Flamini Out For Three Weeks As Lehmann Rants

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal

Bad injury news today: Flamini will be out for about three weeks Wenger says here.


 This is a blow for us. Flamini has been a revelation for us this season and we will miss him. Le Boss says Gilberto will come in. I was hoping Flamini wouldn’t be out long, but it seems Gilberto is going to get his chance. Wenger said:

“It is a big blow but Gilberto has a lot of quality and experience. He will come in. He can help the team recover and focus. Robin van Persie is available. He had two good sessions yesterday and today. He looks to be OK and we’ll see how we go from here. But Bacary Sagna is out.”

So it looks like RVP will start on Sunday, pity about Sagna.

I really think Walcott has warranted a starting place too. He has been really good all season and his inspirational run in midweek really was a big boost for his chances in the first team. His team mates have been praising him here. Kolo says:

“Theo’s run was fantastic, with a great pass at the end. He is a good player and is improving every time. I think he is going to be one of the best players in England.”

Willy Gallas is pretty low after the Liverpool result. Not exactly what you want to hear from the captain before you go into a big game on Sunday. I hope he changes his attitude sooner rather than later. there were doubts about him being captain, maybe these are showing through now we are at a low point in the season. A captian needs to be a leader. Come on Willy..

Lehmann is ranting on about how he would have kept us in the Champions League. Jens is a bit temperamental and after a season fuming on the bench that was probably too much for him. Maybe he was hoping Manuel wouldn’t save the pen. I don’t think it would have made much of a difference anyway, he needs to shut up, pretty soon!

Henry Winter writes here, about how we have to learn to win ‘ugly’. We have heard this before to be honest but it still makes an interesting read.. He also thinks we should have strengthened the squad and I agree to be honest.

Fergie says Manchester United are ready for Arsenal. Ok ok Fergie, blah blah blah.

Alright thanks guys, thats it today!

There Are Some Positives? Wenger, Adebayor, Toure

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal1 Comment

Morning all,

Thursday, and I’m still really pissed off about the Liverpool result, and the way that wonder run from Walcott counted for nothing!

Clichy thought it was ridiculous..

I guess that’s just football. The reaction has been a little extreme from some fans.

There’s no way Wenger should go, and the players we have are very good, we just need a few more, that’s all.

I’ve read a lot about people calling for Wenger’s head, saying we should get rid of the team etc etc etc, what a load of crap.

Look, at the beginning of the season we were all saying that following from last year this year would probably be similar, the final phase of the ‘transition’. It’s been better than we would have hoped then, just not as good as it was looking a few weeks ago!

Lets look at it this way:

  1. The team has performed amazingly and we have been much more successful than many critics suspected.
  2. We are only 6 points behind Man Utd in the League so maybe we should push on and try and be optimistic!
  3. We know we are good enough to challenge for everything next year.

Wenger:

“We cannot lose our belief now – let’s not forget we played a very good game at Anfield. And if there is a lesson, it must be that we have to concentrate to the very end.”

Good words Arsene. We did play well, and the players know that, but I think they are probably pretty down right now.

Adebayor knows Wenger can put them on the right track:

“He has more experience than anyone here, and he knows the words to use so that we can come back on the pitch, be more successful and want it more.

Toure:

“We still have the chance for the Premier League and we will try to take it. We know it is not over – we just have to look at the next game and try to win.”

Exactly Kolo!

Injury News

Flamini is probably going to miss the Man U game after the ankle injury he picked up, but I don’t think it’s serious.

Arsenal Out Of The Champions League and Highlights

On By jamesgillespIn Champions League3 Comments

Two injust decisions cost Arsenal a place in the Semis. First Kuyt’s blatant foul on Hleb in the 1st Leg – Definitely a penalty –  not given.

In the 2nd Leg after a wonderful Arsenal goal – Arsenal had just pulled back to 3-3 on agg. (in front on away goals) Toure brushes Babel in front of the Kop, given! Liverpool go on to win the game. The highlights: click here

Match Report:

Liverpool

Hyypia 30
Torres 69
Gerrard 86 (pen)
Babel 90

 5-3 agg.

4-2
(1-1)

 Arsenal

Diaby 13
Adebayor 84

We started the match very well, good passing play really put Liverpool on the back foot. We had a few close chances where Liverpool managed to escape.

Diaby got his goal after 13 minutes, he took one touch on Hleb’s pass down the side of the penalty area and then placed the ball between Reina and the near post, Reina got a slight touch but it was in.

I thought then that we could do this and by all means we could have.

We then dominated the match, until the 30th minute when Liverpool got a corner, Senderos lost Hyypia who headered towards the post, over Fabregas’ head.

Liverpool back in it.

10 minutes Flamini went off after a knock to the ankle, on came Gilberto, I wasn’t thinking positivily about this! It looks worrying.

Anyway 1st half ended 1-1, Liverpool started the second half closing every ball down, not giving us any time to settle on the ball.

Then a lull in Liverpool’s play and we were attacking, a long ball forward by them was flicked on by Crouch to Torres, who turned and shot from just inside the corner of the penalty area, his shot went into the opposite top corner. Senderos shouldn’t have given him the room.

2-1 Liverpool (3-2 agg.)

Minutes later an attacking change. Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie on. Abou Diaby and Emmanuel Eboue off.

Adebayor came close later, put through by a pass by Hleb, which had slipped trough the Liverpool back line. It caught him by suprise and he sliced it wide. Horrible to watch this missed chance.

Then with just a few minutes to go Theo sets off on a wonderful run. In my head all I could hear was “its up for grabs nowwww!!” as he skipped past four Liverpool players, ran the length of the field before squaring the ball for Adebayor to slot home. Ecstasy!

Then the worst thing that could have happened did…

Within 90 seconds Toure had a penalty harshly awarded against him as Babel fell in the area.

Gerrard slots it away and I know there’s no way back, our moment of magic was over. Theo’s wonderful assist cancelled out.

We pushed forward trying for an 3rd, at a free kick we left it exposed at the back, Ryan Babel broke, held off Cesc’s challenge and put the ball past Manuel.

Game over.

It was sad to see, we had come so close, but victory was snatched away from us. Even Gerrard admitted afterwards that Liverpool were ‘passed off the park’ by Arsenal, and hinted that they were lucky to win.

If it hadn’t been for the penalty I’m so sure we would have won, but it sums up our season, defensive errors have cost us everything this year.

It was commented here on my preview about the line up, and it didn’t work for us.

  • Top marks for Walcott, Adebayor, Hleb
  • Diaby, good, Flamini, good, Clichy good.
  • Fabregas looked tired.
  • Almunia performed pretty good, went the right way for the penalty, the goals weren’t his fault.
  • Eboue proved that he can’t play in the final 3rd of the field, he is not a right winger
  • Van Persie looked lost.
  • Toure has made a few mistakes but was alright.
  • Senderos was also ok, but at fault occasionally.
  • Gilberto was variable as well, sometimes good touches, sometimes poor.

Click here for Wenger’s comments:

“I felt the game was over at 2-2. Then there was a dodgy penalty and we started to lose concentration.”

World of Arsenal is devasted too – click here..

Manchester United on Sunday at Old Trafford.

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!