Brave Gunners undone by City

Arsenal 0-1 Manchester City

Arsenal were knocked out of the Carling Cup by Manchester City last night, but can hold their heads up high after an excellent performance against the club bankrolled by Sheik Mansour.




Frimpong: A true Warrior

 The players on show for Manchester City included, Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero, Samir ‘you only went for the money’ Nasri, Nigel de Jong, Owen Hargreaves and Adam Johnson. Yet Arsenal outplayed and outfought them throughout and deserved to go through to the semi-final. No one typified Arsenal’s resolute attitude more than Emmanuel Frimpong. He was truly magnificent last night. The Ghanaian worked tirelessly to win the ball on numerous occasions with strong, robust tackles, before surging forward to help the attack. Frimpong is a real warrior, a man who will never give up and who gives his all for the team. He continually chased and harried Nasri, resulting in the Frenchman’s ineffectual display to the joy of the Arsenal faithful. Alongside Frimpong, Francis Coquelin helped Arsenal dominate the midfield battle, making timely interceptions to protect the back four. He also set up Ju Young Park, in the first half, with a wonderful low cross, forcing Costel Pantilimon in the Man City goal, to pull off an excellent save.

On the right flank Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was simply phenomenal. His fast, direct, forward runs had the Emirates crowd on their feet time and time again, as he turned Pablo Zabaleta inside out. The young Englishman was also denied by a fine save from Pantilimon following a long range effort which was destined for the top corner. Last night Oxlade-Chamberlain proved without question that he is ready for Premier League action and could provide Wenger with an interesting conundrum.

Arsenal’s makeshift defence also played admirably as they stifled City’s attack, with Koscielny a defensive rock and even Squillaci performing well. While Djourou and Ignasi Miquel, deployed at right and left back respectively were never outdone by City’s vast array of attacking talent. Essentially the excellent performances by the defence and midfield gave Arsenal the platform to dominate the game and in the second half the Gunners never appeared in any danger. In fact with six minutes remaining you could only see Arsenal emerging victorious. Unfortunately a poor delivery from an Oxlade-Chamberlain corner was easily cleared at the near post to Dzeko, who evaded two challenges before playing the ball forward to Johnson who in turn set up Aguero to give City the lead.

The Gunners would not give up and continued to mount attack after attack, the best chance of all coming in the dying minutes of the match. Gervinho created space for himself on the right flank before delivering a fine cross into the City six-yard box where Chamakh just failed to connect with the ball. Had the Moroccan fully committed himself, he would have equalised and Arsenal may well have emerged victorious. Unfortunately Chamakh was the weak link yet again last night and I cannot see a future for him at the Emirates. Ultimately Arsenal created several chances to which they just could not apply the finishing touch they richly deserved, while Manchester City scored with their only shot on target.  

At the final whistle, although deeply disappointed the players walked off to rich applause and chants of ‘we love you Arsenal we do.’ Every Arsenal fan should be extremely proud of their display.

Arsenal drop points at the Emirates

Arsenal1-1 Fulham

Following the mid-week win over Borussia Dortmund and the great feeling of satisfaction, at qualifying for the knock out phase of the Champions League, Saturday’s match against Fulham was one of immense frustration.

Arsenal started the game brightly with Arshavin having a goal correctly ruled out for off-side and Aaron Ramsey forcing Mark Schwarzer into a fine save. Theo Walcott was also threatening on the right flank, with one fine run setting up Ramsey who could only shoot over the bar. There was a feeling that it would only be a matter of time before the Gunners broke the deadlock, but as so often happens, Arsenal’s fluidity in attack began to wane as Fulham tightened up at the back and congested the midfield. In fact as the first half wore on, Fulham became more of a threat. Bobby Zamora skilfully turned Vermaelen on the edge of the box and his shot sailed just over the bar, while Moussa Dembele forced Szczesny into a fine save at his near post, following slack marking by Djourou.

