Arsenal's record in their last seven games makes pretty good reading:
Played 6, won 6.
Simple as that. 3 league games, 2 FA cup games and 1 league cup game. The gunners remain the only team really between Man Utd and an outrageous 19th Premier League title, are through to the fifth round of the FA cup (when they'll meet Leyton Orient who are 54 places below them, all the way down in League 1) and will play Birmingham in the league cup final on the 27th February. Not bad, right? There's also the small matter of a last sixteen tie against Barcelona too.
In those six games, Arsenal have also scored an impressive 16 goals, whilst conceding just 3. Bizarrely, it's still difficult to think of this excellent series of results as putting a run together and buliding momentum because Arsenal have the capacity to implode at absolutely any point - it's this unpredictability and fragility that has really characterised our team in recent seasons. Is there more about us this season though? Well yeah, probably. If the last two games are anything to go by, then this team is pumped and ready to win some silverware. Twice the gunners have been up against it, and twice they've rallied to grab really important wins.
Wenger understandably decided to rest a couple of key players in the home tie against Huddersfield; none of Djourou, Sagna, Clichy, Fabregas, Wilshere, Van Persie or Song started, but it looked as though the gamble would pay off when Bendtner, with the help of a delflection, put Arsenal ahead after twenty two minutes. 1-0 up against lower league opposition at home - how were the gunners going to screw this up? Squillaci had the answer: get too square to a striker running at full pelt, be forced into pulling him over as he skipped past and through on goal and then get sent off. Text book stuff from the Frenchman.
Arsenal held on for twenty minutes after the restart but the pressure began to tell, and eventually someone (I won't pretend to remember who; I can't imagine he'll be seen at the Emirates ever again to be honest) got up well and planted a header past Almunia into the goal.
With the midfield looking sluggish and gifting possesion away it was up to Francesc Fabregas to sort things out, and he entered the fray shortly after the equaliser. The introduction of the Spaniard turned the game on its head once again. With a bit more composure in the middle of the park, Arsenal were able to push for a much needed winner (the possibility of a replay at Huddersfield now looming dangerously on the horizon). Bendtner conspired to squander several great chances, but the Dane made amends by tumbling under a challenge in the box to win a slightly soft penalty. Fabregas stepped up a dispatched it, and Arsenal held on to stay in the cup for another round. Inspiring stuff from the 10 men to retake the lead, and hold it, despite fielding largely a second string team.
Perhaps more important for the season was the performance against Everton at the Emirates earlier this week. A game fraught with controversy saw Arsenal go behind after 24 minutes to a goal from Louis Saha, despite the fact that the striker was comfortably a yard offside. No matter through, said the linesman, I thought he took it well, so the goal stands. Poor officiating all round, and the home side looked suitably shell shocked for the rest of the half.
A lively atmosphere helped the gunners raise their game in the second half however, and after 70 minutes a pass from Fabregas, via the head of an Everton player, found Arshavin, and the resurgent Russian volleyed in the equaliser. Arsenal didn't have long to wait for the 'go-ahead' goal either, Koscielny finding space in the box to head home a Van Persie corner. The Gunners then held on to take all three points and keep the pressure on Utd.
I feel suggesting that the kind of spirit on display is characteristic of title winners would make me sound like a bit of a broken record - comments of that nature in the past have usually been followed by a humilating defeat at the hands of a title rival or relegation candidate. So I won't say that this time - I'll merely remark that Arsenal look strong mentally at the moment. Which is good, obviously.
Two things have struck me this week:
1. A lot's been made of Fabregas' alleged comments to the officials at half time during the Everton match; the midfielder supposedly yelled something along the lines of "How much are you being paid?" in the direction of the referee. Everton manager Dasvid Moyes reckon Fabregas should have been sent off, and articles discussing the incident have also referenced past instances of petualnce on the part of Fabregas. Good I say. People are always saying we're a soft touch - maybe it's about time we had someone who'll manipulate referees and get in the opposition's face. Besides, where are the articles about Sir Wayne of Rooney screaming profanities in the faces of officials week in, week out? What do you mean there aren't any? Are you trying to suggest that the British press is a bit Xenophobic? And that if Fabregas was English, we'd just be hearing about his spirit and determination and Passion with a capital P? Yeah, I think I am.
2. When the press aren't criticising Arsenal for being sneaky foreign swine, they're saying that we're defensively inept. Our centrebacks are rubbish, and we can't deal with set pieces. Well maybe they're right, I mean, we have conceded 22 goals in 24 games. Meanwhile Manchester United have conceded 21. As have City. And Chelsea. Spurs have conceded 26 fer christs's sake. We've been missing our first choice centreback all season and we've still only conceded one more goal than the best defence(s) in the league, so cut us a break, won't you?
Newcastle away on the weekend, and Wenger will have to do without Samir Nasri. The influential Frenchman limped off against Huddersfield after chasing a through ball, and it looks like he's going to miss some key ties. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Whisper it quietly, but it's beginning to look like Robin Van Persie might just be back to his best. I say whisper, because I suspect that even loud noises are enough to injure the delicate Dutchman. Good thing he plays at the Emirates, right?
This is especially good news, given that after Manchester City's loss to on Saturday, Arsenal are basically Manchester United's only challenger for the coveted premier league title. United lead Arsenal by two points with a game and hand, but lead City by 3 points with 2 games in hand and Chelsea by 10 points (with no games in hand). For the first time in years Arsenal are in the now slightly unfamilar territory of a two horse title race, as well as being the neutral's choice for the league by default, because no one wants to see Man U win another bloody championship, especially when they've been so distinctly average all season.
Arsenal's problem in providing an effective challenge to United this season has been rooted in the wild inconsistencies of the back four, but on Saturday, thankfully, the defence was given a rest by a unbelieveably unambitious Wigan team who seemed to have come to terms with being beaten before the match had even started. Having been accompanied by only a handful of fans (barely an exaggeration, really, there were about 60 of them) and knowing full well that they were up against an overwhelmingly superior footballing force, Wigan seemed happy to camp out in their own half - even after the first goal went in, some of the players will still time-wasting, presumably to stop themselves from being on the end of a thrashing.
Consequently, Arsenal were rather given free reign to attack for about %95 of the game, and it was Van Persie who best utilised this attacking freedom by scoring his first career hat-trick. He could have had more, as could the rest of the team were it not for the first half heroics of Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi, who made more than a few top notch saves to keep the score respectable.
The regularity with which Arsenal created chances was a joy to behold, their inability to convert them being the only troublesome aspect of the afternoon. Van Persie's sharpness in front of goal makes everything else pale in comparison though, as the striker is comfortably Arsenal's biggest threat up front when he's fully fit. His first goal was typical of the Dutchman, as he ran onto a through ball from Song and fired a first time shot past the keeper for the opener. The finish was pedestrian however, when compared to his second. A lofted Fabregas pass dropped just outside the six yard box, and Van Persie was on hand to volley into the net without breaking stride.
The hat-trick seemed an inevitability when Fabregas was felled in the box (for which centreback Gary Caldwell earned his marching orders) but the Dutchman, normally clincal from 12 yards, blasted his effort miles over the bar. Having obviously earmarked a spot for the match ball on his mantlepiece, he seemed determined to bag his third, and after first curling an effort onto the post, he was duly rewarded when Theo Walcott latched onto a through ball, holding the ball up until Van Persie was able to take it off his toe and smash the ball past the goalie.
