games ahead for the squad players and they tougher games than this for match experience, they need to be rotated into the starting side more regularly and not in as many numbers to ensure the Wengerball remains fluid.

A word on our debutant Conor Henderson, he was born in Sidcup, England, but has already represented Republic of Ireland and England at youth levels, apparently he has chosen Ireland. He had a quiet game, it was noticeable when involved with Jack and Samir later on his passing became quicker (the same can be said for Denilson and Gibbs too), interesting that England struggle so much to produce left footers yet we have now had three come out of the academy in recent seasons. Difficult to say on that performance that he has what it takes although Arsene said yesterday he would have been involved more this season but injuries have held him back.

Miguel gave another solid performance at the back, although not asked to do much defensively he looks good on the ball and doesn’t dive in. With Bartley getting good reports from Rangers and Sheffield United, and numerous others doing their thing in the Championship we are really starting to see the team and squad that Arsene has been nurturing and waiting for.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Honours beckon and Hearn earns

March 2, 2011

Not been a good week has it? Losing a Wembley Final, losing Cesc, losing Walcott, losing Van Persie, seeing our super new goalkeeping wonderkid make his first serious mistake, and having people who have no interest in football call take the rise. No, all in all it has been a crap week.

But within this settimana terribili we fought and gained 3 points against tough opposition, and tonight we will continue our hunt for the 3 remaining trophies. The Bookies have us at 5 to 2 on not to win a trophy, which must be worth a flutter.

Between us and a trophy stand Man Utd; should we win tonight, United away are our next FAC fixture, and we will win tonight. Make no mistake. Orient will put up a fight but our lads will be looking to return to winning ways and I expect us to do so in style.

The defence almost picks itself assuming Mr Wenger will gve another start to Miquel who had a fine debut. Hopefully Ramsey is available to start, he will receive a fine welcome home.

We looked toothless at Brisbane Rd. The Chamakh/Bendter frontline has yet to click, and playing Nik wide right is bringing neither him nor the team any benefit. Once again, I am left questioning the decisions to send so many players on loan. Vela would  surely have started tonight, instead Arshavin or Nasri will have to start in order to give us some width and pace. We have to give Wilshere a rest – he has been giving is all for too long and surely we have enough in midfield to create a win without him. This team is going to be a case of Hobson’s choice.

My team?

Probably not what AW will go for (I expect him to leave Ramsey on the bench and play Song/Rosicky) and I am unable to get into the Arsenal website to check the injury status of Diaby.

Orient gave us a fright in East London, though to be honest we totally controlled the game and they scored with virtually their only opportunity. Will they be able to do the same on our home turf? I think it highly unlikely and our B team have some work to do to improve our image of them. Some are playing for their Arsenal careers.

Much has been written about the lack of enthusiasm from the Arsenal section of the Wembley crowd, I expect a subdued atmosphere tonight and quite a few empty seats. It is up to the team to return the feelgood factor and I am sure they will – it is time to put the smile back on Arsene’s face.

We have been charitable to a close neighbour, allowing them the opportunity to garner some much needed cash and have a week of glory. Orient have had their Cup Final and got the result they needed – we had ours and didn’t. Arsenal need to get back to winning ways,and tonight  will be the start of another winning run of games

Continuing our heavy metal theme. I have it on good authority that Mick Box guitarist with Uriah Heep, and Phil Collen, lead guitarist of Def Leppard were from Leyton but then so was pianist Bobby Crush (only known to the older readers!)

p.s. This was written prior to Chelsea’s win last night. Had I written it this morning the opening of the post may well have been more upbeat. Such is the wonder of football!

COYRRG

Written by BigRaddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Carling Cup – Plan A will defeat Clan B

February 26, 2011

Written by ryandanielwood

It’s been almost as long as AFC have gone without a trophy since I last posted a feature on AA. I don’t know if that makes this post a case of perfect timing and fate, it probably doesn’t. I just can’t help but want to express myself whilst the Arsenal are on the brink of expressing themselves all the way to a little piece of history! Yeah…that’s definitely it!

And what a chapter in our grandest of club histories it could prove to be. After peeling myself off the ceiling from ARSE-BARCE Round 1, I’ve become a little partial to dreaming of a spectacular quadruple don’t y’know?. Come on, don’t roll your eyes now, it could happen. The Red and White machine has been blowing gaskets and valves over the past five seasons, and when the going’s been good, the tank has either run out of gas or the fragile underbelly has suffered from a lack of maintenance. What about if this year “The business end” of matters is met with a head of Ashburton steam!?

