Author: jamesgillesp

Arsenal Vs. Liverpool Champions League. Match 3 of 3

On By jamesgillespIn Champions League3 Comments

So you all must be getting a bit bored with Liverpool.

I am.

Wenger Benitez, Head to head Part III

Wenger and Benitez Head To Head Part III. Arguably the most important tie of the three too!

CL Quarter Final First Leg 1-1.

Second Leg = Anfield:

We need to win, I don’t want to hype it up too much but this is our best chance of silverware this season and Wenger knows it.

He fielded a weakened team presumably because he wanted to be fresh for this game. Although interestingly did not rest Cesc or the Flamster who really need a break.

I would like to see us go for this line up:

Almunia

Toure Gallas Senderos Clichy

Walcott Cesc Flamini Diaby

Hleb

Adebayor

UPDATE 16:04: I reckon Robin Van Persie will start, after being rested and being included in the squad, Wenger may push Hleb back to midfield instead of Diaby and put RVP upfront.

I think having 5 in midfield with Hleb pushing forward into the hole has given us some good performances in Europe and an attack-minded bench would give us extra options should we need a late goal.

I expect Arsene to go with Eboue on the right possibly though, given recent patterns.

RvP is in the squad, so will probably be on the bench.

Arsene’s Pre-Match comments here:

“We did have a dip recently. But football is strange. Defeat is not unthinkable; you have to accept you might lose. But what is important is that you believe you can win. We have the belief that we can win anywhere in the world. And if I didn’t believe we could win the Champions League, I wouldn’t be here.”

It’s good to hear that Wenger has that belief and I think we all do. We have the ability to go through to the Semis but we need to actually make it happen on the pitch and at Anfield that is easier said than done.

Lets go Gunners.

Liverpool Part Two Over, Part Three Is Crucial..

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal

If we had fielded a stronger side on Saturday then we might have gained ground on Man U who drew 2-2 with Middlesbrough. If we had beaten Liverpool then we would have been only 4 points behind them.

Goodplaya says we should make some interesting selection changes in an article here.

As it stands now we are still 6 points off the top, with little realistic chance of the title whatever Wenger says!

The Champions League seems to be our main priority now and tomorrow night we go to Anfield knowing that a win will put us through. Liverpool will probably sit back and defend their away goal, but try to hit us on the break. We have the talent to do it but I am 50/50 on our chances of going through.

Rosicky probably out for the rest of the season now, but RvP is in the squad for tuesday night.

In the end we have achieved a lot this season but lost a great chance for silverware, the squad is too thin really and not up to the strain of a full season, we are tiring now and because of that our performances have dropped.

We have dropped off the top of the League, out of the FA Cup, out of the League Cup and now have a small ray of hope in the Champions League, but we are definitely the underdogs there.

I think we have played amazingly this season and hope for even better next year. But mathmatically we can still win the League and the CL is still open, so lets not get too down yet…

Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal

Pretty disappointing yesterday.

1-1 conceded yet again.

Just hope we can do it at Anfield, to be honest we could because we have dominated the second half of both the last two games. If we don’tit looks unlikely that we will get anysilverware this season.

Not much time right now, fuller post tomorrow.

Bye Gooners.

Who Else Wants To Beat Liverpool? Round Two

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal

Today, Arsenal Vs. Liverpool 12.45pm, Ashburton Grove..

RVP won’t start due to his injury problems…

Mascherano is suspended baecause of his red card against Man U.

Gunnerslive has predicted line-ups here.

He’s hoping Walcott will start on the right ahead of Eboue and so am I because Eboue has really contributed very little this year and I think most people would agree.

Wenger Says:

“There are no problems with Adebayor.”

So that means he will start, fatigued or not, I think that’s our best option. Arsenal-mania reports here that he feels less jaded and ready to go, which is good news!

Wenger also said:

“I believe they will make changes, I am convinced of that. I am not sure whether Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres will play…I believe we can still win the title. Manchester United are an excellent team but they can still lose points… Everything is still possible but the main thing for us is to win our games.”

So optimistic from Wenger, but he knows the position, it is unlikely that we can win the League, but statistically it is still possible.

Some news on Eduardo here from Arsenal Analysis: It seems he is making a better recovery than hoped, and ‘fingers-crossed’ could be back as early as September.

Arsenal Blog thinks Flamini should put pen to paper sooner than later, I have to agree! Click here to read. Insidearsenal agrees here! with a mention of the ticket touts at Ashburton Grove hype that has built up recently in the media.

