Arshaaaaaavinnnnnnnn…yet again at anfield December 14, 2009
Posted by freekicker in Uncategorized.Tags: Arsenal, Arshavin, Liverpool, Wenger
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Ladies and Gentlemen,
Please rise for the one and only Arshavin…I do not care how the match was played till the first half and whenever Arsenal looked really pathetic in the match…but what a comeback by this team and what a finish from the Russian super star. For him Anfield is a good stage to shine after scoring four in the same fixture last year. His exquisite finish was the difference in the end.
The first half was so bad for Arsenal that Wenger had to give a piece of his mind to the whole team, shocking everyone from Cesc to Vermaelen. So we went away to a top four side and were one goal down at half time and came back the winner at the end of the match…so this should settle a lot of nerves. Having said that the biggest challenge this year would be to get 3 points out of the away fixtures at Villa Park, Craven Cottage, White Hart Lane etc. Which means that the Gunners should get all the three points in the next match at Burnley.
World Cup draw tomorrow December 3, 2009
Posted by freekicker in Uncategorized.Tags: 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2010 World Cup, FIFA, World Cup Draw
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Tomorrow evening the draw for the greatest sports show in the world will be held. The winner takes about 31 million dollars with the teams beaten in the group stage taking home about 9 million dollars. The World Cup 2010 draw could surely group certain powerhouses as a couple of European star teams find themselves unseeded for this tournament, namely France and Portugal.
Pots for Friday’s draw: eight groups of four countries to be drawn, each group containing one country from each pot.
Pot 1 (seeds): South Africa, Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England
Pot 2 (Asia, Oceania and North/Central America): Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, United States, Mexico, Honduras
Pot 3 (Africa and South America): Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria, Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay
Pot 4 (Europe): France, Portugal, Slovenia, Switzerland, Greece, Serbia, Denmark, Slovakia
For the last WC I did make my predictions and got it right with respect to the pre-quarterfinalists but after that got it wrong. So surely after the draw is made I will try my luck again and maybe you all can make your comments on that.
So till then….
Arsenal beaten fair and square November 30, 2009
Posted by freekicker in Uncategorized.Tags: Arsenal, Chelsea
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Before the match against Chelsea, Wenger boldly challenged his team to come out all guns blazing and said this is the moment when the Gunners should stand and be counted as title contenders. Sadly, that moment came and the team was left demoralised with a 0-3 verdict at home, bringing to an end a glorious run of victories at home. We were beaten fair and square whatever Wenger says about the referee disallowing the goal etc. We hardly had any shots on goal which troubled Cech.
There are of-course talking points, the biggest from an Arsenal stand-point would be why Song was substituted at half time? Wenger could have easily replaced Walcott with Denilson who was looking a bit shaky. And Song was having a wonderful match till that point.
Secondly, Ashley Cole made those two telling crosses which led to the two goals. How I wish Clichy could improve on this aspect. Clichy for all his speed and skill, lacks in getting those crosses in the right areas. How many times have we seen crosses going over the goal or going miles above the goal mouth.
And even if the crosses come in, who in this Arsenal team can rise above towering defences and head the ball into the goal. We do not have a forward who can come in place of Bendtner.
It is time to concede that with the current team that we have we should look at finishing in the top 3. Maybe a cup or two at the end of the season would be a bonus and Wenger will buy in January.
Song Story and Arsenal’s charity of the season November 29, 2009
Posted by freekicker in Uncategorized.Tags: Arsenal, Chelsea, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, Song
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Saw this very sentimental story on Alexander Song, Arsenal’s most improved player this season.
As part of Arsenal’s charity of the season, today’s game will raise money for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. Arsenal has pledged to contribite half a million pounds to the hospital to build a new ward and unit for lung diseases.
So may Arsenal win and close the gap against Chelsea today. Go Gunners!!!
A Standard entry into the knockout stage for Arsenal November 25, 2009
Posted by freekicker in Champions League.Tags: Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Champions League, Denilson, Fabregas, Gallas, Nasri, Standard Liege
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Arsenal got into the knockout stages of the Champions League for the tenth straight year with a 2-0 win against Standard Liege. There were injury problems though after the match with Gibbs being sidelined for close to 3 months with a fractured metatarsal and this after he came back from a minor injury to feature in this match. Gallas had a clash of head with Arshavin and was subed midway. Wenger though in his post match interview has said
Gallas has a slight ankle problem and a swollen eye. I think he will recover from the eye and the ankle soon.
Though he didn’t mention by when, I assume he meant before the weekend match. Gibbs he said was more serious.
