Wolves Disappointment; Hoping to do QPR

Arsenal 1-1 Wolves

I sat at home worried that I would miss the game against Wolves because there was no electricity all afternoon and it was raining so heavily that catching satellite picture would be impossible. I suspect the Gods were kind enough to me, only to mock me later, because the power came back just before 5pm local time, kick-off was at 5pm. And the rain stopped.

I settled down on my couch, having exchanged messages with my good friend and Arsenal fan, Tiroyaone ''Abdul'' Gaobowe. We were sure 3 points were coming our away. I popped out a Windhoek from my fridge and settled down in front of my plasma screen to witness the demolition of Wolves.

What happened over the 90 minutes was very disturbing to say the least. You see, Arsenal huffed and puffed (I guess even farted in between) but we could not break down Wolves. Although we were creating chances, the ball just wouldn't go into the net.

In the first half, after we scored, we started to control the game, but we slowed down the tempo and I think this suited Wolves. I had expected us to go at them and get a second and a third, Gervinho looked dangerous in the opening exchanges of the match. But we chose to slow down the game and the slower game allowed Wolves to sit and play on the counter. And they got their goal before half time.

We came back after halftime and really, I must say although we created chances, they were not the best kind. Robin failed on 3 occassions to control a ball over the top when he would have been one-on-one with the keeper. We brought on Arshavin and Chamakh but them two players are really looking out of place in an Arsenal Jersey at the moment.

So for all our endeavour, we only managed a draw at home to lowly Wolves. I said before the game that anything less than  3 points would be a disaster and it was.

To make matters worse, my brother-in-law, who is a Manc, decided to visit. He caught me watching the last 30 minutes of the game. You know you are up shit creek when Manchester United fans sympathise with you...

Looking back now, I think we lack a striker, a player with a fearfactor about him whose mere presence on the bench makes the opposition quake in their boots. The closest we have to such a player is a 17-year old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. I am fast becoming of the opinion that we should become a bit ruthless with non-performing players and ship them off and try new ones. Players like Asharvin seem to have lost quality and at his age, I doubt he'll get it back. Chamakh is starting to look like Francis Jeffers...

Anyway, to matters more positive. Sagna and Wilshere are expected back late January... Yes, I know, they'll be almost like new signings... *sighs*. The Boss is talking about not buying a full back on the grounds that we have players who can plug the gap until our fullbacks return. I kind of agree with his logic. Theo Walcott is back for QPR tomorrow. Hopefully thats 3 points for us.

We really fucked up the chance to close the gap on City and leap-frog Chelsea... But thats just the Arsenal way...

Sideways march the Arsenal!!!

Merry Xmas to all Gunners, Villa Thoughts

Merry Christmas to all gunners and then to the rest of the people.

I am off to do some Xmas shopping, the shops are packed, the banks are packed and I don't know if I'll actually manage to get what I want. Let's hope I can get some Arsenal Merchandise for myself, the wife and kids. The AfrogunnerMobile also needs a DVD player and an upgrade of the sound system... but let's wait and see now shall we...

So, we came back from Aston Villa with 3 very lucky points. Thomas Vermaelen had his moment of madness when he headed a poor ball back to the BFG Mertesacker. Villa equalised and from then on, it was a game of hanging onto the ropes really from Arsenal. But like a good boxer, we managed to land the sucker punch that floored our opponents. They may have won the battle on the day but we won the war... if that makes sense.

I must say I was very worried with our performance on the day. We were slow, couldnt pass the ball well, couldn't penetrate a well organised Villa and just generally didn't look like we could get anything from the game. But here we are, 3 points to the good and nomatter what the flaws on the day, 3 points is 3 points. How often are we told that good teams win even when they don't play well? On the evidence thus far, Arsenal is a good team.

The strike action planned for boxing day gives us an extra 24 hours to rest our tired legs. We face wolves on 27th December at the Emirates. Anything less than 3 points from that game will be a big disappointment. we simply can't drop any more points if we are to have any hope of catching Manchester City.

Robin Van Persie says we shouldn't be counted out of the race for the League yet. He says;

“It is still early - I think we have only played 17 games now - so we’re not even halfway [through the season],” he said.

“Anything can happen in this league. Results early on [show that]. Our result against Man United was a surprise, our result away at Chelsea was a big surprise, and Manchester City winning 6-1 away at United too. Anything is possible.

“The way we look at it is that we challenge for every single game. I don’t think Man City or Man United are thinking about [winning it now] because it is only 17 games played. You just have to look at it from game to game.”

 It might be true what he says, but realistically, we can't gain 12 points while City, United, Tottenham and Chelsea stand still now can we? Unless there is a magician or a miracle worker out there who can do that for us, then I would opine that we keep quiet about catching the leaders and just focus on the next game before us.

And thats your lot for now people.

Merry Christmas & happy Holidays to you all wherever you are. I'm off to Gaborone to pick up the Afrogunnermobile and look for that Arsenal Merchandise...

Onwards march the Arsenal!!!

Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal: Disappointing Result but Good Account

Disappointed but not ashamed: Captain & Vice Captain

Match report here.

A game that we could not afford to lose was lost under very disappointing circumstances. I said in my preview of the match that if we played anywhere near our best we would win the game. And on the evidence of the game itself, the game could have gone either way.

In the first half, Aguerro shot over the bar when he should have atleast hit the target. He would later hit the target but Szczesny caught his low drive. Balotelli managed to control a high ball between Mertesacker and Koscielny, swivel and hit it 5 yrds from goal but again the Arsenal keeper was there to block the effort and the Arsenal defence mopped up.

Arsenal too had their chances. Ramsey nearly scored, Gervinho fired a shot that went under the City keeper and unfortunately for Arsenal, out for a corner. On another day, that would have gone in. Theo had a fierce drive on target that was parried over the bar by Joe Hart.

