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

Members Day…….Will Cesc rain on our parade?

August 5, 2011

Written by Harry

Well it was an early start as I had to get my eldest boy, Luke, to the ground for 0930hrs, as he was due to meet the squad as a thank you for been a ball boy last season……..So Reece, my youngest, and I were at the ground nice and early with little going on, supposedly there was meant to be more happening, but perhaps the rain stopped that….

Anyway as a complete random side note, as I was waiting at the turnstiles, an old school mate tipped up, hadn’t seen him for 23years!! So chatting away blew some time  as we waited to get in.

Finally at about 11.20hrs we got let in, one of the stewards mentioned due to the bad weather that the Photo shoot had been cancelled. But the main issue that was on everyone’s lips was whether Cesc was present and also was Nasri about or had he been snaffled away by the Arabs…

Well they were both there amongst some other notable attendees and some equally noticeable absentees…..

The youngsters that have seemingly been promoted to the first team are, Frimpong, Lansbury, Afobe and Miyachi (still waiting for a special talent visa), Bartley was absent despite signing an extension yesterday, so back out on loan maybe? {Just announced on SSN for a season back to Rangers} Personally he would be in my squad and at the expense of Squillaci…

Almunia was absent, Eboue was about but not involved in the training waiting for his move to be finalised? Nasri came out and had a very gentle warm up, but didn’t take part in the training matches due to an ankle knock.  Bendtner was there and not in Portugal……. My son had asked him if he was staying and initially he said NO, but then he backed down and said things hadn’t been decided yet……..?

After a warm up and some simple passing, the first training match saw an eleven aside match on a shortened pitch, Bendtner smashed in a corking goal, 9million? Easily worth that on that form.  Lansbury scored a long range effort to put the greens 2 up….

Benik Afobe who looked sharp and very much capable at this level, sold his marker and finished with aplomb for the whites….. Bendtner sealed a 3-1 win with his second.

Cesc although involved throughout and showing a great range of passing, his body language was cold, sullied and distant, he did have moments where he seemed to defrost his exterior…….but you could sense that not all was settled yet…….

It was an interesting game, with various players standing out for me, but looking at the newbies and young-uns. Jenkinson looks very capable and will push Sagna this season, Frimpong looks like an ox. Ryo was also showing glimpses of his ability. And Lansbury can shoot from distant unlike 99% of our squad. Benik Afobe could be an asset this season from the bench……

Then the players split into two groups and conducted an attacking practice, with crossovers, crossing and finishing the main areas of the practice.

The stand out moment for me was when, Cesc tried to lob Szczesny, he managed to get a hand to it, it fell to Chamakh, Szczesny beat it away and then again before Cesc rifled it in. Our young pole looks well up for it and his confidence is certainly flowing…….

After that the squad broke into three teams and had a 3 way tournament, of note there was a sublime finish from Van Persie, Bendtner scored some more and Afobe made his mark with a couple.

Walcott was a lone trainer getting put through his paces by Tony Colbert the fitness coach, he looked to be moving freely so looks good for the season opener hopefully….

After this there were some penalty shootouts and crossbar challenges with selected fans. Then the players volleyed some balls into the crowd.  As the players walked away, Cesc came over and signed a few items and had his picture taken with some fans, my Reece was one of them…..

So it was a good day for the Fans, but unfortunately none the wiser as to what will our squad be when the season starts…….

Our opponents will be drawn today for the Champions League Qualifier and I understand the Squad numbers for the season will be announced……..

The new season is getting closer and the excitement is building as is the anti-Wenger feelings amongst some fans, who have judged him already.  For me he has till the transfer window to convince me we have a good season ahead of us……..I just have a bad feeling, no one else is coming in………….

He only has to December before I start asking serious questions……..But I will never boo……….

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

What does Gervinho bring to the team?

August 4, 2011

Above all I would say that we have finally found someone able to play the number nine role, this was demonstrated perfectly by his Ian Wrightesque finish against Cologne after wearing the glorious red and white shirt of Arsenal for just ten minutes. A sublime chip from Wilshere played inch perfect for The Gerv to run onto and slide powerfully past the on coming goal keeper.

It got better.

And just to show us that that was no fluke, ten minutes later he was in the right place at the right time: arriving at pace in Ian Wright territory, the six yard box, to stab home Theo’s slide rule pass.