He's going to need to stay sharp too, because after the cup tipes against Ipswich and Huddersfield, Arsenal have to play Everton, Newcastle, Wolves and Barcelona. Having scored six goals in his last three games however, the striker looks like he means business.
Ipswich tomorrow, and Arsenal need to overcome a one goal deficit if they're to win their first silveware in five years. That said, I'm not really sure how worried anyone actually is about the 'five years' thing outside of the media. As far as I can tell, most Arsenal fans are content that their team has remained competitive at the highest level of football despite the financial implications of building a huge stadium. Besides, when did a football fan's enjoyment depend entirely on material success? Can't we just be happy that we can watch our team play awesome football week in, week out in our enormous and highly lucrative new stadium? Frankly I'd prefer to finish second than win the Carling Cup, which is more joke than trophy.
Spurs are looking to move to new digs soon too - let's see if they can hold on to their champions league spot when they're pouring hundreds of millions into a new home. Besides, if they build their stadium anything like they play their football, it'll look plenty flash but lack solid foundations. Ha.
This is especially good news, given that after Manchester City's loss to on Saturday, Arsenal are basically Manchester United's only challenger for the coveted premier league title. United lead Arsenal by two points with a game and hand, but lead City by 3 points with 2 games in hand and Chelsea by 10 points (with no games in hand). For the first time in years Arsenal are in the now slightly unfamilar territory of a two horse title race, as well as being the neutral's choice for the league by default, because no one wants to see Man U win another bloody championship, especially when they've been so distinctly average all season.
Arsenal's problem in providing an effective challenge to United this season has been rooted in the wild inconsistencies of the back four, but on Saturday, thankfully, the defence was given a rest by a unbelieveably unambitious Wigan team who seemed to have come to terms with being beaten before the match had even started. Having been accompanied by only a handful of fans (barely an exaggeration, really, there were about 60 of them) and knowing full well that they were up against an overwhelmingly superior footballing force, Wigan seemed happy to camp out in their own half - even after the first goal went in, some of the players will still time-wasting, presumably to stop themselves from being on the end of a thrashing.
Consequently, Arsenal were rather given free reign to attack for about %95 of the game, and it was Van Persie who best utilised this attacking freedom by scoring his first career hat-trick. He could have had more, as could the rest of the team were it not for the first half heroics of Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi, who made more than a few top notch saves to keep the score respectable.
The regularity with which Arsenal created chances was a joy to behold, their inability to convert them being the only troublesome aspect of the afternoon. Van Persie's sharpness in front of goal makes everything else pale in comparison though, as the striker is comfortably Arsenal's biggest threat up front when he's fully fit. His first goal was typical of the Dutchman, as he ran onto a through ball from Song and fired a first time shot past the keeper for the opener. The finish was pedestrian however, when compared to his second. A lofted Fabregas pass dropped just outside the six yard box, and Van Persie was on hand to volley into the net without breaking stride.
The hat-trick seemed an inevitability when Fabregas was felled in the box (for which centreback Gary Caldwell earned his marching orders) but the Dutchman, normally clincal from 12 yards, blasted his effort miles over the bar. Having obviously earmarked a spot for the match ball on his mantlepiece, he seemed determined to bag his third, and after first curling an effort onto the post, he was duly rewarded when Theo Walcott latched onto a through ball, holding the ball up until Van Persie was able to take it off his toe and smash the ball past the goalie.
He's going to need to stay sharp too, because after the cup tipes against Ipswich and Huddersfield, Arsenal have to play Everton, Newcastle, Wolves and Barcelona. Having scored six goals in his last three games however, the striker looks like he means business.
Ipswich tomorrow, and Arsenal need to overcome a one goal deficit if they're to win their first silveware in five years. That said, I'm not really sure how worried anyone actually is about the 'five years' thing outside of the media. As far as I can tell, most Arsenal fans are content that their team has remained competitive at the highest level of football despite the financial implications of building a huge stadium. Besides, when did a football fan's enjoyment depend entirely on material success? Can't we just be happy that we can watch our team play awesome football week in, week out in our enormous and highly lucrative new stadium? Frankly I'd prefer to finish second than win the Carling Cup, which is more joke than trophy.
Spurs are looking to move to new digs soon too - let's see if they can hold on to their champions league spot when they're pouring hundreds of millions into a new home. Besides, if they build their stadium anything like they play their football, it'll look plenty flash but lack solid foundations. Ha.
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
So 2010 is behind us, a year of few highs and a lot of lows, especially for Arsenal and England fans, and by way of a send off I think it proper to dish out some awards to the heroes and villains of the past year in what I like to call 'The Arshies'.
Best Arshavin: A hotly contested award, but there was one candidate who stood head and shoulders above the rest. Take a bow, Andrey.
Worst Arshavin: His lackadaisical performances on the pitch this season, as well as almost running over my feet in his car outside the Emirates that one time mean that Andrey runs out clear winner.
Most Improved Player: This one will need to be split in two, à la King Solomon, and half given to Gareth Bale and half to Samir Nasri. Both have looked pretty phenomenal this season.
Biggest Wanker: Lot of names to choose from for this award, but giving it collectively to everyone at FIFA seems fair (more on them later). Honourable mentions go to Phil Brown, Mark Hughes and Tony Pulis.
Best Signing: Slim pickings for this category: no one player has seemed like great business. Chamakh looks like a decent striker, but has struggled with form of late; David Silva looks like a good buy, but has hardly set the league alight. Sadly this award can only really go to Tottenham talisman Rafael van der Vaart.
Stupidest thing that Wayne Rooney did award: Hmmm, sleep with a prostitute, or prostitute himself to Man City to drive up his salary at Utd? He seems to have gotten away with both, so fair play to the lad.
Sorest losers: Barcelona, Champions League semi final, second leg. Mourinho prancing around the pitch looking super smug is enough to rile up even the most docile fan, but turning the sprinklers on them? Pretty crass Barca.
Best Supporting Actor: Chelsea's assistant manager Ray Wilkins picks up this award, as apparently, without his support Carlo Ancelotti and the rest of the cast of the Chelsea soap opera can't function properly.
Enough of that, and more on Arsenal, who despite having lost 5 games already this season are still within touching distance of the Premier League summit, thanks in part to the indifferent and downright pisspoor form of Man Utd and Chelsea respectively. Consequently this season is, at least at the moment, pretty exciting. Of course when Utd eventually and inevitably limp to the title unopposed everyone will tut and say: "Well who didn't see that one coming?" and they will decry the predictability and lack of competitiveness at the top end of the league. Well to those people I say shut up and remember that it could be worse: Spurs could have won the title. And then they will choke on their glass of merlot and think that maybe third place isn't so bad after all, as long as those brash upstarts from up the road don't finish above us.
Arsenal could win the title, they really could, and should they beat Manchester City tomorrow, then maybe we can start to believe again. The pessimist in me says that they probably won't do either of those things though. Second place is up for grabs however, as long as the Ray Wilkins-less Chelsea continue to struggle against teams like Villa, whose own troubles this season are of course well documented.