In the second half, some poor positional play by Arsenal saw Balotelli find space on our right. Koscielny, the player who should have been busting a gut to get back into position, lazily run towards goal, leaving Song to go and close down Balotelli. The Italian, easily skipped inwards past song, fired a hard shot that Szczesny failed to handle. Vermaelen, being the top notch defender that he is, reacted quickly to nick the ball away from Aguerro but it fell into the path of silva 3 yards in from of our goal. Ignasi Mikel was caught cold and didn't anticipate the danger enought to get goal side and attempt to block Silva. Silva tapped in. 1-0 to the hosts.

To be fair, Arsenal responded and again Vermaelen was the stand out player in  the team. He had a fierce shot on target saved, another went wide of the post, much to the relief of Hart in the City goal. And so the match ended, Arsenal losing 1 nil.

I observed throughout the game, and Arsene observed it too in his post match interview that we lacked ''something'' for the big games of this nature. That something we lacked was a creative midfielder in the Fabregas, Wilshere mould. A player who can get past people, can produce a moment of sheer individual brilliance to lift the team when the going is tough. We lacked such an attacker midfielder. Ramsey, for all his endeavour was not having a good game yesterday. Yaya Toure and Barry were having the better of him. Toure was actually physically bullying him like a little kid in the school yard.

Arshavin and Chamakh were brought on, but they did themselves shame if anything. Chamakh might as well not have entered the pitch. Arshavin had two good opportunities to atleast hit the target, but he messed up terribly on both counts. His lack of confidence is fast becoming lack of form and quality.

Theo too had a bad game. Zabaleta marked him tightly and kept him quiet for most of the match. Yes, we lacked the stability and balance that a fit Sagna, Jenkinson, Santos and Gibbs would have brought, but City hardly caused us any problem on the wings. We managed to fight toe to toe with them for 90 minutes. We simply lacked a bit a magic in the attacking third of the pitch.

Now, we all know Wilshere and Diaby are soon to return, so the most likely new additions to the team will be on the wings and up front. We might just see the Russian leave in January with a new face coming in. We know Gervinho and Chamakh are playing in the Africa cup so we shall be very light up front. Ryo Miyaichi has not featured at all and I don't expect to see him in the second half of the season but you never know with Wenger.

Perhaps the Ox, Benayoun and Ju will come into the team but its very clear that we definitely will need some new blood to give the team a lift in the second half of the season lest we fade away. Lets wait and see what the Manager is thinking.

Onwards march the Arsenal!!!

Manchester City vs Arsenal Preview

This sunday sees Arsenal take on the money and oil of Manchester City. Manchester City are now are very well known entity in the League. Yes they possess good quality in attacking areas, as Manchester United recently found out. The money they have spent on Nasri, Silva, Dzeko, Aguero, Balotelli, Yaya Toure and Tevez is enough to put many an african economy to shame, and that's before we mention the wages these guys earn per week.

What does that have to do with football I hear you ask. well, nothing actually. At the end of the day, they can only put 11 men on the pitch and its those 11 men on the pitch that will come up against the 11 men of Arsenal. The fixture comes at a time when we have no fullbacks in our squad. Thomas Vermaelen, our best central defender will most likely be shunted out to left back, with Djourou playing on the right. Persornally, under the circumstances, I have no problem with Vermaelen playing on the left. This is because as the game progress, there will come a moment when you need his aerial ability to either defend or score a goal up the other end.

Centrally, I would expect Mertesacker and Koscielny to be paired together. Koscielny has really improved since his arrival at the club. His reading of the game has improved and he makes less silly challenges around the box. Much has been said about Mertesacker and needing time to settle a the club. He says he wants to be judged after a season at the club. I think thats fair enough. Often time we moan when a new player makes a couple of mistakes. We tend to write them off as useless, forgetting that they need time to settle. It's like getting a new job in management. You can't just start changing policy and procedure from day 1. You need time to manage people and resources to achieve your ambitions and to put your mark on a company. And so it is for a new player in a new country, new league, new culture etc. But on the evidence thus far, Mertesacker is a very good signing for the club. He brings out the best in Vermaelen and Koscielny. Our defence has not looked this settled for a long while now.

It is in midfield that I feel we have lost a little something. You see, we don't dominate the ball as much as we used to in the past, particularly during the Fabregas era. I have noticed lately that teams can come to the Emirates and dominate possession for considerable periods of matches. Part of the art of defending is to keep the ball away from the opponent and unless we improve in this regard, we will get punished. Arteta, Song and Ramsey need to really put in a shift in central defence to keep the ball from city for long spells.

I also expect Theo to be a thorn in the side of City and if Gervinho can up his game too, we know that we shall cause City a problem or two. In big games, chances may not come too frequently and we need to address our profligacy in front of goal. We need to be clinical whenever chances present themselves and they will. It is up to Mr. Gervinho and Co. to keep a calm head in front of goal so they can score.

One man who is looking to make an impact and take his chance is Park. He says;

 “I do not expect a chance for me because a player is unavailable.

“I will do my best to prepare myself to take any random chances at any time.

“I am new to this club and to the Premier League. I am trying hard to learn more and more. I don’t worry about getting used to everything or anything. My team-mates are nice to me and I do not have any problems at all regarding training.”

Well, you can't fault his attitude now can you. A lot of fans are complaining that he hasn't broken into the team because he isn't good enough. No, he hasn't broken into the team because the team is winning and there is a certain Robin Van Persie who is on fire. The manager is not willing to tinker with a winning team and why should he? If he tinkers with the team and results don't go his way, he will be put to the slaughter by the fans. Perhaps if we were winning games comfortably with lots of time left to play, we would see the likes of Park more and more. Until then, I will hold off of writing him off too soon. I suspect he will prove a few doubters wrong as the season progresses, but  that's just me.

Back to the opposition for Sunday... Manchester City's biggest threat comes from Silva and Toure. If those two are denied time and space on the ball, the City Machine tends not to function very well, oily though it may be. However, they have enough quality to harm us if we go into the game with a very naive and simplistic attitude of marking two players out of 10. City are more fluid in their play due to their quality but also due to their confidence. Chelsea have helped bring them back down to earth by beating them but that also makes them dangerous for us; they will be looking to make amends against Arsenal. Their balloon of invincibility was given a reality prick by Chelsea with a spirited comeback last week. Now let us go and clip the wings off them completely before they start flying again.