The first road block en-route to our clean sweep of glory is Alex “let the dogs off the leash“MacLeish. A managerial figure of Scottish steel, that would scare the living pants off me, if I wasn’t all to aware that his steel is nothing more than cheap economy knockoff compared to that of the Purple nosed nightmare further north.

His plans IMO will be to put the Blues through a fitness and determination cycle the likes of which can only be equalled by the famous montage from Rocky IV. He’ll also no doubt fill Bowyer’s head with one last Wembley hurrah, and a strict instruction to end an Arsenal career on the night.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Mcleish would love to play beautiful football to achieve results, evidence is suggested by some of his dips into the transfer market . A couple of Blues have even plied their trade in our corner at one time or another, but to put trust in Mcleish to play a fair strategy on CC final day, would be as foolhardy as ever putting your faith in Hleb or Bentley to remain loyal to a badge with a certain cannon on the front. Maybe it is unfair of me to question their integrity, but it seems as though they took it as a literal sign to move on from our club as if being shot from one!

So what of our own chances and tactics?

Well so good is our Plan A at this moment, it can overturn the best team in the world. So I’d go with that, wouldn’t you? “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” doesn’t really do our game plan the justice it truly deserves.

That said, We’ve been spectacular and underwhelming on all competitive fronts in equal measure this season, so caution will no doubt be rife at times.

In fact such an inconsistency in our league and at our level would usually see a club knocked out of at least two competitions by this juncture, if it weren’t for the fact that our telling difference this season, is that we truly don’t know when we’re beat. We are the EPL team that is snatching victory from the jaws of defeat on a regular basis. And I am confident it is that new acquisition of unshakable grit, that is convincing all that watch on, that the Arsenal have finally matured.

And if we are to win it all, after living so long with nothing at all,  it might even plant a seed of doubt in the mind of that smug git Xavi, that Cesc is not all but Barca bound.

COYRRG

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Posted by Rasp

Arsenal’s lack of sharp shooting gives O’s a payday

February 21, 2011

Written by GoonerinExile

After the highs of Wednesday night, expecting either the fans or the players to get excited about the game against Leyton Orient was a big ask.

So with that in mind and also the visit of Stoke on Wednesday night and the trip to Wembley on Sunday we could only expect Arsene to field a much changed side.

The likely candidates were given a much needed outing, Squillaci, Rosicky, Gibbs, Denilson, Chamakh and Bendtner all needing starts. The surprise selection was our 18 year old Spanish centre back Ignasi Miquel. Remaining spots filled by Sagna, Arshavin and Song.

This side looked strong enough on paper to overcome League One opposition, unfortunately football, as the old adage goes, isn’t played on paper, it turns out at Brisbane Road it isn’t played on grass either, but still the pitch should not be used as an excuse as it seemed in the main to be flat enough to play our style of football on.

At kick off I sunk back into my sofa to relax and enjoy the match, this was my change from Wednesday night when I couldn’t move from the edge of my seat for 90 minutes of football.

Despite controlling possession from kick off the play stagnated around the edge of Orient’s box, where it became ponderous and confused in front of two banks of four defending. Bendtner seems in these games to think he can walk the ball around the opposition and forgets the Wengerball principle of pass and move, often realising too late that he needed to release the ball, and by then being too far into a treble stepover to do anything about it.

Chamakh was holding the ball up well and attempting to bring others in to the play, when through a combination of his hold up, a pass by Rosicky and a cross from Gibbs he was presented a chance on a plate but fluffed his lines and failed to get enough contact with the ball to give us an opener.

The first half played out with us camped mainly in their half or, if not in their half, in our half with possession in droves. Still failing to create any more clear cut chances except for a quick bit of interplay between Bendtner and Arshavin which saw the latter shoot wide at the near post and into the side netting.

Bendtner was shooting from improbable angles and positions but that is I suppose better than failing to have an effort on goal.

The second half continued as it left off with the team stalling in Orient’s defensive third. That was until Sagna decided to fire a shot from well over twenty yards, which after a bit of ping pong found its way to Bendtner who moved the ball wide to find space and picked out Rosicky with a cross, a well placed header later and it was one nil to the Arsenal.

