Category: FA Cup

Arsenal troubles: Retain Wenger and strengthen the squad

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Champions League, FA Cup, History, Transfers8 Comments

This season has been Wenger’s most difficult one at Arsenal, he’s had to cope with an inexperienced squad, injuries, impatient fans, player strops, and at the end of it he has still managed to ensure that we squeezed into the big time yet again next season, as well as taking us to the last 4 in Europe and an FA Cup semi-final.

Now he has to put up with harsh questioning from fans at the Shareholders meeting, and endless speculation that he will leave to go to Real Madrid.

Personally I think it would be awful for Wenger to go. His work isn’t finished at Arsenal and there is more to come. A barren patch is just that – a patch – and we are going to come out of this.

The main thing we need is to learn the lessons of the past two seasons – both fell apart due to a lack of depth in the squad.

We need to sign quality players with experience as Arshavin is asking for:

“We must buy in the summer. Not more potential, but players who are ready to do it now, players like me.

“We need two or three. If Arsenal want to win, they have to do it. We are tired of waiting.

“I believe that out of the top four English teams, when it comes to football, Arsenal are the best.

“They have the best style and the best coach. At the moment, young players come to Arsenal because they see it as a very big team, but if we carry on like this without winning trophies, young players will not want to come.

“Everyone likes the appeal of Arsenal, the football of Arsenal, the young players of Arsenal, but if there is no result they will stop.”

Action has to be taken – sell Adebayor to Milan if that is what it takes, and bring in several new players. Ade has potential, but he doesn’t seem happy at the club – as shown by his interview on the BBC. Best thing we can do is get a large sum of money for him.

He is the only player I could tolerate leaving, if any more go then we are looking at another season of disappointment – and disillusionment among the team.

Stick with Wenger though, stability is the key – what is the rush anyway – surely a team built over years which develops to its full potential and is successful over the long term is more preferable to a quick fix?

Time to review Carling Cup strategy following FA Cup defeat

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Carling Cup, FA Cup8 Comments

This is a guest post by Vertino of Gunners Today

It might sound strange to mention this now but it is high time we considered this. Last weekend we lost to Chelsea again in a big cup match. Of course most of the blame was shared between the curious case of Wenger’s team selection and Fabianski’s moments of utter madness but that is not up for debate this time round.

Image courtesy of wjarrettc

From next season I believe Arsene should scrap the policy of fielding an entirely youthful side in the Carling Cup. My excitement on discovering the Arsenal youngsters is tinged with disappointment; a realisation that most of these players for many reasons won’t make it at the Emirates. Cesc is the only player in recent years who has made the transition successfully. In that time we have seen the likes of Quincy, Lupoli, Larsson exit the red half of North London.

Does that mean youngsters shouldn’t get the opportunities? Of course not! For me the only youngsters I want to be seeing are those with outstanding talent and/or with the right mental attributes such as determination and composure. Gibbs is a perfect example of the latter specified criteria.

I am looking at it in terms of percentages, and my suggestion would be to field a lower number of youngsters. Perhaps Arsene could involve only 5-7 youngsters in the entire match squad. Or he could filter the numbers as the stakes increase, so start with 7 youngsters in the 4th round, 6 in the next round etc etc.

If you play the best of the best youth it means the rest of the team is fairly experienced. This playing environment fosters a quicker growth for youngsters. This is exactly why Cesc has gone on to become such a pivotal player for the Gunners because he was able to play and learn with the likes of Vieira and Gilberto. Just imagine how much Wilshere and Ramsey can learn if they play with experienced players all the time.

Remember the best players i.e. Gerrard, Scholes, Carrick, etc had a lot of experience surrounding them when they were young. This is a privilege Denilson, Diaby and Song no longer have. It forces them to learn by themselves, slowing their development a great deal and sometimes exposes them in big matches against more experienced players.

I seriously hope Wenger considers this for next season as his current strategy has yet to pay off in terms of competitions won. In Arsene we trust, but we can question his decisions sometimes, can’t we?

