Chelsea manager sacked! Henry coming home… again & Could we see a Change of Formation tonight? .

November 21, 2012

Morning all..

How many managers are Chelsea going to get through? A couple of losses and the owner hangs another manager out to dry.

Maybe he will try and tempt Wenger across London, after all, he hasn’t got many choices left has he?

My money is on Harry Redknapp replacing RDM.

So now we know, as Gervinho and Chamakh head off to represent their respective countries in the African Cup of Nations, their temporary replacement, Thierry Henry should have flown in and be ready to strut his stuff again for his old, but favourite club.

Wenger has said this about our old number 14:

He is a communicator, an extrovert and very intelligent. I had always resisted (bringing him back). Last year I did it because we lost Gervinho. This year we lose Gervinho again as they are playing the Africa Cup of Nations two years in a row. So we will be confronted with a shortage – particularly if (Marouane) Chamakh should go. Then we will be short.

We know all of that don’t we but what Arsene is maybe forgetting is, Henry is also old, too old to be considered as a replacement for Gervinho. Chamakh yes, but not Gervinho. Should we get to Christmas and we are in the top three or four and still in all the Cups, then Henry is not the man to push us on even further.

Onto tonight.

Gervinho and Gibbs are both back in the squad for Tonight’s fixture against Montpellier, the bad news is Theo Walcott is out with a shoulder injury following the collision with Michael Dawson. Walcott was due to have a scan yesterday so fingers and toes crossed that there is no serious damage.

Santos is also out tonight, he has some kind of abdominal muscle strain.

Didn’t realise he had any muscles under that shirt of his…..

Things kind of started going a bit wrong  at the back when Kieran Gibbs got injured, Santos came in, we got battered down our left hand side and suddenly we were shaky at the back, the goals started going in and the results suffered. Vermaelen gave us a bit more stability when he was switched out left, but……

Also, it could be said that Carl Jenkinson made way for Bacary Sagna around a similar time, has that had a bearing on our performances at the back?

Anyway….

Montpellier it is tonight and at The Emirates where the home fans will hopefully be in good voice again after the weekend.

A few days ago, a couple of the newspapers ran a story about how once all of our defenders were back fit and healthy, Arsene Wenger may adopt a new defensive set up which would mean five at the back.

Now Gibbs is back, we could very well see that on display tonight.

Tonight’s fixture is huge in the eyes of Wenger and the board, they will be desperate to get through to the knock-out stages as the further we get in the competition, the more money goes into their bank account the transfer kitty.

The first fixture against Montpellier was a tough one, but we managed to grab two goals and prevent the opposition form scoring from open play. They did manage to get one goal though thanks to a penalty. Vermaelen had bundled over Belhanda just inside the penalty area within the opening ten minutes and the same player scored from the spot.

Back then though, we were defending with confidence and we’d just beaten Liverpool and Southampton. Podolski and Gervinho scored our goals soon after going 1-0 down and that is how it stayed.

How though I don’t know, we weren’t at our best, Giroud had a bit of a mare against his old side and Montpellier missed a few good chances to be fair.

That was in front of their own rowdy and very supportive fans.

Tonight it’s their turn to travel, their turn to play in front of loud opposition fans and it’s our turn to turn on the style.

Montpellier are having a nightmare of a season, they have won just two fixtures in all competitions this season and we have to make sure that doesn’t change tonight.

We need three points, nothing more and nothing less and if we do, and Schalke defeat Olympiakos FC, we are through to the next round.

However, we mustn’t take Montpellier too lightly, they have nothing to lose tonight and many sides play much better when the pressure is off…

Total commitment from every player, another victory and no goals conceded would be perfect.

Have a good day all….

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Posted by rico

Trophies no longer an issue & Arsenal lack what Everton have…..

April 23, 2012

Our captain finally got his hands on a trophy last night when he was awarded the PFA Player of the Year.

See Robin, you don't need to leave Arsenal to win a trophy!

Well done to Robin, I’m sure he’ll pick up another one or two before the season is over and that should now prevent any ‘I want to leave to win trophies’ comments from him!! ;)

I jest of course!

From one leader to another, Phil Neville.

I don’t know how many Gooners bothered to watch Manchester United against Everton yesterday but for once the weather dictated my day and I watched it whilst pottering around….

Everton by surprise, took the lead but it wasn’t long before the scores were level and from there, the Mancs raced into what appeared a 3-1 winning scoreline.

One picture caught my eye, and that was Phil Neville.

Despite the scorline, he wasn’t fazed – he trudged back up the pitch to the centre circle ready for the re-start but with each step came a roaring cry, a pumping of his arms, a rallying raise of his arms and a loud shout at his team-mates ‘come-on’.

He wasn’t ready to roll over and surrender to the current Premier League Champions and he wasn’t about to let his team-mates do that either.

