Arsenal 1-1 Wolves: One of Those Days...

To use the age-old phrase, yesterday was just one of those days. It was disappointing, but all credit goes to Wolves, and in particular Wayne Hennessey, their keeper, who had a fantastic game to stop us getting the points. As a whole, Wolverhampton looked like a team 17th in the league, but their keeper sure didn't. Don't you just hate it when they have the game of their life against us?

In all fairness though, as good as the saves were we could've made more of the chances we had, but it just wasn't our day: we were very unlucky. Shots flew in right, left, and centre, and in the second half we literally laid siege to the Wolves goal and all to no avail.

We had 27 shots yesterday, 11 of which were on target, and in any normal game that would be enough to secure three of four goals, but not this one. Should we deride the team for being not being clinical when 11 less shots gave us a comfortable victory at Wigan or when 14 less gave us the win at Chelsea? Yesterday just wasn't meant to be.

The match started well. Rosicky and Benayoun came in for Walcott and Ramsey, one rested and the former ill. Both had excellent games. Rosicky, who I'm a big fan of, was again magnificent, creating chances, linking together passes, and putting in a solid shift in midfield. Benayoun assisted Gervinho for the opening goal with a fantastic pass and looked excellent until his 64th minute removal.

When the Ivorian was sent in on goal Van Persie was to his right and certainly a good option, but in watching Gervinho lately I've realised that he almost always likes to go it alone and attempt to put it in the back of the net himself. Well yesterday was no different, but this time he did the job very well. Clever cut-back and a smooth finish.

When it went in it looked and felt like today was going to be a stroll in the park. "We'll score another," I said, "in fact at the rate we're going we'll score 3 or 4 more." Not to be. It's almost as if once the goal went in we stopped trying. Sure, the chances still fell for us and we hadn't given up the match, but compared to the urgency displayed in the second half once Wolves had drawn level, there was an apathetic feel in how the team played.

Arsene Wenger noted as much in his post match comments:

"At the moment what we have to learn is that when we are 1-0 up in some departments we cannot be too comfortable. We were caught in a position where we can only blame ourselves."

That's two matches in a row now where we have grabbed an early lead and then let it slip, only this time there was to be no late, late goal to bail us out. Try as we might it just wasn't to be.

Ultimately if we're honest, four points from the last two games isn't too bad, and certainly if we beat QPR this weekend then we'll be just fine, but there's no denying yesterday was a bit of a disappointment. Hopefully it'll be a good lesson for the lads, and one which they'll remember in the coming weeks and months.

If it were up to me, I'd say let's start every game the way we played for the last 20 minutes of yesterday's. Wouldn't that be far more effective than scoring once then laying back and just passing between the back four? It'd sure make for a thrilling game this weekend, wouldn't it?

Anyway, what's done is done, so with the appropriate lessons learnt and with a point at home, let's push on and have a great weekend and start to the new year shall we? Here's hoping for a comfortable win this weekend as we hose QPR. Till then,

Fab 4

Nervy, Happy Christmas Present

What a way to celebrate the holidays as we defeated Aston Villa 2-1 this evening. It wasn't Arsenal at their most fluent, and it sure was nervy at times, but in the end our excellent loan signing Yossi Benayoun secured the points with our second goal of the season scored from a corner kick.

We went ahead early in the first half via a well-taken penalty by Robin Van Persie, which takes his tally to 34 this calendar year, tying the legend Thierry Henry's record for a single year. And hey, he's still got a game left this year, so why not go ahead and break the Arsenal record and maybe even the Premier League record while he's at it?

The penalty, by the way, came after a lovely piece of skill from Theo Walcott to escape from two defenders and put him in clear inside the penalty area. When he was tugged it was always going to be a penalty kick. Unless of course Phil Down were refereeing, which thankfully he was not.