By Vertino

Arsenal – Chelsea: FA Cup semi at the new Wembley

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, FA Cup, Injuries1 Comment

Injuries have defined Arsenal’s season, today’s game at Wembley sees us with a defensive line-up which is scraping the bottom of the barrel. The likely players are Silvestre, Song, Toure, Eboue, with Fabianski in goal. This in itself isn’t awful – all are good defenders – and Silvestre, Toure and Eboue have a combined wealth of experience. Sagna may recover for the game – but at the time of writing he is still ill, while Gibbs hurt his hamstring against Villarreal, in any case the back line will not be full strength.

The problem for me is that this season none of the above are first choice, excepting Toure (and even he has been dropped at times this season). Instability in selection breeds problems and the biggest challenge we face against Chelsea is going to be at the back.

Arsenal Chelsea Carling Cup Final 2007: Image courtesy of Free-ers

I am quietly confident about the game though, Chelsea have been leaking goals recently – in their last 2 games they have conceded 7 – and we are scoring freely at the moment with Arshavin, Walcott, Van Persie and Adebayor all in form. We can outplay them if we fight like we showed against Villarreal.

If, however, Arsenal don’t impose themselves on the game we may see another performance like the first half at Wigan. We need score and take the game to Chelsea.

Personally this will be my first visit to the new Wembley and it will be exciting to see Arsenal play in a national stadium again. Wenger has his concerns about the quality of the playing surface, it is rumoured that it isn’t up to scratch – but at least we are playing first – Man Utd face Everton on Sunday at Wembley giving the pitch just 24 hrs to recover.

To be a successful club you have to beat the best, I’m desparate to see Arsenal prove themselves this season. So much criticism has been levelled at Arsene Wenger and the players, a trophy is the only way to show that we are still a force, winning this game will take us a step closer to that end.

Under Guus Hiddink Chelsea have transformed and they will be threatening – I’m worried about Lampard’s goals from midfield – we are going to have to be on top form to get the right result.

Arsenal 3 – 0 Villarreal (4 – 1 agg.) Through to the semis!

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Champions League, FA Cup, Highlights, Video1 Comment

Arsenal 3 – 0 Villarreal: Walcott 10, Adebayor 60, Van Persie 69 pen. Highlights from Arsenalist.com

I’ve just returned from a glorious Arsenal win against Villarreal. Three goals, and it could have been a lot more the way we were playing!

Image courtesy of wonker

Walcott’s goal after 10 minutes was sublime, a Cesc backheel fooled the defence and Walcott lobbed the onrushing Lopez. I thought it was going out until I saw the back of the net ripple.

Wenger on Walcott:

“We know he can finish but now he is transferring that to the games. His level of confidence has gone up”

The game progressed well and we passed it around nicely. Defensively Toure and Silvestre looked solid in the centre. Gibbs looked alright, although he wasn’t seriously tested, and Eboue did well. In midfield Song was solid, as were the attacking Fabregas, Nasri and Walcott.

We were first to every ball and RVP was back to his best, battling to win the ball and laying it off for Adebayor – his amazing pass set Ade up for his 9th CL goal in as many games.

The final goal was from a penalty, which at the time I thought looked like a foul on Walcott, but seeing the TV replays it seems there wasn’t contact – Theo tripped on the ball. In any case the goal was deserved, and Van Persie put it away – Adebayor and Eboue got him to do their little dance cameo in celebration.

The atmosphere was very good, and it was nice to hear Robert Pires get a standing ovation several times during the match, and at the end of the game, this was his goodbye to the Arsenal fans.

We now face Man Utd in the Semi’s after their 1-0 win over Porto in Portugal from Ronaldo’s 40 yard strike. Wenger commented:

“I would not like speculate on any weakness of Man United. They will be strong on the day, but it should encourage us to be at our best”

It’s going to be an interesting run in – we now face Chelsea twice and Man Utd at least three times in League and Cup competitions combined. Our form is excellent – but this is a huge challenge for the Arsenal team. Their chance to prove themselves is now.

Interviews with Theo Walcott and the Arshavins

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Champions League, FA Cup, Interviews, Transfers1 Comment

There are several interesting interviews in the press at the moment, Theo Walcott talks to both the Mail and the Guardian. In addition both Andrey Arshavin and Yulia Arshavin have been giving their impressions on settling in London, as well as Andrey’s relationship with Guus Hiddink.