Moments later, it was 3-2!

The Mancs, not wanting to give up their hope of another league title soon installed their two goal lead but then Everton dug in deep, deeper than anyone would have thought they could at Old Trafford and got it back to 4-4.

Yesterday, not even Fergie-Time could help the team in red and David Moyes side worked their nuts off  earned a very deserved point.

Before you all think I want us to sign Phil Neville, I don’t but I wouldn’t mind us signing someone like him, someone who has it in them to motivate those around them and get a response by rallying his team mates that then turn performances and scorelines around as Everton did yesterday.

Vermaelen sometimes does, Robin seldom does, in fact the only time I have seen him roaring at full voice, is when we score.

That’s easy though isn’t it, what we need is that kind of vocal stuff when the chips are down, the rallying, heart-felt calls that Neville showed yesterday.

We’ve not really had that since Tony Adams and to an extent Martin Keown and Patrick Vieira! Natural leaders and motivators who won’t settle for teammates going through the motions or slacking off, leaders who demand 100% effort and commitment at all times.

That is still for me what this Arsenal side lacks, the steel and the will to win, we’ve seen it a few times this season but not anywhere near enough and for some reason we are found wanting against lesser sides.

We need to make sure we don’t make that mistake in the last three games!

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Posted by rico

Shocking pitch, boring tactics but Wenger get’s one over O’Neil……

February 12, 2012

Arshavin, Ramsey & Henry – well well well….

When was the last time that Arsene Wenger made three substitutions and each one made a difference?

No idea is my answer but yesterday each one did, they changed the game.

Ramsey wasn’t on long before his shot from distance battered both posts and landed in the net.

Arshavin played a peach of a cross to find Thierry Henry who volleyed home for a 2-1 victory….

The massive downside to yesterdays win was the injury sustained by Per Mertesacker and Arsene Wenger confirmed that ‘he is not good’ – the injury is suspected to be ankle ligament damage and he’ll be scanned today. Not what we needed before we fly out to Italy on Tuesday ready to face AC Milan the following day. We should find out later what the extent of his injury is.

We kicked off with great intent, we were lively – clear cut chances on goal though were hard to come by – Robin whipped in a corner which Vermaelen got his head to but his effort was blocked by Sunderlands keeper. Then Koscielny lost out to Sessegnon who in turn set up Fraizer Campbell but his shot went wide after getting a deflection.

Most of the comments on HH at this stage was about the state of the pitch, it wasn’t anything like our boys are used too…

Walcott had a chance on goal but his shot went wide of the far post and then soon after he hoofed a volley dreadfully high over the crossbar – not the finest from our young Englishman after a good cross from Song!

As time went on, Sunderland tried the old ‘hit them on the break’ tactic, that was their only real option and we had all the possession – boring eh!

Not long before half time and a big decision went our way, Colback crossed the ball into our penalty area and Merts slipped as he tried to clear the ball and his big frame landed on the ground and the ball hit his hand (or hand hit the ball) – much to the disgruntlement of the home fans, referee Neil Swarbrick waved play on. Big Big moment…..

As we ended the half it was pretty much all about our possession but as we have seen so many times this year, it was also about how we weren’t able to make that possession count…

Same old as the second half got under away, and to be honest, Sunderland dealt with all with had to offer with ease – too much ease..

The home side had a chance with O’Shea but he hoofed a loose ball well over Szczesny’s bar…

That chance, which was without question Sunderlands best one seemed to give us a bit of a kick in the butt as we pressured the home side but still without an end product!

Then, just before the hour, Sunderland had a good spell, Szczesny made a great save to his left after a great strike from distance off of Craig Gardner’s left boot – only to find all of his efforts were in vein as the offside flag had gone up.

Gardner had another chance soon after but again our big keeper saved and took control of the rebound.

Wenger then made the first change on sixty-six minutes with the old man Thierry Henry coming on in place of Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain.

It wasn’t long after that the deadlock was broken and in freak circumstances…

Sagna played the ball back towards our goal to Mertesacker who was under no pressure whatsoever but as he turned, his foot seemed to get caught in the playing surface and over he went, clearly in pain.

Sunderland’s McClean took advantage and gathered the loose ball – carried on towards goal and placed his shot into the far corner of Szczesny’s goal……

What a bolt out of the blue that was and another horrid injury picked up by one of our defenders!

The big fella left the pitch on a stretcher and in his place came Ramsey.

Our young Welshman has been taking a bit of stick recently but it didn’t take long for him to justify his inclusion in this current Arsenal side. In fact it within five minutes of gracing the dodgy turf, he’d made it 1-1.

Arteta had taken a shot on goal but it somehow arrived back at the feet of Ramsey, he took a pop at goal, not the cleanest of strikes admittedly but it found its way past their keeper, hit the inside of one post, then went along the line and hit the other post but thankfully, it crossed the line that mattered…

Fifteen minutes left and we raised our game, Walcott went off on 87 minutes and on came Andrey ‘The Meerkat’ Arshavin – and I have to admit that I thought ‘what the heck will that change do’?

