Arsenal vs Everton Preview

Hello Everyone !

It's been a really long time since I wrote a post but I missed writing and so I am back for my own satisfaction.

As we all know, we are in a great run in the premier league and we have to keep it going as much as possible for us to finish in the top 4. Arsenal celebrate their 125th anniversary against Everton tomorrow and that should add more energy to the fixture.

On to the Arsenal team news, we will be without Santos & Fabianski for tomorrow's game along with the long term casualties. Our third choice keeper Mannone is out injured as well which means Manuel Almunia is back in the squad after a long time.

For Everton, Moyes has confirmed that both Jack Rodwell, Osman and Drenthe will miss out but Luis Saha has a chance of returning to their squad.


Everton started the season in poor form just like Arsenal, but they have made a revival and sit in 10'th spot in the league. Everton's struggle this season can be linked to the departure of their talismanic midfielder Mikel Arteta to our own Arsenal. Everton had all but no time to invest the money they got for Arteta on any other player. Everton also has scored only half the goals as Arsenal and so the return to fitness of Saha can be a boost for them.

Arsenal are in flying form in the league with 7 victories out of their last 8 matches. As Arsene said, we are starting to see the quality of our summer signings once the team jelled. Mikel Arteta has been a revelation in midfield and the opportunity to play against his former team can only boost his performance tomorrow. As usual, Arsenal's biggest problem is our injury status. We have lost both our first choice and second choice left back and right back to injury. This means that we will again be forced to field four centre back's at the back. Keeping that on my mind, my predicted line up is...

Szczesny

Djourou Koscielny   Mertesacker   Vermaelen

Ramsey  Song   Arteta

Walcott Van Persie  Gervinho

Arsene confirmed that Vermealen will start as left back tomorrow but I would have played Miquel instead. He has played really well this season and has matured a lot. Playing Vermaelen instead also means that, we will be fielding all of our centre backs once and if one of those gets injured, we could be in for far more trouble. Another decision foor Arsene to make is whether to start Song in holding midfield or not. Our outstanding defensive midfielder is only one Yellow card away from a one game suspension and since our next game is against the high flying Manchester City, I would like to see either Coquelin or Frimpong start. Either way, Arsene has got some decisions to make and whatever he does, I trust him to make the choices that is right for the team.

Everton although they have quite a lot of injuries themselves, are a strong opposition. Moyes has done great work there with very less spending power. Everton are the team that Arsenal have scored the most goals against. There has been some high scoring games between these sides in the past but I don't think we will see a repeat of it tomorrow. Everton are really strong in set pieces with Baines & Tim Cahill in their line up and so Vermaelen , Koscielny & Mertesacker has to be on their toes all the time. With Van Persie in outstanding form along with Theo, Gervinho & Arteta, I am pretty confident about our offense. All we need to do is maintain our recently found defensive stability and that will help us to come out of this game with three points.

COME ON YOU GUNNERS !

Arsenal vs Bolton Preview

Hello Everyone !

Arsenal find themselves in a unfamiliar territory in the league table after the first 5 games of the 2011-12 season and this week we welcome fellow strugglers Bolton to The Emirates.

After a disappointing and frustrated defeat against Blackburn last week, Arsenal's second string side came from behind to defeat Shrewsbury in the Carling Cup midweek. Some of the youngsters like The OX and Coquelin shined in it but now the real test is back on in the form of Owen Coyle's men. Bolton are 19th in the table with 3 points and it would be foolish to think that they will come and roll over for us at The Emirates.

Bolton have completely changed their footballing style under Coyle (except Kevin 'Elbow' ) and so it could turn out to be a nice and open end to end game. Having said that, we are the Arsenal and we going through the whole game without a disastrous thing happening is as inevitable as a Kevin Davies booking. Onto the injury news, Arsenal welcome back Rosicky, Ramsey and Sagna but will be without Benayoun and Djourou. For Bolton, Gardner & Holden might return.

As I said earlier, Bolton under Coyle has seen a massive change. They no longer play the ugly and somewhat boring physical game. They have started playing the passing game and Coyle is one of the best manager who can bring the best out of his players. Since both the teams play open game, this could turn out to be a very good match. Given the poor start to the campaign for both the teams, it should be a fiercely fought battle for 3 points and that can only add extra spice to the game. One of Arsenal's main transfer target in the summer, Gary Cahill will come up against us and it will be really interesting to see how he performs.

Arsenal played a 4-4-2 against Shrewbury midweek but I expect them to switch back to 4-4-3 against Bolton. My lineup would be.....

                      Szczesny

Sagna    Koscielny  Mertesacker   Gibbs

Ramsey   Song   Arteta

Walcott   Van Perise  Gervinho

The partnership of Kosh & Per crumbled when put under pressure against Blackburn and we can only hope that it was only a temporary blip. Defending against a striker like Kevin Davies is literally a pain in the arse and Kosh and Per should be on top of their game tomorrow. It would be good to give some more game time for Santos but I would prefer Gibbs over him simply because of Gibbs good form and we should make sure we have our strongest back 4 out there.

The main problem with Arsenal along with the defensive woes is their sharpness in front of goal. We should be more clinical in front of goal and should try to convert every chance into a goal. If we do that regularly it will naturally reduce the pressure on our defenders. Van Persie is yet to really move on this season but he has too much quality to remain like that and the addition of Gervinho & Arteta can only make him better.

Our teams needs our home support more than ever and I hope the Gooners out there will act as the 12th man tomorrow. I am not expecting a highscoring game tomorrow simply because of the form of two teams but I do predict that Arsenal will grab all three points with a home victory.

Up The Arsenal !!

Blackburn vs Arsenal Preview

Hello Everyone !


We are back to the domestic tournaments after our successful Champions league trip to Germany and its Blackburn who welcome us to the Ewood Park this weekend. I consider our trip to Germany as a successful one even though we drew because Dortmund gave a tough test to us and we managed to pass that test and it  took  a one time wonder goal for them to gain a point. Our defensive performance was really solid and our offensive performance was also encouraging.

Moving on to the Blackburn game, we finally have Gervinho & Song back from suspension and we also will have Ramsey back from his injury. There was no news on Rosicky's fitness and I take that no news as a bad news. It's good to have Ramsey back. The midfield partnership of Arteta & Yossi was a bit shaky against Dortmund and I feel Yossi seems more comfortable playing on the flanks rather than in midfield. So its good to have Ramsey back in the mix and I predict he will start alongside Song ( who was brilliant and got MOTM against BVB ) and Arteta tomorrow.


Blackburn, who have only one point from their first 4 games will have late fitness tests to Dunn, Nelsen & Pedersen. They will have Samba & the tricky Hoilett back from minor injuries. I have seen a couple of Blackburn games so far and to be honest, they are really unlucky to have only point so far. Hoilett is a really tricky player. His moments are pretty good and he has decent pace too. Upfront they also have  Rochinna and Yakubu who may not sound as a big threat but since they are playing at their home, our defense needs to be really sharp.

Blackburn under Kean have changed their style a little bit. They do still play long ball but not as much as they did during the times of Big Sam. They are a physical team and so I feel this game will suit Mertesacker very well. Since Blackburn rely more on physical strength rather than pace, I expect Mertesacker to have a very good game alongside the ever improving and outstanding Koscielny.

Talking about pace, it's very good to have Gervinho back from his suspension. From what I have seen, Blackburn's week link is their fullbacks and we should target that with the pace of Theo and pace & trickery of Gervinho & Arshavin. It will be interesting to see how Samba & Dunn, both who were heavily linked with Arsenal perform against RVP and others.