In the Walcott interview with Daily Mail they go into a lot of detail. Firstly how Theo took Henry’s number 14 shirt without realising it – Nasri had already taken the number 8, and he wanted a lower number:

“I asked Vic what the options were. And he said I could have 23, 19 or 14. Without thinking I said I’d take the 14, because it was the lowest.”

How much he respected Thierry:

“Thierry was great with me and my family. He’d offer me advice, take an interest, but he’d also speak to my dad a lot as well. He was a real captain in that way, giving his time to the young lads coming through.”

The shoulder problem:

“The problem with my shoulders was something I inherited from my dad,’ he says. ‘The left one would pop out and then pop back in — absolute agony — during almost every game last season, so I had surgery to put it right last summer.”

“But in Berlin Scott Parker gave me a bit of a nudge, I slipped on the wet ground and the right one went. It popped out and popped back in like the left one always did. So I kept going. We were playing Germany the next day and I wanted to be involved.”

“Then, though, I went up for this ball and when I was spinning in the air the shoulder dislocated again. And this time it stayed out. The pain was unbelievable.”

He is now stronger and faster than ever – and his goal against Wigan should bring back some shooting confidence which Theo lacks at times.

Theo also gave an interview to the Guardian, where he comments on what it was like coming to Arsenal and his run at Anfield in the Champions League last year.

Andrey Arshavin was interviewed by the Telegraph. He talked about the upcoming games against Chelsea and his relationship with their manager Guus Hiddink:

“Hiddink gave me a lot in my life, not just in my football life,”

“If he had not taken over the Russian team I would not be here in England. He made us all believe we were strong, he gave us so much. I respect him and I wish him good luck – except in two games, the FA Cup and in the championship.”

This shows the professional side to Arshavin, he respects Hiddink – but when we play Chelsea his only ambition is to win, and I believe him.

On settling in England:

“Now I’m in a hotel. Next week I will move. I have to settle. Everything is difficult. For example, to get an agreement to rent a house. Everybody is speaking and telling me things but afterwards, when I see it on paper, it is not what I heard.

“I think the quality of life, especially for people with money, is better in Russia than here. Here there are lots of rules and laws. In Russia, if you have money, you can break the law.” 

“I’m happy to be here in English football – it is the best league in the world, I am happy with my professional life but I am unhappy in everyday life, it is very difficult for me. I don’t understand why people do things, or say things, it is a little bit strange. I am alone for the first time in my life, I never left St Petersburg before.”

We also hear Yulia Arshavin’s views on settling in England. Including denial of the negative comments she allegdly made about London:

“To get started, I actually did not speak anything bad about London. Moreover I liked the city especially after the Russian-speaking tour guide took us round”

She likes the match-day hospitality at Ashburton Grove and she enjoys the atmosphere:

“When Andrey takes the ball the whole stadium is already buzzing. There is a simultaneous cry and you feel a total emotional wave”

So the Arshavins are happy at Arsenal, although England is obviously a bit strange for them – they have always lived in St. Petersburg. I’m sure that they will be more settled. As long as Arshavin keeps playing the way he is at the moment I’m sure he will stay happy!

Wigan 1 – 4 Arsenal Highlights, Arshavin’s Magic!

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Champions League, FA Cup, Highlights, Injuries2 Comments

Wigan Ath 1 – 4 Arsenal: Mido 18, Walcott 61, Silvestre 71, Arshavin 90, Song 90. Highlights at Arsenalist.com.

Arsenal came back from a goal down against Wigan to claim all three points in front of 22000 at the JJB Stadium.

Image courtesy of Paul Holloway

Mido’s early goal gave Wigan the lead, but Walcott equalised after 60 minutes, thanks to Arshavin’s skill in the box. Then Arshavin played a through ball to Fabregas who set up Silvestre to score on the edge of the 6 yard line. 2-1!

Arsenal countered for their 3rd goal – Arshavin picking up a poor clearance on the edge of the box to slot home, and Alex Song of all people dribbled past two Wigan players and into the box before shooting to make it four!

A fantastic result for us – just a pity that Man Utd and Chelsea both scraped wins against Sunderland and Bolton.

Injury Worries

We also lost Djourou to injury which worries me. We are already suffering after losing Gallas and Clichy. Today we ended up with Gibbs and Silvestre playing in defence – as long as we keep winning it isn’t a problem – but defensive instability was the reason we leaked so many goals earlier this season.