I know a lot of people are quaking in their boots at the prospect of facing City; not me. If we play anywhere near our best, I fancy us beating City on their own turf. They are not as dangerous as, say, Barcelona or Real Madrid, though they are getting there, what with their oil dollars and all.

So, 11 versus 11 on the pitch and if Arsenal play as well as we can, I expect us to come back with the biggest scalp in the league after 90 minutes.

Onwards march the Arsenal!!!

Arsenal 1-0 Everton: Fitting score to the occassion

Match report. 

I spent the weekend in the company of Manchester United Fans. And after arguing with them over who the better club is, which proved rather fruitless as United fans are... well.. cuntz really. You cannot talk sense with a cunt now can you? I have decided to re-affirm my position and state as follows.

1. Arsenal have real class and integrity.
2. United are shameless cuntz.
3. Chelsea are oily cuntz.
4. Manchester City are greasy cuntz.
5. Tottenham are neighbourhood cuntz.

And now that we have put that matter into clear perspective, let us now discuss football.

Saturday was a very special occassion for the Arsenal as we celebrated our 125 yr in existence. On the day, a statue of Henry, Adams and Chapman were unveiled. I agree with Wenger when he says that were the club to erect a statue for all great players and managers down the years, the stadium would be surrounded by statues. In fact, I suspect it would look more like a cemetary. The Emirates is a magnificent stadium and making it look like a cemetary would be a shame. So I sugest they make miniature statues for the rest of the great players and place them in a cabinet within the stadium.

We played a very unambitious Everton side on the day. They brought with them a double decker bus, a few taxis, some motor bikes and a few quad bikes. They then proceeded to park the said vehicles in front of their goal. In addition, they dug a few trenches too between the rows of parked vehicles, dug themselves in and then invited us to try and break down their fort.

Unfortunately for Everton, they didn't realise that after half time, the teams would have to switch goals. They only had a 15 minute window in which to move their defensive apparatus to across field. In their haste to do so, they left a little gap which would later be exploited by Robin Van Persie to score the winning goal for Arsenal.

The game kicked off very brightly for Arsenal. Theo squared a ball for Ramsey and Gervinho to both miss and deny Arsenal a goal within the opening 15 minutes. In hindsight, the ball was struck a bit too hard by Theo who now says he should have shot at goal instead. Theo says;

"I should have shot," he said. "But the thing about me is that last week I squared it and we scored. I'm not lacking confidence. It could have hit anyone and it could have gone in.
 
"But I never dwell on chances. It was a mistake, I should have shot, but I won't dwell on it. If you keep on thinking about it then you won't have a very good game.

 Clearly he does dwell on chances otherwise he wouldn't be talking about it after. But there you go.

The first half ended goalless, with Everton looking more likely to lose the game than draw at all.

Lehmann, Lauren, Dixon & Parlour

The second half was a very boring affair really. We lost our rhythm and speed. Everton started to feel lucky and substituted their only striker Saha for a defender Distin. With over 20 minutes still left to play, Moyes got it wrong for his Everton side.

General Alex Song clipped a ball over the Everton defence for who else but Van Persie to volley into the Everton Goal. One nil to the Arsenal.

It was a special goal that had everybody including these here legends applauding it.

And so the match ended 1 nil to the Arsenal, a very famous scoreline and chant for the Arsenal.

Afterwards, the shit mongers were on about how Arsenal are a 1 man team. Some Manchester United cunt even told me that Arsenal were lucky to win the match!! Well, excuse me Mr. cunt, but when United win by the same scoreline at a second division team, you say it's because they are a great team that when they play badly they still win. When Arsenal fails to break down an established premier league team that parks several vehicles in front of goal but wins 1-0 with a special goal you say we are lucky? Sod off!!

Seriously, I have a lot of respect for Manchester United but their fans are dispicable. really, they are cuntz.

Next up we play Manchester City. I see us doing United a favour by beating Manchester City for them to close the gap. Hell, Chelsea might just start assisting United tonight by beating City. But knowing John Terry, he may just bend over for Aguerro  to score.

So now we are in the top 4, albeit temporarily if chelsea can beat City tonight but I dont mind that. Tottenham will enevitably fall back into the Europa league positions where they belong while Arsenal will finish in the top 4. Hell, we might even upset the odds and win the League, but let's reamin focussed on the next game. One step at a time as Jordin Sparks sings.

Right, thats your lot for Now. I hope Chelsea do the job over City tonight. 

Onwards march the Arsenal!!!

Olympiacos 3-1 Arsenal: Hilarious Team Performance.

Arsenal performance a joke on the night

Match report and highlights can be found here.

I must say that at some point, I stopped grimacing and just started laughing at our performance last night. I decided it was not worth getting annoyed over because I have come to accept some Arsenal Players as just over-paid squad members. A game which should have been approached with a care-free spirit was approached with such timidity and calamitous individual performances, as to leave everybody involved with the club in no doubt  as to how poor we can be in depth.

Players such as Arshavin, Chamakh, Squilaci, Fabianski and Mannone quite honestly have no future at the club based on the performances of last night and their general performances thus far. They have been at the club long enough with little improvement when called upon. They should be moved on to lesser teams where they will shine.

Fabianski, a man who ought to be challenging Szczesny for the number 1 spot competely screwed up his chance to stake a claim to the spot. For the first 24 minutes, he could not do anything right. I was not surprised to see him get stretchered off. Thats the story of his Arsenal career so far. He chokes up when put in the team then injures himself. Vito Mannone had the howler of the entire group stage I think with his missed Karate kick that resulted in the second goal moments after he came on for Fabianski.


Squilaci is just Squilaci. Always unlucky, always involved in all things bad at the heart of our defence. Djourou is not a right back, oh when will Sagna return?

