It’s Grin Up North!

January 20, 2011

Written  by Carlito 11

A result to put a smile back on our faces, a Nasri inspired Arsenal waltzed past a doggedly determined Leeds side to halt the slide against Championship opposition.

The game kicked off with some tough challenges signalling a hard fought encounter but we soon got our passing game going, Arshavin and Chamakh combining nicely before the latter dummied the return of a one/two letting a besnooded Nasri slip through the centre of defence and bury the ball in the 5th minute. The deafening noise from the home support receded and the game was going according to plan.

Chamakh had a couple of efforts thereafter- a great powerful header needing a good save from Kapser Schmeichel and a powder puff shot from the edge of the area. It is no wonder his first touch is so fantastic when a shot aimed on target has all the power of volleyed hacky sack. Where MC’s first touch is a thing of beauty, NB52’s has all the cushioning of a ping pong shot, one of which fortuitously ricocheted off Andy O’Brien to Sagna who took a touch and smashed it from the right hand side of the area- clean off the laces- to make it 2-0 and Arsenal were cruising at 2 nil. A superb goal from our Mr Reliable.

Nasri and Song were running the show at this stage but despite a good work rate from all three forwards, Nik Chamshavin was not producing much up front with some poor decision making from AA , poor touches from Nik and poor shooting from MC leading to the odd groan. But the defence was relatively untroubled and the team was playing for each other when Arshavin was fouled allowing Leeds to continue a build up around our box in the 37th minute. The ball found its way to Johnson who scored what must be the goal of his career, busting the net from 25 yards out. It was an unstoppable shot that Szczesny could do nothing about despite leaping valiantly in the right direction. The renewed fervour of their support did little to alter the fact that we were still much the better team and despite the best attempts of ITVs commentary team to convince us otherwise, there was no Arsenal wobble this time.

The second half started with a great move and a Song shot on target. Schmeichel was busy throughout and pulled off some good saves. Leeds countered and closed us down and tried to boss the game and if Song had not been there like a rock against the tide they may have done better against an otherwise lightweight Arsenal midfield. Arshavin had the look of a man desperately trying to play himself back into form but it was not to be and he and Chamakh were replaced by RvP and Fabregas .

We immediately shifted from 3rd to 4th gear and within minutes Bendtner had the ball down the right wing and flighted the perfect cross. Van Persie leapt and hung in the air before nodding emphatically through the outstretched grasp of Schmeichel. After that it was showtime with flicks and kicks- our away supporters singing the Rocastle, Henry and Wright songs loudly enough to be heard on TV.

Smiles all round at the final whistle- Huddersfield at home in the next round!

Arsenal verdict: Good performance with even those off form grafting hard.

Leeds verdict: They’ve got better players than I had given them credit for and play a fair tough tackling game. They deserve to do well this season based on this performance.

Support verdict: Leeds started at a tremendous volume but after initially being hushed by the first goal they kept it up well until the end. Our support could be heard well too 🙂

Man of the match: Nasri, Song and Sagna all deserve a special mention.

Moan of the match: Why do other teams’ fans always sing “same old, always cheating” when their players have committed the heaviest or clumsiest fouls?

Player ratings:

Szcenzny 7 Didn’t have much to do. Was a solid calming presence when required and couldn’t do anything about Johnson’s screamer.

Sagna 9 Reliable as ever and a gem of a strike for our second.

Djourou 8 Solid tidy play winning everything in the air.

Koscielny 8 Did nothing wrong and showed he is a ball-playing centre back!

Gibbs 8 Some good runs to link defence and attack. Untroubled by and large.

Song 9 Immense presence – at times winning out against 3 Leeds players. Had too much to do at times but managed very well.

Denilson 6 Just doesn’t have the presence to mix it even at this level. Left Song to do most of the breaking up and most of the link play.

Nasri (Captain) 9 Another gluefooted display of glide and finesse. A joy to watch and a great goal to get the game plan going.

Bendtner 7 Frustrating as he can be, his cross for the 3rd was top drawer and he put in a shift. Can he develop a better first touch at this stage?

Chamakh 6 Some excellent link play and a good header in the first half. Faded in the second. Can he develop a better shot?

Arshavin 6 Really tried, but it’s not coming off for him at the moment and his passing and decision making are suffering as a result.

If you don’t agree with Carlito’s player ratings have a look at London’s ………………….

