Match Review: Arsenal 2 vs Tottenham 0 (Derby delight for Arsenal)

A brilliant game that was charged with emotion and the usual intense rivalry ended in victory for the home team. Tottenham came into this game on the back of a victory over Man utd and were definitely not low on confidence. Our lineup was symptomatic of our current injury state and it was not surprising to see a few regulars missing by virtue of the knocks they sustained over the hectic xmas schedule or due to Fatigue in general.

Fabianski, Sagna,Vermaelen,Koscielny,Monreal,Cazorla,Wilshere,Arteta,Rosicky,Gnabry,Walcott.

That was the starting lineup, not too under-strength in any way but the early concerns were if Theo would be able to deliver in the top striker role..It turns out he didn't do that bad. He was dangerous through out the game and played better than i expected. Cazorla scored in the 32nd min after good work from youngster Gnabry while Rosicky got the 2nd in the 62nd after making Danny rose look really stupid. It was a team performance that was rewarded with progress to the round of 32..here's my player rating as it happened.

Fabianski:-------------8    Great game. Made the saves he needed to make (especially the Erikson one in the 1st half) and looked composed all through. I understand his need to play and have to say he deserves to even if it means bidding us farewell.

Sagna:----------------7    Always a confidence boost for me when i see this guy on the starting list. Is there anything i can say to describe his performance? his consistency is unparalleled. I hope news of progress on a new contract is true, really do.

Vermaelen------------7    Showed his battling qualities and read the game well. His tackling remains as robust as ever (just ask Dembele) but had to be subbed in the 2nd half ostensibly due to a knock ..like i'v said here before and i'll say it again,.its great to be able to call upon some one of his quality if the need arises.

Koscielny------------7  i wasn't happy with his concentration early on in the game as silly give-aways that could have been costly were committed by him in the first half. Maybe it was as a result of his pairing with Vermaelen as no sooner had Per entered the fray, Kos was back to his best.

Monreal--------------7.5   Very good shift by the Spaniard today. He came under some deserved criticism in the Mancity game for what was a pretty poor afternoon, but today he was faultless in everything.Kudos

Arteta----------------7      Mikel was his archetypal self. Doing the silent dirty work and ensuring protection for the back 4. Found himself outnumbered on one or two breakaways but was experienced enough to escape any serious fouling without a card.

Wilshere-------------6     I wish jack would just ignore certain things on the pitch and learn to get on with it. He appears to quick to react to every thing on the pitch these days at the expense of his focus on the game. When he's switched on, he's unplayable but when he starts fighting and being petulant not so much.

Cazorla--------------7.5  Great to see Santi back to somewhere near his best. His goal was great, and the kind of goal in this squad i don't see anyone outside him able to score. First time shot on the left foot with dead eye accuracy. brilliant

Rosicky--------------8  My  man of the match. Always runs his heart out for the team and never shys away from making a tackle. He scored a goal that came about as a result of his own making. Pressing the opponent is his specialty and in this occasion he got rewarded. i pray he winds up this glorious career with us.

Gnabry---------------7.5   I forsee big things for this boy. Brilliant and confident in possession, this guy has an air of unpredictability that i love. Raw natural skill sees him able to hoodwink defenders and he also showed he has an eye for goal..Great assist to Cazorla, the pass was perfectly measured.

Walcott-------------8      A great night for Theo who looks ever so confident these days of his ability and game. He led the attack in his own way today not by Holding up play like a big guy would, but by making good runs and positioning himself brilliantly. He deserved a goal, but can be happy with his performance. (NB: I admit that 2-0 hand gesture took him from a 7.5 to an 8 on the ratings :-)

Subs:

 Per-----------7  came in and was Big as always.

Flamini--------7 no one wanted to mess with him when he came in to the fray, says  a lot.

Ozil-----------7.5 game was already won by the time he was introduced,  still nearly grabbed a third goal but Lloris made a good save.

So Spurs got served what they deserved and its now time we rest some legs ahead of Villa on Monday. Hopefully Theo is fine and Giroud can start. Till then cheers.

P.S: im hearing the FA may charge Theo for the hand score gesture. Seriously? look the game needs moments like that to remind us why it is a competitive sport not a Soap opera...

