A game we needed to win, and we did. Arsenal beat Sunderland 2-0 at home.
And Denilson didn't start. He only came on in the 89th minute. Hah. That certainly was pleasing. Ramsey put in a decent performance.
1 game down, 11 to go in the league. As Arshavin says, we need to win all of them to stand a chance. Reasonably speaking, 9 wins and 2 draws should do the trick. Man Utd dropped all 3 points at Everton (Thanks!) and oh how I celebrated Jack Rodwell's goal.
Anyway, on the Arsenal game:
We dominated possession. Lost the ball and got it back pretty easily. Did well during the 50-50s and created a fury of chances up front. We should have scored a lot more goals with the scoreline getting comfortable earlier but it's Arsenal - we make things difficult for ourselves. The most negative of fans would have prepared for the worst, meaning Sunderland grabbing a dramatic equaliser at the death but it didn't happen because ex-sp*rs man killed off any chance of that with a foul on Fabregas which actually looked to be outside the box but the ref gave the penalty anyway. Not a match changing decision, but a welcomed out all the same. Now Arsene Wenger can't cry foul as much huh?
Song as usual did extremely well. He was there doing all the dirty work and he owned the opposition in one-on-one situations. The same cannot be said about Silvestre. I'm sure he should be looking at his performance today and how his positioning is atrocious. Not sure Sol Campbell would have done any better if he played but we do need Gallas fit asap.
Clichy was better, Vermaelen business as usual and Bendtner did pretty well, even if he screwed up a few clear cut chances. At least he didn't choose to pass the ball and tapped in the goal. Walcott showed how he offers a different sort of attacking play on the right but was poor when it came to the final ball. He needs more games to get back into it but he's definitely not a lost cause. I'd like him to start the next game as well. It's been a long long time since his pace has caused the opposition that much trouble and it's such a big welcome.
Undoubtedly, the show today belonged to Eboue. He got in there and despite playing at right back, shone more than Walcott when he went forward. He seemed to have the ball glued to his feet and it's as though his dribbling has improved immensely. Just a little drop of the shoulder and a twist of the hip and he's past his man. Created the first goal and did very well to get the the byline to pull back for someone to knock it in. If anyone need a lesson as to how an attacking full back goes forward, they can watch this performance. His quick feet left him on the receiving end of Lorik Cana's two-footed lunge and that fellow should have been sent off for that. Nani was. And Cesc was wrongly carded for a late block on Mensah and there was hardly any intent there, yet they both were cautioned in equal measure.
So, the story of the ManUre brother and my HTC Hero. I am unfortunately, a Starhub mobile user. And we got that big family dinner just now which meant that his only chance of watching the Everton v Man Utd game, was on my mobile.
Hahaha. Look at the outcome. He had a meeting with his friends after the dinner and kidnapped my phone and totally watched Everton put the last 2 goals past his team on my phone.
Awesome stuff. He has vowed never to watch a game on my phone again. And oh, I told him United will possibly drop points at Everton when I told him that Arsenal can still win the league and he totally dismissed it as impossible.
Never say never!!Labels: Alex Song, Comrade Eboue, retards paving the way, Theo Walcott
A Little Drunken Madness @ 1:09 AM
Aston Villa tomorrow.
Team news is out. I think the main highlight is Samir Nasri is back. I mean, not too long ago he was supposedly out for 3 weeks. And he's back, waaaaaay ahead of expectations. I think Arsene Wenger's repeated investigations into his team's injury problems have scared everyone fit.
Joining the list of returnees is Nicklas Bendtner. He's been out a long time and he definitely will feature tomorrow, without a doubt. Whether he'll start remains to be seen. Ramsey made his return at the weekend so we do have quite the full squad, on the attacking side of things at least. Nasri returning does make our bench a whole lot more pleasing where we have quality to call upon, quality we can actually depend on. Vela and Walcott at the moment look out of sorts and I don't think their current abilities allow them to come on when the game needs changing and do us a favour. So, welcome back Sammy.
Personally I'd opt for Arshavin-Eduardo-Rosicky as the front 3. They do combine well and the last time they did, 2 out of the 3 of them had goals to their name. I think with every game, dudu's growing into that frontman role and he deserves his place to keep on going. Of course, Bendtner scaring him into action isn't too bad a thing. Let's hope the boss does not play him on the right. He's our tall centre forward and if you ain't gonna sign one, you gotta play him.
And now we finally figured out why Wenger did not feel the need to sign another defensive midfielder. Hoho. Cameroon dropped out of the ACN despite being one of the favourites to win the tournament. The downside is, that yesterday's game wasn't as straightforward as we might have liked. If Egypt has beaten them in normal time then fine, but they were made to play an additional 30 minutes, and even Le Boss has admitted that Song looked a little bit tired. The team will travel back to Cameroon from Angola and then he will make the trip back to London. The earliest he'll reach is right after Villa on Thursday. Considering the amount he has played and the travelling he has to do, Wenger warns that he may not face United on Sunday. I suspect he might anyway, or otherwise be benched. His importance to the team can be seen quite clearly. I hope Cameroon does better at the World Cup. They probably failed so badly at the ACN with so many Gooners rooting for their downfall lol.
So, the back 4 will be restored tomorrow. The ideal, first team back 4, of Clichy-Vermaelen-Gallas-Sagna.