Alarmingly for the optimists among us, Man Utd are top, unbeaten, and have done all this playing pretty poorly. Rather ominously they have just recently started playing well, and look as if, like Chelsea last season, they will win the league almost by default. Plus ça change, right?
Meanwhile there has of course been the farcical proceedings over at FIFA headquarters where, as everyone knows, the delegates opted to hand over the World Cups of 2018 and 2022 to Russia and Qatar. There's been plenty said, most of it through gritted teeth and with clenched fists, and all of it reeking of sour grapes, but to my mind, far and away the most shocking aspect of the whole debacle was that people were even surprised. Surely anyone who knew anything about Blatter and his cronies could have foreseen what would happen? FIFA is a who's who of some of the richest, vilest most corruptible men in football, but apparantly everyone involved in the bids that wasn't from Russia and Qatar had no idea. Erm, hello? The writing's been on the wall from day one, and it said 'give us money'.
At the end of the day, when the dust has settled and all's said and done etc. Russia may be corrupt as hell and run by mafiosos, but it's still a big big country, and one that's dead keen on football, so I don't mind too much about them getting it. It's the decision to go with Qatar that's truly despicable. Does Qatar have a proud footballing heritage? No, the team has never even qualified for a World Cup. Is it a large country, or a well populated one? No and no, it's smaller than Wales and has a population of 1.6 million. Is it one which would allow daytime matches during the summer? Erm, no again, with temperatures soaring to a balmy 41 degress Celcius during June. Is Qatar a country where homosexuality is legal? Oh my no. So what is it that could have attracted FIFA to this incredibly wealthy country? Answers on a postcard please.
Man City tomorrow, fingers crossed for that one. News in is that Silva and super sulk, er super sub Mario Balotelli will both be out injured. Maybe Arsenal vanquished some demons against Chelsea which will allow them to play well against the big teams. Or maybe not. Probably the latter.
Best Arshavin: A hotly contested award, but there was one candidate who stood head and shoulders above the rest. Take a bow, Andrey.
Worst Arshavin: His lackadaisical performances on the pitch this season, as well as almost running over my feet in his car outside the Emirates that one time mean that Andrey runs out clear winner.
Most Improved Player: This one will need to be split in two, à la King Solomon, and half given to Gareth Bale and half to Samir Nasri. Both have looked pretty phenomenal this season.
Biggest Wanker: Lot of names to choose from for this award, but giving it collectively to everyone at FIFA seems fair (more on them later). Honourable mentions go to Phil Brown, Mark Hughes and Tony Pulis.
Best Signing: Slim pickings for this category: no one player has seemed like great business. Chamakh looks like a decent striker, but has struggled with form of late; David Silva looks like a good buy, but has hardly set the league alight. Sadly this award can only really go to Tottenham talisman Rafael van der Vaart.
Stupidest thing that Wayne Rooney did award: Hmmm, sleep with a prostitute, or prostitute himself to Man City to drive up his salary at Utd? He seems to have gotten away with both, so fair play to the lad.
Sorest losers: Barcelona, Champions League semi final, second leg. Mourinho prancing around the pitch looking super smug is enough to rile up even the most docile fan, but turning the sprinklers on them? Pretty crass Barca.
Best Supporting Actor: Chelsea's assistant manager Ray Wilkins picks up this award, as apparently, without his support Carlo Ancelotti and the rest of the cast of the Chelsea soap opera can't function properly.
Enough of that, and more on Arsenal, who despite having lost 5 games already this season are still within touching distance of the Premier League summit, thanks in part to the indifferent and downright pisspoor form of Man Utd and Chelsea respectively. Consequently this season is, at least at the moment, pretty exciting. Of course when Utd eventually and inevitably limp to the title unopposed everyone will tut and say: "Well who didn't see that one coming?" and they will decry the predictability and lack of competitiveness at the top end of the league. Well to those people I say shut up and remember that it could be worse: Spurs could have won the title. And then they will choke on their glass of merlot and think that maybe third place isn't so bad after all, as long as those brash upstarts from up the road don't finish above us.
Arsenal could win the title, they really could, and should they beat Manchester City tomorrow, then maybe we can start to believe again. The pessimist in me says that they probably won't do either of those things though. Second place is up for grabs however, as long as the Ray Wilkins-less Chelsea continue to struggle against teams like Villa, whose own troubles this season are of course well documented.
Alarmingly for the optimists among us, Man Utd are top, unbeaten, and have done all this playing pretty poorly. Rather ominously they have just recently started playing well, and look as if, like Chelsea last season, they will win the league almost by default. Plus ça change, right?
Meanwhile there has of course been the farcical proceedings over at FIFA headquarters where, as everyone knows, the delegates opted to hand over the World Cups of 2018 and 2022 to Russia and Qatar. There's been plenty said, most of it through gritted teeth and with clenched fists, and all of it reeking of sour grapes, but to my mind, far and away the most shocking aspect of the whole debacle was that people were even surprised. Surely anyone who knew anything about Blatter and his cronies could have foreseen what would happen? FIFA is a who's who of some of the richest, vilest most corruptible men in football, but apparantly everyone involved in the bids that wasn't from Russia and Qatar had no idea. Erm, hello? The writing's been on the wall from day one, and it said 'give us money'.
At the end of the day, when the dust has settled and all's said and done etc. Russia may be corrupt as hell and run by mafiosos, but it's still a big big country, and one that's dead keen on football, so I don't mind too much about them getting it. It's the decision to go with Qatar that's truly despicable. Does Qatar have a proud footballing heritage? No, the team has never even qualified for a World Cup. Is it a large country, or a well populated one? No and no, it's smaller than Wales and has a population of 1.6 million. Is it one which would allow daytime matches during the summer? Erm, no again, with temperatures soaring to a balmy 41 degress Celcius during June. Is Qatar a country where homosexuality is legal? Oh my no. So what is it that could have attracted FIFA to this incredibly wealthy country? Answers on a postcard please.
Man City tomorrow, fingers crossed for that one. News in is that Silva and super sulk, er super sub Mario Balotelli will both be out injured. Maybe Arsenal vanquished some demons against Chelsea which will allow them to play well against the big teams. Or maybe not. Probably the latter.
Monday, 10 May 2010
So another season draws to a close, one that promised little, then promised much, and then ended in routine disappointment. In a way things might have been easier if Arsenal had comfortably coasted through the season in third place without threatening to challenge for the title or drop out of the top four, but events conspired to give us a whiff of a first championship for six years. Our hopes were dashed quite expertly however, first by Spurs and then by Wigan, and in the absence of trophies we can reflect on the 2009-10 season without any great fondness.
Whilst results in March and April effectively prevented Arsenal from staying in the hunt for the title, it was an incident in November which did the most damage; whilst on international duty for the Netherlands, Robin Van Persie was injured by a reckless sliding challenge and the Gunners were deprived of their most effective attacking weapon. Prior to his injury Van Persie had been having far and away his best season in an Arsenal shirt. Leading the line in Wenger's 4-3-3 he was scoring and creating goals at will, and was the absolute lynchpin of the Arsenal offence. We were averaging over three goals a game with him in the side, and just over one and a half without.
