Poland vs. Greece
1-1
This tournament couldn't have started much worse for Wojciech Szczesny. Our young Polish goalkeeper saw himself sent off in the second half of the game. The first half was rather uneventful for the 'keeper, and Poland found themselves 1-0 up at half-time. However, the Greeks looked a different team in the second half and levelled the scoreline at the 51st minute. There was quite some chaos in the box and a Greek managed to convert a cross. Not long after that Szczesny found himself on a one-on-one situation and was unlucky to bring down the player. Penalty was awarded and a red card to the young 'keeper, which might have been a bit harsh, but that means that he will miss Poland's next game against Russia. Greece failed to score from the penalty and the game ended 1-1.
Russia vs. Czech Republic
4-1
Both captains for their respective teams, Andrey Arshavin and Tomas Rosicky starred in this game. They truly were key players for their teams, but the Russians proved to be the stronger side. The scoreline at half-time was 2-0 to the Russians, where Arshavin delivered a great assist for the second goal. Early on in the second half the Czechs scored one, and found themselves back in the game. However, they did not manage to find a second goal and late on in the game the Russians scored twice to ensure their victory. Rosicky provided pretty much everything that the Czech Republic had, going forward, and the same can be said of Arshavin for the Russians.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
UEFA European Championship
The European Championship kicks off on Friday, so I figured that it's about time for an update on all the Arsenal players that will feature in the tournament.
Laurent Koscielny is in the French squad. He has featured in both friendlies where France has kept a clean-sheet ahead of the tournament, so it's looking good for our centre-half.
Robin van Persie will feature for the Netherlands up front. Our skipper has played in all of the friendlies, scoring three goals and making two assists along the way. Needless to say, he is keeping up the fine form.
Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have both made it into the England squad. It was quite a surprise when Oxlade-Chamberlain was picked by Roy Hodgson, but it will no doubt provide some valuable experience for the young midfielder. Both players have featured in the two friendlies that England has played, and they have showcased their speed and other qualities very well.
Wojciech Szczesny is the first-choice 'keeper for the Poles. He has occupied the goal in both of Poland's friendlies ahead of the European Championship, and he has kept two clean-sheets.
Nicklas Bendtner will be the man up front for Denmark in the tournament. He has played in both of Denmark's friendlies, scoring once.
Andrey Arshavin has played in all three of Russia's friendlies. The midfielder is a centre-piece in the Russian squad, and has been that for many years now.
Per Mertesacker will feature for the German team. The centre-half will be joined by Lukas Podolski, and this will be the first time for many Arsenal fans to get a good look at the new signing.
Tomas Rosicky is the captain of the Czech Republic team, however, the creative midfielder has missed both of the friendlies ahead of the Championship. Hopefully he will recover from his injury in time for the first game.
As you might have noticed, we have quite a lot of players to keep track of in the tournament. Therefore I will write updates on our players as often as possible!
Laurent Koscielny is in the French squad. He has featured in both friendlies where France has kept a clean-sheet ahead of the tournament, so it's looking good for our centre-half.
Robin van Persie will feature for the Netherlands up front. Our skipper has played in all of the friendlies, scoring three goals and making two assists along the way. Needless to say, he is keeping up the fine form.
Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have both made it into the England squad. It was quite a surprise when Oxlade-Chamberlain was picked by Roy Hodgson, but it will no doubt provide some valuable experience for the young midfielder. Both players have featured in the two friendlies that England has played, and they have showcased their speed and other qualities very well.
Wojciech Szczesny is the first-choice 'keeper for the Poles. He has occupied the goal in both of Poland's friendlies ahead of the European Championship, and he has kept two clean-sheets.
Nicklas Bendtner will be the man up front for Denmark in the tournament. He has played in both of Denmark's friendlies, scoring once.
Andrey Arshavin has played in all three of Russia's friendlies. The midfielder is a centre-piece in the Russian squad, and has been that for many years now.
Per Mertesacker will feature for the German team. The centre-half will be joined by Lukas Podolski, and this will be the first time for many Arsenal fans to get a good look at the new signing.
Tomas Rosicky is the captain of the Czech Republic team, however, the creative midfielder has missed both of the friendlies ahead of the Championship. Hopefully he will recover from his injury in time for the first game.
