West Brom 2 Arsenal 2 - The Character Shouldn't Have Been Necessary

The Dutchman's finest goal for Arsenal.

     Alright. This post should be fairly quick.

     I was unable to watch the match on Saturday, so my review won't exactly be in depth or too revealing. I'll just focus on the goals.

     We started out with this lineup:

                        van Persie

     Arshavin                             Nasri

                         Wilshere

               Ramsey       Denilson

Clichy     Koscielny      Squillaci     Sagna

                           Almunia

     Again disappointed to see Denilson, but his inclusion was a given. What wasn't a given was Ramsey starting. To be completely honest, when I wrote my preview for the match, I completely forgot he was back in the squad. Strange, I know, but I'll remember once I see him some more.
     I was also disappointed with Nasri on the left and Wilshere in Cesc's position. Nasri is much better than Jack there, and it is such a waste to have Nasri on the flank. But once again, Wenger proves me wrong. Sigh.

     Their first goal was disappointing on our part. Ramsey could've done better with his marking, but more blame should go to Almunia. His windmill impression didn't fool me: I can see he really is a shit keeper. 
The goal came so early that it really damaged our confidence. None the less, the goal coming so early was a good thing: more time to find an equalizer and winner, surely?

     Ramsey had a chance after van Persie hit the bar, where the ball fell for him and Ramsey's shot from six yards out was straight at Carson.
     Most people are saying that he's rusty, he isn't back to best, or that he isn't sharp yet. This is true, but not a valid excuse for missing a sitter. He's been back for a couple months now, and whether he just came back or not, he should be capable of putting the ball one yard to the right.

     Then half time came and from what I've heard, Denilson was terrible (what a surprise), and Wenger made one of the best decisions of his reign at Arsenal. He replaced Denilson for Chamakh. At half time. Quite the blue moon. He should learn to do this more often. Foreshadowing hopefully?

     Just a couple of minutes after the break West Brom struck again to make the scoreline 2-0. A long ball was made for Odemwingie, and Squillaci didn't clear the ball immediately. Either way, it looked as if he would be able to deal with the danger effectively.
     Then as you watch the goal, you notice a black figure appear; a figure that is out of place. You are confused. Is it the devil? Is it death?
     No, its Manuel Almunia.
     In the confusion of Almunia coming out of his area, Squillaci struggled and Odemwingie simply had to get his simple shot on target to score.
     Should Squillaci have done better? Yes, he should have cleared the ball immediately. But when Almunia came out, you can't blame Squillaci anymore. Defenders aren't often presented with a situation where they have to defend a man outside their penalty area WITH their keeper and an open goal. 
     And what did Almunia do to save the situation? Push Squillaci in the back. Tactics! Lovely.

"Hmmm... That'll show Jens what I'm made of."

     But Arsenal fought back. In the 70th, Arshavin and Chamakh had a give and go and the little Russian fired in his first time volley into the far post and scored. It was a brilliant goal and brought Arsenal back into the match.

     In the 78th Arshavin turned provider. His cross found Bendtner at the far post who sent the ball back into the mixer. The ball was caught under the feet of Meite, and RvP slid and stabbed the ball to make it 2-2. Was a miraculous-revenge comeback on?

     Sadly, no. Despite our best efforts,  we couldn't find the winner.

     Now there is a real problem. There are only nine matches left, and our fixture list is tougher than United's. West Brom was supposed to be our easiest fixture for our final ten matches and we could only manage a draw against them.
     While coming back from two goals down was a brilliant display of character, there is no excuse for going down two goals to a side just promoted back to the Premier League.
     Surprisingly enough, we are still just five points behind United with a game in hand. Now EVERY match from now until the end of the season is a must win. 

     I want to focus on the second goal they scored, because the first goal was a predictable one for us to concede.
     It must be evident now: Alumina is shit, and should not play another match for Arsenal. He must leave this summer. He has cost the club too many points, with all the blunders he has made.
     But didn't we say the same about Fabianski? Fabianski made more errors, and we never wanted to see him again. Then Fabianski came in this season and his confidence seemed to be restored. Wenger was right all along: Fabianski is a world class keeper.
     The difference to me is this: Wenger has not come out to defend Almunia. Wenger consistently defended Fabianski, but it seems the Gaffer doesn't have the same faith in the Spaniard.
     On top of that, in his post match interview, Wenger didn't rule out a return for Lehmann. Interesting...

     Well I think I'll leave it at that. I'd say more but since I only have goal highlights at my disposal my review could hardly be in-depth.
  
     In other news Bendtner is injured via a shit training pitch while with the Danish national team. Lovely! No news has come out yet about how long Nik will be out for, so we can only hope for the best.

     More about the dull International Break in another post.
     Check back soon.

West Bromich Albion Preview - Nothing But a Win

Do it again Nanas.

     So here we are. Three weeks ago we were on top of the world; defeating Barcelona and going into the Carling Cup final. Then Koscielny pulled a not-so-practical joke on Szczesny, and fucked our season up. We then went up against Leyton Orient and Nik showed us that he doesn't try when he plays with the first team.    
     Sunderland then came and we were fucked over by the ref but we also didn't play to our ability. To the Camp Nou we then went and we got fucked over again by a referee. Lovely! And then to Old Trafford, where we were shit to a certain extent and lost again. So our past five matches are like this: LWDLL. Very poor for a side that wants to win trophies. Oh excuse me, I said trophies. I mean trophy.

     Because of our poor form and the slump we find ourselves in, in my opinion this match is possibly the most important match Wenger has ever managed for us. Its make it or break it time and without three points I think its safe to say we would be out of the title race.

     So some injury news ahead of the match and Diaby, Song, Walcott, Djourou, Szczesny, and Cesc are out. Not that we need them anyway.
     With that daunting news I expect a lineup to look SOMEWHAT like this:

                      van Persie

    Arshavin                        Bendtner

                          Nasri

               Wilshere     Denilson

Sagna     Koscielny     Squillaci     Clichy

                        Almunia

     This is the lineup that I think will play, but not necessarily what I want. I'd prefer Miquel over Squillaci somewhat; he's looked good in his last two performances but its understandable not to play with him because the pressure to win this match is much more than against Leyton Orient.
     One of the good things about having Diaby out is that Wilshere will go back to his defensive midfield role which should force Nasri to play there. But knowing Wenger and how much he likes to prove me wrong, Rosicky could start in that role, Rosicky could start in Bendnters role, I don't really know. Hopefully I'll get it right someday.

     Carlos Vela is ineligible to play against us this weekend if any of you were wondering, due to the terms of his agreement. And thank god. he'd probably score a last minute goal on us like his last two matches.

     From my understanding of West Brom, they don't have too much trouble scoring, but they do have trouble defending.We need to attack but also be cautious at the back, especially with Denilson in the squad. Not only that, with Squillaci back I don't think we'll be able to play a high line. And I'm not too disappointed; I wasn't a big fan of it anyway.

     I'm confident we can win this match, for several reasons:

• Lehmann is back to knock us in the nuts if we do anything wrong. 
• The drive to win the match should be with the players, knowing how important the match is. 
• Nasri is back in his most comfortable role, instead of being wasted on the right.
• Wilshere is back in his holding role. 
• I think van Persie will score after getting close against United. 
• Based on his performance against United, it looks like Chamakh is finding his form again.
• Bendtner is back and he likes to play against smaller clubs. 
• I won't be wearing my Arsenal jersey. I will wear my lucky underwear though; I'm giving the ol' pair one last go to prove to me he has potential. 