My predicted line up is

                      Sczcesny

Sagna   Mertesacker   Koscielny   Gibbs

Arteta   Song   Ramsey

Walcott   Captain Vantastic    Gervinho

It will be really interesting to see how Arteta performs. He looked a bit tired against Dortmund and unfortunately we have too many midfielders out injured to give him a rest. He hasn't really got used to playing twice in a week so lets hope he can cope with it. Arshavin might start in place of Gervinho and I feel both are more or less same kind of players. Personally, I would like to see Arshavin starting as a AM but I don't think Arsene is fond of doing that.  Van Persie has an incredible scoring record against Blackburn and I can feel that he will continue it tomorrow too.


We played pretty well against Swansea and should improve a bit more against Blackburn. We have a run of easy games ( on paper at least) so we should use it and collect the maximum points from it. Chelsea will be playing against Manchester United and Liverpool are up against Tottenham, so there is a very good chance that three of our main rivals ( You  need a new brain if you think Spurs are one of our rivals ) will drop points and that makes our game a must win one. We need to hit the ground running from now on to make up for our very bad first 3 games of the season.

Although we are playing away from home and with the team still gelling, I feel we have enough technical excellence over Blackburn to nick a victory tomorrow. The big advantage I can see for Blackburn is that they will have their players fresh whereas we might me a bit tired because of our midweek game, but I expect Arsenal to cope with it though. I predict a 2-1 away victory for us.

Come on you Gunners !!

Arsenal vs Swansea Review

Hello Everyone !

Finally our Arsenal is back, not fully but still it's back.  We finally finished a game with all 11 men on the field, we finally scored a goal in our home in EPL and more importantly, we finally took all three points from a game. It was not a really convincing, no nonsense normal Arsenal victory. It was a close one, we weren't fluid, our passing wasn't on form, but at this point of our season, three points is all matters and I am really glad that we got it.

As expected Mertesacker & Arteta made their Arsenal debut. I expected Benayoun to start too but Arshavin kept his place in the starting line up. Arsenal started well. Arteta settled with the Arsenal way without any fuss and it was he who created our first chance of the game. His beautifully weighted pass set up Ramsey but he somehow fired it over. That was the start of a disappointing game for Ramsey. Swansea, well known for their beautiful football started to settle in now. Szczesny was called up to make a stunning save from Graham's header. Arteta was simply awesome for Arsenal in the first half. He was linking up with Van Persie like he has played with him week in week out. At the back, Mertesacker & especially Koscielny (The Birthday boy) were bossing the defense. I am a big fan of Koscielny since his debut for us last year and I am glad that he is catching everyone's eyes now. Mertesacker, as expected covered his lack of pace with his very good positioning.

After Szczesny's save, Arsenal almost went ahead with Theo's shot which was cleared on the line by the very good Caulker. Arsenal had further chances with Frimpong & Walcott. Swansea also had some good chances. Then came the pivotal moment in the game. Theo took a shot which went well wide of the goal and Vorm gathered it safely. Vorm tried to release the ball quickly and unfortunately for him, it hit the heels of Rangel and the lively Arshavin was on hand to put the ball in the empty net to give Arsenal the lead. First half ended 1-0 with the two debutant's performing admirably for Arsenal.

Theo & Ramsey had a poor first half & it continued in the second half too. Theo's final ball & his finishing were really poor. Ramsey was taking too much time on the ball which not only slowed our game but also meant that he was in danger of getting dispossessed often. Swansea on the other hand hit a free kick onto the bar. Robin, the Arsenal captain was having one of his disappointing game. His first touches were beautiful but his finishing was poor. He did use his technique to take a beautiful right foot shot in the second half but unfortunately it clipped the outside of the post & went out. Robin & his love for the post...sigh. Arsene took off Arshavin and a bit later Robin for Benayoun & Chamakh. Benayoun was lively and Chamakh almost made a immediate impact. Gibbs, who had a very good game put in a beautiful cross but Chamakh's well taken header was saved comfortably by Vorm. Arsenal almost bottled it at the 90th minute. A high ball was sent into the Arsenal box and Szczesny went for it & missed it. The ball fell kindly for Graham but with the a open goal in front of him, he somehow shot over. Arsenal saw out the injury time safely and 1-0 it finished. Arsenal got their first victory of the season.

The game was not pleasing to the eyes but that's expected when you have many debutants and players returning from International break. Three point is all matters and we should feel happy that we got it. The fluidity will return once the players gel more and this victory will surely raise our confidence ahead of our trip to Germany. Arteta & Mertesacker had very good debuts and that was good to see. Yossi & Chamakh were bright when they came on and that's another plus. The game against Dortmund should be a cracking one and I can't wait for it.

Until then, Take care everyone !

Curtain Raiser

Hello Everyone !

It's been a long time now since I wrote my last piece, so it feels good to be back again writing about Arsenal.

The title of the post might be a little bit odd but that's how I am seeing it. I have decided to forget about our previous 3 league games and going to treat this weekends game as our curtain raiser for the new season.

Going straight into our game against Swansea, we already have lost Jack Wilshere & Vermaelen to long term injuries, Diaby is yet to recover from his surgery and also there is some concern regarding Rosicky's fitness & Ju's VISA. Arsene also said that Gibbs will return from his injury and Walcott should also be fine. Jenkinson & Gervinho are suspended

We are off to one of our worst start of the season in our history so its really important for us to get going asap. Now that the long running sagas of Cesc, Na$ri, the transfer rumours, the new signings, etc, etc are over, we can properly concentrate on Football & Football only. Swansea, the newly promoted team are well known for their proper way of playing Football. The first thing Arsenal should avoid is naivety but considering the manner with which we have started our season, I dont think it will be a problem.

We always play well against the teams which play in a similar style to us & also since this game is at our home, I am pretty confident about a Arsenal victory.

I have no idea about the players of Swansea, so I am not going to waste space on talking about their team news.

I expect the Arsenal team to line up as...

                    Szczesny

Sagna   Koscielny   Mertesacker   Gibbs

Frimpong   Arteta   Ramsey

Theo    Van Persie    Benayoun


Arsene said in his presser that Santos is a little bit short of game time, so I have a feeling that Gibbs will get the nod. Also there will be debuts for (The BFG) Mertesacker & Arteta. I also expect Benayoun to make his Arsenal debut & take Arshavin's place.

Arsenal are yet to complete a league game with all 11 men on the field. There are many reasons for our poor start of the season but I think getting a man sent off in all those games is one of the main reason. We need to correct our on field disciplinary record and should start it from tomorrow's game.

As I mentioned already, Swansea like to play Football and pass the ball around and this should play into Arsenal's hand. Now that Vermaelen is out for a month at least, it's a priority that Kosh & Mert form a understanding at the centre of our defense asap. Arteta, although he is not Cesc will provide the much needed creativity along with Ramsey. We were really poor offensively in our 3 games so far, so its great to have a offensive & proven premier league player like Arteta in our side. Frimpong has got enormous potential and I hope he plays himself in a disciplined way tomorrow.

Up front, I expect Theo & Captain Vantatsic  to retain their places. Arshavin, although he tried a lot against Man United, was poor on that day. So I think its good to give him a much needed break and start Benayoun on the left. Benayoun may not be a marquee signing but he is a very good player when he is injury free and his stint at Liverpool proves that. He was simply amazing in the 4-4 draw that we played out with Liverpool a couple of years ago and I really hope he stays away from our physio room this season. Benayoun & Theo can switch flanks at any time during the game and that's a big plus is well.

Van Persie, although he is a world class player, needs support from his midfield for him to shine. Now that we have added Arteta ( & Benayoun), I expect Robin to get going with goals from now on. We also have added much needed depth to our strike department by singing Ju ( Park Chu-Young), the South Korean.  Now that Chamakh is looking at the Football like a bomb, the addition of Ju is very much welcome ( Hope he clears his VISA issues asap).


We should alao have a strong bench with the likes of Djourou, Arshavin, Rosicky (if he is fit), Chamakh & The OX.

The only slight worry for Arsenal tomorrow could be that our players might be a bit tired due to their midweek international commitments unlike Swansea players. Its not a main concern though and I expect Arsenal to kick start their season with a 3-0 victory.

