Aaron Ramsey, Stoke 1 – 3 Arsenal

28 02 2010

You can’t talk about yesterday’s game without first mentioning the injury to Aaron Ramsey. Early in the second half Ryan Shawcross and Ramsey went in for a challenge together, the aftermath was witnessed by myself and many others on TV of Aaron in a heap on the floor waving to the bench for assistance with his lower right leg clearly broken. Cesc and Thomas Vermaelen looked visibly distressed and Sol Campbell looked furious. I had to leave the room, much like when Eduardo suffered a similar fate almost exactly 2 years ago.

Whatever is said by the media, Stoke City, Tony Pulis or Shawcross himself; irrespective of there being no malice in the challenge you cannot escape the fact that on of our most promising youngsters is currently in hospital with a broken leg. At 19 he will hopefully recover, but my worry is that this injury will affect him much in the same way that Eduardo has been affected. Eduardo is not the same player he was, he has niggly injuries and he shys away from challenges which is totally understandable. I wonder what effect yesterday’s game had on the Crozillian as well. More news on Ramsey’s condition as it arrives.

Looking back at the game it started same old, same old. A long throw from Delap was badly defended and Stoke were 1 up early on. No real surprise to me. It took us a good half hour to get into the game but when we did we started to play well and had plenty of fight. Our equaliser came from a lovely Fabregas cross which Bendtner met and placed a great looping header into the net, a nice goal for Nic. At half time we looked like we could score another and win this, something we have not done on our two recent visits to Stoke.

The start of the second half was not as fluid as the first had ended. Then the incident happened. The game fell flat, unsurprisingly, and I didn’t feel like watching. Our two goals came in the 7 added minutes, the first a penalty following a handball (it was generous but we had been denided two clearer penalties in the game) and the second was from a rebound which Vermaelen tapped in from a few yards. Both goals were celebrated by the players in front of our support with gestures that they were for Aaron. I was pleased but the result had a sour taste following the injury.

After Chelsea lost we are now only 3 points behind them, the race is still on. We lost the title after a broken leg two years ago, but the reaction of the players – the post match huddle led by Cesc and Sol shows a different character to the team this time round. I am not sure if this will help them focus minds for the title push but there clearly is a strong team bond there.

A mention on Sol, he clearly loves Arsenal still. He was properly celebrating after our third goal and his experience could we be invaluable for our title push – this might have been a great signing for us.

Finally a word on the press, some but not all have been part of this injury to Ramsey. The “get stuck in” and “Arsenal don’t like being kicked” or “they don’t like it up them” has been written about so often by the press that it glorifies  the tactics of Bolton, Birmingham, Blackburn, Stoke etc and makes it ok. Yes we can play in a physical game, Man Utd or Chelsea give us a physical game, but they don’t go too far. Clubs often do, 3 broken legs in 5 years is testament to this and whilst nothing will be done some people need to look themselves in the mirror.


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Categories : Arsenal, Arsenal Injury News, Premier League Away games 09/10

Bolton 0 – 2 Arsenal, three important points won

18 01 2010

Our 2-0 win yesterday was a vital one; firstly games up north against physical sides are not our forte – we usually struggle to get a draw or the game ends in defeat, secondly the “new manager” effect was not all it was cracked up to be for the cloggers from Bolton, lastly it meant we are still in the race for the title.

I was a bit nervous as I sat down to watch the game, we hadn’t played well against Everton and I was worried if Cesc was fully fit. Bolton did start brightly and we looked off the pace, second to tackles and shaky at the back. League debutant Eastmond looked ok, if a little nervous which is fair enough. But Traore at left back started poorly and was exploited a number of times, this continued for most of the game. Clichy made a substitute appearance and going by Traore’s recent form his return cannot come soon enough.

Bolton did have the ball in the net, only for it to be ruled offside, the linesman on that side did make some odd decisions – some offsides missed while others given incorrectly. We also had one good penalty shout – but to be fair to Phil Dowd from his angle I doubt he could be certain it WAS a penalty so he cannot give it in the circumstance.