     If we lose this match many questions will be raised regarding Wenger and his philosophy. Meanwhile many (Non-Arsenal fans) tend too forget the amount of injuries we have sustained. Without Theo, Cesc, Song, Djoruou, and Vermaelen, that's five of our best starting XI missing. Not only does our squad lack experience and mental strength (despite what Arsene says), it lacks depth. I'm sorry but after Song there is absolutely no one who can assuredly take up his post as the holding man. I also think Arshavin has run his legs off and is approaching the end of his Arsenal career, sadly.
     But I don't want to get off topic. The starting XI I put up above is capable of beating a West Brom side despite the injuries. I reckon a 2-1 win.

     This match is so important. I don't think the players understand just how much weight this match has over the club. Its make it or break it time and we have to try and remind the critics that Arsenal is not a side to be brushed a side. We want to win the league this season. We need to win the league this season. So lets fucking do it.

Manchester United Review, Lehman, Djourou, and Vermaelen

Sigh.

    
     Happy Saint Patricks Day all.

     First off, I have to start with an apology. I've been extremely busy lately and have not had any time to write up a post. But it's here now, despite the shitiness of it.

     The match happened a couple days ago, and this time I didn't take notes, so I don't exactly remember the details too clearly, so I'm just going to skip the player ratings for today, and a very quick review.

     What a shit performance. We started out with this lineup-

                     van Persie

    Arshavin                         Nasri

                      Wilshere

              Denilson      Diaby

Gibbs    Koscielny    Djourou    Sagna

                       Almunia

     First of all, I was infuriated that Denilson and Diaby started. We used the same midfield combination against Sunderland last week, and while we were camped in Sunderlands half, we didn't penetrate.
     And it was the same against United. Why Wenger would try something that didn't work last time out and then try it in a match of such importance is beyond me.

     United meanwhile put out an experimental and cheeky starting XI, with seven defenders:

          Rooney Chicharito

  Rafael                        Fabio
           Gibson    O'Shea

Evra     Vidic    Smalling    Brown

                van der Saar

     Berbatov wasn't picked, so all my hard work for the preview went down the drain. Brilliant.

     Anyway, I'm not going to go into great detail, but we started well. Our passing was good and we seemed a bit confident, despite the fact we couldn't fashion any real chances.
     As you can imagine, United did go forward at times, and the main threats were Rafael and Fabio. The two Brazilians were kinetic and went forward with pleasure. As a result, we were caught on the break with their pace, and they scored.
     Rooney made an inch perfect pass to Chicharito into the box, and his powerful header was saved by Almunia but put right into the path of Fabio, who got there before Koscielny.
     I don't think Almunia did much wrong there, it was a good header and you couldn't have expected him to hold onto the shot. Koscielny on the other hand, I'm disappointed with him. While it rarely happens, defenders are always supposed to get to stray ball in the box first. He didn't and as a result we were on the back foot at Old Trafford.

     So half time came and van Persie had some chances,but none of them clear cut. We weren't penetrating enough, but that was fairly understandable; it's tough enough playing against the best defender in the Premier League, but even tougher to play against him and six other defenders.

     After half time I expected a new Arsenal side, one that penetrated more and created more chances. Right off the bat, United scored again via Rooney. Gibbs's "defending" looked like that of a school boys which lead to Rooney's goal. So frustrating, in simplest terms.

     Ramsey, Chamakh, and Rosicky came on and Ramsey and Chamakh had an immediate effect. Chamakh had the best chance of the game but couldn't find the back of the net. But credit to van der Saar: he was brilliant.
     It was also fantastic to see Ramsey back. It was also kind of weird to see him too in all honesty.

     Then disaster struck. United hit us on the counter and in a desperate attempt to clear the ball Sagna ran through Djourou's arm, and as a result Djourou will be injured for the rest of the season. Fuck off. Bollocks. he fractured his collar bone (I believe). On the poll I had on the site a couple of weeks ago asking who our most important player was after Cesc, I picked Djourou. This now means that either Squillaci or Miquel plays in his position. I want Miquel, because we all know the quality of the partnership Squillaci and Koscielny have.
     But while I thought it just wasn't our day, we didn't penetrate enough, and there wasn't the urgency and drive you'd expect from a side trailing in the quarter-final of the FA Cup.

     Some bullet points:

• Denilson was shit, he must leave he does not have the quality to play with a side of Arsenal's caliber.
• Wilshere shouldn't play in the creative role just yet; its too early.
• We are wasting Nasri on the right hand side. Put him in the middle!

     That performance really raised my eyebrows along with the rest of the footballing community. Three trophies gone in two weeks. I would've been okay with losing the Champions League to Barcelona and the FA Cup to United, but our performance against United was shameful. The Carling Cup meanwhile was a total unlucky fuck up and I'm not even going to dwell on it.

     I've heard some say they want Wenger out. You're mental. He's the only person I want to manage Arsenal and I truly fear the day he retires.
     And I know many have said this before me, but I'm going to beat the matter to death. While Wenger's philosophy is brilliant and exciting and near perfect, there is nothing to show for it. I do not want him to change his entire philosophy, but I want him to tweak it a little bit. His common quotes are "good spirit" or "great character", but lately it just hasn't shown. I think he as a manager can successfully rile up a side and manage a side to the required mental levels, but I also think that a vociferous, experienced player must come to us in the transfer window. I don't care if he costs 40 or 50 million. It could bring us trophies. Scratch that; it WILL bring us trophies.

     Speaking of experienced, crazy footballers, meet Jens Lehmann.



"I swear ref, I didn't throw his boot on top of the net!"

      One of the greatest things we have done this entire season has been signing him. He's been brought in under the emergency keeper rule and will stay with us until the end of the season. He is exactly the tonic we need for our woes. A nice spanking I think he'll give the squad in the dressing room at half time, to propel us to victory and eventually the Premier League. Get in!
     As you can see I am very happy having him at the club. This weekend he will make the bench and Almunia will start (undoubtedly).

     Speaking of the weekend, I sadly will not be able to catch the game, so I'm not sure what I am going to do about my review of the match.
     Regarding a preview, I will do my very best to get it up.

     Also, bad news for you. Vermaelen has been formally ruled out for the rest of the season, which I saw coming quite a while ago. Whats even more disappointing is that Arsene said that he never expected Vermaelen to be fit before the end of the season, which would contradict all the things he has said before.
     I just think Arsene worded it wrong. I think that the medical team said he'd be back eventually, but subliminally Arsene knew the it would take a while for Vermaelen to be match fit and fully recover. Lovely.

     That's that. Once again, sorry for the lateness of the post and the celerity of it. I've been as busy as John Terry's ass hole so I'm trying my best guys.
     You're support is appreciated, and don't forget to comment!
     Cheers.

Manchester United FA Cup Preview - A Must Win Match, Tactical Breakdown, Jack Wilshere

He always has his tongue sticking out. Haha.

   
     So a tough trip to Old Trafford on Saturday, and a must win for me.

     Winning this match would be a great way to bounce back from Barcelona, and kick start our final stretch to win the league. However, it won't be easy. We have only scored 15 goals in our last 30 matches there, so goals may be hard to come by, especially with the absence of Walcott and Cesc. Either way, I feel this is a must win match for the squad, for three reasons:

1. If we lose to United, it will be very hard for the team to cope with mentally, with the cup final, Sunderland, Barcelona, and United incidents all in a row.
2. If we lose to United, when they come to the Emirates it will be a sort of mental block for the team; instead of having the confidence to go out and get a result against the Mancs, they may reminisce on the previous match and have a little doubt.
3. We've been knocked out of the Champions League (I'm sort of okay with that) and lost the Carling Cup to Birmingham (Definitely not okay with that). Being knocked out of yet another competition would be heart breaking, and the pressure on the club for silverware I think would pose too much for the players to handle, being so young.