Arsenal needed to assert their authority in the second half, but were noticeably lethargic, especially in midfield, as they repeatedly lost possession cheaply. Ramsey and Arshavin were the main culprits, with Ramsey attempting silly flicks and tricks when a simple pass would suffice, while Arshavin seemed to continually either pass the ball backwards or straight to a Fulham player. With both playing poorly Arsenal could not really mount any significant attacks, although Van Persie did have a shot cleared off the line by Chris Baird. The game was becoming bogged down in midfield, but Wenger inexplicably seemed reluctant to make any substitutions. His reluctance would prove ill-advised as in the 65th minute Fulham took the lead. A cross into the Arsenal box, coupled with a forward run by John Arne-Riise, caused confusion amongst the Gunners defence and resulted in Vermaelen inadvertently sliding the ball beyond Szczesny and into the net.

This finally roused Wenger into action and he duly replaced Ramsey with Diaby, but inexplicably left the utterly useless Arshavin on the pitch. Diaby looked strong and incisive, while Gervinho, who replaced Mertesacker, added pace on the left flank. Arsenal could have equalised through Djourou’s point blank header, but were denied by Schwharzer and then in the 82nd minute Vermaelen atoned for his own goal, as he met Walcott’s cross with a powerful header to level the match. The Emirates faithful raised the decibel levels as they urged their team forward in search of the winner; but unfortunately it was not to be. Arsenal just could not create another opening to seal all three points and would have to settle instead for one.

In the post match interviews, Wenger claimed tiredness from the mid-week game had cost Arsenal. While this may be the case, it does not excuse the manager’s prolonged delay in making substitutions to change the game and nor does it excuse yet another listless performance from Arshavin. The Russian has complained at his lack of first team appearances this season, but when he is given the opportunity he does absolutely nothing to justify his inclusion. Arshavin simply appears disinterested and I would rather Wenger started with Benayoun instead. Arshavin was replaced by Chamakh on Saturday but the Moroccan’s performance further highlighted his decline in an Arsenal shirt. He was weak in the challenge and excruciatingly slow. With the January transfer window fast approaching I would love to see Arsenal sign Lukas Podolski. He has pace, strength, a powerful shot and could play on the wing too. Unfortunately it would appear Arsenal will not sign anyone in January as Wenger has already stated we have adequate cover upfront, effectively leaving Arsenal’s future success dependent on the fitness and form of Van Persie.

Saturday’s frustration was replaced with shock on Sunday at the tragic news of the death of Wales manager Gary Speed. I had seen him laughing and joking as a guest on the BBC’s Football Focus only on Saturday morning. He was a great player and had such a fantastic future ahead of him as a manager. His is a huge loss to the world of football.

70s night at the Armoury

The Armoury store, at the Emirates Stadium, was last night the host to three Arsenal legends from the famous 1970s era in which the Gunners won the intercities fairs cup in 1970 and the double in 1971. The three legends present were all integral members of this era. Charlie George, whose famous celebration (lying flat on the Wembley turf) after scoring the winning goal in the FA cup final against Liverpool, to secure the double in 1971, is eternally etched in Arsenal’s history. Goal machine John Radford, who currently sits fourth in the all time list of Arsenal goal scorers with 149 and last but by no means least, former right back and now assistant manager at the club Pat Rice.  

Rice, Radford and George  

John Radford and Charlie George were first to arrive, signing autographs for the fans, who could also have their picture taken with the cups the 1970s team won, while enjoying the free champagne on offer. As scheduled, Pat Rice arrived two hours later and the three legends then took part in a short question and answer session.

Q: Pat, what has the team done differently recently which has led to the improvement in results?

PR: We’ve stopped conceding goals for a start! The season didn’t really start for us until after the transfer window closed as we were still deciding if Fabregas and Nasri were going to stay. But credit to the lads they have stuck together and shown what a great team spirit we have. People who don’t know anything about football will claim our players aren’t good enough, but this is not the case. After all we are the first English team to qualify from the group stage in the Champions League.

Q: You’ve been both a player and a coach at the club, what has changed over the years?

PR: The players and the balls are quicker, but the players’ technique has also improved greatly. The class foreign players that have come into the league have also helped to improve the level.

