A decisive moment

Tonight's game has the potential to be a pivotal moment in our season, after the shambles of Saturday, we have a great opportunity to get straight back into the saddle.

As ANR comments it is one hell of a big night for a certain humble German. I hope I will be proven wrong by Jens, but I don't think he's been on top of his game for over a year or so, and Almunia has been outstanding so far this season. Hopefully Jens will rise to the challenge, but I would rather see Almunia fit and in goal for the Milan biggie.

Almunia is sharper and quicker, and he has swept up danger on the edge of the box superbly behind the two centre backs. Part of the reason that our defence has been so solid has been this expert covering of ground by Mr Almunia. He is also a younger man, and is consequently that little bit more agile that Jens.

Importantly Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna are back, along with the Flamster and Emmanuel Adebayor. We will have to be at our sharpest and we will have to concentrate for the full 90 minutes, the guile of Pirlo can carve any team open when they least expect it. Good luck Mr Lehmann, make this a decisive moment that will be remembered fondly.

Eboue, a convenient scapegoat

Emmanuel Eboue's tackle was stupid, it was a bad foul and that I do not deny, however the reaction that is has provoked has been more than a little unfair and over the top.

Eboue had his studs dangerously up, however the worst that would result from such a challenge would be a bit of a graze; Eboue's leg was bent and anyone who has played football can understand that this kind of tackle may look bad to the non-footballing armchair fan, but in fact it is nothing compared with a leg breaking straight legged tackle. In my opinion it deserved a yellow card and a stern ticking off. It is very rare indeed to see straight reds handed out for this kind of challenge. The sensationalist reaction from certain Gooners is quite surprising to me:

'one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen on a football field.....outrageously dangerous tackle'

'Eboue should be sacked'

'He's a cheating, diving, fouling twat who can't do anything for our team that someone else can't do better.'

'Fuck off you idiot. He will never learn and however you might think he can improve he will always be a cunt on the inside and will continue to do these stupid things in games. Today’s red card just reminded me what he’s like, he had a chance to return from Africa and make a fresh start, but no.'

I could go on. Having said that, there has been a substantial majority of sensible and thoughtful comment from the Gooner blogging community.

Eboue is an idiot. However I don't think insulting him more than this is productive or fair. His tackle was stupid, however it was not a dangerous red card tackle, he was a little unfortunate to see red but he should never have given the referee the chance to send him off. Even if one accepts it was a red card tackle, then at least make your point politely without sinking to the lowest depths.

If Eboue cannot learn he may have to be moved on, Arsene knows this and I trust him to do his job. However do not make Eboue the scapegoat for all our troubles, there were eleven men on the pitch in the first half and we were three down at half time. Eboue has also not done too badly this season when he has kept his head, his partnership with Sagna has given us solidity down the right and he has helped in our charge to the top of the league. He does need to control himself better and he must improve his end product, however he doesn't deserve to be castigated as some kind of satanic scum. Do we really have to sink to these depths to make a point? Shouldn't we try to to rise above this kind of sensationalist tabloid journalism?

A bit of perspective

It was dissappointing to lose against Manchester United and it was especially gutting to lose in such a manner, however it was one game and Arsene clearly has his eye on the Milan game. I will make no excuses, Manchester United thoroughly deserved their handsome win, and played us off the park. There were certainly some clear reasons for why this happened.

The missing fullbacks and centre midfielders made a difference, the centre backs looked very exposed, while Manu's five in the midfield was a tactical victory over our below-par four. Gilberto does not hustle as he once did, while having no Flamini, Diaby or Denilson to add a bit more energy and bite did not help. Having said that the players on the pitch did not do themselves justice and they will know this. Hoyte does not appear to have the quality to make it as a first choice player, while Traore clearly has a lot to learn about his defensive duties.

Our entire side cost less than Wayne Rooney, and Manchester United have countless twenty odd million pound players that can come into the side when needs be. The fact that Arsene's Arsenal have competed on their level for so many years just shows what magic has been done to make up for our smaller financial outlays.

