Arsenal 1 – 0 Leeds: Genius Never Gets Old

January 10, 2012

It’s not a trick of the eye, it’s not a fancy photoshop job. That is indeed Thierry Henry in an Arsenal shirt, an Arsenal shirt of 2012, wheeling away to celebrate a goal.

And not just any goal, but an Henry goal. Song played in a brilliant through ball that split the two covering defenders, Henry took one touch to control the ball, and himself, and then he curled right into the corner of the net away from the keeper’s despairing dive. This was a goal that was a blast from the past – the good old times when it would be Bergkamp or Bobby Pires or Freddie playing the ball into Henry. It brought a joy to the Emirates that we’ve not seen in some time.

More importantly, it also brought us into the Fourth Round of the FA Cup where we play Aston Villa.

Leeds came with one objective last night: shut up shop and try to get a return leg at Elland Road to bring in some much needed funds. In the first half we had 63% possession, but created little in the way of real chances. Arshavin, Ramsey and Arteta all had half-chances but none that really caused panic in their defence.

I must give a word to the three mentioned above. Despite his wayward shots and odd bad decision, Arshavin put in as much effort last night as he has done in a long time in an Arsenal shirt. He kept going until the last minute, and it was pathetic he got the yellow card (although deserved) when he was the one kicked and dragged all night. Ramsey and Arteta also put in a massive shift in midfield, both are neat players who aren’t afraid to get stuck in. Wenger’s choice of Captain was spot on – Arteta is a calming influence in there, and with Jack due back soon from injury we’ve a nice midfield forming.

As for our younger players, Chamberlain had a decent game. He is a willing lad, always game to run and try the odd trick to get around his man, he’s not afraid of a shot either. What I liked about him last night was how he would spot a man free on the other wing and switch play with a good pass. Ramsey did the same on occasion. It was a great shame Coquelin went off injured, he has played well of late and was proving he was deserving of his run in the first team, hopefully his injury isn’t serious. Yennaris had a decent game with he came on for Coquelin, didn’t do anything rash and wasn’t afraid to get on the ball.

As for Ignasi Miquel – can someone make sure we wash all that Barcelona DNA bullshit out of him so when he becomes a top defender he’ll stay at the mighty Arsenal and not whinge to “go home. ” Here is your home Ignasi! He is only 19?! Is he?! Composure or what? (Although I know it is Leeds and they didn’t threaten much but this is based over his few games this season). (PPS He also has lovely hair).

At the back Kos and Squidgy did what was needed, which wasn’t much. Szczesny also did well to stay alert and make a good save right at the death – however, he needs to remember that sometimes it is okay for the keeper to just boot it into the stands. His fancy dan stuff out on the sideline that gave the ball to a Leeds player could be more costly against a better side.

Aside from that, Chamakh started well for ten minutes and then did little. I’m not sure if its him not trying or us not playing to his strong suit (whipping balls into the box for him to attack) but at the moment I’d rather see Park getting the spot on the bench and having a shot – with Chamakh off to Africa he should have his chance now, or will Henry take it?

And so we are back to where we began – with Henry. The headlines are all going to be about him tomorrow and why not? Look how much the goal meant to Henry, meant to Wenger, meant to everyone at the Emirates, to Arsenal fans worldwide, to non-Arsenal fans worldwide.

You see, genius doesn’t get old. No matter who a man plays for, you have to appreciate when they are good, when they are great. There was just this more than horrible belief that Henry’s career would be overshadowed by that handball against Ireland because that was the last “big thing” Henry did. Until last night. Last night’s goal was so simple to Henry, it brought back all those other 226 goals with waves of emotion.

THIS IS HENRY! This is the Henry that must be remembered. Twitter was absolutely mental last night with people proclaiming the “Return of the King” and it wasn’t just Arsenal fans. All the Arsenal players were buzzing, players from other clubs, commentators, celebs, nobodies, everybodies – think what you may of Henry’s return but isn’t the buzz that moment created reason enough to smile and be happy?

That handball against Ireland will be put into the annals of history and everyone will be talking of 9th Jan 2012 and where were you for the second coming of the king?

Me? I was at home in my room in Ireland going mental, thanking Henry for the one birthday present I wanted more than most (ask Peaches), and while you are reading this I will be at work, wearing an Arsenal shirt from the Unbeaten season with “Henry 14” on the back and telling any Irish person that wants to argue otherwise that 78 minutes into last night’s match is Thierry Henry, Son of Arsenal and one of the finest players the world has ever seen.

With 12 minutes remaining, Henry scores his 12th goal against Leeds in 12 appearances wearing number 12 on his Arsenal shirt in 2012

Tell me it wasn’t meant to be?!

Written by IrishGunner

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Posted by criochnaithe

Wigan: Easy Peezy Lemon Squeezy.

December 4, 2011

That Locomotive called Arsenal was back on track today charging once again towards the top of the table. After frustratingly slowing down at Fulham last weekend it was full steam ahead up north to Wigan to pick up what turned out to be an easy three points.

The players exuded superiority from the moment they stepped onto the pitch. The play was purposeful and decisive, Arsenal were cutting their way through at will with some classy inter play but it was Wigan who were presented with the first serious goal scoring opportunity, watching in the Twelve Pins pub in Finsbury Park they showed the replay three times and I still do not understand how Gomez managed to miss from eight yards out, Match of the Day will clear it up but right now it remains a mystery.

It is obviously wrong to say that if you scratch the surface of Arsenal you will find a fragility lurking just below but it is also wrong to say that the early season fear has completely disappeared, Arsenal were taken aback by that scare and it took a while to regroup and push on forward but forward they went and as quick as doubts started appearing in the mind as to whether this week was going to be our week they were dispelled by Arteta’s determined run and a pile driver of a shot past the out stretched Wigan goal keeper to make it one nil and take the pressure right off.

The gulf in class began to show and it wasn’t long before we doubled our lead: van Persie sent over a corner that cleared the first man (now there is a sentence I haven’t written in a while) passing everyone except for the Lion of Flanders; Vermaelen soared above his marker to powerfully direct a header just inside the post, it really was quite an incredible goal. As he celebrated I remembered how a certain section of Arsenal supporters criticised Wenger for buying him, complaining, before he had even played a game mind you, that at 5’11” he was too short. As this is a headline post I am going with: shame on them but on another day my language would be more agricultural lets say.

The game may now have been over as a competition but there were still a few more thrills to be had. The second half started in the same way as the first with Wigan trying to play football, you have got to admire the refusal of Martinez to turn them into Orcs but unless they adopt that style they will be relegated. Wigan’s attempt at getting back on terms was short lived; the rousing half time team talk that Martinez not doubt gave them evaporated when Gervinho was in the right place at the right time to knock the ball in to make it three. Gervinho’s joy was plain to see and that was no act, he was genuinely elated at getting himself on the score sheet.