Now I'm not saying that if VP (and indeed Fàbregas) had stayed fit for the whole season we'd have won the league, but it would have gone a long way towards helping us. Of course Man U had to deal with more than a few defenders being out at various points in the season, and Chelsea had to compensate for the lack of Michael Essien, but it just feels that when it comes to Arsenal and injuries, it's not just some of the time, it's all of the time. Someone important is always missing, and it's reaching the point where you have to wonder just how they're treating injured players. Aren't we as a club supposed to be at the forefront of sports science? Don't we have a billion trillion pound training facility to help combat fatigue and injury problems? Just what the hell are they up to?
Of course it didn't help our cause that we conceded a frankly embarrassing 41 goals. Several players can be held to account on this on this one: Vermaelen had a great début season, but a poor sense of positioning combined with overeagerness led to goals. Clichy and Sagna were exposed far too often for which we have to look at the players on the wing: Arshavin and Walcott both seemed either uninterested or simply not good enough at tracking back to help out, and crossing was far too easy for opposition wingers faced only by the fullback. Song showed great promise in his role as defensive midfielder but also displayed naivety and like Vermaelen was out of position far too often.
The goalkeeping problem deserves a paragraph of its own. Manuel Almunia, the Arsenal no. 1, was never a world-class keeper, but he was good, good enough for the premiership certainly. With Jens Lehmann glaring from the sidelines, Manuel demonstrated good shot-stopping skills and was at times only let down by his lack of assertiveness in the area. It's said that a good goalkeeper will save you ten points a season. By the same token a bad goalkeeper will cost you ten. Let's have a look at some Almunia stats:
2007 – Save Percentage 87.2%
2008 – Save Percentage – 75.7%
2009 – Save Percentage – 69.1%
A theme starts to develop. Obviously Manuel only got the starting berth in the 2008-9 season but it's plain to see that he's getting worse. The problem is compounded by the fact that his deputy, Lukasz Fabianski seems incapable of catching the ball, his most embarrassing moment coming in the away leg of the Champion's League tie against Porto. He first turned a harmless cross into his own net before picking up a Sol Campbell back pass and then handing the ball straight to the referee, allowing the opposition to take a quick free kick and score. Last week Blackburn went after poor Lukasz and Arsenal conceded two goals from two corners. In short, we need a keeper, one who can stop shots as well as command the area. Man City's Joe Hart has been linked with a move to Arsenal, and I think that would be a great signing. Wenger seems keen to remedy this problem ASAP, so expect someone new between the sticks next season.
In terms of bolstering our strike force, Marouane Chamakh seems almost certain to sign in the next couple of weeks, and he will be a welcome addition. William Gallas's contract is up this summer and from what he's been saying it's sounds like he wants to move on, so an experienced centre-back to partner (and perhaps tutor) Thomas Vermaelen seems more than necessary. A midfielder would also be nice; I like Denilson and I think he'd be a good player to keep in the squad, but we won't win the title with him starting every match, and to keep Fàbregas this summer I think we need to prove our intent by making a big signing to play alongside him in the middle. A winger might be nice too, as Walcott's development seems to have hit the buffers, and someone needs to challenge Arshavin's spot in the team, otherwise he'll continue to stroll around the pitch looking bored.
Whether we'll get the players we need is uncertain. That said, Wenger has made it clear that he intends to recruit at least a couple of new faces for next season, and it really feels as though that's all we need to take us to the next level and really start challenging for the league. Besides, Spurs need to be put in their place and resume their role as the butt of our jokes. It's really all they're good for.
I will be writing up stories for Group C this World Cup at www.soccerladuma.co.za so have a peek if you fancy.
Whilst results in March and April effectively prevented Arsenal from staying in the hunt for the title, it was an incident in November which did the most damage; whilst on international duty for the Netherlands, Robin Van Persie was injured by a reckless sliding challenge and the Gunners were deprived of their most effective attacking weapon. Prior to his injury Van Persie had been having far and away his best season in an Arsenal shirt. Leading the line in Wenger's 4-3-3 he was scoring and creating goals at will, and was the absolute lynchpin of the Arsenal offence. We were averaging over three goals a game with him in the side, and just over one and a half without.
Now I'm not saying that if VP (and indeed Fàbregas) had stayed fit for the whole season we'd have won the league, but it would have gone a long way towards helping us. Of course Man U had to deal with more than a few defenders being out at various points in the season, and Chelsea had to compensate for the lack of Michael Essien, but it just feels that when it comes to Arsenal and injuries, it's not just some of the time, it's all of the time. Someone important is always missing, and it's reaching the point where you have to wonder just how they're treating injured players. Aren't we as a club supposed to be at the forefront of sports science? Don't we have a billion trillion pound training facility to help combat fatigue and injury problems? Just what the hell are they up to?
Of course it didn't help our cause that we conceded a frankly embarrassing 41 goals. Several players can be held to account on this on this one: Vermaelen had a great début season, but a poor sense of positioning combined with overeagerness led to goals. Clichy and Sagna were exposed far too often for which we have to look at the players on the wing: Arshavin and Walcott both seemed either uninterested or simply not good enough at tracking back to help out, and crossing was far too easy for opposition wingers faced only by the fullback. Song showed great promise in his role as defensive midfielder but also displayed naivety and like Vermaelen was out of position far too often.
The goalkeeping problem deserves a paragraph of its own. Manuel Almunia, the Arsenal no. 1, was never a world-class keeper, but he was good, good enough for the premiership certainly. With Jens Lehmann glaring from the sidelines, Manuel demonstrated good shot-stopping skills and was at times only let down by his lack of assertiveness in the area. It's said that a good goalkeeper will save you ten points a season. By the same token a bad goalkeeper will cost you ten. Let's have a look at some Almunia stats:
2007 – Save Percentage 87.2%
2008 – Save Percentage – 75.7%
2009 – Save Percentage – 69.1%
A theme starts to develop. Obviously Manuel only got the starting berth in the 2008-9 season but it's plain to see that he's getting worse. The problem is compounded by the fact that his deputy, Lukasz Fabianski seems incapable of catching the ball, his most embarrassing moment coming in the away leg of the Champion's League tie against Porto. He first turned a harmless cross into his own net before picking up a Sol Campbell back pass and then handing the ball straight to the referee, allowing the opposition to take a quick free kick and score. Last week Blackburn went after poor Lukasz and Arsenal conceded two goals from two corners. In short, we need a keeper, one who can stop shots as well as command the area. Man City's Joe Hart has been linked with a move to Arsenal, and I think that would be a great signing. Wenger seems keen to remedy this problem ASAP, so expect someone new between the sticks next season.
In terms of bolstering our strike force, Marouane Chamakh seems almost certain to sign in the next couple of weeks, and he will be a welcome addition. William Gallas's contract is up this summer and from what he's been saying it's sounds like he wants to move on, so an experienced centre-back to partner (and perhaps tutor) Thomas Vermaelen seems more than necessary. A midfielder would also be nice; I like Denilson and I think he'd be a good player to keep in the squad, but we won't win the title with him starting every match, and to keep Fàbregas this summer I think we need to prove our intent by making a big signing to play alongside him in the middle. A winger might be nice too, as Walcott's development seems to have hit the buffers, and someone needs to challenge Arshavin's spot in the team, otherwise he'll continue to stroll around the pitch looking bored.