Till halftime the game was pretty even, but after the half Villa came out strong as ever. They began to close us down higher up the pitch and to be honest we looked out of ideas and creativity. Finally all their pressure paid off when they forced an error out of the Verminator. Honestly it was a bad header and a bad decision from the Belgian: Aston Villa capitalised.

After that Villa were the side with more desire and more drive, and it looked like this one might be getting away from us, but then came the substitutions. Arshavin and Benayoun on after Rosicky had made an immediate impact. And with four or five attackers on the pitch at the same time the goal was always going to come.

We poked and prodded, and looked like slicing open Villa until finally a corner from Van Persie (our 11th of the half) was nodded home by Benayoun. He's deserved a Premier League goal and he looked overall excellent tonight, as he did last time he played against Olympiacos, a game in which he also bagged a goal. Why aren't we starting him more?

In the end it was a happy three points, and thank goodness. With everyone around us winning at the moment and Chelsea taking on Sp*rs tomorrow we needed a solid three points tonight, and right at the end we got them. This is the kind of game that shows the solidity and experience of a team, getting three points when you perhaps don't deserve them but desperately need them.

On tonight's evidence, we're as solid as ever. Till next time,

Fab 4 

Revisiting Manchester

It was a disappointing loss on Sunday to be sure, and it is for that reason that I've delayed my post until today. But the disappointment certainly wasn't in the team - they were fantastic, it was in the match itself. It's a game we should've won, or at least drawn, and losing was a bit harsh. Refereeing decisions went against us, and City's goal came when we were still reshuffling after a change in defence.

Despite the loss it's a game in which we can definitely be proud of how the team played. There was spirit and determination, a real sense of togetherness, the defending was fantastic for the most part, and even the attacking was good.

Van Persie's excellent goal was disallowed for offside, which was clearly and incorrect decision. As was not calling the blatant handball by Micah Richards inside the box. To be fair it's hard on the referees when things like that happen in the box, and many won't call it since they hate to award a harsh penalty kick, but in cases like that I don't see how he couldn't call it.

But anyway, what's happened has happened, and it's time to move on. It really was a good game, and it sets us up well for tomorrow's fixture at Aston Villa. Villa lost at the weekend to Liverpool and don't quite look the part this season. It's a match we should definitely win, and indeed need to if we're to stay competitive at this juncture.

Alex Song will be suspended for the game due to an accumulation of yellow cards, and of course Djourou will be out for a few weeks with the groin injury he picked up, which means Miquel will likely be employed at left back (where I think he does quite well actually) and Frimpong could come into central midfield. But if everyone else stays in the positions they played on Sunday then we shouldn't have any problems tomorrow evening.

What does the loss show us about the squad though? For one it certainly shows a lack of depth in our offence, as if that weren't already evident. Someone needs to be signed to cover Van Persie, or at the very least to cover Gervinho while he's gone at the African Cup of Nations.

Also, I've been really forgiving of Arshavin and still believe that he could come back to being the kind of player he was when we first signed him, but at the moment he's just not performing. He was sent on to make an impact in the second half Sunday, but the only thing he accomplished was making some incomplete passes and dreadful scuffed shots. He's either got to improve his game quickly or it's time to replace him.

Here's hoping for a comfortable Arsenal victory tomorrow night. Till then,

Fab 4

Milan & Manchester: The Italian Jobs

This morning came the draw for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 and sure enough we drew the one team I think all of us were hoping to avoid. It looks like we'll be taking a trip in February to Italy to face AC Milan, with the second leg being played back at the Emirates. So it's an Italian job that will be necessary to succeed at to make it to the quarter-finals. 

Of course, we faced Milan a few seasons ago and in the second leg following a 0-0 draw at the Emirates, we secured a famous win in Milan. The 2-0 victory against the then-reigning European champions was the first time  AC Milan had ever lost at home to English opposition. 