The more observant would have noticed that earlier he had missed what some may describe as yet another golden opportunity with a one on one only the goal keeper to beat. To those I say you really have to be in the right place at the right time to get those opportunities and by the shear fact that these situations are starting to stick in the mind they act as evidence that he is getting himself in the right place at the right time. There is no doubt in my mind that many more goals will follow.

What would a big score day be without our captain getting in on the act, I bet there were a few journalists thinking that if van Persie doesn’t score how are they going to try and undermine Arsenal in the future; I mean, if they can’t accuse us of being a one player team what are they going to say? Worry over, van Persie duly obliged and scored his ninety fifth goal of the season, (I don’t know how many it is now) and by doing so the media can continue to call us a one man team.

Four-nil, cue substitutions, we all wanted to see the Ox but Arsene is making us wait a bit longer, nevertheless, I like Benayoun’s energy, I like to see the ever maturing Coquelin and I just laughed when Arshavin made a last man slide tackle to snuff out a Wigan attack down the left wing when Santos had gone AWOL in the Wigan half.

I feel a bit of a fraud writing this report, it is a bit like you guys have worked your hearts out for ninety minutes and in extra time we are awarded a penalty and up I step to knock in this simple match report, still as the saying goes you can only write about the opposition that is put in front of you lol.

Player ratings.

Szczesny: some one has had a word in his ear and told him to stop joking about, gone were the silly attempts at dummying the on rushing opposing forward before clearing the ball, today’s performance was controlled, determined which brings me to the adjective I have been waiting to use…….immaculate. 10

Koscielny: did he do anything wrong? Not that I can remember, he is not as threatening in the final third as Jenkinson and he is not as good a defender at right back as Sagna but hey onwards and upwards for our Kozzer. 8

Mertesacker: when the BFG cocked up against Norwich I wrote to him angrily saying that we all know that if he had been wearing the German national shirt he would not have done that, I suggested that wearing one under his Arsenal shirt might help, he wrote back saying he would, the results were there for all to see today, I thought that was the best performance he has put in to date, calmness personified. 8

Vermaelen: The Lion of Flanders, I suspect many won’t know this but cycling is the national sport of Belgium, in that sport the Italians, as you would imagine, are flamboyant the French are like the English and Wimbledon, cycling is their sport but they never win it; but, in Belgium, especially in Flanders they breed the real tough men of cycling and Vermaelen is straight out of that mould, hard as nails, no one is going to ever push him around. My man of the match. 9.5

Santos: all over the park we have our first choice player and we have his back up, in some positions it is unbalanced such as Van Persie and Chamakh but the combination of Santos and Gibbs seems prefect to me. By Santos playing, Gibbs is not going to feel that he will never get his chance and when Gibbs plays I doubt that Santos will feel aggrieved. In truth he faded today, and had Gibbs been fit I would have expected him to have come on but Santos little by little is getting up to speed with the EPL. I am a big fan but today was not his best. 7

Song: we need competition for his position, I mean real competition, Frimpong and Coquelin are snapping at his heels but they are not there yet. Today we didn’t have Songinho but we did have a solid shield for our defence. 7

Arteta: if you can’t play for your national team then the Champions League has got to be the next best thing; he clearly loves wearing the glorious red and white and long may it continue. Great goal. 8

Walcott: some sterling work down the wing again, I don’t care what anyone says he has been a different player since the Ox arrived on the scene. 7

Van Persie: The Dogs. 8

Gervinho: before today our Ivorian friend gave me the impression that he wasn’t sure if he belonged that’s to say he looked nervous as to whether he had been accepted as one of the team……look closely at his celebrations after his goal and you will learn all you need to know about this player. 8

Written by LB (London)

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Posted by LB

Goetze hurts as Song too strong!

November 24, 2011
Written by FatGingerGooner
 

Champions League week 5 and ze Germans were the visitors to London town in the form of Borussia Dortmund. Fresh from a fantastic 1-0 win against league rivals Bayern, they came into the game full of confidence and looking for the win that would put them right back in Group F contention. Arsenal, however, were looking for the victory that would see them qualify for the knockout stages.

 
No real suprises in either line up and the game started as expected. BD were pushing high up the pitch and pressing the home midfield at every opportunity. The Arsenal defence were seeing plenty of the ball but were finding it difficult to get the ball forward,  opting for patience as they knocked the ball from side to side.
 
The pattern of the game then changed due to a couple of BD injuries. First, the fantastically named Bender was caught by a stray boot and had to be stretchered from the field of play, shortly after, the boy wonder Goetze, who many were looking forward to seeing, was subbed with what appeared to be a dead leg. Unfortunate for BD and the game, but I wasn’t really complaining as he looked threatening early on!
 
Dortmund had looked dangerous but the loss of 2 key players seemed to effect their game and Arsenal were starting to find a little more space. Walcott, in particular, was starting to look lively. First, he had a goal correctly ruled out for offside, and then some neat play saw him latch onto a through ball but fail to round the onrushing keeper. Then came the most incisive action of the first half as Theo dazzled the full back with a beautiful dummy before collecting the return pass and whipping a delightful cross towards RvP, only for the keeper to stick out a paw and diffuse the situation. It was the best move of a tactical first 45 which saw neither keeper troubled. Surely the second half would see more goalmouth action with both teams needing a win?
 
No more changes at the break and Dortmund started brightly. Some slick passing down the right resulted in a deflected cross which rolled agonisingly across a packed area but fortunately for the Gunners, straight to the BFG who knocked it out for a corner. A scare, but nothing more. This kicked Arsenal into life. Some neat passing down the left eventually fell to the feet of Song, who showed his strength to hold off one tackle before twirling through 2 more tackles with moves that Robbie Savage would have been proud of, before finally floating a beautiful ball to the back post where captain fantastic did brilliantly well to not only generate power, but also head the ball down and beyond a disappointed keeper. 1-0 to the Arsenal.
 
The game had finally come to life, and with Dortmund looking a little dejected and tired from their earlier hard work, space was starting to open up for the Arsenal midfield. Song and Ramsey were starting to control the game and it was the later who found Gervinho’s perfectly timed run with a defence splitting pass, and suddenly the Ivorian was clean through on goal. He jinked past the keeper with a fantastic sidestep but should really have been more aware of the defenders getting back, one of which nicked the ball away for a corner just as he was about to pass the ball into the net. Gervinho once again showing little urgency in front of goal, something reminiscent of Kanu and something that will need to change if he is to be an Arsenal great.
 
