Arsenal’s Consistency in Question September 30, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, EPL, Emirates, Hull City.2 comments
This is a shock result, no doubgt about that, but the way in which the Gunners responded to the two goal deficit was appalling. The team was not there and whatever chances were created did not get converted. It was a match where all the eleven players played a bad game.
Hull City like any other newly promoted club put in a 110% performance in a stage which they would not see that often. They fought for every ball and showed more committment on the field. Arsenal on the other hand were lacking in the spirit and I wonder if they were complacent of sorts. The movement was lacking in the Gunners and the passing game was not taking off all that well.
There have been complaints of whether Gallas and Toure form a god defensive pairing or not at the centre of defence. Djourou might be better bet to replace any one of them and I would love to see Gallas being replaced by Djourou in the next match. Or dont be surprised if Silvestre partners either Toure or Gallas in the defence. Clichy looked a bit out of sorts and did not have any notable runs in the opposition half.
Defence was just fine with fabregas taking a shot at goal towards the end and Denilson loking decent with Fabregas at the centre…But do we need a more fighting defensive mid-fielder is the question? And even if that is the question do we have an answer in the form of any player is the even bigger question? Can we try out Ramsey to play that role? I am sure Wenger has started pondering on all these questions and more after the end of this match.
Forward line was looking toothless with RVP shooting wide off the mark. If he can get it on target then 90% of those shots are goals because they are unstoppable shots. Adebayor had a bad match to add to our troubles. Is consistency the key problem for us? Should we rotate the strikers more often? I think so.
We should give credit where it is due. I thought Hull City played really well. They fought for every ball and were not as physical as people expected them to be. They played fair, won the ball and outscored us to beat us at home. The first goal was a beauty and I do not think anyone can be blamed for that goal. It curled and dipped at the right time beating a stretched Almunia. The second was something which we should have averted. We concede out of a corner again. We need to have a strategy to take care of this blemish which we encounter every time we concede a corner or a freekick.
Emirates stadium which should have been a fortress is not turning out to be one and 2 defeats in 6 games might not be what we expected if we wanted to win the league. This leaves us with no room for error anymore and we have six matches against the likes of United, Chelsea and Liverpool. Consistency is the key and tonight’s match against Porto would be the best palce to prove that we are back with a bang.
At home to Hull City September 26, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, EPL, Emirates, Hull City, Vela, Wilshere.1 comment so far
Newly promoted side Hull City, who find themselves surprisingly 7th in the League play their first Top 4 team when they visit the Emirates stadium. When the match kicks off at Emirates, Arsenal could find themselves second or third depending on what happens to Liverpool and Chelsea in their respective matches.
Hull has had a very good start to the premiership – A confidence boosting win against Fulham, score draw with Blackburn, a traumatising loss to Wigan (0-5), an encouraging with Newcastle and a 4 goal draw against Everton. Not bad when you have 8 points from 5 games and the media was speculating if they would be this years Derby County. Honestly a creditable performance indeed. They would be relishing this match, to play in front of 60,000 fans against one of the top teams in England. I am sure they would make sure they give 110% in this match.
Arsenal on the other hand will be wanting to secure the top position come end of the week. They have had a good week’s rest, seeing the young guns go blazing against Sheffield United in the Carling Cup. It would be interesting to see if Wenger gives an opportunity to Vela or Ramsey or Wilshere in this match if Arsenal is leading comfortably in this match. Not that I am demeaning Hull, but I would love to see the kids play in the Premier League.
Here is an interesting point from The Telegraph
Hull manager Phil Brown was Sam Allardyce’s right-hand man when Bolton became Wenger’s bogey team.
In January 2005, Wenger confronted Brown on the touchline during an Arsenal v Bolton game and the pair went eyeball to eyeball. Seconds later, Bolton netted the winner, prompting Brown to celebrate with conspicuous glee. The scorer that day was Stelios Giannakopoulos, who a year later scored again in a 1-0 Bolton victory. Wenger might not have been pleased to discover Stelios signed for Hull this week and could make his debut on Saturday.
Proud to be a Gooner!!! September 24, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Bendtner, Carling Cup, Carlos Vela, Jack Wilshere, Sheffield United.add a comment
Arsenal youngsters 6-0 Sheffield United.