Arsenal News Review gives some stats analysis here ahead of the game. Interestingly it really proves that we outpassed Liverpool the other night, I just hope we don’t come to regret not taking our chances in the second leg.

But back to today’s game, I will be there, Block 5 Gooners.

Lets get some atmosphere going and get behind the team today!

Almunia & Should Arsene Invest In A Striker?

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal2 Comments

Two men have signed a new contract at Arsenal.. No Flamini isn’t one.. It’s Manuel and Fran Merida. The man who has taken Lehmann’s spot this season and performed well as the new ‘No.1’ or at least I think so, and our young Spanish prodigy currently on loan in Spain with Real Sociedad.

I said earlier in the season that I wasn’t sure if Almunia was a long term option in goal but the more he plays the more I feel he is a solid part of the team. His deal is long term and Almunia himself said:

“I talked to my wife and I said I did not want to go back to Spain to play. Hopefully I can finish my career here”

Most goals we concede are due to defensive errors and generally this season I think he has done a sterling job. Well done Manny!

Injury news ahead of Saturday is that, Van Persie is only 20% certain to play, and Adebayor also has a slight knock which Wenger will review today.

Recently while reading some forum posts, I came across an interesting post about our strikers, basically saying that we need the chequebook out this summer to sign some strikers. I thought I’d give my own opinions and find out yours.

Adebayor: Works hard all over the pitch, sometimes a little too hard. Has definitely got the talent to perform at the highest level. Scored 19 league goals this season, but has come in for a bit of stick recently. I think it’s undeserved, he has had many different partners this year and has often had to lead the attack on his own. He’s a versatile, pacy player who has a great future.

Van Persie: Well, a man with a lethal left foot and bags of talent, but hasn’t had the chance to shine due to terrible injury problems. I saw his appearance stats and he has only played about as many games as Justin Hoyte, not really a first-team player, in his time here. Flashes of brilliance i.e. volley against Charlton last season, but needs to be injury-free to really be useful.

Walcott: Great potential for the future, pacy, intelligent and able to score goals. He got off the mark, in the League , against Birmingham in that 2-2 draw this year and is certainly a bright hope. I think he has warranted a starting position, at least on the right wing for his recent performances. Maybe not ready for the pressure of being a first choice striker?

Bendtner: Another one with great potential, but he hasn’t lived up to it, occasionally we have seen great things, his aerial ability, great control and touch and a good ability to make space, but he is still young and needs to mature.

Eduardo: He was starting to get into his goalscoring role before his injury and looked like the goalscorer we have been looking for, out for 9 months now after his horrific leg-break, hopefully he will come back with goals, but you can never be certain he will be the same player.

So in summary, Ade, a great player – needs a good partner up front. RVP, injury prone, but could perform. Walcott and Bendtner – great potential but need more experience, and Eduardo is out injured for a long period.

It seems to me that Arsene should consider making an investment in the summer… What do you think? Feel free to get involved, just leave a comment!

Arsenal 1 – 1 Liverpool Reaction

On By jamesgillespIn Champions League1 Comment

World of Arsenal has a good match report here

It seems like we should have won. 1-1 is not an awful result, but the away goal most definitely gives Liverpool the advantage going into the Second leg at Anfield.

I watched the highlights on the net, click here to see them.

Goals: Adebayor ’23, Kuyt ’26

It seems that we dominated much of the match. Hleb had a good appeal for a penalty denied, and Bendtner blocked Cesc’s shot on the line by accident, but was offside anyway. It’s frustrating that when we play well at home we still draw, and the goal we conceded was pretty weak, Flamini lost the ball, there were a few weak challenges on Gerrard, who managed to get a cross in to Kuyt who bundled it over the line.

Wenger:

“The whole second half we played in one half. I cannot fault the players. We were unlucky under a few circumstances…If you look at the amount of possession we had tonight compared to Liverpool, it is frightening”

Disappointingly Van Persie went off with a thigh strain, Wenger says it was a precaution against a recurrence of his previous injury. Robin really is quite injury prone at the moment. I just hope he gets it fixed. Theo came on for him and did well, he really is starting to make a good claim for a starting position, he has a good impact whenever he comes on for us.

We are still in a good position to go through, this is a mental test for us as Wenger said. Now we face Liverpool on Saturday at home in the Premiership, I think the way this game goes could influence the 2nd leg of the Quarter Final. We definitely have the talent to do well in the next 2 games against the Scousers, but how the games actually go is another matter!

In Wenger’s words:

“Its a little bit a survival battle, you know? The one who is still good after three games is the one who is the better team.”

Arsenal

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.