More chances followed for the home side with Walcott firing wide and substitute Benayoun just unable to find Walcott at the end of another flowing move. Song was everywhere, Vermaelen was dominant at the back and my new favourite Santos was showing more tricks than David Blain as Arsenal took control. Then, with around 10 minutes left, the brilliant home fans were given a treat as Diaby made his way onto the field for his first appearance of the season. Its great to have him back. Seconds later the Gooners were cheering again as a corner routine reminiscent of Bould and co saw RvP all alone 2 yards out. Game over.
 
For the last 5 minutes, Djourou replaced Koscielny, and it was his mix up with Song that allowed Dortmund in for a consolation goal, Kagawa tapping in from close range. Szscesny was rightly furious that his clean sheet was taken away at the last, but it meant very little as Arsenal finished the night as group winners.
 
Overall, Arsenal were excellent. They found it difficult in the first half to find space but that was due to great organisation from Dortmund rather than poor Arsenal play. The second half was a different game and with the tempo of the passing increased, the gunners midfield proved too strong for their German counterparts. A great result against a very capable German outfit.
 
Oh, and Chelsea lost!
 
Player ratings:
 
Szscesny-didn’t have a great deal to do. Made a pretty routine stop at the beginning of the second half and kicking was good throughout 7
 
Koscielny-saw loads of the ball first half but played a couple of sloppy passes. Looked awkward going forward but solid as always in his defensive work 7
 
Mertersacker-won a lot of headers, as you would expect, and was his usual calm self. Never looked like making a mistake which is good to see 7
 
Vermaelen-what else can you say about this fella? Outstanding and commanding. Flicked on for RvP second 8
 
Santos-he’s dangerous, but my god is he fun! All the tricks you would expect from a Brazilian striker and solid one on one. love him 7.5
 
Song-outstanding display, espescially second half. His skill for the first goal was class. Would have been full marks had he not gifted Dortmund a consolation goal. MOTM 9
 
Arteta-along with most of the team he struggled to find space first half, but showed his class and experience in the second. Great corner routine. 7
 
Ramsey-excellent second half when more space was available. Playing well at the moment and appreciated by his team mates 7.5
 
Walcott-liveliest player in the first half and caused the Germans problems. solid performance. Great cross in first half 7.5
 
Gervinho-should have scored when clean through. Goes round people for fun but final ball/finish must improve 7
 
RvP-2 goals, smart performance rather than outstanding. Linked up well and knows where to be in the box. 8
 
Subs
 
Benayoun-worked hard as always but showed a bit more of his attacking ability. Great player to have in the squad 7
 
Djourou-didn’t have much to do and was sold a bit short by Song for the BD goal. Will get slated for the goal but Song should have got rid 6
 
Diaby-great to have him back. Could be a top player if can get through a season or two without injury 6 
 

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

High Hopes: Borussia Dortmund Preview

November 23, 2011

Cut and paste the post for the Dortmund away fixture …..

Except, Arsenal were in the midst of our terrible run and some of the players who have now bedded in were still struggling. That is not all, our Centre Backs had yet to be formally introduced and with Aaron out, Benayoun started.  The stadium was full of fervent  and expectant BD fans. For those who were three sheets to the wind in order to combat the nerves, BD equalised with a wonder goal in the 86th minute. A draw was a very good result given the circumstances.

Arsenal must surely be confident on the back of such a fine run of results, however the same can be said of BD who this weekend went to Munich and beat Bayern – never an easy task and even harder this season as Bayern rediscover their pedigree. BD know that should they lose tonight their CL adventure is all but over, they talk about tonight as a Cup Final. Coming to THOF will  give the Germans a huge challenge as they play in front of the best supporters in world football in the best stadium in world football – it could inspire them or petrify them, let us hope for the latter!

Nights like tonight are special – a slight chill, time to have a beer or two in the pub, some banter with mates, the floodlights, a full ground, top opposition; I wish I could be there – instead I will be sharing the experience with other AA’ers who are not so privileged.

60,000 Lucky Ones

A worry must be Koscielny playing at RB. True, he had a good game on Saturday but playing against Pilkington is very different to Kagawa who showed in Dortmund that he is a fine young player.  The improvement of our midfield 3 bodes well for the future. Arteta appears to have the football intelligence required to assist his young playmates –  Song looks better and Ramsey is improving weekly alongside the Spaniard who is proving to be an inspired signing.  Another huge difference is the return of The Verminator, what a monster player this man is.  He give us more defensive security, leads the team from the back, improves all the players around him, is superb coming forward and is all round a top, top player.

My Team:

* Raddy’s team selection has been amended following the late news that Gervinho will not be playing due to a personal problem.

Looking at the above team I ooze confidence. Santos is a different proposition to Gibbs (who played in the first leg), especially at home where he will have more opportunity to get forward – not that he needs an invitation ! Diaby is on the bench and we look forward to seeing him contribute during the coming months; if he can stay fit he is a marvellous albeit infuriating talent.  Should Walcott play as he did on Saturday I can see him on the scoresheet and we can only hope if AA plays in place of Gervinho, that he will prove as effective as the Ivorian has been lately. If our defence can keep them out, we will win.

A new BR feature for home games will be famous Arsenal fans and we start with Harry Beck. You may not be familiar with the name but you certainly are with his work. Harry created the schematic London Underground map which is a work of true beauty. Harry lived in Finchley Central and was a Gooner through the Chapman years dying  (happily) just after we won our first Double.

Harry wearing his favourite Arsenal away shorts. ( out of picture but take my word for it)

Where we have a major advantage is in the experience of our manager. Mr. Wenger will analyse  the previous fixture and make adjustments to the way we play. AW stated at his press conference that BD were in form and “developing,” He expects a fine game of attacking football, plenty of thrills and a topsy turvy night. So do I.

Written by BigRaddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Prince Robin saves the Big F****** German

November 20, 2011

Written by Gooner in Exile

After two weeks of interlull we could once again enjoy proper meaningful football with a trip to the Fine City of Norwich to take on Paul Lambert’s promoted Canaries.

The only selection problem facing Wenger was whether to field Koscielny, Djourou or Yennaris at right back. In fairness it was a no brainier, Koscielny is one of the first names on the team sheet on current form and out of our relative plethora of centre backs probably most adept at playing right back having had experience there in the lower French leagues.

The team started brightly with Walcott using his pace to scare Tierney and Gervinho causing problems on the left. The skipper was showing why he is the most feared attacker in the Premier League right now with movement and sublime touches that the Norwich defence could not cope with.

One of the early chances fell to van Persie, to the shock of Arsenal fans everywhere he failed to convert it. The team was carving out opportunities and controlling possession so easily that it was only a matter of time before the deadlock would be broken.