     One thing that goes in our favour is that United has a Champions League match in the midweek against Marseille which is a must win for them also. That being said, I think "Sir" Alex will put out something near his full squad. That doesn't mean this will be an easy match for us. I don't think I have to say this, but only 110% will do.
     Now I'm no Manchester United expert, but this is my guess at their lineup:

           Chicharito Berbatov

Gibson                            Valencia

            Carrick   Scholes

Evra       Vidic     Smalling    Rafael

              Van der Saar

     I stress the fact that this is a guess, and I ask you not to hold this against me if Ferguson puts a lineup out that doesn't resemble this at all.
  
     Some of you may know that Valencia has missed most of the season for United, but he's back and I have heard that he may make an appearance.
     Despite my uncertainty of the lineup, I believe that Chicharito and Berbatov will be the front two for United.
     With these two contrasting styles of play, the defense will have to be on their toes. Koscielny will more or less deal with Berbatov most of the time, while Djourou with Chicharito. However, I see one problem that could occur. One of Koscielny's greatest attributes is his ability to read a play and cut it out, ex. to come across and make a key tackle. Because Chicharito is often the player to make forward runs behind a defense, Koscielny will act to snuff it out. However, when Kos does this, he leaves a gap between Clichy and Djourou. Because Clichy is not the most tactically aware player and his mind seems to switch off at times, and Berbatov is a fantastic tactical player, Berbatov may be able to slip into that pocket of space before Clichy could close it down, and be in on our goal. It may look something like this:

14- Chicharito 9- Berbatov (If you didn't already kmow).

     Now if Rooney were to play, Djourou will have to be aware of Rooney's movement and that when Shreck recieves the ball up top and goes back, Djourou musn't follow Rooney and leave a pocket of space behind him for Berbatov to run into. However, I don't think that will be as much of a problem as Koscielny's.

     Now that i've got Uniteds part out of the way, onto the real footballing side.

     So an injury update and Cesc is out for about two weeks after hurting his hamstring in the Barcelona match. Van Persie is fine though, so I expect he gets the start. I see our lineup like this:

                      van Persie

   Arshavin                        Bendtner

                         Nasri

              Wilshere      Diaby

Clichy    Koscielny    Djourou    Sagna

                       Almunia

     Once again I'm not 100% sure about this lineup, but this is definitely what I'd like to see. The only player I feel may not be included in the starting linuep would be Diaby, perhaps fatigue settling in and becuase it's the FA Cup, Wenger may go with Denilson, which I pray he doesn't.
     The other alternative to this lineup I could see would be:

                 Bendtner/Chamakh

    Arshavin                              Nasri

                        Rosicky

                Wilshere      Diaby

Clichy     Koscielny     Djourou     Sagna

                        Almunia

     I kind of want to put Chamakh or Bendtner in because we still have ten more premier league matches to play, and I'm afraid of having the tough tackling Vidic near van Persie's injury prone body. Not only that, I think it was clear van Persie wasn't fully fit for the Barcelona match and therefore shouldn't play on Saturday. But if Wenger thinks he's fit, play him. In Arsene We Trust.

     So with Arshavin playing on the left that should stop Rafael going forward too much so that's a positive. Nasri + Sagna meanwhile can deal with the cunt Evra, and I can't wait for all the fiery "pardon my french" shit that will go on throughout the match on that right hand side. Hopefully a fight starts and Nasri knocks Evra in his twat.

     I'd rather not have Nasri on the right though, and Rosicky in the middle. Rosicky isn't patient or creative enough in my opinion and it's such waste of Nasri's talent to put him on the flank. Rosicky could even move to the right hand side; just goes to show the versatility of our players.

     My predicted scoreline is a 1-1 draw and sadly if I'm right it will have to go back to the Emirates for a replay, which we dont want because we will have to pay for it, because the FA has already used up the credits for replays.

     Now on to the subject of Jack Wilshere. I'd list all the reasons why he's so great and all but the list would be too long.
     The reason why I bring him up is because we (and Wenger) have to remember he is only 19. The very last thing we need is to run him into the ground. He has already played too many matches this season in my opinion and we should put him on the bench for the rest of the season if we could. But we can't. Diaby and Denilson don't cut it and our youth players are still on the brink of breaking into the first team, so not just yet.
     Jack is young and he is still growing. While Arsene Wenger is a brilliant manager and has done so much for this club, one think I believe he is at fault for is overplaying youngsters. He did it with Cesc, and I think it's starting to show with his hamstring problems. The last thing we want is in three years when our team is based around Jack and he has some wild calf strain and will miss half the season. I think Benik Afobe is ready for the first team and I would like to see him be recalled from his loan, but it's too late to try and fit Afobe into our system. We are in the final stages of our campaign and Jack is vital to our midfield. Sadly, he is essential. But that doesn't mean I don't like him! I love the lad.

     Now that we're done with the subject of Jack, let's move onto Bendtner. Many are upset about his chance against Barcelona that he squandered, and rightly so. However, I think he is a brilliant player and is capable of great things, but with van Persie and Walcott at the club it's hard for him to get a run of gmes.
We all know the amount of confidence that Nik has, and he has stated that he wants to play football, but he isn't getting it here.
      I think we'll see him go this summer, and I'll be sad to see the back of him. I think we will all regret selling him in the summer though when he scores 20+ goals for his new club. The only thing I could see would be a loan move to a big club if he were to 'remain' at the club.

     On to goalkeeper news and Szczesny has hurt a tendon in his hand but will not require surgery. Either way, he'll be out  for six weeks. Almunia was brilliant in goal against Barcelona so now we can have some worry lifted off us when Aluminum is between the sticks. As a result of having two keepers out, James Shea has been recalled from his loan to Southampton but isn't ready to be thrown into first team football. In his press confrence, Wenger hinted of going for an emergency signing like City did last season. He said he had someone in mind, but refused to say who. Hopefully the signing won't be needed.

     So that's that. Do comment and tell me your thoughts, favorite lineup for the match, predicted scoreline, etc. Don't be shy.
     It was a more lengthy preview than usual, but hopefully I haven't bored you all. As they say, "quality, not quantity". I reply: "why not both?"
     Enjoy your weekend.

Barcelona 3 Arsenal 1 - Match Review



"ARE YOU SENDING ME OFF? SORRY I CAN'T HEAR WHAT YOU'RE
SAYING BECAUSE OF THE 95,000 PEOPLE SCREAMING AROUND US"

     Well. Where do I begin. So many points I want to deliver, but my thoughts are swirling around in a chaotic maelstrom. Brilliant. I'll just do this in cronilogical order I suppose.

     Pre-match, we Arsenal fans were given brilliant news. Van Persie was fit to start. Along with him Cesc, and other than that the only surprise inclusion was that of Rosicky. So we started out like this.

                      van Persie

   Nasri            Fabregas       Rosicky

               Wilshere      Diaby

Clichy     Koscielny    Djourou    Sagna

                       Szczesny

     Then kick off came and as one would imagine, we sat back in our half. We continued with the tactic of keeping a fairly high line, and it seemed to work. But with Barca in our half, and with them controlling so much of the ball, our lineup mutated to something like this:

                      van Persie

                      Fabregas
  Nasri    Wilshere     Diaby   Rosicky

Clichy    Koscielny    Djourou    Sagna

                       Szczesny

     To be honest, we defended well. Nasri was doing decently to keep Dani Alves shut up, but Clichy looked confused at times with the movement of the Barcelona players. Even so, we were doing alright.
     Although our defense looked assured, I still got a little twinge in my throat/heart (I'm not sure) whenever I'd see Villa/Messi/Pedro make a run through our back line, just waiting for Xavi or Iniesta to play the perfect pass. Luckily, they didn't find it, and the first half was fairly scarce of very clear cut chances. There were some times when a last ditch tackle saved us, via Djourou and Koscielny's great play. Koscielny did slip up at one time though, when he made a poor challenge Messi in the box, and we got away with it. We were riding our luck.

