Hello all,

I apologise for not updating the blog yesterday as I was still caught up in the aftermath of the festivities of the day prior. I trust you all had a very enjoyable christmas and are now not quite so drunk as you might once have been.

So then, 2-2 at the midlands and considering the events and circumstances of the game, it's quite hard to be completely pleased or annoyed with this result. Yes, we needed a win, but was that ever a likely scenario heading to Villa minus a captain and a regular striker? Especially taking into consideration the first 39 minutes, we did well to escape with a draw. We were extremely lucky not to be 3 or 4 down by the half-time whistle, and even more fortuitous to be 1 up. Our goal was not a thing of magic by any means, Denilson latched onto a lucky deflection and powered home from 12 yards. So a goal up at half-time and not particularly deserved by any means. Then, before we knew it we had 2 on them, after some fine individual work from Diaby. And it looked as though we may be able to sneak away with all three points after countless predictions of an away loss. But then, ex-captain Gallas brought down Agbonlahor in the 65th minute, when it would have been fine to let him run through. But he nethertheless fouled him and Villa got one back. An onslaugh (of sorts) followed and we finally caved in the first minute of extra time to a Knight kick from the edge of the 18-yard. And so what was in fact a good result, felt like a loss.

It was unfortunate that we conceded in stoppage time and that van Persie just missed a chance to make it 3-0, but it was extremely lucky that we didn't concede 3 or 4 goals inside the first half, and so I think a draw is probably a fair result all things considered. Although it does still leave us 3 points behind them, a gap that could have been destroyed had we managed a win, but also a gap that could have been doubled had we lost. And 6 points behind 4th place is just too much for me to bear at the moment.

Anyway, now we have a chance to, temporarily at least, steal back fourth place with our game against Pompey just 2 days after facing Villa. We will have Adebayor back and Clichy apparently should be fit for the game as well, so I think we shouldn't have too much trouble securing a home-win. And that really is the only result we can afford to have. A draw will see us slip down a further 2 points behind Villa, should they win at Hull, and then even at the risk of slipping down to 6th place. So we really do have to win at all costs, and then we will hopefully buy some players in January and our season may be slightly back on course.

That's all for now, have a sober day and keep the faith,

Asian Arsenal.  

Hello all,

I gather that you're all just as pissed as I am about the Villa game. I do apologise for not keeping a regular update throughout the match, i was too Angry/tired to keep it u. Well we all said it was a game we had to win, a game that would define Arsenal's season, and now well we sit level on points with Villa, having suffered two home losses already this season and our heaviest defeat in the premier league in god knows how long. We are now 9 points off the pace, and while I'm not signing the death certificate on Arsenal's title hopes just yet, we've got a long way to go if we hope to get back into this. But first a quick overview of one of the most disappointing results in years, and considering our season so far that's gotta be pretty bad. 

We opted for the 4-4-2 eventually with Diaby and Bendtner up front. The opening stages were a little shaky with Villa pressing from the off. We did open up a few good chances but nothing brilliant. Then Fabregas made a challenge and a somewhat dubious penalty was awarded to Villa. Almunia made a fantastic stop and Gallas, who was probably inside the penalty area just as the kick was taken, did very well to get back and clear the ball away from danger. This should have been a wake-up call for Arsenal, to get their act together and press forward. But no, from here on to half-time it was Villa and in truth, a half-time score of 0-0 flattered Arsenal who had really done nothing for the first 45 minutes. The second half began and Villa seemed to have lost all their momentum. Arsenal had a lot of possesion but very little in front of goal. And then it came. Well-founded claims for a free-kick in very good position for Arsenal, but the ref waved played on Villa cleared to their lone striker, who rounded Gallas, who should have done better, and then shot low and hard into the bottom of the Arsenal net. 0-1. And only now did Arsenal seem to have a sense of urgency about them. And we almost drew level immediately when a good header from Adebayor was somehow saved by Friedel. Not much else really up until their second goal, on a break where a cross went in and Agbonlahor lent into Clichy and he headed an own goal. Few chances on goal, but the game ended 0-2.

