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.