Bacary Sagna looks set to be rested with Justin Hoyte deputising, while Emmanuel Eboue and Theo Walcott return to the squad. Interestingly Arsenal have also activated a clause in young Matthew Connolly's contract to recall him from Colchester in January. I just wonder if Matthew Connolly has done enough to rise above Johan Djorou in the grand scheme of things? He has done well and was recently called up to the England U-21 squad.
The only changes I see for tomorrow are Sagna for Hoyte, Rosicky for Diaby and Adebayor for Bendtner to leave a line up of:
Almunia; Hoyte, Toure, Gallas, Clichy; Hleb, Fabregas, Flamini, Rosicky, Adebayor, Eduardo.
I very much hope we go for a 4-4-2, I suspect West Ham will go for 4-5-1 but we should sacrifice a bit of possession for the cutting edge that two up front brings. Even though Bendtner didn't have his best ever game, he was involved in the first two Eduardo goals; it makes such a difference having two up top to put the opposition under that bit of extra pressure, the extra bustle means you get a few balls breaking for you out of nothing. Please indulge us Arsene.
Monday, 31 December 2007
Saturday, 29 December 2007
An unexpected bonus
Most Gooners would have taken a point from today's tricky away fixture at Goodison park, I certainly would have,; so getting all three is a massive bonus, especially when man united failed so dismally at Upton park. In fact I would go so far as to say that today's win could be our best result of the season so far, just remember that Everton have been on an absolutely awesome run of form of late.Wenger plumbed for 4-4-2 as many fans would have wanted, however it certainly didn't go to plan in the first half with Everton taking a deserved first half lead through Tim Cahill. Everton had a few other half chances and it appeared that the Arsenal players were pretty happy to get off the field at half time. It's worth mentioning that referee had an excellent game, not something I often claim, but he wasn't conned by some rather theatrical falls from Yakabu and Arteta.
There were signs at the end of the first half that things were beginning to click, and Eduardo's neat finish from Clichy's long ball completed the transformation as the confidence began to return to our play. Eduardo finished very tidily again to put us a goal ahead, he really has a great instinct in front of goal, reminiscent of Fowler in his prime in the way he gets the ball out of his feet quickly and shoots before the keeper has had a chance to blink. Bendtner then deservedly saw red for a dangerous tackle just before he was due to be substituted off. Everton crumbled and an embarrassing mix up at the back saw Adebayor left with the easiest of tap ins. Rosicky added a fourth after Arteta had been sent off for a flying elbow, as tempers flared again.
I just hope that today can be looked back on as a pivotal moment in this season's title race, we will need to carry on from here and keep on picking up three points week after week. Hopefully Eduardo can go from strength to strength now, and I'd imagine he'll start against West Ham on Tuesday. Bendtner has learnt an important lesson while our first half showing must act as a reminder that we have to be focused for every single minute of the ninety.
Football is only a game and Phil O'Donnell's sad death today after collapsing while captaining Motherwell serves as an ample reminder of this. RIP Phil and our thoughts are firmly with your family and friends tonight.
Thursday, 27 December 2007
More of the same
I don't want to come across as being too negative, as a point away to Portsmouth is not a disaster, however it certainly isn't as good as all three. Arseblog is spot on, as is Arsenal-Maina, with their analyses, and as you know I agree in their disagreement with the tactic of using 4-5-1 incessantly.Pompey were happy with a point and they defended with men behind the ball, and who could blame them for this? Not me certainly, however it was slightly daft to play Ade on his own up front again. We do not have the personnel to play 4-5-1 effectively in this type of game, we don't have the dynamic inside forwards you need to threaten from the wide areas. We don't get the best out of Ade when is so isolated, and he rarely gets the ball in dangerous positions, always seemingly isolated with his back to goal.
There were very few incidents of note until the final fifteen minutes. Dioup should have been off for a shocking tackle on Rosicky, while Eboue was harshly booked for a nothing tackle. Portsmouth broke well and Benjani, who looked offside, broke clear; Almunia did well and forced him wide so that Clichy could nip in to steal the ball to avert the danger. Bendtner did very well, using his pace and direct running to good effect, one can only imagine how many more chances we would have created if he had been given more than a paltry ten minutes. Gallas missed from five yards, blazing over, while Rosicky hooked wide from a great Bendtner cutback when it appeared easier to score. 0-0 it finished, not a bad result, but not a good one either.
I suspect Arsene will continue with the 4-5-1, but I feel this is an error, we just don't open teams up with Ade on his lonesome up top. We need to revert to 4-4-2 and fast, otherwise the points will continue to be squandered.
