Arsenal go second in the league November 8, 2009
Posted by freekicker in Premier League.Tags: Arsenal, Arshavin, Eduardo, Fabregas, Gibbs, Ramsey, Van Persie, Wolherhampton Wanderers, Wolves
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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, Diaby, Fabregas, Gunners, Robbie Keane, Song, Spurs, Tottenham Hotspurs, Van Persie
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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: Arsenal goals, Arshavin, Bendtner, Blackburn Rovers, Cesc, Cesc fabregas, Fabregas, Paul Robinson, Rosicky, Theo, Theo Walcott, Van Persie, Vermaelen, Walcott
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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
And some more stats from season 2008-09 May 26, 2009
Posted by freekicker in 2008-09 season, Premier League, Sky Sports.add a comment
From Sky sports here
More opta stats from the Guardian May 25, 2009
Posted by freekicker in 2008-09 season, Opta Stats, Premier League, Statistics, The Guardian.add a comment
courtesy Guardian/Opta
942 – The final goal tally was the second lowest in Premier League history.
14 – Manchester United set a new record of 14 consecutive clean sheets between November 2008 and February 2009.
167 – There have been 167 headed goals scored this season.
22 – Liverpool have recouped the most points from losing positions this season.
23 – Sunderland dropped the most points from winning positions this season.
31 – There were just 31 goals scored at White Hart lane – fewer than at any other stadium.
59 – The Hawthorns saw more goals than any other this season.
117 – Kevin Davies conceded the most fouls this season. He has topped this ranking in five of the last six seasons.
5 – Danny Murphy has scored five goals this season – all penalties.
37 – Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 37 goals in his last 33 league games at Old Trafford.
100 – Kanu made his 100th appearance as a substitute in the Premier League when he came off the bench away at Blackburn on May 9, becoming the first player to reach this landmark.
100 – Nicolas Anelka, Frank Lampard and Emile Heskey all scored their 100th Premier League goals this season to make it 16 players to reach this landmark.
11 – Chelsea set a new Premier League record of 11 consecutive away wins between April and December 2008.
248 – Chelsea fired in the most shots on target this season.
566 – Hull committed the most fouls in the division.
73 & 5 – Stoke City picked up the most cards – 73 yellow and five red.
24 – Manchester United kept the most clean sheets.
50 – United had the best home record picking up 50 points.
44 – Chelsea had the best away record winning 44 points.
57 – Frank Lampard had more shots on target than any other player.
10 – Lampard and Robin van Persie were joint-top of the assists ranking.
167 – Lee Cattermole made 167 tackles during the season – a league high.
14 – Marouane Fellaini picked up the most yellow cards in the top flight.
7 – Seven players were sent off twice in this season’s campaign.
80% – Mark Schwarzer of Fulham was the league’s best shot-stopper saving 80% of shots on target faced.
149 – Jussi Jaaskelainen made more saves than any other goalkeeper.
6-0 – Man City’s win over Portsmouth at home was the season’s biggest winning margin.
7 – Peter Crouch scored more headed goals than any other player.
18% – Headed goals accounted for 18% of all strikes this season.
1 – Middlesbrough scored fewer headed goals than any other team.
7 – Bolton conceded more headed goals than any other side.
19% – of the goals Arsenal conceded came from outside the box – the highest proportion in the top flight.
20 – Hull took 20 points from their opening nine games but just 15 from their last 29 matches.
22% – Bolton scored the highest percentage of goals in the opening 15 minutes of matches.
36% – Middlesbrough scored the highest percentage of goals in the final 15 minutes of games.
10 – Hull scored the most goals from corners.
9 – Newcastle gave away a league high nine penalties in 2008-09.
8 – The Magpies also had eight red cards shown to their players – a division high.
34 – Manchester City have used more players than any other team in the league this season.
21 – Aston Villa have called upon the least amount of players in the league this season.
7 – Blackburn won a joint-high seven penalties along with Man City.
3 – Blackburn missed three penalties – more than any other team.
10 – Bolton scored 10 goals from free-kicks – the most in the division.
51% – Hull scored the highest percentage of their goals from set plays.
20% – Spurs scored the lowest percentage of goals from set pieces.
12 – Hull conceded 12 goals from corners – a league high.
38% – Everton conceded the highest proportion of goals from set-plays.
21% – Fulham conceded the lowest percentage of goals from set-plays .
11.5% – Around one in every nine goals scored was netted by a substitute.