“This is the best group of youngsters I have had in all my time at the club” – coming from Wenger this is ultimate praise for this young bunch.
Take a bow
Hat-trick hero with the match ball
Zakumi September 23, 2008
Posted by freekicker in FIFA, FIFA World Cup 2010, South Africa, World Cup, Zakumi.2 comments
So Zakumi,the Leopard will be the official mascot of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
The name is a composition of “ZA”, standing for South Africa, and “kumi” translating into “10″ in various languages across Africa. Inspired by his football idols, Zakumi has dyed his hair green as he felt it would be the perfect camouflage against the green of the football pitch. You can read more in the official FIFA site.
For more stories and exciting videos on and around Zakumi and his predecessors, please visit the official website,www.FIFA.com/Zakumi.
Bolton bolted at Reebok September 21, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Adebayor, Almunia, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Bendtner, Bolton Wanderers, Clichy, Denilson, EPL, Eboue, Fabregas, Kevin Davies, Reebok Stadium.1 comment so far
In a superior performance laced with style and substance Arsenal overcame a physical Bolton at their home ground by three goals to one. With this result and other results going Arsenal’s way, the Gunners could well end up on top of the Premier League come the weekend.
The match started off with Arsenal showing their class and superiority in passing the ball around. but everytime Bolton won a free-kick, or a throw in or a corner, they looked threatening. Arsenal conceded first from a set-piece and the home crowd were celebrating first. But then came a brief 10 minute spell of Arsenal domination which left the 11 Bolton players to defend their goal. It was a exhilarating football fom Arsenal and it was a matter of when they will score. A brilliant one two from Adebayor and Bendtner saw the ball reach Eboue who played in the left wing who smashed in his first goal for Arsenal in the premier league. Arsenal continued their domination and was again rewarded with a neatly made goal orchestrated by Fabregas and Denilson and finished by Bendtner.
The first half ended with Clichy getting injured by a red-card-Kevin-Davies-tackle which ended only in a yellow. Anyways Clichy is fine now and hopefully should be back in training in a couple of days time. We have replacements in the form of Silvestre, provided he is fit and the dude Kieran Gibbs!!!
The second half saw a recharged Bolton taking control of the possession and movement though Arsenal did have their chance. Adebayor had a very good performace if you ask me setting up a lot of moves and providing assist for the third goal. Arsenal were less forceful in the second half and the one goal lead was always under threat as long as Bolton crossed into the box. Almunia was called into action more then once and he did have a creditable performance under the bar.
No match is complete these days without mentioning the man of the moment, Theo Walcott. He came in for Eboue and was instrumental in some of the best moves in the second half. His run with the ball from the centre and cross to Adebayor on the right was the move that resulted in the third goal. Adebayor was selfless and crossed to Denilson who scored his second of the season. What a way to end the match.
So far Wenger has taken care of two of the toughest away matches of the season, Blackburn and Bolton in style and that too in between the trip to Kiev. Lets see if Wenger can keep this run going with this young team.
Angry Wenger after a Frustu match September 18, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Champions League, Dynamo Kiev, Europe, Gallas, Sagna, Walcott.3 comments
Arsenal return back to England after yet another dismal performance in Ukraine. Dynamo Kiev scored from a very disputable penalty and seemed to take all three points at home when Gallas the new Euro top scorer restored parity with two minutes left. All in all it would be satisfying to come back with a point given the circumstances but I think Arsenal will sink this Ukrainian ship in London in the return leg. Walcott was once again the hero providing the cross from the right which was poked in by Gallas.
Wenger has come out strongly against the Kiev players, especially on their tackle on Walcott…He says
The referee should have sent the left-back off three times because he tried to destroy Walcott.
On the Sagna Penalty
Sagna is convinced he [Ognjen Vukojevic] pulled him with his two hands on his shirt and then went down. We have to deal with that; if you get a penalty you get a penalty.
On the referee not giving enough injury time
I wanted to know how we only played three minutes injury time and then during these three minutes we only played one minute of injury time. Every referee looks to have a different computer to calculate injury time and I still don’t know how it works. He couldn’t explain to me; he just told me he felt it was enough.