Szczesny: noticeably different from his recent performances: much calmer body language, a sign I read to be growing maturity. Kicking was much better, although, he obviously needs to keep practicing that part of his game. 8

Sagna: it is obvious to say that footballers play better after a rest but never is it truer than with Sagna, watch and notice the difference the next time this happens which will probably be after the Barcelona game, oops I almost forgot to mention, he scored a lucky goal, only joking. Dammed if he was going to try and roll another ball across the box for Bendtner to miss again. Pick that beauty out of the net Shmeichel. 8

Djourou: back to his calm, laid back, reassured, Swiss self; he has come a long way this season, not the finished article so we shouldn’t be too hard on him when he slips up and slip up he will but that is for the future; tonight, I felt very comfortable with him there. 7.5

Koscielny: top drawer performance, some superb long range passes, I know that Leeds are not Prem opposition but if he carries on improving at the rate he is we are going to be very happy bunnies. 8

Gibbs: got caught out of position far too many times for my liking; although, he improved as the game went on. I still don’t understand how people can rate him higher than Clichy? 6

Song: I have run out of superlatives for the best player of that position in the EPL, would you still take Essien over our Alex? I wouldn’t. 8

Denilson: tut, tut thinking that the English press won’t pick up on interviews given in Brazil is a bit naïve. A functional performance but nothing special; the only positive I can think of is that with Song being so obviously being first choice DM at least we have someone who is prepared to spend most of his time on the bench acting as back up in emergencies, conclusion, hurry back Frimpong. 7

Nasri: I wrote a post the other day on my perception of how certain players like playing with certain others, Nasri and Chamakh are obviously bezzy North African mates living in London and loving playing their football together. Tonight he was given a chance to practice for his inevitable, soon to be central midfield role; he is not quite ready yet as the fact that his performance tailed off towards the end demonstrated but it is now when and not if. I almost forgot his goal as well, class, pure class. 8.5

Bendtner: the first thing I would say is that there is no doubt in my mind that he is getting better with every game, that said with every game I get more confused as to what we are going to do with him, great cross for the goal though. 7

Chamakh: lots more defensive work going on tonight, lots more chasing down and chasing back. I like it; he needs a goal now to fully regain his confidence. 7

Arshavin: BR put forward the idea that it is not right to accuse a player of not trying as how could we know if he is or not (forgive me if I misunderstood). I judge a player on whether he is trying or not by the effort he puts in to regain the ball once it is lost and within that criteria I don’t think Arshavin can be criticised in the slightest tonight; he was unlucky, I thought, that the extravagant things he tried didn’t come off. 7

Subs

Fabregas: we’ve got Cesc Fabregas, we’ve got Cesc Fabregas. 8.5

Van Persie: biased moi (said in a Miss Piggy voice). 10

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Posted by Rasp

Theo crosses Bridge …. Dutch Mastery ….. living up to the form book

January 16, 2011

Written by Gooner in Exile

West Ham 0 – Arsenal 3

This game doesn’t really require a report the stats say it all:

………………………………..WH             ARS

Possession                     34%            66%

Shots on Target              6                 13

Shots off Target              1                 7

Corners                          4                 10

As complete a victory as you are likely to see. With Song, Nasri and Van Persie returning to the starting line up alongside Theo, Cesc and Wilshere the line up looked capable of winning the game. With Eboue still in for Sagna, and Chesney continuing to deputise for the injured Fabianski we were only two players short of Arsene’s first choice starting eleven.

With those players on the pitch there could only be one outcome, couldn’t there?

To say we started well is an understatement, first to the ball, first to the pass, first to the tackle, the players seemed to be in control of the game from kick off and never looked back. Thankfully our early possession paid off within fifteen minutes, a period of possession leading to Theo having all the space and time in the world to pick a pass, which he did to perfection, a gorgeous stepover from Nasri later and Van Persie was burying the ball in the back of the net with his right foot.

Whilst we continued to dominate possession there was an occasional slip or misjudgement at the back that if punished would so easily have undone all the good work.

One of these moments came from a poor back pass from Big Johan which let in Cole, Chesney was very quick to rush off his line and make a great blocking save to spare JD’s blushes. With every game Chesney plays his stock rises, he gives me an overwhelming sense of confidence, he has the one ingredient that all the best keepers possess, belief in his own ability. He seems to be unflappable, something we have not had the privilege of seeing in the Arsenal goal since safe hands Seaman.

The team needed the second goal before half time, just to settle any underlying nerves, Theo duly obliged with a left foot strikers finish rounding off a lovely move involving Cesc, Clichy and Nasri. The great thing about the finish was Theo’s desire to reach the ball before Bridge, moving around him to apply the decisive touch like a true centre forward.

The second half was more of the same, complete domination of possession, Chesney was called on to make another fine save from Sears miscued cross, but the result was never in doubt and the players ran out at a canter.