Nasri capitalised on a defensive slip up and slotted in the first goal. He along with Fabregas controlled the midfield throughout the match. The second came from a Denilson long ranger. Playing in his 100th match, Denilson took his chance and drilled a wonderf ul shot from outside the penalty box high into the box.
Fabregas earned a unnecessary yellow card in the fag end of the match which resulted in the Standard player being sent off for a “headbutt”.
So now all set for the season-defining sunday thriller against Chelsea.
Arsene on Henry handball November 20, 2009
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal.Tags: Arsenal, Arsenal TV, Arsene Wenger, Denilson, ESPN, ESPN Sportscentre, France World cup qualifier controversy, Henry, Henry hand ball, Ireland, Kieran Gibbs
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Thanks to Arsenal TV subscription, I got to see what Wenger had to say about the most controversial football incident in recent past – the Henry Handball – that sent the French to South Africa and the Irish to despair.
Wenger didn’t blame Henry, but he did have a couple of things to say about use of video technology being used in cases like this. He did say that the ref should have sensed something when Henry did not celebrate spontaneously or when 11 Irish players confronted him!!! And the ref did not have video technology which he could have used in such situations to help him take a informed decision. Ok maybe video technology might not be helpful in all cases but in such obvious cases,it will only help. Valid point professor.
Sportscentre in ESPN with their various animation software points out that the linesman should have had a clear vision but still didn’t help in this case. Lets hope that the best thing that can possibly happen is introduction of video technology for such situations.
Regarding the weekend match, Wenger did confirm that Gibbs will be ready but will play only in the mid-week Champions League match. And when asked would it be Traore or Silvestre at left back, he did mention that there is another player who can play in that position without mentioning the name. Who could that be? Eboue?
Fabianski and Denilson are available for the Sunderland match and Denilson will start. Strange that Wenger still doesn’t have information from Russia on Arshavin. Not that he is injured or anything but I hope Arshavin is fully fit and active because against teams like Sunderland, who seems to be in some good form, we need some creativity and goals.
Van Persie injured in meaningless friendly November 15, 2009
Posted by freekicker in Uncategorized.Tags: Van Persie, International friendly, Holland, Italy, ankle ligament damage, Persie injury, Van Persie injury, persie ankle injury
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In a serious setback to Arsenal’s remaining season aspirations, Van Persie got injured in a meaningless friendly against Italy…Persie was regaining his best form when this nonsense had to happen…Preliminary reports say 3 months layoff which might be quite a difficult time for Arsenal with Bendtner also out injured.
Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope that he is not terribly injured and face even more time off the game.
Arsenal go second in the league November 8, 2009
Posted by freekicker in Premier League.Tags: Arsenal, Arshavin, Fabregas, Van Persie, Eduardo, Wolherhampton Wanderers, Wolves, Ramsey, Gibbs
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Arsenal climbed to the second spot in the Premier League beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1 away from home. It was not a good first half though the Gunners put in two goals or rather Wolves conceded two own goals. As my friend sent an sms, the way the Wolves set up play in the first half, they were fast becoming lambs for slaughter!!!
The Wolves matched Arsenal attack for attack in the first half and surely had a couple of chances to go ahead. And I think this season Arsenal is enjoying a bit of luck in some matches where one they didnt concede and two scored on the other end when it mattered. Eduardo was lively upfront and was instrumental in pressurising the Wolves defence in making them concede two goals in the first half. Diaby getting substituted with Song (who was rested initially by keeping him in the bench) improved the midfield play.
Ramsey making a rare premier league start was quite impressive and so was Fabregas and Arshavin. Gallas was brave at the back with some impressive tackles and Gibbs at left back was a refreshing presence. van Persie provided a sublime assist to Fabregas for the third goal,coming out of a beautiful Arsenal play and Arshavin rounded off a beautiful goal to finish off in style. We should not have conceded the goal in the last few minutes and Almunia definitely would not have liked it.
Arsenal now have 36 goals from 11 games. Van Persie has 7 goals, Fabregas 6 goals and Arshavin has 4. In terms of assists, Fabregas leads with 10 and van Persie has 7.
A wonderful victory against Spurs November 2, 2009
Posted by freekicker in Premier League.Tags: Arsenal, Fabregas, Van Persie, Tottenham Hotspurs, Gunners, Spurs, Robbie Keane, Song, Diaby
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It is 3-0 to the Gunners!!!