The game had an edge to it, Bolton started to get chippy and foul us. Cesc came in for some rough treatment, the game did start to boil over and Rosicky was lucky to stay on after a petulant trip brought a yellow card – I am sure Dowd produced a red from his pocket before issuing yellow. Our goal though came from some intricate play, a crowded box would see many players struggle to find space, but Cesc did and played a ball to Eduardo who then returned it and the shot was rifled into the back of the net. To be leading 1-0 at half-time was not an injustice.

Cesc bossed the game. We so clearly miss him when he is gone. His skill and vision are incredible, even little Jamie managed to have something positive to say about him! He setup and scored our first, yes his work did make the goal before Eduardo’s layup. He needs to stay fit between now and the end of the season, if that means using him sparingly in some of the lesser games then so be it. The run of games coming up require him to be at the top of his game.

Our second goal, after halftime, came again from good work from Cesc. He made a turn whilst being challenged but managed to play the ball away before falling to the ground, unlike a few of our players – Arshavin and Vermaelen in particular who stay on the ground for a bit looking around when they feel they have been fouled, Cesc was up again and got the ball back and broke for space, the ball was passed to Eduardo (who Owen Coyle says was offside, it was a very close call) and the Crozillian lofted a ball into the 6 yard box. Arshavin missed it but Fran Merida was on hand to slot home his first Premier League goal. 2-0 and the game was ours.

The 3 points we gained were very important. Win our game in hand over Utd and we climb above them, win the game by more than 2 goals and we go top of the league (albeit having played one more than Chelsea). To be top at this stage puts pressure on the other two. We are clearly back in this fight, many may say it’s the other teams failings that have got us there. And yes it partly is, but our form has been great and in the past we have slipped up and let many in as well. If we can continue this form for another few months things will be looking very good come the season end.

However there are a few injury concerns. Nasri missed the game due to a late hamstring injury and Eduardo was rumoured to be seen limping getting onto the bus, I did notice Eduardo hold his ankle later in the game so perhaps he has a knock. More no doubt over the next few days. So we look to Wednesday, we face Bolton again, home advantage should help us even more. Come on Arsenal!!


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Categories : Arsenal, Premier League Away games 09/10

West Ham 1 – 2 Arsenal (FA Cup)

4 01 2010

Not a huge amount of time to write this as I was back to work this morning and the re-training is taking up much of my time.

Yesterday we saw a game of two halves, not two 45 minute periods but one half with the emphasis on youth and the other half with two of our current top 11 playing. I was worried that starting with Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen at the back was a risk. Injury wise I meant, not a risk of not winning the game. But it was our two youthful midfielders in Merida and Wilshere who were the stand out performers for the wrong reasons. Merida looked a step or two behind the game and his set piece delivery was shocking. Wilshere perhaps was overawed by playing at the stadium of the club he support(ed as a boy) and was either overawed or had a hangover from his 18th birthday celebrations. Either way he must improve if he is going to have aspirations for staying with the club for the rest of the season rather than going on loan somewhere.

We went in at halftime a goal down, it wasn’t a shock to be honest as West Ham had played pretty well. A poor offside trap was outwitted and an injury time goal was scored.

The second half continued much as the first had, we just didn’t seem to get into the game. Not our normal free-flowing selves. However on 65 minutes Arsene changed Merida and Wilshere for Diaby and Nasri. It pretty much turned the game on it’s head. The midfield had more purpose as did our attacks. A brilliant finish from Ramsey brought us level and Eduardo scored a fine headed goal for the winner. Good to see them both continue their recent scoring ways.

But a mention must goto Ramsey, aside from his great goal he had a very good game. He is a real contender for a first team start now, Cesc should be concerned. He has come on a lot in the last few months and if his and Diaby’s form continue perhaps the absence of Song will not be so keenly felt.

We were drawn away to Stoke for the next round, which again won’t be an easy tie. But our attention must turn to our next game on Wednesday against currently manager less Bolton, who will hopefully stay that way until after we play them this week. More on that game tomorrow.