As you might have noticed, we have quite a lot of players to keep track of in the tournament. Therefore I will write updates on our players as often as possible!
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Signing: Lukas Podolski
I know I've mentioned it in an earlier post, but since the season is over and I'm growing weary of not writing I've decided to give some further information of our new signing from Germany, Lukas Podolski.
My personal earlier experiences of the striker are few, I can recall watching him in a couple of games for Germany, but no more than that. He is currently 26 years old and has played 95 games for Germany, which means that he's got plenty of experience! He's also been a prolific goalscorer with 43 strikes for the national team.
Hopefully he will add a lot to the team and relieve some of the pressure from Robin van Persie (who is still having negotiation-talks with the club, making us all more nervous by the day!).
My personal earlier experiences of the striker are few, I can recall watching him in a couple of games for Germany, but no more than that. He is currently 26 years old and has played 95 games for Germany, which means that he's got plenty of experience! He's also been a prolific goalscorer with 43 strikes for the national team.
Hopefully he will add a lot to the team and relieve some of the pressure from Robin van Persie (who is still having negotiation-talks with the club, making us all more nervous by the day!).
 |
| Lukas Podolski wearing the red and white. |
Monday, May 14, 2012
West Bromwich Albion vs. Arsenal
3-2, Premier League, The Hawthorns, 2012-05-13
Benayoun 4,
Santos 28,
Koscielny 54
We finally got the job done. After ninety minutes of withstanding agonzing nerves, we finally got the job done. Considering our start of the season a third place feels like a victory, especially snatching it from our neighbours! We have ensured another year of Champions League football (the fifteenth year in a row of top European football for us) and let's just hope that it's enough to ensure that the services of our captain will remain for more seasons to come.
The game started well for us, we played with confidence and scored early. The W.B.A 'keeper made a fatal error that Yossi Benayoun capitalised on. He snatched it from the hands of the 'keeper and scored with ease. After that you'd have thought that we could more or less ease through the game, yet that was not the case. Within the space of four minutes we found ourselves trailing, 1-2! The first goal should never have been allowed as the player was offside by at least a yard! Nervetheless, it was vital that we found ourselves back in the game before the end of the first half, and our very own Brazilian defender saw to that. During his first season at Arsenal, Andre Santos have proved to be a real attacking force, and the last game of the season proved to be no different. The left back made his way into the W.B.A half and fired away a sizzling shot!
In the second half we continued to push on and, ironically, our salvation came through a situation that has often been our ruin: a corner. A lack of communication between 'keeper and defender meant that Laurent Koscielny found himself in a position where he just had to tuck the ball into the back of an open net! The remaining minutes we held on, and only just about! Gibbs slided in with an excellent tackle in the final minute to deny W.B.A a golden opportunity to score, and in doing so he probably won the game for us.
So that's an end to yet another (trophy-less) season. However, we can feel nothing but joy at the moment, considering how barely we just saved that spot in the Champions League. It does feel that next season will bring something more with it. Granted, we need to keep Robin van Persie as well as make a few more signings, but it does feel like the team is growing up, fast.
Injury Update;
-Walcott came on for the second half, returning from injury.
-Sagna underwent surgery earlier in the week on his fractured leg, meaning that he (most likely) won't be back in time for the next season.
-Arteta and Mertesacker are both still out, but hopefully they'll be back for next season.
Benayoun 4,
Santos 28,
Koscielny 54
We finally got the job done. After ninety minutes of withstanding agonzing nerves, we finally got the job done. Considering our start of the season a third place feels like a victory, especially snatching it from our neighbours! We have ensured another year of Champions League football (the fifteenth year in a row of top European football for us) and let's just hope that it's enough to ensure that the services of our captain will remain for more seasons to come.
The game started well for us, we played with confidence and scored early. The W.B.A 'keeper made a fatal error that Yossi Benayoun capitalised on. He snatched it from the hands of the 'keeper and scored with ease. After that you'd have thought that we could more or less ease through the game, yet that was not the case. Within the space of four minutes we found ourselves trailing, 1-2! The first goal should never have been allowed as the player was offside by at least a yard! Nervetheless, it was vital that we found ourselves back in the game before the end of the first half, and our very own Brazilian defender saw to that. During his first season at Arsenal, Andre Santos have proved to be a real attacking force, and the last game of the season proved to be no different. The left back made his way into the W.B.A half and fired away a sizzling shot!