You may remember that last year the Spuds beat Milan 1-0 at the San Siro, it being the decisive match to eliminate the Italians and send Tottenham through to the quarter finals (where, thankfully, they were mauled 5-0 on aggregate by Real Madrid). So facing - and losing to - English opposition seems to be a feature of their recent European endeavours. 

It's hard to predict right now which of the two teams will win the tie. Both Arsenal and Milan are on good runs of form and if we were to match up today it would be a very tight, tense affair. I think we'll know a lot more about the capability of our side to face big teams after Sunday's match at Manchester City.

Roberto Mancini's side finally lost Monday to Chelsea, and that will either bring about rebound determination from City or it'll leave them a bit off as they struggle to cope with their streak finally ending. Robin Van Persie today seemed to come to the same conclusion, thinking that Man City will probably want to bounce back strongly, but also remembering when Man Utd finally ended our 49-game unbeaten streak a few years ago and then we couldn't manage to win for our next five matches. 

It'll certainly be a test on Sunday though, and a big one. If we manage to pull off the Italian job then by beating the side managed by the man from the town of Jesi, Italy then we'll have definitely proven that we can defeat the big clubs this season.

I'm not forgetting about our wins over Chelsea or Dortmund, but let's be honest: neither were at their best at the time. Chelsea were (and still are) in transition to their new manager and the style of play he wants them to use, and Dortmund lost two of their best players in the first half of our win. Manchester City probably won't have either of those problems, so it'll be a true test of the lads in red and white.

If we can defeat Man City, and then push on with our great run of form, we'll be in good shape come February. I groaned a bit when I saw our name come out of the pot to face AC Milan, but it's a tie that's winnable. If there's one thing that is for sure, it's that it'll be an electric couple of nights. It's a massive for us, but one that we can win.

A lot will happen between now and then, and it all starts with our match on Sunday up in Manchester. It's the biggest game our our season to date, and we're really going to have to be at our very best to come away with a result. 

Here's hoping we do the duty in both of our Italian jobs coming up, starting with a win on Sunday. Till next time,

Fab 4

Who to Buy in January?

So this morning on Arsenal.com Arsene Wenger was quoted as saying that we're currently in a good financial situation compared to other clubs, and if we end up finding a player we want to buy in January then we'll have the funds to do so.

This isn't surprising of course; it's been obvious that as frustrating as the last few years have perhaps been in the transfer market, it's been done for the long-term financial stability of the club. Buying players for cheap and then selling them at high prices due to our excellent youth development program is a system of operation that was aimed at paying off as fast as we can the Emirates Stadium and thus giving us sufficient funds to compete in the future without being terribly in debt.

Well it would seem that now our plan of financial frugality is beginning to pay off. The funds are now there (though let's not get carried away and imagine we have the spending power of a Chelsea or Man City) and Arsene Wenger seems willing to spend it if he sees the need. So the big question is, who should we buy? I'm not going to speculate on individual players, but perhaps we can talk about which positions are most important to strengthen right now.

The general consensus among we gooners right now seems to be that we need to sign a striker as cover for Robin Van Persie should he get injured. Now right now our captain is enjoying easily the longest spell of fitness of his Arsenal career to date. But let's be honest: it's not going to go on forever. At some point something will happen to him, hopefully not for very long, but it's bound to happen. So who covers for him while he's out?

Right now the main man to provide cover seems to be Marouane Chamakh. Obviously none of us are too excited about that prospect, but even if we were to rely on him and him alone the fact remains that he and Gervinho will be gone come January to the African Cup of Nations. That leaves us short a striker.

Obviously what we need is a world-class, even young striker who can get the job done. I'd sure prefer a physical presence, but what's more important is the ability to get free and create and finish scoring opportunities: match winners. There are certainly those type of strikers out there and available at the moment, so let's go for one of those.

