Friday, August 30, 2013
Champions League Group Draw
For the 13/14 Champions League group stage we have been drawn in group F, along with Marseille, Dortmund and Napoli. Hence, we will be facing teams from France, Germany and Italy. Needless to say, it's a tough group. However, we definitely have a good chance of qualifying if we play like we have been playing recently!
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Signing: Mathieu Flamini
Today Arsenal Football Club confirmed the re-signing of midfielder Mathieu Flamini, who has been training with the team for a while now. The Frenchman left the club in 2008, having made 153 appearances, and has now re-signed at the age of 29. It will be intriguing, to say the least, to find out what the midfield-maestro can add to the team for this season!
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Arsenal vs. Fenerbahce
2-0, Champions League, Emirates Stadium, 27.08.2013
Ramsey 25, 72
This was a fairly comfortable win, especially considering the fact that we had the 3-0 win from the previous game.
We took the lead almost half an hour into the game through Aaron Ramsey, who has been brilliant in recent games! Podolski produced a brilliant pass for the Welshman to fire past the 'keeper! Giroud had a couple of chances as well before the first half was over but we had to settle for a one goal lead going into half time.
Early on in the second half Podolski was stretchered off with a hamstring injury and is expected to be out for quite some time. Walcott fired a free-kick onto the crossbar before Aaron Ramsey was at it again, doubling our lead through a classy strike following a brilliant cross by Gibbs. Miyachi was introduced towards the end and showed some quick feet and good passes before the game was over!
So with this we made it into the group stage, as we have consistently for many years, of the Champions League!
Injury Update:
- Koscielny was fit enough to start on the bench for this game.
Ramsey 25, 72
This was a fairly comfortable win, especially considering the fact that we had the 3-0 win from the previous game.
We took the lead almost half an hour into the game through Aaron Ramsey, who has been brilliant in recent games! Podolski produced a brilliant pass for the Welshman to fire past the 'keeper! Giroud had a couple of chances as well before the first half was over but we had to settle for a one goal lead going into half time.
Early on in the second half Podolski was stretchered off with a hamstring injury and is expected to be out for quite some time. Walcott fired a free-kick onto the crossbar before Aaron Ramsey was at it again, doubling our lead through a classy strike following a brilliant cross by Gibbs. Miyachi was introduced towards the end and showed some quick feet and good passes before the game was over!
So with this we made it into the group stage, as we have consistently for many years, of the Champions League!
Injury Update:
- Koscielny was fit enough to start on the bench for this game.
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Fulham vs. Arsenal
1-3, Premier League, Craven Cottage, 24.08.2013
Giroud 14,
Podolski 41, 68
Once again we put on a brilliant display, further underlining the fact that the premiere was a one-off. Just as in the Fenerbahce clash we had a great defensive play with fast paced pressure, not granting much time or space for the Fulham players. Due to the extreme weather condition, heavy rain was pouring down, both the pitch and the ball grew quite slippery, leading to plenty of rewarding shots as the grip for the 'keepers was quite poor.
Our first two shots, by Podolski and Cazorla, were both deflected wide, resulting in corners. But before long we hit the target, and made sure that it counted. Ramsey fired a shot towards the goal, which was interrupted by none other than Olivier Giroud, who could then put the ball past the 'keeper from close range! The Frenchman has now scored in all of our three games so far this season!
Just two minutes later Szczesny made sure we kept the lead through a superb double save! He began by saving a shot, then followed up with a second brilliant save as the ball was deflected across the goal and a strike emerged from the other side of the box! It was then time to call the Fulham 'keeper back into action, which Cazorla did with a shot on target.
As the half was drawing to a close we racked up a couple of more chances, as well as another goal! Gibbs fired wide after a decent counter attack, involving (per-usual) a great run by Walcott. With less than five minutes of the half to go we doubled our lead, through Lukas Podolski! Walcott's shot on target was saved by the 'keeper, but the rebound found our German striker who fired a powerful strike into the back of the net! Walcott had a final chance in the very last minute as he almost reached Podolski's cross, but the score-line remained 2-0 in our favour into half-time.