I think for the first time in a long long time, we're going to have most of the first choice players taking the field. In contrast to the team fielded at Stoke, tomorrow's team is going to be a strong one that isn't lacking in experience. Nasri entering the fold could well mean Rosicky playing a little deeper, partner Cesc in the centre of the park with either Denilson or Ramsey holding. (If only we had Song) Cesc and Tomas are the best of buddies off the pitch and it's highly rare that they get to play together in the same team thanks to one of them who gets crocked on a regular basis. (No more, thanks TR7) They're going to have so much fun together. Their understand of each other's runs are second to none.
Here's to a great great game tomorrow. For many, they're going to be starting their day at 4am. For me, I think I'll sleep after the match.
I bring you the only positive from the game at Stoke:
Labels: Alex Song, Andrei Arshavin, Nicklas Bendtner, Samir Nasri, Tomas Rosicky
A Little Drunken Madness @ 11:29 PM
The phrase "seeing is believing" is never overrated. Never ever.
There has been speculation, loads of speculation, speculation I chose to dismiss. And then Arsene Wenger proved me wrong and signed the above fellow. "re-signed" to be exact.
Honestly, between Patrick Vieira and Sol Campbell, it's obvious who our choice would be. What remains is that the boss didn't think we needed Paddy but we would have a use for Sol's services.
The period of time of my 'great awakening' as an Arsenal fan was probably right around now. Previously I know I was following blindly at a young age. I was mesmerised by Henry and Pires for the most part (maybe Freddie too). I wasn't conscious of Sol's move from Sp*rs and all the drama that went along with that. But I do like him. Since his departure, I don't think anyone as big as him has been in our defence.
This season is getting interesting ain't it. Paddy's back but with Man City while Sol signs for us again. This could be Arsenal's year in so many ways. If City does do well we arguably have a part to play since they like our ex-players.
Except that one of our ex-players don't seem to possess enough City shirts he had to rope in one of Arsenal's and he did an interview in it.
Nice shirt. It's from 2 seasons ago I think. I liked the polo then. I think we'll all be up in arms if he ever donned the Arsenal shirt again.
Flamini is reportedly unhappy at Milan, probably due to the lack of first team appearances. Last season, we would have taken him back in a heartbeat. It's different this time. I never thought I'd say that Alex Song strikes a far more impressive figure than the combative Flamster.Labels: Alex Song, Emmanuel Adebayor, Sol Campbell, transfer window hoo-ha
A Little Drunken Madness @ 12:04 PM
I said that I wanted a Tomas goal that wasn't for shiok value only. That I got. Except that it wasn't the difference between a win and a draw, but a draw and a loss.
Good all the same, but I would have preferred if we had won.
If you gave the game considerable thought about the manner of our goals, you wouldn't consider them lucky. Yes, both were a result of deflections, but those were clear reflections of the tactics David Moyes set his team out to do.
Defend in numbers. Get bodies in the box. Throw bodies in the line of fire.
And that is what you get really. No clear cut Arsenal goal but deflections.
They could moan and blame their luck but in the spells where we were superior, we deserved to win as much as they thought they did. Their goal from Pienaar was not a result of brilliance but a result of us wanting the winning goal so badly to get the 3 points. Credit to them to know exactly what we wanted and to use it to their advantage but I am not disheartened by the performances of the lads. In truth, they could have been better but the spirit was there.
The headlines all read that Arsenal were lucky but these are the ignorant fools of the press who do not know any better. It was simply down to the way Everton defended. If you put that many things in the way of the keeper, you got to watch out for deflections. I don't need to make myself any clearer than this. Just take a look at the Beach Ball incident at Sunderland. Even a lousy pool beach ball can cause a deflection that great to leave no chance for the keeper. What about men in front of the keeper. The beach ball they could get out of the way. Everton players? They're no better than the beach ball.
At least this time, it wasn't an Arsenal fan who put the Everton player there. The Liverpool schoolboy is probably still living in utter shame.
On another day, if we had Fabregas in the side, this game could have been a done deal. And yesterday, we saw how important Song is to us. Denilson, who got stretchered off injured, is no Alex Song. The key to a successful attack in a 4-3-3 is a good holding midfielder to be there whenever we lose the ball, to shield the defence. Without one, we put our defence in a whole lot of shit. I dare say, that had Song been playing, the Pienaar goal wouldn't have happened. That said, their first goal was from a corner and we didn't show enough desire to close down the ball.
Their goals perhaps could have been prevented had Song been playing but more importantly, a good holding midfielder also holds the key to good attacking play. He is important to the team at both ends.
I thought Donovan did pretty well today. For a player to come and slot right in immediately in the league and do well is quite remarkable. I'm wondering why Wenger never considered bringing in players from the MLS on short term loan to provide cover. There aren't many strings attached and Beckham is a good testament to their worth, even though he ain't American.
The good thing is, Man Utd decided that they really do want us to over take them, or at least have the possibility to. So they drew 1-1 with Birmingham. What's left is Chelsea. They are expected to drop more points because their chief goalscorer is currently in Angola. I never realised the Chelsea were pretty dependent on their African players till, well, now. There's Drogba and Essien for starters. A team missing those two could genuinely be short on quality.
