Arsenalnet

Another 4-1 breeze

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 14:38:00 -0600

Wolves helped this time, scoring three goals, us scoring two.

Don't worry, it wasn't a 3-2 embarrassment, they scored two own goals, through Zubar and Craddock. Croddock scored in the 89th minute but that was a different story.

Wenger was expecting a comfortable win with Ramsey starting while leaving Nasri, Rosicky and Eboue on the bench. But from the opening minutes of the game, you would wonder if the Arsenal defense would crack early under Wolves pressure, and with Gallas picking up a yellow card, the signs early weren't good. Gibbs cleared off the line, and Milijas creating havoc in the box too. But we survived it, and we seemed to click together when Diaby came off and Song on. Ideas, anyone??
Arsenal were now creating chances, with Sagna floating in a cross, Zubar fouling Eduardo in the process. Fabregas tried to get us back into the game, Craddock heading away the free kick, and a corner, again taken by Fabregas.
This time though, there was no mistake. The ball seemed to have deflected off Zubar and in, while Eduardo doesn't claim it. Wolves 1 Arsenal 0. (Own goal tally)

Between this and the second goal, Ramsey should have put Arsenal ahead even further, missing a great chance, heading over from a Van Persie cross, and of course, Wolves mistake.

Now, woeful defending scene no 2. 7 minutes later, Wolves were on the attack, but Stearman's cross is led away. A clever through ball found Ramsey, held Craddock until passing out to Eduardo, who chipped Hennessey, but this time claims it, but replays showed that Craddock scored while heading the ball up into the air. Wolves 2 Arsenal 0.

Once again, the third goal came from a clever break. In stoppage time half time, a rubbish pass (summing up Wolves after 20 minutes) was intercepted, and Sagna's cross found Van Persie, who tapped it onto Fabregas. He finished with the simpliest of strikes, decieving both the keeper and the defender.

Half Time, Arsenal in cruise control, Wolves in shock.

This showed in the second half, with Wolves not really attacking, giving space for the forward pack. The next real chance was when Arshavin fired one at Hennessey, making him tip that over the crossbar, and the Russian's first real sighting today.
The following corner was punched away, came to Arshavin and hit a volley first time. Into the net before anyone had known what had happened. 4-0, Minute 66. Wolves in self destruct mode.

After this Rosicky came on for Eduardo and Arshavin went for Nasri. Wenger resting the stars as there is no way Wolves can win.
Fabregas should have scored in the 76th minute Van Persie squared it, but his shot went over. Rosicky had a chance before the whistle, hitting a shot with his left foot after playing a one two with Van Persie. RvP seems to be everywhere today. No worries, really, as a win was the clear result.
But by now Wolves were willing to gamble, pushing me up front for that consolation goal. They got it with a minute to go.
A corner floated in, and Craddock overcame his earlier own goal to head the hosts a goal.

Another match without a clean sheet, shedding a drop of disappointment in a sea of victory.

4-1 final score, through to next round

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 18:40:00 -0600

AZ were no match for the Gunners today, losing 4-1, with Fabregas scoring 2, Diaby and Nasri, newly back from injury.

With Clichy out injured Gibbs came in, and Nasri started ahead of Rosicky and Sagna was brought off in favour of Eboue.
The win was soured by a Lens shot late into the game, that somehow got past Almunia.

Arsenal were doing well to excite the home fans early in the first half, with a Van Persie right footer just sweeping past the far post. An early scare for AZ, but a sign of things to come.

Plenty of blocked attempts came, Nasri showing his intentions, until in the 26th minute Fabregas hit a shot, that somehow beat the keeper, coming just outside the box. I don't think he dived enough, and the ball touched his hand and went in. 1-0, full of form and looking for more.

Martens' weak effort was saved comfortably, and Arsenal replied with Gibbs' cross coming onto Fabregas' head, the shot coming just over the bar, just past the half hour mark.

Nasri scored just before half time, collecting a pass from Arshavin, and completely tricking out Monero, and ran for the goal. He was chased by two AZ defenders but it wasn't enough, 2-0 at half time.