We also could use a quality fullback. Yes, we do have two for each position at the moment, Sanga and Jenkinson on the right and Andre Santos and Gibbs on the left, but we need, I believe, at least one more. I'd say make it a left-back. Someone who's defensively solid, but definitely likes to overlap on the wings. Andre Santos likes to attack but doesn't defend quite enough for me, though he was getting better before his injury. Maybe let's get someone with about as much attacking initiative, but who can drop back and defend at a moment's notice.

Worst case scenario then: we sign neither position and Robin Van Persie gets injured. Are we in deep trouble? Perhaps, but maybe there's one more player who could slot in to centre-forward: Arshavin. Sounds crazy perhaps seeing as Wenger loves to use him on the wings, he's short, and he's been off-form. But playing in the centre, holding up play, and then finishing every now and again with something special is what he was doing in and for Russia so effectively before he came here. He was used to playing in the centre, and it helped to make him such a good player. I'd sure love to see a return to the form he was in when he first got here, and if he were forced to play in the centre, perhaps it would revitalise him.

It's all just speculation of course; who knows who Arsene will sign when the window opens, or if he'll sign anyone at all. We gooners certainly seem to feel someone needs to be signed, but does Le Boss? We'll find out soon enough.

Don't forget to check out our Twitter and Facebook pages and be sure to follow us! Till next time,
Fab 4

History, Defeats, Elation, and Confidence

So a couple of things to write about then. First of all, we had a good win Saturday over Everton; a day full of fanfare and legends as we celebrated our historic 125th anniversary. It was a bit of a scrappy affair to be honest, and it certainly wasn't any sort of dominating performance, but on the night it was a win, and that was the perfect cap to an historic day.

Everton seemed content to park the proverbial bus, and it very well could've put a damper on the atmosphere were it not for a moment of brilliance from our captain.

"Who needs Batman when we've got Robin?" Indeed.

It was a goal a former captain of ours, Thierry Henry, would've been proud of, and because of the occasion he was in attendance to witness it. I haven't heard the stadium erupt quite like that in a long time, and for good reason. The goal was world class. Truly we have one of, if not the best striker in Europe at the moment. It reminds one a bit of the days when Henry was our talisman and captain.

Either way the win was deserved, despite the lads making a bit of a hard time of it. And it moved us into fourth place in the league over the weekend, which was surely a bit of a confidence builder for the team. Of course a little treat for we fans came Sunday when Stoke put an end to the Sp*rs' unbeaten run. It's about time they were stopped dead in their tracks. It's frankly disgusting to see them doing so well this season. Anyway, so strange as it was, I was a Stoke supporter for 90 minutes Sunday.

That leads us to the next talking point, tonight's match between Chelsea and Manchester City in west London. I wasn't quite sure who I wanted to win the match tonight, but I decided that I definitely wanted Man City's unbeaten run to end: the Invincibles' record must not even be thought of being challenged. So for the game I chose to support Chelsea.

A horrid feeling I can assure you.

After getting over feeling thoroughly dirty inside I could take a step back and appreciate the fact that City's run is finally over. Elation soon set in. So that sets up an interesting proposition come Sunday. Man City have now been eliminated from the Champions League and lost their first domestic game of the season in quick succession. Add to that they've lost their first choice left-back to suspension (Hey thanks Clichy for being a good man and getting yourself sent off!) and they're very much a wounded animal at the moment.

A second loss in a row for the Manchester club perhaps? One can only hope. Certainly we've got some confidence at the moment, and that confidence factor may be a big one for both teams this weekend. Time will only tell. Till next time then,

Fab 4

Everton Preview: Arteta vs. His Old Club

Well it's been quite a week already, what with the disappointing yet meaningless loss in Greece, and then the celebrations that broke out round my place when both Manchester clubs were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage. I sure hope Nasri and Clichy are enjoying the top quality opponents they'll now be facing. You know, teams like the fearsome FC Metalist Kharkiv. Quite illustrious lads, you've done your families proud with your choice of club. I can really only muster up one response: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Right then, that's out of my system now.