     In the 16th minute I wanted to cry. Koscielny was booked for a foul on Dani Alves which was a soft card, and the Brazilian took the resulting free kick. The stinging shot was saved by Szczesny but with a price tag attached. Szczesny was forced to go off with a dislocated finger (so what I have heard so far). That led to Almunia coming on, and I feared the worst.

     Offensively, we were poor. When we got the ball we failed to keep it for more than four passes and van Persie must have been frustrated. I think there were a couple reasons to why we couldn't go forward well:

• Once we would win the ball back, we would try and find van Persie to hold the ball up so we could push forward. However, our passes weren't on the same wave length of van Persie's movement.
• Barca pressed us very well and we weren't quick enough to find feet; they snuffed us out.
• Cesc, the man that links up everyone on the field, was having a poor match. His passes were sloppy, and part of the reason for that was his lack of fitness and also he said he felt a twinge in his hamstring after 15 minutes, but played through it.

     The half seemed to fly by from my point of view, because I looked at how much time had passed and saw it had already been 40 minutes. Then it hit me: I think we can do this. We've already defended for one half of the match, why not two?
     In response, Messi popped his head through the teli said to me: "You're real thick mate" and scored. I was crushed. Usually when a tiny little greasy man insults you, you'd be infuriated, but the fact that his goal came just a minute before half time made it so much worse, and put me in a shocked, depressed state.

     We did go forward on some occasions, but none of our attacks posed any real threats. While we were in their end, prior to the goal, a scuffle was induced because Wilshere went down and stayed down after a rough tackle where his ankle turned over. Clearly he was hurt, and once the referee stopped play the Barcelona players went mad. Soon enough the majority of the two sides surrounded the 19 year old, and on the side of the chaos, Abidal grabbed van Persie and shoved him by the neck.
     This to me, is a clear red card. You simply cannot do that.

Abidal mad that Dani Alves is a cunt

     Not only that, but Dani Alves grabbed Nasri by the neck as well. In the picture below, it is clear that the referee did see this incident, and still  did not hand out even a yellow card. The referee was shit, in simple terms.

Meanwhile Jack is lying on the ground, unnoticed.

     Van Persie was clearly riled up because of this incident, and it took some time to calm him down. Once play resumed, RvP crossed paths with Dani Alves and picked his nose I believe, it all happened fairly quickly through tangled hands.
     Alves did what he does best, and rolled around on the ground, writhing in nonexistent pain. None the less, it was a yellow card offense, and Robin was booked. UEFA regulations states that shit referees are given to Arsenal's most important matches, and that picking the noses of the opposing team is unacceptable.
     I expected more from him, being a professional like himself. His experience would lead you in the direction that he would be above that kind of immaturity, but I suppose the frustration of being up top alone for an entire half and struggling got to him.

     So half time came, and I was very pleased with our performance despite Messi's goal. I thought we were defending well enough and could grind out a 0-0 draw, of course until they scored.
     But Messi's goal meant we would have to attack, and I was very worried about having to commit numbers forward in the second period. I was afraid of being caught on the break. But we couldn't do nothing. We had to attack.

     In contrast to the first half, I thought we started well. The ball was at their end more than it had been previously, and while we never mustered anything near a serious threat, it was a start. Nasri won a corner for us, and I thought dead balls were our best chance of scoring.
     Funny isn't it, in the Premier League it's our weak point, and against Barca it's our best form of attack.
So Nasri swung the corner in, Diaby made a run into the box and leaped like a fucking kangaroo but couldn't quite reach it. But his hard work wouldn't go in vein. Because of his jump, it put Busquets off and the ball went off his head and into the goal. Haha.

     When that went in, I was confused. It took me about ten seconds to realize we had scored. The ball was in the net, but I thought Diaby missed the ball? I didn't hear the referee blow his whistle?* Is it a foul because all those Barca players are on the ground?
     Then the cameras turned to Arsenal celebrating, and I was overjoyed. At 1-1, we could go through! We defended well for 42 minutes of the first half, why not 40 of the second? And we were going forward better than before!
*I should've seen the foreshadowing

     Oh, wait. The incident.
     Fabregas played a ball over the top for van Persie, he controlled the ball, but his shot was wide. It didn't matter though, because he was offside. However, the referee thought Robin was time wasting and gave him his second yellow of the night.

     What kind of bullshit is that? In a stadium of 95,000 fans, how is van Persie supposed to hear one man's whistle. Not only that, he never looked over to the linesman, nor the referee. He controlled the ball, and immediately And not only that, it was only one second between the whistle being blown and RvP shot it. I could understand being the yellow card (being a player myself) if Robin had performed a chip shot of some sort, but his shot was full of intent and he looked frustrated with himself that he missed his chance. But still, a red card offense? Is it really worth it to knock Arsenal out of the Champions League with that call? Utter horse shit.
     Congratulations Busacca, brilliant play.

Oh, sorry. I guess you don't like it
when I congratulate your proffesionalism.

     So now we were really screwed. How we were going to get back into the match, I had no idea.
     We were forced played without a striker for 20 minutes, Wenger not willing to take the risk so early on to take a midfielder of for Bendtner or Chamakh. And when we were able to go forward it was Nasri vs. Barcelona.
    
     Now the objective was just to hold onto our aggregate lead and hope for the best.
But because of the red card, Barca really pressed, and they found the breakthrough in the 69th minute.
     Credit to Barcelona, it was a brilliant goal. Iniesta drove into our defense, gave it to Messi, who's first touch slipped Xavi through and you couldn't ask any more from Almunia. He did brilliantly from when he came on to keep the scoreline low, but this time the finish was perfect.

     So 2-1. If we could hold onto that scoreline and not let them score again it would go to extra time, and maybe penalties. I for one did not want that. I honestly thought there was no way we could stop Barcelona for an extra 30 minute with 10 men.
     Luckily for us, Barcelona hushed that idea. Messi drove into the box, and Koscielny's fairly rash challenge wasn't going to be unnoticed twice. Definite penalty. Messi stepped up and made it 3-1. The match was over at that time in my eyes, and even a super sub couldn't save us.

     Arshavin and Bendtner came on to try and save the match for us, and Nik could've. Late on, we caught them on the break, Wilshere put a ball right into Bendnter's path, his first touch let him down, and Mascherano smothered. Had his touch been better, or had he taken the shot first time, he would've sent us through to the quarter finals. I'm sure of it. Football really is a game of "If only", isn't it?

     Once we were into stoppage time, Barca flexed their muscles and played the possession game. When we did win the ball back, it seemed our players didn't know we only needed one goal to go through. They were simply jogging, with no urgency. Only in the last 15 seconds did we finally boot the ball up field and hope for the best. But by that time it was too late. We were knocked out of the Champions League.

     First of all, credit to Barca. We were dominated in the first half, and they out played us. Second half - I think it was a different story. From kick off of the second period, the game looked as if it would be more open; we were going forward better, and it was a corner that got us a goal. I really was confident we could get a result, as was Wenger, who said that he was confident we would have won the match (whether he was referring to the tie or the match itself, I'm not sure, but i believe he meant the match). Then van Persie's sending off.

