Arsenal 1 – 1 Liverpool Reaction

On April 3, 2008September 4, 2010 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

From Milan to Wigan: 0-0

On March 10, 2008September 4, 2010 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 March 3, 2008September 4, 2010 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.

Right Lets Go – Forget the Man United Defeat

On February 18, 2008September 4, 2010 By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Champions League, FA Cup

Much has been said about the defeat on Saturday, what I can say is:

We missed players in key areas.
We weren’t up for the game like United were.

That is what it comes down to, it seems a case of priorities. The CL and Premier League are seemingly more important to Wenger, and maybe, when the squad is thin as it is at the moment, it is right to prioritise.

I would like to see us go for every trophy, and I think we need to, but we shall have to see come the end of the season. Football is all about the winners. I don’t know whether those players should have been rested, and the defeat was very depressing but we have to look forward.

Enough has been said about the game and all we can hope is that it hasn’t had too much negative impact and that we can gain momentum over the next few games to take with us through the rest of the season. The season needs to be put in perspective, hype helps nobody.

AC Milan on Wednesday is another big game, the players need to be up for it and with the players back in the team who were rested on Saturday we could play well. I can only hope, we need to really go for it because we are in 2 competitions now and we need some trophies for a great team playing in a new stadium..

I don’t want to say any more about that!

In other news, Red and White Shareholdings and scummy Usmanov have upped their stake to just over 24% of the club. This isn’t good news and all I want to see is these crooks leave our good club alone, we don’t need the distraction, we are very well run as we are…

Sevilla vs. Arsenal tonight in the Champions League

On November 27, 2007October 8, 2008 By jamesgillespIn Champions League1 Comment

Arsenal are playing Sevilla away tonight in our penultimate Champions League game. Arsene is resting Gallas and Adebayor, he defends his choice here. He makes a good point, that those two have played a lot of games recently, and the players coming in should be almost the same standard. Clichy has also not travelled due to a thigh problem he picked up at Wigan.

Against Slavia he made 8 changes and the team looked very unincisive, but tonight there is the incentive that a win will mean we top the group (and therefore play our first second round match away). Having said that even a draw leaves our fate in our own hands, with Steaua Bucharest at home to beat after. The younger players will hopefully take this as encouragement. I trust Wenger on this one, the players coming in are of good quality and fatigued and injured players are no good to anyone. Wenger says:

“Bendtner will get a start. He has played well when he has come on. But he had not the best game in Prague so I want to give him another chance.”

This is great, I think that Bendtner has looked really good when he has come on in games, especially against Wigan, he can win headers and is tall and powerful, as well as having passing, pace and goalscoring ability. Steve Bruce, who had him on loan last year with Birmingham, said he would love to have him back, so I reckon he has the potential to be a first team player. Lets hope he takes this chance to impress!

Kanoute says here that he is ‘relishing the challenge’..

Congratulations to Hleb, he has won the Belarus Player of the Year award, he must be getting used to it as he won it in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006 and was the 2004 runner up!!

Keown, the old stalwart has commented on Fabregas and I couldn’t agree more with him when he says: