3-1, Champions League, Emirates, 8/12 -10
van Persie 29 (pen),
Walcott 73,
Nasri 77
I'm really thankful that we made it through, we certainly never truly showed up for this game it seemed, it most certainly was one of the worst offensive displays of the season.
But we're in the knock-out stages of the Champions League yet again, and as we got second in the group the teams that we could face in the next round is either Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Schalke. So we're heading to either Spain or Germany.
The game was honestly rather slow all through, the opener came when van Persie was brought down in the box, and he took off where he left things before his injury by scoring another brilliant penalty!
We had a couple of chances before the end of the first half, but we were really unlucky to concede instead just after the break as a shot came off Squillaci's leg to change direction and head into goal.
But on came Theo Walcott to win the game for us, when the ball bounced back right in his path he quickly got a shot away that went straight for goal!
A while later Samir sealed the game with another brilliant strike, he seems to have ice in his veins nowadays!
So we got away with a bad result, but we really need to improve as the next game up is at Old Trafford.
Injury Update:
-Gibbs, who started the game, had to leave the pitch during the first half as he twisted his ankle, and he will most certainly miss the United game.
-Both Diaby and Fabregas are unlikely to feature against United.
-Djourou had to sit this game out due to a knee injury, and I don't know whether he will be back for the trip to Manchester.
One of the Swedish reporters managed to get hold of Theo after the game, it may not be a major interview, but its better than nothing!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Arsenal vs. Fulham
2-1, Premier League, Emirates, 4/12 -10
Nasri 14, 75
WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE!!
I'm actually in Zurich over the weekend, I was pretty lucky to get to see the match at all, we managed to find a good old british pub 5 minutes before kick off, and it was packed with Arsenal supporters!
It was quite an atmosphere actually, it got especially noisy when Nasri scored our two goals, and not to mention when Everton equalized at Stamford Bridge, some minutes before the game was over!
Nasri has really been amazing this season! He shone in the first half, involved in everything we had going forward, and Nasri opened the scoring with some amazing skill, he feinted his way passed two defenders in the box before sending a powerful strike straight into goal!
We had lots of great chances before Fulham equalized, and we got especially close when Samir showed some more skill to get passed his defender, and even though he lost a shoe in the progress he managed to get the ball in, but Arshavin was just a little bit too far away.
It was really harsh for us when Fulham equalized, not just considering the chances that we had created, but as well since the only reason Kamara came free enough to score was due to a head injury to Koscielny, who was carried off on a stretcher as the Fulham players celebrated. In came Djourou, representing Switzerland in this game as Senderos, who has joined Fulham, is injured. Actually, he was watching the game with our injured skipper, they were roommates when Cesc just came to England, and clearly good friends still.
Another familiar face spotted on the sidelines was Therry Henry, it's always nice to know that former legends can take some time off to come to the Emirates and watch the team play, that way you know that they still care about the club.
In the second half we found it more difficult to create good goalscoring opportunities, one reason to that could perhaps be that Samir was not nearly as influential, it feels like he has had those kind of games before, where he is absolutely stunning in the first half, but doesn't really show up for the second one.. But that is probably just all in my head, I mean, he did score didn't he?
And it was quite a good one! Nasri recieved the ball from RvP (who has done really well since coming back, but isn't really at his best yet), and as he got past both defender and goalkeeper and got a bit too far out you started thinking, well that's a chance spoiled, but no, he turned quickly and got a shot away at once, which went straight for goal!!
After that we just had to keep things tight which we managed really well, so this time we didn't spoil a chance to go top!
Injury Update;
-Koscielny got a concussion, so far it is not known how long he will be out though.
-Almunia has suffered a small setback in training, so he is still not available for selection.
-Cesc is uncertain for the Man Utd game, but it seems as though he is progressing well.
-Diaby and Vermaelen is still out for an unknown amount of time.
Nasri 14, 75
WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE!!
I'm actually in Zurich over the weekend, I was pretty lucky to get to see the match at all, we managed to find a good old british pub 5 minutes before kick off, and it was packed with Arsenal supporters!