Match Preview: Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspurs (Derby fireworks meets Cup drama)

What do you get when you take the traditional drama associated with the F.A Cup and coalesce it with the regular fireworks that exists in the North London Derby? Whatever will be the result of such an incendiary mixture, we all will be witnesses to it this evening. The bitter rivals have been drawn to face each other in the 3rd round of the FA Cup for the first time in 12 years in this competition. In that period, the Gunners have won the trophy 3 times while Spurs haven't even been in the Latter stages since 2012 when they were battered by Chelsea in the semis. Both teams have had relatively remarkable moments thus far in the 2013/2014 season. While Arsenal are current league leaders with 20 games gone, spurs are 6th and smarting from a season of ridicule after seeing large scale investments in players only lead to heavy defeats 6-0 vs Mancity, 3-0 to Westham and 5-0 vs Liverpool ( both at home). AVB the manager in charge at the start of the season has been the first casualty of those setbacks and has been promptly replaced by Tim Sherwood. Results have slowly improved for them ever since he came in, no thanks to him realizing what a helmet Soldado is in front of goal and drafting Adebayor to fill in as the Top striker. A confidence boosting win against an embattled Man united going into this tie with Arsenal should make them a bit more Adventurous with self belief.

For us we have been decimated by injuries lately, Bendtner, Gibbs, Giroud, Ramsey are certified out. Ozil will be assessed but he is regarded as a doubt also. Grapevine has it youngster Gideon Zelalem will be started, he is one that has attracted a lot of praise  recently and today provides a chance for those of us who haven't seen him in action to do so. My concern for this game lies in the attack though. In the absence of Bendtner and Giroud and also with the knowledge of Podolski's inability to play upfront on his own what format will the boss adopt? Walcott has always canvassed for this top striker role, but we have not been convinced in any way that he can shoulder that responsibility. Could we possibly go twin striker style with Poldi and Theo? It remains to be seen. better leave it at that for now with this preview. The action will be interesting as it always is with Derbies, but its anyone's guess how the added verve of Cup drama will add to it. C'mon Arsenal

Match Review: Arsenal 2 vs 0 Cardiff City: (Blood Pressure test at the Emirates ends in Joy)

samurai savior strikes

Phew! If you have been an Arsenal supporter as long as i'v been under Wenger's years, you would have been familiar with what we saw yesterday evening. A tense, nervy, distressing end to a game that we need a win from.. then in a twinkle of an eye...excitement, Joy, Relief, and fan gloating as we eventually win....This occasion, the first day of the Year 2014 we got lucky and got the result we wanted ..In the past,we certainly have seen many down the years that didn't end quite as happily but still this sort of games always serve to remind us that football is never cut and dried. You cannot simply go into a game expecting your opponents will not be tough because they are not a big name in the game. I don't think we underrated Cardiff city in any sense, the terrible weather conditions were similar to the Chelsea tie and definitely affected the flow of our game. But my feeling whilst watching how we played so much better in the 2nd half was that we never really gave everything we could've given in terms of effort in the 1st half. Over at the pub, i kept asking Gooner Sam (my pub mate)'' why didn't they play like this in the first half..we would have wrapped the game up earlier'' the answer he gave was in his characteristic one liner...''cos' they know there's no Third Half'' he said..''They know they either go for broke now or we drop points..simple as''. So after labouring with no end result in the first-half, we camped in the Cardiff 18 yard box desperately trying to break them down in the 2nd half. Being so organised, they stood their ground and wouldn't let us breach them to find an opening. Then on came ''Iceman Nick'' for Podolski in the 65th min and in the 89th minute he did what some of us have known as his trademark back in the day, he grabbed a late goal to calm our collective nerves. What i liked about the Goal is his instinctive, and calm execution of the strike. Make no mistake, many a good players would  have skied that effort easily due to (a) The playing conditions  (b) the Haste to score knowing time was running out and (c) lack of anticipation of that all important rebound. Walcott then scored his 5th goal in 5games to bury the visitors.