Now that is what I call making an impression in the first ever forty five minutes for your new club.

Next up Boca Juniors: as soon as I saw the top three line-up of Arshavin, Rvp and Gervinho I thought, this is Wenger trying out what he hopes will be his best strike force.

The fluidity, the fluidity, it was all about the fluidity: Gervinho and Arshavin were swapping wings with more confidence than I have seen two Arsenal players do in years: Gervinho coming in from the right, no problem, Gervinho coming in from the left, still no problem, best demonstrated by the inch perfect pass played with his weaker left foot to the fast moving Van Persie who powered home for the first goal.

Happy, happy, happy.

On come NY Red Bulls, this time the fluidity went further than Arshavin and Gervinho switching wings as happened the day before. In this game we saw how The Gerv was capable of swapping so effectively with RvP that you could not even see the join. Think of the brilliant pass that Rosicky played for Gervinho to run onto creating a one on one with the keeper. This is an attacking star in the making: capable of being a number nine if needed or play on either wing. The Ivorian should have scored or played it square for Ramsey to slide home but hey, every player deserves a honey moon period and as you can tell from the tone of this post, The Gerv is in Hawaii with a garland of jasmine flowers around his neck.

The goals and the assists are the obvious stuff but the hidden gem was how he was able to bring out the best in RvP; he seemed to take the pressure off of the Dutchman. RvP didn’t have to force it; his play was more composed, more assured than I have ever seen it. The Boy Wonder’s headed goal against NYRB was class and so was the ball sent in by Rosicky who as Irish rightly pointed out was MOTM by some distance.

There has been so much talk about how RvP is not a natural number nine and that 4.3.3 doesn’t work for him, the most common solution put forward to remedy this has been to revert to 4.4.2, not one of us thought of the idea of finding someone that makes 4.3.3 work with RvP in it – brilliant in its simplicity.

Please excuse this bare faced adulation; it’s just that I am starting to get excited about the new season.

London

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Posted by LB

£45m for Robin van Persie?

May 17, 2011

Robin van Persie has been a consistent bright light in the poo-coloured gloom of our end-of-season collapse.

The man who has endured more impact injuries than a crash test dummy has finally managed to have a campaign in which he has been largely fit to play.

And what a player he has turned out to be. He may not be a traditional centre forward; he may be better suited to a Bergkamp-style role; he’s not a ‘fox in the box’ – but a return of 17 goals in 18 Premier League starts tells its own story.

On this form he should be top of the shopping list for every ambitious club in Europe – and I would be amazed if he isn’t.

There are strong rumours that Fabregas will be leaving this summer and that Nasri may be off too, but we should also worry about someone trying to cherry pick our only world class striker.

In the current season, van Persie has a better strike rate than all of the forwards who have been the subject of big money transfers in the past year.

Our Dutch master has scored 21 goals in 32 appearances in all competitions (including seven as substitute), giving him a strike rate of 66%.

Compare that with this season’s strike rates for the following players (the figures include their goals for all clubs they played for in the 2010/2011 campaign):

Fernando Torres (Liverpool to Chelsea, £50m):                  27%

David Villa (Valencia to Barcelona, £34.2):                           53%

Darren Bent (Sunderland to Aston Villa, £24m):                  51%

Luis Suarez (Ajax to Liverpool, £22.7m):                             32%

Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg to Man City, £27m):                        37%

Andy Carroll (Newcastle to Liverpool, £35m):                     50%

Of course this is a crude measure and does not take into account the respective difficulties of the different European leagues, the chances made per team, striker conversion rates and so on. But as a broad brush look at the performance of the most expensive forwards of the last 12 months it has some merit.

Based on these figures I would place van Persie’s transfer value in the £40m-£45m bracket – on a par with Fabregas or even higher.

David Villa at Barcelona is closest to him for strike rate (but still a long way behind) – and he plays in a team that is recognised as being the best attacking outfit in the world; a team that creates chances for fun.

The valuations of Carroll and Suarez partly reflect their youth and potential, but van Persie is 27 and still has several seasons at his peak ahead of him.

Of course a potential buyer might be put off paying those sorts of sums because of his famous chocolate legs. But Robin has always claimed his injuries have been down to bad luck rather than any inherent weakness and this season seems to bear that out.

