1-0, Premier League, Emirates, 3/4 -10
Bendtner 90 + 4
Well, that was quite a nightmare game.. We had like 25 goalscoring opportunities, and we didn't manage to score until the very last minute! You could think of it as a good sign of belief and such in the squad, but I see it more as a concern that we can't manage to score when we have 25 opportunities..
But we played really well and Walcott was the big star of the first half, but we just couldn't break the deadlock, even though we had tons of chances!
In the second half things pretty much took off in the same way, us having tons of chances and not being able to get it in, when suddenly Karl Henry harshly tackled Rosicky, and recieved a red card!
You could think that that would have opened things up for us, but it just made it even harder since they brought in two defenders that replaced more offensive players.
So we just kept trying and trying, but failed to convert, and to be honest I'd lost hope by the time Sagna delivered a good cross that Bendtner got his head to, and once again he has kept us in the title race with a last minute winner!! He has been critized a lot during his career, but he really is growing to be a star striker for us!
United and Chelsea clashed at Old Trafford earlier today, and Chelsea got away with a 2-1 victory, I'd hoped for a draw, but you can't get it all, so now we're three points after leaders Chelsea, and one point after United, we're still in it!
Injury Update;
-Nothing new, Cesc came in with crutches to watch the game with fellow injured players, Djourou, Merida and Arshavin.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Arsenal vs. Barcelona
2-2, Champions League Quarter-final, Emirates, 31/3 -10
Walcott 69,
Fabregas 85 (pen)
Due to the circumstances I'm pleased with the result, ahead of the game the hopes were to win and hopefully keep a clean sheet.
Lots of injuries for us, I will come back to that later.. Henry started on the bench but came in when there was approximately fifteen minutes to go.
In the first half we just got really lucky, Barcelona were by far the better team and we pretty much just defended, Almunia pulled off some great saves to keep us in the game, and it didn't make things easier when first Arshavin had to hobble off the pitch after 27 minutes, Eboue came on, Fabregas recieved a yellow card which means that he won't be playing on Nou Camp on Tuesday (not that it matters now anyway) and just before half time Gallas had to limp off due to his calf injury, it was a gamble to play him and the gamble didn't quite pay off, Denilson came in and Song moved back to partner Vermaelen in the heart of the defence.
Nightmare start to the second half when Ibrahimovic scored after some seconds, and he scored another before we started to play some real football.
When Walcott came in things really got started, at once he was running down that right flank and his pass almost reached Bendtner.
But just three minutes after he came on he went on to score, a great goal and a typical Walcott goal, he just ran towards the box and finished superb.
Then we started to put some real pressure on Barcelona, with Fabregas working as hard as ever, he showed great mentality after that yellow card and eventually all the hard work payed off, when Puyol locked his leg just as he was about to shoot penalty was awarded and Puyol was sent off.
Fabregas converted from the spot as he has done many times this season, but when he was picking up the ball from the net and started running back everything turned from perfect to horror, all of a sudden he just couldn't walk, but he refused to leave the pitch, and finished the game but not in a particulary good way, he just hobbled around, it didn't feel so reassuring, it is more fighting spirit than you can ask for, but it just shows how much he cares, and when Walcott put the ball towards him he threw himself after it, but couldn't reach it.
So we have quite a task in front of us, we have to win at Nou Camp or draw with at least 3 goals to qualify, but it will be enough to draw 2-2 if we're looking for more time or eventually penalties... And all this without players like Gallas, Arshavin, Fabregas, van Persie ..
Injury Update;
-Fabregas will miss the rest of the season due to a crack in his right fibula, huge blow for us, but he will not miss the world cup.
-Arshavin will be out for at least 3 weeks, the boss estimated him to be back for the Man City game.
-Gallas also risks missing out on the rest of the season due to a recurrence of his calf strain, at least 5 weeks out.
-Denilson and Clichy both recieved small knocks from the game but will be in the squad for the Wolves clash.
Walcott 69,
Fabregas 85 (pen)
Due to the circumstances I'm pleased with the result, ahead of the game the hopes were to win and hopefully keep a clean sheet.
Lots of injuries for us, I will come back to that later.. Henry started on the bench but came in when there was approximately fifteen minutes to go.
In the first half we just got really lucky, Barcelona were by far the better team and we pretty much just defended, Almunia pulled off some great saves to keep us in the game, and it didn't make things easier when first Arshavin had to hobble off the pitch after 27 minutes, Eboue came on, Fabregas recieved a yellow card which means that he won't be playing on Nou Camp on Tuesday (not that it matters now anyway) and just before half time Gallas had to limp off due to his calf injury, it was a gamble to play him and the gamble didn't quite pay off, Denilson came in and Song moved back to partner Vermaelen in the heart of the defence.