COME ON YOU GUNNERS

2011-12 Season Preview

Hello Everyone,


Finally the most awaited & exciting league in the world is about to start in a weeks time and I am as always is really looking forward to our new season. Usually our pre-season will start with a game against Barnet and then will be followed by a training camp at Austria and the Emirates Cup. Not so this time.We made our first pre-season tour to Asia since 1999 and it was really successful is well. We started the pre-season with a overwhelming victory against Malaysia and ended with a somewhat painful defeat against Benfica. I am just going to look at each of our positions and give my thoughts about whether we need to improve it or stay put.

Goalkeepers :

We are set to start the season with four Goalkeepers. Szczesny, Fabianksi, Mannone & Almunia. I think our Goalkeeping situation is well under control. Just a year ago we were really crying out for a new Goalie and now we have two worldclass Goalies in Szczesny & Fabianski with us. Arsene has already said that Almunia might move on and even if he doesn't, I think he will only probably play with reserves unless both Szczesny & Fabainski gets injured. Mannone needs to improve a lot if he has to even think about challenging Scz & Fab. He hasn't had a great pre-season so I think he has to settle for 3rd choice. The battle for the first choice is wide open and both Scz & Fab has said that they will give their all to get it. Its a really interesting battle and definitely a great one to look out for. I would personally go for Fabianki but I think it will be Szczesny who will start the season as first choice.

Verdict : Our Goalkeeping situation is really good and so nothing needs to be done there.

Left Backs :

This is an area where there is some concern. We sold our first choice LB Gael Clichy to Manchester City and are due to start the season with only Gibbs & Traore. Gibbs is a very good LB but unfortunately he is really injury prone. Traore spent the last season on loan at Juventus and has surely improved a lot but whether he is good enough for Arsenal is still open for discussion. Judging by our pre-season, both Gibbs & Traore have played pretty well. Gibbs looks set to start as first choice and as long as he stays injury free, I am happy with it. Having said that, I would like to see us buying a experienced LB like Baines or Enrique but why should we dream about a thing that's not going to happen heh ?

Verdict : This is an area for concern, partly due to the fitness of our first choice and the quality of our second choice

Right Backs :

Our right back area is pretty covered in my opinion. We brought in the youngster Carl Jenkinson from Charlton during the transfer window and set to sell our previous second choice Eboue. Our first choice Sagna is the best right back in the world at the moment and he is a very fit guy too. Jenkison, based on pre-season performances so far looks capable of deputing him, maybe not so effective as Eboue but he certainly can.

Verdict : I think we are good to go in this department. I just hope Sagna remains as consistent and fit as ever.

Centre Backs :

We have neither sold nor brought in any new CB's so far. We are set to start with TV- Kosh as first choice CB and they are a really awesome pair that we conceded Zero goals when they both were on the pitch during pre-season. Djourou can be a really good backup. He is short of confidense at the moment and I really hope he finds it soon. Most of Gooners don't like Squillaci but in my opinion he is a good 4th choice. He is experienced and was brought in only as a cover for TV & Kosh but our injury record is so bad that he was forced to play a lot last season. But I do accept that we need to buy one more CB. We have made bids for Jagielka and also are being linked with Cahill. I think we will end up getting one sooner rather than later.

Verdict : We have some really good CB's and if we add Jagielka/Cahill to it, we are perfect to go. We do need to work a lot on defending set pieces and hope that Vermaelen and Koscielny remain injury free.


Defensive Midfield : We start the season with Song as first choice and Frimpong as second choice. Having let go Denilson on loan to Sao Paulo, there isnt very much depth in this department. Song is a really good DM but he would be much better if he has some stiff competition. I hoped we would go for a experienced player like Parker, so that it will both provide cover for Song & wont block Frimpong too but it doesn't seem like happening. Frimpong has played really well in pre-season so far but can he push Song and remain consistent is yet to be seen.

Verdict : Would have been much better if we had brought a experienced DM but now lets hope Song & Frimpong can remain fit & consistent.

Midfielders : This is an area which is making many confused at the moment and mostly its because of the situation surrounding Cesc. If he stays we will have Jack, Ramsey, Rosicky, Diaby and maybe Lansbury is well and that's more than good enough but the big question is what will happen if he goes. Arsene & PHW both have said that Cesc will leave only if  Barca pay the money we are asking for. At the moment it looks like Barca are not going to pay what we ask for and so I really hope Cesc stays. There are only a very few who can replace Cesc and it would be great for Ramsey to learn from Cesc for one more year at least.

Verdict : If Cesc stays then its pretty awesome but if he leaves then surely we need to buy a player. Ramsey can be effective as Cesc but surely not yet. We have been heavily linked with Mata who can play both as a midfielder and as a winger so if Cesc (or Nasri) leaves, I hope we get him.

Wingers/Strikers : 

We have Nasri, Arshavin, Gervinho, Vela, Walcott & if we can get the work permit, Ryo Miyaichi who all can play on the wings. That's enough quality we have. Nasri's future & Miyaichi's permit issues needs to be cleared soon. The really good thing here is Arshavin, Gervinho, Nasri and to a certain extent Theo can all play both on the left or on the right and so we can swap them anytime during the game. Miyaichi can be a great addition if we can get his permit. He has pace in abundance that only Theo can match. Gervinho looks like a great signing. His runs off the ball has been great and he has that beautiful change of pace in him which can torment defenders. I am really excited to see him alongside RVP. If we do sell Nasri (which I hope we does) then Mata can be a great replacement. Vela has got a great chance to revitalize his Arsenal career this season. His natural & best position is a striker but his physique and our formation may not allow him to play there, so I really hope he play's well on the wings and makes a name for himself.

We have three strikers at the moment. RVP, Bendtner & Chamakh. Gervinho can also play upfront. Everyone knows how great Robin is and unfortunately a bit injury prone too. Arsene said that we are looking to sell Bendtner and I really hope we doesn't. Nick is a great striker and he wants to move on most probably because he did not get enough game time and was also forced him to play out wide last season. RVP has already got injured during yesterdays game and with Chamakh in a very bad form as he is now, we certainly need Bendtner to stay. Both Chamakh & Gervinho will be off to ACN during January and so we really need Nick or a new striker as a cover for RVP. Afobe might get promoted to first team and although he is a very good player, he is just 18 and you cant really trust him to cover for a player like RVP. There are unconfirmed news that we have signed Costa Rica teenager Joel Campbell. He looks like a great player but he is also just 18.

Verdict : We need either Chamakh to get back his form asap or Nick to stay. RVP is a great player but cant be trusted to have a full season without knocks and even if he has it, we need someone to help out RVP when he is tired. Our attack is very much dependent on RVP and that's not a great sign.

So my overall verdict is, we are well covered in GK, RB & Wingers. We need cover for LB and DM position but I can't realistically see someone arriving for that position. We are looking for a CB and I have a cheeky feeling we might even get a striker if we sell Nick, so I hope those business gets done sooner rather than later.

The media would say that Arsenal will struggle to get into the top 4 but I can realistically see us challenging for the title if we can get two or (If Cesc/Nasri leaves) three more players. So its not doom & gloom at Arsenal as many may lead you to believe. Arsene knows about our team much better than us and I fully trust him to make the necessary purchases soon.

I will be back next week with the preview of our first league game of the 2011-12 season against Newcastle. Until then, have a good time everyone.

What is pre-season ?

Hello everyone,


As Arsenal return to England after a very successful Asia tour, I decided to look back at our two games so far this season, how we have performed in it and what it actually means to the club.


This was Arsenal's first Asia tour since 1999 and the reception that players received both in Malaysia & China were phenomenal. I hope this amazing support shown by the Asian fans would have convinced Arsene & Gazidis to make more pre-season tours to Asia in the future.