Van Persie converted the third from the penalty spot after Theo had worked his way in to the area and debut boy Bridge completed a pretty disastrous day by bringing him down.

Nasri gave us something different today and showed us what we were missing against Leeds and Ipswich, a player who is willing to run at and past defenders either with ball at his feet or with little give and go passing. He gave another string to our bow today and he sure knows how to play it.

The early goal helps us, we now need to see that we can play this way for 88 minutes without scoring and nick a game 1-0, then we can start dreaming of trophies.

Player ratings:

Szczesny……….9

Koscielny…….. 8 (calmness personified)

Djourou……….  6 (few tricky moments under pressure from Cole)

Clichy …………. 7

Eboue …………. 7

Fabregas……… 7

Song ……………  7

Wilshere …….. 8 (continues to play with maturity beyond his years)

Nasri …………..  8

van Persie…..   8

Walcott ………. 8

Some may think the 7’s harsh, but I just think they all did what was expected of them no more no less.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

At Last We Have A First Team

January 2, 2011

On Monday we outclassed Chelsea at the Grove. Yesterday the same starting line-up won a comfortable away victory against a Birmingham side notoriously hard to beat at home.

Finally we have a first eleven.

The second string is the one that played at Wigan and was unlucky to only draw. The first team would have won that game comfortably but the boss felt seven of them needed a rest (and Cesc was suspended).

The only other squad member who could expect to walk in to our newly established first team is Vermaelen – and even he can’t assume his place is guaranteed.

Establishing a definitive first team feels to me like a significant step forward for Arsenal – one that will increase our chances of winning silverware this year. And I suspect it has come as something of a surprise to Arsene Wenger, because I’m not sure he knew his best team before this week.

In the last three seasons we have not had a clear first team because of injuries to key players and Arsene’s insistence that he has does not have a first eleven but, instead, has a large squad of players any of whom can play in any game.

Rotation is necessary during a long season, but I can’t help feeling that Arsene now realises what his first choice starting line-up is. Of course it won’t start every game, but if all are fit and available this eleven will start the big ones.

We (and he) knew the optimum eleven names on the team sheet in the Invincibles season; likewise in ‘97/’98 and 2001/02. Now we know it for 2010/11 and it has involved some brave decisions on the boss’s part: dropping Arshavin to the bench; starting Theo; starting young Djourou and Koscielny ahead of the most senior defender in the squad (Squillaci); sticking with Fabianski; making Jack Wilshere a first team regular at 18 (now 19 – happy birthday Jack); and dropping Chamakh for RvP despite the former’s good start.

Barring knocks, I expect our Chelsea and Birmingham starting line-up to take the field against Manchester City on Wednesday.

Yesterday we were too skilful and strong for a physical Brummie team. Our first eleven carried on where they left off against Chelsea, working their socks off to close down the opposition and creating chances at will.

The first goal was all about Robin van Persie. In the 13th minute he was pulled back  for a foul outside the Birmingham area. It was only a small tug and Robin went down easily, but I have no sympathy: if you pull someone’s shirt it’s a foul.

What happened next was very interesting. Normally our free kicks are notable for their lack of imagination or ingenuity. This time we had a plan – and it worked! Cesc stood in the middle of the Birmingham wall, then peeled off as Robin placed the shot perfectly in the gap he’d left behind. Bowyer stuck out an elbow (for what would surely have been a penalty if the ball had not ended up in the net) but the deflection took it past Foster. One-nil.

For the rest of the first half it was a competitive game, but with Arsenal on top despite some scares. Van Persie twice found himself in great positions in the opposition six yard box only to fluff his lines; Wilshere was nearly put through but miscontrolled in the area; Djourou almost got on the end of a van Persie free kick and Walcott also made a mess of a chance in the area.

At half time I was beginning to wonder of we would rue those misses, but I need not have worried.

Nasri made it two-nil in the 58th minute after a lovely one-two with Fabregas and the wind seemed to go out of Birmingham’s sails. The third came twelve minutes later – an own goal off Johnson after a breathtaking move of give-and-go involving Fabregas and Nasri.

We could have had more goals after that, but I’m not going to complain about a 3-0 away win at Birmingham.

The team played well as a unit and for each other. It was noticeable that Song played more defensively than he has been doing of late – presumably under orders to help protect our back line following Arsene’s criticism of our defending after the Wigan game.

Robin van Persie had one of those games where not much came off for him, but he scored the opener and worked very hard. His form will come back, which is an exciting prospect.