     Fuck that shit. As Arsene said, the referee could not have played professional football in a match of that importance to make a decision like that. He completely spoiled what looked to be a very exciting second half between the two best sides in the world (when Arsenal isn't being fucked over by a referee). To those who were unbiased and just wanted to see some good, exciting football, I'm sorry. For a referee to spoil a match of such importance is just atrocious.
     I am fully confident that if we didn't lose van Persie, we would've gone through. For the time in the second half that RvP was on the field, we were a much more of an attacking force. I think we could've grinded out a draw or even gotten a win.

     One thing I don't approve of is that some people are trying to use the sending off as too much of an excuse. Yes, it did spoil the match, but some are choosing to neglect that fact the Barcelona out played us with 11 v 11. The stats proved that. We had no shots at all last night. They are the best team in the world without a doubt, but it's not always the best team that wins. As Nasri says, "Football is like that sometimes".

     I have also heard about some of our fans at the Nou Camp, and their naughty behavior. Shame on you. You embarrassed the club, and when you're going to complain about the class of Barcelona, don't be a hypocrite. To those of you that made the trip to Barcelona and supported the team as a fan should, thank you for your support.

     Lastly on my rant, I pity those that are very upset with the fact we haven't gone through. I think those people need to realize that we were going up against the best side in the world, and that if Arsenal is to be knocked out of any cup, going out at the hands of Barcelona is no embarrassment. Not only that, we are still in contention for the league and FA Cup.
     And I'm not even going to mention or argue with the comments asking for Wenger's dismissal.


     Player ratings now...

• Szczesny - 8 - It's hard to judge him, since he was never really tested and he went off the pitch so early. He dealt with Barca's early shots well none the less.

• Sagna - 6.5 - Adriano made a fool of him on occasions and I don't think his communication with the rest of our defense was very good. Also, when we had the ball he didn't make the best decisions with his passes.

• Djourou - 8 - Without him, the scoreline would have been much different. He made some important last ditch tackles and the offside trap worked well.

• Koscielny - 7 - Yes, he gave up two penalties and got away with one, but along with Djourou he snuffed out danger and kept the scoreline lower than it could've been. The communication between he and Djourou was very good, except for the second goal perhaps.

• Clichy - 6 - At times he looked confused and did not stay tight enough to Dani Alves/Pedro. He was beaten many times and he did not give us the width required when we were defending.

• Diaby - 5 - I didn't want him to play, and his positional play was terrible. His physical dominance did not show and I think it is clear that Denilson would've been the better choice. Diaby took much too long on the ball and the last thing we needed last night was a lack of pace in our attacks.

• Wilshere - 7.5 - The consistency of this 19 year old is astounding. However, just one man can't turn a match against Barcelona around. he almost did though when he sent Nik up perfectly in the closing moments of the match but the Big Dane couldn't finish.

• Fabregas - 5.5 - Very disappointing. His poor play was partly due to his injury he felt at 15 minutes, and he really should have requested a sub. Being the captain of our squad, he should be the pinnacle of professionalism. His naive back heel led to their first goal, and his overall passing was shambolic. The worst match I've ever seen him play.

• Rosicky - 6.5 - A surprise inclusion to the squad, but I think it was a smart, tactical one. He played decently, but gave Adriano too much space on the flank.

• Nasri - 8 - For playing in such a defensive role he did very well. Like Rosicky, he gave Alves a little bit too much space but Nasri obviously isn't a defensive minded player. Going forward he was alone at times, but did manage to win the corner that set up "our" goal.

• Van Persie - 6 - He couldn't get into good areas to pick p the ball, and when he was in those areas, his passes weren't up to par. His first yellow was stupid on his part, but he was unlucky for the second.

• Almunia - 8.5 - My man of the match. Without his brilliant saves, we would've lost by much more than just two goals. He made himself big on many occasions, and while he let up three goals, he was not to blame for any of them. Now we can go to Old Trafford with at least a little bit of confidence in our keeper.

• Arshavin - 6.5 - He was forced to play on the right side so that Nasri could help defend against Alves, and it is clear that the Russian isn't the best at attacking from the right side. Never the less, he strung passes together and did decently.

• Bendtner - 5.5 - His rating is really based on his missed chance. His poor touch took the ball into traffic, and he should've proved to the world how good he is, but he didn't. His hold up play was better than van Persies, but van Persie would've finished the chance Bendnter had.

• Wenger - 6 - He did very well with his medical team to get van Persie fit, but I thought his team selection wasn't the best. I would have liked to see Denilson in place for Diaby, and Abou proved me right. Also, poor to put RvP in when it was clear he wasn't fully fit. Another complaint was that he waited so long to put Bendtner on. We needed a central striker to hold the ball up, and Arshavin wasn't going to be able to make a huge impact without a central striker.

     Going back to the sending off, Wenger naturally had very strong words regarding the referee and his decision. As a result, he has been charged by UEFA for his actions. The punishment will be decided on Thursday, along with a punishment for Nasri, for his comments. Nasri tweeted:

"Thank you for your support once again u were amazing sorry for the result now we have to think about Man utd game and we still have a league to win and by the way bussaca is the best....pff"

     Haha. I mean, to be absolutely brutally honest, Nasri said nothing wrong. You can't assume he was being sarcastic. None the less, I could care less. If he's handed a ban it will be for the group stage of next year.
     And if you're wondering about van Persie's charge, UEFA hasn't handed one out yet for van Persie's strong but true comments about the red card.

     So an injury update and Szczesny has suffered from a disloacted finger and won't make the trip to Old Trafford this Saturday. In his place will be Almunia, and Arsenal has recalled James Shea from his loan to Southampton. Rumors are going around that Cesc won't be able to make the trip either. Brilliant. On the other hand, we'll have van Persie back, but more on that with my preview.

     Speaking of Cesc, he tweeted this which is heart breaking:

"Great support from the arsenal fans. I take full blame for the result tonight. One of the worst moments of my life. I apologise."

     Perhaps this is a little early, but Benik Afobe scored for Huddersfield in his last match. I can't wait to see him back in our squad. Screw Diaby and Denilson.

     Well I think I'll end this post on that positive note. Another year out of the Champions League, but all the more reason to do the League and Cup double.
    Cheers.

Barcelona Preview - Come On You Gunners, It's Our Time!

ARSENAL DNA

     Well well well. The match we've all been waiting for. We travel to the Camp Nou on Tuesday to take Barcelona on for the second leg of the Champions League round of 16. Because of our win at the Emirates of 2-1, a draw is acceptable, but defeat is not unless it is by one goal and we score more than one.
Ex:
3-2 ~ We're through.
1-0 ~ We're out.
1-1 ~ We're through.
0-0 ~ We're through.

4-1 ~ We're out.

     But this side is very different from the one that lost last season.

     While we are currently suffering from injuries, it's not as bad as last year. This year, we're only missing Theo and Song. Oh, and what's that you say? I've forgotten to put van Persie on the injury list? Nope! Wenger included van Persie last minute into the squad that's flying to Barcelona. While I doubt that RvP we will start, including him on the bench means Arsene probably intends to play the Dutchman.
     Not only that, but when a player is injured, Wenger usually has that player stay in London to get their fitness back. Still a little strange, though, because Wenger said six weeks out. There was some speculation that Wenger did this on purpose as a mind game, but he silenced the rumors.
     Therefore, I think this will be our starting lineup:

                        Bendtner

     Arshavin                             Nasri

                        Fabregas

               Wilshere        Diaby

Clichy     Koscielny     Djourou     Sagna

                        Szczesny

     While this is a fairly strong lineup (without RvP as a starter), I don't think it's the best we could do against Barca. I suggest this lineup:

                      Chamakh

     Nasri                              Bendtner

                       Fabregas

               Wilshere      Denilson

Clichy     Koscielny     Djourou     Sagna

                       Szczesny



     Yes, I know Arhsavin isn't there. But here's why I picked this lineup-

• Busquets will play center back for Barca in the absence of Puyol. The aerial presence of Chamakh would be hard to deal with.