Moving onto the pre-season games, Arsenal took on a Malaysian XI team in their first pre-season game of the season. Our only new signing of the season (so far) Jenkinson and our young sensation Ryo Miyaichi started the game and that was more than enough to get the Gooners excited. Arsenal ran out 4-0 winners with goals from Ramsey, Walcott, Vela and Rosicky. As this is pre-season Arsene played almost two entirely different sides in either halves. I was really impressed with Jenkinson. He has lot of energy and decent pace too and considering that we bought him for just 1million, its a great bargain from Arsene. Miyaichi also impressed with his pace & trickery. Ramsey, Wilshere, Walcott, Rosicky and Vela also had a really good game.


It was really good to see Ramsey, Vela & Rosicky score a goal. Although its just  pre-season, those three needed that goal for various reasons. Our defense kept a clean sheet and everyone were so happy obviously. Our players enjoyed their time in Malaysia and so then moved on to China for the second & final part of our Asia tour.


Arsenal arrived in China with a huge reception at the airport. It was so great that Arsene himself was so surprised to see it (as was most of our non Asian fans). Arsenal played their second pre-season game against the Chinese team Hangzhou Greentown on a fine Saturday evening. We started the game with Squillaci & Djourou (our best CB pairing of last season statistically) with a front three of Arshavin, RVP & Vela. Frimpong also started in DM position instead of Song. We started the game very slowly and it was Greentown who opened the scoring first. It was from a set piece and so almost  every Gooner on the planet started abusing Arsene & our defense (especially Squillaci) for this mistake. Now if u look at the goal Squillaci was no where responsible for the goal and if there was one to blame for the goal, then its Mannone. Vela was played on the right wing and to be honest he did struggle a bit initially. Nasri played in the Cesc position and was not really effective. Arshavin, who was a bit quiet so far in the game played a brilliant pass on to RVP who volleyed it. The keeper saved it but the rebound fell to Vela who tapped it in to get Arsenal back on level terms. Just like Malaysia, Arsene made a lot of changes for the second half and this time a whole new team came out. Suddenly Arsenal became more fluid and if it was not for some poor finishing by Walcott and some great goalkeeping from the Greeentown Keeper, we would have easily won the game.


After the game a lot of Gooners were upset and started to worry that Arsenal have not changed or learned from last season and so were calling out for some signings. But what they have failed to understand is , pre-season games are just meant for building up fitness and getting used to the feel of game atmosphere. Ramsey nailed it perfectly saying that " The pre-season was more for the work out and getting match fit again ". Most of our fans were also crying out for Arsene to sign Cahill or Samba, I do like them but even if  we sign one of those, they will be behind Koscielny in the pecking order to partner Vermaelen. The Verm-Kosh partnership against Greentown in the second half was simply fantastic and Kosceilny in particular did not put even a foot wrong and I am really excited to seem them week in week out in the Premier League.

Of course its a concern to see us concede another set piece goal but that's exactly why there is pre-season games. They just show Arsene where we need to improve, how much our players are match fit and who are the youngsters that are ready to step up to the first team. When Vela & Rosicky scored in the first game I saw some people saying that they can score ONLY against Malaysia and that shows their quality. Well if that's the case, then the likes of RVP & Nasri should have scored hat-tricks each right ? I do respect everyone's opinion but saying that our season is doomed and we haven't improved before the season has even started is a bit too harsh on our team. Arsene is using this Asia tour to just understand about some of his players and tactics and that's how we have to see it too.

Arsenal now return to London and in a weeks time will play FC Cologne in Germany in another friendly game in their build up to The Emirates Cup. Now if we repeat the same kind of mistakes in the Emirates Cup then there is a cause for concern but pressing the panic button at this stage is a bit too early. Arsene will have two more weeks to have a close look at our players and our system and I am sure he will correct our mistakes and add the required new players before the Emirates Cup comes calling.

Until then, take care & keep the faith

Gunners Review Part One

Hello everyone,

Its been a while since I wrote anything of anykind, so I decided to write a season review sort of thing. Instead of reviewing Arsenal, I am going to review all our first team players and also will give my views about what they should and should not do next season. This week we will look at our Goalkeeper and our defense and the rest will be reviewed next week. So here we go...


Goalkeepers

Before our season started, there were lot of talks about our goalkeeping situation. Arsenal reportedly made bids for Reina and Schwarzer but nothing really materialized and we went into the season with Almunia, Fabianski and the young prospect Szczesny

Manuel Almunia - He started the season as our first choice goalie and performed admirably well. One of his stand out games this season was the one against Blackburn on 28th August 2010. Blackburn used all their physical power and bullying to try and knock our defense and Almunia in particular, but we came through winning the game 2-1 and he performed really well. I was really happy to see him play good but then Almunia being Almunia reverted back to his poor form. Almost a month after that game against Blackburn, Arsenal and Almunia crumbled against West Brom at the Emirates losing the game 2-3. Almunia was terrible that day and he was immediately dropped after that game and had to wait until February to get his place back. He played amazingly on his return against Barcelona but he quickly reverted back to his basics and eventually got dropped to 4th choice behind Lehmann.

So overall it has been a poor season for Almunia. He just turned 34 last month and I cant see him having a future at arsenal even as a number 3 . To be fair to him, he never spoke bad about the club or his manager even when he was dropped. So the verdict is he should move on for the goodwill of both the player and the club.

Lukasz Fabianski - Fabianski started our season as a number 2 and after the injury/dropping of Almunia, he became our first choice. I personally believe that the game that took place on September 28th against Partizan Belgrade made him realize who he actually is. That penalty save and this reactions after that was heart warming to see and never really looked back since then on. He followed that up with some outstanding performances against manchester City, Everton and Wigan to name a few. His only bad game this season was the one against Newcastle at the Emirates in which they won 0-1. Many people blamed Fabianski alone for that defeat but I am against it. Both Fab and our defense were responsible for it. Anyways, he was simply brilliant during his time as first choice this season and just when everything was going perfectly for him, he got injured and his appearance against Partizan  (coincidentally) in December was his last appearance for Arsenal this past season.

I personally like Fabianski very much. He has come through a lot of pains unlike Szczesny and although he doesn't command his area as good as Szczesny, I firmly believe he should start our season as Number one. He hasn't done anything wrong to lose it to Szczesny and I hope Arsene sees it the same way.

Wojciech Szczesny - Szczesny, the Arsenal equivalent of Iker Casillas started the season as Number 3  following his brilliant loan spell with Brentford the previous season. He was our carling cup goalie this season and performed really well before the lady luck smiled at him. After the injury to both Fabainski and Almunia , Szczesny became our Number one. He was thrown straight into the limelight with his very first league appearance coming against Manchester United at the Old Trafford. He performed pretty well in that game despite Arsenal losing the game 1-0. He went on to make 24 appearance for the first team (15 in the league) and performed really well over all. He has that craziness and charisma that a goalkeeper requires. He also commands his area better than Fabianski does. Having said that, he has his own weakness. He is just 21 which naturally means inexperienced. He also has this occasional rush of blood which Lehmann  had and that would naturally lead to some mistakes. His form was a bit patchy towards the end of the season. His biggest blunder this season came at that ill fated day against Birmingham in the Carling Cup final, but he is very young and surely he will go on to become one of the top goalkeepers in the world for both club and country.

Szczesny, although he performed outstandingly for a 21 year old, I wouldn't make him as our Number one yet. He has still got somethings to learn  and so I would give him another season as our cup keeper and if Fabianski loses form or gets injured then I would promote him as Number one.

So our goalkeeping situation looks pretty good and I don't want us to buy a GK this season. We should sell Almunia and promote either Mannone or James Shea as our Number 3.

Defense

Our defense has been a real problem for the past few season and Arsene replaced Gallas and Silvestre and brought in  Koscielny and Squillaci as their replacements.