The only other noteworthy point is a mention for some of Birmingham’s thuggery. Roger Johnson should have seen red for a studs-up lunge into Cesc’s ankle early on and Bowyer would have been sent off if any official had seen his deliberate stamp on Sagna. He later raked his studs down Sagna’s calf. He’s a lowlife and should be retrospectively punished but probably won’t be. Cameron Jerome also managed a sneaky stamp on Koscielny’s thigh. It was good to see that we didn’t retaliate except by passing them into oblivion

After the Chelsea win I wrote a post saying that this team was ready to claim its destiny. When we drew away at Wigan I had those words thrown back at me, but I stood by them then and I do now. The key point being that it is THIS team – this eleven players who beat Chelsea and Birmingham – that is ready to prove Arsene’s critics wrong.

Like Kellogs Bran Flakes, this season is getting very, very tasty.

RockyLives

Player Ratings

Fabianski: he’s beginning to win over the critics. Made one stunning save from a Larsson free kick. He also came well for aerial balls a couple of times (although got lucky once when he fumbled the ball but collected on the bounce). 8

Sagna: put one or two crosses astray but was as defensively solid as we have come to expect. 7.5

Djourou: big JD is fast establishing himself as our best CB. He put in an outstanding shift, dominating defensively and bringing the ball out well from the back. 8.5

Koscielny: as usual, some vital headers and tackles. His temperament and bravery are commendable and his partnership with Djourou looks strong. 8

Clichy: Gael had a very good game against Larsson, a former Gunner who can be quite a handful. Made one outstanding run and cross. 8

Song: an unusually quiet game for our woolly-headed wonder, but that was because he stuck to his defence-covering duties and because of Birmingham’s lack of attacking ambition. Didn’t do anything wrong. 7

Fabregas: pulled all the strings; didn’t react to some rough treatment from Bowyer; back to his best: 9 MoTM

Wilshere: more industry than inspiration from Jack yesterday, but he is forming a good MF partnership with Song and Cesc. 7

Nasri: superb movement, dribbling and passing – he is beginning to terrify defences and took his goal very well. Close call for MoTM. 8.5

Walcott: his normally accurate shooting was a bit astray last night, but he works hard, tracks back with great diligence and makes opposing defences nervous. Birmingham sat back a lot even when losing, so there was not the usual sort of space for him to exploit. 7

Van Persie: scored the opener but gave the ball away a lot and fluffed a couple of gilt-edged chances. Still working his way back to form. 6.5

Subs

Arshavin: 7

Denilson: 6

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Posted by RockyLives

A Chance to Blow the Blues Away

December 27, 2010

Written by Big Raddy

At last a game and what a game –  the chance to get a monkey off our backs and put some distance between us and Chelsea.

I trust that you all had a fine Xmas and are recovering from the effects of over-eating and that last pre-bed Brandy. What better than a dose of fresh air and a home match against the pretenders to our crown as Kings of London?

In very recent years Chelsea have bought their way  to become a major force in European football, no-one could deny the quality of their Double win last season which was achieved with a rash of goals and some superb entertaining football. With Malouda in form they became as artistic as they were effective, but he has suffered from post-WC withdrawal and following the injuries to Fat Frank, Drogba, and JT, Chelsea have struggled for points. Ancelloti will be delighted to have his full team back on the pitch and expect a return to winning ways.

This is not the place to discuss the total lack of class exhibited off-pitch by Chelsea and their players, but from the top down they are as dodgy as 3 week old Turkey sandwiches and it is for this reason that whatever the result of today’s match Arsenal will remain London’s top team.  Yes, it is true that we have a dreadful recent record against them, yes it is true they have amassed a pile of Silverware in recent times but I would suggest one checks out the Trophy rooms and see whose is stacked with treasures representing a long, proud history, and whose has just a few pots gathered in the last few years. Our fans have been complaining about lack of silverware  – well, I suggest you look at the decades between Chelsea’s first Championship and their second (5 was it?).

Today’s match is interesting because neither team is firing on all cylinders, both losing points to teams well beneath them in quality and PL position. To our Newcastle, Spurs and WBA one can compare Chelsea’s losses to Sunderland and Birmingham. Had they lost last week’s postponed game against Man Utd, Chelsea’s season could have been over by the end of today’s match!

Onto the “hoodoo”. Can we beat one of our rivals for the title? The loss to MU pointed to an improved attitude – I never felt we were outfought or that our players didn’t believe they could win, they just were found out by a lucky, well drilled team. I look forward to the Mancs return to the Emirates. It was a similar story at Stamford Bridge, we weren’t outplayed but were beaten by a superb Drogba goal and an unstoppable shot from Alex. In between we were well on top and had Koscielny scored an early header from 2 yards out, we would have gone on to win the game.