It was quite an atmosphere actually, it got especially noisy when Nasri scored our two goals, and not to mention when Everton equalized at Stamford Bridge, some minutes before the game was over!
Nasri has really been amazing this season! He shone in the first half, involved in everything we had going forward, and Nasri opened the scoring with some amazing skill, he feinted his way passed two defenders in the box before sending a powerful strike straight into goal!
We had lots of great chances before Fulham equalized, and we got especially close when Samir showed some more skill to get passed his defender, and even though he lost a shoe in the progress he managed to get the ball in, but Arshavin was just a little bit too far away.
It was really harsh for us when Fulham equalized, not just considering the chances that we had created, but as well since the only reason Kamara came free enough to score was due to a head injury to Koscielny, who was carried off on a stretcher as the Fulham players celebrated. In came Djourou, representing Switzerland in this game as Senderos, who has joined Fulham, is injured. Actually, he was watching the game with our injured skipper, they were roommates when Cesc just came to England, and clearly good friends still.
Another familiar face spotted on the sidelines was Therry Henry, it's always nice to know that former legends can take some time off to come to the Emirates and watch the team play, that way you know that they still care about the club.
In the second half we found it more difficult to create good goalscoring opportunities, one reason to that could perhaps be that Samir was not nearly as influential, it feels like he has had those kind of games before, where he is absolutely stunning in the first half, but doesn't really show up for the second one.. But that is probably just all in my head, I mean, he did score didn't he?
And it was quite a good one! Nasri recieved the ball from RvP (who has done really well since coming back, but isn't really at his best yet), and as he got past both defender and goalkeeper and got a bit too far out you started thinking, well that's a chance spoiled, but no, he turned quickly and got a shot away at once, which went straight for goal!!
After that we just had to keep things tight which we managed really well, so this time we didn't spoil a chance to go top!
Injury Update;
-Koscielny got a concussion, so far it is not known how long he will be out though.
-Almunia has suffered a small setback in training, so he is still not available for selection.
-Cesc is uncertain for the Man Utd game, but it seems as though he is progressing well.
-Diaby and Vermaelen is still out for an unknown amount of time.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Carling Cup Draw, World Cup vote and Goal of the Month
Yeah, a quite eventful day in the football world, but the major event of the day must have been the World Cup Vote! I'm not going to hold it in anymore, the world cup of 1018 goes to Russia! and the world cup of 2022 goes to Qatar! Disappointment for England as their bid was beaten by Russia's, but at least I got to hear a very good speech by Arshavin, who played a big part in Russia's bid, as he is captain of their national team, but is unfortunately not likely to play in that world cup.
We will face Ipswich Town in the semi finals of the Carling Cup, an exciting two legged final which will begin in Ipswich.
The goal of the month video came out today as it is the start of a new month, and my vote went to Samir's against Tottenham, as I think that it was a sublime finish! But Theo's strike at Donetsk came close as well, have a look yourself:
We will face Ipswich Town in the semi finals of the Carling Cup, an exciting two legged final which will begin in Ipswich.
The goal of the month video came out today as it is the start of a new month, and my vote went to Samir's against Tottenham, as I think that it was a sublime finish! But Theo's strike at Donetsk came close as well, have a look yourself:
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Arsenal vs. Wigan
2-0, Carling Cup, Emirates, 30/11 -10
Alcaraz 41 (og),
Bendtner 67
We never played truly convincing during the game, we created lots of chances but most of them were wasted, but nevertheless, we're in the semi finals!
Van Persie started this game, the first start for quite some time, and he did well, obviously he's not in top shape yet, but he had some great touches and free kicks during the game, so it looks like he's getting there!
The game started very slow, actually, it was pretty slow all through the 90 minutes, but we had some moments when we played great football and created lots of chances.
We deserved to go ahead before half time, even though it was a Wigan own goal, it was headed in by Alcaraz, from Theo's corner.
Our second goal was a bit better, van Persie started the attack by playing the ball wide to Vela, who's cross found Bendtner, and he managed to get it past the Wigan 'keeper.
So it wasn't our best game ever, but it was enough to get us into the last four in the league cup.
Injury update;
-no news as it is right now.
