Arsenal 1 Birmingham 2 - Let's Be Optimistic

He always has his tongue out it seems...

     Well then. This is going to be fairly difficult to write. I'm just going to start now, and hope for the best.

    When the lineups first came out, I was very, very surprised to see Rosicky start, instead of Diaby or Bendtner. I chose Diaby to start, but because he was not on the bench I can only assume he picked up a knock before the match. So we started like this -

     Arshavin      van Persie       Nasri

                          Rosicky

               Wilshere       Song

Clichy     Koscielny     Djourou     Sagna

                         Szczesny

     A decent squad, but right from the get go I wasn't very happy with the selection of Rosicky. I thought we would've been much better off with Nik in Theo's vacated spot, and Nasri given Cesc's role. And even if Nik wasn't to start, give Nasri Cesc's role and put Rosicky on the right flank. I think Bendtner's physical presence would be important and his height important on set plays. None the less, this squad should be capable of delivering a win. 

     It's important to think about the amount of pressure that was on Arsenal going into this match. The starting XI must have felt like the entire world was watching them, and demanded a trophy, because of the drought. So nerves would be expected in the match. But I'm not here to make excuses, because even with the pressure, all of these players have international experience except for Koscielny, Szczesny, and you could give Wilshere a pass.

     Right from the start, we got lucky. Lee Bowyer was played in by Zigic, our defence split open, and Szczesny made a challenge that surely would have been a red card and a penalty. Thankfully, it was called offside. The thing is, Lee Bowyer wasn't offside. Oooph. That was too damn close.

    
     We started very nervous, you could tell, the jitters in the legs, the chills when the players weren't cold, you could just tell.

     But after a couple minutes Arsenal began to settle down and the player that really seemed to catch everyone's eye was young Jack. He seemed the most confident on the ball and his passes were intelligent and accurate.

     We created a couple half chances: an RvP volley, two Djourou corners, and a Nasri shot. But credit to Birmingham: they were keeping their shape very well and we found it very difficult to break them down.

     Then, in our own half, Sagna played a ball to Wilshere. A simple pass, but as it was put right between Djourou and Wilshere, neither player knew whether or not to go for it. As a result, Brum got the ball and a cross was put into our box. Thankfully, Kos managed to head the ball out for a corner ahead of Zigic.

     Then lightning struck. the corner was put in and Roger Johnson beat Koscielny to the ball who headed it goal-wards and Zigic flicked it on from close range. One nil to Brum, in just the 28th minute.

     Koscielny should have done better, but regarding Zigic you can't expect much more. Szczesny could do nothing, but you cold expect a little bit more from Djourou despite Zigic's height.

     What I want to note though, is that we gave up possession in a dangerous area, when we weren't under that much pressure,  which resulted in conceding the corner, and then conceding the goal, etc etc.

     Shameful.

     After that, the back four looked very nervous, even more than before. As a result, just minutes after the goal, Zigic found himself one v one with Szczesny, but Woijcech made himself big and made the save. Had that gone in, we would've really been fucked.

     Then all of a sudden, we scored.

     We were on the counter, and Wilshere shot (YAY, he finally shot!) from 20 yards and hit the bar. (SHIT, he can shoot!) Brum tried to clear the ball, but it was a poor clearance and it fell to Arshavin on the right flank. He wiggled a little and made his way to the byline. He put it into the center for RvP, and the Dutchman's scissor-kick volley found the bottom left-hand corner. It really was an absolutely amazing goal. His chocolate leg might just be better than his left!

     Because of his shot though, he was hurt and went off for a bit before coming back on. (Turns out he's injured as a result, more on that further down the post).

     After that, Arsenal played with much more confidence. We were camped in their half, but failed to create anything, until right before the break. Nasri ripped a shot from about 26 yards out which was saved by Foster.

     So into the break we went, and I was thankful that we were level.

     The first half really wasn't that good. We were sloppy in possession, we were too nervous, and we could'nt break Brum down. This was due to a couple of reasons:

• Rosicky is too 'naive' at times to play it wide, he seems to like to have the ball central. There were many times when he could have sent Clichy up the field, but didn't.

• Song was having a terrible game. His passing was poor, and he wasn't protecting the back four very well.

• Arshavin could not combat with Carr. As a result, he continuously strayed from his position to the opposite flank, which created congestion there. Rosicky did not help by playing the ball to that side so often, either.

• Nasri was very quiet. Other than two shots, you couldn't tell he was there.

• We weren't moving off the ball. Everyone seemed to be stationary.

     Other than those cons, Wilshere was playing very well, as was RvP. Djourou was alright, and Koscielny was decent as well.

     So the second half began, and we started brightly. Rosicky put a shot just wide, and the off the ball movement was much better; we had more energy. We applied constant pressure, but couldn't create any clear cut chances.

   
     As the half wore on, around the 56th we started to lose our dominance. It was back to sharing the ball with Brum. As a result, Fahey had a shot and was very unlucky not to put Birmingham two - one up. His shot hit the post, and Szczesny could do nothing about it. Because of Birmingham's chance, it seemed to re-energize Arsenal. But, after a couple minutes, our sloppy play was present again, and we couldn't make anything of our possession.

     Eventually, around the 62nd Nasri came into the match more. This was a result of Rosicky switching to Theo's position, and from that point forward I really didn't know Rosicky was on the pitch. Classic, pointless, unproductive, Rosicky.

     Around the 70th minute the match was very dull, and on came Bendtner for RvP. At first I was upset at this, and wanted Rosicky off. Why would we take our best striker off? I later learned that van Persie was taken off because of his injury he received from his goal.

     I then realized that Jack was on the pitch too, but he wasn't playing as well as he did in the first half. His confidence wasn't there, nor was his dominance of the midfield.

     Even so, we had some chances. Nasri had shot via the counter which hit Foster in the face. Haha. Then Bendtner was on the edge of their penalty area, and again there was no one moving, and no one for him in the box. Therefore, he took matters into his own hands and showed great skill to get a shot off. It deflected and Foster made a brilliant save.

     In the 78th Chamakh was put on in place of Arshavin. I disagreed with that decision, because even though Arsahvin wasn't playing well, he was more likely to score/create something than Rosicky. Even so, In Arsene We Trust.

     Even with Chamakh on the pitch, their was no movement off the ball. Everyone seemed tired, and unwilling, as if they just didn't want it enough. No one had ideas, until Nasri had another shot from distance and Foster did brilliantly for Brum again.

     In the 83rd Martins came on for Fahey, and despite Zigic being nearly dead from fatigue, our defense would have to stay focused as to not let up a late goal. The match wore on, and Arsenal created nothing.

     Then God shit on us. In the 89th minute, Foster pumped the ball up field, and Zigic flicked the ball on, into our penalty box. Szczesny came out to collect, and clearly gave Koscielny a shout, but still Kos went to clear it out.

     Whether or not Koscielny tried to clear it and missed the ball, our pulled out of his clearance because of Szczesny, it didn't matter. Because Koscielny swiped at the ball two feet away from Sczcesny, the Pole was put off and couldn't catch the ball properly. The ball fell kindly for Martins, who wouldn't miss from 12 yards out on an open net.

     My first thought: Are you fucking kidding me?

     My second thought: Wait, what just happened.

     My third and final thought: Shit, we've just lost the Carling Cup Final.

     What an absurd goal to give away. What bollocks. You'd expect better from them, especially in the final minute of a cup final.

Derp

     After that, Arsenal was just shell shocked. We went forward, but our passes were aimless. Martins had another chance, but  Szczesny came out and made the stop. Other than that, the ball was in our half for the added time and when the final whistle blew I was distraught.

     You can't say that we deserved to win the match. Birmingham was the better team, and they fully deserved the silverware. The only things I didn't like about them winning was that we didn't, and that Lee Bowyer is a cunt and should never have won a trophy in his career.

     You've got to feel for Woijcech and Kos. Poor communication in the last minute and they cost the whole team.
     One thing I especially didn't like was that after Brum scored, a horde of Birmingham players passed by LK6 and WS53. When the group passed, a Birmingham player pushed the head of Koscielny down. Extremely unsporting, and a real piece of cuntery. So, based on my description, who do you think did that to Kos?

     That's right! Ding ding ding! Lee Bowyer! The slippery cunt strikes again!