Thomas Vermaelen -  After a brilliant first season with Arsenal, a lot was expected of Vermaelen this season. He naturally started the season as a first choice alongside the new signing Koscielny and the combination looked pretty solid despite some ocassional loss of concentration from Koscielny. Then came that international break and Vermaelen got injured. It was first predicted that he will be out for only a week, but slowly weeks turned into months and he went onto miss  eight months of action. Losing your first choice CB for eight months is a sickening blow for any team and it was even a worse blow for Arsenal who were mostly defensively naive. Arsenal missed that leader at the back to organize the defense and when he eventually made his return in May, the season was all but over.

Vermaelen is a classy defender to have and I seriously hope he will be free from his injuries next season. We very badly needed a player like him at the back and if he can stay away from injury next season, our defensive failures can be minimized to an extent.

Laurent Koscielny - Koscielny was bought for 10 million from the French side Lorient and went straight into the team as a first choice. His first game against Liverpool was a shaky one and he was sent off for two bookable offenses. He went onto make 43 appearances for the club and its fantastic for a player who was playing in his first season in premier league. He made some errors in his judgement during the early part of his Arsenal carrier but corrected them quickly and he came out as one of the shining light from this ill fated season. His best games of the season were against Barcelona and Chelsea, both at the Emirates where he virtually kept Drogba and Messi in his pocket for the whole game. His biggest error came during that Carling Cup final which proved very costly at the end but nevertheless he is a top defender to have in your side.

He is one of the finest tacklers you will see in the league and he also has a good pace. He is also very comfortable with both feet and is also a very good header of the ball. He will surely became a great defender for Arsenal and I would like to see him as first choice alongside Vermaelen next season. His game will go well with Vermaelen's game and I am sure they will be great partners in defense.

Johan Djourou - Djourou, the longest serving Arsenal player has performed some bit part appearance for Arsenal in the past, but was promoted into first choice this season following Vermaelen's injury. He also performed really well for the most of this season. His record alongside both Koscielny and Squillaci was very good and he is one of the finest header of the ball we have. His appearance against Chelsea at the Emirates was one of his best this season and he went onto make 37 appearance for Arsenal this season. His performance dipped a bit after his shoulder injury and he started to really struggle during our actual title run in. His performance against Bolton and Aston Villa were really poor and coincidently Arsenal's form dipped along with his. Having said that, he certainly has the talent to become a great CB and having a world class player like Vermaelen to guide him will only help him in the future.

Although he is a great talent, I will use him only as a second choice next season.

Sebastian Squillaci - He was bought from Spanish side Sevilla for 5 million. He is hugely experienced and was a league winner with Leon. He wasn't really expected to play much this season but following injuries to Vermaelen and Djourou he played 32 game for us and was decent overall. He got caught with his pace and positioning more than once and that lead to Arsenal dropping a lot of points. His partnership with Djourou is statiscally very good and I would keep him at Arsenal for one more season at least.

We clearly need to buy a CB this season. More importantly we need to bring someone in as a defensive coach. Our defensive problems are increasing year by year and we surely need to address it.

Gale Clichy - Clichy, the second longest serving Arsenal player had a very good season in my opinion. He started the season a bit shaky and corrected them very quickly and was pretty good for almost all the 44 games he played for first team this season. His pace and his skill of intercepting a opponents ball and starting a attack is one of his best qualities. Having said that, his positioning and more importantly his crossing needs to improve a lot. He provided some very good assists this season but his crossing has been a major concern and he needs to correct that asap.

The biggest worry though is his contract situation. His contract runs out next year and he is yet to sign a extension. Rumours are doing the rounds that he wont extend it and so will be sold and I really don't want to see that. He is a player I like a lot and he is a true professional who has never ever spoken bad of his fellow players or the club during his tenure. I hope and pray that he extends his contract.

Kieran Gibbs - This has been a very bad season for Gibbs. He played a few games during the end of the season due to Clichy's injury and he really struggled overall. He has the talent to become a good LB but he was really affected by his injury and lack of game time. Gibbs needs a short term loan to get back to  his best and I hope he gets that next season.

Our LB situation is a big concern. If Clichy leaves, we surely need to buy a LB. Gibbs is surely not yet ready to replace him and I believe as is Traore. I believe in Arsene and hopefully he either makes Gael sign the contract or brings in a suitable replacement.

Bacary Sagna - He is one of the best Right Backs in the world and it was justified when he was picked for the PL team of the year 2010-11. He is simply great in both attack and defense and one of the most reliable and consistent player you will ever find in any league. I am sure he will repeat this great performance next season too.

Emmanuel Eboue - Eboue had a up and down season. His playing time was reduced due to the form and fitness of Sagna and he really struggled when he eventually stepped onto the field. His worst game came against Liverpool when he gave away a soft penalty at the deep end of the game which eventually ended our title challenge. His best game was against Barcelona at the Emirates. People talk a lot about Koscielny, RVP, Wilshere and Arshavin's performance in that game but Eboue was equally good taking into consideration the opposition we faced.

Eboue is a good player and I want him to stay at Arsenal next season. But he needs to correct his simply mistakes and lack of concentration though. If he decides to leave then surely we need to sign a backup for Sagna.

Correcting our defensive problems should be our number one priority this off season. A CB, a LB if Gael leaves and a RB if Eboue leaves are a must. On top of all that, a defensive coach is a must in my opinion.

Sorry for making this post a very long one and we will look at our midfield and attack next week. Until then, take care everyone.

The Finale

Hello Everyone,

Here we are, traveling to taken on Fulham in our final game of the season. I don't want to go too deep about our season here because I will be writing a seperate post about that, so we will go straight into our game against Fulham.

We ended our home run in a very poor way with that defeat against Villa, but Arsenal have the best away record in the league and  lets hope we will end it in a good way. Injury wise, Djourou,  Koscielny and Rosicky were all classified as doubtful and Nasri, Diaby and Clichy will undergo fitness tests before the game. Cesc was already ruled out by Arsene. For Fulham, they welcome back Simon Davies but striker Dembele has been ruled out. Chris Baird is suspended and Damien Duff is out injured.

Last week against Villa, we started the game in a very bad way and before we could settle, we found ourselves 2-0 down. We have to correct it against Fulham. As I said earlier, our away record is the best in the league and we should try and keep it up. I really do hope either Koscielny or Djourou recovers. Its not like I hate Squillaci but he was caught for his pace and positioning against Villa, so we should try and play our best possible line up and finish the season strongly.  I would love to see us keep a clean sheet but Fulham have some really dangerous players we have to keep an eye on.  To be honest, Mark Hughes has done a very good job in keeping them in the top 10. We should keep an eye on Hangelend and Zamora during the set pieces. They are both very good on the air and that's where we usually struggle. Dempsey and Zamora have performed really well and we should try and maintain our defensive discipline to combat them.

My starting line up will be

Szczesny

Sagna   Koscielny/Djourou  Vermaelen   Gibbs

Ramsey  Song  Wilshere

Walcott Van Persie  Arshavin

I really wish that both Clichy and Nasri recover from their injuries. Arshavin was off form against Villa and Gibbs has been really struggling is well. Our players should try and share the goal scoring responsibilities is well. Since the turn of 2011, its been Van Persie who has contributed for most of our goals and it would be good for the rest for the squad to finish the season with some goals of their own.

Our away fans has been outstanding this season and its a must for Arsenal to treat them with a good win. I am predicting a 2-1 win for the Arsenal with goals from Van Persie( who else) and Walcott.

Keep it Goonerish

Bad Game In Every Way

Hello Everyone,

For some strange reason I was feeling very confident before the game yesterday, but all of it was shattered in just 11 minutes. Firstly we started the game without neither Cesc nor Nasri. Clichy and Djourou were also missing and so Gibbs started again at LB and the returning Vermaelen was partnered by Squillaci. Arsenal, usually will start the game with a front foot but it wasn't yesterday. It was Villa who started strongly. Arsene struggled to get their passing game going and before they could correct it, they were 1-0 down.