Talk about having to eat your words rico!!

Shortly after, well, on 88 mins, his cross from the left found Robin unmarked but his header went straight to their keeper and it seemed we would have to settle for a share of the points but then…….

Arshavin delivered the inch perfect cross into Sunderland’s penalty area and who else would be lurking other than the old man and he doesn’t miss from close range does he?.

2-1 and game over – what a stunning result at The Stadium of Light against a side who are rejuvenated under Martin O’Neil, a side that not long ago beat Manchester City…..

We should take a lot from this result, in fact let’s take it all the way to Italy shall we – and that should be Thierry Henry’s last game, but will it be?

Over to you fine folk to chew the cud…..

Have a good day all…….

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Posted by rico

Robin to Madrid? No! Fatigue could be the key to today’s result…..

February 11, 2012

Didn’t take too long did it for Robin to squash the story in the Marca newspaper yesterday about him wanting to move to Real Madrid in the summer. In a short and sweet tweet he said:

Contrary to reports in Spain I have NEVER spoken to Marca newspaper and never gave any interview. Enjoy your day.

Thanks Robin…

On to today, a fixture that Wenger says:

We have to be absolutely, completely up for it and to be focused to win.

Of course we do, we have to be in that same frame of mind as we approach every game, not just today!

Win today, coupled with a Chav loss at Goodison and we could be 4th in the Premier League – if of course we win by more than three goals.

Then, later on today Newcastle travel to Shite Hart Lane and my money is on them to sneak a point, of course I’d love Newcastle to batter the b******s but purely looking after ourselves, a draw would be the best outcome….

As so often with the English media, Arsene Wenger was yet again asked questions in his press conference about everything going on in football right now – well it’s time leave all that behind.

There’s a lot to play for in this league yet and for Arsenal it’s time to stick the fingers up to the rest and worry about one team only, and of course we all know which team that is…

Let the neighbours worry about the future of Harry Redknapp, not Wenger or us!

Let AVB worry about whether or not he will be sacked and replaced by Fabio Capello, not Wenger or us!

Let England worry about John ‘Thomas’ Terry, not Wenger or us!

Let Dalglish & Fergie worry about Suarez versus Evra today, not Wenger or us!!

Let us worry about none of the above, let us worry about Sunderland because Sunderland is who we face today, no-one else, no other team, just one and that’s Martin O’Neil’s Sunderland!!

They are a side on the rise since the appointment of their new manager but, midweek they played in an FA Cup replay which went into extra-time, their little legs will hopefully be heavy and tired and we have to take advantage of that today.

Sunderland have many good players and they are still trying to impress their new manager but hey, we are travelling up north full of confidence after the 7-1 victory over Blackburn.

Let the confidence gather one more notch today, that’s all we need to think about…..

We can talk about stats, we can talk about previous encounters and we can talk about players injured or available but we all know that this season, things like that have gone out the window.

No game is easy for us these days but we are partly to blame for that, turn up today in the right frame of mind, then three points are ours!!

One day at a time, one game at a time…..

Let’s just go and win this one today….??

Have a good day all….

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Posted by rico

Come on, they only had ten players! Henry to stay a bit longer?

February 5, 2012

And so it began on a cold winters day in February, the boys had been told to rise and shine early for a 1pm kick off…..

As the referees whistle blew, it didn’t take long before Francis Coquelin picked out Theo Walcott down the right, he then played an inch perfect ball along the ground in front of goal and Robin does what you would expect him to do, magic!

With it came belief in the players, the perfect start and one we all hoped for.

Next up, Chamberlain and Rosicky combined well but our young Englishman couldn’t really get enough on his shot and Blackburns keeper gathers with ease. Already the pace of Chamberlain and Walcott was causing problems…

On the fifteen minute mark, it was heart in mouth time as Szczesny got caught by the studs of Modeste and had to receive a bit of first aid. Thankfully the big Pole was up and all seemed ok, the thought of Fabianski coming on at 1-0 was not what we needed or wanted! A deserved yellow card was handed out to the Blackburn player!

Soon after we got a free kick which Robin took, Merts got to it and his touch nearly found Vermaelen… Close, but not close enough….

Next up was a bit of good stuff from our other Englishman – Theo got into the box, cut his pass back for Tomas Rosicky who’s shot was blocked and Arteta fired wide after getting on the end of the rebound– much better from our winger than of recent weeks…

Chamberlain then went on another great run and after breezing past Petrovic; he earned a corner which came to nothing.

Merts was the next to go close after yet another corner but the big fella is still to get off the mark..