Arshavin just doesn't seem to want to be at the club anymore. He should just be sold to Manchester City or Barcelona. For a captain of his national side Russia, he does little at Arsenal to suggest he is a leader nor a good striker. My African brother Chamakh is really looking out of his depth at Arsenal. I think Bordeaux did to us what we did to Barcelona with Hleb...

Our tactics were wrong, we played too narrow and with shortballs. that made us easy to close down. We needed to expand the pitch, make angles for passes and generally hold the ball for longer spells. Our continued timidity was playing perfectly into the hands of Olympiacos. They were good on the night but we made them look like Barcelona.

Anyway, the performance didn't tell us anything that we didnt already know and expect. But we were all hoping for more. I was surprised to see Vermaelen and Santos start the game. As it turns out, Santos could miss the rest of the season with that ankle injury. It looked bad when I say the replays. But here's to hoping. I think we may need to buy a leftback in January because Gibbs won't last the distance and playing Vermaelen there is not good for the team in the long run.

So we lost, but Marseille produced a miracle in Germany to beat Dortmund by 3 goals to 2 after being 2 goals behind. They progress in second spot in our group and they could face Barcelona in the next round. Good luck to them.

Let us get back to the league and focus on the up coming Everton game. The manager has a decision to make this January regarding the future of some players and strengthening the squad. On the evidence of last night, a striker is needed.

We may have been halted in our tracks by Olympiacos, but thankfully that was a nothing game for us really and we panicked... shame.

Onwards march the Arsenal!!

Olympiacos vs. Arsenal Preview: Time to Stand Up

Key players for the game at Olympiacos

Tonight sees us take on the Greeks in our final group stage match. Having already qualified top of our group, the result, for Arsenal tonight has no bearing except to the history books...

The squad travelling to Olympiacos is our Carling Cup squad, with the exception of Thomas Vermaelen and Andre Santos. I do not expect either one of them to start the match.

There are players in this squad such as Andre Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh and Park who ought to be challenging for starting berths in the first eleven. Sadly, all three a looking pretty average since they joined the club. Park is still new but even he needs to step up and be counted.

I have no such worries for our rising midfield stars Frimpong, Coquelin and Oxlade Chamberlain. This game puts little pressure on them and i expect them to go out there and just show the manager and the fans what they are all about. It could prove to be a very interesting match.

Olympiacos know that a win for them and a loss for Marseille gives sees them progress to the next stage. They certainly wont want to be beaten on their turf by a second string Arsenal side. I expect it to be a very open game of football and I hope we go on to win it. That would be good the the general feel-good factor and confidence that exists at the club right now.

Wenger's comments about buying or not buying a striker in January I think are a veiled threat to Chamakh and Park to up their game. We certainly cannot continue to carry passengers in this team. We have done so for the past 6 years and that is what has denied us winning trophies. Long may we continue to sell useless players to Manchester City and Barcelona!!

I have no idea what the defence line will be be I expect the starting eleven to include Fabianski, Djourou, Frimpong, Coquelin, Chamberlain, Arshavin and Chamakh.

I would really love us to go and win this game, but I'll settle for a score draw.

Onwards march the Arsenal!!!

Wigan, Leeds, City: Arsenal a team on the up

Arteta: pointing Arsenal direction

Firstly allow me to apologise for my long absence from the Arsenal blogging scene. I have had a tough 2 weeks, travelling, technical outages and eventually the breaking down of the Afrogunner mobile that has necessitated and overhaul...

A lot has happened at Arsenal since my last blog. Firstly, we were narrowly beaten by a strong Manchester City team in a game where we should have won had our strikers been at their best on the night. Our midfield and defence looked solid throughout. The Coquelin/Frimpong partnership in particular looked and looks very solid for the future of Arsenal.

I am not very sad that we lost. You can't reach the final or semi-final of a cup competition every single year. we'll try again next year. The key thing for me is that we were competitive. Yes, we haven't spent the Gazillions that Manchester City have spent and are spending on salaries, but we are competitive. On another day, we shall beat them. Make no mistake about that. I say bring on the first team and we shall see.

On Saturday we went to Wigan and came out 4 goals to nil winners. I must say that these days, unlike our past squads, you never quite get the nerves when we are two goals up. I think the squad is technically and mentally stronger, or to put it another way, we are more balanced. So far, we have been generally lucky with injuries or lack thereof to key players such as Van Persie, Theo, Song, Arteta and Vermaelen. I have a growing hope that perhaps the Gods of football will be kind to us and we shall see less serious injuries to our players this season. If Van Persie can play the entire season... But I digress.

It is very clear so far that we have really missed Thomas Vermaelen. This guy is just something else. He is very commanding, very quick, reads the game very well, starts attacking moves from the back, scores goals. He started the move that saw Arteta rifle in a shot for the opening goal. Two minutes later, he rose higher than the Wigan defender marking him and attacked the ball with a technic that would make many a striker proud. The ball landing inside the side netting. 2-0 up to Arsenal and the game had quickly gone away from Wigan.

I was also happy to see Van Persie playing very deep throughout the whole game because it threw Wigan minders all over the place. It allowed Gervinho and Theo to roam up top, switching flanks, taking turns to play through the middle and hence Gervinho managed to get the third goal. This time around Van Persie became provider.

And that little formula 1 car of a winger called Theo is looking more and more dangerous. I think he is now at a stage in his career where goal scoring will soon start coming naturally. You can see it in his attempts at goal. Once he scores a couple, I think we shall see him producing Thierry Henry-like goals, the type that look easy and funny at the same time. That Henry goal against Liverpool in 2004-5 season I think, where he robbed Carragher in the corner and went to score comes to mind. Theo did a similar thing for the fourth goal, he pounced on some Wigan hesitation and although he didn't score it himself, he set up Van Persie to score his customary goal per game.

A word too for Aaron Ramsey. I look at him and he is really trying to get on the score sheet. You can see from the positions he is taking, often running from deep into the box. He has something of a Frank Lampard about him. He too will become a regular scorer with time.