The game was a mixture of frustration and relief, frustration because the game should have been over at half-time, and relief because we scored with minutes to go. When we got back to 1-1, Dynamo looked very, very tired but the game was finished with the interruptions. You could feel the game was there for the taking but we had no opportunity to play. We feel we have lost two points but the referee should have sent the left-back off three times because he tried to destroy Walcott.
Next up is Porto at home on September 30th
Champions League Preview Dynamo Kiev vs Arsenal September 16, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, Champions League, Dynamo Kiev.add a comment
Arsenal have travelled to Kiev without the injured duo of Samir Nasri and Silvestre in what is normally a tricky tie. The good news is that Clichy and Eboue are fit after picking up injuries in the whitewash at Blackburn Rovers. The team is in a high, but there are a few pointers to this game
- The Ukrainian side did not pick up a single point in the 2007/08 group stage – the worst record of any of the 32 teams
- Dynamo, who finished second in the Ukrainian Premier League last season, have a new man at the helm in Yuri Semin and will hope for a positive start
- Arsenal for all their pedigree, have lost on all three previous visits to Ukraine
- Dynamo have had the better of past matches against Arsenal. When the teams met in the 1998/99 UEFA Champions League group stage, Dynamo earned a 1-1 draw at Highbury and then won the return 3-1 in Ukraine
- Dynamo won the sides’ second meeting in Kiev 2-1 in the 2003/04 group stage. Maksim Shatskikh and Valentin Belkevich struck for the home side with Thierry Henry replying late on. However, Arsenal won the return 1-0 through an Ashley Cole goal and ended up topping the group with Dynamo down in fourth place
- Arsenal got the better of an FC Lokomotiv Moskva side coached by Semin in the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League group stage. After a goalless draw in Russia, the London team won 2-0 at home in their final game to secure first place in the section – and eliminate their opponents
courtesy UEFA.com
Does Robinho know what he is doing? September 8, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Chelsea, Man City, Real Madrid, Robinho.add a comment
Who knows, he might become a success in Man City but the whole deal stinks. Real Madrid might be feeling good that they were able to dispose him off and make a handsome return in the process. He was uttering only Chelsea ever since Scolari took over at Stamford Bridge and ultimately went to the club in Blue jersey in Manchester.
Here is a good one
The national team, preparing for World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia over the next week, gave a press conference on Thursday. Asked about his transfer, Robinho mentioned Chelsea, and ‘the offer Chelsea made to Real Madrid’ several times in the course of his answer, and when the journalist sought clarification afterwards (‘You mean Manchester City, right?’), the man of the moment blinked and replied ‘yeah, right. Manchester City, sorry,’ before moving onto the next question
How sad is that?
Berba to Utd, Binho to ManC and none to Ashburton Grove September 2, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, Berbatov, Chelsea, EPL, Liverpool, Manchester United, Robinho, Transfer, tranfer deals.2 comments
In a midnight of pounds and faxes, transfer deadlines were met and unmet with a host of transfer deals across Europe and England as some of the top Premier league clubs made last minute additions to their squad. Of the notable ones were the long pending transfer of Berbatov to United. It seems the new super rick Sheikhs of Man City wanted to hijack the bid but Berbatov stood firm to commit himself to Man Utd.