The second half began on a quite even level, Fulham gained in possession from the previous half yet could not quite find a way through our defence. Our first decent chance came approximately fifteen minutes into the half, as Walcott headed the ball back to Ramsey, whose shot was deflected just wide of the target.
With about twenty minutes to go our German striker was at it again with his second goal of the game! Cazorla played the ball back to Lukas Podolski, who did magnificently to fire it right by the far post, out of the 'keepers reach! Unfortunately we did not manage to keep a clean-sheet this time around, as Bent scored for Fulham with less than fifteen minutes to go. Szczesny saved the initial shot from Berbatov, only to have Bent convert the rebound into a goal.
As the game entered the final ten minutes we had three decent chances to score following one free-kick. First Monreal almost headed the ball, but the 'keeper reached it first, only for it to reach ..., whose shot was deflected and wrapping the 3-in-1 chance up was Mertesacker with a shot that was saved and grabbed by the 'keeper. The following minute Sanogo was brought on for Podolski, making his competitive debut. During the added time Walcott had a shot saved by the 'keeper and Szczesny denied Fulham their final chance by catching the cross.
Injury Update:
- Koscielny was suspended in this game, but would have been unable to play anyway due to a deep cut on his cheek from the Fenerbahce game. Hopefully he will recover for the midweek game.
Giroud 14,
Podolski 41, 68
Once again we put on a brilliant display, further underlining the fact that the premiere was a one-off. Just as in the Fenerbahce clash we had a great defensive play with fast paced pressure, not granting much time or space for the Fulham players. Due to the extreme weather condition, heavy rain was pouring down, both the pitch and the ball grew quite slippery, leading to plenty of rewarding shots as the grip for the 'keepers was quite poor.
Our first two shots, by Podolski and Cazorla, were both deflected wide, resulting in corners. But before long we hit the target, and made sure that it counted. Ramsey fired a shot towards the goal, which was interrupted by none other than Olivier Giroud, who could then put the ball past the 'keeper from close range! The Frenchman has now scored in all of our three games so far this season!
Just two minutes later Szczesny made sure we kept the lead through a superb double save! He began by saving a shot, then followed up with a second brilliant save as the ball was deflected across the goal and a strike emerged from the other side of the box! It was then time to call the Fulham 'keeper back into action, which Cazorla did with a shot on target.
As the half was drawing to a close we racked up a couple of more chances, as well as another goal! Gibbs fired wide after a decent counter attack, involving (per-usual) a great run by Walcott. With less than five minutes of the half to go we doubled our lead, through Lukas Podolski! Walcott's shot on target was saved by the 'keeper, but the rebound found our German striker who fired a powerful strike into the back of the net! Walcott had a final chance in the very last minute as he almost reached Podolski's cross, but the score-line remained 2-0 in our favour into half-time.
The second half began on a quite even level, Fulham gained in possession from the previous half yet could not quite find a way through our defence. Our first decent chance came approximately fifteen minutes into the half, as Walcott headed the ball back to Ramsey, whose shot was deflected just wide of the target.
With about twenty minutes to go our German striker was at it again with his second goal of the game! Cazorla played the ball back to Lukas Podolski, who did magnificently to fire it right by the far post, out of the 'keepers reach! Unfortunately we did not manage to keep a clean-sheet this time around, as Bent scored for Fulham with less than fifteen minutes to go. Szczesny saved the initial shot from Berbatov, only to have Bent convert the rebound into a goal.
As the game entered the final ten minutes we had three decent chances to score following one free-kick. First Monreal almost headed the ball, but the 'keeper reached it first, only for it to reach ..., whose shot was deflected and wrapping the 3-in-1 chance up was Mertesacker with a shot that was saved and grabbed by the 'keeper. The following minute Sanogo was brought on for Podolski, making his competitive debut. During the added time Walcott had a shot saved by the 'keeper and Szczesny denied Fulham their final chance by catching the cross.
Injury Update:
- Koscielny was suspended in this game, but would have been unable to play anyway due to a deep cut on his cheek from the Fenerbahce game. Hopefully he will recover for the midweek game.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Fenerbahce vs. Arsenal
0-3, Champions League, Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, 21.08.2013
Gibbs 51,
Ramsey 64,
Giroud 77
A strong performance was needed, not only to qualify for the Champions League, but also to put the Villa game truly behind us. And a strong performance was on display.