Champions League Qualification

Wenger said before the game that the league was the priority for the future, the Champions League and the FA Cup the immediate priority. This victory took us a step closer to Champions League qualification, as well as keeping us on the tails of the top three.

We will miss Arshavin on Wednesday, he showed today how much he has brought to the team, he creates chances and scores goals – but he can still help us in the league and the FA Cup.

Oh and also, Happy St. Totteringham’s Day to you all; Spurs can no longer finish above us in the League, haha.

Arsespeak Man of the Match: Andrey Arshavin

Lineup: Fabianski, Sagna, Toure, Djourou (Silvestre 35), Gibbs, Walcott (Adebayor 68), Denilson (Van Persie 63), Song , Arshavin, Fabregas, Bendtner.

How many points will Arsenal get from the remaining games?

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Champions League, FA Cup, Injuries16 Comments

To presume that Arsenal will now qualify for the Champions League this season is a very dangerous mentality. To presume that the FA Cup and the Champions League are the only genuinely important games remaining is a very dangerous mentality.

Image courtesy of dyobmit

Arsenal may well sit six points ahead of Aston Villa in the race for 4th spot, but there are some tough games remaining for the Gunners. Aston Villa are bound to pick up their form in the remaining few games as well, so the Premier League is still very much a priority for Arsenal.

With this in mind, I thought that it would be appropriate to take a look at the remaining league games for Arsenal and to reveal my football predictions as to how many points will be achieved. Will the unbeaten run keep going? Will the loss of Clichy and Gallas be crucial in the coming weeks? A little speculation never hurt anyone, so let’s take a look.

Saturday 11th April

Wigan v Arsenal: Forgive me for my pessimistic attitude on this one, but I think it is going to be a draw. The combination of being tired from Europe and the injuries will affect Arsenal.1 – 1.

Tuesday 21st April

Liverpool v Arsenal: Liverpool’s home form has let them down this season at crucial times. This will be a must win for them, but Arsenal have been good against the ‘big four’ this campaign. Another draw for me. 2 – 2.

Sunday 26th April

Arsenal v Middlesbrough: This should be a home banker. Middlesbrough will be fighting for their Premier League lives at this stage, but Arsenal should have more than enough. Arshavin, Van Persie, Adebayor and Walcott up against Chris Riggott and co? 3 – 0.

Saturday 2nd May

Portsmouth v Arsenal: This is a very difficult game. Pompey will need the win to steer clear of the relegation zone. For some reason, I see the unbeaten run coming to an end here. 2 – 1.

Sunday 10th May

Arsenal v Chelsea: In response to the Pompey defeat, Arsenal will start this game at an electric pace. The crowd will be loud, the players will be determined and the luck will be on Wenger’s side. 2 – 1.

Saturday 16th May

Man United v Arsenal: I think it is fair to say that Arsenal will have their say on where the title goes this year. In the penultimate game of the season, Manchester United will still need as many points as possible. However, they will drop two on this occasion. 0 – 0.

Sunday 24th May

Arsenal v Stoke: A nice home win to finish the season? I think so. After this hammering of Stoke, optimism for next season will be extremely high. 5 – 0.

Should these results come true (remember they are just predictions that you may disagree with), Arsenal will gain another 12 points to leave them on 70 for the season. This means that Aston Villa would need 19 points from their last seven games to overtake them. Quite a big ask, I’m sure you’ll agree.

However, Arsenal are by no means guaranteed the points I gave them. The games against Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United could go either way.

Overall, my message is that 4th place is by no means guaranteed. The Premier League is still my number one priority and I just hope the players are aware of this. A win at Wigan tomorrow would do no harm at all.

End of Season Update:

Not bad – We finished on 72 pts and took 4th place!

By Thomas Rooney

Let’s show Chelsea what real fans are like at Wembley

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, FA Cup, History, Video11 Comments

I’ve got my ticket for the Arsenal Chelsea FA Cup semi final at Wembley and I guess that many of you reading will have too. It is going to be an interesting game – but one of the things that these big stadium occasions can lack is a real atmosphere.

Arsenal aren’t renowned for having the most noisy or active fans in the world, and Ashburton Grove is not the hive of activity that some football stadia are, but with a bit of effort we can out do the Chelsea lot at Wembley.