Nightmare start to the second half when Ibrahimovic scored after some seconds, and he scored another before we started to play some real football.
When Walcott came in things really got started, at once he was running down that right flank and his pass almost reached Bendtner.
But just three minutes after he came on he went on to score, a great goal and a typical Walcott goal, he just ran towards the box and finished superb.
Then we started to put some real pressure on Barcelona, with Fabregas working as hard as ever, he showed great mentality after that yellow card and eventually all the hard work payed off, when Puyol locked his leg just as he was about to shoot penalty was awarded and Puyol was sent off.
Fabregas converted from the spot as he has done many times this season, but when he was picking up the ball from the net and started running back everything turned from perfect to horror, all of a sudden he just couldn't walk, but he refused to leave the pitch, and finished the game but not in a particulary good way, he just hobbled around, it didn't feel so reassuring, it is more fighting spirit than you can ask for, but it just shows how much he cares, and when Walcott put the ball towards him he threw himself after it, but couldn't reach it.
So we have quite a task in front of us, we have to win at Nou Camp or draw with at least 3 goals to qualify, but it will be enough to draw 2-2 if we're looking for more time or eventually penalties... And all this without players like Gallas, Arshavin, Fabregas, van Persie ..
Injury Update;
-Fabregas will miss the rest of the season due to a crack in his right fibula, huge blow for us, but he will not miss the world cup.
-Arshavin will be out for at least 3 weeks, the boss estimated him to be back for the Man City game.
-Gallas also risks missing out on the rest of the season due to a recurrence of his calf strain, at least 5 weeks out.
-Denilson and Clichy both recieved small knocks from the game but will be in the squad for the Wolves clash.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Birmingham vs. Arsenal
1-1, Premier League, St Andrew's Stadium, 27/3 -10
Nasri 81
In the end really disappointing, and pretty much a reminder of the last game at St Andrew's, with Birmingham equalizing in stoppage-time, but thank god no broken legs this time, though Fabregas recieved a harsh tackle in the first half, and hobbled basically the remainder of that half, but came back in for the second half and looked much better, still though, it didn't really feel like he could give everything he had, so perhaps another injury concern...
The game was quite uneventful to be honest, I believe that comes down to the pitch, it was so small! We hardly got any space at all, and Theo didn't get those amazing runs that he usually do, but he created our best chance of the first half when he stole the ball right between goalkeeper Hart and a defender, but Hart got a leg out and the chance was gone.
We couldn't really play the way we are used to due to the space issue, we fought hard, but just couldn't get close enough for a goal, until Arshavin and Nasri came in for Rosicky and Walcott in the 68th minute.
That substitution made some difference, we got some real chances but Bendtner headed just outside and Arshavin missed the ball, so things didn't come easy for us.
But in the 81st minute Nasri made a great move from 40 yards, and when he approached 20 yards, he took a shot that went straight for the bottom corner! A piece of art!
But to our great disappointment Birmingham pulled one back minutes before the end, and we lost two valuable points in the title-race, but I'm certainly not giving up just yet, even though I have to admit that we need a hell of a lot luck to make it through now...
Perhaps Wilshere could help out a bit as Bolton play United at the Reebok, I watched the first half and the bloke was brilliant! But a Samuel own goal gave United the lead before the end of the first half.
Now we have to look ahead to the Barcelona game, it will be massive, but let's just give it a go and see how things turn out, you never know in football!
Injury Update;
-Gallas joined training recently, but it will take some time for him to get back to match fitness.
-van Persie actually came back this week, Wenger said that it will be at least two weeks left for him, but that means that he might be back for the Man City game! It would definitely be amazing to watch him back in action!
-Still too soon to know more about the lads after the game that has just been, but hopefully everyone will be fine for the Champions League on Wednesday.
Nasri 81
In the end really disappointing, and pretty much a reminder of the last game at St Andrew's, with Birmingham equalizing in stoppage-time, but thank god no broken legs this time, though Fabregas recieved a harsh tackle in the first half, and hobbled basically the remainder of that half, but came back in for the second half and looked much better, still though, it didn't really feel like he could give everything he had, so perhaps another injury concern...
The game was quite uneventful to be honest, I believe that comes down to the pitch, it was so small! We hardly got any space at all, and Theo didn't get those amazing runs that he usually do, but he created our best chance of the first half when he stole the ball right between goalkeeper Hart and a defender, but Hart got a leg out and the chance was gone.