Right from the start one could tell that this would be a game more to our liking as we had a lot of possession and put a lot of pressure on Fenerbahce. The game was a bit more cautious initially, though. We had our first chance after five minutes when Wilshere played Walcott in, but the cross was blocked into a corner. After approximately twenty minutes Cazorla played a brilliant ball to Walcott, unfortunately the 'keeper beat him to the ball. We quickly won the ball back, however, and Giroud ended the offensive with a header that went just wide. Then Ramsey fired wide before Koscielny received a severe kick to the head, leaving him bleeding heavily and unable to continue the game. The amount of situations where our players have been left bleeding has been quite unreal, Szczesny received a scratch on the neck later on in this game, also resulting in blood (although quite lightly compared to Koscielny, and Gibbs from the previous game). Anyway, Jenkinson was brought on and Sagna moved to cover as centre-half (which he has been doing during pre-season).
Before the end of the half we put more pressure on Fenerbahce, sadly without it resulting in a goal, though.
It was the second half that provided all the action, goalscoring wise. Merely six minutes into the half we got our lead, through none other than Kieran Gibbs! Walcott provided a great cross across the goal (Ramsey had, in turn, provided the amazing pass to Walcott) for the full-back to reach and score from! It was a wonderful finish from the Englishman and it is certainly not every day that we get to see it.
Gibbs 51,
Ramsey 64,
Giroud 77
A strong performance was needed, not only to qualify for the Champions League, but also to put the Villa game truly behind us. And a strong performance was on display.
Right from the start one could tell that this would be a game more to our liking as we had a lot of possession and put a lot of pressure on Fenerbahce. The game was a bit more cautious initially, though. We had our first chance after five minutes when Wilshere played Walcott in, but the cross was blocked into a corner. After approximately twenty minutes Cazorla played a brilliant ball to Walcott, unfortunately the 'keeper beat him to the ball. We quickly won the ball back, however, and Giroud ended the offensive with a header that went just wide. Then Ramsey fired wide before Koscielny received a severe kick to the head, leaving him bleeding heavily and unable to continue the game. The amount of situations where our players have been left bleeding has been quite unreal, Szczesny received a scratch on the neck later on in this game, also resulting in blood (although quite lightly compared to Koscielny, and Gibbs from the previous game). Anyway, Jenkinson was brought on and Sagna moved to cover as centre-half (which he has been doing during pre-season).
Before the end of the half we put more pressure on Fenerbahce, sadly without it resulting in a goal, though.
It was the second half that provided all the action, goalscoring wise. Merely six minutes into the half we got our lead, through none other than Kieran Gibbs! Walcott provided a great cross across the goal (Ramsey had, in turn, provided the amazing pass to Walcott) for the full-back to reach and score from! It was a wonderful finish from the Englishman and it is certainly not every day that we get to see it.
The following minute or so Walcott almost doubled our lead as he attempted to chip the ball over the 'keeper after a brilliant move by Wilshere, unfortunately the 'keeper made the save, though. Then Szczesny had to make an astounding save with his left, resulting in the scratch on his neck as mentioned previously.
Approximately twenty minutes into the half we more or less sealed the game as Aaron Ramsey fired a powerful shot from outside the 18-yard-box that was steered in by the post by the 'keeper! The Welshman was brilliant in this game (not only due to his goal) and it is very encouraging for us.
Sow had a two decent chances to equalize the game, though, but on both occasions he headed/shot over the bar. Just after those two chances it was Walcott's turn to fire over the bar, only to be brought down harshly in the box two minutes later and rightfully get a penalty. Cool as you like, Olivier Giroud scored from the penalty spot with a strike that hit the goal's ceiling.
That more or less wrapped the game up, Szczesny had to make two saves before the game was over and in the very last minute Jenkinson had a shot over the bar, but a 3-0 victory away was definitely good enough.
Approximately twenty minutes into the half we more or less sealed the game as Aaron Ramsey fired a powerful shot from outside the 18-yard-box that was steered in by the post by the 'keeper! The Welshman was brilliant in this game (not only due to his goal) and it is very encouraging for us.