Nzonzi went in the book for an awful tackle on Rosicky, another day, another ref……

We were in total control of the game but at 1-0, nothing was guaranteed, we needed another, maybe two to really make us fans feel we could get a much-needed result.

On the half hour mark we have a penalty claim turned down after Walcott got his head onto a Chamberlain cross. Yes, you read right, Walcott got his head on the end of a cross. ;)

Robin then tried one of his cheeky chips on goal but it goes wide….

Soon after that we witnessed some sloppy defending, this time Koscielny is the guilty man and after a bit of pulling and tugging on the Blackburn player, he gave away a free-kick in a dangerous place and picked up a yellow card for his troubles!

Up stepped Pederson, wonderful free kick and 1-1!

Bollox I thought, why do we do it to ourselves!!

Shortly after, my stream crashed and when it came back, we were 3-1 to the good. What the heck I thought but I soon saw the replay and was thrilled with what had unfolded…

Song had picked out Walcott with a super ball, the winger then cut his pass back to Robin – 2-1 and maybe the nerves settled for a while…

Shortly after, Rosicky appeared injured on the ground but Robin played on, he passed the perfect ball to Chamberlain who then took the ball past Robinson in Blackburns goal then coolly and calmly slotted home.

Stunning goal, great composure and what a way to get off the mark in the Premier League….

3-1 and any nerves had to be fading fast……

All the talk this last week has been about two footed tackles and how they are not acceptable in the game and any such tackle would be punished with a straight red card. Well, Blackburn’s Givet must have been out of the country all week because his tackle on our captain was awful, it was the perfect example of what had been described and deemed to be totally unacceptable and no surprises when he received his marching orders.

At least he had the decency to apologise to Wenger as he trudged off!

Thankfully, Robin walked away from it unscathed.

Shortly after, Vermaelen saw a wonderful volley hit the woodwork and referee Andre Marriner suffered an injury ;)

Half time followed, and what a half it was eh, Theo grabs two good assists, Robin gets two goals and Chamberlain, well he well and truly showed why fans already call him The Ox, what a player he is going to be, he isn’t bad now eh?

The second half kicked off with us attacking the ‘North Bank’ and what a second half it turned out to be…..

Blackburn have a chance with Orr curling one towards goal which failed to trouble Szczesny and soon after we had another penalty appeal rebuffed by Marriner after a Coquelin went over in the box.

Moments later, Robin whipped in a corner which was half cleared, it fell to Koscielny and his touch was blasted home by Mikel Arteta.
4-1…. Yes, 4-1…….

As expected, we were all over the ten men of Blackburn, they didn’t have a clue what was happening or what to do about it and it wasn’t long before we made it 5-1.

Yet again, Theo was involved; he made a great run from right to left, looked up and found Chamberlain. The latter lost his man and slotted the ball into the bottom corner…

Finally our goal average was improving and we were moving away from the teams behind us and with it, catching Chelsea too, we may need these goals at the end of the season.

On the hour there was a bit of a scare with Vermaelen but after a bit of cold water and magic spray, he was able to carry on!

Chamberlain then performed more magic, he made a great run down the left hand side, made two Blackburn defenders look silly, played a wonderful ball in towards the back post which Arteta volleyed just over. Goal of the season had that found the back of the net!

Coquelin was the next to get in on the action, he supplied another perfect ball played in along the ground found Robin who of course, helped himself to a superb hatrick and take the score to 6-1!

With half an hour still to go, how many would we get???

Walcott had a chance to make it seven, but his shot went high and wide…

Chamberlain strutted his stuff again down the left but he gets snuffed out….
That was it for him, and this time as he went off to the bench there were no boos, no chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ – as on in his place came the old boy Thierry Henry….

Koscielny too came off and was replaced by Sagna and not too long after, Song got a breather, he was replaced by Yossi. (Weird one, especially as Sagna was now at left back – maybe Wenger doesn’t know what he’s doing ;) )

The subs changed the game, everything calmed down and we took our foot off the gas, we’d won and the three points had been secured and that’s all that mattered.

We had another penalty shout turned down, Henry looked set to volley another Walcott cross home but a Blackburn defender got in the way annoyingly and then Vermaelen picked up a silly booking.

We had yet another penalty appeal turned down and Nzonzi was lucky not to be sent off for a naughty challenge on our old man Henry!

Just before the full-time whistle and to the cheers of the away supporters, Blackburn won a corner, not that they did anything with it though!

As we went into added time, many fans will have wish they stayed just a few moments later as the game ended in such a wonderful way…..

Thierry Henry tried to gift Robin his fourth goal of the day but our captain was having none of it. Instead he played the ball straight back to Henry, who with a little help of a deflection, made it 7-1….

Game over and what a day for Arsenal FC, the players and the fans alike…

If anyone says we only beat Blackburn because they were down to ten men, think again.