I know I’ll be accused of being alarmist, but if we were to lose Fabregas and van Persie in the same summer it would be hard to see the club remaining competitive next season. Even if they were replaced by ‘star’ signings there is no guarantee such players would bed in quickly and effectively.

It’s true that Robin seems to love Arsenal and appears committed to winning things with us.

I’m just concerned that if he gets unsettled by some other big departures and the right offer comes in from Barcelona, Real Madrid or one of the Italian giants, he may just be tempted.

I would want him to resist, but maybe other Arsenal supporters feel differently. If we really were offered £40m+ for a player with such a bad injury record, I am sure there are some who would want us to take the money and run.

This is going to be a tense summer for Arsenal fans. There will be some disappointing departures (as well as some more welcome ones), and there will be arrivals – hopefully some exciting ones.

But we could be starting next season with a very different look to our team.

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

Arsenal Foyle United Charge …. Report and player ratings

May 2, 2011

Written by Harry

They arrived battered, bruised, down trodden and weary, yearning for the season to end and for the summer holidays to start so they can relax and think about how close we have come again to the title to see it ebb away at the death, to plan the changes required, and that’s just the fans……..

The players though, although desperately weary after suffering so much in the last few months, still had to show the fans, the boss and the watching public that we do have something about us, that we can battle and that we can win against United……4 games to ensure that we push Chelsea all the way and also don’t let City still get 3rd from us…..

I sat down in my seat just as the team came out and lined up to shake hands, then the announcer reminded us all what their names were again, hang on Cesc was missing, but Aaron was in the middle instead, an injury in training yesterday it transpired later?

Arsenal started very brightly and had all the early play, United on the other hand had come with their usual game play that Fergie has adopted for last 4 or 5 years against us….Sit, hold and contain and play at speed on the break, with an added secret ingredient of Ji Sung Park, who seems to be Old Red Nose’s, ace up his sleeve, well so he thinks…..

As Arsenal stroked the ball around in the afternoon sun, Walcott was having some joy down the right early doors, one cross came in and United’s defence struggled to clear, Vidic weakly poked the ball out, only as far as Jack, who lashed a wild shot wide of the RH post…..In the seasons to come that ball will nestle in the net nicely……..But it showed our intentions……

The game, as usual between us, had a nasty undertone to it, that threatened to boil over, especially with Shrek intent on moaning throughout at every decision that didn’t go Uniteds way and he continually asked the ref to book players, either that or he was asking Chris Foy, how old his mum was…….

Next moment of interest, saw Nasri trying to break free from Fabio, who was insisting that he fouled Nasri at every opportunity, but the ball broke and Clichy picked it up at pace, he strode forward and put the ball across low into the danger area, Walcott got in between Vidic and Evra, and managed to get a leg on it but could not keep it down…

Moments later, a delightful lob pass was taken through by Jack on his chest, ball down, across the area to the incoming Walcott only for Evra to get to it first…..

Then Nasri, jinks forward pushes the ball into Jacks path, who heads into the box only to be upended on the edge by Vidic, Foy looks over to Fergie and waves play on…..A 100% nailed on free kick…….

Uniteds first chance came about midway when Nani pushed down the right, Clichy held him up but he dinked a sweet ball through to Fabio, who ran into the box, he pulled it back across for Hernandez, but the Sagman, got infront and cleared the ball away for a corner, for me a key moment, as previously when we have had such possession, we have had the tendency to concede on United’s first real chance, Fabio really was given too much room and wasn’t tracked by anyone….

Next really key moment was after an interchange of passes from Ramsey and Van Persie, saw Ramsey put Theo away down the right, delightful cross as RVP rose to head home, Vidic had the urge for a toilet break and put his hand up, the ref said no and play on, it’s the only reasoning I can give for getting no decision, as the aggrieved RVP furiously blasted the assistant on the right.  Should have been a penalty and a red card………Both officials had a cleared view……..poor……

Just before half time, the president of the GILF club, pushed Wilshere to the ground wide out on the left touchline and picked up a yellow…..

The only other thing worth noting from the first half action was that Chris Foy managed to break up Arsenal attacking play 3times!!! By getting in the way…….Which really irked the crowd, who for once played their part in the game and maintained a reasonable atmosphere, I was sitting in North Bank Upper for a change, instead of the clock end.

A change at half time as Nasri was replaced by Arshavin due to Injury……..