Kyle Walker, who was really good yesterday floated a beautiful ball over the top to the dangerman Bent, who beat the offside trap to  slot past Szczesny's acrobatic effort to make it 1-0. Arsenal found themselves 2-0 down before they can regroup. Collins free-kick from the half way line found Young who was guarded by the returning Vermaelen, but unfortunately he slipped at the wrong moment which allowed Young to easily put Bent through and he coolly finished it past Szczesny to take his and Villa's tally to two for the day. It was all over for Arsenal within the first 15 minutes. Not a great way to start your final home game of the season right? To be fair to Arsenal, they bounced back a bit after that but that was the point Oliver started referring against us.

On 29th minute Wilshere floated a Walker like ball to send Ramsey free and Ramsey was taken down by Dunne exactly when he was about to pull the trigger and RVP's effort from rebound was comfortably saved by Friedel. On first sight and on replays it looked like a definite penalty but Oliver waved played on. He also gave some harsh free-kicks against Arsenal . Arsenal had another great chance in the 36th minute after some excellent work from Van Persie but his shot hit the outside of the post (again) and went away for a corner. From the corner Vermaelen headed just over the bar and the second half came to an end. There was heavy boos at the Emirates when the referee blew his whistle and although one can understand it, it was a bit sad to see that happening.

Arsene knew something needs to be changed and he reacted by replacing Squillaci with Chamakh. Song dropped back to centre back and we changed to a 4-4-2. Villa and Bent soon had their chance for a third but Bent hit it straight at Szczesny this time. Arsenal recovered very well after that. Chamakh was looking very lively as was Ramsey and RVP. Arsenal's first chance of second half came in the 56th minute when Gibbs goal bound effort was well blocked by Friedel. Arsene then made his second substitution by taking off the woeful Arshavin for Bendtner. It was a very bad day in the office for Arshavin, who was completely owned by the very good Walker. Arsenal created further chances via RVP, Theo, and Ramsey but Villa somehow managed to keep us at bay. Then Villa had another chance to extend their lead but Szczesny made a great double save to deny Downing.

Then came the most contoversial moment of the game. On 77th minute Walcott put in a great cross which has beautifully headed in by Chamakh. But just when the Gooners and Gunners were stating to celeberate, Oliver, for some stupid reason ruled out the goal. The reason given was that Chamakh pushed Walker before heading it home but the replays couldn't justify it. Oliver, for the second time in the game killed Arsenal from making the comeback.

Arsenal continued to pressurize Villa but they managed to stop us with some last minute blocks and tackles. Finally the inevitable Arsenal goal arrived with a minute to play and it wasn't hard to guess the goal scorer. Sagna had the ball on the right and he floated a beautiful ball into the box to Bendtner with his left foot. Nick collected it well, but the ball was taken off from him but it found its way to RVP via a deflection from Dunne and the Dutchman coolly finished it past Friedel with his left foot to get another goal he truly deserved. Arsenal pushed Villa to the maximum but they couldn't get the equalizer and the game finished 2-1 to Aston Villa.

It was a really painful game to watch. Oliver made some big major mistakes but we can't put all the blame on him. If we have defended the first 15 minutes well, we could have surely won it. Vermaelen's return did not help in correcting our sloppy mistakes. To be fair to Vermaelen, he played really well on his return. He won a number of headers and we got to see his trademark tackles and his forward forays too. Hopefully he and RVP can stay injury free for the full of next season. Speaking of Van Persie, he was outstanding once again. He created a lot of chances but was really unlucky to finish the game with a solitary goal. As I wrote in my preview, we rely very heavily on him for our goals and it was justified again. Yesterday's goal was his 21st of the season and that makes this season as the best for Van Persie in Arsenal colors, in terms of goals. The defeat also means Arsenal are not yet guarenteed third spot. ManCity are two points behind us with a game in hand and so it could get much worse for Arsenal.

It was really painful to see us become from title contenders to a 4th placed team within a matters of weeks and it was also painful to see a lot of fans either not turn up or leave early before the game has finished. If I get a chance to be at the Emirates, I swear I will be the last person to leave the stadium everytime I visit it. Now we need to dust ourselves up and put in a positive and a passionate display in the final game of our season against Fulham next week. Our away fans have been simply outstanding this season and they deserve to see us winning in our final away game.

Until next time, take care everyone.

Arsenal vs Villains Preview

Hello Everyone,

This weird season which was equally filled with greatness and disaster is about to come to an end. This weekend, we welcome Aston Villa to our final home game of the season. After that painful defeat against Stoke last weekend, its a must for the Gunners to bounce back. A victory will not only offer something for the fans to cheer about, but will also help us to keep ourselves secure from Manchester City who are right behind us. Now it felt really awful for me to write the above sentence because only some three weeks before we were fighting for the top spot with Manchester United, but now we are not even guaranteed to finish in third spot.


Moving on, We have some very welcome news in terms of injury. The Verminator is finally set to start a game for the Arsenal first team after nine long months. Gael Clichy, who missed the game against Stoke with a injury is also set to return. However Koscielny and Rosicky are ruled out with thigh strains and Diaby is also yet to recover from his calf injury. Cesc and Nasri are both doubtful and will have late fitness tests. For Aston Villa, midfielder Makoun (who is a good friend of our own Alex Song) is set to return from injury, but defender Ciaran Clark is set to miss out.

Last week against Stoke, we started the game very brightly but faded away very quickly. We should make sure that we are not going to repeat it. Djourou and Gibbs had a terrible game defensively and I expect Djourou to come good against Villa because he will have the Verminator to partner him. Vermaelen is the kind of a defender who communicates and commands his area a lot, so I expect him to alert his defense whenever he sees lapse in concentration. Having said that, our defenders needs to take individual responsibility and perform consistently. They don't need to look any further than Sagna for inspiration. Bacary Sagna is by far, our consistent performer and he is one of the very few defenders who gives their all in every single game.

Villa have some really pacy players like Young, Downing and Agbonlahor, so we have to be very careful in our defensive positioning to avoid getting suffered by Villa's counter attacks. Their record signing Darren Bent is also in amazing goal scoring form (7goals in 7 games for Villa) so our center backs should also be on their toes all the time. Its not a secret that we really struggle to defend set pieces, so I am sure Villa will try and attack us on set pieces with the likes of Young, Bent, Collins and Dunne. This is where Vermaelen should use his experience and leadership qualities. Having been on the side lines for the last nine months, I am sure he would have noticed what we lack defensively and I hope he will pass on those information to other members of our defense.


On the attacking front, we continue to rely heavily on Van Persie for our goals. This one particular thing really surprises me, because Arsenal always comes across as a team who share their goals amongst all their players. We started this season in a similar way, but once Nasri, Chamakh and Theo's goal scoring form faded away, we have really struggled for goals. Van Persie stepped up nicely for helping the team in that way. He is simply in an astounding form having scored 19 goals from 21 games in 2011. I can't help but feel that, If Nasri or Theo or any other player were able to continue their early season form, we would not have found ourselves in this position. I am not saying that lack of goals is our main problem, infact  our silly defensive mistakes were the main reason which cost us the title this year, but the goal distribution is one aspect we need to look into and correct for next season.


Assuming Cesc starts, I expect our line up to be

Szczesny

Sagna  Djourou  Vermaelen  Clichy

Cesc  Song  Ramsey

Theo  Van Persie  Arshavin


Yes, I would rest Jack Wilshere and replace him with Ramsey. Jack has played in 33 out of our 36 league games so far and it has surely started to show in his performances of late. He is just 19 years old and on his first full season as a first team player, so we can easily understand why his form has dipped lately. The game against Villa is an ideal one to give him a breather. Ramsey has come back very well from his injury and he is more or less a similar kind of a player to Jack, so I would start him alongside Cesc and Song. The rest of the team basically picks itself. Nasri could take Arshavin's place if he recovers from his injury, but I expect Arshavin to start anyway.