We were 3-1 up when Givet got sent off, maybe against eleven we would have scored more than seven, after all, Arsene Wenger always says it’s more difficult to play against a side who have had a player sent off……

Wasn’t a bad game was it, and after it Wenger hinted that Henry might stay a little longer with us, long enough to play one more match at The Emirates and we all know who that is against…..

Have a good day all…..

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Posted by rico

Striker & Defender out! Wenger wants the next Invincibles & Jenks back in training………

February 4, 2012

I know this will shock you but I am so happy to see this guy back in training…

We need all the Gooners we can get....

Seriously, I watch us and like many other fans I think what this current side miss is players like Jack Wilshere, Carl Jenkinson, Henri Lansbury, Frimpong and any other true Gooner in our ranks….

When we lose, those players hurt the same as we all do, and that’s because they are Arsenal fans, as well as Arsenal players! They will fight tooth and nail until the end, because they are proud of that red and white shirt they wear.

We need players like Jenks…… We need more like Jenks……

Anyway…..

To achieve a Champions League spot this season, Arsene Wenger believes that we now need to go on an unbeaten run until the end of the season, starting today of course, at home to Blackburn.

He wants to see this current squad do what our boys did back in 2004, but just for four months.

Ideally you want to be unbeaten. Is it possible? I think to prove that it is possible is just to win on Saturday.

Of course he is right to a degree, we do need to be unbeaten but what we can’t afford to do is to draw too many games either – we need to be winning, especially our home games!

Blackburn – another side near the bottom of the league who have their own problems and they have not been to dissimilar to ours have they? The fans are restless, they have made it very clear they want Steve Kean gone and they have not been happy with results.

Most of our fans are not happy with the results, we are not happy seeing the Spuds ahead of us and we are certainly not happy seeing us 7th in the Premier League either!

There are just five points between us and 4th spot, and if we can get back to winning ways, that points difference could be overcome.

Ok, Liverpool and Newcastle seem to be in good form but they, like us, always seem to be able to drop points when it matters, all we need to do is finally wake up and realise that if we don’t change our ways, we are looking at not only finishing outside the top four but possibly, outside the Europa places too.

News about Blackburn: Chris Samba will not be in their squad following his antics in the transfer window and Yakubu is suspended so he won’t feature either. Godwillie is also missing as he is suffering with ‘Man Flu’.

Arsenal – well, after all Wenger has said about wanting a win today, he has suggested he will rotate the squad:

A little bit yes because we gave a lot on Sunday against Villa and gave a lot against Bolton on Wednesday. I am thinking about it at the moment, yes.

Well, rotation is hardly likely to kick-start the new Invincibles is it?? No, they came about because they were used to playing together week in week out….

Rest Robin, now that is wise Arsene…..

We need three points today, and with The Yak and Samba out, we’ll never get a better chance…

Talking of chances, it’s about time we started taking ours!

I’ll leave on a positive note…..

He was training yesterday, he's obviously fit.....

That has got to be good news…..

Have a good day all…….

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Posted by rico

Wenger true to his word, for once……

February 1, 2012

Morning Gooners,

Arsene Wenger was true to his word, he said he would not be partaking in this January’s transfer market and didn’t.

He made a deal for a young lad of eighteen from Dortmund but as he is yet to play first team football for any club so no doubt he won’t for us for a while.

Wenger had stated that he believed this January window should be axed so he would probably have looked a fool if he had bought.

However we perceive his actions, we are left with what we have.

Players who some would have liked to have been sold are going to be with us for the rest of this season but as the Russian Transfer window doesn’t shut until much later this month, Arshavin could still return home but I suspect he will stay now until the summer.

Were we desperate to sign new talent?

Hard to say as a supporter but Wenger has made the decision that was not the case so we see out the rest of the season with what we have. Wenger may be looking at our situation and he knows who is coming back to fitness, he must have calculated that we are not in such a bad position that many supporters had feared.

Jack Wilshere’s setback may have irritated Wenger but I believe he feels that the midfield is well covered without adding anybody new.

Bacary Sagna who has been injured since the start of the season with a broken leg has now recovered and came on as a sub in our last game against Villa. No problems/setbacks were reported after the game which is great news, now he will only need to gain his match fitness, which he will as he plays more games.

Kieran Gibbs is also back in full training with the squad so he  too should be back in very soon. Both of these players have been out for some time now and their return should strengthen us quite a bit in defence and certainly add a bit of venom to our attack. As far as our back up full backs go, in Santos and Jenkinson they too must be nearing full fitness.

Many supporters were worried about a possible injury to our Captain and striker Robin Van Persie, but up to now Robin has shown remarkable resilience and at the end of the day should anything happen to him whilst Chamakh and Gervinho are away, we still have Park and Thierry Henry as back up.

Chamakh is soon to return and with the inclusion of Chamberlain, who has shown in two games more commitment than many, will certainly strengthen us no end.