     The fucker.

     Many of the players for this Arsenal side did not preform today, and I'm not going to list them. I'll just do the damn player ratings now.

• Szczesny - 5.5 - Could've done better with the first goal, was not commanding in the box, and obviously, was at fault for the goal along with Koscielny.

• Sagna - 6 - Had a very poor night. When he went forward he was not very effective, and didn't do very well defensively. He was also at fault for the first goal.

• Djourou - 6.5 - Our best defender on the night. (Not much of a title, though). He dealt with some of Birmingham's crosses, but should've have marked Zigic better on the first goal.

• Koscielny - 5 - Did not have a good game. I hate to say it, but he cost us the game. He really should have either cleared the ball or let Szczesny take it, for Brum's second goal. He and Djourou were easily sliced open at times.

• Clichy - 6 - Did not see much of the ball, mainly because of Rosicky. He did alright defensively. 

• Song - 5.5 - The worst I've ever seen him play. His passing was shit, he left the back four vulnerable, and didn't break up play well. 

• Wilshere - 7 - Had a brilliant first half.  His shot which hit the crossbar started our goal. His second half wasn't very good, though. Perhaps fatigue made it's way into his game.

• Rosicky - 5.5 - Ugh. I just hate Rosicky. He's utterly pointless. He is naive to using the flanks, and isn't productive going forward. A waste of space in my opinion.

• Nasri - 7 - In the first half he was quiet, and unable to make a real impact. in the second half however, he did, especially when he played in Cesc's role. His shots were brilliant, and looked our most likely to create something.

• Van Persie - 7 - In the first half he looked uncomfortable, but his goal was absolutely brilliant. Top class. I still can't get over it. He didn't look as good in the second period, and was subbed off due to injury.

• Arshavin - 6 - We all expected a big performance from him, but he came up short. He didn't convert a chance he got very early on, but he did assist RvP's goal. His movement was poor, with his continuous runs to the opposite flank he upset our shape and balance. As a result we were congested on the right hand side. I think his movement was one of the main reasons why we weren't able to create much.

• Bendtner - 6.5 - He and I were disappointed that he didn't start,  but when he came on he did have an impact. His passing was good, but he had a chance to score and couldn't capitalize.

• Chamakh - 6 - Didn't really have an effect on proceedings when he came on, but wasn't given much time in all honesty. He did help however on defending set pieces.

• Arsene Wenger - 6.5 - I believe he made a mistake by starting Rosicky over Bendtner, and not putting Nasri in Cesc's role. Also, I wasn't happy that he took Arshavin off and not Rosicky, and that he didn't give Bendtner much time on the pitch.

     The team simply did not preform today. It also showed how much we miss Cesc and Walcott. But, again, I really think we would have been better off with Nasri in Cesc's role and Nik in Theo's spot. I can't stress it enough.

    
     This is what Wenger said regarding said regarding the match, and I  have to agree with him:

"I am bitterly disappointed, like the whole team. We had some problems to start the game, the number of games we played caught up a little bit on us. It took us a while to get into the rhythm and pace of the game. In the second half we were on top, unfortunately we couldn’t score the second goal and, in the end, we made a mistake that left us no time at all to respond. We were preparing to play extra time."

     What's very important is how the side responds to this match, obviously. Wilshere has shown the best character, I believe, simply by crying. It shows how much he wants 'it', and his drive. We're still in three other competitions, and while it would have been nice to win the Carling Cup, it's lowest on the list of prestigious trophies, so we might as well just win one of the others!

     Instead of putting this loss behind us, I think it's important that we remember this one. We have to remember the pain and the anguish we have all felt, and swear to ourselves to never experience it again. That is probably the best experience you can get in order to win future trophies, even more so than winning a trophy and going on for another. Why? Because in life, not just sport, we remember the times of pain more than the times of joy, sadly. 

     Some people are blaming Wenger. They're upset at our drought, and the fact that we haven't taken this golden opportunity.
     Those that are upset with him, are off their rocker.

     Wenger has managed the invincibles, won two doubles, brought Arsenal to their first Champions League Final, and won other pieces of silverware. To question him is mad.
     This is nowhere near the team of Keown, Viera, Bergkamp, and Henry, regarding the style of play. It's a new generation. We are no solid team that wins by one goal and holds that lead. We are a free flowing side with flare and excitement. We are a work in progress. Our players our young, and you can't expect them to fully mature overnight.
     Arsenal plays the best football in the Premier League, bar none. We should be proud of the talent we have, and being capable of being one of the very best sides in the world with players so young. And because our players are so young and have so much promise already, I have full confidence that our team will be the best in the world in two years or so. But constantly crucifying this Arsenal squad will get them nowhere. They need our support, and we need to give it to them. Come on you Gunners.

 
     Oh and by the way, I have some bad news. As of right now, van Persie is injured and will not be back in time for the Barcelona match. Bollocks. It happened as a result of his goal.

Robin wincing - a classic celebration after scoring a brilliant goal in a final.

     Oh and by the way, I have some good news. As of right now, Puyol, Xavi, and Valdes all look like doubts for the Barca match against us. Yippee. And if Puyol can't make it, and Pique is suspended, it should be pretty good. Woohoo.

     So obviously everyone feels terrible for the loss, the players more than the fans, obviously. This is what some of the players said on Twitter:

Jack, the best tweeter of the entire Arsenal team -

"All i can say is sorry to the fans..it hurts alot i know but we must all stick together, still in 3 other comps! We have to move on!Sorry <3"

Cesc, who must feel terrible at the moment, but still acting professional -

"Congratulations to Birmingham. This team has great potential and there r still great targets to play for this season. Thanks for ur support."

Nasri, who never uses punctuation, and says what we want to hear -

"Thank you for your support guys its a massive blow but we have to look forward wednesday FA Cup and we have still 3 competition so chin up"

Lastly, Sagna, who I feel terrible for especially because he apparently invited a lot of friends and family to the match. This tweet breaks my wittle heart -

"Just feel ashamed..sorry."

     Alright then. I think that's enough. Let's look ahead to Wednesday, our home tie against Orient. Very important that the home fans really supports the squad, to give the lads a lift.

     Till then.

Arsenal vs Birmingham Preview - It's Our Time

Let's deliver some karma to Brum.

     Alright then.
     It's the cup final on Sunday and I want to focus on Birmingham, but Barca president Sandro Rosell has stopped me from fully doing so; a small speed bump.
     Apparently in Barcelona it's okay to be hyprocrirtical. This is what Sandro Rosell said:

"We told the Arsenal directors that we knew they were after Toral and we told them we didn't like it.

Legally they have done nothing wrong but it's a little immoral.

There are two philosophies; ours is to invest in La Masia and the other is to fish all over Europe for kids of 15 like Arsenal."

     We can thank @DarrenArsenal1 for the quotes, and you can find him on twitter here.
     Based on this quote, I now hate Barcelona. Not the city or it's people, but those in charge of the club for the manner in which they conduct themselves. This may not be the message the club conveys, however it is clear that the way their president goes about his woes.
    
     Although we have agreed to terms with Toral, and Barcelona is upset, we have done nothing wrong. Toral, being half English and half Spanish, wanted to come to north London, and as a result he has signed for us. It's quite simple really.
     While Barcelona can shop for youngsters in the Americas, Arsenal can't. And if you look at their Cadette A, there are seven non European players. In their Cadette B, nine. Therefore, is it professional to try to call Arsenal out when you yourselves commit the 'crime'  even more so than us, Barcelona?
     When asked about the matter of Toral in a press conference, Wenger simply said:

"If you go in the academy of Barcelona and you look where all the players come from, come back to me and we can talk about it."

     Well played Mr. Professor.

     But let's get this naivety, hypocrisy, and idiocy of Barfelona out of our heads and focus on the task at hand.

     That's right, we're in the fucking Carling Cup final. It is now time we silence all of those that have said in the past that this Arsenal side is not capable of winning a trophy. Sagna said this:

"We were [scared], but we are not any more. We have grown up as a team, we are wiser and now in the final. It has taken time, but we are on a good way to being successful.

We have been close to winning something but we got scared, we stopped playing and were waiting for the result to happen."