Sunday, 23 December 2007
Pissed off with 4-5-1
Maybe I'm completely wrong, but I think the excessive reliance on 4-5-1 is threatening to wreck our season. Spurs were there for the taking on Saturday, injuries galore and a back four that even Derby County would hope to bang a few past. When I saw the team line up with Ade on his lonesome up front, my heart sunk, as I knew that 4-5-1 would give Spurs a chance to win a game that they should have no right to.
We even started brightly with a good hook just wide from Flamini, but as the half wore on, Spurs came into it, our ineffectiveness was there for all to see; we just didn't look like scoring. Spurs had far too much space and room to play, Berbatov was sometimes bringing the ball down with time to make a quick cup of tea before strolling goalwards. There was no pressure on the ball and we were far too slack with the ball, loosely giving away possession left, right and centre. Fabregas and Hleb had particularly poor first halves, finding Spurs players with machine like regularity.
We did start the second half with more desire and tempo, and were rewarded with a great goal courtesy of good work from Rosicky, then Fabregas who back heeled to the striding Adebayor, who neatly side footed past the larger than life Robinson. It didn't take Spurs long to equalise, having squandered a sitter moments earlier when Keane hit the crossbar when it would have been easier to score, Berbatov found space to drive home a thunderbolt from a rather acute angle. I thought Almunia could have done better, but having seen replays since, it is hard to imagine how he could have reacted, such was the pace on the shot.
Next was the controversial bit, Styles pointed to the spot when Toure lunged towards Berbatov in the box. Replays conclusively showed that Toure clearly got his foot to the ball before making any contact with the diving Bulgarian, Berbatov did make a bit of meal of the clash and certainly made sure that Styles' mind was made up for him. Never a penalty in my book but Styles always seems happy to be sure of himself when he shouldn't be. Keane choked the penalty and Almunia guessed right, thank the lord. Later on Taarabt tried to con the ref into giving another penalty, fortunately Styles didn't fall for this trickery, and saw that Taarabt was going down before Sagna made any contact. At the other end Rosicky was taken out in the box twice, and it was done quite cynically on both occasions. Nothing doing for some reason only know to the incompetent Styles.
Step up Mr Bendtner. Corner to the Arsenal, great run from the back post and he rose majestically to power home past the hapless Robinson. Spurs never looked like getting back in the game, however it was rather too close for comfort. I just felt that if Ade had had some support up front, we could have buried them much earlier, and wouldn't have had to rely on Almunia's heroics.
Anyway the three points were essential given that Chelsea and Manu both picked up their full complement today. Interestingly our Champions League opponents AC Milan were in derby action against Inter in the San Siro today, Inter winning 2-1 thanks to a second half howler from the gravity prone Brazilian Dida. AC Milan didn't look very convincing at all and Inter deserved their win, however Pirlo and Kaka are awesome talents who only need small sniffs to punish you. Pirlo's range of passing and free kicks make him a constant danger, while Kaka's pace and balance mean you can never relax; they can kill anyone on the counter attack. It will be a tough tie, however there are a few chinks in their armour these days, and if we get it right on the day, we can certainly do them.
We even started brightly with a good hook just wide from Flamini, but as the half wore on, Spurs came into it, our ineffectiveness was there for all to see; we just didn't look like scoring. Spurs had far too much space and room to play, Berbatov was sometimes bringing the ball down with time to make a quick cup of tea before strolling goalwards. There was no pressure on the ball and we were far too slack with the ball, loosely giving away possession left, right and centre. Fabregas and Hleb had particularly poor first halves, finding Spurs players with machine like regularity.
We did start the second half with more desire and tempo, and were rewarded with a great goal courtesy of good work from Rosicky, then Fabregas who back heeled to the striding Adebayor, who neatly side footed past the larger than life Robinson. It didn't take Spurs long to equalise, having squandered a sitter moments earlier when Keane hit the crossbar when it would have been easier to score, Berbatov found space to drive home a thunderbolt from a rather acute angle. I thought Almunia could have done better, but having seen replays since, it is hard to imagine how he could have reacted, such was the pace on the shot.