But as fun as it was to see United and City exit (especially United - I was watching their loss to FC Basel that night), it doesn't mean much for this Saturday. Now yes, this'll have an impact down the road (no Man Utd to knock us out of the Champions League semi-finals as happened rather painfully a few seasons back you'll remember), but now we must turn our attentions to this Saturday as we host Everton.

Everton have been a bit of all over the place as far as their current form goes. They've won half their last six games and lost half. But no matter how their current for is, they're always a difficult side to go and get a result against. Of course, their attacking prowess wasn't helped when we took Arteta from them on deadline day, but nevertheless they're a well organised side and may be hard to break down.

That being said, a win is surely on the cards. Our attacking prowess has been at a top level the last few weeks, shown especially last week in our 4-0 thumping of Wigan. We should be top tomorrow as well. The result against Olympiacos should be long forgotten and have no impact on the game, which means we can play well and confidently.

But then, there was a bit of an impact from the Olympiacos game, wasn't there? Our top-performing Brazilian left-back Andre Santos was injured, and from what Arsene Wenger seems to be saying in his press conferences, rather badly. With no Kieran Gibbs back yet, some reshuffling could be on the cards. Now, we know Vermaelen can play at left back, and most likely that's where Le Boss will play him, but he's been doing excellent work in the centre of our defence, and it'd be a shame to break that up. My choice for left-back would be to play Ignasi Miquel there tomorrow. The boy's been excellent every time he's played there quite honestly, and his was one of the few good performances Tuesday night. The guy's ready for a Premier League start, and it'd give him the confidence he needs to push on and become an even better player.

We'll find out tomorrow, but it's most likely Miquel won't play there and Vermaelen will. Arsene knows best I suppose, so I'm sure it'll work out. On a side note, it'll be interesting to see Arteta out there against his former team mates. The one big advantage is that he knows how Everton's team works, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him bossing the midfield tomorrow.

Prediction then? An Arsenal win, 2-0 or 2-1. A victory would be a massive result for us as it would propel us into the top four with quite the chance of remaining there after the Chelsea-Man City clash on Monday night. Looking forward to it then. Till next time,

Fab 4

A Forgettable Night in Greece

Well wasn't last night just one of those games you want to log away and forget about rather quickly? We of course were defeated 3-1 in Greece after an admittedly sub-par performance which included a few bits that would've been hilarious had they not been mistakes made by the players of our team.

Olympiacos came out and played exactly the way they needed to to get a result. The high pressure defending worked to great effect and shut down all our avenues of passing. Arsene Wenger was right to be a bit upset that we couldn't keep the ball under pressure, because we didn't...at all. I don't think I've seen the Arsenal players give away so many balls to the opposition in the course of a single half in a long time. The passing was dreadful.

Up against such a high defensive pressure strategy as Olympiacos were using, the lads should've found another way to get through it. There are ways to change your game-playing style without sacrificing your footballing ethos, and we didn't do it.

Of course, the defending was fairly comical as well, especially in the goalkeeping department. Fabianski and Mannone combined to remind us why our current Polish number one is so valuable to us. Who doesn't feel so much more confident with Szczesny in goal than one of these two who played last night? I've always been a big fan of Mannone actually, but he had an off-night in Greece (to put it mildly). To be honest though, I'd rather see Almunia in goal as backup for Szczesny than either of these two. At least he's older and more experienced, even if he is prone to the odd howler.

Elsewhere, Squillaci had a terrible game (which is an all-too-familiar phrase), Arshavin seems dreadfully out of form, and to top off the night we lost Andre Santos to injury. I've actually really like the guy: I think he's been doing a great job at left back. But now being out with the injury he picked up our defence is looking a little thin. Thank goodness Vermaelen can play at left back, although he sure is a lot better at centre back with the stability and calmness he provides back there.