     This side certainly has grown. From last year to this year, a massive improvement has been made. Wilshere has flourished, Song has flourished, Szczesny has flourished, defensive signings were made, and we haven't been as unlucky as last year regarding injuries.

     But it's not just what's on paper that has changed, it's this squads confidence, as Sagna points out. A year ago, I would not have imagined Arsenal being capable to close out a match against Stoke with just a one goal lead for 82 minutes. Our side this season has been more determined, and focused. It almost seems that in the past this Arsenal team just didn't want a trophy badly enough, with their minds switching off at times and not finishing matches off. But what we are capable of shined through when we beat Chelsea and Barcelona. It showed that when we want it, we can have it.
     Against Chelsea, we were clinical with our chances. We pressured them, and forced them to give up the ball. Against Barca, we stayed focused, had determination, but came up short n the first half. The second half was a different story. We stepped onto the pitch determined to fight back and get the result. And we did just that.

     The only problem the Arsenal has now is that we must learn to have the same eagerness to win day in and day out, even against sides lower in the table. If Arsenal had the same determination against West Brom or Spuds as they did against Barca or Chelsea, we wouldn't have lost those matches, and we would be at the top of the table.

     That being said, we need to be thrown back into reality. This Arsenal side is obviously better than the one of last year, but the Premier Leagues quality seems to have dipped for a season. To have lost five matches and still be in the title race is astonishing in my opinion.
     But this gives us more hope and promise; our squad continues to develop and we are growing into a side that can win the Premier League year in and year out. So even if we don't win a title this season (even though we will), in August I will have even more confidence. Our main problem this year was our defense. We had a rotation of keepers, and I believe we have finally found a confident, promising, long-term number one goalkeeper in Szczesny.
     Also, our key center back in Vermaelen has been unluckily troubled by injury this year. Next year, just imagine this: A fit Vermaelen, Djourou, and Koscielny. A front three of Nasri, RvP, and Walcott. A midfield of Cesc, Wilshere, and Song. Not to mention a plethora of youngsters making their way up the ranks and on the brink of the first team such as Miquel, Miyaichi, Afobe, Watt, and Bartley, just to name a few.
     Some say that we won't have Cesc next season. Maybe we will, maybe we won't. I'd like him to stay, but in all honesty I think that next season we can manage without him if we have to. Ramsey, Wilshere, and Nasri can make up for his absence.

     Well, I just got a little bit off topic. Back to the preview!
     Because of Cesc's absence, RvP will take the armband. And by the way, Cesc was told that he would not play Sunday by the official website. Did no one care to mention it to him? Absolutely absurd. And a very harsh way to find out he wouldn't take part. Kudos to the website of the year? I think not.

     I am more than certain van Persie will lead us out well, he is a very experienced player and will not have a problem leading the lads out on Sunday. While some point out that he has never won anything for Arsenal, he did play in the World Cup final, where I think their is sufficient pressure so that he won't be nervous at all on Sunday. Well, perhaps a little.

     My predicted lineup -

                        Szczesny

Sagna      Djourou      Koscielny      Clichy

                  Song          Diaby

                        Wilshere

      Nasri          van Persie        Arshavin

     Szczesny stated in an interview with Arsenal.com that he understands if he is not picked for Wembley, that he is aware that Wenger likes to rotate keepers for cup games. I on the other hand, think that Szczesny has come a long way and deserves this match. I am also afraid of putting Almunia in goal, especially with the presence of Zigic and Jerome. Certainly a lot of crosses will be put in, which is Almunia's weak point. And I'm scared shitless after seeing his slow motion collapse/attempted save against Orient this past weekend.

     Also you can note that Diaby is back in the squad, and Wenger indicated that he will start. Some suspected that he would play in Cesc's spot, but I suspect Wilshere will be given the nod to take up the important role. Diaby and Song together should give us real physicality in the midfield to deal with the cunt Lee Bowyer. I hope he's booked up the arse on Sunday just for being a twat. Right off the bat. In the first four seconds. Let's set a record, Mike Dean.

     As expected Nasri will take up Walcott's position and the little Russian comes back to the office. it's also very good to have Nasri back because he's scored three goals in his three appearances against Birmingham.
Although I think the line up I listed is the best one we have, it would be interesting to see Bendtner to start, or at least come on late on which I'm sure he will. He's done well in the Carling Cup, scoring six goals in his last seven appearances. Well done Nik.

     While on the subject of Nasri, according to the Sun he has agreed to terms with Arsenal for a five year contract extension. His salary supposedly would be 100,000 pounds, compared to what he was paid before, 60,000 pounds. How much of this story is true, I'm not sure, because Nasri himself has said that the deal would be sorted out this summer, and apparently his agent has said that no agreement has been made. And also it's the Sun that has published the story.
     If it is true, I'm happy to see him stay and his paycheck is a reward for his great form this season.

     Going back to the threat that Brum poses regarding their aerial department, the good news is that David Bentley is cup tied so he won't be able to take part in the match, and we won't have to deal with his damn crosses. Also, James McFadden is out and Scott Dann as well. So clearly, we aren't the only ones suffering from injury. Scott Dann is an important player for Birmingham in the back. Regarding Hleb, he is a major doubt. Meh.

     Regarding the match itself, I believe it will be dominated by the Arsenal. I believe that Birmingham will have a lot of belief being the underdogs, so when they go forward they will do so in numbers. However, when we are pressuring them I feel they will sit deep and invite the pressure onto themselves, and have ten men behind the ball. I am full confident that we can win this on Sunday, and that if we don't it will be tragic and will have a terrible effect on the squad. But we're going to win, right? Of course. My prediction is 2-0 to the Arsenal.

     For those of you (and myself) who were gutted for Cesc because he couldn't play, and also because he could not lift the trophy, there is some good news: There are rumors going around that Fabregas will be able to lift the trophy for us. I'm not saying it will happen, but it would be brilliant if he could.

     Well that's that. We're off to Wembley. The best of luck to the lads, and lets take home the Carling Cup.
     Enjoy yourselves on Sunday, and let's bring home some silverware.

Arsenal 1 Stoke City 0 - Three Points With A Catch

This is actually a brilliant picture.

   
     Well then. An important three points, and well deserved. We got the early goal and held it for the entire match, keeping a clean sheet. Not often can you say that with Squillaci in defense, or the entire squad for that matter.
     But a brilliant match from Djourou, he really took the initiative and dealt with Stoke's aerial threats well. Squillaci also played better than we're used to seeing him, so overall, a good defensive display has earned our side a clean sheet.
     But at what cost? We've lost Cesc and Theo as casualties. Two key players to our title and cup contention. Without Walcott, I think we can still survive. But without Fabregas, wins are going to be much harder to come by.

     Arsenal started very, very brightly. Right from the beginning, Cesc found Theo, who smashed his shot onto the post. Just minutes later, Wilshere put a corner in and it fell to Bendnter who put it back into the danger area and Squillaci was there to head it home from close range. An early goal, and from a set piece at that. The most unlikely source.

     Then Cesc started to limp and kicked at the grass. He came off for Arshavin and headed straight down the tunnel. He has aggravated his hamstring once again, and will be out for 7 to 10 days. That means he will be back for Sunderland perhaps, but not for the Carling Cup final. But more on that later.

     After that, it was a very uneventful first half. Other than a rare Carew volley forcing Szczesny into a great save, it was a bland half.

     So the second half began and it seemed that Tony Pubis gave his side a good speach to pump them up. We were subject to some Stoke pressure, with Robert Huth heading over and Ryan Shwacross's header deflected just wide.
     And by the way, more than happy with the boo's Shawcross recieved. Thank you to all of those who were present at the match.

     Slowly, we got back into the match, and our posession was better. Then 20 minutes from time Dean BigAwkwardlySizedHead took down Theo who hurt his ankle. the result is Theo out of the Carling Cup with a sprained ankle. How long he will be out for is unknown at this time.

     Denilson then came on for Walcott and we were under pressure yet again, with Pennant brushing the side netting, but we managed to see the game through. One nil to the Arsenal it ended, and a fantastic win. Song referred to it as "Nights like this will win us the title."