Early doors 2nd half and United got a free kick, which had Sczszesny at full stretch to keep a Rooney curler out….

Sagna then had a dig from outside the area, just wide of the far post….

As United repelled another attack, Song intercepted, the ball fell to Ramsey’s feet, he turned and played Van Persie down the right, he continued down the right and into their box, for once we had 3 on the 6yard area, but Ramsey had continued his run, he held his arms aloft and shouted for the ball, RVP dragged it back and Ramsey stroked the ball through Carricks legs into the far LH corner of the goal with Van der Sar helplessly at full stretch…..1-0……..

United continued to push on, but our young pole in goal was having a great afternoon, his presence and confidence clear to see as he dominated his area…….

Then the game really threatened to boil over as Song got the ball off Evra, but he got the player as well, Foy gave a free kick and a yellow, a melee of players threw a few handbags as Nani spat his dummy out wanting the ball back……Took 4 of them to get it off our Cameroonian Warrior……

The next United chance fell to the plastic Ronaldo “Nani” who went for the near post, Sczezesny stood firm and big, blocking the ball away from danger…

The stand out observations in the 2nd half were the tenacity of Arshavin as he flew into tackles…….And Ramsey was orchestrating the play with able support from Wilshere…….

At one break in play Wilshere and Ramsey grabbed a drink from the bench, as they stood on the touchline the boss, gave directions. As I looked down, I remarked to my friend,  that there was the future of Arsenal, keep those 2 and we will win trophies that I am so sure of…..Its an image I want to be seeing in the coming years…..

As Ramsey started another move, he went for his return ball, but Walcott put the ball in, to RVP at the far post, who only managed to hit the side netting….The 2nd would not come, chances were not been taken…….Djourou was replaced by Squillaci due to injury…….which added to the nerves in many……

Another break saw Wilshere stride forward centrally, Arshavin just ahead was screaming for a pass ahead of him. But Wilshere left it too late and didn’t make the chance count, as United cleared the ball away…..

Owen had come on and his only contribution was to dive to try and win a penalty, Clichy tried his hardest to make it look a penalty, as his foot raked his calf, if that had been given, he would have been slaughtered and the Press would have had an absolute field day…

Personally for me it was a dive, but it could have been given and I would have appealed at the other end, similar to Lucas for Liverpool, Owen played for the penalty… For some strange reason Foy forgot he is Fergies rent boy and waved play on…

Arsenal had a few breaks but didn’t capitalise, nerves jangled, United had the last chance as Foy gave a free kick against Ramsey who quite rightly said he got the ball, Nani having just watched a video of Arsenal free kicks on the journey down, blasted into the wall…….

A momentary pause as the fans await the whistle, its blown, 1-0 to the Arsenal…….the crowd largely still there, minimal early leavers, cheered as United fans left with their tails between their legs…

Ratings: (My untrained view)

Szczesny:…7.5…Solid confident display and made some vital saves, his kicking was putting us back under pressure in the 2nd half final minutes…Needs to see this and deal appropriately.

Sagna: …8…Strong defensively and handled all United threw at us. Some good attacking moments and had a long distance shot…For me best RB about at the moment, stopped us conceding in the first half…..

Djourou:…7….Better than last week, strong in the air, clears well, but as the pressure increased in the 2nd, he showed signs of pressure, still has a career ahead of him here, just needs to add a nasty streak for me…..

Koscienly:…7.5…Think it was a good performance, broke play up and pushed forward to give impetus to our play…..He really reads the game so well and cuts out so much, certainly could play the DM role when needed next season.

Clichy:…6…Some good attacking play, but woeful defending, with many silly balls lost, poor headers straight to United players and his usual moments of panic when he got the ball to feet…..His mind always seems to be elsewhere…..

Song…9…Immense, played Rooney off the park totally, in my mind wasn’t necessarily man marking the green eyed monster, but he was everywhere, certainly more defensive minded all round and played a key role, for me really pushed for man of the match, which I know many will go for.

Wilshere:…8…Outstanding play and very influential, much better in the 1st half, offered many outlets and complimented Ramsey……Goals will come next season…

Ramsey:…9…Absolute star, kept probing, never hid, when he did make a mistake  he helped win the ball back…Started and finished the move that ended with him beautifully caressing the ball into the net….That was his first start at home since that break…For me he gets the MotM, just ahead of Song for the goal,. But also his constant harassment of United and forcing mistakes, then initiating forays into their territory…..