As I said before, we should try and avoid our defensive lapses and also should be aware of Villa's threat on the counter attack. Aston Villa are also in a really terrible run of form. They have only won 2 of their last 6 league games, dropping to 14th in the league table in the process. If we play to our full potential I can see us easily dispatching them, but will we, that's the question. We should also be clinical and make sure that we take the chances that come our way . Shooting in a football pitch is not a crime unless you do it like Ashley Cole, so sometimes we should shoot instead of keep on passing the ball.

Our fans have been really great this season and Arsenal should look to pay them back with a very entertaining and comfortable victory in our last home game of the season.

I am predicting a 3-1 home win for the Gunners.

Here's some interesting facts about both Arsenal and Aston Villa



Arsenal

- Robin van Persie has scored 19 goals in 21 games for Arsenal in 2011.

- The Emirates is the only stadium yet to see a Premier League goal scored from outside the penalty area this season (according to Opta).

- Maroaune Chamakh has not scored a Premier League goal since netting in the Gunners’ 4-2 win at Villa Park on 27 November, a run of 12 top-flight matches.

- According to Opta statistics, 57% of the Premier League goals Arsenal have conceded this season came from set-pieces – the highest proportion in the top flight.


Aston Villa

- Villa have dropped 26 points from winning positions this season, more than any other Premier League side.

- They have not kept a top-flight clean sheet away from home since winning 2-0 at Hull on 21 April 2010.

- Gabriel Agbonlahor needs one goal to reach 50 in the Premier League.

Back To Square One

Hello everyone,


That was very painful isn't it. Losing against any team brings pain but losing against Stoke, after all the things that happened in our previous meetings was very painful.

Djourou started the game after passing the fitness test, but Clichy missed out and so Gibbs took his place.

We started the game very well. Arshavin had a early chance which he dragged wide. The second chance fell to RVP after a great ball from Ramsey but he took his time and shot wide. Two good chances wasted in the first 10 minutes and when you do that, it will surely come back to bite you. Arsenal continued to dominate and we had 72% possession after the first 20 minutes.

Gibbs, who started in place of Clichy really struggled. Arshavin was  doing a double role because of this and he did it pretty well until the 27th minute, then he conceded a cheap free kick on Pennant from which Stoke scored. Our defense went to shambles when Pennant put the ball into our box. Gibbs was just standing still instead of making an attempt to head the ball and Djourou, who had a torrid game left his man Jones to have a free run and Jones scored. Arsenal were shaken and you can easily smell a self destruction. It happened after 6 minutes. Ramsey, who had a decent game until then gave away the ball cheaply, Sagna instead of closing down Pennant, ran away from him , Djourou waited and waited and waited before eventually closing down Pennant, but by that time Pennant unleashed his shot which took a deflection  via Djourou and sailed past Szczesny. Szczesny could have done well. His positioning was not perfect and that's why he could only get a hand to it. That's our self destruction well and truly done. Djourou was at fault for both of Stoke's goal. Minutes later Stoke had another chance. Walters had the ball on the right, Song who was defending him slipped and that allowed Walters to have a free run at goal and his super shot hit the cross bar and that was half time.

Arsene reacted to our poor first half my taking off Ramsey and Arshavin at half time for Bendtner and Chamakh. I was very much surprised by Arshavin's substitution. He was playing pretty well except for that one costly mistake. At the other flank Theo was completely abysmal and we could have take him off instead of Arshavin. RVP switched to the middle, Nick went to the left and Chamakh played up front  with Theo on the right ( or that's how it looked from outside)

We looked a bit sharper now. First chance of second half fell to Chamakh, which he lashed wide. Bendtner then curled a shot just wide. Stoke then had a great chance to extend their lead but Sagna produced a brilliant last ditch tackle to deny him and minutes later Szczesny saved well from Walters. Arsenal had a great chance when RVP was played in by Bendtner but Begovic produced a great save to deny him. Arsene brought on Rosicky for Song and minutes later RVP got the goal  he deserved with a thunderous shot with his chocolate leg.

Before the celebrations from the away crowd could complete, we went back to self destruction mode. Wilinson' shot was terribly cleared by Djourou (again) and Walters took the opportunity to score Stoke's third goal and that's how it ended.

Our performance deserved the defeat we got. Lots of players played below par. Djourou had a terrible game, Gibbs struggled a lot as expected, Theo was completely abysmal and our midfield which was awesome against ManU was very poor as well. On the positive side, Koscielny had another great game. He has outstanding both on the ground and on the air. Hands down he was my MOTM for Arsenal. RVP  also played well  and continued with his amazing goal scoring streak.

It was a very unexpected performance and lets wait and see how the team is going to bounce back when they face Aston Villa at the Emirates next week. Until then, have a good time.

Rugby vs Football, Thugs vs Angels, Ryan vs Rambo

Hello Everyone,

Last weekends victory against ManU was  simply amazing and moral boosting. I was fully pumped up to write a review of the game, but then work caught up with me and so I couldn't write it. It was such a stunning performance and we limited ManU to very few chances and we ourselves could have scored more, if our finishing was a bit better. Anyways, a victory is a victory and it was very much needed after what we went through the last 3 weeks. Ramsey also made a sparking return to the starting line up by scoring the only goal of the game.

Speaking about Ramsey, the team who we will be facing this Sunday has a big history with Ramsey. Last year, it was in this same fixture that  Ramsey was left with a broken leg because of a brutal tackle from the thug aka Ryan Shawcross. With Cesc still out injured, its a perfect platform for Ramsey to get his  revenge on Stoke and Shawcross.

Our injury news is becoming a bit worrying again. Arsene confirmed that Cesc, Nasri and Diaby are all out of the game, while Clichy and Djourou have late fitness test. On the positive side, we have the long awaited return of The Verminator to the first team. For the second week in a row, there is no news about either Denilson or Rosicky and as I am a big fan of Rosicky, its really worrying me.

Stoke City Rugby Club will be without their most talented "Footballer" Etherington along with  the dangerous Fuller. Sidibe and Higginbotham are also out. Defender Wilkinson is expected to make a return.

Its not a secret that Stoke's main weapon is their set pieces and those well toweled long throws of Delap. I am still confused what will be our CB pairing. I guess it will be either Djourou - Kosh or Kosh- Verminator.  The  passion with which the team and in particular Vermaelen played in this fixture last year can never be forgotten.

 
The absence of the dangerous duo of Etherington and Fuller will be a big setback for Stoke. As I said before, Stoke will certain try and attack us on  set pieces. They have some physically strong and tall players like Shawcross, Huth and Jones.  Here's where Djourou (If he is out) will be a big miss. In my opinion he is the best defender on the air out of the 4 CB's we have, but atleast we have TV5 back so that should cool the wounds a bit. Starting the game with Squillaci wouldn't worry me either, as he played really well and scored in the reverse fixture. Another big miss will be Clichy. He is also classified as doubtful which means Gibbs  will take his place. Many people will he happy to see Clichy out of the first team but I can only call them as fools. Gibbs has clearly showed that he is not yet ready for 1st team action. Clichy has been made a scape goat this season. Everytime the defense makes a error, the blame will fall on Gael automatically. I just cant get why people do that and I really hope Clichy plays tomorrow. If not, I seriously hope Gibbs steps up. Since Stoke's biggest weapon is Delap's long throws, we should also be a bit cautious about conceding silly throw ins.