     So back to the Fabregas injury. The man who will take up Cesc's vacated spot is Nasri, but Nasri isn't the same type of player as Fabgregas. Obviously Nasri is very good, however Cesc is better at opening defences up. I believe we can defeat Birmingham this weekend with Nasri, and a trifecta of Arhsavin - RvP - Bendtner, but I highly doubt we would be as effective when going up against Barcelona.
     It is more important to have Cesc fit for Barca than risk him for Sunday, and as a result he won't play Sunday. It's very sad for our captain, being the first final for him as Arsenal captain, but we all know what he has contributed.
    
     Now unfortunately I cannot do player ratings for this match because my stream was very poor and kept freezing, so I could not asses the game properly. But just a couple points-

• Szczesny had a very good match.
• Djourour also had a very good match.
• Wilshere had a brilliant match.
• Arshavin is back on form now for sure, and is a real threat now.
• That's Bendtners second assist in two games. Yes, he doesn't seem very effective, but like Arhsavin when he was off form, on paper Bendtner is fairly effective.

     Okay. I think I'll wrap it up with that. Not the best blog post, I know, but sadly I have many things to attend to that sadly aren't Arsenal related.

     If you want a substitute, check out Gooner Talk - a fantastic Arsenal blog.

     I'll be back later for a preview of Birmingham, and how Barcelona doesn't stop pissing me and other Arsenal fans off. I'll be back friday.

Joke City Preview - Next Fabreagas?

The Bastards

 

  So tonight Joke City comes over to the Emirates for a league match. Should be three points in the bag, no doubt, but when you have trolls on the field who consider a long throw-in attacking prowess, it's another story.

     Let's not deny the fact that we've had trouble with Rory Delap's throws, but now with Djourou in the backline we should have more confidence than usual. Speaking of confidence, Szczesny will have to have a good match. He'll have to be in full control of our penalty area; the organizer and the dominant one. If he decides to come out and call for the ball, he MUST get the ball. Last year, Stoke scored off a ball rolling around in our penalty area. That cannot happen again.

     Of course, Arsene Wenger has a different plan: to keep the ball and not let Joke have it.
Is that supposed to be some new method? By Wenger saying that, he gives the message that we haven't had that plan in past matches. If so, then my god why not?
This Arsenal side has players fully capable to play the possession game, so we should take full advantage of that and slowly pick teams apart, in the ARSENAL way, not the Barcelona way.

     Tonight van Persie and Koscielny won't be with us, both suffering from minor injuries. If all goes as planned they should be back for Sunday. My predicted line-up:

                         Szczesny

Sagna      Djourou      Squillaci     Clichy

                Wilshere       Song

                         Fabregas

    Walcott         Benctner         Nasri

     I picked Bendtner over Chamakh to start for a couple reasons. In the last match, Nik had a much better match than Chamakh, and Chamakh had very little influence on the precedings. Bendtner on the other hand was lively, and if he was dangerous on the right hand side cutting onto his left, he should be even better in his natural position.

     My prediction for this match is 3-1 to the Arsenal. Dealing with Jones and Carew will be tough for our defense, but going forward I believe we will be effective.

     In other news, Aarson Ramsey scored for Cardiff City. His loan ends this weekend, with his last match this Saturday. Wenger has decided he will bring Ramsey back, and according to Arsenal.com, Ramsey was in line to play in the Leyton Orient. However, according to FA rules, because Ramsey was ineligible for the first leg, he is ineligible for the second.
     That's the third mistake Arsenal.com has made this week. One for Theo's fake Twitter account, one for spelling Miquel's name wrong, and now this. Well below par from the website of the year.
But back to Ramsey: it's great that he's coming back. I really look forward to seeing him back in an Arsenal shirt and fulfilling his potetial.

     Arsenal have agreed terms with Barcelona for a promising 16 year old, Jon Miquel Toral Harper. Apparetnly Barcelona is mad. Alright then. I'm sick of their complaining now. But good to see him come. Fabregas came when he was sixteen, so you never know... And i'd bet that Fabregas helped convince the lad to come to north London. Good work Cesc.

     I may not be able to watch the entire match tonight, relying on an Internet feed. Therefore, my review may not be as scrumptious as it usually is. My apologies in advance.

     And if any of you are interested in another fantastic Arsenal Blog, visit Gooner Talk. Brilliant stuff.


     Now let's go kill some trolls.

Leyton Orient 1 Arsenal 1 - Be Thankful For the Replay



Well done Tomas.


   Alright, today's match analysis will be a little shorter than usual. Why? Well there isn't much to review really.
     We started the match with this formation:

                       Almunia

Sagna     Squillaci     Miquel      Gibbs

                 Song      Denilson

                       Rosicky

  Bendtner      Chamakh      Arshavin

     Arsene put out a defense that had never played together before, introducing Ignasi Miquel, the captain of our U-18's. Even so, we had a side that was fully capable of getting the job done.

     We settled in well, but no real chances arose. A couple half chances here and there, but nothing to note, until a couple of minutes before half time. Gibbs fired a low cross into the box, and Chamakh, from 6 yards out, unmarked, missed the target. We went to the break at nil nil.
     My thoughts at halftime -

• Attacking department - Arshavin was working his ass off, Chamakh was unproductive, Bendtner was playing well but his shots were shit.
• Midfield department- Rosicky was playing better than I’m used to seeing (he wasn't making me pull my hair out), Song was very poor, and Denilson was playing better than I'm used to seeing.
• Defensive department - Sagna was rarely included in the attack, Squillaci was doing alright, Miquel was doing better than Squillaci, and Gibbs wasn't getting enough of the ball.
• Goalkeeping - Almunia looks like such a druggy.

     So not the best half by any means. The passing was OK, but we lacked decisiveness in the final third. That's understandable though, these players don't play together week in week out.

     The second half kicked off, and eight minutes in, we scored. Who scored?
Nope, not him. Nope, not him either.
     It was Rosicky. The very last man I’d put my money on to score, besides Almunia. Not only did he score, but he scored with his head. And not only that, but his header was from 14 yards out. I couldn't believe it. The cross from Bendtner was perfect after a long passing move from Arsenal, and Rosicky's header tucked inside the far post. Brilliant.

     Up to that point, Orient was happy with sitting back and keeping their defensive shape. But our goal forced them to attack more, which stretched the game. As a result, Rosicky was given a golden chance. Arshavin reached the byline and turned it into the middle, where from about two yards out Rosicky's shot was brilliantly saved by Orient keeper Jamie Jones, and his follow up header was also saved.

     Minutes later Arshavin was away on the break, and his shot slipped out of play off their far post. Unlucky for him. But a brilliant play all the same.

     But once again, Arsenal was punished for not converting their chances. In the 87th, Orient striker Tehouhe split Miquel and Gibbs, and from just inside our box fired a shot straight at Almunia, who simply did not save the ball.
    
     First of all, it was poor tackling and miscommunication from Miquel and Gibbs. Miquel - We'll let this one go. Gibbs - You could've done better. But Almunia - What the hell.

     Despite the fact that the shot had pace, there is no forgiving Manuel. The ball went straight under him. I'm sorry, but as an Arsenal fan, am sick and tired of letting games go due to poor goalkeeping. He has to go this summer. James Shea is promising, Fabianski won't be injured next season, and we all know about Szczesny. So thanks for everything Almunia... But what is everything? We haven't won anything ever since he became number one. Coincidence? Maybe. You decide.

     And the match ended all draw. Fantastic, because what this Arsenal team needs right now is more fixture congestion.

     Some of you are complaining about the fact that Wenger didn't throw on any subs. To be completely honest, every player that was on the pitch last night was and is perfectly capable to complete 90 minutes. I would've liked to see Song come off for Wilshere though, to improve our passing game, and save Song for upcoming matches. Other than that, our side was completely second string.

     Our replay match will be on March 12th or 13th, right after the second leg of our Barca tie. Those of you are worried about fatigue, don't be. I hope that Wenger puts out the same side he did last night, because, as I said, they were more than capable of winning that match. A second try at the Emirates should be interesting.

     If we beat Leyton Orient (but let's not get ahead of ourselves) we play Manchester United away. The very last side we would’ve wanted, but you can't be that upset. After getting Leeds, Huddersfield, and Leyton Orient, we're long over due for a top side. And plus, we'd probably have to play them eventually, so why not beat them early?

     And it may be better for us to have a replay with Leyton, believe it or not. If we had simply won, we would have had to play Man United right after Barca. Not favourable, is it? Now we'll be able to give the lads a rest at least, WHEN we beat Orient, right? So thanks Almunia, for not saving the goal. You knew what was best for us all along, didn't you?