The best chance of the opening fifteen minutes came as Gervinho found Walcott arriving in the box he cleverly stopped and curled the ball past Ruddy with his left foot, Martin lunged towards the goal and somehow managed to clear the ball over the cross bar to prevent the opener.

It was Norwich however who took the lead against the run of play, Mertesacker came over all charitable (perhaps a Children in Need Hangover and a confusion of Pudsey with a Canary) and became the Big Friendly German, unnecessarily allowing the ball to bounce when playing it early or just clearing the ball into Row Z would have been the better option. Morrison bundled past the German and slotted the ball under the advancing Szczesny.

Szczesny’s look at Per summed up how we were all feeling about him at that moment.

However this is the new Arsenal, goals given away are just another obstacle to overcome, there was no ten minute spell where we felt we could go more goals down, the team instead set about getting the equaliser.

After another period of more spurned chances we equalised, Gervinho advancing down the wing brought the ball inside and fed van Persie he turned and found Walcott, he pushed it past Tierney, sprinted onto it, looked up and drove the ball towards the centre of the goal and Gervinho. The Ivorian managed an air kick back heel when a simple tap in would have sufficed, thankfully Robin couldn’t miss the opportunity to add to the seasons tally and he had ghosted into the box unmarked to tap in from two yards.

The half played out with more opportunities for Arsenal to take the lead but unfortunately they could not make any of them count.

The second half started well with more fine attacking play. Vermaelen breaking forward and managing to deliver a cross which found Gervinho but he could only head weakly at Ruddy. Soon after Gervinho had another chance to break the deadlock, played in by a beautiful reverse pass from van Persie he rounded the keeper but did not have the composure to pass in to the empty net.

It started to feel like we would not find a deadlock, and some legs were looking heavy from International duties. Then Ramsey disposed Martin and was immediately brought down, Song collected the loose ball and drove forward, Gervinho broke left, and Robin broke right, Song took his time and played in van Persie, it looked like he may have forced him to wide on his right foot, Ruddy came to narrow the angle and but Van Persie calmly lifted it over him with the chocolate leg and the ball nestled in the net.

The rest of the ninety played out with little incident, our new found maturity and responsibility meant that our attacks were limited to three or four players rather than five, six and seven of last season, and the defence rarely looked exposed or troubled.

All in all a job well done, three points were much needed to continue the form we have been showing in the last few weeks and to keep the momentum five Premier League wins on the bounce 15 goals for 6 against.

Undoubtedly there will be more people saying we rely on van Persie too heavily and calling us a one man team after another brace to get us over the final hurdle. Well here’s the thing, thats the laziest punditry I currently hear. Robin van Persie is a centre forward, you expect him to score the bulk of the goals. He does not score all goals by picking the ball up on the half way line and running past everyone, he scores goals by finding good positions and being played in by one of his talented teammates, that nearly every chance he has goes in means the team look to find him with the final ball more often.

Ratings:

Szczesny 8 – Goalkeepers union speaking here but i dislike a keeper getting a 7 just because he didn’t have a lot to do, everything that was asked of him he did well, no chance for Norwich goal, if he had saved it he would have got a 9.

Koscielny 7 – Strong defensively and Norwich did not get a look in on our right flank. However judged as a full back he did not get forward enough to support Walcott.

Mertesacker 6.5 – I know most will expect him to get a lower score because of the mistake that led to the goal, but in all honesty it was the only mistake he made al day, unfortunately he was punished for it. Other than that he swept up and closed down well and looked comfortable.

Vermaelen 8 – Won everything in the air, solid in the tackle and offers an alternative when bringing the ball out of the back line.

Santos 7 – This guy is marmite you either love him or hate him, I think I love him, he is an under-rated tackler and does well going forward. Has a tendency to give me kittens every now and again with a relaxed pass, he just plays the game he knows, pass the ball and trust the receiver.

Arteta 7 – Seemed to suffer really from two weeks off, once up to speed set about providing a useful screen to break up attacks and kept the ball moving in the right direction.

Song 7.5 – Comfortably dealt with all Norwich could chuck at him, filled in at centre back when Vermaelen went wandering forward, and good work to seize on the opportunity to set up the winner.

Ramsey 7 – Worked hard to get in good positions, but wasn’t always found by his teammates. Pounced on the poor touch by Martin to allow Song to break forward for the winner.

Gervinho 7.5 – Getting better all the time, movement good, dribbling good, passing good, finishing must do better, but I’m sure it will come with time.

Walcott 8 – Purple patch time for this young man, finding a way to beat his man every time, and using the ball to good effect. Unlucky not to have scored but a fantastic all round performance.

van Persie 8 – Great movement to be on the end of the first, sublime finish for the second. Good link up play and leadership.

MOTM – Walcott, constant threat and end product.

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Posted by Gööner In Exile

Gun Powder kept Dry as Arsenal graft a win – and Player Ratings.

November 6, 2011

After getting the offer of some tickets late Friday, I went to the Emirates expecting a win, confidence in the team is getting stronger, especially with WBA not quite been the attacking enigma that they were last season when we managed to lose 2-3.

Robin “Assists from the lads were Insane”

Pre-match, Robin “One Man Team” Van Persie received his awards for a spectacular October, which was capped off in devastating fashion at the Bridge as Arsenal swept Chelsea aside. Midweek, Arsenal failed to reach the same heights against a stubborn and well drilled Marseille.

So against WBA, if this recovery was to be fully realised and help us rise up the table then, this confidence of expectation must be met with 3 points, especially ahead of the dreaded international break.

What sort of performance would we get? What team would the boss go with?

Sir Chez was between the sticks and the front six were the regulars, with Santos and Jenks as the full backs, TV was partnered by Kozzer………

“A minute’s silence was impeccably observed by all prior to the kick off in remembrance of those who have laid down their lives in the service of the Country, 90 years since the end of the World War 1”

Arsenal started in a positive mood which matched the atmosphere around the ground, which is good to see.

Ramsey was energetic as usual in the middle, constantly probing and pushing to attack. Song and Arteta were controlling and dominating the middle.

Walcott was keeping wide, holding his position and looking for the ball, looking more confident, Jenkinson was getting forward well. But the link play between the two is poor at best.

Vermaelen and Koscielny were looking imperious, I like BFG and he has helped settle our back line in the absence of the Verminator, but surely with Kozzer and Vermaelen we have the best CB pairing in the Premier League?

We were keeping possession and looking for the killer pass, but it’s the movement in the final 3rd that seems the only thing not clicking. The first real chance came from a free kick as Gervinho is up ended on the edge of the box. The moment is there for the Boy Wonder, but instead, Santos takes aim, looking to get an early present for the fans…………no such luck.