We couldn't really play the way we are used to due to the space issue, we fought hard, but just couldn't get close enough for a goal, until Arshavin and Nasri came in for Rosicky and Walcott in the 68th minute.
That substitution made some difference, we got some real chances but Bendtner headed just outside and Arshavin missed the ball, so things didn't come easy for us.
But in the 81st minute Nasri made a great move from 40 yards, and when he approached 20 yards, he took a shot that went straight for the bottom corner! A piece of art!
But to our great disappointment Birmingham pulled one back minutes before the end, and we lost two valuable points in the title-race, but I'm certainly not giving up just yet, even though I have to admit that we need a hell of a lot luck to make it through now...
Perhaps Wilshere could help out a bit as Bolton play United at the Reebok, I watched the first half and the bloke was brilliant! But a Samuel own goal gave United the lead before the end of the first half.
Now we have to look ahead to the Barcelona game, it will be massive, but let's just give it a go and see how things turn out, you never know in football!
Injury Update;
-Gallas joined training recently, but it will take some time for him to get back to match fitness.
-van Persie actually came back this week, Wenger said that it will be at least two weeks left for him, but that means that he might be back for the Man City game! It would definitely be amazing to watch him back in action!
-Still too soon to know more about the lads after the game that has just been, but hopefully everyone will be fine for the Champions League on Wednesday.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Arsenal vs. West Ham
2-0, Premier League, Emirates, 20/3 -10
Denilson 5,
Fabregas 82(pen)
Vital to get the three points, but once again it wasn't a comfortable win, it started so well, when Denilson and Bendtner exchanged passes before Denilson managed a perfectly located shot, that went straight for goal.
Then the game slowed down a bit, we had some chances and most of the possession, but when the end of the first half was approaching, Vermaelen was sent off! Completely wrong decision from the referee, replays show that Vermaelen hardly touched Franco, and to make things worse, it all happened in our box, so West Ham was given a penalty.
But an amazing save from Almunia saved us and the loud complain from the fans turned into cheers!
When the second half began West Ham had some chances, but we returned to our free-flowing play and started to dominate the game, even though we were down to ten men.
Diaby came in for Bendtner almost fifteen minutes into the second half, and the game settled down a bit, with us having most of the possession.
There weren't too many chances, but eventually our perseverance payed off, Fabregas' shot touched Upson's arm, and we got our penalty.
Fabregas, like so many times earlier this season, converted from the spot, and that pretty much ended the game.
But now we are in for some trouble, if Vermaelen's penalty will stand, he will be out for three games, Song was completely outstanding in his new position, central defence, but I would still rather see Song in the midfield and Vermaelen at the centre-defence, but I definitely feel confident in Song as a central defender!
Injury Update;
-Gallas looks to be out for quite some time, no news for how long, but at least the Birmingham clash.
Denilson 5,
Fabregas 82(pen)
Vital to get the three points, but once again it wasn't a comfortable win, it started so well, when Denilson and Bendtner exchanged passes before Denilson managed a perfectly located shot, that went straight for goal.
Then the game slowed down a bit, we had some chances and most of the possession, but when the end of the first half was approaching, Vermaelen was sent off! Completely wrong decision from the referee, replays show that Vermaelen hardly touched Franco, and to make things worse, it all happened in our box, so West Ham was given a penalty.
But an amazing save from Almunia saved us and the loud complain from the fans turned into cheers!
When the second half began West Ham had some chances, but we returned to our free-flowing play and started to dominate the game, even though we were down to ten men.
Diaby came in for Bendtner almost fifteen minutes into the second half, and the game settled down a bit, with us having most of the possession.
There weren't too many chances, but eventually our perseverance payed off, Fabregas' shot touched Upson's arm, and we got our penalty.
Fabregas, like so many times earlier this season, converted from the spot, and that pretty much ended the game.
But now we are in for some trouble, if Vermaelen's penalty will stand, he will be out for three games, Song was completely outstanding in his new position, central defence, but I would still rather see Song in the midfield and Vermaelen at the centre-defence, but I definitely feel confident in Song as a central defender!
Injury Update;
-Gallas looks to be out for quite some time, no news for how long, but at least the Birmingham clash.
Champions League Draw
Well, it feels like the biggest football news of the week!'
We are going to face FC Barcelona in the quarter final! It certainly was the toughest opponent, but we are going to put up a hell of a fight for that spot in the semi-finals!