Alright, player ratings -

• Almunia - 4 - He had nothing to do really, throughout the entire match until the goal. The shot wasn't perfect, and he really should've saved it.

• Sagna - 5.5 - Defensively, he coped well with a pacey Dean Cox, but did not impose himself when in the attack, slightly due to Rosicky.

• Squillaci - 7 - Was fairly solid. Not at fault by any means for the goal, so basically he had a very good game. Made an important block to prevent an Orient goal.

• Miquel - 6 - Also played well, but was at fault for the goal. Other than that, a very good match for his Arsenal debut.

• Gibbs - 5.5 - When he went forward, he was effective, but he didn't go forward enough. Was also at fault with the goal.

• Song - 5.5 - Gave the ball away much too easily, and did not defend very well. A night to forget.

• Denilson - 7.5 - My man of the match. His passing was very good, and defensively played much better than he has in recent weeks. Of course he plays well after I call him out.

• Rosicky - 7 - Also played well, and of course, he finally scored. Kudos to him, but he could've done better with an easier chance that would've secured Arsenal a place in the quarter finals. My main problem with him though was that he did not spread play well enough, which lead to a lack of width.

• Bendtner - 6.5 - Did well overall, but his shooting was terrible and was a little slow at times when he took players on one on one.

• Chamakh - 5.5 - A very bad match. He had some oppurtunities which he didnt capitalize on. Didn't impose himself enough.

• Arshavin - 7 - Like I said before, he worked his ass of. Looked our most likely player to score/create. Unlucky when his shot hit the post.

• Arsene Wenger - 7 - Did nothing wrong really, their was no reason why the player he sent out couldn't have gotten the job done. I'm happy he picked Miquel, but dissapointed he didn't take Song off.

     So that's about it for the Leyton Orient match. Now on to some happier news -

     Victor Valdes picked up an injury in training on Saturday, and is expected to be out for approximately six weeks. Therefore, Pinto will be his replacement. Based on my knowledge, Pinto isn't very good at all. The Almunia of Barcelona.

     I'll be back tomorrow, make sure you check back.

Leyton Orient Preview - "A little bit harder than Barcelona"

Good morning.

I really want to get the Barcelona match behind us, and focus on the current task at hand, Leyton Orient. Unthankfully, Messi has stopped me from doing so. They're at it again, the desperate babies. After Xavi's comments, Messi has now come out to try and snatch Cesc and hide him in his box of Legos:

“I think that in the end Cesc will do what he feels like doing, the same with Barcelona, I am certain he wants to come to Barcelona because he has realised this in the only club where he can win.”

I'm really starting to get sick of this shit. Do they (Barcelona) understand that they look like abominable twats by saying these things every week? And if Barcelona is the only place Cesc can win, then why did Arsenal beat Barca, and still in contention for four trophies? Go cry to your mama now, Leo.

Well then. Glad I got that off my chest. Now let's move onto our more gracious opponents, Leyton Orient.
Despite being a side sitting eleventh in League One, they are not to be taken lightly. They've lost only one in their last twenty matches, and their two previous victims in the FA Cup were Norwich City and Swansea, two sides lying high in the Championship. Since we've had trouble with Huddersfield, and Leyton has beaten sides better than Huddersfield, this match will require a completely focused and determined squad; a squad that creates and finishes it's chances.
Leyton Orients manager Russell Slade watched our match against Barcelona and spoke about us similar to the way Mick McCarthy did:

"It was probably one of my biggest mistakes, going to that game, it scared me to death! There were two fantastic sides and it was a great spectacle, exactly the way the game should be played. If they perform like that then we'd probably have to say adios to the FA Cup, but it's a new day, a different day. It might be a different team, who knows?"

Speaking of a different team, we can expect to see some changes, with Stoke coming up in the mid-week and our Carling Cup final with Brum on Sunday.
I predict our starting eleven should look something, and I stress something, like this:

Almunia

Sagna Miquel Squillaci Gibbs

Denilson Song

Rosicky

Bedntner Chamakh Arshavin

Remember, with the fatigue of Barca still in our squads's legs, we need to rest some players (and we rest them against lower league opposition anyway) for Stoke and Birmingham. The cup final on Sunday is a priority, but so is the league. I expect less than half of our starting XI out tomorrow, a little less than our full XI on Wednesday, and then the full strength squad out on Sunday.

Leyton won't have a full squad tomorrow either, with injuries to Adam Chambers and Matthew Spring.
Despite these injuries, Leyton skipper Ben Chorley had some very, erm... interesting comments:

"It'll definitely be a different style to Barcelona - not that far off though, with the way the gaffer likes us to play.
But we can get the ball down and mix it up a bit and it will be difficult for them. I should say, and you might laugh, that it might be a little bit harder for them than Barcelona.
They might have to work a little bit harder, put their head in some places they wouldn't have to put their head in against Barcelona."

Okay. I don't know about the rest of you, but it almost sounds as if their captain claims that the O's are better than Barcelona. Nor do I know this Ben Chorley personally, but he seems a little thick.
And by the way Ben, I did laugh. Sorry.

In other news, Henri Lansbury, our own defensive midfielder, scored this weekend in a two all draw against Leeds while on loan to Norwich City. That's his third goal in three consecutive matches. Denilson either hasn't been playing well lately, or, he just doesn't have the quality to play for a club like Arsenal. I think both, and perhaps Lansbury will be an important part of our squad next season to replace Denilson, along with Coquelin, and Eastmond. We have a lot of promise in the defensive midfield position, and other positions as well.
I don't think many gooners are aware of just how many promising players this Arsenal side has. Miyiachi is earning great praise at Feyenoord, Benik Afobe is a key part to Huddersfield's League One title hopes, and Jay Emanuel-Thomas has loads of potentional with Cardiff, but needs to sort out his attidtude towards the game. The list of our reserves is here.

Well, I think I'll wrap it up on that note. Tomorrow we travel 5.7 miles to Brisbane Road to face a side that will prove to a tougher test than the Catalan giants, right Ben?

Have a good one.

Sore Losers, Fabregas Worries?, and Leyton Orient Injury Update

     I don't know about any of you, but I'm still feeling the high of the Barcelona match. I still can't get over it. The amount of confidence that is currently flowing through my veins is astounding. It outnumbers my blood cells 3 to 1. A real health scare, but a good slap across the face should be the perfect tonic.

     I did a fairly thorough analysis of the match yesterday so i'll leave that to bed. But some humorous things regarding  the match, such as Pep Guardiola. He seemed like quite the sore loser in a post match interview. In the interview, he came off as if he did not want to admit that Arsenal played well. It more or less sounded like he was trying to say that Barcelona simply slipped up. Pitiful. Quite the contrary to Mick McCarthy.

     It almost seems as if he's disregarding the stat sheet. The one that says that 31% of Arsenal's passes were in or into their final third, while only 21% of Barca's passes were in or into our final third. the one that showed that we had more shots on goal, and more corners. The only stats that they had more of were offsides (congrats) and possesion. 47% to 53%. It is not often that you see a team share so much of the ball with Barca. When Real Madrid played Barcelona, they only managed to have 34% of the ball. So we were pretty good, wouldn't you say Pep?

     On the Arsenal side of the match Jack Wilshere said it was the best (football) night of his life. Not only that, he got Xavi AND Messi's jerseys after the match.

Selfishness. Does he really need two?

      However, he couldn't do it on his own.  Apparently he had to ask Cesc to get Messi's jersey for him, because this is what Cesc said to him on Twitter:

"@jack_wilshere can't believe i had to go to get Messi's shirt for u. U were so scared. You were MOTM so next time please ask urself!"

     And while on the subject of Fabregas, he said that the match was the best he's ever played in, because the quality was so high. He also said that the Barcelona side is the best in footbll history. I don't really like that, even if it is true. His post-match comments were a little bit too nice to Barca for my liking. You can comment on the bottom and tell me your thoughts - Were Fabregas's comments too kind? Is this something to worry about?
     The link to the interview is here - credit to Arsenalist for the video.  And tell me if you can spot Fabregas's mistake - did he graduate grammer school?