Next was the controversial bit, Styles pointed to the spot when Toure lunged towards Berbatov in the box. Replays conclusively showed that Toure clearly got his foot to the ball before making any contact with the diving Bulgarian, Berbatov did make a bit of meal of the clash and certainly made sure that Styles' mind was made up for him. Never a penalty in my book but Styles always seems happy to be sure of himself when he shouldn't be. Keane choked the penalty and Almunia guessed right, thank the lord. Later on Taarabt tried to con the ref into giving another penalty, fortunately Styles didn't fall for this trickery, and saw that Taarabt was going down before Sagna made any contact. At the other end Rosicky was taken out in the box twice, and it was done quite cynically on both occasions. Nothing doing for some reason only know to the incompetent Styles.
Step up Mr Bendtner. Corner to the Arsenal, great run from the back post and he rose majestically to power home past the hapless Robinson. Spurs never looked like getting back in the game, however it was rather too close for comfort. I just felt that if Ade had had some support up front, we could have buried them much earlier, and wouldn't have had to rely on Almunia's heroics.
Anyway the three points were essential given that Chelsea and Manu both picked up their full complement today. Interestingly our Champions League opponents AC Milan were in derby action against Inter in the San Siro today, Inter winning 2-1 thanks to a second half howler from the gravity prone Brazilian Dida. AC Milan didn't look very convincing at all and Inter deserved their win, however Pirlo and Kaka are awesome talents who only need small sniffs to punish you. Pirlo's range of passing and free kicks make him a constant danger, while Kaka's pace and balance mean you can never relax; they can kill anyone on the counter attack. It will be a tough tie, however there are a few chinks in their armour these days, and if we get it right on the day, we can certainly do them.
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Have that Hughes and your hatchet men
What a fantastic performance from a young Arsenal side in managing to go away from home against Blackburn, who are currently sixth in the league and certainly no shrinking violets, and come away with a fully deserved win. Cracking stuff.
The young gunners dominated the first half and Blackburn simply couldn't get close to them, 2-0 up thanks to a great volley from Diaby and a lovely neat finish from Eduardo when one on one with Friedel. The game was changed when Blackburn undeservedly scored just before half time, Derbyshire was well offside when played through on the right before crossing for Santa Cruz to finish well past Fabianski.
Weaker men would have crumbled in the second half, but the young gunners battled very hard. Blackburn did get an equaliser when Santa Cruz firmly headed home from a Bentley free kick. Denilson was sent off for a two footed challenge and Arsenal were down to ten men with half an hour of injury time looming, not many people would have backed them to win it from there.
However the youngsters are made of stern stuff, they crafted a fantastic winner in the first period of extra time, Song burst through with the ball from deep to release Eduardo; Eduardo took the ball out of his feet and buried it past Friedel before the keeper was even able to move. Blackburn huffed and puffed with many long balls into the box, but they couldn't prevent Arsenal walking away with a place in the semis.
All the youngsters did themselves proud, Fabianski made some good saves, the defence did well with Song shining in particular, the midfield were outstanding while Bendtner and Eduardo worked well in tandem. It really gave me such pleasure to see the malignant Savage getting nowhere near the ball for 120 minutes, David Dunne also deserves a special mention for being a particularly unpleasant individual.
On an unrelated matter Sol Campbell has been speaking of footballer's human rights:
It has gone too far, people as stupid as Campbell are earning thousands of thousands of pounds a week for kicking a ball around a rectangle and then complaining that people who attend should not be able to get involved in supporting their team. Sol Campbell needs to get a grip on reality, the trouble with footballers these days is that many of them are detached from the reality that most people have to live in. I certainly do think there are limits to what should be chanted, however where does one draw the line between light banter and moderate banter? There are big differences between shouting racist bile and judging someone as a tosser, then telling them about it.
The likes of Cole and Campbell should expect and take the abuse that they get at grounds around the country. There are limits as far as certain types of abuse including racism, however I get the feeling that Campbell's light banter would not extend to 'f*ck off Campbell, you big c*nt". Stop being so bloody precious and whinging on about your human rights, a bit of abuse is part and parcel of football, and if it wasn't going to football matches would be about as much fun as watching 'Strictly Come Dancing' on the beeb. So shut it Campbell and concentrate on letting a few goals in when Arsenal travel to Pompey later this month.
The young gunners dominated the first half and Blackburn simply couldn't get close to them, 2-0 up thanks to a great volley from Diaby and a lovely neat finish from Eduardo when one on one with Friedel. The game was changed when Blackburn undeservedly scored just before half time, Derbyshire was well offside when played through on the right before crossing for Santa Cruz to finish well past Fabianski.
Weaker men would have crumbled in the second half, but the young gunners battled very hard. Blackburn did get an equaliser when Santa Cruz firmly headed home from a Bentley free kick. Denilson was sent off for a two footed challenge and Arsenal were down to ten men with half an hour of injury time looming, not many people would have backed them to win it from there.