9 – Spurs, Manchester United and Liverpool all had nine goals scored by substitutes – a joint-league high.
61 – Aston Villa used the fewest substitutes.
109 – Hull, Stoke and Liverpool made the most substitutions.
6 – Cristiano Ronaldo scored six goals from outside the box – more than any other player.
26 – Manchester United have used the most number of players as substitutes.
4 – Bolton have had more players featuring in every game of the season than any other side.
3 – Liverpool have the most players who have accrued 10 or more goals this season.
5 – Newcastle used the most penalty takers this season.
5 – Sunderland only had five players who scored more than once this season.
7 –Liverpool had more opponents sent off than any other side in the top division.
29 – The opposition hit the woodwork more often against Hull than any other team.
345 – English players scored 345 goals in 2008-09, accounting for just 37% of goals.
15% – Aston Villa were the league’s most clinical teams scoring with 15% of their shots.
8% – Wigan had the worst conversion rate in the top division.
81% – Chelsea were the most accurate passers this term.
337 – Stoke took the most long throw ins.
267 – Rory Delap took 189 more long throws than any other player.
9 – Stoke scored the most goals from throw-in situations.
33% – One third of all goals scored this season came from set-plays.
8 – Eight different Liverpool players scored with shots from outside the box.
0 – Liverpool were the only team not to suffer a home defeat in the Premier League.
13 – Spurs picked up the most points in London derbies this season.
8 – West Ham picked up the fewest in capital clashes.
30 – Liverpool garnered 30 points against their north west rivals.
1 – Bolton won just one match against another team from the north west.
8 – Sunderland took the most points in north east derbies.
77 – Liverpool were the league’s top scorers with 77 goals.
83 – Shaun Wright-Phillips made more successful dribbles than anyone else.
4 – Anton Ferdinand and Hermann Hreidarsson both received four yellow cards for dissent, more than any other players in the year the FA’s ‘Respect’ campaign was launched.
10 – Stoke have collected only 10 of their 45 points on the road this season.
5 – Aston Villa have benefited from five own goals this season – more than any other team in the division.
6 – Jamie Carragher and Richard Dunne now hold the Premier League record for own goals with six apiece.
6 – Middlesbrough scored six own goals – more than any other team.
24 – Gareth Bale has played 24 league games for Spurs and never been on the winning side.
86 – Liverpool’s total of 86 points is their best ever haul in Premier League history.
2 – Liverpool became the first team in top-flight history to lose only two games and not win the title.
63 – Spurs have not won away at any of the big four since August 1993 – a run of 63 games.
86 – Liverpool’s tally of 86 points is the highest of any team not winning the league in a 38-game Premier League season.
10 – It is 10 seasons since the Premier League top-scorer ended the campaign with fewer than 20 goals.
82 – Stewart Downing had more shots (including blocked attempts) than any other player who did not score.
110 – Liverpool allowed their opponents fewer shots on target than any other team.
141 – Arsenal caught more opponents offside than any other team.
141 – Hull were flagged offside more than any other team.
61 – Djibril Cisse was caught offside more than any other player.
6 – Six players scored hat-tricks this season.
4 – Andrey Arshavin was the first player to score four goals in a Premier League and not end on the winning side.
13 – Mike Dean awarded more penalties than any other referee.
8 – Mike Dean sent off more players than any other official.
63 – There were 63 red cards shown this season.
13.5 – Mark Halsey was the league’s most lenient official, showing a card on average for every 13.5 fouls.
5.8 – Rob Styles was the strictest referee dishing out a card for every 5.8 fouls committed.
TV Rights for Premier League & Spuds preview February 7, 2009
Posted by freekicker in 2008-09 season, Arsenal, Premier League, Setanta Sports, Sky Sports, TV rights, The Independent, Tottenham Hotspurs.add a comment
Arsenal travel to White Hart Lane on Sunday with a team that looks light on the midfield with Nasri, Denilson, Song and Eboue…My god if we cme back with a win with this team we should be blessed…Arshavin most probably won’t be playing and Keane will be playing in all probability. Lets hope we keep the record of beating the Spuds intact.
