West Ham United 2 - 2 Arsenal

It's not easy being an Arsenal fan, as this press release from Wrigley will verify: http://www.wrigley.com/uk/press/news-details.aspx?id=1381

For those who haven't read it (most, I would assume), Wrigleys (the chewing gum manufacturer), in conjunction with some nondescript 'scientists', has compiled a league table of heart rates for fans of premier league teams. Suffice if to say that there is little or no scientific merit or credibilty in Wrigley's league table, but Arsenal's fans have been placed in second and if my heart rate last Sunday is anything to go by then this should come as no surprise (at least to me).

Arsenal had won their last four league games going into the match at Upton Park, as well as 3 in the Champions league and Carling Cup leading up to the game at Alkmaar. Of those seven games, I would suggest that in only one (4-0 against Wigan at the Emirates) did Arsenal look truly assured. Hubris, inexperience, a lack of confidence or a sense of entitlement have all been offered as potential reasons for this. Regardless, on the pitch it has meant that each game has been extremely hard work and rarely have Arsenal looked comfortable.

A game like the one on Sunday was almost inevitable. Arsenal went to East London to face a team languishing in the relegation zone, low on confidence and looking for a result to kick start their season. The Hammers started brightly and were making Arsenal work hard without creating any real chances when Arsenal were able to make good use of a rare spell of possesion. After a neat one-two, Sagna was given enough room to whip a delightful cross into the the 6 yard box (there's a first time for everything) and a miscommunication between keeper and defencer resulted in Robert Green palming the ball into the path of the onrushing Van Persie who stuck it away. The gunners had a foothold in the game, and capitalised from more sloppy defending when Gallas nodded in a corner ten minutes from the break.

Call me what you will, genius, cynic, or just canny observer of footballing trends, but in my (rapidly beating) heart I knew that even at 2-0 and with West Ham struggling to create anything, it would just take just one second, one slip, one lapse in concentration and they'd be back in contention. In the end they were given a boost in the most irritating way; Alessandro Diamanti, a regular diamond geezer (sorry), tried to bend a free kick around the wall, only to see Vito Mannone push the ball straight onto Carlton Cole's head, much like Green did with Van Persie's goal earlier. Suddenly Arsenal went from a team completely in control to a team very much on the back foot. West Ham were pushing forward in search of an equaliser, but were still struggling to carve out good opportunities. There was a decent penalty shout when Scott Parker went down in the box but it was waved away; not so when Song clumsily kicked Carlton Cole in the back of the ankle several minutes later, and Diamanti duly tucked the spot kick away, the flash git (sorry). Even when Parker was sent off for two bookable offenses with five minutes to go West Ham still looked more likely to grab a winner.

The signs were there against Blackburn, again against Birmingham and it became clear in Alkmaar that Arsenal cannot close out games out the moment. It's difficult to pin down a reason. The centreback partnership of Gallas and Vermaelen seems to get better every game. Song and Diaby look more and more confident shielding the back four, and the full backs look less jittery. Why then, does this team look constantly as though they are about to throw games away needlessly? Why are we shipping goals like never before? Canny as I may be, in all honesty I'm finding it difficult to explain. Maybe it is an issue of confidence or inexperience, but the problem seems to run deeper than that. With a tricky run of games coming up, including Spurs and Chelsea at home and Sunderland away let's hope Wenger gets to the bottom of this before I do, or a season that seemed to be trundling along nicely might just come off the rails. Or my heart might just explode, whichever comes first.

Birmingham. Famous for Birmingham City Football Club. And Aston Villa. And...well not a whole lot else (as far as I‘m aware), so the boys from the blue half of the city were no doubt keen to make an impression on the Emirates crowd by ending Arsenal's 100% home record. In the end though, the visitors were outclassed, and their new owner, the Hong Kong Billionaire Carson Yeung, will have been given a pretty clear idea just how much work will have to go into this team before they can truly play with the big boys.