What's left to do now is for Rosicky to return to full complete fitness because he was a gem when coming on. It's always an 'all hands on deck' situation at Arsenal so we need everyone. EVERYONE. I don't believe Arsene Wenger is close to signing anyone besides Sol Campbell. I am so not betting on January signings. The minute he excluded Edin Dzeko for being too expensive I stopped praying even. There aren't a lot of tall hitmen around who can slot right into the Arsenal team so that's it. We'll most probably have to rely on whatever we have. Arsenal Football Club is a bunch of scrooges when it comes to transfers. Good thing the window is closed over Christmas or they'll be the red and white grinches stealing our Christmases.
Dream signings will always be a dream. I mourn Dzeko. Chelsea always signs him in FM and he always scores against Arsenal. Booooo.Labels: Alex Song, Man Utd, Tomas Rosicky, transfer window hoo-ha
A Little Drunken Madness @ 1:09 PM
Wow. Eduardo (courtesy of Kaboul) got our 48th goal in the league this season. And then Nasri the 49th, hot Aaron Ramsey with the 50th, and Song, the only song you'll have, with the 51st. His desire going forward to grab a goal to send a message of love home is priceless.
You only have one Song.
If today was a parting gift before he left for the ACN, then it was a real good one.
The 4-1 victory was a repeat scoreline of the earlier corresponding fixture played in August.
Fabregas has been confirmed to be out for 2 weeks so the team knew beforehand that they will be without their captain. Not that the team really needed him today. Diaby started well and played well the entire game but was fading as the game wore on. He sure does look like he has the one-half syndrome. Lol.
So, Ramsey filled in for Fabregas and Denilson. He did well generally and got a goal for himself. His goal with Song's means 2 more for central midfield. So, what would you give to have the two players in front of you out of contention through injury for a place in the first team?
Same question directed at Armand Traore.
Who too, was excellent. This time though, he was really good going forward and if you lined up all 3 of our left backs, Traore is one gifted with the most pace and probably the more purpose going forward. Between Gibbs and Traore, there honestly isn't much difference except that sprint tests puts Armand faster than Gibbs. Clichy would be the more defensively sound option with the most experience but we have a lot of quality in the trio.
The odds of injury to the 2 front runners are always pretty slim but when you're talking about Arsenal, it's possible.
Pompey did put up a fight but we proved too much for them. Arshavin didn't need to show up for the game either but put in a decent enough shift. Nasri was excellent once more and he did really well to win the ball a few times in opposition area. The lads did a good job and enjoyed their football.
This probably isn't the highlight of the game but my highlight is Rosicky coming on. He miraculously returned from injury faster than anyone else. I am amazed. Hence my personal highlight. Now, we cross our fingers he doesn't crock his groin or hamstring or any part of him before the next game. Or the next.
So, Alex Ferguson delved deep and came up with several of his 'wise' words, declaring the league yet another 'two-horse race' between his team and Chelsea, completely writing Arsenal off. It pisses me off, but with Arsenal, you have to thank every lucky star out there they're still in it right now. It wasn't this way when the new year approached on a few occasions now. We can't count our chickens before they hatch. We get through one game at a time and I'll wait till we win the corresponding fixture before I diss people like Ferguson. It's sorta like a mind game too, by not taking Arsenal seriously. The only way to triumph is to prove him wrong and I hope that's on the cards.
For now, I'm going to enjoy this win and our league position and the endless possibilities. The most desired one being us winning the league in May.
P.S. Bolton have parted ways with Gary Megson. It could swing in our favour when we play them twice in 2 weeks in January.Labels: Aaron Ramsey, Alex Ferguson, Alex Song, Armand Traore, portsmouth
A Little Drunken Madness @ 5:44 AM
AWESOME STUFF AT ANFIELD.
Captain Fabulous and the Verminator gave the post match interview and finally, Arsene Wenger threw the fit we all know he is capable of.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY because it worked.
The first half was piss-poor. As the boss put it, we weren't winning the 50-50s and the commitment level wasn't there for a big game like this. He quite rightly blasted the dudes and they woke up at half time.
I'm just wondering about the thickness of the walls of the Anfield dressing room. Did Glen Johnson get frightened into submission?
Heh.
That own goal came out of no where but it's down to the pressing and getting in behind the defence. Walcott put good pressure on the defence and I think he might prosper better as the lone front man instead of on the wings. The defenders would be more aware to his presence and that might result in openings for the rest of the attack.
Or an own goal by his fellow Englishman. It's kinda funny when you look at it from a different angle. Walcott plays on the English right wing while Johnson at right back. Aren't they supposed to link up well? They did good today. Fabio will only be proud of one though.
After that it was all Arsenal. Wenger got through to them and they pushed on with more purpose while Liverpool simply wore away. Must have been trying to show Xabi Alonso how much they missed him while he yawned away.
When Diaby came on I thought we might throw it away but it didn't happen. Somehow. Him being tall and being able to exert a physical presence isn't really significant to me because he is Diaby. Yup. And now, since returning from injury, he's going to slot right back into the midfield won't he? And our weak link is back. Boo.