This follows the Red Action plea to ‘turn Wembley red‘ on the official site which says:

Let’s see those colours, let’s hear those songs, and really get behind the boys on our day out at Wembley. It’s not Liverpool, it’s not Manchester Utd, it’s not………Swindon Town, so no danger of a colour clash and the need for away kits, so lets turn our end of Wembley RED RED RED on the 18th and show our support.

Wear Red, bring a scarf, bring your AFC flags, shout and scream for the Cannon on our chests, and show our passions in the right way. Get right behind the Red and White, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll be back in May for another day out.

So lets do it – flags and banners and noise always create an intimidating atmosphere, how do you think Turkish clubs play so well at home? We need to turn Wembley into a cauldron of noise, and cheer on the team – because this time it is serious – if we want to see a bit of silverware this season we are going to have to work for it.

We might even see something like this:

Read more about Red Action here.

Hull submit their Spit-gate accounts – what will come of it?

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, FA Cup, Video66 Comments

Phil Brown and his chums at Hull have finally submitted their accounts of the alledged Cesc Fabregas spitting incident after being given an extension for submission by the FA. This follows the disapperance abroad of all witnesses – just the one – Brian Horton.

Phil Brown was decidedly shifty when interviewed the morning after the game (read here), and didn’t seem to clearly remember all of his accusations – many of which seemed to stem from a blinding case of bitterness at Hull’s season collapsing in front of his eyes.

Since the original allegations it has become clear that Brown suffers from some sort of memory loss applying to handshakes, and post-match comments, but is a good northern lad, who calls all women ‘darling’ and has very strict dress codes.

Cesc Fabregas has vehemently denied all allegations, and has never spat at anyone in his career, contrary to claims that he spat at Michael Ballack in 2005, which was ruled by UEFA as untrue.

The ‘fake tan man’, as he is known in Hull, has commented:

“We really just want the truth to come out. If the truth comes out then we’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Good for you Phil – you don’t need to worry about any of the disrepute you have brought upon Hull City – a team who before this were high in most Arsenal fans’ estimations.

I can’t see that much will come of this, but if the FA do rule that there was no spitting incident then Hull will be left very red-faced indeed.

Van Persie has his say on remainder of season ahead of International weekend

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Champions League, FA Cup, Injuries3 Comments

There are several ways to look at it, but many believe that the International weekend has come at the wrong time for Arsenal. There is a chance that the momentum of 16 games unbeaten in the league could be hindered and there is a chance that several important players could come back injured.

This would be the last thing that Arsenal need considering the importance of the remaining few weeks of the season. The Champions League and the FA Cup are still up for grabs and then there is the small matter of making sure that a top four place is achieved in the Premier League.

Referring specifically to just that, Robin van Persie has claimed that Arsenal’s superior experience of handling pressure should ensure that 4th place is achieved ahead of Aston Villa.

The Arsenal striker believes that the team are going from ‘strength to strength’ in terms of their performances, meaning that ‘things are looking good’ for Arsene Wenger’s men at this moment in time.

As for the challenge of Aston Villa, van Persie says that the Arsenal players ‘can handle pressure better’ than Martin O’Neil’s team. This means that he is ‘confident’ that 4th place will be achieved with some to spare.

The Dutchman has even suggested 3rd place could be a realistic option for his team because ‘anything is possible in football’. He pointed out the fact that Arsenal are only six points behind Chelsea. This, combined with the fact that they still have to play them, means it could happen.

Overall, van Persie knows that Arsenal need a ‘really good run’ towards the end of the season to create the best possible chance of success. As for arguably the biggest prize, he seems certain that his team can win the Champions League this season.

The Gunners will face Villarreal in the quarter-finals next month and this is a draw that van Persie admits he was ‘quite happy with’. He then went on to say that Arsenal ‘want to win’ the competition and they won’t be satisfied unless they do.

Quite an optimistic young man isn’t he? It’s really good to hear though as it is clear that he is very happy at the club. He believes in the team’s ability and he is positive about what the future may bring.

If there were more players and characters like van Persie in the Arsenal squad, the ‘unbeatable’ tag would be set for an unprecedented return. Come back injury-free from Holland duty please Robin.

By Thomas Rooney