Two goals, two minutes apart, another one five minutes from the end (with one Bowyer strike in between, just to keep things interesting) were enough to secure all three points. Arsenal’s goals were all well taken: the game was only fifteen minutes old when Van Persie controlled Alex Song’s pass and, turning his man he angled a sharp drive low into the far corner. Shortly after Eboué managed to release Rosicky down the wing who then squared the ball across the edge of the six yard area, and there was little else Diaby could do other than to smash the ball into the roof of the net. Arsenal’s third showed just why Wenger paid £16,000,000 for Arshavin. Just when Birmingham seemed to be threatening an equaliser, Mannone claimed a cross and rolled the ball to Fabregas who was able to turn and run into acres of space. Striding purposefully down the pitch he played the ball into Arshavin’s feet, just outside the area. The little Russian took full advantage of the room afforded him by the defenders, and nonchalantly rolled curled the ball into the far corner. Job done.

Not since Henry has Wenger has such a clinical finisher of counter attacking moves. The threat Arsenal used to carry from defending set pieces box was phenomenal. One minute they would be camped in their own box as the ball was lumped in, the next they’d be down the other end of the pitch finishing off another lightning quick move. It was football Blitzkrieg. Whilst this capability hadn’t been eroded entirely by the departure of players like Overmars, Anelka, Pires or Henry, there was no one that could be relied upon to take these sort of chances when they were presented with them. Arshavin can and will stick most chances away, and Arsenal can once again view the counter attack as another weapon in their…er….armoury.

Arsenal have set two records thus far this season: they have scored 27 goals after only 8 games, more than any other team in the history of the premier league at this stage. However, they have also conceded 11, the most conceded by an Arsenal team after this number of games. The two facts are probably not unrelated. Song and Diaby were both excellent in disrupting Birmingham’s flow, and at no point when Arsenal had 11 men behind the ball was there a cause for concern, because it became clear that wouldn’t be long before a pass was intercepted or a tackle made. It was when Arsenal did not have numbers back that doubts started to creep in, as the disinclination for tracking back shared by some Arsenal players was plain for all to see. Rosicky can be forgiven for not running the length of the pitch every time the ball is lost, his return from a prolonged absence was probably hastened by the loss of Walcott and Nasri, and his fitness might still be an issue; but Arshavin has no such excuse. Granted he’s not a teenager anymore, but 28 is the new 25. And given that he was playing down the left in front of the inexperienced Gibbs there was really no excuse. To be fair to the lad he made more of an effort as the game progressed, but it could have been a case of too little too late if Birmingham has taken their chances. As soon as Wenger reminds some of these players that the game doesn’t stop when the ball is with the other team, defensively we might look a little more assured.

On a lighter note, the beach ball that sunk Liverpool on the weekend ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Sur49i4QPo ) was part of the Liverpool FC beach set, and having been marked down from half price before the game it has probably been removed from the club shop all together to deter giddy Manchester United fans from littering the pitch with them at Anfield next weekend.

Edit: as predicted... http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/oct/20/liverpool-sunderland-premier-league

Monsieur, with this sublime attacking football you are really spoiling us.

Apologies in advance, miscalculations with train times have seen me miss the game and technological problems have ruined all prior attempts to write up this week's game. So here, for your viewing pleasure, is a cursory glance at last weekends match.

A bullish Blackburn team lead by Sam Allardyce came to the Emirates yesterday, and - on the weekend where Arsene Wenger celebrated becoming Arsenal's longest serving manager - they did everything in their power to cut short the celebrations. Instead they were forcibly ejected from the party with their tails between their legs, and Wenger was able to reflect on his thirteen years in charge with a great deal of pleasure after a breath-taking exhibition of football the way he wants it to be played.

Arsenal's peformance (at least going forward) exhibited the hallmarks of a classic Wenger team; quick, incisive passing, wonderful skill and clinical finishing were all on display, and the result was 6 sublime goals from 6 different scorers (Vermaelen, Van Persie, Arshavin, Fabregas, Walcott and Bendtner). Cesc Fabregas was unsurprisingly involved in 5 of them, scoring one and creating the other four. On scoring his goal he made a point of running over to the part of the stand where he almost certainly knew Thierry Henry to be (in North London to congratulate Wenger perhaps, or maybe just move into the newly completed Highbury complex) and practically kissed the badge right off his shirt. A real show of loyalty for a player routinely dogged by rumours about a transfer back to Barca, his boyhood team. It's a commonly held belief that Cesc will be on his way to sunny Spain at the end of this season, but if he's going to do that every week then it'll be much easier to convince ourselves that he has no intention of leaving (right up until he actually does it next summer).