Walcott:…8…Had an excellent game, some great crosses into the box, notably the one Vidic handled…Personally would have left him on, just feel he makes the other team nervous….

Nasri:…7…Excellent first half against a dogged opponent in Fabio. Went off injured.

Van Persie:…8… Great game, interlinked play and unlucky not to score. Held his nerve well and great assist for Ramsey. Led the team well, closed down well and worked the line well……Still prefer it when he drops deeper to control play…..

Subs:

Arshavin:…8… Excellent half and really defended like his life was on the line, was throwing tackles into United players with the more venom than Fergie chews his gum…..

Eboue:…6…Not enough time to judge….

Squillaci:…6…Not enough time to judge….

Manager:

Wenger:…8…Got his team up for it and showed that without Fabregas we do have a team that can win…Only made 1 tactical substitution, with Eboue for Walcott…Others forced on by injuries. Made a great decision to start Ramsey, people say how much we have missed Vermaelen this season, but so too young Aaron at times would have given us much more in attacking play….

Overall:

There’s an argument that with the pressure off we played better, I am in the middle, for me there was still the pressure of City breathing down our necks and also keeping in behind Chelsea.  I would agree that the pressure was different to previous weeks.

The team did us proud, they worked hard as a unit and press United, some said United were poor, for me it was due to our work ethic, so praise where praise is due, the score line flattered them really, although as some alluded to yesterday, it was a bittersweet victory which made the recent dropped points even more annoying…….

It has also handed the Chavs down the road a chance, but who do we really want to win out of the twins of ‘equal dislike’ ?

To be honest I don’t really care, just lets win our final 3 games, and see where we sit at the end, 66-1 for the title, which really needs a dramatic collapse from both teams, very unlikely, but then did Kate Middleton really believe as a kid she’d marry a Prince…………?

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Proud to wear the Shirt?

May 1, 2011

Another game we need to get 3 points from, however in this case we must be underdogs. Following a very poor run of results (too disappointing to discuss) the team have a choice – either we settle for an underwhelming 3rd place  or we fight to the end, I expect to see some fighting spirit.

Unfortunately, United are in excellent form having strolled through a Champions League semi-final on their way to Wembley, where most right minded people will be hoping for a Barca win. Much has been said about this MU side, mostly to it’s detriment – dull, workmanlike, efficient, lacking flair, not as good as SAF’s previous sides, the worst side to (potentially) win the PL, and above all inexplicably lucky; yet their fans will look at the Silverware and the 2010/11 season with pride. Once again the Purple Conked Glaswegian has shown he is the best manager in World football, who else can make a silk purse out of a pig’s ear?

But, But But  …. the little angel on Big Raddy’s  left shoulder is screaming at me ……. this season has been about us throwing away a title not MU winning one. Alongside the  West London Russians we have contrived to gift United the title, we have consistently thrown away important points, drawing games  we should have won, losing games we should have drawn. I am no statistician but it would be interesting to know how many points we have lost to goals in the last 5 minutes of games – enough to win the title one would imagine.

Before we doff our proverbials to the excellence of SAF’s management of so called “average players,” let us take a closer look at his team. Oh, this is a surprise, it is packed with extremely expensive talent; 3 players who cost over £30m, the most expensive defender in EPL history, a midfield that (taking out Giggs) cost almost as much as our entire team, a forward line with an average cost higher than our most expensive ever signing. And how many of the regular MU players are home grown? Take out the  ancient  Giggs and Scholes and the answer is NONE. This MU team could have a bench that cost as much as our entire squad !! Yet the press cream themselves about how SAF has guided an average team to such heights, a team he has expensively cobbled together – how has this myth been spread? I will tell you – because SAF has the press under his control in the same way that the ref’s and linesmen are too scared (it would be churlish to say corrupt) to give 50/50 decisions against the Red Devil.

I could write a whole post on Nani. Without doubt the most odious player in the  PL.How can any decent football fan pay money to watch this cheat week after week? We have players who are prone to theatrics but this guy who is undoubtedly a fine player takes “simulation” to an art form. The only players in his league are Alves and Busquets at Barca (may I refer back to a fine post by Dandan highlighting the appalling cheating by Barca players midweek). I realise I am old fashioned, but what happened to honesty and integrity? How can SAF allow Nani to perform like this week after week? –  anyone who saw SAF’s playing style would know how he would have reacted to Nani had he been on the pitch against him. And they say a cheat never prospers!!