Its still a long way to  go in the season, so we can't over celebrate though. We need to quickly forget this win and look to the next game which is  Tottenham in the FA cup. A win in that game will no doubt boost belief and confidence moving forward. Quick word on Podolski, he may not have performed as expected last night, but as the boss explained..we have to recall he has been out for 4months. However, he has shown before last night that his game isn't suited to the lone striker role. Perhaps a left-sided attacker yes, but never up top. He lacks the ability to make those runs  and position himself in areas where he can be dangerous with that left foot. All this boils down to us appreciating Giroud and the work he does in that lone striker role. Its not an easy role. 

Back to the Top of the league, and yes it feels good. However the warnings of dropping point  that this game provided last night must not be lost. We must give everything from the first to the last minute regardless of who it is we are playing. Its risky business to go through the motions in the 1st half, believing we can always then step it up in the 2nd. We got away with this one, so we march on. Back at the weekend.

Match Preview: Arsenal Vs Cardiff City (Lets begin the New year..3 points style)

HappyNew year people!!!! Here's wishing you all the best 2014 has to offer.....2013 gone past was a mixed bag for everyone i'm sure..A bit of the ''good, the bad and the Ugly''(without the Old classic Music from that Western of course). Yes, some things in our lives went well, as some others didn't go as well as we would have liked. But as they say over here in Lasgidi, ''Man no die, Man no rotten''... Simply meaning whatever your struggles may be in this crazy world  we live in, as long as you are still breathing..shake off all your limitations, failures, doubts, fears, and just get on with living. There's still the best of you to come and it may come around sooner than you think. So if its worth anything, my exhortation to every dear reader of  this forum is to keep your head up no matter what you are up against..You ain't dead yet.

In the wonderful world of Arsenal, no time for New-year back slapping its straight into business mode. There are 3 points at stake today and if our march to destiny this season is to end happily, then we must take all three against Cardiff city. They have been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately as a result of a media storm attracted by their eccentric owner Vincent Tan. Be it far from me to get embroiled in the murky affairs of corporate football where fancy suits ( or in this case a dodgy mustache and weird hair) threatens to disrupt the simple joys of watching a good football match. After issuing a warning shot to erstwhile manager Malky Malkay over being sacked if he doesn't resign his position. The owner made good his threat after a three nil defeat to Southampton and fired Malkay. Leaving Cardiff manager-less as they make the trip down to London to face Arsenal. Its a poor situation to be in if you are a fan of a club struggling to stay up and then forced to cope with boardroom decisions like these that leave you scratching your head. Criticisms of the move aside, i just think there's pretty little any one can do about how a man chooses to behave with a property he has invested  a truck load of money on. 

We have a rash of injuries to report, Walcott,Giroud,Wilshere,Rosicky, all didn't come out of the last game ok. Vermaelen and Monreal also have question marks over their availability but its the boss's decision to assess their participation or not. Its winnable games like this we would have hoped to allow the likes of Vermaelen, Monreal and Bendtner get much needed playing time. The striker is a sure bet to start today in place of Giroud but Monreal and Vermaelen have obviously been  waiting for games like this one, so it'll be a shame if they miss out due to knocks. Vermaelen was excellent against Chelsea and very good against West ham over the end of last year and it goes without saying that being able to call upon his quality from the bench is so vital for our ambitions this year. I know there are speculations over his future (oh and by the way welcome January Transfer window) because he's a good player and good players want to play. But i just wish he stays because in him we have a great professional and leader. Its inevitable we will see changes today, but the boss spoke about ''Squad Balance'' in his team selection. I reckon he's trying to say we cannot afford to underrate the Men from Wales. And rightly so, after all this is the EPL. We saw how Crystal palace went to the Etihad and were far from rolled over, they were even close to sharing the points. We on our part have been immaculate over the past months swatting aside smaller teams in the division like Cardiff and i feel if we must remain around the top of the table come the end of season we must continue with that trend.  

Here's hoping we begin the year with a victory, which i believe we can comfortably secure despite the injury state we find ourself in. I'll be looking to see Podolski, Bendtner and Gnabry start. I expect that front-line will still give Cardiff a few troubles, the other areas of the pitch will depend on who the boss thinks can stand on his legs after the assessments. No much to talk about anymore, so lets go for the points and hope it'll be a happy match review in 24hrs.

P.S: I know Ramsey is injured for this fixture but wow, i just couldn't help but place that picture at the head of this post. I think its Brilliant. Get well soon Rambo