It didn't look like ending 2-0, and I was well right. The next shot that come in was from Fabregas, and scored off it. This shot was reminiscent of Merida's shot against Liverpool, curling out of the keeper's reach, and into the top left corner before anyone knew what had happened. He waited his chance, and timed his shot to perfection. It's like one of those goals you could see over and over again.
Fabregas is looking more and more dangerous in front of goal and he knows it. Game over at minute 52, basically. AZ were weak everywhere, and it still looked like there would be more.

Then came a barrage of AZ shots, the closest being Pelle, that hit the crossbar, bouncing down but out of anyone's reach. They were looking for a goal that would add respectibility to the scoreboard, and that goal would come later, after we scored again.
But first, Gibbs came very close to scoring, around the position in which Fabregas scored his first shot from. This time though, the keeper got down to it, and the shot just went wide.

Full credit to Diaby for making the run, and collecting the through pass from Arshavin. You can't miss from that range, and he didn't, this time opposing Fabregas' near post shot and going far.
Wenger knew the game was up, substituting Fabregas for Ramsey, Van Persie for Eduardo, and later Arshavin for Rosicky.
Ramsey had a shot that was never really going to go in, and Lens hit a shot that somehow beat Almunia from their clever break.

But that was a small blemish in the Arsenal performance today, capping off a good win. Next is against Wolves in the Premier League.

Half Time against AZ

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 14:40:00 -0600

Arsenal 2-0 up and cruising. Nasri, previously playing a week before, had marked his comeback with a shot just inside the box, and scoring just before half time.

The other goal came from Fabregas, in the 33rd minute, after an intricate display of passes came to Fabregas, and his goal came just outside the box this time. Assisted by Gallas.

Shots 8(2), to 3(1), and I reckon we'll be at 4-0 when tonight's over.

Fabregas and Clichy today in the spotlight

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 22:52:00 -0600

Fabregas is crowned PFA player of the Premier League this month, and Clichy can be out for a month with a back injury.

But first up, have United passed it?

Today they drew 3-3 at Old Trafford to CSKA Moscow, through luck. If they lost, then they would definitely be scratching their heads. But did anyone see it coming? I did.

When they lost Ronaldo, the midfield was really exposed. Giggs and Scholes are going to retire, that's a known fact, Park, Carrick, Anderson are the rest. And Valencia, replacing Ronaldo. ?????

Of course Fergie's got 80 mil to spend, but on who? Who is good enough that wants to join United?? Not many people, the big guns moved this transfer season, and not too many are left.

Defense. Van Der Sar's going to retire soon, leaving Foster to take over. Their defense this season are a shambles, with only Rooney somehow saving them. Ferdinand and Vidic are having a shocker, Evra isn't up to it, and either is O'Shea. Their subs aren't that much good either.

Forwards- ony Rooney. Enough said, Owen's inconsistent and Berbatov's a headache for Ferguson. A waste of money.

That was my analysis of Man United this season, and I can't see why we can't beat them this season.

Fabregas is PFA player of the month, after playing blinders this season, setting up goals and scoring them.
This is great, it'll boost his morale no doubt as he'll continue to do this all season, and he's only 22, captain for Arsenal, won the EUROs, and what else can he do?

"Cesc likes to be at the start of things and then get on the end of things, and he can push forward more this season because he has two players around him who can defend."
"He is still so young and, as captain, has a lot of pressure on his shoulders yet he continues to deliver. He is a fantastic person to learn from. It's hard to believe he is still only 22.", said Wenger.
Lampard and Drogba were behind him, but really there was no doubt who would win it.

Clichy is injured, as the same with Bendtner, but Rosicky is back. We've got good cover in both areas, as long as they don't get injured too.
“Bendtner is quite seriously injured,” said Wenger at Tuesday’s press conference. “And on top of that, we have lost Gael Clichy with a back injury which was not expected. It looks like he could be out for a while. We fear a stress fracture but we will know more of that tonight. But if that is the case, he will be out for a few weeks. “Nicklas we still do not know yet but we suspect four weeks. Rosicky will be in the squad tomorrow. He will still be short to start but he will be involved. The two goalkeepers will be Almunia, who will play, and Mannone.”

Gibbs, who will cover for Clichy, is also wanting to prove his worth to England, after stints last season and in the Carling Cup. This will motivate him to do his best, and really there's not really a problem after all then.

