They collapse against Tottenham, then rebound for a huge home win against Man United.

Their captain goes haywire before a loss to Man City, and then they roll into Stamford Bridge and come away with a gutsy 2-1 victory.

So naturally Arsenal’s youth – perhaps the most consistent performers for the Gunners so far this season – managed to bow out with a 2-0 loss to Burnley in the Carling Cup on Tuesday night.

The theme at the Emirates this year is something to the tune of: collapse, rebound, and repeat, with plenty of beautiful attacking football thrown in the middle. No one has any clue what will happen from one game to the next – especially manager Arsene Wenger....read the rest at:

http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m12d2-Arsenals-topsyturvy-season-continues

Manchester United and Arsenal had the statement games last night for those of you who tuned in, with 3-nil and 5-2 victories (the latter being away), respectively. United certainly controlled their game against Celtic, but the visitors surely had reason to gripe that both of Dimitar Berbatov’s goals came from the offside position (although the first was a deft little touch for the score).

But the real story is Wayne Rooney, who looks more dangerous every night and now has an absurd nine goals in his past seven games for United and England. This time it was a sweet little shake near the top of the box to get himself space and then a clinical finish just inside the left post. Hope people caught his expression after that one – the impish grin that says, “Hey guys, I’m feeling it right now in case anyone hasn’t noticed.”

Sir Alex said after the game that Rooney is capable of reaching Cristiano Ronaldo’s 42-goal level of 2007-8 (that level, not that number), but that might be a little much. Still, he’s on fire right now for sure....read the rest at: http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m10d22-Champions-League-discussion

It was one crazy night in Madrid, and one certified nightmare for the linesmen – who shouldn’t be calling any Champions League games for a while.

Liverpool looked strong in the first half in the midfield (despite a terrible-looking pitch in terms of both speed and footing), and Steven Gerrard’s cut-throat pass down the middle to a slightly offside Robbie Keane gave them the early one-nil advantage.

In addressing Liverpool’s season as a whole this looks like a strong midfield, and the addition of Albert Riera has been a helpful one. Still, once Gerrard went out in the 61st minute (a curious decision if it was not for injury), Atletico Madrid seemed to find themselves a bit and started applying pressure.

But the linesmen had the biggest say in this game. Yossi Benayoun was clearly on when his goal was disallowed early in the second half, and Madrid were subsequently called off twice – one for a goal that was scored – despite being well back of the last man each time. Inexcusable decisions on those last two, as there wasn’t even a question.

Still, the home team claimed their deserved equalizer thanks to a slip-up from Jamie Carragher on a long ball and a beautiful shot from Simao into the right corner. Credit to Madrid, who didn’t allow their subpar first half to affect them too much and showed some nice possession in the second half...........read the rest at: http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m10d22-Liverpool-slips-to-a-draw

Fine, I admit it. I’ve laughed at scarves, made fun of people who wear them, and generally think they look really dumb/preppy. And yet on Tuesday night I found myself as one of probably 30,000 people strolling into the Emirates Stadium sporting that particular clothing article with an Arsenal/FC Porto half-and-half pattern, thinking I was pretty much The Man. When you see all these people doing it, it somehow becomes extremely cool (yea, OK, I was kind of a follower in high school).

The purchase of that scarf came following a stroll around the area (which I thought had a really nice, low-key vibe to it) and some fish and chips to tide my appetite. My buddy Andy and I then had the necessary pre-game pint with Arsenal supporters in a pub before heading into the stadium.

The Emirates is the anti-White Hart Lane, as I quickly found out. While Tottenham’s stadium employs the ragged, ordinary warehouse-looking style on the outside, the Gunners’ home is new-age, flashy and just flat-out cool. Nothing wrong with it, just completely different, more modern and a huge money-maker thanks to the 60,000-plus people it can fit.....Check out the rest at:

 http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m10d1-Taking-in-ArsenalFC-Porto-at-the-Emirates

I was lucky enough to find a place last night showing both the Arsenal and Manchester United Champions League games.

Let’s start with Arsenal, which naturally had the big screen TV since my living arrangements are well within the club’s range in London.

The Gunners looked dangerous to close out the first half, but Dynamo Kyiv drew first blood on a penalty in the 64th when Bacary Sagna pulled down a man in the box as a service ball was coming in. Replays were inconclusive, with one making it look like the Arsenal man was over his back while the other seemed to show the Dynamo player grabbing onto Sagna and then tumbling to the ground. Perhaps a harsh decision from the referee, but such is life away from home.

But even with the home team retreating back.....read the rest at: http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m9d18-The-return-of-Ronaldo

Along with the Champions League draw today, we had the unveiling of the UEFA European Club Footballer of the Year – given to Cristiano Ronaldo. He was also given the forward of the year award.

While the current season is already underway, it’s worth diving back into Ronaldo’s epic 2007-08 season just for a second on the day of this award. Yes, he might dive, and wear too much hair gel, and look like he’s going to lose it every time he stands over a free kick, but he is undeniably one of if not the best player in the world at the moment.

42 goals overall, 31 in the Premiership season, three in the FA Cup, and eight in the Champions League including the first goal in the Moscow final. Obviously he played a huge part in the double that came home to Old Trafford last season, and that becomes more evident with each game he misses in this young season as the Reds struggle a bit to score.

But the point of this post is not to laud over the numbers, but to try and figure out where the season ranks, as I’ll bet solid money right now that we won’t something like it for a while. It’s odd to see him get a FORWARD of the year award, too........

WANNA READ THE REST? CHECK OUT THIS LINK:

http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m8d28-Where-does-Cristiano-Ronaldo-rank

At first glance, Group H could be entertaining with Madrid, Juventus and Zenit St. Petersburg. This competition hasn’t be Madrid’s strong point the last couple years, and they certainly don’t have an easy group by any means.

It appears Bayern should not have trouble advancing out of Group F, altough they haven't looked strong so far this season. Looking at the English squads, Manchester United probably got the worst draw with Villarreal as the second best team in Group E and.....

Wanna read the rest? Check it out at: http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m8d28-Champions-League-draw-is-out 

Forgot to mention that Arsenal cruised as well in the Champions League qualifying today with a much more convincing result at home – 4-0, 6-0 on aggregate – against FC Twente. Nasri, Gallas, Walcott and Bendtner gave the Gunners easy passage into the group stages – ensuring that the EPL now has four teams with Man United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal.

That can only be bad news for the other European squads, as the English clubs are making it an annual ritual to advance deep into the tournament. Some fans, no doubt, would prefer for the final to not be an all-EPL affair this season.

We’ll have some fun discussion tomorrow, as the draw for the Champions League draw takes place at 12 p.m. ET. I’ll put a poll out then after we get a chance to check out some of the group placements.

WANNA READ THE REST? CHECK IT OUT ON THIS LINK:

http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m8d28-Fabregas--Champions-League-updates