The pitch was a joke, but this made do difference, we were toothless and gapingly open at the back. Eboue's red card did not help, a stupid high foot but a slightly harsh red in my mind. Fletcher and Ferdinand's lunges were as bad as any tackles I saw on Saturday, and the mountain out of molehill that Ferguson is trying to make from Gallas' little kick is typical of the demented Scot. He might want to remember that Nani's head movements will also need to be looked at if Gallas is reprimanded.

Milan is the important game, our baskets of eggs are decreasing in number, but Arsene had little choice but to ensure we will go into this game with as strong a line up as possible. I am dissapponted but expected a defeat on Saturday, it still hurts of course, but we have to be pragmatic, as gambling on Saturday could have left us with more injuries for Milan and the same result.

Reality Bites

I'm in two minds about saturday's 4-0 thrashing by Man Utd in the FA Cup. Part of me wants to say it doesn't matter, just like the thrashing Spurs gave us in the Carling Cup semi-final (see posting below). However, I think the better half of me is screaming in frustration.

Man Utd were clearly 125% motivated for this game, presumably having been bollocked all week by Demento after their own lacklustre performance against Man City last weekend. As a unit, their team was simply unrecognisable from that which didn't turn up against Man City. Every single time an Arsenal player got the ball he was harried, hustled, shoved and usually fouled, which brings me onto the ref.

Unusually for me at least, I think Alan Wiley, the dimuntive referee, was very poor and contributed to the chaos that was Arsenal's demise. A packed house at Old Trafford heavily influenced almost every decision and it was not until he sent off Eboue for a nothing challenge that Wiley started dishing out cards to Man Utd players.

However, that does not even come close to my frustration with the players. Our 3 little blokes in midfield, namely Hleb, Fabregas and Eboue, all had terrible first halves, with Gilberto adding little defensive cover behind them. Eboue's game didn't last much longer than the half time whistle and I think this performance, or rather lack of it, now makes him a genuine doubt for next season. Toure and Gallas played as if they had never kicked a football before in their lives. They weren't quite as bad as the Stepanovs / Grimandi pairing back when we shipped 6 goals in at Old Trafford in 2001, but they were pretty close.

Hoyte and Traore completed the comedy defence. Hoyte was skinned on the outside at least 6 times during the game, which must raise doubts about his pace, and Traore simply does not defend. At all.

To be honest, the second half was not much better, but at least we started o kick them back. The introduction of Big Phil, Adebayor and Flamster added some much needed muscle into our team, but game was already well lost. In fact, if it was not for a sterling performance from Mad Jens, then Man Utd would probably have equalled, if not beaten, the 6 goals they scored in 2001. Absolutely shocking.

Its not easy to watch your team being shredded to pieces, but I guess this is what most supporters have to accept on a pretty regular basis. We lucky Gooners only have to watch it a few time a year, if that.

So looking for the positives, its a big wake up call, again, for this team which will hopefully mean that the performance against Milan will be far better. And boy does it need to be.

Demento will make as much of this game as he possibly can, but the truth is that for all the money he has spent, Man Utd have had more off-days this season that Arsenal. Most people will point towards our lack of strength in depth, but I say it's irelevant. We have bags of talent and potential, but Saturday was all about a lack of motivation. 11 pumped-up Arsenal players of almost any age would have done a better job than the majority who simply didn't give a shit on Saturday. The success of the Carling Cup side over recent years is testimony to this.

Lastly, whilst Arsene says he doesn't know what happened on Saturday, I strongly suspect that this was a team ordered dive. Wenger publically stated last week that Arsenal couldn't compete on three fronts this season, so the team orders for the Man Utd game were to take the hits, don't get injured, don't waste energy, see if we can go down 2-1 and get ready for Milan on Wednesday.

Arsene just didn't plan for the fact that Demento had his goons programmed on full throttle with no holds barred.

Arsenal News Turkey

I had to pinch myself when I read this amazingly cocky piece on Arsenal News Review, here we have a rather over confident journalist claiming that fergie should be reading his ill informed blog to learn a bit more about the game:

"Well, Sir Alex and Avram are too close to their teams and can't see the wood for the trees. They should read ANR."