As Arsenal press with a strong dominance of the play, West Brom looked to catch us on the break. The surprising thing for me was that West Brom, were like a Vampire with dentures, just lacking bite, I expected so much more from them, although I think they didn’t get much chance from a dogged Arsenal midfield, which if they did get past they met Kozzer and Vermaelen who gave no quarter.

On 22, Walcott moved slightly more inside with a slide rule pass splitting the WBA defence, Walcott ran at goal and shot at Foster, who didn’t gather the ball as it went under him, but it came back out, to the one and only Boy Wonder, who gratefully slotted in the first goal. 1-0.

The pace picked up and a lot was going through Walcott, but yet again we are not utilising his pace to the right affect.

On 39, a great cross field raking lofted pass to Van Persie at the far post, who pulled it back across, Gervinho was ahead of the ball and missed his chance to turn it in, but ball broke to the edge, to a grateful Thomas Vermaelen, who left footed firmly put I past the keeper across his direction of movement. 2-0……

Going in at half time 2 up with a clean sheet was a good feeling, tight at the back steady play, knowing when to go through the gears. The team looked solid.

WBA started the 2nd half much brighter and intent on getting forward. Arsenal seemed to take 5-10 mins to getting going again.  Best chance since the break saw Gervinho find Ramsey on the left who lashed the ball across the goal but wide.

Then Song had a wicked shot parried away by foster, as Arsenal looked to kill the game off.

A flurry of subs on 72. Ramsey and Gervinho for Rosicky and Benayoun.

On 74, Vermaelen, played a firm pass through the middle to Van Persie, he moved forward and right, played in Rosicky, RVP carried his run on, but the return from Rosicky was just behind RVP, who somehow steadied himself and the ball and returned the ball to Arteta, who slotted the ball home with ease, pinpoint shot. 3-0 game over.

Arteta had another chance and WBA were unlucky when Tchoyi took an eternity to find his composure and that allowed TV to block the shot.

West Brom tried to exert some pressure in the last few minutes but they still really trouble us, as the ole’s rang around the ground.

Ratings:

Wenger 8 :- Got the rotation and line up just about right. Made the substitutions at the right time. Will be happy with the efficiency and the improvement in our play.

Sir Chez 7 :- Wasn’t troubled throughout, got his positioning spot on, good handling and distribution was much better today. Gives the team a platform to build on.

Jenkinson 7.5 :- Great going forward and some quite superb crosses, needs other players to try harder to get on the end of them. Some wayward short passing, his positioning still needs work, wasn’t really tested by any real pressure but he is growing on me. Doesn’t mix well with Theo.

Koscielny 8 :- Gets better and better, he has pace, tackles and defends so well. Nothing got past him. Gets forward as well to add impetus to our attacks…….. Recovery pace is very impressive. His reading of the game is superb.

Vermaelen 8 :- Great to have him back, Steve Claridge you’re a mug, if you think he cant defend. Got forward well, smashed his goal in for our 2nd, did I say its great to have him back. One of his block tackles was perfectly timed, which should have been a shot on target. Protects his keeper like his life depended on it.  His range of passing is fantastic, his pass to Van Persie to set the move for our 3rd was a midfield splitting gem.

Santos 7 :- Effective defensively, got forward and linked up play. Positionally could do better.

Song 7.5 :- Warrior, who gives his all constantly. Broke up play well and has an eye for a pass as he put Van Persie in which helped our 2nd goal come about. Unlucky not to score in 2nd half as foster kept it out.


Arteta, really settled and loving Arsenal

Arteta 8 :- Calm and assured, simply classy, his goal was well timed and expertly taken. He gets my MotM, quietly dictates play and is so effective. Still think there is more to come, cannot wait.

Ramsey 7.5: – Had a good game, probes and drives team forward. His pass for Walcott to get him free for starting the move for the opener was quite simply brilliant. Presses well and breaks play up.

Walcott 7 :- Pacy and energetic, confidence is on the up, his movement needs to improve in final 3rd, he got it right for the opener and was unlucky not to score.  Was a bit quieter in the 2nd half, but always involved on the edge, teams are wary of him and that opens up space.

Van Persie 8 :- Scored one, two assists, great movement. Leads like a true leader. Integral to our success but not a one man team.

Gervinho 7 :- Trickery and pace, with some good movement, wastes a lot of possession, trying to go past when a simple pass is on. Will have better games and will be more influential. Unlucky not to score in 2nd half.

Subs:

Rosicky 7: Little time, but pressed and kept the team moving. Involved in the 3rd goal.
Benayoun 7: Little time, but energetic, is such an asset in this squad.
Arshavin 5: Very Little time, nothing positive.

The performance was more about graft than the craft which has embodied our reputation for the last few years, and it was good to see, there were moments throughout the match that showed we still have much class and players of undoubted ability, but it was an efficient team performance where we just were not in any sort of trouble, took the chances when they come along.

The defence is now settled, the team has a strength and desire, they fight and put some real shifts in now. The calmness comes from Arteta in the middle, who does the simple things so well, keeps the ball and team moving, which is what we are doing now, as our early season flirtation with the bottom half is truly over.

Written by Harry

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Has Theo Walcott finally come good this time?

November 4, 2011

January 20, 2006.

This is the day a fresh-faced (and he remains fresh-faced, and lovely, and the kind of guy my Mammy would love to see me bring home for dinner) Theo Walcott signed for Arsenal from Southampton for a then British record fee for a teenager. SIX YEARS ago, can you believe it’s six years ago?

Since then it seems we can’t make up our minds as to whether Theo is good or not.

We all like Theo, he’s such a nice boy. But that’s all well and good off the field, we want someone who doesn’t leave an inch on it.

Over the past six seasons, Theo has started 113 times for Arsenal, and made 76 substitute appearances. In this time he has scored 35 goals, and to be honest a lot of them have been impressive. Now the problem with Theo is that for every superb goal he has scored, he has missed two sitters. For every amazing run he has made that has had a end product (that run against Liverpool in the Champions League to set up Adebayor), there have been ten that have seen him run down dead alleys or over the endline. For every decent cross he has hit into the box, ten have ended up in row z.

One thing is for sure – Theo is fast, but its how he uses his speed that’s important. Has anyone else banged their fist off the table in anger as you watch Theo breeze past a defender only to keep his head down and not pick out a pass, or a decent cross? I know I often have, but not lately.

Not wishing to get carried away, but there has been a tad more maturity to Theo’s play this season. He seems to be getting his head up more after he makes himself some space, and his crossing has improved. He’s also putting in quite a shift in the defending side of things. What was most impressive was his performance against Chelsea. While RvP got the plaudits for his hat-trick, it was Theo that terrified the Chavs all afternoon. Think what you may of Ashley Cole as a person, but he has undoubtedly been one of the best left backs in world football over the past few years, and Theo ripped him apart last weekend.