The only sour note on an otherwise perfect afternoon was yet another exposition of Arsenal's defensive frailties. They may not seem so important on occasions like these, but if Arsenal truly believe they can win the title, the defence simply must stop shipping goals. Vermaelen's height (5ft11") isn't generally a factor when he throws himself into every aerial battle with such gusto, but when he's up against players 5 inches taller than him (Nzonzi, the scorer of Blackburn's first goal) it's going to cause problems. Still, if he's going to score a cracking 25 yard thunderbolt every time he's beaten in the air then fair play to him. (Don't make him angry. You wouldn't like him when he's angry). Clichy and Sagna look out of sorts too, and the only explanation I can come up with is that they're finding it difficult to adapt to adapt to Arsenal's new 4-3-3 formation. I’m confident that the great footballing sage that is Arsenal Wenger will take all these issues into account, and maybe against stiffer opposition we'll see Arsenal adopt a less attacking style. Well...stranger things have happened.

Not since the Spartans at Thermopylae have the Greeks offered up such stiff defence in the face of overwhelming superiority. Olympiakos came to the Emirates this Tuesday night with the intention of playing out a stalemate, so as to take a point with back to Athens, but in the end it turned out to be history repeating itself as Arsenal were able to break down their stubborn resistance and end the evening with all three points: to the victor, the spoils.

The Greek side had clearly done their homework, and the way they set out was reminiscent of the tactics employed by almost every other team to come to Islington; men strung out across the midfield to stifle Arsenal's passing game, and a lone striker to lead any counter attacks that might arise. Their plan seemed to be working too. Fabregas, Arshavin and Rosicky all came close, Fabregas sweet volley which connected with the crossbar was the standout effort, but as the evening wore on, the game seemed more and more likely to be header for a draw.

It was Wenger's ability to call on a wealth of talent from his bench that was the tipping point. Vela and Eduardo would walk into most premiership teams, and their made their presence felt almost instantly: Eduardo latched onto a clever through ball from Fabregas, and was able to hold off a defender before squaring for Van Persie to sweep it into the net.

With Olympiakos strectched as they pushed for an equaliser, it was only a matter of time before Arsenal added another goal. Arshavin was at least a yard offside when he impudently backheeled into the net, but it was no less than the team's performance merited. I may be guilty of saying this every time Arsenal grab a late goal against a very defensive side, but it seems like this is the sort of game that we might have struggled to win in previous seasons. Sometimes that late goal just wouldn't materialise, and we'd have to settle fo a draw. Early indications suggest that this season will be different, as our cutting edge just keeps getting sharper. And with Nasri and Walcott still to come back, things can only get better....right?

This weekend Arsenal went to Craven Cottage to play Roy Hodgson’s well organised Fulham team, knowing full well that these are the games that make or break a season. Manchester United won last season’s title largely because of their superb record against the Premier League’s lesser teams, taking 70 from a possible 72 points against the bottom 12 clubs. The mini-table between the ’big four’ often barely figures: it’s the games against sides like Fulham, West Ham and Tottenham, the teams who make up the rest of the top half of the league, that are really important if Arsenal are going to sustain any sort of title challenge beyond December.

On Saturday afternoon the Gunners went to West London and put in a performance that a title-winning United side would have been proud of. They were outplayed for long stretches of the game, looked lethargic and uninterested, and were, for want of a better word, rubbish, but still came away with all three points in a win that could only be described as ‘smash and grab’. We are routinely reminded by moronic pundits that it’s games like this that are a fundamental part of any championship contender’s campaign: ‘you gotta win ugly’ is the refrain oft’ heard on the Match of the Day couch. ‘If you can play badly and win, consistently, then you’re going to be right up there at the end of the season’. Previous Arsenal teams have done their best to combine substance with style AND take maximum points week in week out, but as the experts are quick to point out, no team can play at 100% every week, and it’s the really good teams that can play at 50% and still win.

Arsenal ticked two boxes on the title challenge checklist yesterday: they beat a top ten side, away, and did it badly. It didn’t stop Alan ‘you don’t win anything with kids’ Hansen from glibly remarking that United looked much more convincing in their win at Stoke than Arsenal did, despite the fact that he offers little else in the way of punditry other than to remind viewers that champions ‘win ugly’.

Which is exactly what Arsenal did. So, in short, put that in your pipe and smoke it, Hansen.