In other stuff, Arsene Wenger doubts needing to buy any strikers in the January window. Then goes on to say that if somebody offers him a super player maybe he'll do business. Is he serious or is he trying to put pressure on Chamakh and Park? Only time will tell. There will be plenty of time for the transfer shenanigans in January. But expect to see "Arsenal swoop for Barcelona Star Messi in £27.63M deal"

So, onwards and upwards we go. There is a small matter of Olympiacos in the Champions League, a game that has no bearing on our position in the group so I expect our squad players to go have some fun in that one. The big one though will be the Everton game. Mikel Arteta will come up against his former teammates. What are the odds that he will score the winning goal in that game? More on that in the coming days.

Onwards and Upwards march the Arsenal!!

Arsenal 1-1 Fulham: Thoughts and Gary Speed

Santos & RVP showing some love, Arteta bemused

First and foremost, Afrogunner would like to send his condolences to the Family of Gary Speed. I cannot even begin to express my shock when I heard this terrible news. Gary speed was one of those players who was just synonymous with the Barclays English Premier League. A player who was a great credit to football and an even greater ambassdor of the Premier League. Whatever lead such a great man to end his life in this way, may God forgive and grant his soul peace in the yonder world. And may the family find peace and strength in the Lord. May Your Soul Rest in Peace Gary.

Now back to the football. I resisted the urge to post a blog immediately after the game, opting to calm down a little and not write a very emotional blog. But after waiting 48 hours, I'm not sure I won't be emotional, but hey, this is Afrogunner: Blogging objectively on Arsenal while lacking a little bit the sharpness...

What are my thoughts on the game I hear you ask? well, we stunk. Granted we were tired, but still, this was a game where we could have won, had we played at 50% of our ability. The game just needed a moment of magic from one our our attacking players. It needed somebody to just dribble past 3-4 Fulham players and make something happen. But over 90 minutes, the only player who really did anything of note offensively was Theo Walcott.

Vermaelen, scored a freak own goal and like all great players, he rose up to gain us a point. Van Persie was poor. Arshavin really isn't suited to our 4-3-3 system. He would thrive in a more traditional 4-4-2 system. So too Chamakh. Ramsey was the only player running around, trying to make things happen. Arteta was anonymous, in a game where we needed his talent to pick a pass, take a pop at goal, something... General Song did ok, you can't expect him to be possessed by the spirit of Ronaldinho in every game.

a game like that needed a fit Abou Diaby and Jack Wilshere and Gervinho; Players who can dribble past 2-3 players and make opportunities for others or run in on goal. Such players win you free kicks and the occasional penalty because they dribble their way into the 6 yard box. But it wasn't to be. Diaby came on and like an attacking player who hasn't played for over half a year, he did little really. Gervinho came on perhaps too little too late.

To their credit, Fulham closed us down well, held onto the ball well in spells and generally slowed the game down. This was their game plan and it work. Interviewed after the match, Danny Murphy, the Fulham captain said;

We didn't come here to park the bus as it were. We came here to play and we nearly beat them at their own game. In the Last few minutes we were holding on a little but that's to be expected from a good side such as Arsenal

With hindsight, I think a player such as Benayoun, who is a dribbler might have done something special to unlock Fulham. But...

So, two points dropped, but could have been worse. Don't they say that great teams a able to grind out results even when they don't play well? Didn't Arsenal not play well? Didn't Arsenal grind out a result? If Arsenal are not not a great team, based on this saying, then I don't know who is.

We have City coming to town in the Carling Cup on Tuesday. Let's come rested for that game otherwise we are getting knocked out of the Carling Cup.

Onwards march the Arsenal!!

Arsenal vs Fulham Preview: No time for slumber

Forward we go

Saturday evening sees us take on Fulham in the Barclays Premier League at the Emirates stadium. We have been on a very good run of form since we lost to those cunts Tottenham, winning five straight in the League. Now if we add other competitions, our form reads: WWWWWDWWWW. So we have now won 9 out of our last 10 games. It's been a very long time coming I must say.

The early season disapointment is still fresh in the mind and unlike in seasons past, I do not expect to see the same sloppy play, undermining the opposition and thinking we have won before the final whistle blows. Also, I think the mixture of experience and youth is right this time around. We have more than 5 players in the squad who are capable of being captains of Arsenal and their respective countries. Some of them are.

Although I can live with the occasional loss if we put in a shift. Some of the defeats we faced were too painful because we didn't do enough. So it appears thats all in the past... I do I speak too soon?

Fulham is a team that is always tricky to play agaisnt. They are well organised and are good on set-pieces. They can also play some football on their day. However, lets play our football and maintain our humility and we shall win.

Other fixtures see Manchester United take on Newcastle United. United could drop points there. Chelsea, who are still in a funk, based on midweek evidence, face Wolves. Anything could happen there. Manchester City face Liverpool at Anfield and Liverpool may just be the first team to beat them this season. Anything is possible. But lets not bother with how other teams fare until end of the season. Lets focus on winning the game before us, one at a time...

There appear to be no new injuries so lets hope the manager has a good squad to pick from this week. Some players whom I think might be due a game are Arshavin and Benayoun for Gervinho. But then again, taking him out could drop his confidence even lower... eish, tough one for the manager.

The manager says we have been reliant on Van Persie and challenges other to step up and start scoring. I would venture that we are not taking enough shots from midfield. Ramsey should shot more, he has quite a hammer of a right foot. So too Diaby. And Theo. And Arshavin. Arteta needs to do better with Free-kicks. We don't score enough from set plays...

I'd love to see Diaby get some game time, hoping we can seal the game with 20 minutes to play. I expect him to feature more in the cups this season so any premier league game time he gets will prepare him for the Carling Cup clash with City in midweek.

So, lets keep working hard, avoid doing silly things like failing to hack a bouncing ball away from our goal area and then falling over!!! We should get another 3 points.

Onwards march the Arsenal!!

Arsenal 2-1 Dortmund: Job Done

The Man cannot be stopped right now

Arsenal      2-1    Borussia Dortmund

                                                     Van Persie 49, 86                Kagawa 90

Match report here.