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Categories : Arsenal, FA Cup

Portsmouth 1 – 4 Arsenal, it’s halfway through the season

31 12 2009

Last night saw our 19th game of a 38 game season. Compare our points tally to where Utd and Chelsea were on 19 games and we are second in the league. Many had written us off both before and during this season. But the fight has been there, most of the time, and Arsene has never lost faith in his young squad of players, even when the going has been tough.

Last night the fight showed. We arrived at Portsmouth to face a team who have an uncertain future, I’m not convinced they will finish the season if the reports of their financial troubles are so accurate, they had defeated Liverpool and given Chelsea a good game. It wasn’t going to be easy for us. We were also without Cesc to help inspire the team to victory, Cesc will be out for around 10 days it was said last night. But not to worry, we had Song, Diaby and Ramsey in midfield. The young trio played with conviction and muscled against a strong middle 5 from Portsmouth and came out of the game on top.

Our opening half hour saw some good play from us but Portsmouth had a few early chances, they would be able to trouble us. Eduardo had an early oppurtunity, but as is his form and to be fair the difficulty in getting a shot away it was a chance spurned. However Eduardo was to get his second goal in two games, a free kick outside the area took a deflection of Kaboul and was in the back of the net. That is now 3 in 3 from set pieces as well. We continued to press Portsmouth and their heads began to drop, they stopped trying. The was epitomised when our second of the game came, we had loads of time for Eduardo on the left of their box to create a pass, via Ramsey, which gave Narsi plenty of time to fire home. 2-0 at half time and all was looking rosy.

Richard Keys and former gunner Paul Merson were not convinced in their half time analysis. “Remember they were two up at West Ham” was one quote, yeah we were but I think a LOT has been learnt since that game.

Our third was to come from Ramsey, he won the ball back about 40 yards from their goal. Turned one player then rifled a shot home, a fantasic goal that any one of our top players would have been proud of. Who says we are short in midfield when we have players like that to come in? Portsmouth got a conciliation goal but we added a fourth via the continually impressive Song with a header at the back post, he is in fine form at the moment and we will miss him during the ACN.

So the season is half over, if I am honest I didn’t expect us to be this close at this point. A couple of transfers in January and, well who knows. Arsene said last night something all gooners should hear;

“If we don’t believe, nobody will”


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Categories : Arsenal, Premier League Away games 09/10

Arsenal 3 – 0 Aston Villa, Cesc Fabulous

28 12 2009

Yesterday we played an important game against some tough opposition. Whilst it was a great team performance, in reality one player turned the game around. Cesc was a substitute having not fully recovered from his injury, I said in my preview that I didn’t want him risking for fear of being out for a longer period of time. However that gamble well and truly paid off for Arsene.

The first half was a pretty evenly matched game of football, whilst we had the upper hand with chances for Eduardo and Arshavin neither player capitalised on them and there was always the threat from Villa with Agbonhalor and his pace ready to exploit us at the back. But we kept things tight in defence and our midfield looked strong. 0-0 at half time was probably a fair reflection on the efforts from both teams, some decent passages of play but neither team fully taking advantage.

The second half started with a similar flow to the game compared to the first half, however we didn’t have that key player to unlock Villa. However all that was to change on the 56th minute, Denilson was replaced by Fabregas. Cesc was immediately in the game and Villa didn’t stand off him, they knew what a threat he possessed. His runs from the middle of the park often drew more than one player towards him opening up the game for us, and also often brought a foul. A foul was how the game was to change, felled just outside the Villa box a freekick was to present us with what was a game changing moment. Fabregas stepped up to the ball and curled an exquisite shot into the left of the goal, they joy on Cesc’s face as he ran to the fans (the picture at the top of this post which can be downloaded here on the official website) was clear to see. He is loving playing for Arsenal at the moment and clearly loves the club, I hope that can continue for many years.

Villa, who had played well now had to attack if they wanted to get anything from the game. As they opened up a bit our second goal was to come. A run down the right from substitute Theo was matched by a run from Cesc through the middle, a lovely pass from Theo gave Cesc the opportunity to make it 2 – he didn’t need a second chance as he dispatched the ball into the net. We were ecstatic, as was Arsene, but this turned to worry as Cesc clutched his hamstring. Arsene said after the game;

“We don’t know yet whether it is a recurrence of the pull or whether it is just scar tissue. We will know more about it tomorrow [Monday].