However the youngsters are made of stern stuff, they crafted a fantastic winner in the first period of extra time, Song burst through with the ball from deep to release Eduardo; Eduardo took the ball out of his feet and buried it past Friedel before the keeper was even able to move. Blackburn huffed and puffed with many long balls into the box, but they couldn't prevent Arsenal walking away with a place in the semis.
All the youngsters did themselves proud, Fabianski made some good saves, the defence did well with Song shining in particular, the midfield were outstanding while Bendtner and Eduardo worked well in tandem. It really gave me such pleasure to see the malignant Savage getting nowhere near the ball for 120 minutes, David Dunne also deserves a special mention for being a particularly unpleasant individual.
On an unrelated matter Sol Campbell has been speaking of footballer's human rights:
"I think it is out of hand now," he said in a BBC interview. "We all can
take the booing and light banter but when it gets to the realms of verbal abuse
it's a bridge too far. "I think the FA, PFA and even the Government should get
involved because these situations are happening at sporting arenas. If this
happened in the street you'd be arrested.""This is the 21st century. This is a
human rights situation where professional sportsmen - managers as well - people
are abusing them verbally. I think it's just gone too far."
It has gone too far, people as stupid as Campbell are earning thousands of thousands of pounds a week for kicking a ball around a rectangle and then complaining that people who attend should not be able to get involved in supporting their team. Sol Campbell needs to get a grip on reality, the trouble with footballers these days is that many of them are detached from the reality that most people have to live in. I certainly do think there are limits to what should be chanted, however where does one draw the line between light banter and moderate banter? There are big differences between shouting racist bile and judging someone as a tosser, then telling them about it.
The likes of Cole and Campbell should expect and take the abuse that they get at grounds around the country. There are limits as far as certain types of abuse including racism, however I get the feeling that Campbell's light banter would not extend to 'f*ck off Campbell, you big c*nt". Stop being so bloody precious and whinging on about your human rights, a bit of abuse is part and parcel of football, and if it wasn't going to football matches would be about as much fun as watching 'Strictly Come Dancing' on the beeb. So shut it Campbell and concentrate on letting a few goals in when Arsenal travel to Pompey later this month.
Monday, 17 December 2007
Diarra raises the white flag...
The weekend papers all carried the story that Lassana Diarra wants to leave Arsenal. This quote from the Telegraph:
"When I signed for Arsenal I was made promises by the people who recruited me....But since the start of the season the only matches I've been involved in have been low-key, and to be honest I'm getting fed up with it....With Mister Wenger, there's no problem whatsoever. I'm not going to criticise him or speak badly of him. I'm not the kind of person who creates problems.....But I signed for Arsenal because I was led to believe I was going to be playing, and there would be healthy competition for the spot. That hasn't been the case."
A couple of things strike me about this. Ok, it's more than a couple.
1. Wenger picks the team. If Diarra is unhappy about playing then that is directed at Wenger. Diarra saying "I don't want to criticise Wenger or create problems" is nonsense.
2. Who are these mysterious people who signed Diarra and promised that he would play? Either someone has spoken out of turn, or more likely, Diarra is an idiot for believing the fluff his agent fed him for 30% of the signing on fee.
3. Diarra complains that he has only played in low key matches, yet he is a French international. Well, welcome to Arsenal Mr Diarra. We have full internationals on loan elsewhere because they can't get into the first team - e.g. Djourou. Our bench this season is crammed with full internationals who can't get into the first team e.g. Bendtner, Eduardo, Gilberto, Walcott, Lehmann, Senderos etc. He is an idiot if he thinks playing for France means he is good enough to play for Arsenal.
4. The last part of his complaint is nonsense. If he thought there would be "healthy competition for the spot" then why is he complaining about the vast amount of healthy competition for the central midfield spot. Idiocy again.
Now, usually in these situations, the player can say something like "it made more sense in French". The lost in translation defence was tried and tested by Anelka, Vieira and Pires at times.
The actual truth, of course, is that Diarra's agent is trying to put his client in the shop window again for January and wants to print some rubbish in the belief that it will raise his clients' profile.
Its a shame, but so be it, I say, give Flamini the bumper contract his performances this season and loyalty over the years deserve, keep Gilberto on the back burner and sell Diarra to anyone willing to pay us a few million for him. The great dolphin headed idiot.