Song and Vermaelen did fantastic today. I have no higher praise. Song was there to nullify any Liverpool attack and got stuck in really well. he didn't make lame challenges like Mascherano just for the sake of breaking our rhythm. He wanted the balls to jam start our attack and that's pure commitment. Mascherano had a good game though, right until he got a yellow card and then he gets a little more cautious. Of course, Denilson gave him a kick in the butt cheek. That must have been painful. Removing Mascherano helped us on quite a bit since there isn't that little prick to frustrate our attack.
Between Song and Mascherano, I'd take Song any day.
The Verminator took responsibility for every set piece, as at Stoke last weekend. He took it upon himself to clear the damn ball from danger and did really well. I couldn't count how many balls he got to and kept out. Another showing of pure commitment.
He must have realised that he can't trust the one behind him to come out to punch any shit without looking for protection from referees that aren't always given. Damn you Almunia.
Traore did really well today as well. He dealt well when up against Torres and held his ground. Starting to make that left back slot his own now when the front two are out. He's an asset to the team and is taking his chances well. Clichy coming back will be a boost too, and knowing that there are capable players who are fighting for that spot should make him a better player.
You have no idea how much I miss Jens Lehmann. He made Almunia work for that no. 1 shirt. It is no coincidence that his best season happened with Jens piling the pressure.
Damn you Almunia again. He gets shittier and shittier with every damn game.
So, all in all, a great win. I honestly didn't think we would turn it around. To be fair, Liverpool made it easy. Finally, a win against a big 4 team. After losing to Man Utd and Chelsea, we needed to beat Liverpool. The implications of a loss today would have been massive. We would be further from the league leaders and not making the most out of slips from Chelsea and Man Utd.
And Arshavin. He does love scoring at Anfield. What a goal to win the game. I'd imagine him enjoying this one better than last season's 4 because we won. That's a team player for you. I love how he left Reina rooted while his shot went in with power. Amazing stuff.
Arsene Wenger lost his temper at the right time.Labels: Abou Diaby, Alex Song, Andrei Arshavin, Liverpool, Theo Walcott, Thomas Vermaelen
A Little Drunken Madness @ 2:07 AM
Hah. Once again, the boys let the talking be done on the pitch.
Mick McCarthy set out to attack or whatever he calls they did and was soooo sure he'll get something out of this game. Didn't try to park the bus but play a really high line and press high up the pitch.
It worked for the first 20 minutes.
Or you need to play well only for 28.
Until Zubarrrrr hipped the ball in for our first goal, courtesy of pressure from Eduardo. I think after Eboue stole his goal the other time he decided to let the team know that it wasn't his before they started celebrating. The thing is, it is OKAY to celebrate an own goal like it's yours. Everyone does that.
After the first goal, you get the feeling that Wolves were falling apart. They lost their zest and determination to keep Arsenal at bay. But aww, these sort of tactics aren't going to work for the whole 90 minutes because I'd like to think that Arsenal have this gear shift and they can up one when needed.
Eduardo got a goal finally but it was thanks to a deflection off a wolves defender. Haaar.
Ramsey had a part to play and he did pretty well today. He has such a pretty face.
Jokes aside, the first 20 minutes saw Song relegated to the bench with Rambo coming it. Then Diaby had to limp off and Song came on and resumed his shift in the holding role. I think this has totally showed us how important he is to the team. He's doing so well and it his strength and presence which allows the rest of the team to play that swift attacking football we only know how to play. It was pretty diabolical without him and I'm looking towards January and it might be hell for us when he's gone. Or even if he (NONONONO) picks up an injury. I read this before the game (from Arseblog) and it's a really endearing article. I like him so much more.
Now that Diaby is probably going to be out injured, Ramsey has a chance to prove himself in the first team. His energy is fantastic and he's so cute to look at. Wrong reason I know. And then we have an international break and that's 2 weeks. 2 weeks for the national teams to crock our players, 2 weeks for the injured players to come back. Moo. They're the 2 sides of a freakin coin really.
Fabregas continued his scoring run in injury time of the first half when Wolves were just waiting for the whistle. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Srsly.
The lads then strolled through the second half with Arshavin adding a fourth and then we allowed them to get a consolation.
The commentators were a load of crap to say the least. I don't get why people are so anti-Arsenal. These shits can just fuck the hell off because as a bloody commentator you're supposed to be bloody objective, otherwise just shut the hell up. Who says that at 3-0 up, Wolves will master a great comeback worthy of going into the premier league history books?
You can only say that at the City of Manchester Stadium. No wait. They weren't 3-0 up. The came back from being 2-0 down and then scored 3 and fucked it up. Oh yes. I have been waiting a long long time to say this. 3-3 it ended with Burnley equalising.
Another huge haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
that's 5 draws in a row for them. 10 points dropped. I guess we got rid of Adebayor who brought on the knack for drawing except that he is no artist.
HEH.
That's all folks.Labels: Aaron Ramsey, Abou Diaby, Alex Song, Man City
A Little Drunken Madness @ 3:32 AM
Liverpool got out of their 4-game slump while we sink into one.
2 games may not make it a slump, but it sure as hell is following a pattern. This time, it was far more infuriating than the midweek game because we threw away a 2-goal lead.
And rather stupidly as well. 2-0 and they thought they were cruising to an easy win.
I don't know if it's complacency or over-confidence, the team really has to sort itself out because it's just idiotic to watch and this shouldn't be coming from a top side who wants trophies. Arsene Wenger promised trophies at the AGM and the players never rose to the occasion.