Q: Charlie, how did it feel to score the winning goal in the FA cup final against Liverpool min 1971?

CG: Well for the first 30 seconds after I scored it felt better than sex! It was just amazing. In 1955 I stood on the South Bank as a supporter and then joined the club as an 11 year old. For a local lad to score in the final at Wembley was fantastic. But we also had a great group of lads who stuck together. Everyone who has played for the club knows what great history and tradition it has. If you can’t play the next best thing is to watch Arsenal.

Q: What stands out as a highlight of your Arsenal career?

CG: When we won the league at Tottenham, it was an amazing night. To win it there...what more can you do. I think we had more supporters in the ground that night than they had too.

PR: Winning the league at Tottenham as a player and coach! Just doing anything at Tottenham is always special.

JR: When I was a kid the FA cup was the trophy to win. To go to Wembley and win it was amazing. But I had to pick Charlie up, after he scored and lay on the turf, I had to say to him for God’s sake get up, there’s nine minutes left to play son!

Q: John, you scored 144 goals in your Arsenal career, which important or special goals stand out for you?

JR: You’ve missed a few out there, it was actually 149 goals! One that I always remember was away against Liverpool in 72 or 73. I was put through from the half way line, in front of the Kop End. Ray Clemence came out of the goal and tried to floor me, I pushed the ball to one side, jumped over him and rolled it in, but I could feel the breath of the Kop trying to blow it out!

Q: What does the future hold for Arsenal, realistically?

PR: We’re only going up at the present time. Obviously we had a bad start, so I think to finish in the top three would be a great achievement. You will get Manchester City, United and Chelsea spending millions in January, so to finish in the top three we would be able to hold our heads up. Also if we can win some kind of trophy, I don’t know which one yet, but we are still in the Carling Cup so who knows.

  

Arsenal qualify for knock out phase

Arsenal 2-1 Borussia Dortmund

Arsenal became the first English side to qualify for the knock out phase of the Champions League last night with a 2-1 win against Borussia Dortmund. That result coupled with Olympiacos’ win against Marseille means the Gunners will top the group regardless of the results in the next round of matches.

Dortmund, roused by their raucous supporters, began the match in positive fashion as they pressed Arsenal high up the pitch. This placed great pressure on the defence and in turn resulted in the midfield’s inability to maintain possession. Dortmund were excellent with the ball too, displaying short, fast, crisp passing as they mounted attack after attack. At this stage it was difficult to understand how this team had only managed to gain four points in the competition so far. However, and to Arsenal’s great relief, it soon became apparent that while their build up play is excellent, Dortmund’s finishing leaves much to be desired as Lewandowski and Kagawa both missed good opportunities. Arsenal’s best chance in the first half fell to Theo Walcott, after a wonderful through ball from Aaron Ramsey, however the Englishman could not round the Dortmund goalkeeper and the chance was lost.

The opening minutes of the second half again saw Dortmund create chances they failed to capitalize on and slowly but surely Arsenal began to impose themselves on the match. Crucially in the 49^th minute the home side took the lead through that man again, Robin Van Persie. Much will be made of the fact the Dutchman scored once again last night, however this goal owed much to the endeavor of Alex Song, who was simply phenomenal last night. The Cameroonian covered every blade of grass, made tackle after tackle to win the ball back for the Gunners and produced one moment of absolute brilliance to set up Van Persie. Surrounded by three Dortmund players on the left flank, Song managed to power past one and then weave his way between the other two before clipping a perfect cross for Van Persie to nod Arsenal into the lead. The Gunners were now in control and should have been two goals up when Ramsey’s interception released Gervinho. However rather than take an early shot, the Ivorian sold the goalkeeper a dummy, but at the same time allowed Mats Hummel to recover and steal the ball off his toe.

In the 86^th minute, Arsenal sealed their place in the knock out round as Mikel Arteta’s corner was flicked on, at the near post by Vermaelen, for Van Persie to fire into an empty net. At the other end Szczesny was disappointed not to keep a clean sheet as Dortmund grabbed a consolation goal with virtually the last kick of the game, through Kagawa.