“I’ve played a few games for Arsenal but still have a lot of work to do to earn a place – I don’t want to be called up because of someone else’s disappointment, I want to be selected because I’m deserving of it. Hopefully if I can get some more good games under my belt this season then there might be a chance – but at the moment I’m just concentrating on the club and what we can do to win trophies.”

Finally today our Carling Cup clash against City at Manchester is on the 2nd of December, kick off 7:45pm GMT. This one will be a cracker, no doubt about that.

Van Persie, Van Persie.

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 04:09:00 -0600

Wenger thinks that Van Persie can reach the great 25 goal mark, and Van Persie reveals how and why he's flying in Wenger's 4-3-3.

As mentioned yesterday, Van Persie is playing a more attacking, central role in the attack. Wenger doesn't see any reason that Van Persie can't get 25 goals. Apart from a big injury, of course.

“I don’t want to set targets but why not?” said the Frenchman. “If you look at the chances he has had since the start of the season you cannot say he won’t reach 25 goals. “Robin has taken much more responsibility because he is up front. He has committed himself to the club for a long period and he is at an age, 26, where a footballer becomes really efficient, mature and wants to win things. “That is why I believe he can be the best passer in the league and the best goalscorer in the league. When you look at the goals he scores they are always impressive.” “You don’t see him at the start as a target man but when you play him there you see he has everything of a target man,” explained Wenger, to Arsenal.com.

On the weekend you saw him react extremely quickly to the cross from Sagna, and turn King away, and the ball went in. Bad defending, but skill all the same.

More Spurs humiliation today

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 23:29:00 -0600

Wenger's view on Van Persie after his single handed demolition of Spurs. And Fabregas, of course.

First up, Wenger calls Van Persie 'Thierry Bergkamp.' We shall see, as my first reaction, as he is a left footer, not a right.

"I think he is a mixture [of players]. He is less a runner with the ball than Thierry Henry and is not completely Dennis Bergkamp because he plays high up the pitch. But he is the kind of player with the kind of game we have who is vital because when you play the ball through the lines to his feet, his first touch is perfect and that allows us to join in. And then he can give you a little pass which makes everybody dangerous. In the box he is intelligent and clever."

I agree, because Van Persie gets into positions more often than running with it, but is dangerous when that pass comes to him, usually with the help of Fabregas or Arshavin. This change clearly comes from Wenger's clever 4-3-3, giving Van Persie more of a central, commanding role in the striking position. Credit to you too, Wenger, for changing our feel to the game, and who can complain, with the second highest goal difference in the league??

In that press conference, he also capped off a great week against rivals, with a big win over Tottenham and the Carling Cup win over Liverpool, increasing our youth domination in England.

"I think it has been a fantastic week for the club because we beat Liverpool, we beat Tottenham, both times with convincing performances and with a style of play which is now within our club. I am very proud of that."

Like I said above, this comes from the 4-3-3 that Wenger has introduced, and now playing with ease.

Van Persie wants revenge in the Carling Cup, as we were drawn against Man City, and obviously the Adebayor incident.

'I want to play in that one. We fancy winning it and I'd love to play. If the boss decides to let me play, I'm happy. They have a good side and it's a good challenge for the youngsters.'

A win would lead us to the semi finals, and if we win the overall cup, it spells bragging rights for the best youth in the competition.

One of the greatest goals you'll ever see

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:13:00 -0500

3-0 over the North Londoners. One of the best results you'll ever see, and one of the best goals ever scored by an Arsenal player.

Kickoff, 1-0 to the Arsenal after Van Persie scored off Sagna's cross, and the ball went to Palacios. He tried to get it away, but Arsenal intercepted, and the ball went to Fabregas just outside of the centre circle. And what does he do? He sprints all the way, knocking the ball ahead of King, and puts it away, just outside the box, and just when Corluka was onto him he finished in style.

A match highlights video is here, sorry I couldn't put the video straight on but Firefox crashed or something.

We finally had Almunia in goal, and the usual back line, with Sagna today delivering pinpoint crosses to set up Van Persie. Anyway, we had Song, Diaby and Fabregas in the middle, and Bendtner, Van Persie and Arshavin up front.