We all know the Chelsea team, full of great players from Ashley through JT, Essien, Fat Frank, Anelka and Drogba (can we stop his outrageous run of goals against us , 13 in 11 games?). A truly formidable side who on their day can seriously be considered to be challengers to Barca as the best side in Europe. But they are struggling and we can take advantage.

If Cesc is firing and Nasri shows the form he has everywhere except OT we can and will win. I am happy that Fabianski is fit despite Chesney looking very good last time out.

My team:

Bench: Chesney, Gibbs, Kos, Chamakh, Diaby, AA, Eboue

I would love to see us attack them at pace. Chelsea are not going to worry about Chamakh’s aerial ability – they are fantastic in the centre of defence, so we need to test them with guile and speed.

I firmly believe we can win this game ( I always do!), we are rested , have our Captain and best player back and have excellent players on the bench. Mr. Wenger will have been stung by the criticism of his tactics at OT and will be eager to pit his wits against one of the World’s top managers in Ancelloti.  In a topsy turvy season a good run will win the title and we can start today.

COYRRG

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Posted by Erik the Red

Looking ahead ……. 2nd half-term

December 21, 2010

Written  by MickyDidIt89

Boxing Day and the visit of Chelsea marks the beginning of the second half of term, and I have some thoughts on the way that half may pan out. Should Utd win their game in hand, then in points speak,  we would be as close to 1st as we are to 5th.

Every team is always open to criticism in some quarter or other.  Knowledgeable supporters often agree on their teams’ weaker areas, however, with the 2010-11 Arsenal Vintage, this is far from the case. I think before a ball was kicked this season, most Gooners would have said the goalkeeper was the obvious area of weakness, that we had made good defensive signings and that surely one of them would be good enough to forge a strong CB partnership with TV. Song looked like he was developing into a real star last season, and along with Frimpong’s pre season displays, we had Denilson who I certainly believed was about to do a “Flamini”. After a solid World Cup, just maybe, RvP’s injury problems may have been behind him, on top of the fact that we had made a great looking signing in MC.

It is my belief that any team hoping to win top honours should be armed with three World class players. I would say that we do have three, in RvP, Cesc and Nasri. However two of them are very injury prone. Therein lies the first of two problems that I believe we have.

At the same stage of last season, we were gazing longingly into the transfer window in the belief that by adding a striker we could go the whole way in the league. This time one of my wishes would be for an injury free second half – term from Cesc and RvP.

It is very probable that the winners of the league will be the ones that keep their most influential players on the pitch. You only have to see how Chelsea have wobbled in the absence of Terry and Lampard, and the points dropped by Utd whilst Rooney was resting at The Nike Home For The Wayward, to see the importance of these players.  The other factor will be how the managers operate in the transfer window.

Would I enter the transfer market? Yes, I would, but only for an established World Class Leader, if such a person was available. This is to resolve the second of my problems. Leadership.  For which position? Here’s the odd bit. I don’t really mind. Perhaps an Adams, maybe a PV4, but whoever it may be, this man will be at the top of his career. That’s it, no resale value.  This would be short termist. Or would it? The way I see it, is that no harm would be done to the development of  JW, Ramsey, Frimpong, Gibbs, Theo, JD et al, to spend one or two seasons in a Trophy winning team developing the sweet taste of success.  It does not appear that there will be much between 1st and 5th, so with one big heave ho, we can be at the happy end!

Some of you may be evacuating to a bloggless land for Christmas ( whilst I cannot make it to the village shop), but let me take this opportunity of thanking Rasp and Peaches for this wonderful platform, thanking fellow bloggers for their wit, charm and great company, and wishing you all a Very Happy Christmas.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Arsenal …. you’ve forgotten haven’t you…

December 17, 2010

Written by Rasp

It’s easy to forget that Arsenal is more than just a football club, particularly when we have recently suffered disappointment on the pitch. Arsenal is part of the community and affects people’s lives worldwide. Peaches and I were  reminded of this last night when attending the book launch of Arsenal ‘Til I Die at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal Arsenal had submitted a selection of some of the many great posts on the site over the last year for inclusion in the book and we are proud that articles by Big Raddy and Irishgunner made it to the final print – luckily for us, neither author could make the occassion so we reluctantly had to deputise for them…. The book is a complilation of personal stories relating to Arsenal written by diehard supporters. It has been produced in collaboration with Arsenal in the Community and the National Literary Trust and proceeds from the book sales will go to charities supported by Arsenal.

