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.

   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.

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.

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.

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!

Newcastle vs. Arsenal

0-1, Premier League, St James' Park, 19.05.2013
Koscielny 52

Ahead of the game we knew that a win was the only way to be 100% sure of a place in the Champions League, but is there ever a way for the last game of the season not to equal 90 minutes of nerve-wrecking helplessness?

We had a positive start to the game, but overall the game was quite even. Walcott had a shot over the bar after approximately five minutes, following a free-kick taken by Cazorla. In the following minutes Newcastle striker Cisse fired over the bar as well, as we lost track of him in our box. Before long Koscielny proved both his defensive and attacking qualities as he met a corner well but was unable to direct it towards the goal, so it merely went across the goal and wide. The minute after he was called into action again, making a vital clearance right in front of the feet of Cisse.
   Bad news arrived right before the half-hour mark, as Arteta (who was doubtful ahead of the game) had to be replaced due to an injury. Oxlade-Chamberlain came on for the Spaniard. Before the end of the half both teams had more shots going over the bar, this time through Cazorla and Ben Arfa, whereas Szczesny got to make a comfortable as Cabaye got a long-range shot away.
   To some up the first half in a few words, we did not seem quite at ease, possibly due to nerves, and we lacked sharpness, not having many (or any) attempts on target.

Whatever Wenger said during the break paid off, though, as we came out firing on all cylinders! In the very first minute of the half Walcott forced a great save out of Harper with a low shot, and then came the goal that sent us into the Champions League. Seven minutes into the half Walcott took a free-kick, which was headed on forward by Podolski and Laurent Koscielny made an acrobatic kick to take the ball past Harper and into the back of the net! As long as we held onto the lead now, the fourth place was assured.
   But as one might have expected, holding onto the lead was not an easy thing to do. Mertesacker made an important block to deny Gouffran a chance to score and Newcastle had a penalty shout late on, fortunately for us the ref ignored it. Our final two substitutes came towards the end as well, Giroud being introduced at the expense of Podolski and Wilshere coming on for Cazorla.
   So going into the final four minutes we had a 1-0 lead, but as Tottenham scored I found myself at the edge of my seat (or, rather, couch) as this meant that if we conceded one goal we were out. When Walcott ran past one defender and dribbled past the other to find himself free in the area to take a shot, I was sure that the victory was sealed, but his shot hit the post! How devastating would not that have been for us had Newcastle equalised in the last minute...? Fortunately, Cazorla created a corner for us in the very last minute, and relief and joy as the ref blew the whistle was indescribable! Personally, I would say that this win was largely due to our great collective defending, which has really improved of late.

So this means that another season has ended, and considering the circumstances we can be very pleased to have ensured the qualification place for the Champions League. However, next season the aim will hopefully be higher towards the end of the season (and one can only hope less dramatic). At the moment it feels as though a summer break will be necessary, but it won't be long before you start missing the games every weekend... Thankfully they will be back before we know it !

Arsenal vs. Wigan

4-1, Premier League, Emirates Stadium, 14.05.2013
Podolski 11, 68,
Walcott 63,
Ramsey 71

These two final games of the season are must-wins for us, and we are off to a good start with this win over Wigan!

Our first goal came quite early in the first half, but it was not our first chance as Walcott crossed the ball into the box that was met by Cazorla with a header that went wide. Minutes later we got the lead as Cazorla took a corner-kick that was headed into the back of the net by Lukas Podolski from close range! It was quite a relief to get that early goal, even though it would be cancelled out before the end of the half.
   There was, however, much action before that. Our two full-backs linked up to create a dangerous chance as Sagna's shot was almost met by Gibbs, who was inches away from reaching the shot by the far post. The left-back was brilliant defensively as well, doing very well against the ever-dangerous McManaman. In the following minute both Walcott and Arteta saw shots blocked, within mere seconds. We may have produced lots of chances, but we had to remain vigilant at the back as well. Koscielny had to make a vital clearance as Wigan striker Kone got close to a one-on-one with Szczesny about midway through the half. The Ivorian striker would also see a shot going wide before the end of the half, and Arteta had to make an important block as Maloney got a shot away.
   Before the end of the half we had another decent chance following a corner, once again it was Cazorla who took the corner but this time it was met by Koscielny, unfortunately it was not turned into the back of the net this time. Walcott scored from an offside position before Wigan equalised in the very last minute as Maloney scored from a (very cheap) free-kick.