Added to that his determination to get to his feet and score the goal that put us into the lead, and you’ll see Theo is beginning to use his head more.

Well, at least I hope he is, because I’ve said this a couple of times before “We’re seeing what Theo’s worth now” Hopefully this time Theo will make it stick.

Written by Irishgunner

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Posted by criochnaithe

Arsenal: We’ve Got Our Bottle Back

October 31, 2011

How are you feeling this morning?

Still glowing?

Yeah, me too.

We have kind of forgotten what it’s like to enjoy a BIG win; a meaningful win; a surprise win against the odds.

Most of our surprises in the last six months have been nasty ones – the kind Mrs Gary Neville has every morning when she wakes up and sees who’s beside her.

But Saturday was different. We went to one of the bookies’ favourites for the title and gave them a spanking in their own back yard. And just because it’s a Chav back yard full of old piss-stained mattresses and wrecked cars, that doesn’t make the win any less sweet.

Make no mistake, Chelsea were seen by many as the real dark horses (whoops, sorry JT, I meant pale horses) in the championship race. Even in defeat to QPR last week they earned plaudits for almost nicking a result with only nine men.

But in the second half of Saturday’s fine win we completely dominated them, winning the half 4-1, taking a stranglehold on midfield and defending well (we only conceded because the ref missed a blatant foul on Santos).

The first half was a different story, with both teams attacking like panthers and defending like pandas, but enough has been said about that in all the match reports.

The point is, we found ourselves in a game that, several times, could have gone away from us – at 2-1 and at 3-3 in particular. But we refused to allow it to do so.

Having hauled ourselves level at 1-1, then gone in one down at half time thanks to another soft goal conceded from a set piece, heads could easily have dropped.

If this had been last year’s Arsenal team, with the homesick Spaniard and the fat French trouble-maker, I think that’s exactly what would have happened. Our heads would have gone down faster than Dani Alves on ice.

But this is a different group of players with a much better mix of vim and experience. It’s interesting that our best performers on the day (with the exception of Prince Robin) were the younger ones: Koscielny, Ramsey, Gervinho and Walcott.

But I have no doubt that they felt enabled to play their best game by the presence of older heads like Arteta, Mertesacker and Santos (as well as Rosicky when he came on), all of whom added an air of stability to the team.

We now have players who do not panic when we’re leading with 10 minutes to go. Indeed, against a dangerous Chavski side we looked very solid in the final stages (the BFG making up for a poor first half by dominating the box in the closing minutes).

We were calm enough and confident enough to see the game out – and bold enough to take our chance to really kill it off when it arrived.

Someone has clearly been to Lost and Found and reclaimed something we mislaid about two years ago: our bottle.

No-one really knew where it had gone. Pat Rice went all up and down the Holloway Road stapling little notices to trees and lamp posts saying “Missing: Our Bottle: Answers to the name Vieira or Adams. Reward if found.”

There were no takers, but now it has turned up of its own accord, just when we needed it most after the most disastrous start to a season for 58 years.

There is still everything to play for this season. The Mancunian lottery winners may be streets ahead at the top of the table but there is a long way to go and anything can happen.

Next up for us in the league are West Brom (H), Norwich (A) and Fulham (H). With the players we have, and with the fact that we now have our bottle again after such a long time, everything is possible.

Keep believing fellow Gunners.

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

A bridge not so far, as Arsenal’s recovery gains pace and Player ratings…..

October 30, 2011

Since April 10th we have lost 5 and drawn 3 games away from home, a dismal and painful run of games that has seen our defence and confidence take knock after knock.

The abject display in August at Old Trafford saw a very humbling score line result in cries for Wenger to walk now, before we fell apart at the seams was the cry of the naysayer’s. Then at Ewood Park we saw the worst team in the premiership, come from behind and beat us, the wheels were well and truly off………

So yesterday, we tipped up at Chelsea, our recent Nemesis, who seemed to always get a result against us, especially at the Bridge even when we play well. Our actual recent form though had given us a little belief back, with 7 wins out of 8games in all competitions.

The defence has been slowly improving, the team were slowly coming together and at the sharp end, the boy wonder had been on fire, so why couldn’t we get a result……….?

Trust me or do one……..

Well after the first 5mins, there were so many reasons why we couldn’t get a result; I lost count of how many times, Chelsea just seemed to stroll through and around our defence, Chelsea had 3 or 4 gilt edged chances to take the lead, better crosses and they might have been out of sight.

Mixed in between there was some moments for Arsenal, when Ramsey had broke into Chelsea’s area and dragged the ball back, but no one was up with play. Then another clearance by BFG fell to Theo and a one-two with Ramsey, saw Theo away but he failed to get the ball down, another bad at the office loomed……..?

The attacks continue with Sturridge been afforded far too much room, but from been on the back foot, Ramsey intercepted a weak ball in from Lampard, he strode out of the box and lift a chip pass into Arteta, who headed it back to Ramsey, who took it on his chest and then volleyed a delightful ball out wide right to Theo…….who pushed it

passed Cashley and then sprinted round the other side of him and left him in his wake, Cole has more chance of getting Cheryl back than catching Theo……

Theo looked up, stepped forward and delivered a sublime ball across the area, as Ivanovic stretched out but couldn’t get the ball, Gervinho, somehow did a Torres….a woeful miss from 5yds.

Moments later, Santos cut in from the left and laid the ball to Song, who moved it onto Theo, a couple of light touches, a look up and a even more sublime pass arching in over the Chelsea defence, curling to the far post, Van Persie came in, but the ball raised just that little too high and he couldn’t keep it below the crossbar. Two very good chances to take the lead.

The Chelsea fans couldn’t help themselves as they berated our Boy Wonder, for missing the chance, he who laughs last………………..!

Anyway, normal service resumed, we miss, opposition score, how predictable was that, as John “Colour Impaired” Terry, sent a ball out wide to Juan Mata, who turned back on Santos and delivered a ball not to dissimilar to Theo’s, but in came Fatboy just behind 6ft 6” BFG who must have thought he was in a limbo competition, as he got under the cross allowing Fatboy to head pass Sir Chez……..

Arsenal improved slightly, but the game was still ebbing and flowing unpredictably, as players from both sides, made mistakes and gave cheap balls away, but there were no real clear cut chances…….But the worrying thing was that Arsenal’s back door was seeing more action than George Michaels…….

A superb pass from fatboy, put Sturridge away, as he allowed the ball to drop and run forward, he arched his body and for some reason hit the ball with the outside of his foot and away from the goal and Sir Chez, that would have been difficult to come back from……….