Following the goal Orient then decided to play a bit and broke their banks of four at the back, this should have meant that we could then break through in numbers and on the counter. Twice after our goal breaks were made, but where we would normally expect to see two or three players join the break Arshavin had to make do with trying to score from 18 years out, and Song had to try and beat the defence on his own when he found himself clear.

Lacking match fitness or too frightened to commit men forward the team allowed Orient to get a foothold in the match, then the crowd started to get involved, and eventually we were made to pay for our ineffectiveness going forward, the ball falling to Tehoue, who in a blink of eye had skipped past Gibbs and Miquel and was through on goal, he smashed it as hard as he could between the legs of Almunia and added an unnecessary game to our fixture list.

In summation I think the team should have been good enough, but for whatever reason once they had got their noses in front decided to sit back and see out a comfortable win, I guess no one in the side got the memo that Barry Hearn wanted a replay at the Emirates and seemed to think what Orient had been giving up until the 53rd minute was all they could muster, they ended up getting a shock for their naivety.

A quick word on our debutant Miquel, for an 18 year old he appeared very calm at the back, unflustered in possession, and quick to read the game. Another cracking prospect for us to look forward to seeing more of.

Ratings:

Almunia 6 (still hesitant when the ball is his for the taking)

Sagna 7 (untroubled defensively, supported attack well when given the ball)

Squillaci 7 (great block with his face, otherwise untroubled)

Miquel 7 (would have been 8 but for his part in Orients goal)

Gibbs 6 (not as attacking as I would hope and dived in to give Tehoue the room to get away)

Rosciky 7 (seems to be unable to find his teammates consistently enough, but did score!)

Denilson 6 (kept the ball moving, rash in the tackle)

Song 6 (needed to step up to the plate and move the team forward more)

Arshavin 7 (always showing and continued to try for 90 minutes, shame his teammates were not on same wavelength)

Chamakh 6 (a shadow of the player we saw at the start of the season)

Bendtner 6 (needs to be taken down a peg or two, glimpses of skill followed by a lot of arrogance)

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Romance vs Silverware

February 20, 2011

What a run we are on!  Can our East London neighbours stop the momentum this team is building? If Arsenal were to lose today would it have a knock on effect for the rest of the season? What do you think?

I know what I am about to write will be as popular as a root canal treatment but I can see advantages to our suffering a cup upset. Hold hard before you jump on me and allow me to explain……

The magic of the FA Cup. Let’s be honest, it has disappeared as the Champions League and  TV saturation of the Premiership has developed. Gone are the days of the plucky young David’s defeating the Goliath. Nowadays we see Man Utd put out a team with 10 changes from their regular PL side scrape past Crawley – does SAF take this action because he believes in the sanctity of the FA Cup? No, he does so because he puts a low priority on the Cup with big games to come for his side. I expect Mr Wenger to do the same today. In my youth, the Cup was as important as the League and I travelled near and far to watch the Arsenal (one particularly gruesome and bitterly cold trip to Yeovil stands out in the memory). Today, that excitement has dissipated..

It would be great for the future of the Cup if a minnow won and reached the final rounds, and why should it not be Orient? A club which many Londoners and in particular Arsenal fans look upon with affection. Headlines would be written around the world about how the mighty Arsenal having just beaten “the best team of all-time” have been beaten in the World’s oldest Cup competition. It would be a superb advert for the Cup. Surely we can be that generous to the long term future of the FA Cup.

And how would a loss affect our side? In my opinion we would have a group of deeply ashamed and embarrassed players who would gird their loins and refuse to allow that ever to happen again. Sometimes a good kick in the kischkas is the propellant required to push a team to glory.

Plus we would have one less competition to worry about. One could argue that there are only 3 decent sides left in the competition and we have a real chance to win another domestic Cup Double, to which I can only agree.

Games like today raise questions about our loan system.  Most of our loanees would have played today  – Mannone, Cruise, Traore, Bartley, Ramsey, Vela, Coquelin, JET, Randall, Lansbury to name but a few. Instead AW will be forced to play a number of members of his first team just a few days prior to a tough game at home to Stoke.

This is my guess for today’s line-up:

This team should certainly have enough to beat a determined Leyton Orient.

Leyton is mentioned in the Domesday Book. It was severely damaged by Zeppelin raids during the First World War who were trying to bomb the local docklands. Iron Maiden , those true English gentleman who carry the banner of Proper Rock to the world were formed in Leyton.

COYRRG

Written by BigRaddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

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