Frustrating to say the least, and no less regarding the goalkeeping situation. I don't know exactly why Almunia still hasn't regained his place. Mannone was only spectacular for the Fulham game and is still very very raw. I'm not showing any support for Almunia because he hasn't exactly impressed at all this season with the mistakes he has already made but things between the posts need to be sorted out asap. If Wenger's idea of all 3 of them being good enough then we shouldn't be conceding soft goals, whoever's keeping goal.
Midfield wise, the trio of Song, Diaby and Fabregas were doing extremely well. Basically, the entire team were doing extremely well until West Ham's first goal came. I don't get it. It's as though winning the game wasn't important enough. I think games like these are further exposing Cesc's shortcomings as captain. It is always going to be an easy job to do when the team is winning. The captain is supposed to be the one who makes the difference in situations like these.
Everyone has a part to play to ensure a win in the game and certain people have heighted responsibilities and the captain is one of them.
Certainly, a sound goalkeeping department would help things a lot. We've sorted out the defensive midfield position with Song stepping up well and Vermaelen has shored up the defence quite a bit. With these 2 done, yet another position coughs out more problems.
It is really high time we got it all right really. That's the only way we'll win trophies, not by declaring it and some meeting with the shareholders. The battles are won on the pitch and I cannot tolerate games being thrown away like that. It sure as hell does not make sense for wannabe champions to do things like that.
The penalty we conceded was stupid to say the least. Song blatently tripped Carlton Cole from behind so there you have it. Such carelessness shouldn't be tolerated.
As always, after every game, win, lose or draw, we look to the next one. It's Liverpool in the Carling Cup in midweek and I'm not too bothered by that. If the lads do well then alright. If not, they'll all be shipped out on loan by January. It's the big game on Saturday that matters.
Sp*rs.Labels: Alex Song, Cesc Fabregas, Manuel Almunia, Vito Mannone, what kind of fuckery is this
A Little Drunken Madness @ 2:13 AM
It is hard to admit, but Chelsea were the better side...
..in terms of how they play their long balls? Teams with no balls play long balls 99% of the time. That is like Liverpool. And some dumbass Chelsea fan can declare that his team plays beautiful football. He is definitely 99% vision compromised.
The blame or 'reason for losing' should not lie with the other team. They do what they can (and srsly, what they only can) to win the game. Now take a good look at our Arsenal team.
Before the game, we knew we were horribly short defensively. For a team in this state, the cliche of attack being the best defense was the key to winning the game. In a cup game like this, the damned purpose is to outscore your opponent, even if it's 10-9, you still win. And look at the team being put out there.
So much for having all the attacking options in the world.
ARSHAVIN ON THE BENCH?!
That fucked me up when they flashed the line-ups. And I see Diaby playing in his place, Diaby who wants to be the next Vieira, Diaby whose position is more central that anything, playing on the left wing where Arshavin is fully adept in. You know, the Arshavin who didn't feature midweek. The fresh Arshavin with that one week break. The dangerous Arshavin who can torment the Chelsea defence.
And then Denilson. When he wasn't named in the starting line-up against Villarreal with Song partnering Cesc, you don't know how happy I was. And then suddenly Song loses his place? Song who most definitely is fantastic as of late. Denilson and all his sideways and back passing. Denilson who got owned by every player in the Chelsea midfield. Denilson who let 80% of his man get past him. And you have Diaby who likes to show off how skillful he is, by attempting a turn but loses the ball. Where he loses the ball is another issue altogether. Like in our own penalty area to Anelka. With Denilson partnering Cesc, you will never see Cesc being freed from defensive duties and getting balls up front more.
How many times must we go through these midfield problems? Finally, Song hits his best ever and is doing the job right - and then he gets dropped, ahead of Denilson whom the manager says isn't getting enough credit from the fans. Quite rightly so? Does he deserve credit?
Theo was amazing. He was doing his thing and causing Cashley all sorts of problems. The Arse fans never fail to boo his every touch which I thought was funny and this loss all but removed all gloating there for the taking when Walcott's goal came off a deflection off Cashley's hand. And I don't think it's ever the factor where when Theo scores we go on to lose to Drogba's winner. In the Carling Cup, what people conveniently forget (dumb Chelsea fans in particular) was that Drogba's equaliser came from an offside position. If it weren't for the official's visual impairment, there wouldn't be a winning goal.
This time, fucking Malouda that cock sucking faggot pushed Cesc in the penalty area and gestured to the ref that it was a dive. Ha?
This is precisely why Chelsea is a team of cunts. And so are their fans.
Silvestre's apparent handball would not escape me yeah. It was up against Drogba's shoulder, which raised and propped his arm up against the ball. Not that I forgive this idiot of a defender. He just totally gave up when the long ball came from Chelshite, exposing birthday boy Fabianski, who evidently, isn't ready. How soon can we get Almunia back? And the rest of our defence?
I'm not even citing our defensive issues as a 'reason for losing'. It's the attacking options all wrong.
CLEARLY.
On the plus side, Gibbs was fantastic. He stood his ground many a times and I can't recall if he ever let his man get past him.
TAKE THAT DENILSON.
SELL HIM.