Lastly, on a tangent, the flip-side argument is that what we are witnessing with Diarra is a full international who actually wants to play football rather than collect his pay cheque and sit on the bench. Wouldn't it be refreshing to see English players take a similar attitude occasionally?
"When I signed for Arsenal I was made promises by the people who recruited me....But since the start of the season the only matches I've been involved in have been low-key, and to be honest I'm getting fed up with it....With Mister Wenger, there's no problem whatsoever. I'm not going to criticise him or speak badly of him. I'm not the kind of person who creates problems.....But I signed for Arsenal because I was led to believe I was going to be playing, and there would be healthy competition for the spot. That hasn't been the case."
A couple of things strike me about this. Ok, it's more than a couple.
1. Wenger picks the team. If Diarra is unhappy about playing then that is directed at Wenger. Diarra saying "I don't want to criticise Wenger or create problems" is nonsense.
2. Who are these mysterious people who signed Diarra and promised that he would play? Either someone has spoken out of turn, or more likely, Diarra is an idiot for believing the fluff his agent fed him for 30% of the signing on fee.
3. Diarra complains that he has only played in low key matches, yet he is a French international. Well, welcome to Arsenal Mr Diarra. We have full internationals on loan elsewhere because they can't get into the first team - e.g. Djourou. Our bench this season is crammed with full internationals who can't get into the first team e.g. Bendtner, Eduardo, Gilberto, Walcott, Lehmann, Senderos etc. He is an idiot if he thinks playing for France means he is good enough to play for Arsenal.
4. The last part of his complaint is nonsense. If he thought there would be "healthy competition for the spot" then why is he complaining about the vast amount of healthy competition for the central midfield spot. Idiocy again.
Now, usually in these situations, the player can say something like "it made more sense in French". The lost in translation defence was tried and tested by Anelka, Vieira and Pires at times.
The actual truth, of course, is that Diarra's agent is trying to put his client in the shop window again for January and wants to print some rubbish in the belief that it will raise his clients' profile.
Its a shame, but so be it, I say, give Flamini the bumper contract his performances this season and loyalty over the years deserve, keep Gilberto on the back burner and sell Diarra to anyone willing to pay us a few million for him. The great dolphin headed idiot.
Lastly, on a tangent, the flip-side argument is that what we are witnessing with Diarra is a full international who actually wants to play football rather than collect his pay cheque and sit on the bench. Wouldn't it be refreshing to see English players take a similar attitude occasionally?
Sunday, 16 December 2007
A perfect end to a perfect day
How I enjoyed seeing the full time whistle blown as Ashley Cole lay on the floor writhing in agony as he attempted to get Cesc sent off, poetic justice if ever there was. It was a roller coaster ride of a game, the pace didn't relent for one moment, especially in the second half where it really opened up and became an end to end ripper.The return of the midfield trio Flamini, Cesc and Hleb made all the difference, Arsenal started very brightly from the off and started nipping the ball around nicely. Chelsea defended solidly and there were very few clear cut chances in the first half. One particular incident stood out when Terry launched into a two footed lunge that fortunately didn't make too much contact with Cesc, a straight red card should have been forthcoming, but Wiley had to be consistently incompetent. Eboue left his studs in on Terry, but there was nowhere near the malice in this challenge, a yellow waz fair. Just towards the end of the half, Cech misjudged a cross and Gallas headed home, one nil at half time.
Chelsea pushed forward more in the second half, but lacked a cutting edge without Drogba in the side. They crafted a few long range efforts which Almunia dealt with comfortably, Wright-Phillips had their best chance by far when he missed from six yards, Almunia seemed to do enough to put him off. Joe Cole cythed down Eboue and was lucky to only see yellow, while Obi Mikel escpaped a booking for a very crude obstruction on Cesc. Alan Wiley doesn't seem to understand that deliberately blocking someone off is a foul when you are out of reach of the football.
We were unlucky not to add to our solitary goal, one goal was harsly give offside while another was disallowed for a 'foul' by Adebayor. Fortunately it did not matter in the end, and Cesc finished off the game nicely by chopping down the unpleasant greedy petulant Cole. What a dissappointment for poor Ashley, especially given that Clichy looks so much better than he ever did. The whole team did well today, the defence was solid, and the midfield were outstanding. Rosicky appears to have finally stayed fit enough for long enough to find a bit of form, at last. It's great to have the incisive RVP back up front, we look a different proposition with him back. Overall a thoroughly deserved win and a return to form at just the right time before some rather tricky fixtures. Bring on the nasty Blackburn on Tuesday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)