The first half looked destined to produce goals, as Bendtner fired over in the 2nd minute. Bentley handballs the ball soon after that, and Vermaelen heads over Crouch. Not so big now, is he??
Arshavin went through and forced a corner, in which Crouch heads away, and Bentley soon rattles Vermaelen. Amazingly he's not even got a card yet. And more on Bentley, tries a screamer 35 yards out, but misses. Of course.

The first real chance of the game came when Van Persie's header went, but just too high for Gallas. Sighs of relief from the Spurs crowd.
Keane had a chance, but the defense was just too good, and though he appealed for a penalty, Song clearly got the ball away from him, just in time too.
Crouch and Bentley were the only Spurs chances that weren't blocked in the first half, as Lennon, Defoe and Modric were out, and that clearly showed, as Arsenal were peppering the Spurs goal with a shot from Fabregas amazingly saved, and it looked as if a goal would come soon, or at least in the half.

It soon did, with Van Persie collecting Sagna's low cross from the throw in, beating King, and finishing well. Great play, with the white shirts just standing and watching. 1-0.
Fabregas then had one of the best goals ever scored, a magnificent solo goal, beating seemingly everyone, and catching Spurs unawares. I think surprise was the X factor here, but Fabregas did well in the areas of pace, and skill, to fend off challenges. 2-0 at half time, Spurs crushed at how the goals came, and how they happened.
Shots from Van Persie, Arshavin, two from Fabregas and one to Bendtner.

The second half provided us with more Spurs chances, but still no goals from them. Eduardo broke free 5 minutes in, keeper to beat, but the shot went straight into Gomes' body.
A free kick from Bentley was well saved, palmed over the bar later. But Arsenal were always looking dangerous, and scored through Van Persie, after Assou-Ekotto slammed into Eduardo, prompting a free kick. But the ref played advantage, and well done to him for that. It left Spurs standing there, waiting for the whistle, while Sagna and Van Persie kept playing. That goal was bascially the same we the first. King was too slow, Van Persie too good, and had the simplest of tap ins.

Eduardo later just had to chip Gomes, way off his line, but decided to round it off instead. Result? Just outside the post.
Diaby collected Fabregas' corner, and just had to head it down, but he was too fancy for himself, missing the angle.
But no missed chance mattered here. 3-0 to the Arsenal the red and white going home happy.
18(8) to 10 (4) shots (on goal), 52-48 possession, 6-2 in corners, caps off another win, but a great win, over the white scum of North London.

One you cannot afford to miss- Preview Part Two

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:08:00 -0500

We have the usual injuries, Walcott, Rosicky, Wilshere and Vela. Fabianski picked up a thigh injury against Liverpool, and Almunia may start as No.1, after Vito Mannone was in goal for the past month. We can't have a mis-firing keeper today, not when the stakes are so high, this fixture, and placement in the table.

Of course, this game reminds us of the unthinkable last year, 4-4. I won't say anything more except that it was a heart-breaking affair. This being a huge game, Wenger had this to say.
“It took us some time to recover from that and you suffer more when you think you have won the game and the team comes back.

“It was like at West Ham last week I suppose. But at the end of the day we can say we didn’t deserve to win at Fulham [earlier this season] and we won. We got a draw at West Ham when we should have won. That’s part of the game. What is important is that we win the game tomorrow.”

And of course how far on the transfer market Tottenham have come in the last year. They got Keane back from Liverpool, Defoe back from Pompey, and bought Crouch, Bassong and Kranjcar this season and Cudicini and Palacios in January. This of course meant that Zokora, Bent and Chimbonda had to go, Chinbonda for the second time, but it's a known fact that a stronger Spurs side will be lining up tonight.

“Of course they were already a threat though. In 2006 they were close to getting to the Champions League.

“Tottenham are a big club. They invest massive money every year so why should they not be a threat? But we managed always to get in front of them.”

“You can never say they’ll never bridge the gap. They have the potential, and the supporters. They are a big club. But what comes next is the consistency of achievement. At the moment nobody would deny that Arsenal is in front of them.”

Some good news for us is that Defoe will miss this match through suspension, Modric has a fractured leg, dos Santos and Lennon have ankle injuries. The bad is that Cudicini, Woodgate and King are back in the squad. But Defoe and Lennon form a major part of Spurs' attack, and a clean sheet is certainly possible.

