Better than whole of Togo
As it losing to Sunderland on Saturday was not bad enough, now I got to find out that the other North London team was involved in setting a new record for the highest scoring match in Premiership history. I can see it now, the headlines in all online advertisements.
DVD out now!! The greatest match ever played in the Premier League!!! In stores nearby!!! 9-1 to Spurs!! Available for £1.99 and comes with a free hotdog
I’m still reeling from the our latest defeat. It puts us in an uncomfortable position going into this week where there’s 2 more matches to be played. One against Std Liege which could effectively qualify us to the next round and at the weekend a London derby against the leaders of the league. Although from a betting man’s standpoint, it could work to our favour with the Chelsea winning their odds at the weekend and we didn’t. But I won’t go there cause that’s a whole different story.
He was asked whether Vela’s talent was the single reason he decided not to replace Emmanuel Adebayor in summer.
The manager replied: “Yes.”
That’s essentially what Wenger said when responding to a question on Arsenal’s official website. The boss also goes to mention that Vela is born from the same mould that made Robbie Fowler. If that means Vela scoring a hattrick inside 10 minutes against Chelsea on Sunday, then yes, I agree boss. The Mexican has been somewhat been both a revelation and also a mystery to many of us. When given the chance like in last season’s Carling Cup, he showed ingenuity and composure in front of goal which belied his age.
However the main problem is that we have not been able to see much of him. Some league cameo towards the end of the season but generally still not a player which we see Wenger throw on to win the game for us. Not that Wenger has had much chance to do that, what with Vela always being injured or away on international duty.
If Vela really is the reason why we never replaced Adebayor then surely it’s for a whole different set of reasons. Firstly, the former is neither physically strong or able to play upfront on his own. However in reference to the latter, he does possess pace and definitely much better ball control. Call me sceptical but I don’t think he is suited to play as the lone forward role that RVP has this season. That being said, he could easily slot in any of the 2 positions flanking the main striker. It may also help during the absence of RVP that Vela and Eduardo both play together. Vela’s pace would allow him to get past players or drive for the byline to deliver or cutback crosses for the Brazilian to score.
The same can be said about Walcott on the right. It would be fascinating to see how all 3 of them play together. Although that might mean a different solution on how to fit Arshavin in the side. We could see that happen tomorrow night. I’m hopeful.
Where is the marking?
Disappointing would be the best word to summed up tonight’s game. The team lacked cohesion, tenacity and showed no real desire to win the game. One could argue that after almost 2 weeks away from each other and barely had the oppourtunity to train as a team lead to the dispirited display. We were not even short of inventiveness on the pitch but none took it by the scruff of the neck.
We started with Ramsey and Fabregas in midfield with Eduardo being flanked on either side by Rosicky and Nasri. To me, that was 4 players that is capable of being the playmaker but almost everything that they did was forgettable and un-fruitful. Yes, in the opposite side of the pitch, Lorik Cana was really in his element but what I was the drive, or rather the lack of it from the Arsenal team. This is probably one of the advantage that Alex Ferguson holds over Wenger, the ability to get his players in spirit and the right attitude for any game. I cannot imagine a team that is playing for the league title, playing with such lethargy in their game. To lose a game after a giving it your best shot is one thing, to lose without so much of even trying is unacceptable to me.
In truth, we could’ve taken the lead towards the end of the first half but Eduardo had another of his Spurs moment as his chip shot met neither the net or the post. A move that was started just into the Sunderland saw Song basically slalom his way past several players and played a neat 1-2 twice with Eduardo that released the latter in the box.
This was a match that was tight and not many chances for either side. Play generally centered in a midfield battle to show who is better defensively. Cana and Song were the outstanding ones on display. Song might be the only one who can claim any sort of credit from this match. He proved that Wenger’s decision not to invest in Cana was still correct. Even though with all due respect, the one time Arsenal target more than showed why we were interested in the first place.
The deciding goal came from a corner once again. The marking was just horrible. Whoever was marking Darren Bent was nowhere to be seen and allowed the England forward the time and space inside the box to attack the initial delivery. It rebounded off an Arsenal player and right into the onrushing Bent who reacted quicker than Almunia and duly smashed it home. Our awareness and marking during set-pieces is really appalling. This is not something new and can be easily rectified during training but I’m not too sure if Wenger is even focussing on that at the moment. It’s infuriating to see the same mistakes repeating with such a high frequency.
Armand Traore was given a baptism of fire by Wenger, who showed the former faith by starting him ahead of Silvestre. Traore had a reasonable game but spent most of the time in his own half. Perhaps he was just trying to be a bit cautious and focus on his defending in his first start of the season. Fair enough, but it also made Arsenal’s game very 1 dimensional with most of the attack going on the right side through Sagna. That in itself allowed Sunderland the choice to focus defensively only on their left side while attacking through their right side. For all his exploits for the national team, I’m still yet to be convinced by Aaron Ramsey. Too many times tonight his passes went astray or even worse, direct to the opposition players. His decision making is still very raw in my eye.