The game asks a lot of questions as per usual. The first of which is why it takes us being a goal down before the team is motivated to push forward and break the opposition's defence. For almost the whole game Arsenal very lethargis and unenthusiastic. We gave away the ball easily, didn't chase it down to the last and were in general very lack-lustre. I think even the Carling-cup side would have given Villa a better run for their money then the first-team who lacked everything bar lethargy. The second question is where do we go from here. Now 9 points off the lead with a third of the season gone, we have suffered from deadly "consistent incosistency" and something has to be done about it. With us it just seems to be this on again off again sort of thing. When the player feel like playing, we do well, if not we're almost non-existant on the pitch. What we need is to get the motivation into every player for every game. That means letting some of the younger fellows challenge for what seem well-guarded places in the first team. Players should be sent out on to the pitch having to prove a point, both about their deserving of a place in the team and their commitment to the club and fans. The reason why we do so well in the Carling Cup is because the players rarely play and are out their to have fun and show others what they're made of. Thus they're committed 100% of the time, see every ball down to the last, and go out their with a general sense of hunger and positivity and a want to be there. That seems to be the exact opposite of our first team at times. So if we can send our players out with that hunger, that want to be out there then maybe we can finally get some consistency and maybe just maybe actually win something this year.

Have a reflective day and keep the faith,

Asian Arsenal. 

70': Fuck clichy own goal, not a lot he could do about it

20': Almunia SAVES the penalty, and Gallas does very well to clear the ball

19': Crap penalty

Before Kick Off:

We're playing a 4-4-2, but with Diaby and Bendtner up front !!!! No Carew for Villa

Hello all,

Tomorrow we face Aston Villa so a look ahead to the macth at the Emirates. Villa have been playing well this season, however they have recently suffered back to back defeats at the hands of Middlesborough and Newcastle. Still they are sitting fifth in the league on 20 points, just 3 behind us. Of the other big 4 clubs matches they have played, they lost 2-0 against Chelski at the Bridge and drew 0-0 with Liverpool at Villa Park. O'Neill will no doubt see this match as a fantastic opportunity to draw level with us on points. And this game maybe more difficult than it looks if Villa's previous trips to the Emirates are anything to go by. Two very close 1-1 draws at our stadium is far from a good home record against them. However with Villa's recent form, they may well not be that hard to beat.

Villa will likely try to play their usual style of wide football, crossing into John Carew, who is exceptionally good at heading the ball. So it would be nice if Arsene was to bring in someone like Djourou who is able to deal with headers quite comfortably and would make a nice partnership with Gallas or Toure. That's unlikely though so the real attention turns to whether Wenger will play Toure or not. Gallas and Silvestre seems to be a very good central defensive partnership and it will be interesting to see what Wenger now plans to do with Toure. Surely he won't dump the captain out of the team but will he upset the well-working combination already present. For how much longer can he go on putting the Manc Reject infront of Toure. Well we'll just have to wait and see but my guess is that Wenger will continue on with Gallas and Silvestre and play Toure as a sencond-half substitue. Clichy and Sagna are both fit so there's no question over the full-backs. Meanwhile in goalkeeping we might have Almunia back after his incident with Carrick as he still has to pass a last fitness test, he is apparently 70:30 to return. If not then we will see Fabianski make another appearance in the Arsenal goal, a position which still gives me a mixture of nervousness and wonderment. Moving onto midfield, we will probably see five again considering the lack of options up front, unless Adebayor also passes his fitness test which is apparently 50:50. So it's likely to consist of Walcott back on the right wing, Denilson, Fabregas and Diaby across the centre, probably with Diaby going up supporting the lone striker, and Nasri on the right flank. Bendtner will likely feature in the striker role unless Adebayor is given the all clear, all thought I would personally like to see Vela up in that position after his performance mid-week. I understand it is a different time of match, but I think he is ready for the Premier League.      

So our line-up should be something on the lines of:

                                                    Almunia

Sagna                         Gallas                         Toure                         Clichy

Walcott                  Denilson                            Fabregas                     Nasri
                                                   Diaby                                                            

                                                 Bendtner 

With flanks of Walcott and Nasri, we shouldn't have too much trouble finding motivation to move forward and we should see a few goals in this one. Villa will be tough but I think if the players are up for it, we should see them off with relative ease. I predict the scoreline will be Arsenal 2 Villa 1. As i have said before, the win against the Mancs should give us somewhere to start, and if we win here we start to build momentum. I think also that the win has instilled new confidence and belief in this team, and that should have a good affect on them. Whether it has remains to be seen but I still feel that if we can with this game, it may be the turning point in our season and we can perhaps get some consistency. 

Well, have a good night out tomorrow and keep the faith,

Asian Arsenal.