     Anyway, on to the Leyton Orient news.
     Djourou picked up a back injury in the Barcelona match, and as many of you may have heard, he was supposed to be unavailable for Sunday. Luckily, he's made a speedy recovery and will make it. However, I hope Wenger sits him. The Djourou - Koscielny partnership is too valuable right now and we can't take any risks. My hope is that Squillaci starts (Gah!).
     Walcott also picked up a mild hamstring injury, but he should be fit for Sunday. Also, Sagna is back but Diaby is still suspended. I predict Denilson will step in for Song too give him a rest.
     For those of you that were wondering where Chamack was on Wednesday night, he fell ill but will be back for Sunday as well.

     There are some rumors going around that Vermaelen is recovering very well from his surgery. However, his return date and recovery are speculated to be elongated. Some thought that Vermaelen would be back for the second leg of the Barcelona tie, but dear oh dear are you wrong. Supposedly he should be back around early April. Pray for no injuries.

     And by the way - Here's an interesting stat for you - of Arsenal's last three FA Cup meetings with Leyton Orient, we've lost all of them by one goal to nil. But then aother statistic - Arsenal has never lost an FA Cup match to a lower league side while under the reigns of Arsene Wenger. So what will happen?......

     I'll have a full preview of the Leyton Orient tie tomorrow.
     Until then.

Arsenal 2 Barcelona 1 - "Barcelona, the best team in the world...", Player Ratings

     I don't even know where to begin with this. My heads buzzing.
Ah yes, how about the start of the match.

     So Nasri was chosen over Arshavin to play, and the rest of the squad stayed the same. It was our full starting XI (without Sagna) against their full starting XI (without Puyol).

     We started very well. RvP  had a chance early on as a result of fantstic close control from Walcott, and a fantstic chip from Cesc.
     Then Messi, the best player in the world, found himself one v one with Szczesny and put it wide. It really was fantastic keeping from Szczesny. Messi was waiting for the Pole to go to ground, and Szczesny didn't buy Messi's fake shot. He stayed big, which led the Argentinian to put his golden oppurtunity wide.

     However, we were holding a very high line. I was pleased and worried with that. I was pleased because Barcelona likes to posses the ball right on the edge of the oppositions penalty box and make short, quick clever passes. The Arsenal did not want that, and stopped that from happening.
     The downside to playing a high line is that Messi is a firebolt, along with Villa and Pedro. So if a good enough ball could be played into their patch, we'd be screwed.

     Then Song made a silly challenge on Messi.  A definite yellow card, and as a result he'd have to be careful the rest of the night.

     In the 26th minute, Messi played a perfect ball through for Villa, and he megged Szczesny with ease. One nil to Barcelona, and Arsenal heads began to drop.  After that Arsenal didn't pose any real threats on Barcelona, however Barca continued to pressure Arsenal.

     As a result of the pressure, Song was forced to make tackles in midfield. Unluckily, he wasn't winning his tackles despite the Barcelona falling down like feathers. A real concern for the Arsenal - If Song were to be sent off we'd be in a real hole.

     Then, right before half-time, Messi bundeld in a goal with his head. Luckily, the flag ruled him offside.
In the second half we started very, very brightly. We commanded the game. Not often do you see that against Barcelona. We pressured them well. We choked them until they said "Sorry for aimlessly passing the ball, here ya go". We were dominant. Our passing was better. Our movement off the ball was better and we held the ball for much longer than we did in the first half.

     The Catalan side had stints of pressure, however Koscielny especially snuffed out any hint of goal they dared smell.
     One sight of goal they did get was a break. Pedro was through and Koscielny tracked back to make the tackle. It was very important, because if he mistimed the tackle it would've been a red card and a penalty.  But it didn't matter. Pedro handeld the ball, and the (fifth?) official (hopefully) would've spotted it.

     But Barcelona is Barcelona, and they weren't going to stay quiet. Messi had two chances and his final shot hit the side netting. A close call.

     In the 68th Wenger made a fantastic switch. He put Arshavin on for Song, who was living on the edge after his yellow card. Therefore Wilshere was out only holding midfielder and Nasri and Cesc took up the creative positions as Arshavin played in his usual position.
     A real gamble, with Wilshere not exactly being the most solid defensive midfielder, but risks had to be taken as we were trailing by one goal.
     Walcott was ineffective during the match, despite most of the danger for Barcelona lying in his fast legs. As a result, Bendtner replaced him.

     By that time, i thought the match was lost. We had possesion in their half but no real goal scoring oppurtunities arose.
     But then RvP gave us hope.
     Clichy played a lobbed through ball for van Persie, who, from an absurdly tight angle, smashed it past Valdes's near post. It was fucking brilliant.  That strike was world class, and only a striker on as great form as himself could score a goal like that. It lifted the hearts of the players and the fans, and we were back in this match.
 



Bam



     Five minutes later, in the 83rd minute, we struck again. After suffering some pressure from Barcelona, Bendtner played a inch perfect square ball for Wilshere, who's quick thinking one-timed it to Cesc, who then played a brilliant ball over the top to set Nasri free. The frenchman then waited for support to arrive and he found Arshavin, who's one-time shot found the back of the net. A truly fantastic goal.
     The goal was very similar to the one van Persie scored against Wolves this past weekend. From our penalty box to theirs in just seconds. World class.
     At that time my head hurt from screaming in delight.




We scored an Arsenal goal, not a Barcelona goal.


     Barcelona applied some lat pressure, and questions arose when Arshavin looked to handle the ball in our own penalty box. However the replay showed that the ball cam off Arshavins head and his his hand, so it was clear that there was no real intent to play the ball with his hand.

     And that was that. We beat Barcelona.
     Not only did we beat Barcelona, but we came back and beat them. It shows real character to come back from one nil down to beat Everton, but to come back from one nil down to Barcelona is an entire different story.
     This result tonight really shows what Arsenal is capable of, and how far the swuad has gotten in just one year. And it's not even as if Barcelona played poorly, they played brilliantly. We just played better than them.

     One thing I am very upset about is that people have been saying that our second goal was a "Barcelona goal". Arsenal and Barcelona have similar types of play, however they are not the same. Arsenal has scored many goals like that, and we should be fully credited for it. It was a brilliant goal, scored by the Arsenal, so wouldn't that make it an Arsenal goal?

     Something I am happy about other than the result was the home support. It was fantastic. The Arsenal faithful never gave their lungs a rest and created a fantastic atmosphere. Hats off to those of you that were in the Emirates belting your lungs out.

Alright then, on to player ratings -

• Szczesny - 8 - He was fantastic today. He made himself big on many occasions to stop Barca from scoring, he was commanding in the box, and showed no nerves for his Champions League debut.

• Eboue - 5.5 - Defensively was able to keep Maxwell quiet, but when going forward he was poor and lost the ball on many occasions.

• Djourou - 6 - Not one of his best performances. Made some sloppy mistakes and gave the ball cheaply away. Outshined by his partner.

• Koscielny - 9 - Man of the match for me. Defended superbly. He read nearly all of Barcelona's moves, was not undone by their pace, did not commit many fouls, and kept Messi fairly quiet in the second half.

• Clichy - 7 - Did not defend to the best of his ability; his mind switched off at times, and positionally was caught out by Dani Alves's positioning, However, he made up for it with his fantastic assist for van Persie's goal, and his ability to keep David Villa fairly quiet at times.

• Song - 6 - Put his side in a very tough position when given a yellow card early on in the match. As a result of his poor tackles and likeliness to be sent off, he had to be replaced by Arshavin.

• Wilshere - 9 - Absolutely brilliant. Made 10 of his 11 passes in the final third, and rarely gave the ball away.  Tackling was timely and important, as he was the only holding midfielder in the second half. Played a big part in the second goal. Went past everyones expectations. As Piers Morgan tweeted him, he played better than Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi.

• Fabregas - 8 - Not everything came off for him tonight, although he helped create the match winning Arshavin goal, and managed to keep his side in focused after allowing the Barcelona goal. Great leadership.

• Walcott - 6.5 - Looked bright in the first opening minutes, but then died down as the match wore on. He did not trouble Maxwell as many anticipated, and did not live up to the expectation many set for him. However, he tracked back very well and helped give Eboue a lot of much needed cover.