The midfield of Arteta, Song and most notably Ramsey were working very hard to sustain a footing in the game. Santos in from the left into Gervinho, who lost the ball, fell back to Santos, who fed Ramsey an inside turn, Gervinho had got up and run into the area, a great pass from the Welsh Wizard found Gervinho, the touch was heavy and the ball ran towards the on coming Cech, but just as you thought Gervinho would clip it into Cech’s body, he slid it to the grateful Robin, who just calmly stroked the ball with his left peg into the empty net……1-1 game on…….36mins.

Moments later Ramires completely sold Santos, into the box and across the area for Sturridge to stab home, but the young forward had strayed offside, tight but a good call by the assistant referee. So nearly we conceded after scoring, frustrating weakness.

On 41, Robin took a free kick just outside the Chelsea area, could he? No it wasn’t to be as we drifted to half time with Robin’s effort curling just over…….

But, hold it, Chelsea get a late corner, Fatboy delivers a ball into the mix, Terry, out muscles the BFG, (is that F for friendly?), and knocks the ball limping into the goal, Arteta had moved from the post, less said. Half time, 2-1 to Chelsea.

We had looked dangerous going forward, but in defence, we had the look of an Essex girl on a night out, carefree and not bothered who got in behind……….

The only player who defensively was sharp was Koscielny, who reputation is growing…..

Second half; more defensive qualities were needed, surely?

Why bother, as we came flying out the traps, first Van Persie and then Ramsey had early opportunities to get us level.

On 49 minutes, Djourou impressed me with his strength and desire to keep the ball; he came inside and got the ball to Song, with a little help from a Lampard tackle. Song, who reversed stepped back across the ball and then picked Chelsea defence apart with a gem of a pass, through to the left where Santos, took the ball in his stride, one touch in front and then drilled it with his left foot across Cech, 2-2…..Get in there….

To celebrate Santos then decided to show the Brazilian Version of the “No dad Samba two step”, maybe he wants to go on Strictly Come Dancing? Who cares, finally we have a left back who knows where the net is…….

Almost immediately, Arsenal tried to let Chelsea back into the game, a looping ball up and over our back line, saw Cashley bear down on the area, an out rushing Szczesny leaped out of his area and sent Cole into a spin, a yellow and a free kick. Should it have been red? Well even our young pole tweeted after the game (not a bright idea) that he wasn’t sure how he stayed on the pitch. For me, it was an either way call, but the referee chose luckily for us only a yellow.

The resultant free kick was sent to the far post by fatboy, but our pole stretched his frame and tipped the ball around the goal, super save.

Arsenal seemed to be getting the upper hand in the middle with Arteta and Song pressing and Ramsey probing.

A long ball out from Szczesny, to Theo, who was bundled over by Cashley. start of a bizarre passage of play. A quick free kick by Robin into Theo, who drove forward, as he did, he stumbled and fell over, but somehow kept his momentum going, in the middle of 4 blue shirts he got up, jinked pass and powered into the area and drilled a shot to Cechs near left post, with some real venom. 3-2 up, to come back twice showed some real bottle and then to get in front, Arsenal were controlling the game now.

Theo, Simply Brilliant……..

A plethora of substitutions on both sides saw Lukaku and Dodgy Barnet on for Chelsea, with Rosicky and Jenkinson replacing Walcott and Djourou respectively. The game got a little scrappy, on 80mins Santos as he came out, gave the ball away, but as he went to atone for his mistake he was clearly blocked by Lukaku, the ball then broke for dodgy barnet and he fed Mata, who managed to unleash a thunderbolt, just before Song despairingly tried to block him, to Szczesny’s right side. 3-3 game truly back on………Subs too early? Should Walcott have stayed on? No time to think…..

Not quite as powerful as Essien’s drive a few seasons ago, but Mata’s just as damaging, as Chelsea seemed now to be in the ascendancy. Were we going to blow it, after all the effort in the 2nd half?

But on 85, an innocuous back pass from Malouda, to Terry, saw John Terry slip, or did he throw himself down in a very defeatist manner?, who cares, I am sure Wayne Bridge had a chuckle, as Robin Van Persie, ran onto the loose ball, as Cech came out he step round him and slotted in his second, what a game………..

John Terry Slipping Over……

+4mins of injury time and Chelsea threw the lot at us, please hold on you could the silent thoughts of every Arsenal fan, with Vermaelen now on, I felt safe, ok maybe still a tad nervous…

Malouda, then Mata kept putting the ball into the area, eventually Jenkinson headed it out, it bounce in front of Rosicky who bravely won the ball from dodgy barnets high foot with his head, Rosicky brought the ball out, moved it onto Arteta, he shifted it across to the left and Van Persie, who drove an unstoppable left foot swerving drive into Cech’s right hand side, 5-3 game over, the fans were in dream land………..

Boy Wonder settles the nerves

What a game, it had it all, finally away from home, the Arsenal boys had grabbed the 3points. Defensively it was a horror show at times, from both sides, but with some tricks from Robin, Theo, Aaron and GMan, saw the Arsenal fans treated to a result we have been deprived of by the feet of Drogba too many times…….

Ratings: (STC: Subject to Comments)

Sir Chez: 7: Still Raw at times, but he has that edge that sets him apart, some good saves, little chance with Mata’s shot, but he’ll be disappointed with the other two.

Djourou: 6: Quite truly dreadful first half as he was dragged around, but he improved in the 2nd half, having a good contribution to the 2nd goal.

BFG: 6.5: Was at fault for both Chelsea’s first half goals, but he did defend better in the 2nd half. Need to be stronger and more aggressive.

Kozzer: 9: Immense, read the game well, blocked, tackled and was everywhere, without him in the first half, I think they would have been out of sight.

Santos: 7: (that is a 5 for 1st half and 8 2nd half), Defending in the first half was comical, but he gained composure and got into the game, his goal was well taken and gave him confidence. The third goal although came from his mistake, he was fouled attempting to block the ball.

Arteta: 8: Thought his stature grew as the game wore on, did the simple things really well, gave little space, pressed and moved the ball quickly, slowly starting to feel at home.

Song: 8: Powerful and energetic, press and close down Chelsea midfield, some of his passing was sublime. Gave some needless balls away in first half, he is though very important to us.

Ramsey: 9: Super Welsh Wizard, truly a special player who gave his all today, his range of passing was fantastic, he has a great engine and never doubts himself.

Walcott: 9: Proved all those doubters wrong, showed he deserves to wear our shirt, capped a great display with a stunning goal, no football brain? Waddle talking Twaddle…

Boy Wonder:9: Captain’s performance, one on one there was only one winner, clinical and deadly from anywhere.

Gervinho: 7.5: Energetic and difficult to handle, makes things happen, missed a very easy chance, but worked his socks off, unselfish in laying off Robin.