Sow had a two decent chances to equalize the game, though, but on both occasions he headed/shot over the bar. Just after those two chances it was Walcott's turn to fire over the bar, only to be brought down harshly in the box two minutes later and rightfully get a penalty. Cool as you like, Olivier Giroud scored from the penalty spot with a strike that hit the goal's ceiling.
That more or less wrapped the game up, Szczesny had to make two saves before the game was over and in the very last minute Jenkinson had a shot over the bar, but a 3-0 victory away was definitely good enough.
So I dare say that we will qualify for the Champions League, yet again, as I cannot see how Fenerbahce would beat us by such a margin at the Emirates. Nevertheless, in football everything can happen so it is important to remember that the game is not over yet!
Injury Update:
- Oxlade-Chamberlain is out for approximately three months following the Villa game.
- Gibbs and Sagna both made it back for this game, fortunately.
- It is not yet confirmed how serious Koscielny's injury is, but it looked quite bad and he had to go to the hospital.
- It is not yet confirmed how serious Koscielny's injury is, but it looked quite bad and he had to go to the hospital.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Arsenal vs. Aston Villa
1-3, Premier League, Emirates Stadium, 17.08.13
Giroud 6
The feeling of unbridled excitement ahead of the start of the season couldn't have ended worse, leaving a sour taste in the mouth. Not only did we lose at home against Aston Villa, one of our centre-halves received a red card and our two starting full-backs picked up injuries, forcing them off the field.
The game could not have started better, though, as Olivier Giroud gave us the lead after merely six minutes! Oxlade-Chamberlain provided a great cross as he was released down the left-hand side by Rosicky. The French striker then just steered the ball into the back of the net, granting us that (usually) important early lead. He has been great during pre-season, scoring loads of goals, and hopefully there are plenty more to come during this season of competitive football!
Unfortunately it all went to shit after that, Oxlade-Chamberlain had a shot blocked and Giroud headed the ball wide, but one could tell that we were not in as much control of the ball as we usually are. This was most likely down to the physical play that Villa showed up with, which eventually resulted in a couple of injuries on our players. As the defence lost track of Agbonlahor in the box, Szczesny was forced to go out and brought the striker down. Our Polish 'keeper then saved the penalty, only to have the rebound headed into the back of the net by Benteke.
Mere minutes later Gibbs clashed heads with Weimann of Aston Villa and was left bleeding from the head, unable to continue the game (possibly due to fear of a concussion). Jenkinson was brought on, taking place on the right-hand side while Sagna was moved to the left.
Approximately half an hour into the game Walcott did great to interfere between Villa defender Luna and 'keeper Guzan and win the ball, the pass did not reach a fellow team-mate, though. Unfortunately this was pretty much as good as it got for Walcott this afternoon, he has showed great skill in the pre-season games, so it is naturally disappointing not to see him work wonders when it truly matters. Hopefully that will change before long!
Szczesny gave us all a bit of a fright towards the end of the half as he left the 18-yard box for quite a while to keep the ball from a couple of Villa players, fortunately he found his way back to the goal in time to keep Westwood's shot out.
For the second half Oxlade-Chamberlain (who had had a decent first half) was replaced by Cazorla, and we had a promising start. Giroud got a good opportunity to score as Walcott provided a great pass, but Guzan made the save as two defenders disturbed the Frenchman. The following minute Rosicky fired wide, having been played in beautifully.
Aston Villa had a good chance in the early stages of the half as well, with Delph hitting the post. Then disaster struck for us, as Koscielny made a perfectly good tackle where he clearly reached the ball before the player, yet for some reason the ref decided to award Villa with a penalty and book Koscielny. Benteke scored for the second time from the penalty spot. I would like to take this time to thank the referees for using the new video technology in making important decisions in the box (apparently it only covers the goal-line, which is complete bullshit!).
We got more or less desperate after that, and our cause was not helped as the ref decided to give Koscielny a second yellow with twenty minutes to go, showing him off the field. I am aware that blaming a defeat on a referee never is valid, but there were quite a few dubious decisions by referee Taylor this afternoon and as I just mentioned, they did not help our cause.