• Van Persie - 8 - Started off well, but then died down. Wasn't a great influence on the game. But then in the second half his goal was vital and fantastic.

• Nasri - 8 - A fantastic match, especially after coming back from an injury. Covered Clichy well to a certain extent, and made the fantastic pass to Arshavin for Arsenal to win the match.

• Arshavin - 8.5 - Came on as a sub and showed the boss that he's back on form and is worthy of a starting position. Scored the fantastic goal to win the match.

• Bendtner - 6.5 - When he came on, he didn't really have an effect on precedings except for taking part in Arshavins goal.

• Arsene Wenger - 9.5 - Set his team out to do a job and get it done. At half time his team talk must have been excellent because the squad came out of the locker room with more intennstiy and class. Took a risk by taking Song off and leaving Wilshere as the sole holding midfielder. Arsenal could have let in another goal or two, but the gamble worked and Arshavin scored. fantastic.

     Well that's that. A fantastic win and one to remember, even if we do lose at the Camp Nou.

     I'll be back tomorrow. Rubbing this win in the faces of my Barcelona supporting friends is the main prioroty.

Barcelona Preview - It's Our Time

     Alright.
     I'm so excited. But that excitement is mixed with nerves. I'm fearful of the fact that we're playing against the mighty Barcelona, and that Leo Messi is the best in the world. Their side is the best in the world, and their current record scares me. But we have to look at the positives- last year at the Camp Nou we nearly got a result. And that was without a plethora of our starters.
     This year we've got nearly everyone, so things should turn out better.

     Johann Djourou has a positive out look to playing Messi and Barcelona:

You do not get scared [of facing Messi]. If I was scared, I wouldn’t be playing tomorrow. You have to be excited not scared. It is true Messi is good one versus one but, as cover, we can be hard to beat.

We know they are a great team going forward and we will have to defend well and be focused for 90 minutes. But do not forget we have great players as well. It will be interesting.

     Regarding injuries it looks like Nasri will be fit to play tonight, and will start over Arshavin. It's a shame because Arshavin has been playing well as of late, but Nasri will provide more defensive cover for Clichy. Just pray that Nasri won't injure himself again, and he can stay fit for the rest of the season.

     Also, I have to apologize- on my previous post I said that Sagna would play. A woeful mistake on my part. Eboue has to play in place of Sagna.
     Not happy about it, to be honest. Eboue is going to have to sit back more than he's used to, and not go on his marauding runs as often as he does. Keeping David Villa quiet is no easy task.

     Wenger said yesterday that van Persie could be the 'X factor' that Arsenal needs to defeat Barcelona.
He also said that he will not set the Arsenal team to play more defensively. It will be the usual attacking Arsenal side we see every weekend. As if anyone expected anything different.

     Le Grove is trying to get everyone at the Emirates to chant 'Get your hands of Fabregas'
I myself don't really see the point in it. It isn't the transfer market, and I think we all know Cesc will eventually go so I see no productivity with the song.

     All in all, I think we really can defeat Barca tonight. My predicted scoreline is 3-2 to the Arsenal. 2 for van Persie, 1 for Walcott, 1 for Messi and 1 for Pedro.

     That's it for today. Got to go prepare for later. Off to grab some diapers for when I shit my pants.
Cheers.

Arsenal Can Beat Barca - Tactical Analysis

     Well then.
     A great win against Wolves, we all know. But it's now time we brush away the emotional high and confidence from that win.
     Sounds strange, doesn't it? But if our squad has the same confidence as they had when going out to play Wolves, we're screwed.
     As you, me, and the players know, Barcelona is a slightly better side than Wolves.
     I'm not saying that we can't have confidence going into this match, god no. I'm simply saying that we need a different type of confidence.
     Instead of thinking, "We need the three points today, let's show Wolves that we're the Arsenal" we must think "This is Barcelona, but let's show them that we're not a side that can be taken down easily. Let's really stick it to them and get a result".

Break his ankles Cesc

     I think the key to beating Barcelona is through Arshavin and Walcott. We need to have a lot of width.
     With the absence of Puyol, I suspect Abidal will move into the center with Pique and Milito will be stationed on the left. Barcelona play with a system where their two full backs (Dani Alves and Milito) are very high up the pitch, and as a result Busquets/Mascherano drops back to the center backs to almost make a three man back line. Henceforth, with the pace of Walcott and Arshavin, if Cesc can organize a proper counter attack using the width of the pitch, we really should be able to score.Arshavin's pace is no match for Pique, and Walcott, well... let's not even mention that.

Simple diagram on how we should hit Barca on the counter attack.

     However, I'm not saying that we should simply sit back and wait to get Barca on the counter, I'm simply saying that when we are in our own third, then use the counter attack to our advantage.
     Now, because of Arsenal and Barcelona's similar styles of play, this match should be fantastic. But Arsenal must keep the ball better than they did last year. We need to play the possession game, and try and find the ball to penetrate their defense. Because, quite frankly, we cannot go to the Nou Camp looking for a 2-0 or 3-1 win. We've got to win the first leg if their are any hopes of killing off the Catalan club.
     When in their final third, we still will have to use width. It will be very congested in the middle with Xavi, Iniesta, Mascherano and our lads. Hence, get it to Theo and the little Russian, to play low balls into the middle for the on form RvP.

     Defensively, we have to replicate what Barca does. As soon as they lose the ball, we have to work our asses off to get the ball back. When Messi loses the ball, he scrambles back and wins it back. He doesn't have to do that, he's the fucking greatest player in the world! He could stay up top all day if he wanted to. But he doesn't. Why? Because he wants to win, so badly. Arshavin needs that drive.

     We are playing the best club in the world on Wednesday night, there is no debating it. And to beat them, 110% isn't good enough. 150% is par.

     Also, in case you didn't already know, Barca has a deadly front three. Villa - Messi - Pedro.
We cannot man mark Messi. He floats around the pitch and that would distort our shape. That's another thing- we cannot lose our shape. We need to be organized.
     Villa will be stationed on the left hand side, so Sagna will have to deal with him, which I think he will. Sagna has been on great form this season, and I trust him to get the job done.
     Pedro is also a threat. He cannot be underestimated. Clichy can use his pace to deal with Pedro, but Clichy will have to defend better in one v one situations.
     Then there's Dani Alves. If Arshavin plays, he MUST track back and defend. Dani Alves is more of an attacker than a defender, and we don't want Clichy to be flooded on the left hand side.

    However, there is a chance Arshavin may not play, and Nasri could come on. Wenger has been quoted saying he will not take a huge gamble. Nasri will have his fitness tests today an tomorrow.
     I hope Wenger plays Arshavin. Arshavin has been playing well and when he gets tired, Nasri can come on. Quite the super sub.
     And Nasri is a very important player to our title campaign. It's more important to have him for the rest of the season than one match.

     Well that's that on my tactical breakdown of the first leg of the Barca tie.

     In other news, Robin van Persie will be fit for the match, if anyone was worrying about the ice pack on his leg at the end of the Wolves match.
     While on the topic of RvP, he has made Premier League history this month, scoring the highest amount of goals in the first two months of the new year. He's now our most in-form player; let's hope it stays that way for the Barca matches.

     That's that for today. Back tomorrow for updates on the big match Wednesday night.

Have a good one.

Arsenal 2 Wolves 1 - Psychological Pain is Erased, Arsene Has Loads To Say

     Alright then.

     The Arsenal hosted Wolves to a crowd of 60,050 on Saturday, and those 60,050 got a great match.

     We started with a full strength starting XI, Szczesny, Clichy, Koscielny, Djourou, Sagna, Song, Wilshere, Fabregas, Arshavin, RvP, and Walcott.

     And we dominated the first period. We created many chances, and found the breakthrough in the 16th minute. Cesc turned onto the 18 from the right hand side, played a left footed ball in to RvP near the center of the 18, and his one-time volley found the bottom right hand corner of the net, despite Hennessy getting a hand to it. A fantastic goal from Van Persie's "chocolate leg".

     After that Arsenal continued to go forward. We made so many chances. When I say so many, I mean a lot. But the ball just wouldn't find the back of the net. Why? Walcott didn't have his shooting boots on today, Cesc was unlucky, and Wilshere simply did not shoot.

     I was afraid that the match would turn out to be anothe typical Arsenal match, as we all know- lots of chances, poor finishing, and a late goal from the opposition to spoil our hopes.