How do you stop Robin Van Persie? By stopping the ball getting to him, answered Klopp, the Borussia Dortmund Manager. What he did not realise is that in order to stop the ball getting to RVP, you need to keep the entire Arsenal team from getting the ball. And for over 45 minutes, the Germans managed to hound us in packs and frustrate us. Until General Song decided enough was enough!!

General Song: Enough is enough! He said.

General Alex Song did what only Ronaldinho used to do in his pomp. He collected the ball just inside the Dortmund half, ran to the left corner, was marked by two Germans, he danced between them and picked an inch-perfect cross onto the head of RVP to head the ball into the Dortmund net after 49 minutes. You could sense the wind was knocked out of the German sails.

Before that, Dortmund started very brightly in both halves. In the first half, they looked very dangerous, running in on our goal and forcing some saves from Chezny, our keeper. But for all their huffing and puffing, they never really threatened us. Our defence looked and played very well. I must say the presence of Vermaelen just brings something different to our back line. He is a lot like Nemanja Vidic for Manchester United, but better. 

Arsenal were not allowed any time and space in midfield. Our players were being forced into errors or being robbed of possession. At first I was concerned, but as the game went on, I thought, ugh, lets be patient, they'll get tired. And with their loss of two key players within the first 30 minutes, I just felt it wasn't their day. And it wasn't.

Dortmund came out all guns blazing in the second half, but again, like a dog barking at a bull, we were unmoved. with 49 minutes gone, General Song decided he had had enough, he stood up, produced a moment of brilliance, provided a goal for RVP then went back to his usual hard working self in midfield.

That moment of brilliance by General Song sparked Arsenal into life. The passing became sharper, the movement was quicker, Santos started to show-boat a little, much to my amusement. I am liking Santos more and more. He makes silly passes now and then, but with time, he will be one of the great entertainers of the team, especially when we are winning. He is starting to show his Brazilian side. 

Dortmund: Battered into submission

With 5 minutes left to play, we got a corner on their right. Arteta sent it into the box, Vermaelen flicked it on to the unmarked RVP at the far post. I was shocked with the marking of Dortmund I must say. But I wasn't complaining you see. 2-0 to the Arsenal. By now the game was well and trully won.

Dortmund scored a consolation goal on 90 minutes, but really, that marked their last involvement in this season's Champions League. They need a couple of miracles to progress.

A word too for Gervinho. He had a stinker of a game yesterday. He is really going through a funk right now. Lets hope he keeps his head up and continues to work hard. He'll be back. And back is Abou Diaby. I am really happy to see him back and playing. We have a lot a games coming up and need all hands and feet on deck. He brings something different to our midfield.

So we have secured top spot from our group, a very tough group. Manure, Chelski and Manshity are yet to qualify. We can play our carling cup squad in the final game of the group to give them experience and also rest our big guns for domestic action.

Next up is Fulham in the Premier League at the Emirates on Saturday. Let's be focussed and serious and we should beat them .

Onwards march the Arsenal!!!

Arsenal vs Borussia Dortmund Preview

Arsenal v Borussia Dortmund

UEFA Champions League

Wednesday, November 23, 2011, 21:45 CAT

Tomorrow sees us take on the might of the Germans in Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund won at Bayern Munich at the weekend, so they come into this game in very high spirits. The last time we played, both sides were struggling, but I would opine that Arsenal were really crap then.

Be that as it may, we are a better outfit than when last we drew in Germany, conceding a wonder goal in the 93rd minute of the game. 

I do not by any way suggest that we will give the Germans a hiding, but I expect us to win if we put in a shift. One man who could really do better right now is Gervinho. He missed too many chances at the weekend and I hope it doesn't affect his confidence. He is a seasoned and mature Ivory Coast International;- he has enough experience to handle it.

Another player whom people are blowing a lot of hot air about is Per Mertesacker, who made an ass of himself at the weekend. Yes, he made a mistake, but one mistake does not a bad player make unless you are Francis Jeffers masquerading as an Arsenal striker... The guy has generally played well, after coming into the team very late, like Arteta and Santos. He needs some time to come to his very best. So people should keep their criticism in check. 

What of injuries? well, the boss says that everybody from Saturday is fine, in fact it would appear Diaby will make the bench for the game against the Germans, in place of Rosicky. Now, I don't fancy him playing this game, unless we are several goals ahead of the Germans with a few minutes to play. 

I must say I am excited by Diaby's return. I know he is not a first teamer yet, but think back to the times before he was injured. Had he not suffered that broken ankle which has dogged his career since, I think he would be a first teamer. I compare him to RVP. Injuries denied us of getting the best out of him. Let's hope Diaby is over that phase then we shall see the best out of him. He definitely makes our squad stronger when he is fit.

It's not yet transfer time and people are starting to stir shit about Arsenal buying the German rising star Mario Goetze from Dortmund. Arsene Wenger has said

“At the moment in the transfer window we are just interested in keeping our squad,” he confirmed. “We have a big squad and we are not after anybody.
 
“Goetze is a very good player, I can understand there is a lot of interest in him around Europe.
 
“On our side though, I do not think this is the best time to talk about it.”

You can expect to see "exclusive" headlines tomorrow such as;

"Arsenal poised to swoop for German star Goetze in January window" and "Arsene Wenger confirms Arsenal interest in Goetze" and 

"Arsenal have agreed terms for German star Goetze"

This is how the media work these days just so they sell papers or get enough hits on their sites. I hate it when cunt clubs such as Barcelona destabilise our players like that I a don't want Arsenal to do the same to other clubs. It's such a classless act of tapping up and it disgusts me. But such is football...

You can read an extended interview of Arsene Wenger in L'equipe, which interview has had the shit mongers peddling around as the end for Wenger at Arsenal. Thanks to Arseblog for that one. It makes for some interesting reading.

Now I am one of those people who were questioning Wenger's ability to turn our fortunes around at the start of the season. On the evidence thus far, I am very happy to eat humble pie.