He had so many chances and Wenger fancies this little fucker ahead of Song who has had fewer chances that him but took them so well JUST TO SIT ON THE BENCH.
Diaby is also a big mess. Before his injury, he was fantastic. After he has came back from injury, he's shit. So, are we supposed to flip a coin and hope for the best?
Forgive me for being pissed but tonight, everything was wrong. Nothing went wrong. Things were induced by these circumstances to be wrong. Things which could beforehand, be influenced to get things right on the night when it freakin matters.
ARSHAVIN ON THE BENCH FOR 75 MINUTES? BIG HUGE ASS GRAVE MISTAKE EVER.
DIABY AND DENILSON ALLOWED TO SCREW UP OUR SECOND LAST TROPHY HOPE?
DIABOLICAL.
And now I look to the next game at Anfield and I wish it'll never come. Will our season always end after an FA Cup defeat? We'll be finding out soon enough. We've got to thank West Ham for drawing with Villa though. We still have 7 points over them.
P.S. anyone recovering from a virus should be in bed and not at WembleyLabels: Alex Song, Arshavin, Chelsea, Denilson, Diaby, FA Cup
A Little Drunken Madness @ 2:22 AM
This game of 2 halves theory is getting old. Like really old. Old in the sense that it's going on and on and on.
But who can give a shit?
The team grinds out results which matter. The final score of a 4-1 win over Wigan really does not reflect the game one bit. That puts us 9 points over Villa who face Everton tomorrow, where these 2 teams are under the illusion that they can steal 4th spot from Arsenal.
I HOPE THEY DRAW.
That's essentially 2 points lost on both sides. The momentum is with Everton though. Villa has been putting in good performances but not getting the result they want. It's not something that's easy to work with and keep going at it.
So, the Wigan-Arsenal game.
The first half was terrible. As the press wanted to put it, 60% of the Arsenal defence is not there. Fabianski in for Almunia, Djourou in for Gallas and Gibbs in for Clichy. Before the game, I went out for a little while to have fun and came back half an hour prior to kick off. And I made a quick check of Arsenal.com and I see confirmation of Gibbs in for Clichy instead of Silvestre. Silvestre will be covering the centre back position behind Johan.
Oh how happy I was. Like super happy. Happy enough to announce of Facebook status. And these things like to come biting you in the butt. *chomp*
Gibbs is young and still learning. He does show the drive and the determination when marking and it was him who did the goal line clearance for Mido's header. From my point of view, the unaward red card for the foul on Valencia was a 50:50. If it was Howard Webb he would be off since that baldy has something against Arsenal I reckon. That was meant to be a joke. Like Alan Wiley explained, Valencia wasn't in complete possession of the ball nor clean on through. On the other side of the argument, it was a sloppy challenge. But I don't think it warranted more than a yellow. And from an Arsenal point of view, there have been incidents where the opposition never got sent off even when there were similar grounds.
Arsenal did try and finish the half strongly but it didn't really carry on to the next half. Mido was causing all sorts of trouble up front till Fabianski collided into him and what a tough man he is. Macho.
Then at the other side, out of nowhere, Arshavin was dispossessed in the box, as far as the tip of his right foot and while on the ground, he knocked the ball into the path of Walcott who made no mistake.
As an Arsenal fan, you always know that once that equaliser comes, it is rare that the opposition gets the luxury of regrouping in order to even get a point out of the game. From then on, it will be all Arsenal, at least 99% of the time. I knew that they would take the game, just didn't expect 4 goals.
The brother is back from Redang hahaha. And he thinks Pool losing midweek to Chelsea would make the title challenge more difficult for United. He is adamant United will still go through to the semis. He loved goal no. 3 by Arshavin the most. Whoever that Wigan defender was, he laid the ball so sweetly into the path of our no. 23 to put it in Kirkland's net. Bahaha. It was like an assist at the wrong end.
What needs to be addressed was the second goal.
You could say that it was all of Michael Brown's undoing. He brought Cesc down off-the-ball and got a yellow, which prevented him for going too much into any challenge, allowing Fab to dribble a little further down the byline with a first time cross that skipped past Adebayor and to the most unlikely of players to put home. Mikael Silvestre. The one I didn't want coming on for Clichy. I was crying from laughing. He really needs to work on the goal celebration but who gives a shit when the ball goes in.
And if anyone wanted to see how Cesc and Arshavin could link up, I suppose they got a little teaser from that goal.
The season's really shaping up nicely.
Besides the injury pile up which doesn't seem to stop. Djourou looks to have a serious injury and it should be Silvestre slotting in there with Gibbs on the left. Perhaps it was a game of 2 halves with the defence settling a little bit more with yet another huge shake-up. This win should give the lads the confidence going into the second leg. There's a little concern over Gibbs but I think he came in at the right time to at least get some more experience against Wigan, albeit just a little bit, but we can be contented that he was up against Valencia who can cause problems but did not result in goals. Mido's goal was from a corner even if Gibbs conceded it because of Valencia. By the time it gets to a corner kick it should be the team's responsibility to clear it.
This is where I say hahahahahaha to Liverpool. Ivanovic 2 Liverpool 0.
The remaining fixtures of all the teams are quite juicy. With the battle for European places and the other one to stay up, the games are more like cup matches and better to watch. They're going at it with more purpose and there is less sitting back.