It proved to be detrimental to our second half, as we were far from as fluid in our passing as we could have been. Wigan had a good start, Szczesny had to make a vital save as Kone got a shot away and the visitors had a goal disallowed due to an offside position within the first five minutes.
   Fortunately we made our way back into the game and regained dominance of the play. Walcott provided a brilliant cross that lead to Cazorla getting two shots away, though both were saved by Wigan 'keeper Joel and Rosicky's follow-up effort went wide. The Wigan 'keeper made yet another two saves before we rattled the net again, Podolski had a header saved and Walcott a shot denied by Joel.
   Then came the breakthrough, through none other than Theo Walcott. Cazorla sent a cross into the box and Walcott met it by using his lightning speed, which allowed him to put it over Joel from close range. Five minutes later we increased the lead as our German striker doubled his tally. Yet again Cazorla provided the assist, as he headed the ball to Lukas Podolski, who cheekily lifted the ball over a standing Joel! The last goal came mere minutes after the third goal, and no guesses as to who assisted the goal. Yet again Cazorla proved his brilliant passing, but the goal was a stunning solo effort by Aaron Ramsey! The Welshman advanced along the left-hand side and finished the move in quite some style as his shot came from a rather acute angle!

This game was won and sealed within less than ten minutes in the second half, but it felt as though some nerves got to us when the score-line was 1-1. However, it is the three points that matter and now there is just one win missing from completing this season on a high!

Q.P.R. vs. Arsenal

0-1, Premier League, Loftus Road, 04.05.2013
Walcott 1

This was another difficult game as we approach the end of the season and it was definitely vital for us to get back on track with another three points following last week's drop against United.

As the game last week, Theo Walcott scored early on to give us the lead. However, this time around it was not in the second minute, but in the very first minute! Arteta found Walcott in the box, and the striker used his trademark quick feet to fire a powerful strike that found its way into the back of the net! After no more than 21 seconds! (Making it the fastest scored goal in the Premier League since 2006!)
   We followed the goal with dominating the initial half of the first half, Cazorla and Walcott both had shots blocked. The latter of the two almost made his tally a brace as he made a quick turn following a pass from Rosicky, but Walcott's shot went via Q.P.R. 'keeper Green to hit the post and stay clear of the goal-line.
   However, as the half progressed Q.P.R. gradually got back in the game and at the half-hour mark Ji Sung Park fired a shot above the crossbar. Apart from the goal, though, there were not very many decent chances to score in the first half.

At the start of the second half Q.P.R. continued their good run from the second half, Szczesny had to make several saves. He got his fingers to a cross, steering it clear of the goal, as well as making a good save as Townsend fired a powerful shot from outside the box.
   Then we recovered and began dominating the second half as we had in the first. Koscielny forced a save out of Green as he put the ball into the box following a free-kick. The Q.P.R. 'keeper was called into action minutes later, as both Cazorla and Walcott had shots on-target.
   Szczesny was called back into action with a brilliant save in the final ten minutes, as Remy fired a curling, goal-bound shot. Fortunately we held onto the lead from the very first minute and got those three, vital points.

This game was all hard work, but that is only to be expected in these final games of the season. To think, there are only two games remaining of the season for us now... Another six points are definitely needed, though!

Injury Update:
- Fabianski is still out with an injury problem.

Arsenal vs. Manchester United

1-1, Premier League, Emirates Stadium, 28.04.2013
Walcott 2

We certainly cannot afford to lose any more points now, if we are to succeed in finishing at least fourth. Since I watched this game live, naturally I experienced it as intense and thrilling, where the first half was by far the best from us.

To take the lead after merely two minutes was quite astounding. Theo Walcott proved that he can well and truly fire some amazing shots as his effort found the back of the net. And as mentioned, we were great during the first half, creating lots of chances and dominating the play. Unfortunately Sagna did not have a very great game, and when he brought down van Persie in the box at the end of the half and the Dutchman could score from the penalty spot the disappointment was immense.

In the second half we were not quite the same team and suffered from it. Nothing seemed to go our way and we never looked very likely to score another goal. Fortunately neither did United, and if we win all of our remaining games we are likely to play in the Champions League next season.