Arsenal’s achievement in qualifying from hardly the easiest Champions League group should not be underestimated. While the fate of the other English sides in the competition still hangs in the balance the Gunners can now concentrate on the league and rest players in the final game against Olympiacos. Qualification also adds to the renewed sense of optimism around the Emirates Stadium, hopefully the recent run of fine form will continue against Fulham on Saturday.

Gunners record fifth straight league win

Norwich 1-2 Arsenal

Arsenal recorded their fifth straight league win against Norwich on Saturday, but made hard work of it, as Robin Van Persie once again came to the rescue.

Having started brightly and creating chances at will, particularly through Theo Walcott’s incisive runs on the right, Arsenal could have been at least two goals ahead in the first fifteen minutes. Van Persie did not appear to be wearing his shooting boots during this spell as he squandered a host of chances, while Walcott excellently created space for himself on the edge of the penalty area, only to see his shot acrobatically cleared off the line by Norwich’s Russell Martin. Already frustration was building as Arsenal fans began to hope this would not be one of those days when we control the game for large spells but ultimately do not come away with the three points.

This fear was compounded in the sixteenth minute as completely against the run of play, Norwich took the lead through Steve Morison. A long ball forward (which over the years has been Arsenal’s Achilles heel) was not cleared by Mertesacker as he inexplicably took an age before deciding what to do with the ball, allowing Morison to steal in and fire the Canaries into the lead. Arsene Wenger appeared furious on the touchline, not at his defender but at the officials for failing to spot an apparent foul on the German. Although it is still far too early to make a definitive judgement, Mertesacker has failed to impress me so far. He appears far too slow for this league, his positioning is questionable at times and he does not command the penalty area with his enormous height. Wenger suggested after the match that in other leagues the defender would be given more protection from the referee in this situation, but for an international defender it was a poor mistake.

The team reacted very well following the goal; they could have felt sorry for themselves, but responded admirably, as they created a host of chances once again. Gervinho was denied by the goalkeeper, and Martin, when through on goal, but Arsenal just kept on going and in the 27^th minute were finally rewarded for their endeavour. Walcott brilliantly jinked past the Norwich left back and sent an excellent low cross into the six yard box, which Gervinho tried to turn in with an elaborate pirouette, but missed. Luckily for the Gunners Van Persie was standing right behind the Ivorian to apply the simplest of finishes to bring Arsenal back on terms.

Arsenal started the second half brightly but, as at the start of the first half, could not seem to apply the finishing touch to their sumptuous moves. Gervinho directed a tame headed effort straight at John Ruddy in the Norwich goal while Walcott also shot straight at the goalkeeper. However Arsenal were not to be denied and as Aaron Ramsey dispossessed Martin in the centre of the field, Alex Song hurdled his Arsenal team mate (who had been clipped by the Norwich defender) to power forward and play a perfectly weighted ball through to Van Persie, who exquisitely clipped the ball over the advancing Ruddy to give Arsenal the lead. It was a truly wonderful finish by the Dutchman for his 31^st league goal since January.

Van Persie lifts the ball over Ruddy to give Arsenal the lead

Although Arsenal remained dominant throughout the game, the fact they failed to score a third goal meant Norwich were always in with a chance of stealing a point. Nerves were gangling as Grant Holt’s disgusting attempt to win a penalty, in the dying minutes, with a blatant dive was rightly rewarded with a yellow card by Phil Dowd. Then a few minutes later the referee awarded a free kick to Norwich in a dangerous position, following another dive by the Englishman. However Arsenal held on to secure all three points and following Liverpool’s win against Chelsea, are now level on points with both these clubs. Considering the horrendous start to the season, the Gunners have done extremely well to be in this position after just twelve games. Long may it continue!

Gibbs and Jenkinson injured

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15787965.stm

Arsene Wenger today delivered some unfortunate team news following the international break. Both Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson appear set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Gibbs has undergone a hernia operation which will force him out of action for four to five weeks, while Jenkinson has a stress fracture in his back and has been advised to rest (for how long we don’t know, but you can imagine it is not a short-term injury).