Man of the Match: It could have gone to anyone of 4 today and others like Arteta gave a good account as well. 4 players got 9 off me, a truly fantastic team performance and as Robin said share the champagne between the team……If you were to push me to a choice, between the four 9’s, RVP, Koz, Theo and Aaron, I would go for Kozzer, at times he was on his own, but he held firm………..

Subs:

Rosicky and Jenkinson :7: Little time but got upto speed quickly and helped see us to the line.

Vermaelen: Only on for minutes, great to have him back……….Best defender in the Premier League……..

The Manager: 8:

Big decision to leave TV on the bench, nearly bigger one to take Theo off, all came good in the game in the end, Wenger and his team deserved this bit of luck that has so far been missing this season, he has asked for the trust in him to remain, well after today, he has mine fully back, not that I lost faith………….

In summary:

That could of gone either way at times yesterday and we still have a lot of work to do, but we have put ourselves right back in the mix, the team seem together and really up for it, lets really get behind them now and see where this crazy journey goes this season……. God I love being a Gooner, thanks Dad……..

Ps. Sorry if that was a tad long…………try writing that up in less!!

Written by Harry

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Walking in a van Persie wonderland

October 17, 2011

Yesterday was Robin van Persie’s day.  Just how important he is to the post-Cesc Arsenal was on display for all to see.  His first goal, just half a minute into the game, saw him receive the ball from Gervinho on the edge of the penalty area, and work the space before getting off a shot that wrong-footed Mignolet in the Sunderland goal.  It was decent but said more about poor defending from our opponents than anything.

His second was as sublime a free-kick as one is likely to see, deftly flighted to the top right-hand corner of the goal.  Van Persie seems to like scoring free kicks against Sunderland in October; his powerhouse shot off the underside of the bar was against the same opponents in 2007.  Seb Larsson’s equaliser yesterday was another superb free-kick, and being sat behind the goal in the North Bank, I have to admit, I felt pretty lucky seeing two perfect efforts, even if one of them was against us.

But probably the most impressive piece of van Perise’s play was a miss: in the middle of the purplest patch of the first half, the first 25 minutes, van Persie took a pass with his right foot, shielding it from the defender, and then took an early chip across to the other side of the goal.  The Belgian keeper was completely beaten and looked to have resigned himself to picking the ball out of the net.  But the trajectory of the ball bent ever so slightly and the ball hit the inside of the post.  Gervinho attempted to sweep up the pieces as the ball went across the face of goal, but it was too much for him.  Van Persie may not have scored but his effort was reminiscent of Cantona at his arrogant, puff-chested best (also against Sunderland, as it happens).  Absolutely superb.

Van Persie aside, there was some good aspects to our performance yesterday.  Carl Jenkinson had his best game for us so far, and showed that he’s learning as quickly as Koscielny did last year.  He’s prone to be a bit head-down when running with the ball, but again and again he attacked Kieran Richardson at left-back and often got his cross in.  And Tomas Rosicky had by some distance his best performance for a long time, justifying his surprise inclusion in the starting XI.  Rosicky worked hard and turned his markers well.  Despite what others might say, Rosicky also delivered a number of good passes, including the one that released Gervinho before the Ivorian laid it onto van Persie for the first goal.

Wojciech Szczesny didn’t have the busiest of games but his point-blank save from Cattermole at the end of the first half was world class – after the energetic and awkward Sessegnon undid our defence and knocked the ball across the goal, everyone in the ground must have assumed it would be Sunderland’s second goal, the ball just needed to be nodded in from a yard.  But Szczesny didn’t give up and launched himself across the goal, and Cattermole’s header just cannoned off the big Pole.  An epic piece of keeping.

Andrey Arshavin has done little to justify his wages since that goal against Barca but his sub’s performance yesterday was the best we’ve seen of him for a long time.  His desire and artistry in the dribble was great to see, and he was unlucky to see his toe-poke shot go wide after he’d slalomed through the Sunderland defence.

But there were negatives.  Sunderland were a weakened side: they don’t have their first choice keeper available, have seen their star striker bizarrely head off to the Gulf on loan, and one of their first choice centre backs is on police bail amid serious criminal allegations.  Sunderland may have spent heavily over the past few years but this is a side we should be beating more comfortably than we did.  We tore them apart in the first 20 minutes, and could easily have been three or four up, and we completely dominated the second half, but we ceded control of the game in the first half and, despite all the second half possession, we often looked laboured in attack.  Sunderland were well organised and hard-working, deploying the typical defensive 4-5-1 used against us at Ashburton Grove, including the rotational fouling tactic, which the weak and inconsistent Howard Webb was unable to deal with.

On individual performances, the one that worried me the most was Mikel Arteta’s.  I like Arteta, he’s intelligent and honest, a real team player.  But he hasn’t shown adequate quality in an Arsenal shirt yet, and yesterday he contributed little of value for us.  And he even gave away the free-kick from which Larsson scored with a needless handball.

Theo Walcott drew the customary slagging from his own fans, something that never fails to wind me up, but he didn’t have a good game, too often taking up poor positions.  That said, he undid the Sunderland defence a couple of times and carried some threat to our opponents.  Not that the haters would acknowledge that.

The defensive side of our game remains a delicate thing.  Most of the time, everything was ok, but in the 15 first-half minutes when Sunderland were on top, too often our opponents had the luxury of time and space on the ball.  We need to be far more focussed and consistent in our defending.

And finally, our crowd: Christ on a bike, where do some of these idiots get off, booing their side at halftime?  And that after a half in which we’d done plenty that was good.  I despair of some of my fellow Arsenal fans.  The volume was increased in the second half, but this impatient, hypercritical nervousness is neither justified nor productive.

We’re edging forward slowly.  We’re back in the top half of the table and within striking distance of Spurs.  But next weekend, we’re hosts to Stoke, who will bring much more of a threat than Sunderland.  Cope with that and we’re definitely on the up.

My rankings for the day:

Szczesny: 8 A world class save and generally very good, bar a couple of wonky kicks. No chance for the goal.

Jenkinson: 7 After looking like damaged goods in his last few outings, CJ showed real promise.

Mertesacker: 6

Koscielny: 6

Gibbs: 5 Didn’t contribute enough going forward.

Song: 6 Some wayward passing but pretty sturdy performance.

Arteta: 4 Disappointing.  Needs to impose himself soon.

Rosicky: 7 A renaissance for Little Mozart?

Walcott: 5

Gervinho: 6 A great opening 20 minutes, not a lot after that.

Van Persie: 9 Oh my god, what a day.  Get that contract sorted now.

Santos: 6

Arshavin: 7

Benayoun: 6 Did ok when he came on, worried the defenders on a couple of occasions.

Written by 26may89

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

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