So, tomorrow we face the Germans. Lets go put in a shift. For those of you fortunate enough to watch the match live at the Emirates stadium, please bear in mind that there are those of us who would give an arm and a leg to take your place in the stadium and cheer the team loudly. So please, make a lot of noise for the Arsenal!!!

Onwards march the Arsenal!!

Norwich 1-2 Arsenal: Arsenal Continue Good Habit & Other Thoughts

Gervinho misses... RVP scores...

Match report.

Winning is a good habit. Losing is a team being crap. Arsenal are not crap and they have developed a good habit. Long may it continue.

I cannot decide who my Man of the Match was, between Vermaelen, Theo and RVP. I have decided to give it to Vermaelen. Why? Cause I can't put my finger on it. With RVP its easy- he scored. With Theo too it's easy- he provided, was a threat, was denied off the line, his dribble and cross have improved. But Vermaelen? I can't put my finger on it, except to say WOW! What a player.

You see, when Per Mertesacker contrived to make an ass of himself, Vermaelen screamed at him to kick the ball away. If you look at the video replays, you'll see Vermaelen shout and indicate to Per to kick the ball away... But that advice fell on deaf ears... or maybe twas the altitude, what with Per being so tall and Vermaelen being shorter...

The game started very much the same as with most Arsenal games. We had lots of chances, I counted 4 clear chances before Norwich scored. But, for some reason, there was no panic. The players didn't drop their heads like 5 weeks ago. They just kept going, knowing that we could win. I must say, the team is playing much better. And apart from Per making an ass of himself for the 1st goal, Norwich really didn't threaten our goal for most of the game.

Mikel Arteta, for a player who didn't go on international duty, looked tired, gave the ball away too often and got himself into trouble unnecessarily. Song was his usual reliable self, going about his business in midfield.

Why the hell won't people pass the ball to Aaron Ramsey in the final third? I counted 3 different occasions when he was clear and a simple pass to him would have resulted in a side-footed  finish. But Gervinho, Theo Arteta and RVP just didn't seem to want to pass the ball to Ramsey, or they didn't see him?

And talking about Gervinho, he really had a stinker of a game. Passing the ball back to the keeper when scoring was easier... But I must say, Gervinho will become a great player for Arsenal should he continue the way he is going. No, I don't mean missing chances, but his movement, dribble, speed, creating and eventually, he will start to score. It takes some time to find that eye for goal and Gervinho seems to have lost it momentarily, but it will return.

So, we got three points away from home, Chelsea lost (again!?) at home. Manchester City are still looking invincible but I have a feeling Arsenal will be the team that beats them and brings them back down to earth.

In other news, Arsene Wenger says he loves Arsenal. Really? wow. And he also says he'll do his maximum to keep RVP at the club for life. Now that I'd really like to see happen.

Seriously though, lets face forward to our next game against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. If we go about our business professionally, we should beat them and secure our place in the next round. We must aim to finish top of the group so that we avoid getting Barcelona!! I don't mind playing them in the semi or final of the Champions League cause then it's anybody's game.

One game at a time, lets keep marching on and winning. We shall see where we end up. And remember that Wilshere, Diaby, Sagna and Jenkinson are yet to return to the team due to injury. Suddenly you realise just what a decent squad we have. I remain secretly hopeful that we pull a miracle and  go on to win the..... ahem... League... ahem...

Onwards march the Arsenal!!

Arsenal 3-0 West Brom: International Break Comes at bad time

Arsenal on fire... but then came the International Break...

Apologies for posting my blog sooooo late. I've had a dodgy week, with professional and technical hikups ensuring that I fail to update my blog.

You have been in good company with the usual suspects Arseblog and Yogi's Warrior.

The official match report is here.

My only thoughts this week is that the International Break has come at a very bad time for us this time around. We really are on a roll and I sincerely hope that we come back in two weeks time and just kick on from where we left off.

Our entire first team will be away, except for Mikel Arteta (whom I wouldnt be surprised if he finally got a call up to the Spanish Senior Team, now that he is playing for Arsenal...). I have no complaints that he is not playing for Spain. That keeps him rested for Arsenal and probably lengthens his football career.

And so we go through a period of little activity and news at the Arsenal.... aggghh!!

I'll do a full blog in the coming days. Look out for that.

Onwards March The Arsenal!!!

Arsenal 0-0 Marseille: The Inevitable Draw After Big Win

Arsenal: The Strongest 10 Currently?
Match report here.

A game that promised so much for Arsenal delivered little in the end. Three points would have guaranteed us qualification into the knock-stage but in typical Arsenal style, we are going to have to do it late and the hard way, you know the 'Arsenal way'.

Robin Van Persie and rather unfortunately, Laurent Koscielny were rested. The gamble to rest Van Persie didnt pay off, but on the other hand, I'm glad he was rested. The comments made by Deschamps, the Marseille manager before the game about marking and keeping Van Persie quiet made me fear for his safety in the game.

Koscielny has been playing out of his skin in recent games, perhaps knowing that Vermaelen would soon return to claim his position in the team. On current form, I'm not sure whether Mertesacker is better than Koscielny... But I suppose there will be plenty of games in the season for them all to play. These days success is about the squad system, not the first 11.

Vermaelen played to his usual high standard, even though he has been out for a while. Our front man on the day, Park, was disapointing in his performance. I always maintain that the squad players do well when there is no pressure on the team. Had we won and qualified yesterday first, players such as Park can then come in and do a job...

Marseille started very brightly, having a back heel at goal in the first 5 minutes. They looked sharper and full of running. Arsenal gradually started to find their way in the match after 10 minutes. from there on, we created chances that were wasted. A little bit more quality and calmness would have seen us convert them but just could convert. Aaron Ramsey particularly had a chance from a cross which he side-footed wide. Theo and Gervinho for me had average games.

After an hour Van Persie was introduced for the very ineffective Park. Rosicky and Arshavin were also introduced soon after for Ramsey and Gervinho respectively, but we just couldn't produce a moment of pure magic to win the game. Van Persie tried to chip the keeper and on another day, that would have been a goal but not tonight. Arshavin and Rosicky had little influence on the match.