“If it is scar tissue it is a few days, if it is a recurrence of the pulled hamstring it is three weeks.”

Our captain was removed on 84 minutes but he had won us the game. A game changing performance, and possibly something he needed to show himself and the football world to convince that he is truly a great player. Cesc won us the game with his two goals. Abou Diaby scored a third late on, to cap yet another great performance, both Diaby and Song were exceptional. 3-0 in our second consecutive league game, both times the opposition manager said the score was unfair on them……well that’s what the score reads so get on with it.

Aston Villa had already beaten Liverpool, Utd and Chelsea this year and had only not scored in the opening day of the season. They had never been beaten at the grove, but a great performance from Arsenal and some magic from Cesc put paid to that. We took advantage of Chelsea’s slip up, and since they defeated us we have taken 13 points from 15 – is that the form of a poor side who will struggle to make the top 4? I don’t think so. Our late Christmas present was delivered by the team and it has been a great month for us in the league, win our game in hand and we are a point behind Chelsea, out of the title race now are we?

Attention turns to Cesc now, his injury should be confirmed at some point today but I doubt we will hear anything from the club until tomorrow. It also looks like Denilson might be out injured as well, which may force us into the market for a midfielder in January. Portsmouth are next up, on Wednesday, but we can sit back in our post-Christmas glow and be happy that we had a great victory over a tough team yesterday.


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Categories : Arsenal, Premier League Home games 09/10

Arsenal 3 – 0 Hull, Hey mr tangerine man…..

20 12 2009

Hey mr tangerine man, it’s pretty clear to me,

That Arsenal are far better than Hull Ci-ty.

Yesterday Phil Brown returned to the grove, the match opened with a handshake (which was I am sure for effect shown on the big screens) between the two managers. In what was probably the coldest weather I can recall watching football, I sat with my Dad in the upper tier above my usual seat in block 6. The game started reasonably well for Arsenal, but Hull were pretty resilient and after a few minutes you could see that two games close together giving an element of fatigue and the absence of Fabregas meant we looked short of ideas and impetus to break down Hull. The game started to have a tempestuous edge to it when Stephen Hunt (most famous for his “challenge” on Petr Cech) bundled into Almunia after play had stopped, the Spanish keeper ran over to remonstrate with Hunt, the referee also spoke to the player. But it had little effect as he made two or three further challenges that warranted bookings.

Just before half time things did turn ugly, from our seats we saw a Hull player fall to the ground and then the rest of the players on the pitch bundled around Nasri, I thought I saw arms flailing as if it were a punch. Again Hunt was the main Hull agitator. Sylvestre was the boxing buddy, and carried the part off pretty well shielding Nasri. The replay on MOTD shows that Nasri stood on the Hull player’s (Garcia I think) foot, it was not a stamp. He might have meant it but we don’t know. Both Nasri and Hunt were booked after the melee.

Following on from this some rash challenges started to fly in and the ref had his whistle in his mouth almost permanently. He gave us a perhaps generous free kick after Diaby was felled. Nasri and Denilson stood over the ball, then Nasri joined the wall. In time honoured tradition of current Arsenal free kicks I expected this to go straight into the wall, but then, something magical happened.

Denilson hit a perfectly placed free kick into the net. It was fantastic. We were 1-0 up just before half time. After the game Arsène said “Denilson was not going to take the free kick”. Well I am glad he did!

As the players left the pitch there was some afters as they entered the tunnel, but no further bookings came of this. However I am not sure if Cesc’s clothing antagonised any of the Hull staff so we will have to wait for the report from their lawyers on that one.

The second half started with us on the front foot, Hull now needed to attack us and we had the chance for an early goal when Arshavin fed Eduardo, he really should have put it away but his current lack of match practice and form conspired against him sadly. Not long after this Hull were awarded possibly the softest penalty in football history (even Brown admitted it was soft after the game) when Fagan went down in our area. I was not confident at this point, Almunia has not played well of late and his ball distribution in the game was again poor. However he made a great save from the penalty and Hunt missed the follow up. I laughed at him.