Many would have liked Wenger to have brought a play maker in midfield but had he done so, he would have to drop Alex Song, Arteta, Rosicky or Ramsey. Not forgetting that we have others that could also fill that position as well and some out on loan that could always be called back if need be.

As far as our central defenders are concerned we have four that we have been using regularly and although they have been asked to play in fullback positions, they have in general, have handled it quite well.

Fabianski came in for Chesney in the Villa game and handled himself very well as time went on although Wengers belief in him has often made me wonder but then Wenger watches him train a lot more than me.

I still would have liked a marquee signing but I can understand why Wenger was reluctant to spend money when we have an abundance of players in all positions, maybe not to everybody’s liking but players have to be sold before players bought and when player and club are bound by contracts it has to be understood that we can only have so many.

I feel we can only replace players when contracts come to their end unless offers come in which are acceptable, so until then we have what we have and personally, I don’t think they are too bad.

We are getting stronger every day so we can only get better, after all we are sixth in the league and if we win tonight which we should, we will go fifth.

COYG

Written by Steve Palmer

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Posted by rico

Can we finally take advantage? Ashley Cole doesn’t rate his team-mates!

January 22, 2012

Just a bit of fun to start, Ashley Cole has been asked to name his all time eleven during his playing days and here it is:

TEAM (4-4-2): Seaman; Lauren, Adams, Campbell Cole; Sturridge, Vieira, Gerrard, Pires; Bergkamp, Henry.

Just one Chav, other than him….. :)

Our French master has come out with yet another classic:

Before Sunday’s game nobody will come in so we will have now to focus on the players we have.

I will assess the situation after the game on Sunday but until then nothing will happen now for us.

What does this manager of ours need to witness in order to asses our situation, hasn’t he seen enough?

Does that mean if Miquel gets a roasting he’ll sign a player? What about the situation at right back too?

Sorry, it just doesn’t add up and we all know why!

Sorry Arsene, you could and you should have sorted this out by now, you have had twenty-two days!

Anyway, today we face Old Red Nose side, that same side which battered us good and proper last year. The result saw us sign a few just before and on deadline day of the transfer window and who knows, a similar result may make the club react again in the same way in the transfer window.

Would you be happy if that happened?

No, nor would I!

We need beat the Mancs today and still take advantage of the transfer window.

Can we finally take advantage and gain points on Chelsea who dropped another two points yesterday?

Liverpool and Newcastle both suffered heavy defeats too and a win today would give a bit of breathing space behind us. No doubt Manchester City will gain three points in their match so we could in theory gain three vital points on that lot down the road.

The word ‘revenge’ is all over the papers, it’s not just about that, it’s about working hard, working as a team and fighting until the end to secure three huge home points.

Rumours are that Vermaelen has been passed fit so that would be a massive boost and I strongly suspect that Thierry Henry will be fit too, Arteta is definitely out.

Some of our players have had shockers recently, today, each and every one of them need to have the game of their life, do that and we may just nick a point. ;)

Have a good day all….

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Posted by rico

Another striker loan deal? United Midfielder in Wenger’s plans? More excuses from the club….

January 15, 2012

Titbits first today:

The Sunday Mirror suggests that Manchester United midfielder Ravel Morrison’s situation is being monitored by our manager. Morrison is out of contract in the summer and is throwing his toys out the pram because he’s not playing.

The Sunday People report that Wenger wants to loan Real Madrid Spanish Under-19 striker Alvaro Morata on loan. The story suggests that the player has been told to get himself a move but whether that is this month or in the summer, remains unclear.

Arsene Wenger has been talking about this current transfer window and he believes it should be scrapped. That way it will:

Force disaffected players to fight for their places and remain committed to the cause.

He goes on:

I am for [scrapping the transfer window]. I would leave it completely open all year, or you close it for a whole year. But that’s in-between.

Everybody becomes nervous from November until January. Then players maybe think, ‘if I don’t play then I will leave in January’. They are already less committed to the cause, it gives them an opening.

We have gone from a period where we knew that if we didn’t play, we still had to be committed to the club for your whole life.

You had no other option but to fight for your place. There is not a position where the players have a quick and easy way out if it is difficult.

So, another excuse given for not signing anyone this month, can’t understand why our club don’t believe that signing an odd fresh face or two in this window can actually spur others on, those who really want to play for Arsenal have to fight more for their place. Fresh players this month for the last few seasons has been just what we needed to push on in the second half of the season.

We didn’t get them and we have faded, just look back to last season when we really had a great chance to win the PL?

He does go on to say that he’d rather wait for the injured players to return than sign an old has been who is looking for an easy exit from their current club, for sure, we all agree there but a player like Jan Vertonghen is hardly that is he, he wouldn’t break the bank and he would no doubt solve all our defensive frailties right now.