Hernandez has been a revelation and is just the type of player to cause us problems. The fox in the box who has superb reactions – AW says he was monitoring him, so why not splash a few of our millions on him and sell Vela? Sadly, this guy has the potential to become a United legend.

Our team? Kind of picks itself – we play the best we have. The major disappointment to me of the past 3 weeks is that we have underperformed when having an almost full squad; no injury excuses (apart from TV) and exhaustion cannot be a factor –  today’s opponents have played as many games with a smaller (and worse) squad.

SAF’s usual tactics when playing us is to employ a very physical forcing game and hit us on the break; the game at OT earlier in the season was typical, as was the Cup game when SAF sent out a team with a hugely defensive bias, expect the same today. If Fletcher is fit to play, Cesc and JW can expect a good kicking – the man is the essence of SAF’s  chosen midfield general (Robson, Ince, Butt, Keane, Scholes etc). I like Park, a man who must despair of Nani and Rooney’s cheating abilities, he is a player who would fit well into our squad, an Asian Ray Parlour!

Thanks to our poor run what should have been a title decider has become another interesting game –  a game that SAF can afford to rest Giggs in. Yet today remains one of the highlights of the season. Home to MU has always been a huge game. Some of my all-time favourite  goals have been against MU; a brilliant George Graham scissor kick at the Clock End in a 2-2 draw with Best scoring in front of the North Bank, Alan Sunderland at Wembley, Wiltord at OT, TH14’s goal of the season at Highbury, Freddie’s first goal for AFC, David Platt’s last minute header in a 3-2 thriller at Highbury, PV4’s last kick for the Gunners etc etc. So many great memories – I am sure you can add your own.

What I would like to see from Arsenal today is for AW to get his tactics right and send out a team to match the opposition. Keep Rooney out wide, stop playing such a high defensive line,  allow Nasri to play more central, push RvP onto the shoulder of Vidic – he has the pace to turn him. And above all, the team have to show the fans that they value their shirts, that they are not just professional footballers but that they are immensely proud to be Arsenal players.

Angus Deayton, Eamonn Holmes,  Steve Coogan, Mick Hucknall, Gary Rhodes, Sean Connery, all big MU supporters …………. all live in the South 🙂

COYRRG

BR.

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Posted by Erik the Red

How many Spurs players would get in Arsenal’s First X1?

April 21, 2011
Sorry all, Rasp and I are really busy today, we haven’t been offered a match report but BigRaddy wrote this before he went away so it would be churlish not to use it for discussion today following last night’s thrilling 3-3 at the lane.

We had some fun recently with a post discussing how many Man Utd players would fit into our team playing in the same formation as Mr Wenger employs.

Today I will do the same with Tottenham Hotspur :-

Szczesny v Gomez.

We missed our young Pole during his injury, his influence over the defence in such a short time is profound. He bosses the area in a way we have missed since Mad Jens and Seamo. Gomez is flaky, there is no other word for him. He can be excellent – a fine shot stopper and dominates at set pieces but he is prone to regular lapses of judgement. Given that our lad has so far only made one glaring error (and I blame Koscielny for that), it’s the Pole in Goal.

Sagna v Corluka.

Sagna has returned to the reliability he showed a couple of seasons ago and IMO is the best RB in the country. Corluka is a fine player, has good ball skills, a decent engine and can cover at CB, but he is not as good as Sagna.

Clichy v Assou Ekotto

Gael has his critics but remains an excellent full back. Ekotto has a loyal fanbase amongst Spurs fans and has been very good whenever I have seen him. Clichy is the better attacking player and apart from his weekly lapses in concentration is the better tackler.

Centre Backs

It is hard to establish just who are Spurs first choice CB’s. Woodgate and King are fine defenders, in fact The Master (TH14) has said that King is the best defender he played against. But they are permanently injured. This leaves Gallas, Dawson and Kaboul and for the sake of discussion I will drop Kaboul.

Is Gallas as good as Djourou? In his prime certainly, but one must ask why Mr Wenger chose to sell him to our local rivals; obviously because he believes he has better replacements, and a fit JD is a wonderful CB.