• I feel that Bendtner is much more of a threat on the wing. Not only that, Maxwell doesn't go forward too often and when he does he isn't very effective. Therefore having Bendtner on the wing wouldn't leave us too vulnerable.

• Nasri has played on both flanks for us, but when I watch him play on the left I feel he is much more effective because he can turn onto his right foot. Also, he would protect Clichy better from the threat of Alves and if Arshavin played there we wouldn't have much defensive cover on Alves. Barca fans say Alves is just as dangerous as Messi, so let's not underestimate him.

• Bendtner and Chamakh could together get into the box and we could put crosses in. Good luck Busquets.

     One of the cons to having this lineup is that Maxwell is their weak link (compared to Alves) and Bendtner wouldn't test him as much as Nasri would. Anyway, on to the squad that is suspect Wenger will play.

     I see it as good and bad. Bad because Arshavin will not cover Dani Alves well, but good because Arshavin is very direct and the Russian can catch Barca on the break. Another thing I disagree with is if Diaby were to start. Diaby's height compared to Iniesta, Xavi, and basically the entire Barcelona attack is notable. Therefore, when in a one versus one situation, he would be much slower and and simply would not be effective. Also, another problem with having Diaby play is that he takes too long on the ball which slows our play down.
    
     On the other hand, Denilson's passing is sloppy, defensively he is weak, and going forward he rarely makes an impact. However, I say Denilson, because his style of play is more for the Spanish game than the English. His height means his tackles would have a higher succes rate (I believe) compared to Diaby's. Hopefully his passing won't be as sloppy as it usually is if he does play.

     So that's done. I'd rather have Denilson than Diaby. In any other match I'd pick Diaby, but Denilson gets the o.k. from me for this one.

     From Barcelona's standpoint, it's not too much of a worry that Busquets plays center back, because he's played their before. Abidal meanwhile isn't a worry for them either because he regularily fills in for Pique or Puyol.
     Because Busquets drops back to defense, either Keita or Mascherano will play the holding role. My guess is Keita, because Barcelona payed 17 million to have Mascherano warm the bench. If Mascherano does play, it's good and bad. Mascherano is an annoying niggling little cunt, and I don't like that. On the contrary, his passing isn't very good so if he were to play he may disrupt Xavi and Iniesta's midfield dictatorship.

     Up top, the usual for Barca. Sagna will have to deal with David Villa, and I think he will deal with him fairly well, since Eboue did alright. However, communication between Sagna and the rest of the defense will be key tonight when Villa drifts inward.
     Then there is Clichy vs. Pedro and Dani Alves. Last time out we didn't see much of Pedro, but we did see a lot of Alves, especially when Arshavin came on in the first leg and pushed Nasri over to the right flank. Not only that, but when Alves came far up the pitch, Clichy seemed unaware and therefore his positioning was poor. I think the difficulty of Clichy's job depends on who plays in front of him.
     And then there's Messi. Last time out Koscielny had a brilliant match, and quite oddly kept Messi fairly quiet. Hopefully Koscielny can replicate his performance, but it's hard to replicate perfection.

     There are some people that will try to make comments about Fabregas's 'faithfulness' and his 'dedication'. Thankfully the skipper has silenced all of the stupid, beaten to deat comments by saying this:

“I am not here to shut up comments or to beat anyone specifically, I am just here to win for Arsenal Football Club. Sometimes I don’t understand these reactions or comments about people saying I want this or I feel this. I want to win for Arsenal and that’s it. I don’t put anything extra in my head because I play against Barcelona in the Nou Camp. It is a special game for everyone because it is a special stadium and we play against a good team. That’s it. It's one more game that we want to win. I don't like people talking about what I feel. Only I know what I feel. I want to do my best for Arsenal, and that is it. "I just want to do well tomorrow, to keep improving myself and for the team. That is all."

     Very well put, and I must say I am more than pleased with that quote. He shows hom much Arsenal means to him, and despite the fact he wants to one day play for Barcelona, he will let that moment wait.

     But I don't want this match to be about Cesc; we need to focus on earning a draw or defeating Barcelona. My predicted scoreline is 1-1, and I usually like to name the scorer, but I have no clue. What do you think the scoreline will be? Comment and tell me.

     So now let's talk some tactics.
     As we all know, we are no Inter Milan side that can go to the Nou Camp and simply defend for an entire match. We are by defintion an attacking side, so that's what we'll do. When we have the ball, I expect we will try our best to play the possesion game, and that we won't commit many players forward, especially Clichy and Sagna.
     As we did in the Emirtaes, I also expect that we will keep a high line to try and stop Barca from possesing the ball in our third to the best of our ablity. There is no doubt they will do so, and what's most important is that we don't lose our shape, to not get distracted by the fluid movement of Barca's forwards.
     When we can, we will counter attack, and I think it's our best chance of scoring. Arshavin scored the winning goal two weeks ago via a counter attack, and with the pace of our wing players we should be a real threat. Therefore, I doubt Keita/Mascherano will venture too far forward, along with Maxwell. I'm sure Alves will not restrain himeslf from going forward though, and that's why I think the player chosen for left wing will have a hugely important part to play in the match.
     It's our time tomorrow. We have come so far with such a young squad, and I think we deserve to adavnce past Barcelona.
     Have yourself a good Tuesday, and hopefully a good Wednesday (night) as well.

Arsenal 0 Sunderland 0 - A Golden Chance Wasted

When Arshavin WASN'T offside and scored.

 
     So, as you may have noticed, Arsenal has once again dropped points at home to a side that we shouldn't have had too much trouble with, even with some important players injured.
     Of those players, Cesc, RvP, Theo, and Song. As a result, Bendtner was put up top with Nasri and     Arshavin.
     In defense, we were back to the normal line-up; it was good to see Koscielny back, and he will definitely be fit for Barcelona.
     In the midfield, Wilshere took up Cesc's spot and Denilson and Diaby were the two holding players. Personally, I was not happy with that. I can't remember the last time I've been happy with a Denilson performance. Defensively he is poor, and going forward he is nonexistent. At times I feel he just sits at the center circle and picks his nose. Just a theory, though. None the less, I was happy to see Wilshere in the central attacking midfield role. It's his future position, and I looked forward to seeing how he would do.

     I was disappointed. In the first 20 or so minutes, we didn't create much going forward, and I think that was down to Jack. He didn't check to the ball enough, he didn't drop back far enough to pick up the ball, and simply did not get involved with the play. Some say that this was down to the players around him. I think not. Wenger put him in his "natural" position, but I believe that Jack left his "comfort zone" and therefore wasn't exactly sure on how to play this position, believe it or not. I understand that his natural position is central attacking midfield, but he didn't really show it.

     For nearly the entire first half, we created little and never had tempo to our play. A Nasri shot here and a Bendtner shot there was all that we managed to muster, really. Late in the first half though, we finally seemed to find our feet. A nice ball from Wilshere sent Nik into the penalty area and his tight angled shot was saved by Mignelot. Lovely.