Almost immediately after the penalty miss we were up at the other end, Diaby made a play in the left of their area and sent the ball across the Hull goal for Eduardo to tap in, he didn’t look that happy when he scored but perhaps his form is playing on his mind. The game was pretty much ours now with half an hour remaining. Hull provided little resistance beyond that point and we took full control of the game, some press reports say we struggled but I certainly disagree as did my non-Gooner father who I feel gave a balance view on the game.

But another goal was to come, Diaby danced through the Hull defence and scored a great goal. 3-0 to the Arsenal. “Stand up if you hate Phil Brown” and “Tango whats the score” reverberated around the stadium, much to our, and I suspect Arsène’s, amusement. Theo and Aaron Ramsey were introduced as subs which I think meant our front 6 players were under 23, a great thing for the future of the club. Theo had a chance late on when he chipped the advancing keeper only to see it go agonisingly just past the post, thankfully this was met with chants of his name from the crowd rather than something else.

So it was 3 points, which was great given Utd losing earlier in the day. We are now 2 behind them with a game in hand (at home to Bolton on the 6th Jan) but Villa are pretty close behind and I suspect our next game at home against them will be a very tough test. A few players did well today, the midfield trio of Song, impressive as ever, Denilson, a great goal and some good tackles, and Diaby, one of his better games, were the key today. Yes they didn’t have the creativity that Cesc has but they all put in solid performances, Diaby needs to work on his first touch still but he continues to develop. If he can erase the poorer moments of his game and be more energetic like he was in spells today then he can be a mainstay in this team. Almunia also did well; he has been criticised, and rightly so, of late. His ball distribution was poor for the first hour today, but the penalty save gave him a much needed confidence boost and after that he looked more settled, he made a good save late on as well. He might not be a top top keeper but he is what we have at the moment and he needs our backing all the way. Eboue again impressed at right back, I think that should be where he plays from now on. Rotate him and Sagna so we don’t have a right back injury crisis like that on our left.

So we are still in the hunt at Christmas, this season is far from over and I can see Chelsea, Utd and sadly us lose at least 2 or 3 games more before the season end. But we can revel in our third place in the table and be glad our board have the confidence in what our manager is doing and don’t make any rash mid-season sackings like two other money laden clubs seem to have as their model of how they think football should be run.

Come on The Arsenal


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Categories : Arsenal, Premier League Home games 09/10

Arsenal 2 – 0 Stoke, back to winning ways, is Arshavin the answer, injuries keep coming

6 12 2009

picture from arsenal.com

It’s back. An Arsenal win. It feels so much better leaving the stadium when the team have put a good performance in, even better when they have won. Yesterday saw Arsenal play much more as a team than they did against Sunderland and Chelsea, the passing worked, the team looked more “together” as well.

The first half started with the usual Arsenal pacy play and we had a few opportunities early on which would show that in the main we would dominate the game. Arshavin was fouled just after 20 minutes and we were awarded a penalty for this, up stepped Cesc. But it was saved by Sorenson in the Stoke goal. I was thinking that this was going to be one of those days. For pretty much the rest of the half you could see that the miss was playing on Cesc’s mind as well. However the goal did come not long after the penalty miss, Cesc combined with Arshavin and the Russian fired home a lovely cross goal ball. 1-0 to the Arsenal, we haven’t sang that in a few weeks in the league.

The second half saw Rosicky, and Eboue leave the field, on came Vela and Ramsey. Both youngsters looked far more comfortable in this game than in the last few as well and their pace and skill was an extra threat to Stoke, Vela was running down the wing in front of my seat and his trickery was nice to see so close up. We had another couple of chances for Arshavin but Sorenson, who had a good game in goal, kept them at bay (one of the chances was simply beautiful football with a Cesc-Arshavin combo that needed a goal to cap it off, but sadly that didn’t happen). However our second was to come via Arshavin, a one-two with Ramsey saw a layoff to the Welshman and he used his pace to break through the defence and rifle a shot home, the press didn’t make too much of this goal but for a youngster at another club they would have been backpage spreads, oh well.