My starting line up will be

Szczesny


Sagna   Koscielny  Vermaelen (Djourou)  Gibbs (Clichy)

Ramsey   Song  Jack

Theo  Van Persie  Arshavin

We will be starting with the same midfield and forwards who started against ManU, except that Arshavin will replace the injured Nasri. The young midfield trio of Rambo, Jack and Song absolutely owned ManU last week. If they can do that to ManU, then  surely they can do it against Stoke, provided they show the same passion and commitment. Arshavin was in really sparking form last week, as was RVP. Theo also played pretty well. Stoke might probably park the bus so the incisive passing skills of Jack and Rambo and also the movement of our front men will be mightily important.

The game will surely be a  spicy affair because of the events that took place last year. I really hope our outstanding away fans cheer Ramsey on, as much as they boo Shawcross.

I am predicting a 2-1 away victory for the Arsenal



Here are some interesting stats about both Stoke and Arsenal

 Stoke

-Stoke have only lost one of their last six league matches.

- The Potters have not lost a league match in which they opened the scoring (W9, D4).

- They are looking to keep three Premier League clean sheets in a row for the first time in 13 months.

- Ryan Shawcross will be playing his 150th game for Stoke, while Glenn Whelan should make his 100th league appearance for the club.


Arsenal

- The Gunners are looking to win consecutive league matches for the first time since beating Wolves and Stoke in February.

- They have the best away record in the division – picking up 30 points from 17 matches.

- Arsene Wenger’s side have given away nine league penalties this season, more than any other club in the division.

- Robin van Persie has scored 18 goals in 20 games for Arsenal in 2011, including the last seven successive league away matches.

 

Time To Kill The Red Devils

Hello Everyone,

Until two weeks before, our today's game with Manchester United was touted as the title decider, but things have changed dramatically now. It is still a must win game, but for different reasons. Chelsea's victory against the Scums yesterday means they are 6 points ahead of us now and Manchester City are only 5 points behind us with a game in hand. We must win this game, not only to raise our hopes of finishing second, but also to stay safe from Manchester City who are right behind us.

Against Bolton last week, we saw the usual Arsenal. We dominated possession, created more chances, failed to take them, got beaten in set pieces...sigh,  it has become a frequent scene nowadays. I have been mentioning a line in my last three previews and I will repeat it again. We should rectify our habit of making silly defensive mistakes to go any where near the top next season and to a certain extent, it is due to the absence of Vermaelen.

The Verminator returned to action on Thursday for the reserves and according to YoungGuns blog he played  pretty well. It was a big positive to see him back in action after a seven month break. I don't expect him to get involved in much first team action this season, but merely seeing him back playing is in itself a great news.

On the injury front, we have Diaby missing out again, but Rosicky is back. For Manchester United, Giggs is set to be rested, Fletcher will miss out, but Berbatov is back.

We might have been out of the title race, but as Arsene says, we have to beat them for our pride and also to stay away from the other Manchester team. I assume we will start with the same team that started against Bolton last week. ManU have some good offensive players like Nani, Park, Rooney and now Hernandez, who all have caused trouble for us before. I am not being negative, but If we put in a defensive shift like the one against Bolton, then I am sure we will get battered by ManU. Both Hernandez and Rooney are good both on the air and on the ground, so its a must for us to defend properly. Djourou and Song had a rare shaky game last week and I really hope it was just a one off blip in performance from them. Speaking of Djourou, here's an excellent interview about his on and off the field matters on Guardian.

We struggled a bit offensively in the game against Bolton. Struggled in the sense, we created some very good chances, but failed to take them. Nasri twice and Chamakh once, to name a few. Again RVP was the one who scored our only goal in that game. I can't even imagine where we would be now without his goals in the last four months. We should not repeat those mistakes against ManU. They are very much better than Bolton defensively, so we should convert every single chance we get to avoid getting punished at the other end.

I expect us to line up like this

Szczesny

Sagna  Djourou  Koscielny  Clichy

Cesc  Song  Wilshere

Walcott  RVP   Nasri


I am sure ManU will adopt the tried and succeeded formation of  4-5-1 against us, so we can mix up our formation a bit and go with a 4-4-2 but Arsene rarely changes our formation before game, so I will be pleasantly surprised if we do go with a 4-4-2 . Since ManU will pack our midfield, our key players like Jack and Cesc needs to be at the top of their game. Defensively Nani has troubled Clichy more than once but Gael has improved his game very much recently and so I expect him to take care of Nani. On the other side Park has also damaged us many times, so its important for Sagna also to be alert. Our whole defensive back five needs to put in a good shift for us to get a victory.

The referee for today's game is Chris Foy. Our record when he is referring is really good and I for once would like to see a game involving Arsenal and ManU to be played fair without any referring controversies.

Its been three years since we last defeated ManU, so the time is up for our boys to step up and beat them and make Arsene and Arsenal  feel proud. I am going for a 2-1 victory for us.

VICTORY THROUGH HARMONY

BOLTON vs ARSENAL PREVIEW

Hello Everyone,

The only advantage of having mid week games is that, we will have a chance to bounce back very quickly if we had a disappointment. We had a disappointment and now we have to bounce back straight away. The mid week NLD against Tottenham was a very lively affair and in the end, a draw seems like a fair result. Bottom line is we have passed on another chance to close the gap on Manchester United.

Manchester United took on Everton in yesterday's early kick off and they were again lucky to come away with a victory. Chelsea also registered a comfortable 3-0 win against West Ham, so which means anything less than 3 points will be a disaster for us.

Moving on to Arsenal's team news, We have lost one player from our mid week game. Abou Diaby was taken off early from our game against Spurs and Arsene has confirmed that he has suffered a calf strain and will miss tomorrows  game and might miss next week's game against Manchester United is well. He is a really good player when he is fit(which has become rare unfortunately)  and he played really well in our last games. I am a big fan of him and I feel very sad for him.

Bolton will be without Ricketts,Stuart Holden and Sean Davis.

So far we have been fighting only to catch up on Manchester United, but now Chelsea are also ahead of us, so the last 5 games of our season will define a lot about where we finish. We have been craving a lot for a spirited performance from Arsenal and finally we got that against Spurs, but unfortunately it was worth for only a point. The attitude of our players against Spurs was really good but we have to eradicate the silly mistakes we make to get any where near the top.

Jack Wilshere returns to a place where he spent the second half of last season on loan and will get a standing ovation.  Bolton certainly played a major part in his development and lets hope he can destroy them tomorrow.

My Line up would be

Szczesny

Sagna   Djourou  Koscielny  Clichy

Cesc  Song Wilshere

Walcott   Van Persie   Nasri


Bolton have changed a lot since their time under Big Sam and Megson. Owen Coyle has done a great job and they have actually started playing proper football nowadays. They are coming into this game after getting battered 5-0 by Joke city in the FA cup semifinal. They are currently 8th in the table and still are in with a shout for a place in the Europa league so I am expecting them to be fully up for this game.Their loan signing from Chelsea, Sturridge has been in really good goal scoring form since moving over there. Elmander also has been in decent form this year and then there is Kevin "Elbow" Davies who is always a danger man. They also have Lee Chung-Yong who can score goals. I really wish to see a Arsenal performance without defensive lapses and if we can do that I am sure we can contain Bolton at ease.

Our offensive performance was really good in our last game. After a long while Nasri scored a goal, Van Persie continued his amazing goals scoring form and Theo also scored a goal after a while. After going through some games by relying only on RVP for goals, it was a welcome relief to see Nasri and Theo back in goal scoring form. Cesc also played really well against Spurs. I am hoping for another good offensive performance from us. Bolton has some good defenders like Gary Cahill, but still if we can perform offensively like we did against Spurs we can easily win this game.

 Defensively though, we made some silly mistakes in our last two games and it has cost us heavily. I really wish we eradicate these mistakes. As I said earlier, we only have 5 games left and we simply can't afford any more mistakes as we are fighting with two teams now.

If we can avoid these silly mistakes I can really see us winning this game comfortably. I am going to stick my head out and predict a 3-1 victory for us.

COME ON YOU GUNNERS