If we were to beat Barcelona, we would be up against Inter or CSKA Moscow in the semi-final, well, that's basically the road to Madrid for us.
It certainly won't be easy, but in the previous draws in this competition we have had lots of luck, so it was expected that we would get one of the tougher teams.
We will play at Emirates on the 31st March, my birthday, and the return at Nou Camp is to be played on the 6th of April.
But for now it is West Ham in our focus, tonight looks to be a fight to stay in the title race, both Cesc and Rosicky is back from injury and Song is no longer suspended!
But Gallas is 80% out of the Barcelona clash, and certainly out of both the West Ham game and the Birmingham game.
We are going to face FC Barcelona in the quarter final! It certainly was the toughest opponent, but we are going to put up a hell of a fight for that spot in the semi-finals!
If we were to beat Barcelona, we would be up against Inter or CSKA Moscow in the semi-final, well, that's basically the road to Madrid for us.
It certainly won't be easy, but in the previous draws in this competition we have had lots of luck, so it was expected that we would get one of the tougher teams.
We will play at Emirates on the 31st March, my birthday, and the return at Nou Camp is to be played on the 6th of April.
But for now it is West Ham in our focus, tonight looks to be a fight to stay in the title race, both Cesc and Rosicky is back from injury and Song is no longer suspended!
But Gallas is 80% out of the Barcelona clash, and certainly out of both the West Ham game and the Birmingham game.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Hull vs. Arsenal
2-1, Premier League, KC Stadium, 13/3 -10
Arshavin 14,
Bendtner 90+3
What can I say...? To say that I enjoyed the game would be a lie, I felt like hitting something or someone during most of the game! The worst thing was that their goal shouldn't even have been allowed since the guy was clearly offside.. But we really shouldn't have lost our pace just because we conceded one.
But to be fair Hull defended really well, even though their captain Boateng got two yellow in the first half and was shown the red, first he poked Bendtner in the eye and then he roughly tackled Sagna, but when a team is reduced to ten men, usually it's even harder to score, since then the entire team defends, so it didn't make things easier for us.
We started the game completely brilliant, had good chances and eventually Arshavin worked his magic and fired us to 1-0! Then things looked great, we had good chances, solid defence and lots of possession, but then some guy is offside, continues to run and unfortunately Campbell made enough contact for him to fall and the ref gives Hull a penalty!
After that I basically grew more and more impatient, Arshavin had some great chances, but only managed to shoot the ball over the bar.
Eventually Walcott came in and immediately gave us some pace and chances, but sadly not enough, and as the 90 minutes got closer and closer, we just honestly didn't..
But it only takes one chance to produce a goal, and in the 93rd minute, Denilson's shot was blocked by the Hull keeper, but it bounced right into Bendtner's path, and he shot us right back into the title race!!
Last night when I was reading through the match report, I noticed that Hull scored their penalty in the 28th minute, somehow I recognised that, and looked into the Burnley game from last year, the one that ended 1-1 after Cesc gave us the lead, but in the 28th (!?) minute, Graham Alexander equalized from the spot.. But it did end better this time!
Injury Update;
-Rosicky and Fabregas both missed this game, but is likely to feature in next weeks derby against West Ham at the Emirates.
-As I mentioned earlier Gallas will be out for quite some time now, so he is certain to miss the West Ham clash.
-Song will be back next week though, he's been suspended in the last two Premier League games.
Arshavin 14,
Bendtner 90+3
What can I say...? To say that I enjoyed the game would be a lie, I felt like hitting something or someone during most of the game! The worst thing was that their goal shouldn't even have been allowed since the guy was clearly offside.. But we really shouldn't have lost our pace just because we conceded one.
But to be fair Hull defended really well, even though their captain Boateng got two yellow in the first half and was shown the red, first he poked Bendtner in the eye and then he roughly tackled Sagna, but when a team is reduced to ten men, usually it's even harder to score, since then the entire team defends, so it didn't make things easier for us.
We started the game completely brilliant, had good chances and eventually Arshavin worked his magic and fired us to 1-0! Then things looked great, we had good chances, solid defence and lots of possession, but then some guy is offside, continues to run and unfortunately Campbell made enough contact for him to fall and the ref gives Hull a penalty!
After that I basically grew more and more impatient, Arshavin had some great chances, but only managed to shoot the ball over the bar.
Eventually Walcott came in and immediately gave us some pace and chances, but sadly not enough, and as the 90 minutes got closer and closer, we just honestly didn't..