On the bright side, Oxlade-Chamberlain had a great night, as did Benayoun, who's goal was fantastic by the way. It sure was great to see Rosicky back on the field after recovering from injury, and he played really well, didn't he? He was all over the place, chasing down balls, spraying decent passes about, and really directing affairs in the centre of the park. He'll be fighting hard for a place in the first XI , and on the evidence of last night he has the potential to get back in there.

Ultimately though, the match didn't really matter. We all knew it, unfortunately it seems the players knew it (and perhaps played accordingly), and we're through top of the group regardless. It was pretty funny at the end when the news came in that Marseille had won, and nothing Olympiacos had done mattered a bit as far as their qualification. I probably should've felt a bit of sympathy for them considering how well they played.

But we had just lost. I think I can be forgiven for chuckling just a bit.

Overall it was a good outing and gave some important experience to the young players, a good taste of what dirty, hard-fought European endeavours are like. Yes, it's unfortunate that we lost, but it's a match that will surely soon be long forgotten starting with our fixture against Everton this weekend at the Emirates. I'm sure looking forward to it. Till next time,

Fab 4

Comfortable and Confident

Well that was a great win at Wigan over the weekend, wasn't it? The team looked comfortable and confident in a dominating 4-0 victory that just felt amazing. It's been a little while since we looked that comfortable on our way to a win. Surely it'll give the lads some confidence at this really crucial part of the season.

Wigan didn't make it easy to begin with. They bossed the early stages of the game and to be honest I was a bit worried. But that all changed just before the half-hour mark.

Arteta's long-range shot was excellent really, and he got the bit of luck he needed thanks to some poor goalkeeping. But it's just refreshing to see the Arsenal players shooting from long range again. I remember just a few seasons ago when Cesc Fabregas was firing in rockets left right and centre and we were all just thrilled to be able to score in a new, rather breathtaking way. I sure hope the rest of the team latches on to this idea of not being scared to pull the trigger from 20+ yards out: you never know what can happen.

Almost immediately afterwards we were 2-0 up through - after a run of 179 Premier League tries - a goal from a corner kick. It was definitely one from the training ground, which Arsene Wenger recently admitted the team's been working on. And it was none other than our fantastic centre-half Vermaelen who scored the goal. That's two in two weeks for our solid defensive rock. Honestly, when the man's playing we look so much more calm and assured at the back, and I could see him being very much a Martin Keown-type figure for us in the years to come.

The third goal followed an excellent string of passes, and it was about time that Gervinho scored again. Quite honestly I haven't been a fan of Gervinho as a striker. He makes a great attacking winger, stretching the opposing defence and toying with them well, but his finishing has been lacklustre. Hopefully the goal will give him a bit of confidence, and we'll start to see some end product from our summer signing.

Van Persie needed his customary goal, and sure enough it came to make it four. But all credit goes to Theo Walcott, who did excellently to pick his captain out. In previous seasons he likely would've just shot or his pass would've been off-target, but he's grown as a player and one can see it from instances like this when his decision-making and technical skills were sublime.

A word has to be said for Van Persie as well. The way he immediately pointed to Theo, giving all credit to him, the way he ran over and picked him up, and the way he's been complimenting and building up the guy has been world-class. It reminded me of something Thierry Henry would've done, and something that any great leader does: makes those he leads feel good about themselves and builds solid relationships with them. Van Persie is surely the best captain since Thierry, and perhaps since Viera or Adams.

So with that win behind us, the team go to Greece tomorrow to face the local champions Olympiacos. They're definitely a good side, and one that we only narrowly defeated last time. Arsene Wenger has unsurprisingly named a young squad for tomorrow evening, but one that should be able to get the job done, especially considering how valiantly they played against a much more...expensive Manchester City side. I'm expecting a narrow victory tomorrow night, but if not that then certainly a draw. We're good enough to get a result, and as long as the young guns are firing at full strength then we'll have a great chance in Piraeus tomorrow night. 

Till then, here's hoping for another comfortable and confident performance, this time from the Arsenal youngsters,

Fab 4