     In the second half we started right where we left off. Tons of chances, and again poor finishing. Walcott had an open net after brilliant work from Wilshere, and he slotted his shot wide.

     But finally, the long awaited second goal came in the 56th. Fabregas raked a world class one touch, ball down the right flank for Theo on the counter, who squared it to RvP, and the Dutchman wouldn't miss. Van Persie has been on fantastic form as of late, scoring 9 goals in his last 5 premier league matches. Unstoppable. After that goal, stress was relieved from the Arsenal.

     Chamack came on for Robin, Bendtner came on for Arshavin, and Denilson came on for Wilshere - subs clearly made in thought of the Barcelona tie on Wednesday. But I was surprised to see Wilshere go off instead of Song. With Song coming back from injury, minor or not, I didn't think Arsene would have wanted to take any risks. Welp, I was wrong, wasn't I?

     After that, Arsenal played the possession game. The match was truly over for Wolves. They threw on Steven Fletcher though, and with Denilson on the pitch doing his usual defensive work (absolute shite) our back line was forced to defend. None the less,Wolves never fashioned any real chances and the match ended 2-0 to the Arseanal.

     Yes, Arsenal won comfortably, however our finishing was very, very poor. We won't be able to conjure up as many chances against Barcelona as we did against Wolves, so when we do create chances on Wednesday night, we MUST take them. To take down a side like the Catalan club, you have to be firing on all cylinders.

     Well then, my thoughts-

• Szczesny- Hahaha. He didn't play bad or good. Wolves didn't have a shot on goal, so he had the day off. I guess you could say his distribution was good?.......

• Sagna- For me, he didn't have the greatest match. His crosses weren't the best, and he simply wasn't very effective going forward. Defensively, he was decent.

• Djourou- He had a brilliant game. Watching this Wolves match and then watching the second half of the Newcastle match really puts you in hindsight of how important he is to our title challenges.

• Koscielny- Also had a very good game. Not as brilliant as Djourou, but still very solid at the back. He and Djourou didn't put Szczesny in any danger.

• Clichy- Like Sagna, he didn't have a very good match. Forgot he was on the pitch at times.

• Song- He had a very good match considering the fact he's coming back from a minor injury. Defended very well- our defense was untroubled, and made some very important tackles to turn defense into attack.

• Wilshere- Had a brilliant game. Made fantastic passes, was full of energy, and played better defensively than I'm used to seeing him do. One complaint - SHOOT THE DAMN BALL JACK!

• Fabregas- Heh, he's Fabregas. Assisted RvP's first, and created the second after an AMAZING one time ball to Walcott. Our captain kept everyone organized and determined out there. Great preformance.

• Walcott- Despite his assist, had a fairly poor game in my opinion. He simply wasn't decisive in the final third, mistiming runs and wasn't very clinical with his finishing. Not the Theo we're used to.

• Van Persie- What is their to say? Scored two goals, and his finishing was spot on, unlike the rest of the team. 9 goals in 5 matches. I just can't get over that statistic.

• Arshavin- Once again, he shows us he's coming back to form. He was a good outlet on the left hand side, turning on to his right. I suspect he'll be a real threat against Barca.

• Bendtner- Pretty poor. Touch was off, passing was off, shot was off. Unlucky day for the Dane.

• Chamack- Didn't really see him much after he came on. It seemed as if he was too eager to get involved, perhaps dropping a tad too deep, therefore not giving us a point up top to play the ball off of.

• Denilson- Put on to give Jack a rest and keep possession. When he came on, Wolves had their best stint of possession. Not a coincidence. I think it's time he moves on to another club, I'm afraid.

• Arsene Wenger- Played all his cards right. Erased Newcastle from the minds of the lad sand set them out determined and eager to win. Finishing could have been better, but three points is three points.

 

     After the match, Mick McCarthy had very kind words to say. In fact, they were oddly generous:

"There was a murder going on out there and we were the recipients of it unfortunately,

We've come and tried everyhting but they were better than us from one to 11.

They were better than us and have slapped us.

They were better than us and turned us over and I have not one complaint at all.

The TV are trying to make a story out of the second goal and the fact it might have been offside but I could have been sat here on the end of a 6-0 defeat.

For my team to get better, we have to acknowledge that performance by Arsenal and we have to aspire to it."

     Strange, isn't it? Most managers in this league are stubborn and sore losers, but Micky seems to look at matches with a logical, almost unbiased view. Love it. Thats what we need more of- for managers to swallow their pride at times.

    Also, I admire how he openly admits, and proves, that our second goal was not offside. I'm not even going to get into that though, because it's such a stupid argument. The goal was good and legal, everyone shut the hell up.

     After the match Van Persie talked to BBC and said that he isn't on top of his game yet, and that there is more to come. Whaaaaaaat??? But I can see where he's coming from, being a player myself. On paper you're brilliant, but everything else isn't quite clicking yet. Can't wait to see him hit top gear.

     You can see his interview here, where he also says he wants to give more to the team. Brilliant. Gotta love RvP, even though he's given up the number 11. I like RvP11 more than RvP10. Crushed my heart.  

     There's also a glimmer of hope for Nasri to return for the Barcelona match. When asked in his post match press conference, Arsene said:

"I wouldn't say 'no chance'. There is a chance."

     Quite the lengthy quote, eh?

     On friday Wenger again spoke of Nasri and Vermaelen's progress:

"[Samir Nasri] is continuing his progress, difficult to make an assessment at the moment. I would say he should be fit in one week. No, [not to start training], he is training already, [it's] to be competitive, to play.

When [Thomas Vermaelen] is fit certainly we’ll play him in the Reserve team. [But] not before two or three weeks. You never know until he is completely fit to play again but we are hopeful [he is progressing well].

He feels he is over the problem but he played his last game in September and we are in February so it will take some time to come back to match fitness."

     It would be a real bonus to have Nasri back for the Barcelona ties. For the first one however, I suspect he'll make the bench. Actually, not suspect. I know. Arshavin is returning back to his usuall form, and it is a lot to ask Nasri to play against Barcelona his first match back.

     I'm giddy with excitement thinking about Vermaelen coming back. I really feel that the Vermaelen - Djourou combo will be a brick wall, just like Koscielny - Squillaci, right? HA.

     Arsene then spoke about the Newcastle Match, and how Arsenal has to take the positives of what they achieved in the second half. He also talked about Andrei Arshavin's current form, and how Arshavin is a very intelligent player:

"There’s a lot to say about the [Newcastle game]. I will just say one thing; people spoke only about the second part of the game, forgetting the first part. I believe that as long as we were eleven against eleven this team has showed outstanding game and that never came out because of the disappointment at the end of the result.

But personally, that strengthens my belief that we can win this league, to certainly strengthen the belief of the team [but] having said that, you don’t want to win four nil and go home with four-four.

I believe that there are some aspects of the game that we cannot master, that it’s down to decisions but the part of the game we can master is our attitude, our behaviour, our focus and that’s what we want to learn from that game, that no matter what happens, you have to master your response, your emotions and be only guided by one thing: to win the game.

[Andrey Arshavin] is an intelligent player, that’s, I believe, his main quality. He’s as well a team player [because] a selfish player has never good record in his assists and that tells you a lot about him."

     I completely agree with Arsene. If it wasn't for poor refereeing, Arsenal would have been level with Newcastle regarding men on the pitch (10 v 10) and Newcastles second penalty would not have been awarded. As a result, that match would be remembered for our fantastic attacking display.

     Regarding Arshavin, he's right. And because Arshavin is an intelligent player, he uses his technical ability to create chances, henceforth returning back to form.

     Before our match took place, the Manchester Derby went to United. Not the result we would've hoped for, but no need to dwell on the matter. City is now, as I believe, out of the title race. It's just us and United now. And kudos to Shreck for that goal. He'll probably bed a hooker tonight as celebration. Double kudos to Shreck! Good work lad.

     And our other opposition, Barcelona. They were only able to scrap a draw to Sporting Heehawn. According to my knowledge, I thinks thats the first time Barca has dropped points away from home this season. Maybe it's asking a lot, but I hopefully their heads will be down after dropping points, and make our run in with them this Wednesday night a little bit easier.

Cheers.