Whether we'll get the players we need is uncertain. That said, Wenger has made it clear that he intends to recruit at least a couple of new faces for next season, and it really feels as though that's all we need to take us to the next level and really start challenging for the league. Besides, Spurs need to be put in their place and resume their role as the butt of our jokes. It's really all they're good for.
I will be writing up stories for Group C this World Cup at www.soccerladuma.co.za so have a peek if you fancy.
Saturday, 3 April 2010
It was the game that had the football purists drooling: Arsenal vs Barcelona, squaring off in the Champion's League quarter final. Wenger Vs Guardiola. Fabregas vs Xavi. Messi vs...Silvestre. Fortunately we were spared that last matchup (but more on that later). The general consensus was that the first leg would be a tight affair, a score draw maybe with both sides weaving their pretty patterns, while aesthetes stood up and saluted the screen from time to time. Football would be the winner, to quote a particularly hackneyed phrase. Well they weren't far off with that prediction. The game did end in a draw, and there was some spectacular football played, the bulk of it, unfortunately, coming from the Catalans.
For the first twenty five minutes Barcelona set about justifying their reputation of 'World's best team' with aplomb. Xavi was controlling the game from midfield, Messi's darting runs pulled the Arsenal defence every which way and Dani Alves' bursts down the right were going largely unchecked. Somehow though, the Gunners clung on to their clean sheet, thanks mostly to the improbable hero of the hour, Manuel Almunia. He saved well from Messi, Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The much-maligned keeper has struggled with form this season, particularly in terms of claiming crosses and dominating his area, but his shot stopping on Wednesday night was spectacular.
Arsenal started the evening with Fabregas in the midfield, alongside Song and Diaby, and Gallas returned from his injury to assist Vermaelen in the middle. Clichy and Sagna completed the back four, and Arhsavin and Nasri flanked Bendtner up front. Everyone knew that Barca would test the Gunner's defence, but the hope had been that the Arsenal attack would assist in relieving pressure by exerting it down the other end of the pitch. Sadly this was not the case. Nasri's shot which went just wide was the home side's first attempt, after 22 minutes. Yikes. Barcelona's policy of pressing the player on the ball incessantly was simply too much for the Arsenal players to bear, and it wasn't long before the ball was being hit long for Bendtner. It didn't help matters that Gallas and Arshavin both went off injured (Gallas looks set to miss the rest of the season), with Denilson and Eboue coming on to replace them.
The score at the half was 0-0, unlikely as it seemed, but it didn't take long after the restart for things to change. Twenty five seconds in fact. Gerard Pique lofted the ball forward, and Ibrahimovic chipped an indecisive Almunia to open the scoring. Despite worries that the flood gates had opened, it took until the hour mark for Barca to extend their lead, in a strikingly similar fashion. Ibrahimovic was played in over the top by Xavi, and he slammed a finish into the roof of the net. Their game plan was clear now: they'd been toying with Arsenal, allowing a glimmer of hope to build through their profligate finishing, which they were now going to extinguish in ruthless fashion.
Except they didn't. The visitors took their foot off the pedal, and Arsenal were finally allowed to ask some questions of the Barcelona defense. On 65 minutes Theo Walcott came on for Samir Nasri, and immediately changed the game. After just three minutes he was released by Bendtner and his powerful shot slipped under Victor Valdes to halve the defecit.
Thierry Henry's inclusion at the expense of Ibrahimovic was a temporary diversion, but Arsenal were continuing to press. Almunia saved well from Messi at the other end, but just over five minutes from the end Carles Puyol tangled with Fabregas in the area, and having conceded a penalty the defender was subsequently sent off. Fabregas clearly had a point to prove, taking the penalty himself and thumping it as hard as he could, having sent Valdes the wrong way. In retrospect he might have been better off placing it, as during the run back to the centre circle he pulled up, having clearly exacerbated the injury he'd picked up against Birmingham the previous weekend. The plucky little Spaniard refused to come off however, with Arsenal having already made all three substitutions, and proceeded to hobble around the pitch for the remainder of the match.
So Arsenal snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat, despite being completely outplayed. There are positives to take from this game: the scoreline wasn't as embarrasing as it should have been, there is a remote chance we can progress to the semi-finals and in all likelihood, Arsenal will never be outplayed like that again at home. Fabregas and Gallas look set to miss the rest of the season however, and possibly the World Cup, and the Gunners will almost definitely go out in the second leg. Still, how great did it feel when that equaliser went in? A reminder of what it means to be an Arsenal fan.
In America till the 21st, so back for the City game, rest assured.
For the first twenty five minutes Barcelona set about justifying their reputation of 'World's best team' with aplomb. Xavi was controlling the game from midfield, Messi's darting runs pulled the Arsenal defence every which way and Dani Alves' bursts down the right were going largely unchecked. Somehow though, the Gunners clung on to their clean sheet, thanks mostly to the improbable hero of the hour, Manuel Almunia. He saved well from Messi, Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The much-maligned keeper has struggled with form this season, particularly in terms of claiming crosses and dominating his area, but his shot stopping on Wednesday night was spectacular.
Arsenal started the evening with Fabregas in the midfield, alongside Song and Diaby, and Gallas returned from his injury to assist Vermaelen in the middle. Clichy and Sagna completed the back four, and Arhsavin and Nasri flanked Bendtner up front. Everyone knew that Barca would test the Gunner's defence, but the hope had been that the Arsenal attack would assist in relieving pressure by exerting it down the other end of the pitch. Sadly this was not the case. Nasri's shot which went just wide was the home side's first attempt, after 22 minutes. Yikes. Barcelona's policy of pressing the player on the ball incessantly was simply too much for the Arsenal players to bear, and it wasn't long before the ball was being hit long for Bendtner. It didn't help matters that Gallas and Arshavin both went off injured (Gallas looks set to miss the rest of the season), with Denilson and Eboue coming on to replace them.
The score at the half was 0-0, unlikely as it seemed, but it didn't take long after the restart for things to change. Twenty five seconds in fact. Gerard Pique lofted the ball forward, and Ibrahimovic chipped an indecisive Almunia to open the scoring. Despite worries that the flood gates had opened, it took until the hour mark for Barca to extend their lead, in a strikingly similar fashion. Ibrahimovic was played in over the top by Xavi, and he slammed a finish into the roof of the net. Their game plan was clear now: they'd been toying with Arsenal, allowing a glimmer of hope to build through their profligate finishing, which they were now going to extinguish in ruthless fashion.
Except they didn't. The visitors took their foot off the pedal, and Arsenal were finally allowed to ask some questions of the Barcelona defense. On 65 minutes Theo Walcott came on for Samir Nasri, and immediately changed the game. After just three minutes he was released by Bendtner and his powerful shot slipped under Victor Valdes to halve the defecit.
Thierry Henry's inclusion at the expense of Ibrahimovic was a temporary diversion, but Arsenal were continuing to press. Almunia saved well from Messi at the other end, but just over five minutes from the end Carles Puyol tangled with Fabregas in the area, and having conceded a penalty the defender was subsequently sent off. Fabregas clearly had a point to prove, taking the penalty himself and thumping it as hard as he could, having sent Valdes the wrong way. In retrospect he might have been better off placing it, as during the run back to the centre circle he pulled up, having clearly exacerbated the injury he'd picked up against Birmingham the previous weekend. The plucky little Spaniard refused to come off however, with Arsenal having already made all three substitutions, and proceeded to hobble around the pitch for the remainder of the match.