Dawson v Koscielny is not so clearly defined. IMO Dawson is the best English CB, I would have liked to see him in an Arsenal shirt, but Kos has the makings of a great player and an Arsenal legend. In his first season he has made silly mistakes but which player hasn’t? Koscielny gets the shirt because he is  better at passing and driving forward the team.

Midfield.

Again it is difficult to decide upon Spurs first choice midfield. Like us they have a glut of quality players but unlike us they have no set go to 4  players. I will choose Modric, Huddlestone, Van de Vaart and Bale. Probably more attacking than Harry would choose as he often plays 2 DM’s (he has Palacios, Huddlestone, Krancjar, Jenas, Pienaar and Sandro to choose from!)

Song v Huddlestone

Easy choice really. Song is amongst the finest young DM’s in world football. He has improved so rapidly over the past 2 years that we noticeably miss him when he is injured. He has a fantastic first touch, good engine, is a decent tackler and is good aerially. Song’s main fault is that he can get too adventurous and in trying to get back to defend makes rash tackles – he has picked up numerous yellow cards this season without making one really dirty tackle. Huddlestone, according to my Spurs mad nephew, is an integral part of both Spurs and England’s future. He too has made huge strides in his career; capable of playing an accurate and intuitive long pass and assisting defensively, he is one to watch – but he is just not as good as Song, and nor are any of Spurs other DM’s

Fabregas v Modric.

We all know the answer to this! Cesc is a genius; the best creative MF in the PL and a World Cup winner. Modric has had a fantastic season and it would be no exaggeration to say that I am sure Mr Wenger would have liked to sign him; phenomenal energy, a perceptive passer, excellent ball control and a player who knows no fear. But sadly not in Fab’s league.

Wilshere v Van der Vaart.

When playing this parlour game there are inevitably clashes that don’t really gel, and this is one of them. VdV doesn’t play the same game as JW. However, if one had to choose a player for our team I would certainly take the reliability of Wilshere. He turns up every game and gives his all whereas VdV goes missing which I guess is why Real sold him so cheaply.

Nasri v Bale.

Both fine players. Both at the start of their careers. Both up for Player of the Year. They have different skill sets which work very well for their teams. Bale could add what we lack on the left of our attack – pace, but Nasri is a better ball player and can beat a player by looking at him. Nasri scores more goals. Bale is the better defender.  I was going to give the shirt to the least ugly player but they are equal in this area as well. I will take a rain-check ….

Walcott v Lennon

Lennon – ugly, no final ball, phenomenal pace. Theo . good looking, developing tactical awareness, even faster. Capello prefers Theo, so do I.

RvP v Defoe/Crouch/Pav.

Robin is better than all of them. True, Crouch is better in the air. Other than that the Dutchman has it all and would prove it if he could stay fit for a season.

Manager:

Wenger v Redknapp.

Credit where credit is due. Harry has done a wonderful job at Spurs. Taking a team that was threatened with relegation to the Champions League in such a short space of time is a great achievement. Had it not been for economic reasons Redknapp would be England Manager and I am sure that if wants it  he will be after the Euro’s. But check out the Trophy Cabinet. Harry –  1 x FA Cup. Mr Wenger  – 4 x FAC. 3 xPL . French League and Cup, Japanese League and Cup.   Mr Wenger OBE voted World Manager of the Decade.  Mr. Redknapp  – Zip.

So the team looks like this:

Szczesny

Sagna   Djourou  Koscielny  Clichy

Song   Fabregas  Wilshere   Nasri

Walcott  Van Persie

Managed by Mr Arsene Wenger OBE

Why no Bale? Because he is so prone to injury, and he is a throwback.

Why no Spurs players?  Check out the table since 94/5

And this site is called Arsenal Arsenal not Dear Mr. Levy ……

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Posted by Erik the Red

How many Man Utd players would get into Arsenal’s First Team?

March 31, 2011

I spend much time discussing football with fans of other teams. Inevitably we play the “but he would never play in our team “game, and this could be the first of “How many Arsenal players would get in  ……… first team”?

Let us look at the current leaders of the PL,  Man Utd, taking what I believe to be Mr Wenger’s first choice 11 v Aaron’s view of the SAF’s first choice.

Note Well. This team is set-up in Arsenal’s formation , not the Man Utd 4-4-2 !

 

Van de Saar v Szczesny.