     So half time came and I was worried. It was poor on our part and we needed a goal fast to get rid of the nerves.
     One of the main reasons why I think we didn't attack well was a result of the partnership of Diaby and Denilson. Diaby can go forward well, but he didn't do so that often. When we have our regular midfield partnership of Cesc-Wilshere-Song, and we go forward, Song sits deepest, Wilshere joins the attack and Cesc does his thing. So, it kind of looks like this:

                         Cesc
Wilshere

                Song

     When we do defend, Song and Wilshere are square. Wilshere is good defensively, despite his physical stature.
     What we as Arsenal fans like most about Wilshere is how good he is at going forward. He effects our attack so much not only because of his creativity, but also because the timing of his runs forward. He knows when to join the attack and when to play the simple pass or to take a risk to play the defense splitting ball.
     Diaby meanwhile is a different story. Defensively, he is better than Wilshere solely because of his physicality, not because of his tactical awareness. But when Diaby goes forward, his runs are sporadic and his timing is off. I felt that against Sunderland he upset our attack and because of his runs forward we had trouble finding fluency. As a result, we didn't upset Sunderland's defense, and distort their shape. Poor decision from Wenger I feel.
     Anyway, onto the second half.

     We seemed to continue with the shit play we had from the opening minutes of the first half. Sloppy in possession, and unable to hold onto the ball to create an organized attack.

    Therefore, Wenger unsurprisingly replaced Denilson with Chamakh. Hence, Chamakh went up to the central striker role, Bendtner went to the wide right, and Nasri took up his most natural position as the central attacking midfielder.
     Immediately, we created a chance. Chamakh squared the ball into the box for Arshavin, and his shot was straight at Mignelot. Had Chamakh's pass been better (lighter and not bobbing off the ground like a fucking rabbit) Arshavin may have been able to get a better shot off and scored.

     Koscielny was then fouled by Sessegnon right outside their penalty box, Nasri took it and once again Mingelot was there with a fantastic save. Bollocks. To respond, Wilshere put a beautiful ball into the box which Chamakh headed onto the bar. In all honesty, he should have buried that. It was a somewhat simple chance and being a player with his heading ability, there aren't many excuses.

     Then was the first moment of real controversy. Nasri played Arshavin through, and the Russian was away. Bramble was holding Arshavin back, but he shrugged the challenge off. THEN, Bramble fell to the ground and in a last ditch effort pushed Arshavin in the back right when he took his shot. The shot went wide naturally, and the referee gave no penalty. Is that a fucking joke? How can you be a Premier League official and miss a straight push in the back? Absolute nonsense.

     As a sympathy gift, Arsenal went under real pressure. Welbeck had a brilliant volley that was miraculously turned behind for a corner by Szczesny. On the resulting corner, Henderson found himself completely unmarked and his volley was somehow saved again by Szczesny. It was very, very poor marking from Arsenal, and I don't think Szczesny knew much about Henderson's shot. It hit him square in the chest. If that had gone in, we would have been screwed.

     Immediately after that, we got fucked over AGAIN. The second moment of controversy. Bendtner played an brilliant ball to accompany a PERFECT run by Arshavin, which the Russian took past Mignolet and put in the back of the net. But the goal was never to be. Right from when the pass to Arshavin was made, the linesman put his damn flag up, and he put it up like a rocket. Why, I don't know, because Arshavin was clearly onside. For Christ's sake.

     We applied some late pressure still, with a free kick played in and Nik had a very, very tame header that he really should have done better with. Big Game Bendtner? The name lives in vein.
     After that, a last minute corner which came to Koscielny was headed wide, and the match ended. Two points dropped, and again Arsenal was unable to take advantage of United slipping up.

     As I said previously, we cannot continuously rely on United to drop points. WE need to be in control of this league for once. If we are to win the title this year, I don't want it to be in the fashion where I sit with a radio next to me while I watch Arsenal play and bank on United dropping points. That just shows Arsenal won the title via a last minute Manchester United slip up, not a prestigious Arsenal-underdog-comeback-win.

     The refereeing today was horrendous. I didn't mention it in the second half review, but Anthony Taylor made a lot of poor calls other than the two Arshavin incidents. He handed out a yellow card to Nasri for a nonexistent challenge, while Sunderland continued to make late tackles and on some occasions they got away without a booking. For example: There was an incident where Djourou was up-field and sandwiched between two Sunderland players, one of them Silly Muntari. Muntari challenged for the ball but lead with his elbow. You can't do that! Whether there was any intent or not, as a match official you cannot allow players on "your" pitch to go around elbowing the opposition and getting away with it! God bless me.

     But even with the poor officiating and our poor first half midfield trifecta, you'd have to say we've blown another chance to make up real ground on United. When United lost at Molineux, the "Newcastle Incident" occurred. When they lose to Chelsea, we come up short against Blunderland.
     We CANNOT make a stupid slip up like we did today to side that we should've taken three points off of easily.
     But Dirk Kuyt has given us another bite of the apple. United lost at Anfield earlier today to give us hope. The goal difference between us and the Mancs is just three goals now, and just three points divide us, with a game in hand to the Arsenal.
     Our next match in the league is against West Brom, a side you would expect us to take the three points. This time we have to, and if not, I'm afraid to say it will be much, much more difficult to win this league.
     But we never do things the easy way, do we?

     Anywho, on to player ratings:

• Szczesny - 8.5 - He had a very good game. Although he wasn't called upon often at all, when he was late in the match he made two brilliant saves to keep us in the match, and you could say the title race as well.

• Sagna - 6.5 -  Defensively, he did alright. Early in the match he had some very good chances to put a good cross in, but they were shit. He didn't go forward very well.

• Djourou - 8 - What a rock he was. He too saved us from defeat, and quite simply had a very good match.

• Koscielny - 7.5 - It seems he shrugged off all the nerves we expected him to have from the cup final. Defensively he was slightly above par, but he went forward on many occasions and it seemed very effective because it distorted Sunderland's defensive shape.

• Clichy - 7.5 - I thought he had a good and bad game. Defensively, I thought he was very poor. He let Sessegnon get the better of him on a few occasions, but when he went forward he looked very confident.

• Denilson - 6 - I want him out this summer, and I think he will be once Benik Afobe, Henri Lansbury, and others come back. Defensively he was poor and he didn't go forward enough. He just slows us down I feel. He gave the ball away in our own half far too many times to be an Arsenal player.

• Diaby - 6.5 - He too was poor. I was expecting a good performance based on what he did on Wednesday night, but he let me down. His runs forward weren't productive, and he took too long to get rid of the ball.

• Wilshere - 7.5 - A good but slightly disappointing performance. I expected more from him when he played in Cesc's position, but he looked uncomfortable and confused. However, when he dropped back to his normal position once Denilson went off, we really applied pressure on Sunderland. Hardly a coincidence.

• Nasri - 8 - What a waste to have him play wide. When he drifted inside he was deadly, and looked our most likely to score. When he played in the central role we were dangerous.

• Bendtner - 7 - Big Game Bendtner? Not as I hoped. He had some half chances, and didn't take them.

• Arshavin - 7.5 - In the first half he was very quiet, credit to Anton Ferdinand. In the second period he was pushed in the penalty area which should have resulted in a penalty. Not only that but he scored a legitimate goal that was wrongly ruled offside.

• Chamakh - 7.5 - When he came off the bench he had an immediate impact. We were a different side when he came on, but he really should have scored his chance instead of hitting the woodwork. If he scored, he would be a hero.

• Rosicky - 7 - Hard to judge. When he came on our passing was better, but you could say that was due to Wilshere and Nasri.