That on the other hand, cannot be said about Chelsea. 4-0 on 66 minutes and Bolton clawed 3 back. There is no time to nest. If this was a game earlier in the season it would be different. Bolton wouldn't have been able to knock 3 goals in return. How this affects Chelsea I wouldn't know, but it might give 4-0 winners Liverpool some ideas. In any case, they still have that 3-1 lead so Pool will need everything working for them on that day to go through. If Chelsea holds on and meets Barcelona, I would put my money on them going all the way to the finals. Barca have their weaknesses. For them, their best defence is their attack, and it doesn't always work. I believe Chelsea have the ability to stop them.
The next game's going to come 4 days later and hopefully there'll be more news on Djourou, preferably good news.
I forgot about the father of 2, Alex Song. Hahaha. The reason why Arsenal can be on the backfoot when the game starts it's because the opposition presses us high up the pitch. And then they tire. So how our late goals come about is when they are tired, we aren't. And that's when their half-hearted challenges don't get in the path of our goals. I don't know why Wenger took of Denilson but he made the right choice. And tactics wise, 4-2-3-1 does not work if Adebayor's not the '1' up there. Bendtner is nowhere near the finished product to hold his own up front. And Cesc is much better with a defensive midfield partner in the middle of a 4-4-2. He is a distributor of the ball and needs to do it from our own half so when he plays to far front he tends not to get into the game.
And we have all seen the effect Adebayor has on the team. He comes on and they spring to life. And we finished the game with him, Robin, Nicky and Arshavin in the front 4. It is terrifying when Adebayor and RVP are on the pitch. Put Arshavin in the mix and it'll be more than nightmares.
That's enough for today!Labels: Alex Song, Andrei Arshavin, Aston Villa, Cesc Fabregas, Champion's League, Chelsea, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kieran Gibbs, Liverpool, one of my many theories, Wigan
A Little Drunken Madness @ 12:19 AM
And injury news is out.
Gallas won't be expected to play again this season and the game against Villarreal could well be his last in an Arsenal shirt if he's off in the Summer. Clichy has a back problem and Almunia has a recurrent ankle injury.
Team-wise, it doesn't look all that grim. So far, Gibbs has slotted in quite comfortably at left back. He recovers well and has great pace going forward and fancies shooting from range. All in all, it should be exciting to see him fill in at left back. Almunia has Fabianski as his deputy and I am quite glad to have him around. Wenger's praise for him isn't overrated. He might have the odd stranded moments but overall, a fantastic shotstopper with good handling so it'll be interesting to see how he steps up. Sometimes the keeper can be the decider of the game. I believe he has been presented with a great opportunity to step and and he will.
In centre back, Toure is returning to his best and the Toure-Djourou partnership doesn't look too bad, with the latter possessing height which could be crucial at set pieces, both offensive and defensive. Djourou passes the ball well too so that's a plus. I'm not saying we won't win Gallas. Gallas is a match-winner and his experience would be valuable at this point in time with the challenging for honours but I think Djourou can step up as well. The only concern is Johan's tendency to koon in defence. Then you'll see me faint. He's got to keep his concentration at 100% for 90 minutes. Don't forget extra time. >:O Sp*rs.
Wigan tomorrow at home. Doesn't ever look like an easy game but I think we'll cope. They're having problems with Zaki who is acting like he's some huge superstar bigger than the club. Even his agent is on his side, citing the number of interested clubs should Wigan not sign him after his loan period. That kind of cockiness really should have no place in football. The club never owes the player anything.
Aside from that, Wigan are a decent side but they have Titus Bramble and Adebayor should be causing him all sorts of problems.
Adebayor has returned to the media spotlight with his wonder goal and it's non-stop raving about it, apart from The Mirror stating that Villa and whoever have had better goals. Oh whatever. Sometimes it's all about the timing and importance of the goal. I can't see any Villa player pulling off the same stunt. Anyway, all these attention could backfire should it awake the interest of Milan and Barcelona.
The team needs to win the Champion's League, simple as that. Not just to finish the season with something, but simply, to keep their team together. Even an FA Cup win would not have that effect. It has to be that European crown. Imagine Barcelona winning it again and Adebayor should be off. It is probably every player's dream to lift the greatest cup in Europe and we've been in the hunt long enough. We're super-outsiders as the boss calls it, but I would like this team to defy all odds and go on and win it. It is no longer about a fan's pride. Sure, we'll be happy and all, but I want this team to stick together. A youth policy is useless to win things unless they grow and mature together. We should not be a feeder club to Barcelona or anyone. We are the Arsenal.
I think it's funny that Mourinho thinks Arsenal are the dark horses and could nick the trophy.
Aside from all that football, off the pitch, Sagna has became a Daddy. I can't begin to count how many daddies are there at Arsenal. Alex Song, 21, has 2 kids. That was the shocker of all shocking discoveries. I should make a daddy list.
For now, enjoy.
*cradling action in goal celebration when someone becomes a daddyLabels: Alex Song, Andrei Arshavin, Bakary Sagna, Champion's League, Emmanuel Adebayor, one of my many theories, Wigan, William Gallas
A Little Drunken Madness @ 4:27 PM
How do I possibly start my day right when I flip open BBC Sport and find out that Sp*rs won?