The remainder of the game was a roller-coaster of chances. Walcott fired a free-kick wide, shortly after Rosicky made his way through the entire defence, only to have his shot stopped by Guzan. Then Cazorla had a shot deflected by Guzan to hit the bar! With five minutes to go the game was killed. Through a counter attack following one of our corners Villa sealed the game with a third goal by Luna.
As if things couldn't get worse, Sagna had a terrifying fall, landing on his neck, in the final minutes. Fortunately his neck did not break, he remained conscious and able to walk off the pitch. Podolski was brought on in his place for the final couple of minutes.
I was about to write that on a positive note, things couldn't get much worse from this point. Of course that is never true in football. The only thing we can do is move on and be sure to win the Champions League qualification clash on Wednesday against Fenerbahce.
Injury Update:
- From this game, the following players are dubious for the game against Fenerbahce on Wednesday: Sagna, Gibbs, Ramsey (kick on ankle) and Rosicky.
- Vermaelen is out for an undetermined amount of time, same goes for Arteta.
- Monreal will soon return to training, so he is not that far away from making a return to the first team.
Giroud 6
The feeling of unbridled excitement ahead of the start of the season couldn't have ended worse, leaving a sour taste in the mouth. Not only did we lose at home against Aston Villa, one of our centre-halves received a red card and our two starting full-backs picked up injuries, forcing them off the field.
The game could not have started better, though, as Olivier Giroud gave us the lead after merely six minutes! Oxlade-Chamberlain provided a great cross as he was released down the left-hand side by Rosicky. The French striker then just steered the ball into the back of the net, granting us that (usually) important early lead. He has been great during pre-season, scoring loads of goals, and hopefully there are plenty more to come during this season of competitive football!
Unfortunately it all went to shit after that, Oxlade-Chamberlain had a shot blocked and Giroud headed the ball wide, but one could tell that we were not in as much control of the ball as we usually are. This was most likely down to the physical play that Villa showed up with, which eventually resulted in a couple of injuries on our players. As the defence lost track of Agbonlahor in the box, Szczesny was forced to go out and brought the striker down. Our Polish 'keeper then saved the penalty, only to have the rebound headed into the back of the net by Benteke.
Mere minutes later Gibbs clashed heads with Weimann of Aston Villa and was left bleeding from the head, unable to continue the game (possibly due to fear of a concussion). Jenkinson was brought on, taking place on the right-hand side while Sagna was moved to the left.
Approximately half an hour into the game Walcott did great to interfere between Villa defender Luna and 'keeper Guzan and win the ball, the pass did not reach a fellow team-mate, though. Unfortunately this was pretty much as good as it got for Walcott this afternoon, he has showed great skill in the pre-season games, so it is naturally disappointing not to see him work wonders when it truly matters. Hopefully that will change before long!
Szczesny gave us all a bit of a fright towards the end of the half as he left the 18-yard box for quite a while to keep the ball from a couple of Villa players, fortunately he found his way back to the goal in time to keep Westwood's shot out.
For the second half Oxlade-Chamberlain (who had had a decent first half) was replaced by Cazorla, and we had a promising start. Giroud got a good opportunity to score as Walcott provided a great pass, but Guzan made the save as two defenders disturbed the Frenchman. The following minute Rosicky fired wide, having been played in beautifully.
Aston Villa had a good chance in the early stages of the half as well, with Delph hitting the post. Then disaster struck for us, as Koscielny made a perfectly good tackle where he clearly reached the ball before the player, yet for some reason the ref decided to award Villa with a penalty and book Koscielny. Benteke scored for the second time from the penalty spot. I would like to take this time to thank the referees for using the new video technology in making important decisions in the box (apparently it only covers the goal-line, which is complete bullshit!).
We got more or less desperate after that, and our cause was not helped as the ref decided to give Koscielny a second yellow with twenty minutes to go, showing him off the field. I am aware that blaming a defeat on a referee never is valid, but there were quite a few dubious decisions by referee Taylor this afternoon and as I just mentioned, they did not help our cause.
The remainder of the game was a roller-coaster of chances. Walcott fired a free-kick wide, shortly after Rosicky made his way through the entire defence, only to have his shot stopped by Guzan. Then Cazorla had a shot deflected by Guzan to hit the bar! With five minutes to go the game was killed. Through a counter attack following one of our corners Villa sealed the game with a third goal by Luna.