So in the end we ran out comfortable 2-0 winners, it was not our best performance, but it was clinical enough to get a win, a couple of goals and a clean sheet against a team who can threaten on their day.

However I am now going to talk Arshavin. I love him as a player, he genuinely excited me when he arrived being our first big name signing in a number of years. Last season he seemed to prove everyone right, but this year he has been pretty flat. However yesterday he played the best I have seen him play in a while. He harried players, chased a lot of things down (as did most of the team to be fair) and had things gone his way he could easily of had 4 goals. Now I think what has changed things is where he was played, for a while he has been saying he plays best through the middle and not on the wings; yesterday he got that chance and showed how good he can be as a central player. He was far more involved in the play, he can combine with Cesc and also give him a breather in the game. I am not convinced he can be a lone striker as he clearly does not have the height but as more of a Bergkamp figure he fits in very well. Arsène said in the press conference that playing him centrally “needs to be tried away from home” to see if it properly works. He isn’t the answer to van Persie’s absence, but for the next 5 or 6 games until the transfer window opens he will do pretty well I think. Keep him central please!!

I alluded to injuries above; we can add 5 names to the list. Eduardo – injured his thigh in training, not sure how long he will be out for. Eboue -picked up a muscular problem in the game, hopefully not too serious but will miss Wednesday. Traore & Gallas – both picked up a hamstring problem, again hopefully not too serious. Rosicky – injured groin, out for a while according to Arsène. Thankfully we can miss them mid-week against Olympiacos, but if this had been a must win game things would have looked bleak.

The full squad don’t play until Sunday, so some time to recover for the slightly injured trio we have. But it was good to get the win yesterday. Things at the top look very different now as well, Chelsea lost to City, if we win our game in hand it’s back to 5 points. It still is up for grabs.


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Categories : Arsenal, Premier League Home games 09/10

Arsenal 0 – 3 Chelsea, this Arsenal side will not win a league title

30 11 2009

Arsène might feel that the 3-0 scoreline was an unfair reflection of the game, but I would have to disagree. He has a point, but Chelsea are a better side than us. Any Arsenal fan who tries to argue different is missing the point on how the league is won. Chelsea play efficient football, they do what they have to do to win, we on the other hand play very attractive football but that does not necessarily win a trophy.

The match started brightly for us, we have a few chances in the opening 30 minutes of the game but they were again not converted. We kept Chelsea mostly in their own half and things were looking good. But again domination of a Chelsea team did not reap rewards and we found ourselves 2-0 down at half time.

The second half again showed a bright start by Arsenal, we had a goal ruled out, of which more later, but again the ruthless edge Chelsea had came to the fore and we could not convert any of our chances. A late free kick saw Chelsea run out 3-0 winners. 57000 Arsenal fans left the stadium pretty dejected.

The referee, as was the case with a lot of Premier League games this weekend, had a huge influence on proceedings. Chelsea should have been awarded a penalty in the first half by all accounts due to the Sagna challenge in the box, Mikel was booked on his fifth challenge but Traore on his first – why?, our goal “had nothing wrong with it” according to someone watching at home who isn’t an Arsenal fan, and the challenge on Vela was a foul in our outside of the box I don’t know. Mistakes do get made, to err is human, but at least be consistent with the decisions you do have the opportunity to make. Do not book one player for his first challenge when you have just let a player away with his third foul. Had our goal been allowed the game would have taken a different turn, I am not saying we would have come back for a draw but things would have played out differently for the second half.

Eduardo had a poor game, he didn’t even have an attempt at a few of the chances he was presented with. Nasri was pretty invisible, when his number was held up for the substitution I actually thought to myself “is he still on the park?” given the absence in play. I am not sure why Song came off, we can assume injury, but Walcott was ok in patches but again had no end product (I have a blog about him, which is a positive one, for some point in the next week or so).

My title of this post says this Arsenal side will not win a league title, and I stand by that. We are definitely the second or third best team in the country, there is no question on that. But we are behind Chelsea, no question. We do not have a ruthless streak to kill teams off, we can only play one way and if that stops working the players look lost. There aren’t really any poor players who can be singled out as it being their fault, and nor is it entirely Arsène’s doing, but he has a large part to play, but this team lacks something. There are key elements missing to this side which will prevent us from winning a league title.