But it only takes one chance to produce a goal, and in the 93rd minute, Denilson's shot was blocked by the Hull keeper, but it bounced right into Bendtner's path, and he shot us right back into the title race!!
Last night when I was reading through the match report, I noticed that Hull scored their penalty in the 28th minute, somehow I recognised that, and looked into the Burnley game from last year, the one that ended 1-1 after Cesc gave us the lead, but in the 28th (!?) minute, Graham Alexander equalized from the spot.. But it did end better this time!
Injury Update;
-Rosicky and Fabregas both missed this game, but is likely to feature in next weeks derby against West Ham at the Emirates.
-As I mentioned earlier Gallas will be out for quite some time now, so he is certain to miss the West Ham clash.
-Song will be back next week though, he's been suspended in the last two Premier League games.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Arsenal vs. Porto
5-0, Champions League, Emirates, 9/3 -10
Bendtner 10, 25, 90+1(pen)
Nasri 63,
Eboue 66
What a show! Bendtner's response to the critics, absolutely brilliant! And the class on Arshavin and Nasri! Well, I really wouldn't want to pick a man of the match! Everyone was really high class, the entire game was really high class! I mean, 5-0 against the portugese champions, 5-0 in the champions league alone is just amazing! And Bendtner wrote history, the first Arsenal player to score a hat-trick at the Emirates in the Champions League.
We started really well, and we opened up the scoring when Nasri delicately passed towards Arshavin, but Helton was quickly there, and when Arshavin and Helton collided, the ball fell to Bendtner, who slotted it home.
That was only the second goal so far this season that we score in the first fifteen minutes (Fabregas against Burnley, 7').
Just fifteen minutes later Bendtner extended the lead after som amazing play by Arshavin, he just dribbled past the defence, and then ran past them, and delivered to Bendtner, who could just tap it in.
In the second half Porto began with some newly found pace, but eventually we could begin to play our way again, and when Nasri dribbled and ran past three defenders and fired 3-0, the game was punctured.
That goal is one of the most beautiful I have ever witnessed, perhaps even the goal of the season.
3 minutes later Eboue finally got his goal (after the game he said that his friends had mocked him a bit about the fact that he rarely scored), when a Porto corner was headed away, Arshavin won the ball and started running, and when he approached the box, a perfectly timed pass went to Eboue who skipped past Helton and scored!!
In the last minutes of the game Eboue went down in the box and the referee sayed penalty! Bendtner took it with confidence, and 5-0 was a fact!
Injury Update;
-Nasri hobbled off, but I haven't got any information of that at the moment.
-Fabregas is 50/50 for the Hull clash.
-Gallas is 'back at starting point', he felt just fine, but when he started to jog the pain returned, and it is most likely at least another month before he returns.
Bendtner 10, 25, 90+1(pen)
Nasri 63,
Eboue 66
What a show! Bendtner's response to the critics, absolutely brilliant! And the class on Arshavin and Nasri! Well, I really wouldn't want to pick a man of the match! Everyone was really high class, the entire game was really high class! I mean, 5-0 against the portugese champions, 5-0 in the champions league alone is just amazing! And Bendtner wrote history, the first Arsenal player to score a hat-trick at the Emirates in the Champions League.
We started really well, and we opened up the scoring when Nasri delicately passed towards Arshavin, but Helton was quickly there, and when Arshavin and Helton collided, the ball fell to Bendtner, who slotted it home.
That was only the second goal so far this season that we score in the first fifteen minutes (Fabregas against Burnley, 7').
Just fifteen minutes later Bendtner extended the lead after som amazing play by Arshavin, he just dribbled past the defence, and then ran past them, and delivered to Bendtner, who could just tap it in.
In the second half Porto began with some newly found pace, but eventually we could begin to play our way again, and when Nasri dribbled and ran past three defenders and fired 3-0, the game was punctured.
That goal is one of the most beautiful I have ever witnessed, perhaps even the goal of the season.
3 minutes later Eboue finally got his goal (after the game he said that his friends had mocked him a bit about the fact that he rarely scored), when a Porto corner was headed away, Arshavin won the ball and started running, and when he approached the box, a perfectly timed pass went to Eboue who skipped past Helton and scored!!
In the last minutes of the game Eboue went down in the box and the referee sayed penalty! Bendtner took it with confidence, and 5-0 was a fact!
Injury Update;
-Nasri hobbled off, but I haven't got any information of that at the moment.
-Fabregas is 50/50 for the Hull clash.
-Gallas is 'back at starting point', he felt just fine, but when he started to jog the pain returned, and it is most likely at least another month before he returns.
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