The news of Kieran Gibbs’ injury is softened slightly by the form of Andre Santos, although the defensive side of his game is still questionable and must improve considerably. Jenkinson’s injury however is a significant blow, especially considering he had recently shown signs of great development, particularly against West Brom and coupled with Sagna’s injury it leaves Arsenal bereft of an accomplished right back. The manager has previously suggested that Johan Djourou can fill in here, but his lack of concentration at times can be a real worry (particularly his positioning which Chelsea exploited time and again in the opening minutes of the 5-3 win at Stamford Bridge). Laurent Koscielny is another candidate who could fill this role, however the last time he played in this position was seven years ago and in any case he is performing so well at the heart of defence it would be remiss of Wenger to remove him from the centre back role. If the manager opts for either of these central defenders to solve his right back crisis, Arsenal will not only suffer defensively but also in attack. One of the most impressive aspects of Jenkinson’s play is his willingness to get forward and support the attack with his wonderful crosses, something which Djourou or Koscielny will not be able to replicate.

In previous seasons I have seen Francis Coquelin perform extremely well at right, back for the reserves. He was strong in the tackle and his powerful forward runs provided the attack with the extra dimension that will be lacking in the absence of Jenkinson. However he struggled when deployed in this role for an FA Cup game away to Stoke in January 2010 and Wenger has since admitted that Coquelin is uncomfortable in this position. I would therefore look to the reserve team and Nico Yennaris. Although also primarily a central midfielder, he proved in the Carling Cup win against Bolton that he can perform well at right back, in fact his performance was excellent, winning every ball in the air and exuding confidence. The fact that he is naturally a midfielder will also help with the attacking side of the game which is an essential element of the modern right back role.

Arsene Wenger has a tough decision to make and with the notoriously congested Christmas schedule shortly upon us, it’s a decision which could well have a significant impact on Arsenal’s season.

Arsenal yet to hold Van Persie talks

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/8883098/No-Robin-van-Persie-talks-over-new-contract-until-next-summer-says-Arsenal-chairman-Peter-Hill-Wood.html

Peter Hill-Wood has confirmed the club will not even begin talks over a new deal with Robin Van Persie until the summer, when he will have only one year left on his contract. Does that scenario sound familiar? Clearly the board have not learnt anything from the Samir Nasri debacle last summer. Hill-Wood states it is the player who does not want to open talks with the club until then, but the fact “we are not troubling him” should send alarm bells ringing. This is the best player in our squad at the moment, a truly world class player upon whom so much of Arsenal’s future depends and we are not troubling him?

Apparently Hill-Wood cannot see any reason why Van Persie would not sign a new contract with the club. Well let me give you three reasons. The Dutchman is currently one of football’s hottest properties and therefore can command the highest wage available (he currently earns £80,000 a week while the likes of Tevez are pocketing £250,000). Then there is the fact that over the past few seasons Arsenal have sold at least one of their top players in the summer transfer window significantly weakening the squad, and finally the stark reality that the Gunners can no longer realistically compete for the major titles. Although he has been plagued by serious injuries since his arrival from Feyenoord, you cannot blame Van Persie for wanting to wait to see if Arsenal can match his ambition. He is in his prime and doesn’t want to waste his best years with a club that appears to be perennially in transition.

This is where Ivan Gazidis should come in and really earn his money. After years of frugality Gazidis should have plenty of resources in the bank to make Van Persie the highest paid player in the squad. Many argue that this will set a precedent and others within the squad will demand similar increases in their wage. But I believe it will act as an incentive, if you perform to the same level that Van Persie has been over the past ten months, then you will be in the same position as the Dutchman, reaping the rewards of your endeavor. Arsenal cannot underestimate just how important this deal is for the future of the club, to sit back and simply allow Van Persie to leave in the summer (which unfortunately I believe will happen) will be absolutely disastrous and could well sound the death knell for a team which was once proclaimed as invincible.