Alcaraz 41 (og),
Bendtner 67
We never played truly convincing during the game, we created lots of chances but most of them were wasted, but nevertheless, we're in the semi finals!
Van Persie started this game, the first start for quite some time, and he did well, obviously he's not in top shape yet, but he had some great touches and free kicks during the game, so it looks like he's getting there!
The game started very slow, actually, it was pretty slow all through the 90 minutes, but we had some moments when we played great football and created lots of chances.
We deserved to go ahead before half time, even though it was a Wigan own goal, it was headed in by Alcaraz, from Theo's corner.
Our second goal was a bit better, van Persie started the attack by playing the ball wide to Vela, who's cross found Bendtner, and he managed to get it past the Wigan 'keeper.
So it wasn't our best game ever, but it was enough to get us into the last four in the league cup.
Injury update;
-no news as it is right now.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Aston Villa vs Arsenal
4-2, Premier League, Villa Park, 27/11 -10
Arshavin 38,
Nasri 44,
Chamakh 55,
Wilshere 90
Three vital points, not just to remain in the title race, but as well to get back on track, as we've had a pretty poor week.
And I believe that the goal right at the end to seal the game was Wilshere's first Premier League strike for Arsenal, the first of many to come we hope.
We completely dominated the first half and had tons of chances, but it took quite some time for us to break the deadlock, but when we did, we did it with style, Andrey got some space on the left, and for Villa, that proved fatal, he managed to get a shot away, even though he had three defending players ahead of him, and even though Friedel got a hand on the ball, it wasn't enough.
Just before half time we extended the lead through Nasri, and his volley from a corner went straight for goal! He really has been top this season.
The second half started just as last weekend, only this time just after the score went to 2-1, we made it 3-1! Chamakh managed to squeeze the ball past Friedel after a great pass from Rosicky.
Then Villa got back once again to 3-2, but this time we held on great and in the last minute Wilshere scored a low header, though the thanks goes to Chamakh, who was really unselfish when deciding to pass the ball to Wilshere instead of going for it himself.
Injury Update;
-Cesc looks to be out for at least two weeks & Eboue looks to be out for four weeks
-No other news really, van Persie, Bendtner and Walcott are all working hard to get into top shape.
Arshavin 38,
Nasri 44,
Chamakh 55,
Wilshere 90
Three vital points, not just to remain in the title race, but as well to get back on track, as we've had a pretty poor week.
And I believe that the goal right at the end to seal the game was Wilshere's first Premier League strike for Arsenal, the first of many to come we hope.
We completely dominated the first half and had tons of chances, but it took quite some time for us to break the deadlock, but when we did, we did it with style, Andrey got some space on the left, and for Villa, that proved fatal, he managed to get a shot away, even though he had three defending players ahead of him, and even though Friedel got a hand on the ball, it wasn't enough.
Just before half time we extended the lead through Nasri, and his volley from a corner went straight for goal! He really has been top this season.
The second half started just as last weekend, only this time just after the score went to 2-1, we made it 3-1! Chamakh managed to squeeze the ball past Friedel after a great pass from Rosicky.
Then Villa got back once again to 3-2, but this time we held on great and in the last minute Wilshere scored a low header, though the thanks goes to Chamakh, who was really unselfish when deciding to pass the ball to Wilshere instead of going for it himself.
Injury Update;
-Cesc looks to be out for at least two weeks & Eboue looks to be out for four weeks
-No other news really, van Persie, Bendtner and Walcott are all working hard to get into top shape.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Braga vs. Arsenal
0-2, Champions League, 23/11 -10
There have been better times to support the Arsenal, but unfortunately you can't pick when you want to support and when you just don't.
After a tough weekend we were looking to bounce back by securing the qualification to the knock-out stages in the Champions League, but courtesy of the ref that proved impossible.
We were dominant throughout the game, but didn't have too many chances, with 22 minutes to go Cesc got a recurrence of the hamstring problem that's been haunting him lately, and when we had made all three substitutions Eboue had to be carried off on a stretcher after a bad tackle from behind.