Back to the football…….

Ok, so Lady Luck was not on our side against the mancs, but considering we’ve lost 5 games before Christmas and we’ve still got as much of a chance of winning the title as anyone else, I’d say she’s been pretty to kind to us so far.

There are three reasons why I can be cheerful (maybe even optimistic) when I look ahead to the second half of the season. For the first time in several years, we may have the makings of a strong spine to the team – and hopefully a team who play with some backbone. The emergence of Djourou as a top class defender and Chamakh’s role as a target man who brings out attackng midfielders into play are huge plusses, but  I believe that our success could rest on these key factors.

  1. Szczesny. The goalkeeper is the foundation of the defence. The young pole put in an excellent performance on Monday despite being tested early on by his own defenders who put him under pressure with under-hit back passes. He is 6ft 5in, brash with confidence, good in the air and a great shop stopper. He is Arsenal’s number one with the potential to be better than Seaman.
  2. Vermaelen. Hopefully he will be back in the New Year. We’ve really missed this guy. Apart from his obvious ability, he marshals the defence. He’s a leader at the back, someone who instils and inspires confidence in those around him. We need a commanding presence to make the defence solid. TV is National captain and was captain of Ajax – he is our man.
  3. Fàbregas. We saw how shockingly poor (by his own standards)  our captain’s passing was when he came on at OT. He’s not fit and should be rested until he is 100% because a fully fit Fàbregas makes Arsenal the best it can be. So I hope that Arsène sees sense and Cesc is not even on the bench against Stoke. I’d be quite happy to send him back to Spain for a week or two to recharge his batteries. If we can get our captain back to the full fitness for the New Year, we can launch a serious bid for the title.

Other reasons to be cheerful …….

The boost of winning the CC. The final will be played on Sunday 27th February. Barring a spectacular lapse into over-confidence we should be able to get past Ipswich over two legs and secure our place in the final. If/when we reach the final, the desire to silence the critics and bring our much publicised trophyless run to an end will surely see us climb the Wembley steps to collect the silverware.
The fixture list. We’ve already played most of the difficult away fixtures except totnum and that is a score we will need no motivation to settle. The second half of the season just looks as though it’s opening up for us to go on an unbeaten run. We have consecutive home games against pool and the mancs on the 16th and 30th of April and if we can be top after that, we have only Stoke, Villa and Fulham to complete the season.
Nasri’s on fire – but we’ve made it to 2nd in the table with the majority of our players not on top form (although Sagna is back to his best) and we can only expect them to improve – we will not fall at the final hurdle this time.

Ken Friar spoke from the heart last night as he explained that the Board were as fervent supporters as any of us in that room. They care passionately about the club and take nothing out. The tour of the Emirates is awe insiring. The lay-out, styling, facilities, attention to detail …. everything about our stadium is incredible. Sometimes we need reminding that we have achieved a miraculous transformation under Arsène Wenger of which we should all be proud.

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Posted by Rasp

Theo Walcott – Striker or Stinker?

December 10, 2010

Written by gunnerN5

January 20th 2006 was an exciting day in our history; Arsene Wenger secured the signature of Theo Walcott on an initial pre-contract agreement to sign a professional contract on his 17th birthday. Even at the tender age of 15 Theo was touted as one of, if not the, best youngster in English football and he was now an Arsenal player.

Now here we are almost 5 years and 134 games later (72 as a starter and 62 as a sub) into his Arsenal career. Has he proven to be the potential star we had anticipated and yearned for or is he still a work in progress; or worst still is he a waste of space?

He has provided many fantastic highlights and his speed frightens opposition defenses, but his lack of consistency and sub standard statistical measurements are sadly underwhelming.

His ability to leave defenses in his wake and deliver crosses is commendable, even exceptional, but many of his crosses go astray, along with the possibility of creating good goal scoring opportunities.

How many times do we see him speed up to a defender and then have no idea on how to get around him, how many of his passes go astray;  how many good moves break down because of his poor decision making?

In his 134 appearances, 72 as a starter and 62 as a sub he has totaled 18 goals and 20 assists, if we consider a goal as 1 point and an assist as half a point then he has earned .209 points per appearance.

One would believe that with his speed he would be best suited as a sub coming on for the last 20/25 minutes against tired defenses but the stats don’t back up this theory as  they are almost identical  as both a sub and a starter.

Most of our subs have higher points earned as starters than they do as sub’s which makes sense given the increased amounts of time that they are on the pitch – but Theo defies the logic – why?