• Wenger - 7 - Dissapointing. His side failed to win the match, and his half time team talk seemed to have little effect. He shouldn't have started Denilson and Diaby together, but his substitutions were smart and we immediately pressed Sunderland for a goal. But in Arsene We Trust.

     Speaking of Wenger, after the match he was interviewed by BBC and asked about the two controversial calls. He said that he was too disgusted to speak about them. He didn't say anything offensive towards the FA or the match officials, unlike "Sir" Alex. That just shows the class of Wenger and Arsenal as a whole once again.

     Also, those of you that were worried about Jack, he is fine, and will be fit to play against Barcelona. on the other side of the pond, Puyol is injured and will miss the match. Why? Because they rushed him back into the fray. We took an extra precaution with Cesc, and now he's fit to play. Stupid Barca.

     In other news, Kyle Bartley scored for Rangers to earn them three points. He starts and has played in the Old Firm derby and against Sporting Lisbon. It looks like his development is coming along nicely. I can't wait to have him back next year.

     That's that I think. We now have Barcelona on Tuesday, which I feel may be why we dropped points. Perhaps the players had one eye on Camp Nou, when both of their eyes needed to be on defeating Sunderland. All the same, let's put the game behind us, move on, and prepare for Barca.
     Be sure to check back for a preview of that match, and don't forget to comment and tell me your thoughts on the match, or the post. Or both! Your choice.
     'Till then.

Blunderland Preview, Ramsey's Back, Congrats Wenger!



The best goal Cesc has ever scored for the club. Made me laugh.

      Well then. A fantastic win on Wednesday and we can now look ahead to playing United in the quarterfinals. For now, we have to focus on the league.

     United slipped up to Chelsea on Tuesday night and as a result we are four points behind them but with a game in hand. Therefore, if we beat Sunderland the difference between us and the Mancs is just a point. Not only that, but United takes a trip to an on form Anfield side without Nemanja Vidic. As a result, they might play with Johnny Evans. God bless them. Hopefully, United will slip up there as well and we can be in control of the Premier League.

     But I'm no Manchester United blogger. I'm a Proud Gooner. Let's stay on task.
     Being an Arsenal fan, we're more than used to injuries by now. None the less, it would be nice to have a vacant medical room for once.
    
     Apparently Cesc is fit enough to play Sunderland, but my guess is he'll be rested as a precaution. It's much more important he plays in the Barcelona match, and Arsenal as a club doesn't like to rush players back into the fray after an injury.

     So, we're missing Song, RvP, Cesc, and Theo.
     Without Song, I expect Diaby to step in, and I'm not too worried about that. Diaby had a fantastic performance on Wednesday night, even though it was against Orient. His physical presence is key and he will be the guardian for our back four.
     Without Walcott, Nasri will take up his post, and that's not a bad replacement, is it?
     Without Cesc, Rosicky should step in, and hopefully he has recovered from his concussion he received in the Orient match. Not only that, hopefully the performance he will put in will make me like him.
     Finally, without van Persie I expect Bendtner to get the call, and I think Wenger already told us that by taking the Big Dane off Wednesday night. Not only that, how about another hat trick Nik, eh?

     Wenger said that Ramsey will be in the squad to face Sunderland. I myself, don't think that Ramsey will start. He's not going to beat Wilshere out for a spot, and I highly doubt he'd take Song's spot. Ramsey and Wilshere as holding midfielders wouldn't be defensive solidity.
     If Ramsey were to start, I'd then expect Rosicky to be dropped and Wilshere to play in Fabregas's position. However, I highly doubt that.
     That being said, this is my predicted line-up:

                        Bendtner
    Arshavin                             Nasri  
                         Rosicky

               Wilshere      Diaby

Clichy     Koscielny     Djourou     Sagna

                         Szczesny

     Those of you that say Szczesny shouldn't start because of his blunder on Sunday, you're off your rocker. That's all I have to say about that. If you don't see why Szczesny should start over Almunia, I'm not going to try to explain to you why.

    
     While we suffer from injuries, Sunderland does as well. In fact, they're screwed, because they're missing:

1. Zenden (MF)
2. Welbeck (FW)
3. Gordon (GK)
4. Cattermole (MF)
5. Turner (DF)
6. Onuoha (DF)
7. Meyler (MF)

     Clearly they don't have their full squad, so that plays into our favor, including the fact that they've never won at the Emirates. Not only that, but Blunderland has lost it's last four matches. Brilliant!
     And we won't have to worry about Bent, either. That slippery little cash monkey has moved to Villa. Quite the step up, isn't it? The only real threat I foresee is Baby Jet. 
     Oh and this is slightly random, but have a look at this. Hahaha. Cute.
    
     We all remember what happened earlier in the season at the Stadium of Light. Cesc's weird goal, Rosicky missing his penalty to seal the match, and Darren Bent scoring a last gasp goal to share the points with us.
     We didn't exactly perform well on that day, but that match was away from home. Saturday is at the Emirates, and a chance to redeem ourselves.
     While Blunderland is a decent side with a fantastic home record, their away record is shit. Under Steve Bruce this season, they've only won three matches away from home. Hahaha. Cute.
     Some people are underestimating the importance of this match. In my eyes, it is the most important match of the season. You can argue that the home match against Chelsea was a "coming of age" win, (which it was) but I feel that defeating Blunderland asks much more from the squad. In terms of the upcoming match against United at the Emirates, the importance of that match comes down to our performance against Blunderland.
 
     I view this match similar to the cup final against Brum. The majority of people expected us to win the match, and the pressure I think brought us to defeat.
     Beating Sunderland is a must for the squad. The pressure is now upon us, and if we lose this match I can't see us winning the league. United is a great team, lets not be naive. But we can't win this league by simply waiting for United to slip up. We need to be in control and show that we are worthy winners of the Premier League.

     The players are being asked a lot to deal with the pressure of taking the three points from Sunderland. If the lads can do so, I think it will prove that we are worthy of winning the title.
     So, my prediction is 3-0 to the Arsenal. It may be asking a lot, but I have faith in the squad. Comment and tell me your thoughts. What do you think the scoreline will be?

     In other news, Wenger won manager of the month for February. He certainly looks happy about it, doesn't he?



'Say cheese!'
'No.'


     He's only won it 11 times, though. What bollocks. He should have won it a gazillion times. He will win it more in the future. Don't worry.

     Something else I'm suprised about is that RvP hasn't won Player of the Month for February! Is this a joke? How does Scotty Parker get it? Anyone who has a haircut like that and where's shorts almost as short as Joey Barton does not deserve an award!

UGH.

     Now I hate do it, but I have to bring us Arsenal fans back to the cup final loss. Clichy said this:

"First of all, on behalf of all the players we want to say sorry to the fans because it was a trophy we should have won and could have won [as] everyone would agree that Arsenal is a better side than Birmingham."

     Also, despite his momentary paralysis after scoring his goal, it seems he is slightly selfish now! Brilliant stuff all the same:

"My goal is even better than Nicklas’ hat-trick, it’s my second goal in I don’t know how many games so I guess this goal is more important than [his] hat-trick [but] I’m really happy for him, the team and of course myself."

     Well done Clichy, because one goal is greater than three, no matter how often you score.

     Something else interesting: Sunderland's website has a fan section where they predict the scoreline/outcome of the match. One picked Sunderland to win. The man looks like an unemployed Rafa Benitez.
     Wait a second...

     That's all for today. Be sure to comment and tell me your thoughts! And don't forget to check back for a review of the Blunderland match.
     Have a fantastic Saturday.