And we're struggling to win. I'll take an 86th-minute header by a centre back any day.
And it's even more painful to think/possibly know that the Roma tie tonight could be our last Champion's league involvement if we fail to beat them after both legs and then lose 4th spot.
Everyone (Wenger and all) are speaking confidently about securing 4th place but SRSLY? Wanna know what I think?
It's all Wenger and his own ball game when he talks up the squad everytime they're bad. How are they supposed to learn from criticism? And how's telling someone they're damn good when they're just like, um, bad?
So only Diaby has returned for the Roma game. Earlier on there was a slight glimmer of hope that Walcott passes his scan before the game and makes the game or so. Think that's quite unlikely to happen, otherwise we'll have news by now. It's like the players who really feel for the club are all injured, with Rosicky scheduled to be back before Cesc but requiring 2 months of competitive football to return to full form. So where does that leave us? He'll be himself in May. That looks like the end of the season doesn't it? So maybe we can all rejoice at our new signing in May.
I refer to the most dui ever phrase Wenger has said about those coming back from injuries: They'll be like new signings.
I almost smashed my computer on reading that one.
On to Roma, we all hope that this squad is like preparing heart and soul for this match so much so that it was okay to draw with Sunderland and the previous 2 games. So maybe they'll make it all up by trashing Roma. Ha-Ha. Wenger says that one win can change our season and from last season's experiences, I don't think it'll help. His theories seem to be going all wrong. Like we beat AC Milan and we fans expected some sort of revival and moving on from there but it didn't happen and we still continued on the road to squander the damn title. The truth is, European football and the league are different. And I'm positively sure that it has different mental effects on the players. If they do perform lightning well tonight we'll all know why. If they don't, then I'll have nothing to say. It's just one disappointment after another and I don't know how much more my heart can take.
Like if I saw Eboue starting tonight I might just turn off the TV and go to bed instead.
I think I just condemned myself to not watching the game.
Anyway, the other game taking place tonight is kinda more exciting. It's Inter vs United and Mourinho vs SAF and SRSLY, they've started their mind games and it's fantastic. This is what we've been missing. The special one really spices things up for all of us. He went to Italy and owned them. So their game is like a top of the table clash between European giants. How many times do we ever have that kind of billing for a game?
This Arsenal squad is capable of better. They just need to get their attitude right. And I really hate Song and Eboue. There is only one word associated with Alex Song and it's 'lazy' while Eboue has only vulgarities to his name.
When in hell have I hated any of our players that much? Eboue used to make me laugh with his antics. Instead of being mad, it's better to laugh at what is expected. But now he has crossed the damn line and he really doesn't deserve to play. He's been testing all of our patience for a long long time.
So enjoy the game tonight. Try to be positive.Labels: Alex Ferguson, Alex Song, Arsene Wenger, Eboue, Jose Mourinho, Roma, Sp*rs
A Little Drunken Madness @ 12:36 PM
I took about maybe one day to try and post objectively. Or maybe I'm just lazy. Or just super no mood to do another post about another nil nil draw.
It's funny you know. After last season's slip up you would think of Arsenal being draw specialists.
Then this season they started losing and then you thought they shook off that image for the worse, and hopefully less draws and wins to make up for the losses. Statistically, it's better to lose 1 game and win 1 than to draw both.
Then came this apparent unbeaten run. It's crap really. I fuckin hate it. I don't know what is 7 draws out of 10 games. That's bullshit. It's horrific. It's fuckin terrible. I don't feel good at all about being unbeaten. Gosh. That's 14 points lost.
So. I hate Alex Song. I fuckin hate Eboue. These 2 players should just fuck the hell off. First up, Song. I'll never see him as a fan favourite. He doesn't do interviews and no one is interested in his personal life. I don't see if he feels for this Arsenal team. Most of the time his expression is just blank. What the fuck is he thinking or feeling I don't know. You put Ramsey on and you'll see his drive and passion. Equally young, in fact, younger, but you can see the contrast. Song is just a fucker who should just fuck off. Defensive midfielder my ass. He doesn't do any mopping and his positioning is way off. Like when the defence clears the ball into midfield it doesn't go to our midfielder but the other team's midfield. How the fuck to retain possession like that? I'm not talking about counter attacking even.
Then there's the passing. Like fuck. Pass sideways. Then backwards. From Denilson to Song, then back to denilson. The ball distribution is like fuckin gross. Side to side, then back. Not fucking in front where the ball is supposed to be in the damn net to give up the damn 3 points.
Sideways.
Backwards.
Good fuckin positions but not good in football. Not good for our football. Like bloody hell damnit.
And then Eboue. Gross. Nothing more to say about that dumbfuck. He doesn't deserve the shirt. Putting him on and hoping he changes the game? He came on and I thought we'd either draw or lose to a late goal.
Now then what we naturally do is look to the next game. Roma. Wow. Seriously. No Arshavin. And then the rest is rubbish. Eboue will start. 100% guarantee.
This is what I call a nightmarish season. Sorry for the vulgarities. If I had posted earlier it would be unreadable.Labels: Alex Song, Eboue
A Little Drunken Madness @ 12:24 AM
![[Valid RSS]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/junichiarsenal/RSSbuttoncopy.png "RSS updates")