The game ended in a goalless draw. Now, I know this was not the result we wanted, but looking at it in perspective, 4 points off a Marseille team is not something to be sniffed at. We still remain top of the group and in control of our destiny. We didn't concede any goal which is a plus, not only for the group standing, but also for our confidence in games to come. We also haven't suffered any injuries so things are looking up for us. 


With Vermaelen back, we are only two players away ( Wilshere & Sagna) from fielding our very strongest 11. Diaby is soon to return also and when those players do return, all things being equal, suddenly we have a very strong squad. In the past we've always been 5 or six players away from fielding a strong starting 11...Looking at our squad in that perspective, I don't think we are short on quality and experience to compete with anybody. Just a small matter of application...  

After the game Arsene Wenger said:

.....We lacked a little bit the sharpness...

We may not have got the result we wanted after Chelsea, but a draw is a good result. We can only get better. Besides, Chelsea only drew against Genk (know who they are? didn't think so). 

And why would Arsenal want to qualify with two games to go anyway? it's just not the Arsenal way!!

The Arsenal way is to first give the fans and the manager a massive scare, then qualify.

Onwards march the Arsenal!!!

Arsenal v Marseille Preview: Arseblogger Makes My Day

General Song & Arsene Wenger: Plotting Marseille's Downfall

Champions League

Tuesday, 1 November 2011

It is very difficult to come back down from cloud 19 and a half after beating chelsea emphatically on Saturday. But football is a very funny game. You can beat Barcelona and then go on to lose to Birmingham in the Cup final... just saying...

Looking at the team pictures in training, you get the sense that there is a new found team spirit and joy in the squad. After that win against Chelsea, there will be a new found extra belief and togetherness within this group of players. Teams should beware.

At the same time, the feel good factor can very easily evaporate if we go into the Marseille game thinking we have beaten them before the final whistle blows. Arsene himself said that confidence goes away quickly and takes long to return. This is very true and especially for this Arsenal team who have suffered so much over the past few years with self-inflicted, below par performances, its time that they seriously kick on from here.

Didier Deschamps, the Marseille Manager says Robin Van Persie must be stopped. I hope he doesn't mean going to break his leg because thats the only way of stopping him right now. Now, I dont wish any misfortune on our captain, but lets be honest, most managers send their teams out to frustrate and foul the opposition's best attackers. In so doing, injuries tend to happen, some unfortunate but most due to wrecklessness.


Marseille will certainly be more of a threat than when we faced them. I find that, in the Champions League, away teams tend to attack more, perhaps it's due to the away goals rule.. We cannot go into this game and present Marseille with the type of chances that we did against Chelsea, we will be punished. Our midfielders and attackers need to knuckle down and do the dirty work. Defending most start from the strikers.


We should close down their defenders and keep pressure on their goal keeper. We should not allow them time and space in midfield to pick passes and make unchecked runs. And most of all, we should keep the ball. Keep the ball. Keep the ball. There is no way they can hurt us if they don't have the ball. In order to play 'keep ball' our players will need to cover a lot of ground, running, making angles for the pass, interchanging positions and always looking for attacking options.


Our finishing too must improve. I don't expect us to create as many chances as we did against Chelsea. we simply have to put the ball in the back of the net every time we get a chance to score. If we can be efficient with our chance conversion to goals, we will beat Marseille.


Key players for me in this game will be;

1. General Alex Song- He really has to put in a shift defensively. He will also need to be more creative with his passing, if he can spot the runs of Gervinho and Theo, then clip balls over the top early, he can really wreck havoc.
2. Aaron Ramsey- His passing is decent but he can give the ball away too cheaply at times. He will have to take shots from outside the box whenever chances present themselves. He has a fantastic shot on his right foot, which he doesn't use enough.
3. Mikel Arteta- He too can shoot and take free kicks. He must influence our ball possession more. He can really do a Xavi, that (magnificent) Barcelona cunt, in terms of passing.
4. Andre Santos- He really must defend better down that left wing. He has already scored more goals for us in 3 months than Gael Clichy in 8 years. But defending Mr. Santos!!
5. Gervinho- Whereas all attention is on Van Persie right now, Gervinho is the player who can really hurt Marseille because he is very slippery and difficult to mark. He always gets into goal scoring situations and  if he can be clinical with his finishing, he might just start to rake in the goals. Gervinho, for me, is going to be our next Thierry Henry.

In other news, Stan Kroenke was at the training ground to pep the boys up. Have a read. I like what he says. He talks about Fabregas and takes a swipe at Samir Nasri in there somewhere. He says;

Looking back to the summer transfer dealings he said: "I think you know that one of the players who departed had nothing to do with money.  There was a specific personal circumstance that happened. The other you get into an evaluation. That's where being smart and not being smart comes in. You've got one year left on a player's contract. You've got a large sum of money being offered. Can you employ those resources better than you could had you not taken the money, taken a chance on losing the guy for nothing in a year or perhaps overpaying for him now and having less resources later? I don’t know. That's how I would see the evaluation."

I think I really like stan.

And now for the guy who really made my day with his sense of humour, Arseblogger says about Robin Van Persie's contract situation:

And without moving into the realms of what-ifs and speculation, I have been thinking about his contract situation and from an Arsenal point of view I don’t think it could be any easier: give him what he wants. Whatever he wants, give it to him. If he wants £150,000 per week, give it to him. If he wants that money to be paid into a bank in the Cayman Islands using only used dollar bills, then do it.

If he wants Arsenal to sign some other players in January, or next summer, sign them. Wants defensive coach? Give him defensive coach. Frankly, if he wants Ivan Gazidis to wear a dress and sing the best of Gilbert and Sullivan in the style of Sideshow Bob before he presents the contract, then might I respectfully suggest that our CEO start brushing up on his light opera?

Hahahahahahahaahhh!!!! Now that really made my day. Big up to arseblogger.


Lets be professional and win this game. Then we can give squad players a chance in the remaining group games.


Onwards March the Arsenal!!!