In the second half we continued to push on and, ironically, our salvation came through a situation that has often been our ruin: a corner. A lack of communication between 'keeper and defender meant that Laurent Koscielny found himself in a position where he just had to tuck the ball into the back of an open net! The remaining minutes we held on, and only just about! Gibbs slided in with an excellent tackle in the final minute to deny W.B.A a golden opportunity to score, and in doing so he probably won the game for us.
So that's an end to yet another (trophy-less) season. However, we can feel nothing but joy at the moment, considering how barely we just saved that spot in the Champions League. It does feel that next season will bring something more with it. Granted, we need to keep Robin van Persie as well as make a few more signings, but it does feel like the team is growing up, fast.
Injury Update;
-Walcott came on for the second half, returning from injury.
-Sagna underwent surgery earlier in the week on his fractured leg, meaning that he (most likely) won't be back in time for the next season.
-Arteta and Mertesacker are both still out, but hopefully they'll be back for next season.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Arsenal vs. Norwich
3-3, Premier League, Emirates, 2012-05-05
Benayoun 2,
van Persie 72, 80
Completely gutted.. Ahead of this game we had it all in our own hands and now... well let's just say that hope has fled and we are now most likely to play in the Europa League next season...
Our first half was one of the worst halves I've seen us play this season. We got the lead after just two minutes when birthday boy Yossi Benayoun produced an amazing strike that went straight for the top corner. However, after that goal we were abhorrent. Completely useless. It was disappointing yet to no surprise that we found ourselves 2-1 down after that first half.
In the second half we looked like a team changed. We were hungrier and fought like a team, unlike the first half. You have to give Norwich lots of credit form this game, they played really well and for most parts of the game (especially the first half) looked hungrier than us, which doesn't make sense since they've secured their contract and we've far from secured that third spot.
There could only be one person to bring us back into the game, Robin van Persie. Song delivered a beautiful assist to the Dutchman who produced the magic that we needed. And just mere minutes later we found ourselves in that lead that we had sought for. And yes, it was that man again. Robin van Persie slammed the ball in using his cat-like reflexes and the atmosphere got crazy!
However, we never managed to hold on to any lead that we picked up in this game and in the dying minutes our defence were completely lost and a Norwich player could seal the draw. Just after this goal we had a clear shout for penalty that the ref chose to ignore. Robin was just about to put the goal into the back of the net following a cross from Oxlade-Chamberlain, and then came a defender and mauled him down. As clear a penalty as there ever will be and it is unacceptable that all the refs should miss it. We need video technology in football, NOW!
We had tons of chances in the second half, and wasted all but two of them. Unbelievable. We have to be more efficient if we are to ever secure a title.
On a happier note, Lukas Podolski joined the club earlier this week. His contract at FC Cologne expired this year and he chose to sign for us. Let us hope he won't have to regret it...
Injury Update;
-Sagna got stretchered off in the first half, which is alarming and I should not think that we will see him again this season.
Benayoun 2,
van Persie 72, 80
Completely gutted.. Ahead of this game we had it all in our own hands and now... well let's just say that hope has fled and we are now most likely to play in the Europa League next season...
Our first half was one of the worst halves I've seen us play this season. We got the lead after just two minutes when birthday boy Yossi Benayoun produced an amazing strike that went straight for the top corner. However, after that goal we were abhorrent. Completely useless. It was disappointing yet to no surprise that we found ourselves 2-1 down after that first half.
In the second half we looked like a team changed. We were hungrier and fought like a team, unlike the first half. You have to give Norwich lots of credit form this game, they played really well and for most parts of the game (especially the first half) looked hungrier than us, which doesn't make sense since they've secured their contract and we've far from secured that third spot.
There could only be one person to bring us back into the game, Robin van Persie. Song delivered a beautiful assist to the Dutchman who produced the magic that we needed. And just mere minutes later we found ourselves in that lead that we had sought for. And yes, it was that man again. Robin van Persie slammed the ball in using his cat-like reflexes and the atmosphere got crazy!