Premier League sold its TV rights recently for 1.78 Billion pounds in this time of recession. Here is a break up of the deal and how the TV rights have grown over the last cople of decades…
BSkyB (paid £1.623bn) won rights to:
Package A: 23 matches shown at 16:00 on Sundays
Package B: 23 matches shown at 13:30 on Sundays
Package C: Minimum of 12 matches at 20:00 on Monday, the rest either at 13:30 on Sunday or 17:15 on Saturday or other times
Package E: 23 matches shown at 1245 on Saturdays
Package F: Seven to 13 matches on midweek evenings/bank holidays, 10 to 16 at 12:45 on Saturday and 16:00 on Sundays
Setanta (paid £159m) won rights to: Package D: Minimum of 18 matches at 17:15 on Saturday, the rest either at 13:30 on Sunday, 20:00 on Monday or other times
Total 2010-13 income from live British rights: £1.782bn.
*Current deal (2007-2010): Sky won packages A, B, E and F for £1.314bn total, and Setanta won packages C and D for £392m combined, for a total of £1.706bn.
*The rise and rise of the Premier League: How TV rights values have increased
1992-1997: BSkyB, 60 games/season, £190m – deal value, £633,000/game
1997-2001: BSkyB, 60 games, £670m, £2.79m/game
2001-2004: BSkyB, 110 games, £1.2bn, £3.64m/game
2004-2007: BSkyB, 138 games, £1.024bn, £2.47m/game
2007-2010: BSkyB and Setanta, 138 games, £1.706bn, £4.12m/game
2010-2013: BSkyB/Setanta 138 games, £1.782bn, £4.3m/game
(courtesy- The Independent)
Ray Parlour & Me April 1, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, Barclays Premier League, Chelsea, EPL, Premier League, Ray Parlouor, Sunway Lagoon, Super Sunday.add a comment
3 points and fighting spirit back for the Gunners March 30, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Bolton Wanderers, Cesc, Champions League, EPL, Fabregas, Gallas, Liverpool, Premier League, Theo, Van Persie, Walcott.add a comment
What a topsy turvy game it was at Reebok Stadium, where Arsenal have not won in the league for the last six years. And they were going into the match with their worst streak in 9 years and being 3rd in the league this season for the first time. The setting was not good at all. To make matters worse, Diaby comes up with a very bad tackle and deservedly gets the red card. In a few minutes Arsenal find themselves 2 goals behind against a confident Wanderers.
Like they say, when the going gets tough the tough gets going, maybe with a little bit of luck. The second half saw Bolton pressing hard for another goal to seal the match, but a lucky break sees Arsenal getting a corner and from it resulted the first goal. Campos doesnt clear the ball and butts it across the goal for Gallas to come running around the side and slot it in. 2-1 the score line.
Another clever passing from the left flank saw Hleb being fouled inside the box and Persie made no mess of the penalty and the score read 2-2, with minutes to go. Wenger knew that this was a game where the momentum was fast shifting to Arsenal and he needed to get those 3 points to fight for anything left of the title.
And that came from who else, but Fabregas who had a inconsistent game where he did make some telling contributions as well as some uncharacteristic mis passes. His shot at goal, took two deflections and went in.
Credit should also be given for Wenger’s substitution that came just before the hour mark and from when Arsenal started coming back into the game. He changed Adebayor for Bendtner, Walcott for Senderos which meant Walcott played in quite an unusual role. It was a 3 man defence with Gallas and Toure holding firm and Clichy mostly on the assault. Walcott was on the right wing on his own and he did trouble the Bolton defence quite a bit.
Later on in the press conference Wenger said :
‘I can’t remember a better comeback, being 2-0 down and with ten men. Everything went against us, but we kept going.’
So this match should give confidence to the Gunners in their match against Liverpool in the Champions League. If Everton can do us a favour and beat Liverpool, the European match would be nicely set up. But Diaby’s red card means that the Gunners are further depleted for their League engagements for the next 3 matches.
This has been another match where Arsenal have saved points coming from behind.
Aug 12, 2007 v Fulham (h) 2-1 Hleb (90)
Aug 25, 2007 v Man City (h) 1-0 Fabregas (80)
Oct 7, 2007 v Sunderland (h) 3-2 Van Persie (80)
Oct 28, 2007 v Liverpool (a) 1-1 Fabregas (80)
Nov 3, 2007 v Man United (h) 2-2 Gallas (90)
Nov 24, 2007 v Wigan 2-0 Gallas (83), Rosicky (85)
March 1, 2008 v Aston Villa (h) 1-1 Bendtner (90)
March 4, 2008 v AC Milan (a) 0-2 Fabregas (84), Adebayor (90)
March 15, 2008 v Boro (h) 1-1 Toure (86)
March 30,2008 v Bolton (a) 2-3 Gallas (62) , Van Persie (68), Fabregas (90)