This is our 3rd defeat of the campaign but it can be forgotten should we triumph against a rampant Chelsea next week. But for today, the desire was not there to be seen. Disappointing is the word.
My head! My head!
My good friend’s wedding is tomorrow so this will be a very early match preview of our trip to Sunderland. As it has been known for the past few days, RVP and Gibbs both will miss the game after yet another injury return for an Arsenal player from an international break. However the good news is that Walcott, Denilson, Vela and Wilshere have all recovered from their respective injuries and will join the squad for Saturday’s game.
Last season, we only managed a draw at the English’s Stadium of Light when Fabregas popped up from nowhere to score with a header from a corner. It was a very rare occasion and I’m willing to put my bet that it will never happen again but it was a very good moment for him. That we played poorly and only got the equaliser in the final minute of the match showed that this match won’t be a walk in the park for the Gunners.
There is no point in hiding the fact that we will miss RVP. In a game as tight as this, where Steve Bruce will probably instruct his team to stick close to Arsenal players and try to deny us space to play our normal game, the Dutchman can always conjure up some moment of magic. That being the case, there’s no point fretting about it. Walcott’s return augurs well for the attacking option as he had just increased the forward players to a great number of 2 (yes, you read it right). Apart from him, Eduardo is currently the only fit forward within the ranks of Arsenal. I think he will not start this game but his pace could be very useful late in the game.
As I mentioned yesterday, both Gallas and Sagna have completed very long and arduous matches and might not be at 100% for this game but I’m quite sure Gallas will start while Eboue could come in for Sagna. With that, I suspect the lineup will be something like this.
Almunia
Eboue—Gallas—Vermaelen—Silvestre
Fabregas—Song—Nasri
Rosicky—Eduardo—Arshavin
Now, one may try to argue otherwise but that is quite an impressive lineup of players on its own, even without the currently injured ones. Slight caution on the inclusion of Silvestre but since Kieran Richardson is still substituting at left back, his replacement Andy Reid is not known for his speed, so unless there is a lapse of concentration, the aging Frenchman will do just fine.
Another note of concern will should also be handed out to Song to be aware of the positions that Steed Malbranque takes up as the latter can be quite industrious as well as quite good with long shots. If need be, Denilson could also be on from the off just to put some more strength in the midfield but having just returned from a long layoff, he will be better suited to come on if we need to defend or protect a lead.
Sunderland have been quite strong at home this season but with Jones suspended for this game, Bent will be hard pressed to muster anything on his own. Another of Sunderland’s success story this season, Lee Catermole is also out injured, so it will be one less midfield terrier for Fabregas to deal with.
It’s up to us to put some pressure on Chelsea to close the gap to just 2 points ahead of the London derby next week. Here’s to hoping that will happen. Enjoy it wherever you’re watching.
Looks like it kinda work
Well, it looks like there is still some sort of fairy dust left in this world. After completing his treatment in Serbia using the latest craze, placenta treatment, Robin was all smiles after exiting the clinic. Dr. Kovacevic will have her hands full now that there is a whole host of other players who would have made her clinic a very pack one.
Initially diagnosed to be out for 6 weeks, the treatment has probably reduced it by half, although some reports said it could be as fast as one week. It may be stretching it just little to assume Robin will be all fine, fit and recover from ankle ligament torn in just a week’s time. He has a history of returning far too early only to further aggravate the injury. Will an older shoulder on his head, it is better not to push it. A month is very short period of time. The crunch of games that is slotted towards the end of the year and January next will be a better timeframe for him to return.
Suddenly it is not looking that bad at all. The other notable injury victim from the international break, Kieran Gibbs have also been cleared of metatarsal injury. His recovery period should be shorter now but to expect him to feature against Chelsea next week would be a foolish dream. Again, it is still early days in the campaign and there’s a lot more games to come, so rushing player back is not a good idea.
Arshavin, Fabregas, Gallas, Sagna, Vermaelen, Eboue all played for their respective countries last night and came through unscathed. Though, I’d expect a very tired Gallas and Sagna to return to the Arsenal fold, having completed 210 minutes of football in just a matter of 5 days. But their tired legs would have ache less now that France has confirmed their participation in the World Cup finals next year.
Special note must be addressed to Wojciech Szczesny, who claimed his first international cap for Poland when he came on at half time for his country. At just 19 years of age, Szczesny certainly have a bright future ahead of him. However it might not come at Arsenal with the 2 out of 3 in front of him all under the age of 25.
