Month: March 2008

Arsenal Comeback At Bolton, Still In It…

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal

Wow, what a result that was against Bolton!?! 3-2!!!

Never our favourite place to travel to, the Reebok Stadium must have been in ecstasy as Martin Taylor put them in front, we had Diaby sent off and then Taylor scored again.

Being away I had to follow it from the text updates on the BBC… It was a bit like using Teletext in the old days. There was some frantic page refreshing, and I was pretty despondent by half time. The 3 goals we got came out of the blue for me. Gallas, then Van Persie’s penalty and then Fabregas’ last minute winner!! What a way to win.

We played poorly at times it seems, but the result and the way we got it can only have a positive effect on the team. It was only spoiled by the fact that Man U killed Villa 4-0, Chelsea escaped with 3 points after Middlesbrough hit the post 3 times at Stamford Bridge, and Liverpool beat Everton, the only goal scored by none other than Torres.

I think there’s less than 30% chance that we can win the title now. Man U are really on a roll and even if we beat them we would still need them to drop more points, not mentioning Chelsea who still have a point more than us.

The results from our games against Liverpool and then Man U will be crucial. Then we will have to see what result is best for us the Chelsea Man U game.

Nevertheless we are still challenging for the Champions League and the Premiership and we have proved that we can perform at the top level this year. I love our team and Wenger and the ethos of the club. Maybe a few well thought out signings this summer will help us.

In any case it’s all to play for, and the result from Bolton has renewed my optimism!

Middlesbrough Draw Keeps It Tight At The Top

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal

I am feeling pretty low about the result at the weekend.

It was similar to many games during the last few seasons, where we have started brightly enough, but never really got out of 2nd gear and dozed off after our initial spurt. The doziness on this occasion meant a long freekick found Tuncay who got away from Toure and crossed for Aliadiere to score, while Gallas was left claiming offside rather than defending.

This is the sort of mistake which will cost us and there is the possibility that we could finish 3rd this season with no trophies as Chelsea are only 3 points behind us and they have a game in hand. It really is very close between the top 3 and we have chosen the wrong time to dip in form.

We didn’t look right on Saturday, Sagna had a funny game and he has been a consistent performer for us this year, it was mirrored by the team, Eboue was our best performer which says something, possibly?? Theo made a good contribution to the game when he came on the right to replace Sagna, Eboue moving to right back. We did plug away in the second half, leaving it very late to get the goal. Toure’s header was a moment of ecstacy in a dour game by our standards. The goal was satisfying but there was always the feeling we should have claimed 3 points. Many decisions went against us and the refereeing at times was shocking, but theres not much we can do about that now and its not really an excuse..

In other news, Gilberto says he may leave at the end of the season if he doesn’t regain his place, I think it is likely that he will be off.

Anyway, I can’t face writing much more.. Onwards to Stamford Bridge, I will be praying..

From Milan to Wigan: 0-0

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal

Much has happened during the past 7 days! Beating AC and then dropping 2 points up at Wigan yesterday. It has been up and down. Euphoria on Tuesday, and then reality check on Sunday!

The result against Wigan was a disappointing 0-0 on an atrocious pitch, with Wigan battling hard and doing a good job of really limiting our passing and chances. Wenger’s post-match interview here.

We started with Fabregas on the right, Walcott injured himself in a behind closed doors match against Colorado Rapids earlier in the week. We seem to be suffering from a lack of wingers at the moment! Gilberto and Flamini in the middle, Senderos kept his place in defence. Good news is that Toure and Van Persie both started on the bench and then came on to play a part. You can argue that maybe it was unwise to play Walcott in the friendly with our current injury problems, it probably was, but that only comes with hindsight.

Within the fi<rst minute we could have gone ahead with Adebayor clear on goal, but Kirkland made a good save to keep it level. During the first half we played well we did lack width in midfield, and Gilberto played quite poorly in the centre. Nevertheless we had some good chances and seemed to be on good form.

The bad condition of the pitch, and Wigan's fighting mentality saw us go into half time nil-nil. The second half saw us lose momentum and dominance, possibly a bit drained after the win in Milan. Van Persie came on for Bendtner, nice to see him back, but he did look a bit rusty. Toure also came on for Gilberto, Fabregas moved inside and we had Toure on the right.

All in all, we dominated the first half, but had limited chances, and Wigan upped their game in the second half, we still were frustrated in attack whilst they kept us busy defensively with some good work by Valencia on Wigan's right. Fabregas had a great chance blocked by Kirkland's legs in the final stages. It was quite depressing really, by stoppage time although we had made some inroads, Wigan renewed their attack and might have even nicked a goal on the break.

It seems like we dropped 2 points, but that is the nature of the game. The press may make a big deal of every game we don't win but at the moment we are 2 points ahead. Man U may have a game in hand at Derby, but a win there only gives them a one point advantage. Unusually I have some praise for Andy Gray's commentary, he played down the hype about our league form and pointed out that the race is very close, and defintely not over yet!!