As for up front, well the club recently sanctioned a break for Robin van Persie as they must have thought he was shattered, does that not tell us that something?

Oh well, window locked and bolted already then Arsenal!

On to today, a trip down to sunny Wales to face the side rightly earned promotion last season, the side that we huffed and puffed against at home and finally sneaked a 1-0 victory. That victory though saw us get our season kick started. We’d had a dreadful opening few fixtures and despite the result being far from convincing, the recovery began and with it came the creep up the table back into a decent position in the league.

Today is going to be a tough one but then again, every game in this league now is that way. We still have a long list of injuries and Francis Coquelin is the latest addition, Mertesacker and Rosicky both face late fitness test having been ‘ill’. Chamakh and Gervinho are of course gone now for a while.

Swansea however has pretty much a full squad, a few of which had a rest in their last fixture.

Djourou returns after his one match ban and should he feature at right back, he’ll be in for a tough time up against Scott Sinclair.

Thierry Henry should also make his return to Premier League football but I truly hope we don’t need a repeat of Monday to secure this victory, Robin also returns from his holiday so things up front should be different.

Will the two start together and put the pressure on?

Swansea are a confident side at home, the only loss they have suffered in front of their home fans is to Manchester United!

There is not too much to tell about the history of this fixture as the two sides have only met on ten occasions and that tells us little really about the players of today – Brendan Rogers has his side playing football the right way these days, they won’t be parking any bus or looking to hit us on the break, the game will be open and maybe it will be more about who scores most will win.

Yes I know that is obvious but you know what I mean!

We have wobbled on the road recently and have an average of just one goal a game in our last seven matches which doesn’t make pretty reading does it?

Time for that to change or Wenger may just have to get his cheque book out!!

Have a good day all, 3 points would make it that wouldn’t it?

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Posted by rico

175 and still counting! The end of Almunia?

January 10, 2012

Remembering, of course, that we were drawn against these exact opponents in the same stage of the FA Cup, during the same time-frame a year ago – plenty has changed for both sides since we huffed and puffed to a 1-1 home draw, before winning the replay 3-1 at Elland Road.

We, of course, has seen the departures of our former number four – who had to come off the bench and convert the late penalty which gave us a 1-1 in the original tie – and Nas; as well as a new first choice goalkeeper and a few new additions courtesy of the Summer transfer window, and the loan return of our all-time record goal scorer, now wearing the number 12, vice his previous 14…

Leeds also returned with a somewhat different side. Injury ruled out starters Snodgrass, Howson and Kisnorbo, while the player who really caught my eye during last year’s ties, Max Gradel, departed for St. Etienne this past August. Promotion is surely the primary objective for Leeds again – kinda like us and the top four – but I would not discount a good result being viewed as a jump-start, as Leeds’ recent run of has seen them slip out of the promotion play-off spots.

In the buildup, Arsene indicated that Robin – currently away and resting in Dubai – would not be available, but that a strong squad will still be picked.

We lined up Szczesny, Coq, Squil, Kos, Miquel, Song, Arteta (tonight’s Captain), Ramsey, OC, Chamakh and Arsh.

Martinez, Yennaris, Benny, Theo, Miyaichi, Thierry and Ju made our bench.

A rest for Mert (replaced by Squil), Theo to the bench, and otherwise as strong a side as we can probably field, factoring in suspensions (JD), injuries (TV), and tournaments (Gerv to ACN). Rookie Martinez was named as the second goalkeeper, all but verbally confirming there is no place for Almunia at this club…

We kicked the match off and started quickly, passing the ball around well. Arsh tried a couple of early shots, neither of which troubled Lonergan in the Leeds goal. Just five minutes in, Chamakh found Arsh in a great position – unmarked, no less – with a fine pass, but the latter completely wasted it, sending a dreadful effort over the bar.

Squil was the next player to squander a good chance, with a quarter of an hour gone. Chamakh teed him up with an excellent free kick, but the defender could only head wide.

I suppose it’s better than heading it directly to Zamora in our area, but…I thought we had bought Chamakh to be the player to get on the end of these type free-kicks – while it was admittedly a good delivery, surely he would be better used in the box as a target for these kicks…

A minute later, Ramsey had a pop following a good run; he got his effort closer than either Arsh or Squil, but not close enough. Leeds then got their first real attack going, as we looked shaky from a free-kick. Vayrynen’s initial shot was blocked, but we could not clear, allowing Becchio to collect. Fortunately, his finishing matched Arsh’s, going wastefully high.