That’s not to say I think Arsenal will win the league. Nonetheless, Saturday’s performance did much to assuage some nagging doubts that had crept over me after those two losses in Manchester.

The game itself was notable for a couple of things, namely Fabregas and Van Persie’s ability to make something out of nothing, and Vito Mannone’s excellent performance between the sticks.
It’s the same people who come out with those trite phrases about champions winning ugly that often say it’s the best players that can turn an awful individual performance into a brilliant one in the blink of an eye; whilst these two expressions are hackneyed to say the least, they are in part true. Van Persie and Fabregas had offered little going forward until, in the middle of the second half, a sublime lofted pass by the Spaniard was controlled beautifully by the Dutchman, and before the Fulham defence had a chance to stop him he had rolled it into the corner of the goal with his weaker right foot. From disappointing to magnificent in a matter of seconds. Whilst they may not have the reputation of Gerrard and Torres, or the power of Lampard and Drogba, Fabregas and Van Persie are the lynch-pins of Arsenal’s frontline, and it’s becoming increasingly clear, as at Chelsea and in particular Liverpool, that this talismanic duo of midfielder and striker must stay fit if we’re to have any success.

Mannone meanwhile staked his claim for the number one jersey after a ‘man of the match’ performance saw him make a string of excellent saves to keep Fulham’s strikers at bay and in turn ensure victory for Arsenal. It would be premature to just hand over a place in the first team to someone so young and inexperienced, but it’s reassuring all the same to know that if Almunia’s increasing unreliability continues there’s any able deputy ready to take his place.

The fourth week of the Premier League may be well over, but one talking point in particular has had lingering consequences that will play out over the weeks to come. Emmanuel Adebayor’s vendetta against Arsenal and the fans that spurned him manifested itself in last Saturday’s game between Arsenal and Manchester City at Eastlands stadium, the upshot being that he will sit out at least the next three games.


In what was the pick of the weekend’s action, a City team pushing for Champion’s League football ran out 4-2 winners over a sluggish Arsenal side who matched their hosts for chances and possession, but failed to match their desire and clinical finishing. Missing only the creative genius of Arshavin, Wenger sent out a team that should have realistically run out winners against a City side that was missing Tevez and Robinho, relying instead on Bellamy to partner the thus far prolific Adebayor up front. Behind them sat a midfield of De Jong, Ireland, Barry and Wright-Phillips, and it was hardly surprising that it was Arsenal who controlled proceedings for long stretches in the first half, City occasionally bursting forward with real intent but lacking any great creativity or skill. Gallas should have scored with a free header just outside the 6 yard box, but in the end it was a freak goal at the other end that broke the deadlock. A Micah Richard’s header pushed onto the post by Almunia bounced back onto the hapless keeper and into the net. It set the tone for what would be characterised as an unlucky game for the Gunners; Mark Clattenburg failed to penalise Garth Barry for handling the ball in the area, and Adebayor did well to stay on the pitch after first stepping on Cesc Fabregas’ ankle in a wild tackle in the first half before intentionally stamping on Van Persie’s face in the second.



To attribute the lopsided scoreline purely to poor refereeing would naïve however. In fact, a handful of Arsenal players must shoulder most of the blame, notably Clichy, Diaby and Almunia. Clichy was partly at fault for the three second half goals: he lost the ball in dangerous places and was out of position for all three, leaving the rest of the defenders completely exposed and allowing City to finish off their rapid counterattacks. Diaby was simply not an adequate replacement for Arshavin. Again he showed flashes of brilliance but spent most of the match mired in mediocrity, gifting the ball away and lacking any sort of cutting edge. This season will surely be make or break for him; he simply can’t keeping putting in wildly inconsistent performances at the highest level, and unless he’s able to display the form that Wenger knows he’s capable of every week, this season may be his last.



Almunia has almost always been excellent since taking over from his German counterpart Jens Lehmann two years ago, and is an unsung hero for Arsenal, but mistakes have started creeping into his game with alarming regularity. If he doesn’t want to share the same fate as his predecessor and be forced to watch from the stands as one of his colleagues deputises, he needs to do the same as Diaby and show a little consistency.