So Arsenal snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat, despite being completely outplayed. There are positives to take from this game: the scoreline wasn't as embarrasing as it should have been, there is a remote chance we can progress to the semi-finals and in all likelihood, Arsenal will never be outplayed like that again at home. Fabregas and Gallas look set to miss the rest of the season however, and possibly the World Cup, and the Gunners will almost definitely go out in the second leg. Still, how great did it feel when that equaliser went in? A reminder of what it means to be an Arsenal fan.
In America till the 21st, so back for the City game, rest assured.
Sunday, 14 March 2010
For just over two weeks, English football took a very small step towards modernisation. When Ryan Shawcross inadvertently broke Aaron Ramsey's leg, a number of journalists were particularly vocal in their condemnation of the extremely physical approach taken by many teams against, in particular, Arsenal. They said that football was evolving as a sport, and it is now played at a faster speed; ipso facto there is less margin for error if you throw yourself wildly at another player's leg (we're looking at you Ryan) and teams should not be lauded for combating skill and finesse with aggression and brutish, mistimed tackles aimed at kicking their opponents out of the game.
There are some, however, who would like to see football played as if it was still the 1950s. The leather ball would be lumped up and down the muddy pitch, crunching sliding tackles would be encouraged ("What's that Aaron? A broken leg? Well good thing you've still got one that works, we've already used our one substitution. Now hop along after that ball") and the players would be down the pub after the game, pint in one hand, pipe in the other. Phil Brown, manager of Hull City, is one such man it would seem.
Only two weeks on from the Ramsey incident, and with Arsenal again travelling to a Northern team which is near the bottom of the tables, both Premier League and fair play (www.premierleague.com/page/FairPlayTable), you'd have thought the home side's pre-match team talk might go something like this: "Right lads, obviously we're a physical side, and if we're to compete with those fancy dans from North London then we have to do what we do best. That said, I don't want to stoke the fire surrounding the debate about excessive force amongst technically inferior teams, nor do I want to give Wenger a reason to call for further scrutiny of the way we play. Therefore, just be careful how you go about things. Play physical, but do it sensibly."
Obviously Phil Brown was going to struggle with any words of more than three syllables, but he might have come out with something similar. Seemingly though, his advice was to kick the Arsenal players so hard that they'd still be feeling it next season, when Hull are busy trying to get promoted back into the top flight by kicking people in the division below instead. In the end though, as at Stoke, the Gunners were able to sweep aside the bully boys and take all three points back to North London.
The match started brightly enough. Hull's pitch is atrocious (they share it with a rugby team) so it was always going to be difficult for Arsenal to establish their passing game. A more direct approach was therefore the most practical option, but no one expected Arshavin to be the one to bundle the ball past two defenders, although his delightful finish into the corner was entirely predictable. 1-0 to the Arsenal after thirteen minutes, and the sensible money was on the Gunners adding to their lead. The officials had other ideas though. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (how many Hull fans have him on the back of their shirts, I wonder) was clearly offside when the ball was flicked over the defence, and when he gratefully tumbled under Sol Campbell's challenge, the referee pointed to the spot and booked poor Sol. Jimmy Bullard gave Almunia no chance with the penalty, and the home team somehow had a route back into the match.
Whilst all this was going on, the Hull players were dispensing 'Northern Football Justice': Denilson was sent flying by a wild challenge from Andy Dawson which earned the latter a booking, and Sagna was pulled to the floor by his throat by Craig Fagan, which earned him nothing. Whilst the referee was busy booking Dawson for his tackle on Denilson, George Boateng thought it would be a lark to poke Nicklas Bendtner in the eye. Bendtner's reaction was verbal rather than physical, but inexplicably both players earned the same punishment, a yellow card. George was clearly a man on a mission though, and just before half time he hacked wildly at Sagna, catching him on his knee with his studs, and the only question was whether the referee would have the balls to give him the straight red which the challenge warranted. He did not, but Boateng was still sent off for a second bookable offence. That's George Boateng, captain of Hull City, by the way.
It's one of football's clichés that it's harder to play against ten men than it is eleven. Erm, no it's not. It's much easier. There are fewer of them, duh. Sometimes, though, it can galvanise a team to work much harder to defend, and that's what happened on Saturday. For a couple of minutes Hull seemed to want to match Arsenal going forward and committed players to attacks, but this could only last so long. Soon it was backs against the wall, as Arsenal came forward again and again. That said, it was, at least initially, pretty ineffective. It was the sixty fourth minute introduction of Theo Walcott which served to change the dynamic. Only moments after coming on he burst into the box and his pullback found Arshavin unmarked in acres of space, but the Russian was clearly wearing Bendtner's boots from last weekend, and he shot wildly over the bar.
Walcott then picked out Bendtner in the middle but he took far too long to set himself and his shot was blocked. Still, you can't keep a good Dane down, and when Denilson's long range effort was parried by Myhill in the Hull goal, Bendtner pounced and his first time shot found the back of the net in the ninety third minute. Arsenal then held on for what could be an absolutely vital three points come May. Credit to Hull though, they really dug their heels in and still managed to look dangerous even with ten men for the entire second half.
Couple of talking points though, raised by Phil Brown after the game. He suggested that Campbell should have been sent off for his challenge which led the penalty. Er, that's after the striker has incorrectly been ruled onside Phil. Whether Campbell should be sent off is a moot point, as whatever punishment he receives will be unjustified.
Brown also mentioned a robust challenge from Campbell on Kamil Zayatte. This issue opens up a bit of a can of worms unfortunately. The ball is won cleanly, but the force with which Campbell eventually hit the player is enough to injure him and force him out of the game. Critics of Arsenal have suggested that Wenger cannot therefore criticise players who have injured members of his own squad with heavy tackles. This line of argument exposes the inherent hypocrisy within both sides of the debate.
Some fans suggest that Arsenal need to be protected from tackles which injure their players, when Arsenal players are sometimes (but not often) guilty of doing the same thing to the other team. Other fans claim there's nothing wrong with aggressive tackling, and that severe injuries are a unfortunate side effect, ergo there's nothing wrong with Campbell's challenge, so there's no reason to criticise him or Arsenal.
First and foremost, Sol won the ball, so it can't have been that bad a tackle. Secondly, I think that the levels of debate that have raged on over the last couple of weeks are a good enough reason for the FA to really address this issue and make it very clear where they stand. Will they though? Unlikely. The FA couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery, so expect nothing but silence from them.
Bad challenges and fake tans aside, Saturday was a hard fought and important win for the Arsenal. With any luck we'll never play Hull again, and they'll have to look up from the second tier of the football league at the Gunners being crowned champions of England. Fingers crossed eh?
There are some, however, who would like to see football played as if it was still the 1950s. The leather ball would be lumped up and down the muddy pitch, crunching sliding tackles would be encouraged ("What's that Aaron? A broken leg? Well good thing you've still got one that works, we've already used our one substitution. Now hop along after that ball") and the players would be down the pub after the game, pint in one hand, pipe in the other. Phil Brown, manager of Hull City, is one such man it would seem.