However, we never managed to hold on to any lead that we picked up in this game and in the dying minutes our defence were completely lost and a Norwich player could seal the draw. Just after this goal we had a clear shout for penalty that the ref chose to ignore. Robin was just about to put the goal into the back of the net following a cross from Oxlade-Chamberlain, and then came a defender and mauled him down. As clear a penalty as there ever will be and it is unacceptable that all the refs should miss it. We need video technology in football, NOW!
We had tons of chances in the second half, and wasted all but two of them. Unbelievable. We have to be more efficient if we are to ever secure a title.
On a happier note, Lukas Podolski joined the club earlier this week. His contract at FC Cologne expired this year and he chose to sign for us. Let us hope he won't have to regret it...
Injury Update;
-Sagna got stretchered off in the first half, which is alarming and I should not think that we will see him again this season.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Stoke vs. Arsenal
1-1, Premier League, Britannia Stadium, 2012-04-28
van Persie 15
A really open game with plenty of chances for both teams. We were the better side in the first half, but unfortunately dropped our level a bit in the second half, and even more unfortunately we could not find the winner.
The first half (like both halves) was really open, the game went back and forth constantly. We fell behind due to a Crouch header after just about nine minutes, but our skipper saw us back into the game. Benayoun won the ball on Stoke's half, and quickly passed it on to Rosicky. The midfielder provided a beautiful pass (like always) to Robin van Persie, and our main man didn't disappoint with yet another gorgeous strike. He had had a powerful header denied in the opening minutes, and has been long overdue with another goal from open play.
The second half was a lot more quite than the first, but we produced some good chances, for example Ramsey, Gervinho and Vermaelen all got close to scoring. However, in the final minutes, Stoke were awarded a throw-in that Delap prepared to take. We always seem to crumble when they have these throw-ins, and this was almost another of those examples. Crouch towered over Szczesny, fortunately Sagna cleared it off the line, and we managed to get the point.
Injury Update;
-no news as of right now.
van Persie 15
A really open game with plenty of chances for both teams. We were the better side in the first half, but unfortunately dropped our level a bit in the second half, and even more unfortunately we could not find the winner.
The first half (like both halves) was really open, the game went back and forth constantly. We fell behind due to a Crouch header after just about nine minutes, but our skipper saw us back into the game. Benayoun won the ball on Stoke's half, and quickly passed it on to Rosicky. The midfielder provided a beautiful pass (like always) to Robin van Persie, and our main man didn't disappoint with yet another gorgeous strike. He had had a powerful header denied in the opening minutes, and has been long overdue with another goal from open play.
The second half was a lot more quite than the first, but we produced some good chances, for example Ramsey, Gervinho and Vermaelen all got close to scoring. However, in the final minutes, Stoke were awarded a throw-in that Delap prepared to take. We always seem to crumble when they have these throw-ins, and this was almost another of those examples. Crouch towered over Szczesny, fortunately Sagna cleared it off the line, and we managed to get the point.
Injury Update;
-no news as of right now.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Arsenal vs. Chelsea
0-0, Premier League, Emirates, 2012-04-21
A really dismal game, and we could have done with the three points.
The game was slow in pretty much all ways, it was surprising that Chelsea didn't go for it more, as they definitely would have needed to win! Even though we were slow in our passing and running, we should have won the game as both van Persie and Koscielny hit the woodwork. van Persie hit the post early on in the game and a bit later Koscielny hit the bar with his header.
There really isn't much else to write of this game, it can easily just be summed up with the word: slow.
Injury Update;
-Arteta will be out for the rest of the season with the injury he picked up in the Wigan game.
-Walcott picked up a hamstring injury in the second half and will most likely be out for the rest of the season as well. However, he will (also most likely) be back for the European Cup.
A really dismal game, and we could have done with the three points.
The game was slow in pretty much all ways, it was surprising that Chelsea didn't go for it more, as they definitely would have needed to win! Even though we were slow in our passing and running, we should have won the game as both van Persie and Koscielny hit the woodwork. van Persie hit the post early on in the game and a bit later Koscielny hit the bar with his header.
There really isn't much else to write of this game, it can easily just be summed up with the word: slow.
Injury Update;
-Arteta will be out for the rest of the season with the injury he picked up in the Wigan game.
-Walcott picked up a hamstring injury in the second half and will most likely be out for the rest of the season as well. However, he will (also most likely) be back for the European Cup.
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