But the most interesting bit of transfer happened in the Blue Half of Manchester as City swooped on Chelsea target Robinho from Real. Now that was something that must have irked off Abrahmovic…and I like that 
Here are the list of transfer dealings from the top 4 clubs of EPL…courtesy Telegraph UK
Deadline Day deals:
| Player | From | To | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Pavlyuchenko | Spartak Moscow | Tottenham | £14m |
| Vedran Corluka | Manchester City | Tottenham | £8.5m |
| Jonas Olsson | NEC Nijmegan | WBA | £800,000 rising to £1.6m |
| Omar Garcia | Athletic Bilbao | Rotherham | Free |
| Vitor Flora | Botafogo | Liverpool | Free |
| Ryan Gallagher | Blackburn | Plymouth | Season Loan |
| Ryan Donk | AZ Alkmaar | WBA | Season Loan |
| Kamil Zayatte | Young Boys Berne | Hull | Season Loan |
| Blerim Dzemaili | Bolton | Torino | Season Loan |
| Nadim Belhadj | Lens | Portsmouth | Season Loan |
| Ignacio Gonzalez | Valencia | Newcastle | Season Loan |
| Mark Bunn | Northampton | Blackburn Rovers | Undisclosed |
| Louis Saha | Manchester United | Everton | Undisclosed |
| Steve Finnan | Liverpool | Espanyol | Undisclosed |
| Peter Guloisi | MTK Hungaria | Liverpool | Undisclosed |
| Sean Evans | Manchester United | Aberystwyth | Free |
| Collins John | Fulham | Nijmegen | Free |
| Rachid Bouaouzan | Wigan | Nijmegen | Season loan |
| Andriy Voronin | Liverpool | Hertha Berlin | Season loan |
| Jonathan Grounds | Middlesbrough | Norwich City | Three-month loan |
| Jean-Francois Christophe | Portsmouth | Southend United | One-month loan |
| Gabriel Zakuani | Fulham | Peterborough | One-month loan |
| Javan Vidal | Manchester City | Grimsby | One-month loan |
| Danny Higginbotham | Sunderland | Stoke City | Undisclosed |
| Carlo Nash | Everton | Wigan Athletic | Undisclosed |
| Daniel Cousin | Hull City | Rangers | £4m |
| Antonie Sibierski | Norwich City | Wigan Athletic | 5 month loan |
| Martin Cranie | Charlton Athletic | Portsmouth | Season loan |
| Xisco | Newcastle United | Deportivo La Coruna | £8.2m |
| Dimitar Berbatov | Manchester United | Tottenham Hotspur | £30.75m |
| Fraizer Campbell | Tottenham Hotspur | Manchester United | Season loan |
| Michael Tonge | Stoke City | Sheffield United | £1.5m |
| Tom Soares | Stoke City | Crystal Palace | £1.5m |
| Julian Gray | Fulham | Coventry City | Season loan |
The top 4 clubs’ tranfer activities this year -
Arsenal
IN
Samir Nasri Marseille £12.8m
Aaron Ramsey Cardiff £5m
Mikael Silvestre Manchester U £750,000
Amaury Bischoff Werder Bremen Undisclosed
Francis Coquelin Stade Lavallois Free
OUT
Alexander Hleb Barcelona £11.8m rising to £13.5m
Justin Hoyte Middlesbrough £3m
Gilberto Silva Panathinaikos £1m
Mathieu Flamini AC Milan Free
Jens Lehmann Stuttgart Free
Kerrea Gilbert Leicester Season Loan
Havard Nordtveit Salamanca Season Loan
Nacer Barazite Derby 5 Month Loan
Armand Traore Portsmouth Season Loan
Chelsea
IN
Jose Bosingwa Porto £16.2m
Deco Barcelona £7.9m
Fabio Paim Sporting Lisbon Season Loan
OUT
Steve Sidwell Aston Villa £5m
Khalid Boulahrouz Stuttgart £4m
Tal Ben Haim Manchester C £3m
Claude Makelele Paris St-Germain Free
Harry Worley Leicester Free
Anthony Grant Southend Free
Andriy Shevchenko AC Milan Undisclosed
Ryan Bertrand Norwich Season Loan
Shaun Cummings MK Dons 1 Month Loan
Slobodan Rajkovic FC Twente Season Loan
Ben Sahar Portsmouth Season Loan
Michael Modubi Westerloo Season Loan
Jeffrey Ntuka Westerloo Season Loan
Emmanuel Sarki Westerloo Season Loan
Jimmy Smith Sheffield Wed Season Loan
Hernan Crespo Inter Milan Season Loan
Claudio Pizarro Werder Bremen Season Loan
Lee Sawyer Southend 3 Month Loan
Jack Cork Southampton 6 Month Loan
Adrian Pettigrew Released
James Simmonds Released
Phil Younghusband Released
Liverpool
IN
Albert Riera Espanyol Undisclosed
Peter Gulacsi MTK Hungaria Undisclosed