Two defeats in two in trips to Manchester is a bitter pill to swallow for the fans after such a scintillating start to the season. The early optimism has been swept away by a Mancunian tide of blue and red, and has been replaced by the same old worries that have infused the terraces of the Emirates for the last couple of seasons. Still, there were some positives to take from the game. Rosicky looked extremely bright when he came on with 40 minutes to go, and he got the goal his performance deserved. Gallas and Vermaelen somehow still look great together despite having conceded an average of two goals a game so far. And Alex Song continues to make strides towards being the defensive midfielder Arsenal so desperately needs.



There is also comfort to be taken from Adebayor’s antics - the terrible fouls on Fabregas and Van Persie, and running 90 yards up the pitch to goad the Arsenal supporters after scoring—a performance which attracted the attention of the Manchester police for “incitement to riot”. They completely overshadowed what was essentially a huge statement of intent from a team trying to usurp Arsenal’s Champions League spot, which with any luck will relieve some of the pressure on Wenger and the team.



Adebayor managed to remind everyone why he’s sort of the player that a manager would do anything to have on his team, whilst simultaneously being the sort of player that no self-respecting manager would touch with a ten foot pole. A story goes that after a really lacklustre performance at a home game, Emmanuel returned to his car which he had parked on the Holloway Road, only to find it had been keyed by angry fans. How did they know it was his car? Because he had his name and shirt number emblazoned on all the head rests. How long before he falls out with the City fans, who can be just as unforgiving as their north London counterparts? Not soon enough as far as I’m concerned. He has somehow managed to replace Ashley Cole as the most hated ex-Arsenal player, and we can only hope that his three match ban will give him time to reflect on what a complete ass he is.

So Arsenal have lost to Manchester United, but the first time in a long time it’s a defeat that has not spelled disaster for the gunners. It was an extremely encouraging performance, one which saw Utd largely outplayed, but, in time honoured fashion, sneaking a victory whilst turning in sub-par performances. Arsenal on the other hand were for the most part impressive, pressing their opponents high up the pitch, dominating the midfield and stamping their authority on the game. Fabregas and Song were not fit, and had they been able to play their presence would have no doubt tipped the scales further in Arsenal’s favour. Despite their absence, the makeshift midfield comprising Denilson, Diaby and Eboué played extremely well, controlling the middle of the park for long stretches. Indeed it’s more than likely that without those two moments of madness from keeper and midfielder, Arsenal would have taken all three points back to North London. Instead. Almunia’s madcap rush off his to line to haul down Rooney, and Diaby’s wildly misdirected header effectively handed the points to United. But this needn’t be a cause for despair; in fact, coming home empty handed but with the knowledge that they outplayed last season’s champions (in their own backyard) may well serve the squad better than having been outplayed but nicked a point, say. It seems ever more likely that Chelsea will be team to beat anyway, United looking entirely unlike the team that has won the last three premierships.
Ferguson has refused to yield to demand from his team’s fan base to spend some of the 80 million pounds, ‘burning a hole’ in the club’s pockets as his programme notes so succinctly put it. On Saturday’s evidence this might have been a mistake; Rooney looked isolated up front on his own, Nani and Valencia completely lacked creativity, succeeding only in making the gulf in class between themselves and Ronaldo look even wider. No one has suggested that Ronaldo would not be missed, to do so would be incredibly naïve; however, Ferguson’s belief that Valencia and Owen would be able to adequately replace Ronaldo and Tevez is beginning to look just as naïve. It was suggested that giving Owen a contract was a no-risk venture, given that his pay would be largely based on his performing well. However, I would suggest that Owen represents a gamble every time he steps on the pitch, given that it means someone else will have to be confined to the bench (Berbatov for example), someone much more likely to score than a striker who is well past his best. When commentators say that Owen has lost a yard of pace, what they really mean is that he’s not fast anymore. For a striker who relied heavily on pace and finishing, the loss of speed has left his game very one dimensional. It’s still early days, and he still has time to prove his detractors (like me) wrong, but I simply don’t think he has it in him, and it looks increasingly like Ferguson will have to dip into that 80 million come January if he wants Manchester United to still be in contention at the end of the season.
Still, encouraging signs from the gunners, and the team should be confident going into their second game in Manchester against City. Arsenal fans everywhere will be desperately hoping that the outstanding pairing of Gallas and Vermaelen can put a stop to Adebayor’s resurgent form (and make him shut his trap for five minutes about how great everything is up North).