For all the big talk dished out by Robbie Keane, his team just showed the opposite. They lacked in depth as they did really miss their most creative players in Luka Modric, Lennon and Defoe playing against their london rivals, who also missed a trio of creative players in Rosicky, Nasri and Walcott…it is a different matter whether they would have still made the team if they were fit.
Arsenal’s formation seems to be a rock solid one with Diaby and Song playing ahead of the defence and Song in particular looking like an ace when it comes to breaking the opposition moves and stoppinng play. Diaby seriously needs to improve and this is where I feel a Nasri(like he did in the Carling Cup) or a Rosicky can make a positive difference to this team.
Van Persie seems to be hitting a purple patch and Arshavin and Bendtner along with our new goal-scoring midfielder captain Cesc Fabregas seems to be combinign well. Sagna is looking more attack-minded and Clichy seriously needs to get his crosses right. It is amazing that this team seems to be having so much to improve and still doing good. I wonder how it would be once they all combine well and play to their potential. Vermaelen and Gallas are strong behind and the way Vermaelen headed out all the balls to Crouch I am not worried anymore about any tall forward troubling us at the back. I just want to see how Vermaelen will play against Drogba the physically strong forward whom we have not encountered so far.
One last word about Fabregas’ goal. He was absolutely fantastic and I am sure with this one he has become more adorable to the fans…you rock Cesc!
Arsenal hit Blackburn for a six October 5, 2009
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, Premier League.Tags: Arshavin, Cesc fabregas, Cesc, Fabregas, Bendtner, Walcott, Van Persie, Blackburn Rovers, Paul Robinson, Vermaelen, Rosicky, Theo, Theo Walcott, Arsenal goals
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In a wonderful display of attacking football, Arsenal scored six goals from six different players to win against Blackburn Rovers at home. This came as a fitting tribute to Wenger, entering into his 14th year at the club with this match. Thierry Henry was also on attendance with his family to see the young Gunners take centre-stage despite going behind twice early in the match.
A 10/10 performance from our Captain Marvellous, Cesc was sexy throughout the match. He made 4 assists and scored one in a match which was probably his best in the season so far. He was all over the place. And he made it a point to the Gooners in the stadium that he is dedicated to this club and is not going anywhere in his goal celebration. What a player, what an attitude and what a vision!!!
It didn’t start all that well for Arsenal, when a pretty long free-kick taken by Robinson was headed into the goal as Mannone found himself in no-mans-land, advancing to collect the ball but not able to do so. This was probbaly his in-experience showing in the starting minutes of the match and I can only see him learning from these mistakes. Otherwise he had a wonderful match, not that he had much to do. Arsenal found parity soon through our goal-scoring machine, no not Bendtner, but Vermaelen 
. He was felled near the centre of the pitch, but referee waved played-on and the ball was nicely played on to an advancing Vermaelen by Fabregas and he rocketed a shot to the right corner with his impeccable left foot.
Against the run of play, again Balckburn found the net, this time a deflection of Gallas into the goal. That was pretty much of what Blackburn could do, other than a legitimate penalty shout, which the referee did not give. Not that it mattered in the end though. Almost immediately after the second Blackburn goal, Fabregas put through van Persie, who seems to be taking these kind of goals as a regular fare these days. Please note that by this time, Arsenal were playing flowing football, with our flair players Arshavin and Rosicky involved in the thick of thinigs. Again a nice lay-off to Arshavin on the left saw the Russian squeeze a goal past Robinson. So at that time the score read 3-2.
It was not over and the second half was again Arsenal at its attacking best. And this time, Fabregas in trying to feed van Persie first and then Rosicky, got the ball back from the Czech, chested it and hit a loose left foot shot for a goal. This was a deserving finish that makes the captain our join top scorer in the league with 4 goals along with Vermaelen. Enter Theo, and he must have been barely in when a good counter attack saw Arshavin pass the ball to Cesc, who had the vision to see Walcott coming on the right to lay the ball on his path. A neat finish from Walcott was all it required and that was what he did precisely. 5-2.
The captain was substituted to a thunderous applause and in came Bendtner and Ramsey to play out the final 15 odd mins. Bendtner got time to increase his goal tally with a glorious finish with his right foot, which was a nearly impossible stop for Robinson. All’s well and that ends well. Despite letting in 6 goals, Paul Robinson had a decent game otherwise it would have been some 8 or 10 goals!!!
Top scorers for Arsenal in the Premier League
Fabregas, Vermaelen – 4 goals
van Persie – 3 goals
Arshavin, Diaby, Eduardo, Gallas - 2 goals
Bendtner, Denilson, Ramsey, Rosicky, Walcott - 1 goal