So when Carlos Vela got brought down in the box with fifteen minutes to go, it surely was defining for the game, but not in our favor, no, even though they have two extra referees watching the box in the CL, they couldn't tell when Vela was brought down, they decided that it was a dive and booked him! It really is a disgrace, they have put in extra referees just to avoid these kind of situations!!
And then things went straight down for us, again....
There have been better times to support the Arsenal, but unfortunately you can't pick when you want to support and when you just don't.
After a tough weekend we were looking to bounce back by securing the qualification to the knock-out stages in the Champions League, but courtesy of the ref that proved impossible.
We were dominant throughout the game, but didn't have too many chances, with 22 minutes to go Cesc got a recurrence of the hamstring problem that's been haunting him lately, and when we had made all three substitutions Eboue had to be carried off on a stretcher after a bad tackle from behind.
So when Carlos Vela got brought down in the box with fifteen minutes to go, it surely was defining for the game, but not in our favor, no, even though they have two extra referees watching the box in the CL, they couldn't tell when Vela was brought down, they decided that it was a dive and booked him! It really is a disgrace, they have put in extra referees just to avoid these kind of situations!!
And then things went straight down for us, again....
Monday, November 15, 2010
Everton vs. Arsenal
2-1, Premier League, Goodison Park, 14/11 -10
Sagna 35,
Fabregas 47
Three very big points gained in this game, three big points gained in midweek, as well as Chelsea losing and both Manchester United and Manchester City dropping points too, it's been a good week after an extremely bad week for us.
As mentioned I have been away, and it seems the squad was a bit away as well, but now we're back on track after two vital wins!
Marouane Chamakh scored in the first and last minute against Wolves to win the game for us, but credit to Lukasz Fabianski for keeping us in in both of the games!
The first half was even, but looking at the chances that both teams created, ours were slightly better, so we deserved to go into the second half being 1-0 up.
The goal was very well taken, from the one person you probably wouldn't expect to score, Sagna pops up in the box and beautifully scores from a tight angle! His second goal in 147 appearances for the club, with Andrey setting up the goal nicely.
We got exactly what we needed immediately after the break, some quick passes at the edge of the box suddenly gave captain Cesc Fabregas enough space to get a shot away, and it went straight for the far post.
After that we looked quite comfortable, until the last five minutes, then Everton started to build up pressure and eventually (naturally) got a goal, but we dug in and managed to get away with the three points, and as both Chelsea and United dropped points, we are not only two points away from Chelsea, but also in 2nd place!
Injury Update;
-Gibbs returned to the bench for this game, and he, Wilshere and Walcott have all been called up to the England squad for the France game.
-Still no news about the Vermaelen situation.
-Diaby is getting closer to a comeback, the same goes for Almunia.
Sagna 35,
Fabregas 47
Three very big points gained in this game, three big points gained in midweek, as well as Chelsea losing and both Manchester United and Manchester City dropping points too, it's been a good week after an extremely bad week for us.
As mentioned I have been away, and it seems the squad was a bit away as well, but now we're back on track after two vital wins!
Marouane Chamakh scored in the first and last minute against Wolves to win the game for us, but credit to Lukasz Fabianski for keeping us in in both of the games!
The first half was even, but looking at the chances that both teams created, ours were slightly better, so we deserved to go into the second half being 1-0 up.
The goal was very well taken, from the one person you probably wouldn't expect to score, Sagna pops up in the box and beautifully scores from a tight angle! His second goal in 147 appearances for the club, with Andrey setting up the goal nicely.
We got exactly what we needed immediately after the break, some quick passes at the edge of the box suddenly gave captain Cesc Fabregas enough space to get a shot away, and it went straight for the far post.
After that we looked quite comfortable, until the last five minutes, then Everton started to build up pressure and eventually (naturally) got a goal, but we dug in and managed to get away with the three points, and as both Chelsea and United dropped points, we are not only two points away from Chelsea, but also in 2nd place!
Injury Update;
-Gibbs returned to the bench for this game, and he, Wilshere and Walcott have all been called up to the England squad for the France game.
-Still no news about the Vermaelen situation.
-Diaby is getting closer to a comeback, the same goes for Almunia.
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