Only two weeks on from the Ramsey incident, and with Arsenal again travelling to a Northern team which is near the bottom of the tables, both Premier League and fair play (www.premierleague.com/page/FairPlayTable), you'd have thought the home side's pre-match team talk might go something like this: "Right lads, obviously we're a physical side, and if we're to compete with those fancy dans from North London then we have to do what we do best. That said, I don't want to stoke the fire surrounding the debate about excessive force amongst technically inferior teams, nor do I want to give Wenger a reason to call for further scrutiny of the way we play. Therefore, just be careful how you go about things. Play physical, but do it sensibly."
Obviously Phil Brown was going to struggle with any words of more than three syllables, but he might have come out with something similar. Seemingly though, his advice was to kick the Arsenal players so hard that they'd still be feeling it next season, when Hull are busy trying to get promoted back into the top flight by kicking people in the division below instead. In the end though, as at Stoke, the Gunners were able to sweep aside the bully boys and take all three points back to North London.
The match started brightly enough. Hull's pitch is atrocious (they share it with a rugby team) so it was always going to be difficult for Arsenal to establish their passing game. A more direct approach was therefore the most practical option, but no one expected Arshavin to be the one to bundle the ball past two defenders, although his delightful finish into the corner was entirely predictable. 1-0 to the Arsenal after thirteen minutes, and the sensible money was on the Gunners adding to their lead. The officials had other ideas though. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (how many Hull fans have him on the back of their shirts, I wonder) was clearly offside when the ball was flicked over the defence, and when he gratefully tumbled under Sol Campbell's challenge, the referee pointed to the spot and booked poor Sol. Jimmy Bullard gave Almunia no chance with the penalty, and the home team somehow had a route back into the match.
Whilst all this was going on, the Hull players were dispensing 'Northern Football Justice': Denilson was sent flying by a wild challenge from Andy Dawson which earned the latter a booking, and Sagna was pulled to the floor by his throat by Craig Fagan, which earned him nothing. Whilst the referee was busy booking Dawson for his tackle on Denilson, George Boateng thought it would be a lark to poke Nicklas Bendtner in the eye. Bendtner's reaction was verbal rather than physical, but inexplicably both players earned the same punishment, a yellow card. George was clearly a man on a mission though, and just before half time he hacked wildly at Sagna, catching him on his knee with his studs, and the only question was whether the referee would have the balls to give him the straight red which the challenge warranted. He did not, but Boateng was still sent off for a second bookable offence. That's George Boateng, captain of Hull City, by the way.
It's one of football's clichés that it's harder to play against ten men than it is eleven. Erm, no it's not. It's much easier. There are fewer of them, duh. Sometimes, though, it can galvanise a team to work much harder to defend, and that's what happened on Saturday. For a couple of minutes Hull seemed to want to match Arsenal going forward and committed players to attacks, but this could only last so long. Soon it was backs against the wall, as Arsenal came forward again and again. That said, it was, at least initially, pretty ineffective. It was the sixty fourth minute introduction of Theo Walcott which served to change the dynamic. Only moments after coming on he burst into the box and his pullback found Arshavin unmarked in acres of space, but the Russian was clearly wearing Bendtner's boots from last weekend, and he shot wildly over the bar.
Walcott then picked out Bendtner in the middle but he took far too long to set himself and his shot was blocked. Still, you can't keep a good Dane down, and when Denilson's long range effort was parried by Myhill in the Hull goal, Bendtner pounced and his first time shot found the back of the net in the ninety third minute. Arsenal then held on for what could be an absolutely vital three points come May. Credit to Hull though, they really dug their heels in and still managed to look dangerous even with ten men for the entire second half.
Couple of talking points though, raised by Phil Brown after the game. He suggested that Campbell should have been sent off for his challenge which led the penalty. Er, that's after the striker has incorrectly been ruled onside Phil. Whether Campbell should be sent off is a moot point, as whatever punishment he receives will be unjustified.
Brown also mentioned a robust challenge from Campbell on Kamil Zayatte. This issue opens up a bit of a can of worms unfortunately. The ball is won cleanly, but the force with which Campbell eventually hit the player is enough to injure him and force him out of the game. Critics of Arsenal have suggested that Wenger cannot therefore criticise players who have injured members of his own squad with heavy tackles. This line of argument exposes the inherent hypocrisy within both sides of the debate.
Some fans suggest that Arsenal need to be protected from tackles which injure their players, when Arsenal players are sometimes (but not often) guilty of doing the same thing to the other team. Other fans claim there's nothing wrong with aggressive tackling, and that severe injuries are a unfortunate side effect, ergo there's nothing wrong with Campbell's challenge, so there's no reason to criticise him or Arsenal.
First and foremost, Sol won the ball, so it can't have been that bad a tackle. Secondly, I think that the levels of debate that have raged on over the last couple of weeks are a good enough reason for the FA to really address this issue and make it very clear where they stand. Will they though? Unlikely. The FA couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery, so expect nothing but silence from them.
Bad challenges and fake tans aside, Saturday was a hard fought and important win for the Arsenal. With any luck we'll never play Hull again, and they'll have to look up from the second tier of the football league at the Gunners being crowned champions of England. Fingers crossed eh?
Monday, 8 March 2010
It's Monday evening, which must mean that members of the British media have sat down and decided which team they'll predict to win the league. Until next Monday, that is when they'll meet to decide on a new team.
It's testament to the unpredictable nature of the title chase this season that no one seems happy to back a side, or stick by the one they chose last week. The Guardian sports writers especially must be nervously wondering if people have started to forget that they picked Liverpool to finish first, and Arsenal to finish fifth. Good call by the way guys. Journalists must be cursing Arsenal's resilience though, as their dogged efforts to stay in the hunt means the whole things is much harder to call. Well I'm going to draw a line under the whole thing and say that I think Manchester United will win the league this season. Not because I think they're the best team, mind, but because United crawling their way to another title while their competitors are busy imploding seems like a horrible inevitability. Like death. At least in death I wouldn't have to look at Gary Neville dancing around the trophy like a goblin around a toadstool.
Anyway, on Saturday Arsenal squared off against the team with the worst away record in the football league. Burnley had taken one point from a possible forty two going into this game, conceding forty three and scoring just ten. The form book suggested that this would be the easiest game the Gunners would play all season. Well the form book could not have anticipated Nicklas Bendtner mistaking his shooting boots for his clown shoes. The big Dane missed a host of chances. Instead of scoring the perfect hat-trick (left foot, right foot, header) he managed to miss with all three instead. It took an inspired display from Walcott and Nasri (I don't think anyone saw that coming) to bag all three points.
Arsenal started brightly and Bendtner was soon played in behind the visitor's defence, but a good tackle and a good save took the ball away from him and behind the goal. An impudent flick from Eboué allowed Fàbregas the room to hit a shot across the keeper but wide of the goal. It wasn't long before the breakthrough however, as Nasri deftly chipped the ball over a static defence, and Cesc was on hand to roll it through the goalie's legs. He has now equalled Robert Pirès's record of 14 goals from midfield. He also has 15 assists. He turns 23 in May.