The score? I see a 2-0 win, goals to Van Persie and Arshavin. The best coming from the red and white tonight.

One you cannot afford to miss- Preview Part One

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:49:00 -0500

Arsenal vs Spurs. Possibly the game of the season, at home, and motivated after beating Liverpool in the Carling Cup.

The news today is sprinkled with the Merida aftermath, and of course the match preview.

Merida news first, and Atletico Madrid are interested, and Merida hopes to sign a new contract. Two pieces of contradicting news, but curious all the same.

Atletico President Enrique Cerezo, said- "He has entered into our plans for next season. He is a player that interests us. The decision rests with the kid because he is free in June."

He won't leave Arsenal, for free, because of the penalty incurred when we stole him from Barca. How that move has paid dividends. And there is really no doubt that he'll put pen to paper very soon.
"At the moment I am talking to the Club so I don't know what is going to happen," he said. "I am really happy here so hopefully everything is going to be OK. We are going to sit down and talk about [a new contract]." "I scored my first goal for the Club so I am really happy and also because the team won against a really tough side," he said.

Finally, the big one. Arshavin is one geared up for the match, and with any luck he'll put on a smashing performance equal or better than the one at Anfield last season. But that wasn't against Spurs. 4 goals tonight will put this game beyond all doubt, really.

"For us this is the most important derby and we know it," he said. "I found out about the importance of these matches almost immediately after I signed for Arsenal.

Wenger is unsure about how the match will pan out, and I can't complain about that. With both teams on 19 points, and obviously motivated, home advantage may be the key to win this game.

"There is a little bit of extra-special motivation for everybody to win," he said

"But at the end of the day, when the game starts it will be down to the quality of the display, no matter how much other psychological involvement is in the game.

"That is why we want to focus on the technical part of the game completely and play as well as we can."

A good win in the Carling Cup

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:55:00 -0500

Unlike people that support Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City, etc, that say that the Carling Cup is a rubbish cup competition that's just another game, I disagree.

For those teams, it may well be rubbish. Not for Arsenal.

It shows what second string sides can do. Ours were superior today. The possible future?? Most possibly.

Eduardo and Bendtner, out of the team, had most of the first team experience, followed by Ramsey, Fabianski, and Gibbs with a spell last season. Nasri was back from injury, and good to start off this way, Silvestre just doesn't play for more than obvious reasons, and everyone else that played, including the substitutes, were plucked from the youth squad, with, between them before the match, less than a game's experience in the first team.

Before the match, I wouldn't have written off Liverpool, with their team. With Kuyt, Babel, Voronin, and Insua playing regularly, and some appearances apart from Spearing , Diego and Plessis, they certainly were a force.

With this they piled on the shots, the first Kuyt, in the third minute, missing to the left. The next scare was Degen, after the ball was pulled back for him, but was off target too. And after that it didn't take long for 'the new Fabregas', Merida, to reply to the Liverpool attack and score.

The move started with Eastmond, 18 years of age, stealing the ball off Voronin after a throw. He passed to Merida, and from the edge of the box hit it first time, and into the top corner after glancing off the post.

The lead didn't last long, with Insua, with the very next shot, hitting a volley 30 yards out, and caught Fabianski. In the 26th minute it was game on.

Arsenal replied with Merida and Bendtner, providing chances, and Eastmond's cut back nearly reached Eduardo, and a clearance. Nasri's corner also resulted in desperate Liverpool defending, and at half time it was Arsenal with the momentum, chances, but not the lead.

That momentum paid off five minutes into the new half. Bendtner scored, the ball into the top corner of the net, and the goal? Assisted by Merida. Another sign.

Liverpool weren't one to give up, with Babel's free kick well saved by Fabianski, and Benayoun went on for Ngog, and Aquilani for Plessis, Liverpool trying to save the game, and they very nearly did.

11 minutes to go, and Kuyt fed Babel with a low cross. For some reason or another Babel failed to apply the finishing touches, and missed a great chance to win the game.
Eduardo also had a chance but missed. Enough to win, and progress. We are looking more and more dangerous.