In the next sequence, Chamakh somehow missed an open net from just a couple of yards out. It wouldn’t have counted, as OC was wrongly whistled for a foul earlier in the move, but still…

Just before the half hour mark, we received yet another injury blow…This time Coq pulled up clutching his hammy. Arsene quickly replaced him with Yennaris, as our injury problems in defence show no signs of abating. An early, unwanted substitution, with no defenders remaining on the bench…

The match continued its pattern: we kept the ball, showed decent – albeit slow – build-up, and inevitably saw the move break down through a poor shot or poor decision. Leeds spent little time with the ball and posed virtually no threat. But neither did we, for that matter…

A few minutes before the interval, O’Dea earned the game’s first booking for fouling Chamakh. Arteta took the free-kick, but Leeds cleared with no difficulty. Then Ramsey tried another long-range shot. This one deflected off White for a corner, but Squil once put a poor header wide.

The whistle went a few second later.

There were no other changes as Leeds kicked the second half off. OC tried to get us going with a quick early shot, but couldn’t hit the target. We then forced a couple of corners – which we couldn’t convert – as we continued to see most of the ball and do all the attacking.

Leeds countered and won themselves a corner, but did nothing with it…Then we attacked, and then the move broke down – and on, and on, and…

It took 55 minutes for either keeper to have to make a save, and Lonergan was the first up. Chamakh fed Arteta, who shot towards goal, but didn’t get enough on it, and the Leeds custodian had to stretch, but saved without much difficulty. As the match passed the hour mark, the monotonous pattern continued…

OC was probably our best player up to this point, and he woke the crowd up with a fierce shot which forced Lonergan into a more difficult save. So naturally, OC is the first attacking player Arsene substitutes, with Theo – who could probably use a full game’s rest – coming on for him…

This happened in the 68th minute, as part of a double switch…

The moment most of us Gooners awaited came simultaneously, with Thierry getting his first action of his second stint, replacing the yet-again-ineffective-Chamakh. As the match entered the final 20 minutes, Brown fouled Theo to concede a free kick, which Arteta wasted with a poor delivery.

We then forced a pair of corners, which…well, you can guess what we didn’t do with either.

Just when a dour 0-0 and unwanted replay loomed, we made the breakthrough.

Song, who did little prior to this point, sent an excellent through ball into the box, Thierry slipped away from Thompson and shot across Lonergan into the far corner for 1-0, his first goal of his second spell with us, and his 175th (competitive) in Arsenal colours.

Welcome Home!!

Almost immediately after the goal, Szczesny had to save from Brown, just about the first involvement for our keeper with almost 80 minutes gone. McCormack, who replaced Becchio a few minutes before we scored, couldn’t convert a good, headed chance.

Arsh had at least two good chances to put the game away but continued his woeful finishing and let Leeds off the hook.

Szczesny then had to save Forsell’s close range shot as we reached the 90 minute mark. Arsh then got our first booking two minutes into stoppage time for fouling Brown.

The full time whistle went about two minutes later, and we advanced to a fourth round tie with Aston Villa…

Some would say this is like old times, what with Thierry saving our bacon. I don’t think it is such an exaggeration to suggest that he, in 25-odd minutes of action, contributed as much as both Chamakh and Arsh have for the entire calendar year of 2011.

Arsh stayed on the pitch for the entire way, but I thought he was one of our worst players on the night, particularly with his finishing.

As welcome as Thierry’s goal is, it has to be said that this was a poor, poor performance.

We looked like we reverted to some prior bad habits, such as aimless, over-passing, slow build-up, and wasteful finishing. Collective energy looked low and despite having a relatively strong side out there, we didn’t impress.

Thierry will be the story – and rightly so – but I don’t think we can simply brush off our unimpressive overall effort this evening…

In fact, we haven’t really played well for a string of a few matches now. We squeaked wins over QPR and now Leeds, dropped points at home versus Wolves and lost at Fulham. Injuries certainly contribute – we have not played with a natural or recognized (as in acknowledged primary position) full-back for several matches and that has certainly hurt our attacking play and weakened our depth in the defensive positions but that is not the whole story.

Arsh and Chamakh have shown – yet again – that they cannot be trusted to deliver and neither Ju nor Miyaichi even got a look in.

Despite fielding our starting midfield trio, there was very little creativity from them, other than Song’s assist for the winner.

In 25 minutes of play, Thierry has probably made himself our impact sub until his loan expires and this is not only due to his goal but also because we don’t get much from our other options. Most of them either don’t deliver when called upon, or don’t even get called upon…

So once again we are hitting a New Year lull.

We can only hope that our starters don’t burn themselves out, leading to another March/April collapse. A lot can change, especially when we start getting our injured players back but at this very moment, I am not particularly encouraged by what I see from our team.

I think we are fully capable of pulling it back together and going on another run, but we need to get positive contributions from many more players than what we are currently getting.

We’ll see.

now, we can all enjoy advancing to the FA Cup fourth round and a feel-good story with Thierry’s goal on his return. Hopefully there will be more to come from him, and his presence will help our other players lift their games.

Once again, Welcome Home!

Written by Oliver

243 Comments | Match review | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by rico

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