The Spaniard tweaked a hamstring and was withdrawn before half time, but not before his pinpoint pass allowed Eboué to run beyond his defender and square for Bendtner, who succeeded only in stabbing the ball wide from close range. The afternoon would not get much better for him: shortly after the restart he headed an excellent Walcott cross wide from six yards. It was the sort of chance that I could have finished, and I close my eyes when the ball is coming at me. It seemed as though the home side would be made to pay for Bendtner's wastefulness in front of goal when a clearance was headed straight back towards the Arsenal box, bypassing both central defender, which allowed David Nugent to shin the ball over Almunia for an unlikely equaliser.
Bendtner made a hash of another chance when Walcott cut the ball back to him in the box, only for the Dane's touch to take the ball away from goal, and his eventual shot was easily blocked by a defender. Theo clearly decided to take matters into his own hands, and after his driven effort was successfully saved by Brian Jensen, he went for placement with his next one. Despite striking the ball from the edge of the area and with his left foot, he saw it curl into the far corner to restore Arsenal's lead.
Burnley came close to equalising for a second time but their player shot wildly over the bar after Almunia spilled a corner. The miss paled in comparison to another Bendtner special however, as he contrived to miss an absolute sitter at the other end; Walcott's first time cross was played right to his feet, but from only five yards out the Danish striker managed only to roll the ball wide. He was withdrawn soon after to applause from the crowd, who are still collectively feeling guilty about the awful treatment of Emmanuel Eboué last season. Eventually the points were made safe by Arshavin, who had started the game on the bench after a spell on the treatment table, as he smashed in a left footed shot from inside the box. Three points and smiles all round, but talk about making heavy weather of it.
I think we can chalk up Bendtner's performance as a one off; every striker will have a game like that at some point, and before Saturday he had three goals in three games for club and country. The really pleasing performances came from Nasri and Walcott, two players who have been mired in mediocrity of late. Little Samir has looked extremely lightweight this season, scoring just once and often looking extremely anonymous. The same had been said of Walcott, but both players bossed their respective positions. Walcott's crossing was top notch, and he should have had a handful of assists to compliment his finely taken goal. Nasri's ball in to Fàbregas to set up the first goal was sublime, and after the captain had gone off, he assumed the bulk of the creative responsibilities in midfield, a task which he accomplished with great success. Eboué continues to impress at right back, providing Walcott with the kind of support he needs to be effective, and Sagna will struggle to dislodge the Ivorian after a run of good performances. All in all, a trying afternoon, but we'll take the three points thankyouverymuch.
The Ramsey saga rumbles on meanwhile, as the media are determined to milk every last drop out of it. I've already said what I wanted to say, but I think this article hits the nail on the head, and more than covers any further comments I'd care to make:
www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/35100/Ramsey_reaction_Written_press_deafened_by_shrill_chorus_of_ex-players.aspx
It's testament to the unpredictable nature of the title chase this season that no one seems happy to back a side, or stick by the one they chose last week. The Guardian sports writers especially must be nervously wondering if people have started to forget that they picked Liverpool to finish first, and Arsenal to finish fifth. Good call by the way guys. Journalists must be cursing Arsenal's resilience though, as their dogged efforts to stay in the hunt means the whole things is much harder to call. Well I'm going to draw a line under the whole thing and say that I think Manchester United will win the league this season. Not because I think they're the best team, mind, but because United crawling their way to another title while their competitors are busy imploding seems like a horrible inevitability. Like death. At least in death I wouldn't have to look at Gary Neville dancing around the trophy like a goblin around a toadstool.
Anyway, on Saturday Arsenal squared off against the team with the worst away record in the football league. Burnley had taken one point from a possible forty two going into this game, conceding forty three and scoring just ten. The form book suggested that this would be the easiest game the Gunners would play all season. Well the form book could not have anticipated Nicklas Bendtner mistaking his shooting boots for his clown shoes. The big Dane missed a host of chances. Instead of scoring the perfect hat-trick (left foot, right foot, header) he managed to miss with all three instead. It took an inspired display from Walcott and Nasri (I don't think anyone saw that coming) to bag all three points.
Arsenal started brightly and Bendtner was soon played in behind the visitor's defence, but a good tackle and a good save took the ball away from him and behind the goal. An impudent flick from Eboué allowed Fàbregas the room to hit a shot across the keeper but wide of the goal. It wasn't long before the breakthrough however, as Nasri deftly chipped the ball over a static defence, and Cesc was on hand to roll it through the goalie's legs. He has now equalled Robert Pirès's record of 14 goals from midfield. He also has 15 assists. He turns 23 in May.
The Spaniard tweaked a hamstring and was withdrawn before half time, but not before his pinpoint pass allowed Eboué to run beyond his defender and square for Bendtner, who succeeded only in stabbing the ball wide from close range. The afternoon would not get much better for him: shortly after the restart he headed an excellent Walcott cross wide from six yards. It was the sort of chance that I could have finished, and I close my eyes when the ball is coming at me. It seemed as though the home side would be made to pay for Bendtner's wastefulness in front of goal when a clearance was headed straight back towards the Arsenal box, bypassing both central defender, which allowed David Nugent to shin the ball over Almunia for an unlikely equaliser.
Bendtner made a hash of another chance when Walcott cut the ball back to him in the box, only for the Dane's touch to take the ball away from goal, and his eventual shot was easily blocked by a defender. Theo clearly decided to take matters into his own hands, and after his driven effort was successfully saved by Brian Jensen, he went for placement with his next one. Despite striking the ball from the edge of the area and with his left foot, he saw it curl into the far corner to restore Arsenal's lead.
Burnley came close to equalising for a second time but their player shot wildly over the bar after Almunia spilled a corner. The miss paled in comparison to another Bendtner special however, as he contrived to miss an absolute sitter at the other end; Walcott's first time cross was played right to his feet, but from only five yards out the Danish striker managed only to roll the ball wide. He was withdrawn soon after to applause from the crowd, who are still collectively feeling guilty about the awful treatment of Emmanuel Eboué last season. Eventually the points were made safe by Arshavin, who had started the game on the bench after a spell on the treatment table, as he smashed in a left footed shot from inside the box. Three points and smiles all round, but talk about making heavy weather of it.
I think we can chalk up Bendtner's performance as a one off; every striker will have a game like that at some point, and before Saturday he had three goals in three games for club and country. The really pleasing performances came from Nasri and Walcott, two players who have been mired in mediocrity of late. Little Samir has looked extremely lightweight this season, scoring just once and often looking extremely anonymous. The same had been said of Walcott, but both players bossed their respective positions. Walcott's crossing was top notch, and he should have had a handful of assists to compliment his finely taken goal. Nasri's ball in to Fàbregas to set up the first goal was sublime, and after the captain had gone off, he assumed the bulk of the creative responsibilities in midfield, a task which he accomplished with great success. Eboué continues to impress at right back, providing Walcott with the kind of support he needs to be effective, and Sagna will struggle to dislodge the Ivorian after a run of good performances. All in all, a trying afternoon, but we'll take the three points thankyouverymuch.
The Ramsey saga rumbles on meanwhile, as the media are determined to milk every last drop out of it. I've already said what I wanted to say, but I think this article hits the nail on the head, and more than covers any further comments I'd care to make:
www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/35100/Ramsey_reaction_Written_press_deafened_by_shrill_chorus_of_ex-players.aspx
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