MOTD 2 picked up on Bendtner and Adebayor not linking up well, this was true at times, but maybe it just wasn't our day. Senderos deserves a mention, he has lacked in confidence in recent years and taken a lot of stick, but the guy is on form, and he kept Toure off the team sheet. Good on you Phil.

To cheer all you up: Tuesday, March 4th, the San Siro, that has to go down as one of our great European nights, I just watched the highlights hereat Gunnerblog. That made me feel better! Fabregas’ goal was fantastic, and we totally outplayed the current champions, and they admitted it. It was great to see Walcott run clear of Kaladze to cross for Adebayor to get his first goal for us in the CL. Pity he couldn’t get another against Wigan.

This post wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the FA Cup this year:

Barnsley 1- 0 Chelsea

Man U 0 – 1 Portsmouth; against all the odds, Man U ended up with Ferdinand in goal after Van der Sar’s injury and Kusczcak(?spelling!) was sent off. Fergie went mental about the ref.

Middlesborough 0 – 2 Cardiff

Bristol Rovers 1 – 5 West Brom

Amazing results, only one Premiership side in the semi’s for the first time in 100 years. All the big four out; it’s up for grabs.

Middlesbrough at home this weekend, another team fighting for their lives in the Premiership.

Arsenal Snatch A Vital Point

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal3 Comments

The game on Saturday was not the best I have seen Arsenal play this season, 1-1 against Aston Villa. I would have been disappointed with that result had you asked me before the game, afterwards I think I will take the point. Villa are a team who are very hard to beat and we did struggle at times, 1 point is better than none!

To see the highlights click here.

Villa scored in the 28th minute through a Senderos own goal. Gallas lost Agbonlahor while trying to claim offside and the England U-21 striker put in a low cross which bounced off Senderos at the near post and past Almunia. It was disappointing and we did seem jaded to be honest. At points I though Gallas looked really lost and the same for Adebayor. Although in the opening 15 minutes we didn’t play badly, once Villa had taken the lead they played well, with very organised defence and made a lot of quick counter attacks utilising the height of Carew and Agbonlahor as well as the pace of Ashley Young.

Clichy looked quiet for much of the second half, he did his job but normally he does rampage up and down the flank, he looked a little subdued, whether that was because of last week or because Ashley Young was a handful I don’t know. In any case things were looking desperate as the second half went on. Theo had made some good moves in the first half, and played well on the right cutting in but little came of our attacks. Bendtner came on for a struggling Diaby and made some difference, but the bench looked sparse, Arseblog seems a little worried about this, and true, when I saw Gilberto and Denilson come on for Flamini and Senderos I did think it looked like a sign of a threadbare squad. In any case we kept pushing for the equaliser. As I counted down the minutes of extra time and the stadium emptied disgracefully(a very sad and annoying sight which shouldn’t be happening to a great and successful team like Arsenal), I became more and more nervous, there was still some hope, and in what must have been the last 10 seconds, just as the Villa fans started singing in celebration at their victory, Clichy put a deep cross into Adebayor at the back post who headed it down for Bendtner to control and finish from the edge of the 6-yard box.. The relief was incredible, everyone went crazy and it felt good to get something so so late out of a game which looked lost!!

Wenger said after the game:

“We had a hangover from last week definitely – you could see that in the first-half…I must say that I was impressed by Villa. Until the last minute they didn’t give us any space, or time on the ball and they are team who are very difficult to beat…I believe the point we gained today will have a big impact on the Premier League, and staying top helps. You know you go through a spell like that and I believe that the point gained can have vital importance.”

That point could indeed be crucial, now that we are sitting only one ahead of Man U in the table. This title race is one of the most tightly contested of recent years, it doesn’t make for easy watching!! Arsene makes a good point that even going through a bad spell we are still gaining some points, its good to see the likes of Bendtner and Theo getting the crucial goals when others aren’t playing so well, Gunnerblog picked up on that here.

One bad point that Wenger picked up on was the Villa fans singing songs about Eduardo which weren’t so nice. I heard them myself and really it was just sad. Wenger says:

“You expect better from people who come to football stadiums. It looks that intelligence and stupidity can have no limits. Unfortunately stupidity has won.”

There was some trouble between fans after the chants and several have been arrested, one Aston Villa fan is in hospital for head injuries after falling down steps according to the Telegraph.


We have to face Milan at the San Siro midweek now, the players will have too pick themselves up for this game, we are the underdogs, but that will suit us. Milan are masters of two-legged matches and we will have to aim for a goal, meaning they wll have to push forward and get two. That might give us more room to counter attack, but we shall see how Wenger plays it. Hopefully some of our injured players like Robin VP will be back, but that doesn’t look too promising at the moment. We shall have to wait and see.