I felt we would miss van Persie, but not massively. I think I am now wrong in that, in the two league games he has been absent we have not scored a goal, take into account how free scoring we were when he was fit and that makes stark reading. Yes he was not playing every game, yes he did not score or assist every goal but he gave something massive to the team that we now clearly miss. Bendtner may prove to be a great replacement and he cannot be back soon enough, but if that does not work then we need to buy in January.

I also saw a massive lack of pressing from the midfield yesterday, we just stood off Chelsea. Song is good but still learning, Cesc does not play a pressing role and Denilson is off his form at this time. We need someone with the grit and determination of Vermaelen in midfield. That will help us nullify the threat of teams like Chelsea.

11 points is a big gap, but win our game in hand and it’s 8 which is not uncatchable but it is still a massive task. We are not out of the title race by any means and could still have a massive part to play in it, but our current squad and the current way we play is not entirely suited to the Premier League. Against European opposition is a different story, avoid the English teams and we can go far in the Champions League but meet Chelsea and things will not look so rosy.

All is not lost in the world of Arsenal, but defeat yesterday showed that this team, as good as it is has some short comings that need addressing if we are to go on to greater things.


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Categories : Arsenal, Premier League Home games 09/10

Sunderland 1 – 0 Arsenal – I don’t buy the post international hangover

22 11 2009

We looked a bit flat, not sure that the international break caused that but the team did not look as together as it has previously. Having just viewed the highlights on MOTD we cannot argue we didn’t have the chances, early in the game there were a couple there. What cannot be said is Sunderland are a poor team, they are well organised by Steve Bruce and can fully expect to be pushing for a Europa League spot come the end of the season.

There are claims of fatigue affecting players, but in all honesty a league and european campaign could have seen the whole squad play Saturday and Wednesday so I don’t fully buy that. Perhaps the travel has an impact, but we need to see players committed and full of energy from the off until the final whistle.

Arsène dismissed claims we missed van Persie, I have to agree from what I saw, there is quality in our attack to cover for him. Vela, Walcott, Eduardo are all there to take that front place. Perhaps being together over the next few days in training will see the team gel again.

So our third defeat of the season sees Chelsea edge 8 points clear of us. Next Saturday remains as important as it did before yesterday’s games, there cannot be an increase in require or desire to win that game based on what happened at The Stadium of Light. If people are to argue the reverse you have to question their outlook on our team and our league challenge, we have to want to win every game. Had we been 8 points ahead of Chelsea it would still be a must win next weekend. If anyone thinks Chelsea are going into next Sunday thinking it’s ok we have a decent cushion on Arsenal they have clearly been on what Phil Brown is on!

Midweek sees us face Standard Liege at home, our chance to put qualifying for the group stage to bed and get back to winning ways. More on that in the next few days.

 


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Categories : Arsenal, Premier League Away games 09/10

Eduardo new deal, Gibbs bruised but not broken

19 11 2009

 

Picture from arsenal.com

Some news from our club yesterday, I was at work but on each break I managed to catch the running banner on Sky Sports News which seemed mainly to be about us.

Firstly the club announced that Eduardo has signed a new long term deal with the club, as ever there is no official word on how long this deal is. What I also find interesting is that there is very little hint in the press about how long it is either. Perhaps Ivan is being very tight lipped about this, which personally I don’t mind. I suppose that those “Eduardo to Liverpool rumours” weren’t true then! Phew, I was worried there………….

The injury to Kieran Gibbs was confirmed as severe bruising to the bones and soft tissue of his right foot and not broken yesterday. This is good news and we will only see him missing for a few weeks rather than longer term if it had been a break that was feared. My only concern is how the defence will be re-shuffled, Sylvester has been talking about Sunderland being tough – that worries me, not the toughness of the game but the fact Sylvester is talking about our games as if he might be playing.

More on the squad either late tomorrow or early Saturday as we hear about more of our players returning from Injurenational duty.


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