His contribution level as a starter is almost the same as a sub and this simply should not be, especially with his outstanding speed. One would have to believe that at least his assists would increase given that we score so many goals in the last 20 minutes – but that is not the case – why?

Sadly I don’t have answers, simply questions, but even sadder it would appear that nobody else has either. It remains a wish and hope situation.

PS.

Since I wrote this I have done some more exhaustive/accurate research into this season’s goal scoring statistics and the results are quite revealing.

I would have preferred to use minutes played but I could not find a reliable enough source so I settled for the combination of games and substitutions to arrive at appearances – not ideal, but still useful data.

It should be of no surprise to any of us that Nasri is number 1 – closely followed by  Chamakh at number 2 – but surprise, surprise Walcott is number 3 – why?

Does that refute all of the previous comments?

The answer to the question is no, as he got all of his points in the first 3 games of the season and in his last 5 appearances he shown his typical inconsistency and earned zero points.

It should also be noted that Sagna has scored more points than Bendtner and that Fabianski has more points than Clichy or Rosciky who just scrapes onto the chart in last place.

All of the stats are EPL only.

Let’s talk.

GunnerN5

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

We never make it easy on ourselves, do we ?

December 9, 2010

Written by kelsey

In all probability most thought it would be a foregone conclusion to sweep Partizan aside and therefore qualify as runner up in our group. What we didn’t expect was a flat lacklustre performance, which I can only put down to nerves and the nagging thought in the back of the players mind that to make sure of qualification we just had to win.

Within a few minutes of the kick off, it was blatantly obvious that the fluidity of our game just wasn’t there and to compound things, Gibbs twisted his ankle and though bravely returned to the action he lasted  barely five minutes to be replaced by Eboue, who I might add has the weirdest warm up routine I have ever seen.

The combination of van Persie and Chamakh seemed more experimental than anything and it just didn’t work. Arshavin had a bad hair day and the harder he tried the worse he played. Let’s not kid ourselves, Partizan are a poor team and their sole ambition was to avoid a heavy defeat,  for the best part of half an hour they contained Arsenal very well.

RvP finally got a chance and was brought down in the box, he made no mistake and rifled the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 to the Arsenal. One would have thought that nerves would disappear, but apart from a great run by Eboue down the left flank and whipping the ball across with the outside of his right foot for no one to capitalise on, the team still seemed to be in a trance with no urgency.

After half time the inevitable happened when Partizan’s only moment of serious danger brought an equaliser  when Cleo’s shot took a wicked deflection off Sebastien Squillaci and out of Lukasz Fabianski’s reach – leaving Arsenal’s fans, albeit briefly, anxiously following events in the game between Shakhtar Donetsk and Braga.

Arshavin was rightly subbed and our cameo super sub Theo started to cause all sorts of trouble, restoring Arsenal’s lead with a fine volley after 73 minutes. Another moment of class from Samir Nasri wrapped things up as he scored with a fine low finish four minutes later.

Leadership on the pitch is required. We have until early February to sort this issue out, but hopefully with a fit Fabregas (who was sorely missed) and possibly Vermaelen to marshal the defence, we have the privilege to host either a German or Spanish side. The last 16 gives the club an additional £3.5 million revenue plus of course the receipts from the home leg, and it might be advisable to use that money to strengthen the defence.

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Posted by kelsey

Sometimes all at sea, but a big thanks to Nasri.

December 5, 2010

Written by kelsey

Not for the first time at the Home of Football, we were about to witness a feeling of déjà vu, though after the first twenty five minutes we should have been totally out of sight against a bemused and disorganised Fulham side. Time and time again their defence was carved open and several chances fell to Nasri, Arshavin, Chamakh and in particular, to Song. Then on 14 minutes, a sublime piece of magic by our star player Samir Nasri gave us a wonder goal and surely we all thought that a cricket score was inevitable.


However, it was not to be, and a misunderstanding between Squillaci and Koscienly resulted in a clash of heads and the ball dropped to Dempsey who fed the ball through to Kamara,and he coolly slotted it past Fabianski. If Koscienly had initially stayed down, the game would have been stopped, but he had some sort of delayed reaction and slumped to the floor after the goal was scored. Djourou came on in place of Koscielny, and suddenly Arsenal seemed to completely lose their momentum. We gave the ball away cheaply and there was no fluidity in movement. Fulham began to dominate, Fabianski having to make a save from Kamara yet again.

This game was all about Nasri, scoring his eleventh goal of the season and what proved to be the match winner. It was a goal of which the great TH14 (watching from is box) would have been proud. Chamakh again had a fine game and just needs to add the shoot on sight policy to his game, but that will come as his confidence builds.