As if things couldn't get worse, Sagna had a terrifying fall, landing on his neck, in the final minutes. Fortunately his neck did not break, he remained conscious and able to walk off the pitch. Podolski was brought on in his place for the final couple of minutes.
I was about to write that on a positive note, things couldn't get much worse from this point. Of course that is never true in football. The only thing we can do is move on and be sure to win the Champions League qualification clash on Wednesday against Fenerbahce.
Injury Update:
- From this game, the following players are dubious for the game against Fenerbahce on Wednesday: Sagna, Gibbs, Ramsey (kick on ankle) and Rosicky.
- Vermaelen is out for an undetermined amount of time, same goes for Arteta.
- Monreal will soon return to training, so he is not that far away from making a return to the first team.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Summer Update
So the league starts tomorrow, and due to extensive travelling I have not written anything since final game of last season! So here goes, a summer update of results and signings:
This summer's pre-season was, like previous years, staged in Asia. The first game was against Indonesia Dream Team on the 14th of July. We won that game 7-0, with goals from Walcott, Akpom, Giroud, Podolski, Olsson and Eisfeld.
Next up was Vietnam on the 17th, this time the final score was 7-1 in our favour. Giroud scored a hat-trick, Akpom got a brace, while Oxlade-Chamberlain and Miquel were on target as well.
Then we travelled to Japan and played two games there. First up was Nagoya Grampus on the 22nd, which ended 3-1. Giroud was once again on target, along with Miyaichi and Walcott. We beat Urawa Red Diamonds as well, with the final score 2-1. Podolski and Akpom won that game for us.
The Emirates Cup was, as always, played in the beginning of August. This year the cup included Napoli, Galatasaray and Porto. We faced Napoli on the 3rd, which ended in a 2-2 draw, with Giroud and Koscielny on target for us. On the 4th we played Eboue's Galatasaray. To our great disappointment we lost 1-2, Walcott scored a great goal in the first half but as Drogba was introduced things went terribly awry for us. This meant that we finished 3rd in this year's Emirates Cup.
The last game of pre-season was played against Manchester City on the 10th of August in Helsinki. We won that one 3-1, thanks to goals from Walcott, Ramsey and Giroud.
Concerning signings, there isn't much to say. The window closes in September, and so far the only new player we've brought in is Yaya Sanogo. He is a 20-year-old striker from France who looks quite promising.
There is also one player who has left this summer, Gervinho has gone to Roma on a permanent transfer.
This is just a quick update on what has been going on this summer, now it's just to wait for the season to begin tomorrow!
This summer's pre-season was, like previous years, staged in Asia. The first game was against Indonesia Dream Team on the 14th of July. We won that game 7-0, with goals from Walcott, Akpom, Giroud, Podolski, Olsson and Eisfeld.
Next up was Vietnam on the 17th, this time the final score was 7-1 in our favour. Giroud scored a hat-trick, Akpom got a brace, while Oxlade-Chamberlain and Miquel were on target as well.
Then we travelled to Japan and played two games there. First up was Nagoya Grampus on the 22nd, which ended 3-1. Giroud was once again on target, along with Miyaichi and Walcott. We beat Urawa Red Diamonds as well, with the final score 2-1. Podolski and Akpom won that game for us.
The Emirates Cup was, as always, played in the beginning of August. This year the cup included Napoli, Galatasaray and Porto. We faced Napoli on the 3rd, which ended in a 2-2 draw, with Giroud and Koscielny on target for us. On the 4th we played Eboue's Galatasaray. To our great disappointment we lost 1-2, Walcott scored a great goal in the first half but as Drogba was introduced things went terribly awry for us. This meant that we finished 3rd in this year's Emirates Cup.
The last game of pre-season was played against Manchester City on the 10th of August in Helsinki. We won that one 3-1, thanks to goals from Walcott, Ramsey and Giroud.
Concerning signings, there isn't much to say. The window closes in September, and so far the only new player we've brought in is Yaya Sanogo. He is a 20-year-old striker from France who looks quite promising.
There is also one player who has left this summer, Gervinho has gone to Roma on a permanent transfer.
This is just a quick update on what has been going on this summer, now it's just to wait for the season to begin tomorrow!
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