Vito Flora Botafogo Free
Robbie Keane Tottenham £19m rising to £20.3m
Andrea Dossena Udinese £7m
Diego Cavalieri Palmeiras £3m
David Ngog Paris St-Germain £1.5m
Nikola Saric Herfolge £600,000
Vincent Weijl AZ Alkmaar Nominal
Christopher Buchtmann Borussia Dortmund Undisclosed
Philipp Degen Borussia Dortmund Free
Emmanuel Mendy Murcia Deportivo Free
Zsolt Poloskei MTK Hungaria Season Loan
OUT
Steve Finnan Espanyol Undisclosed
Andriy Voronin Hertha Berlin Season loan
John Arne Riise Roma £4m
Scott Carson WBA £3.25m
Peter Crouch Portsmouth £9m rising to £11m
Danny Guthrie Newcastle £2.5m
Anthony Le Tallec Le Mans £1.1m
Charlie Barnett Tranmere Free
Besian Idrizaj Wacker Innsbruck Free
Harry Kewell Galatasaray Free
Godwin Antwi Tranmere 6 Month Loan
Adam Hammill Blackpool 6 Month Loan
Jack Hobbs Leicester Season Loan
Robbie Threlfall Hereford Season Loan
David Martin Leicester6 Month Loan
Sebastien Leto Olympiakos 2 Year Loan
Craig Lindfield Bournemouth 4 Month Loan
Manchester United
IN
Dimitar Berbatov Tottenham £30.75m
Davide Petrucci Roma £200,000
OUT
Dong Fangzhou Released
Gerard Pique Barcelona £4m
Chris Eagles Burnley £1.2m
Mikael Silvestre Arsenal £750,000
Richie Jones Hartlepool Free
Michael Lea Scunthorpe Free
Kieron Lee Oldham Free
Conor McCormack Triestina Free
Scott McManus Crewe Free
David Williams Oldham Free
Tom Heaton Cardiff Season Loan
Ferbin Brandy Swansea 6 Month Loan extension
Danny Simpson Blackburn Season Loan
Fraizer Campbell Tottenham Season loan
Lee Martin Nottm Fst Season Loan
Craig Cathcart Plymouth 6 Month Loan
Michael Barnes Released
Sean Evans Aberystwyth Released Free
Chris Fagan Released
Persie double delight in a thumping win September 1, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Denilson, EPL, Eboue, Emirates, Newcastle, Van Persie, Vela.add a comment
Arsenal returned to winning ways and they achieved that in style, thumping Newcastle United 3-0 at the Emirates. It goes on to show that if the opposition deploys an attack-minded football, it gives the Gunners room to exploit and attack in the breaks. The match saw the return to goal scoring form of Van the Man and Denilson score his first goal for Arsenal in the Premier League.
The match featured all the good thiings associated with the North Londoners as they decimated the Magpies in a well contested match. It is credit to the defensive work of Clichy, Gallas, Toure and Sagna that the Newcastle attacks fizzed out without a goal. Newcastle did trouble a bit with Ngogbia and Jonas making some good runs and dominating some parts of the play. But when Fabregas plays the team takes an entirely new dimension in attack.
For once Eboue played his role to perfection and his setting up of the second goal for Persie reminded many of the way Pires played for the Gunners. Like one of my freinds in Malaysia put it, it was Pires in Eboue’s clothing!!! When the Gunners are on song, goals and goal chances come in plenty. It ended in 3 but it could have been 5 or 6. Persie could have scored a hat trick if his powerfully taken shot from an acute angle had gone in instead of pounding on the cross bar. I thought Adebayor played very well and deserved a goal. He gave his heart out and I am sure this effort will not go in vain and he might have got back some of his fans.
Carlos Vela made his appearance after Van Persie got injured (hope it is a minor one) and showed his class and goal scoring instincts when he appeared a bit selfish in and around the box. Nasri combined well with Clichy and Fabregas, everything seems to be on ytrack so far. All Wenger needs to do now is get an experienced central midfielder to support Cesc. With a day left on the transfer window, hope Wenger does the necessary.
Here is a good read on the Arsenal Academy. (financial) necessity being the mother of (youthful) invention