Arshavin showed he is returning to form and provided another assist, and Rosicky had a reasonable game, but the fact that it is 34 games since he last scored must be playing on his mind.

For once both full backs were producing decent crosses and Sagna had a most impressive game. The centre back pairing is still a worry and we definitely miss Vermaelen. Song still tends to go too far up the field, and this certainly wasn’t his best game.

RVP supplied the deft touch for the winning goal, but he is clearly not fully fit and Walcott seems to have regressed and made no impact on the game. We sit proudly on top of the league, and we have to thank the reactions of Fabianski in the dying minutes for that, but defensive issues still remain.

Player ratings added by Rasp

Fabianski 7

Clichy 7

Sagna 8

Squillaci 8

Koscielny 6     Djourou 8

Song 5

Wilshere 7

Arshavin 8

Nasri 9

Chamakh 7    

Subs

van Persie 7

Walcott 4

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Posted by kelsey

We’re Better Without Cesc

November 29, 2010

If you listen to the excellent Arsenal podcast by actor and comedian Alan Davies, you will know that he regularly refers to our captain as Jesus.

And who would argue?

At times our little Spaniard does indeed seem to be the son of God (yes, that’s right – his dad really is Dennis Bergkamp).

And, at the risk of a little mild blasphemy, the similarities between our midfield Jesus and his Biblical predecessor are many.

Jesus fed the 5,000 with nothing more than five loaves and two fishes; Cesc regularly nourishes the 60,000 with nothing more than five half decent colleagues and (at least) two donkeys.

Jesus walked on water; Cesc pissed on Tottenham.

Jesus sits at the right hand of the father (Dennis); Cesc sits in the right of midfield, (with licence to roam forward when we’re in possession).

Jesus was tempted by Satan. Cesc was tempted by those satanic twunts at the Camp Nou.

But now, just like the Biblical Jesus, Cesc is experiencing a period in the wilderness: his dodgy hamstring won’t clear up; his touch has gone missing; his passing has deteriorated to its worst level since he started playing for Arsenal; his goals have dried up.

Quite frankly, right now we are a better team WITHOUT Cesc Fabregas.

I know this sounds like heresy. It even crossed my mind to attribute the opinion to someone else, then it would just sound like hearsay.

But I have to hold up my hands and admit it’s all my own.

The game at Villa Park showed how we can function perfectly well without our captain. Rosicky, Nasri, Arshavin and Wilshere are all gifted footballers with creativity to spare and they combined well on Saturday.

There was a balance to the team and, crucially, there was not a misfiring piston at the heart of our machine.

When you think about it, our squad is probably better equipped than any in the EPL to cope without its leading creative playmaker.

I don’t believe Cesc’s form has been poor because his head (or heart) is in Barcelona. It’s just that, having played all the way to the World Cup Final and missed pre-season, he has never fully found his stride.

Added to that, his niggly hamstring problem has got into his head (is that a medical first?) to the extent that he is playing in the constant expectation of pulling it again.

At times he has been excellent (Man City away) at others woeful (at home against Newcastle he misplaced 27% of his passes).

You might say that, in that case, we should keep playing him because some of his performances may turn out to be good. But then you run up against the Thierry Henry problem (mentioned by Peaches yesterday): in his later period with us TH14 was so much the superstar of the team that the other players always tried to pass to him, even when there were better options on. This was fine when he was in world-beating form, but as his powers waned it meant we became less effective.

You can see it with the current team: when Cesc is playing he is so much our talisman that they automatically try to give him the ball in the expectation that he is the one who will make something happen.

So when he’s off his game, as he has been lately, most of our play is being channelled through a lame duck.

What some of these other players need is a run of winning games without Cesc, where they learn that they can do it on their own; that Arsenal Football Club would not collapse if he left; and that we (and they) are bigger than any single player. Maybe it was no coincidence that Arshavin had his best game of the season at Villa.

At the moment Cesc is being kept out because of his hamstring, even though the club has acknowledged that the injury is something of a mystery.

Personally, I think the hamstring gave Wenger the excuse he needed to drop his captain.

I hope he keeps Cesc out of the front line for several weeks, to the point where his physical and psychological issues have been well and truly ironed out. About a month would probably allow Cesc to recover fully, so that’s he’s raring to get back in the action.

If he can come back at anything like his best, we will reap the benefits for the second half of the season and, of course, a fit and firing Cesc Fabregas is one of the very best players in all the football world.

A month on the sidelines would bring him back at Christmas. I can’t think of a better time for the second coming of the Messiah.

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

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