Not as obvious as one might think. Van de Saar has huge experience and has been a superb keeper. Had AW signed him 5 years ago we could well well won a title or two, but at 40 y.o. his powers are fading and retirement beckons. Whereas our new GK is but a slip of a lad and has a glittering future ahead – he dominates the area, is a fine shot-stopper and is learning quickly.  Experience v Youth?  It has to be the Pole.

Sagna v Rafael.

Rafael looks major find. Comfortable on the ball, can cross, likes to attack, and can tackle but he has already shown a questionable temperament and has clearly studied tapes of Dani Alves’s cheating  techniques. Sagna is quite simply the best right back in the PL. I would like to see his crossing improve but in every other area he is superb.

Centre Backs.

Man Utd are truly blessed in this area. Ferdinand and Vidic combine footballing skills and strength. They are both on-field leaders and the rock around which MU function. Arsenal’s first choice CB pairing is unclear, who are they? TV/JD? TV/Kos? Kos/JD?  The JD/Kos pairing seems stable and they combine well but neither is at the level of either of MU’s CB’s

Clichy v Evra.

I love Gael, I detest Evra, but my feelings are not based around their footballing ability.  Sadly, Evra is a fine footballer, a winner and very consistent. Gael, as we all know, has lapses, I think he is a better attacking force than Evra but Evra is more solid. I am afraid Evra gets the shirt.

Song v  Carrick

No contest here. When Carrick was at West Ham he looked as though he could develop into the new Bryan Robson – it didn’t happen, whether through lack of ability or injury, we will never know. Either way, he hasn’t the control or vision of Song who at the tender age of 23 is already one of the most influential players in the PL.

Fletcher v Wilshere.

Jack’s progress is nothing short of astonishing. At the age of 19 to be the central figure in the England team indicates a truly great player in the making, but Fletcher is the key player in a dull yet effective MU midfield. A terrier and a man who doesn’t accept losing – just the type of player we are lacking at Arsenal. So it is with heavy heart that I take Fletcher, because I believe that with him in the team we would already have won the PL, though I fully accept this is a controversial decision!

Nani v Theo

Another tough one. Nani has all the tricks, has pace and a fine shot. He also has a very questionable attitude and dreadful hair. Theo has better hair, more pace, less attitude and could be a future Arsenal great. However Nani has 9 goals and 16 assists and is the most effective player in the PL this season, whereas despite having his best season to date Theo has 7 goals, 6 assists. Shame on me but it has to be Nani

Rooney v Fabregas

This is difficult because they do not play the same roles as MU normally set up as 4-4-2-. If one assumes that Rooney is MU’s playmaker then we have to pit him against our own playmaker,  I could duck the issue and say it depends upon the opposition or shift Rooney out left to be compared with Nasri, but a direct comparison it has to be. Let’s look at this season’s stats – Cesc: 31 apps,  9 goals. 13 assists. Rooney: 29 apps, 9 gls, and 11 assists (?). On these stats Cesc is more slightly effective though both are the talisman of their sides. When either of them plays at the top of their form, their teams win. I love Cesc and this is an Arsenal site so Cesc gets it.

RvP v Hernandez/ Berbs.

I asked my MU mad friend Aaron who would be SAF’s first 11, and he chose Hernandez ahead of Berbatov. I would pick RvP ahead of either of them. Simply put, our Dutch striker is World Class, a player who can score both the spectacular and elementary goals.

Nasri v Valencia

Valencia is a fine player and I expect him to have a major impact on the PL next season, but Nasri is at another level. That Samir became France’s new National Captain last weekend is evidence of his rising stature and reliability. A fine player and with Valencia only just returning from injury, the obvious choice.

So a team of:

Quite how this team would function would be the managers concern though he would have a fantastic bench should the team not perform.

Clearly MU’s defensive steel added to Arsenal’s greater ball control would be a frightening prospect for any opposition and I would expect this side to win the PL, but they would be unlikely to go through a season unbeaten – only a truly great side could do that …. 😉

Finally, today is the 10th anniversary of Rocky’s untimely death. We all loved Rocky, he was a Gooner through and through, a hero to all who watched his development through the youth teams and into the wonderful player he became. My favourite memory of him was his goal at the Lane in the League Cup Semi-Final – one of the most exciting moments of my life. Gone but never forgotten.

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Posted by Erik the Red

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

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