I wouldn't read ANR if I were you, it's full of these kind of dramatic bursts of arrogance and you won't learn much about football either. This coming from the same man that wrote off Almunia and refuses to change his mind on the matter, despite an excellent consistent season taking Arsenal to the top of the league. This is also the same man who wrote off Adebayor in his early Arsenal days, it's almost looking like a slagging off from ANR can guaranteee a great Arsenal career, what a magical understanding of football Myles Palmer has.

I have no problem with people having different opinions to mine, however being unable to ever admit that one made a mistake and possessing immense cockyness beyond one's station are not traits that I particularly admire. We all misjudge players, Arsene included, however Myles Palmer seems completely blind to his own faults and seems to be rather too keen to believe his own hype that is generated from within his own journalistic goldfish bowl.

So don't read ANR, it's written in such an over confident patronising nauseating manner that the only thing you'll learn is how not to write well about football. I'd rather read Arseblog for some excellent good humoured and modest banter. Solid win against Blackburn last night, it will be rather interesting just what kind of side Arsene plays in the FA cup fixture away to Manu on saturday, I would like to see a few key players rested as the Milan game is far more important in my eyes.

Anything for a quick buck

What a terrible shame that Manchester City won on the 50th anniversary of the Munich air crash. It could never be said that Manchester United have exploited the tragic deaths of the Munich air crash by selling overpriced merchandise to commemorate and profit from the disaster.

One can certainly tell a lot about people in the way that they react after disasters. It seems that pathetic little squabbles over a few grand are of major importance to a club that is probably the richest in the whole world. The club clearly has more important things on its agenda that behaving with dignity and respect, things like making a fast buck I would assume.

The Munich disaster was undoubtedly a great tragedy. However the way in which Manchester United tries to expoit such tragedy does them no credit whatsoever. Manchester United were quite a popular club back in those days of old; in the following fifty years they have gained many new supporters but also alienated countless thousands with their arrogant profiteering behaviour.

The hypocrisy of it all is also rather bemusing. On one hand they use Munich as an emotive shield to hide behind, while on the other hand they are quite happy to exploit the Munich disaster to make a quick buck. In this way their cynical profiteering cannot be criticised, as any criticism of the club is seen as an insult to the victims of the crash.

I am sure many true Manchester United fans are rather embarassed at what their club has become, and certainly the Glazer's ownership isn't helping this situation. Given that Gordon Brown is so keen for fans to be listened to in some matters, one wonders why the government has made absolutely no effort to stop profiteering billionnaires taking over English footballs and risking their very existence with some very dubious short termist decisions. I wonder.

They know the rules but not the game

For once I agree with Alan Shearer, while watching Match of the Day, he stated something that I have felt for a very long time, that 'referees understand the rules but not the game itself'. This was in reference to some rather tasty tackles that were punished rather variably by referees around the country yesterday.

Referees do know the rules, but unfortunately have never played the game themselves at any decent level, they were most likely the unathletic child who stood by the touchline watching his classmates have a kick around. This means they can't tell the difference between a dangerous aggressive challenge and a mistimed inocuous challenge. This was perfectly demonstrated yesterday by Clattenberg's straight red for Bowyer, when he failed to stop two shocking challenges from Hayden Mullins which both involved two straight legs and studs up.

One game I particularly remember from this point of view was the Arsenal Bolton fixture of 2003, the loss of two points cost us dear in the end but it was the way Bolton played that was the disgrace that day. Sam Allardyce, the contemptible fat walrus, created a side in his own image, a filthy thuggish bullying side that played the lowest form of football possible. Bolton players repeatedly lunged in with studs showing, with straight legs and studs over the top of the ball, but the referee allowed it to go unpunished and as a result Bolton were unfairly allowed back into a game, in which they had no right to be. Teams like Bolton are allowed to prosper by poor officiating like this, and in the long term English football suffers as good technical football cannot succeed as it would otherwise do. Good refereeing is therefore key if English football is to continue catching up its competitors technically, so referees should learn the game as well as the rules.