End of season awards 2011/2012

The results are in..........

Player of the season

Robin Van Persie, who else? Following the departure of Fabregas, the Dutchman was given the captain’s armband and carried the team on his shoulders for much of the season. Van Persie was simply phenomenal, scoring 30 Premier League goals along the way and becoming a real talisman for the side. Without him who knows where Arsenal would have finished in the league.

Goal of the season

Mikel Arteta’s wonderful free kick at home to Aston Villa deserves honourable mention, but Robin Van Persie’s volley against Everton on the day Arsenal celebrated their 125^th anniversary takes the award.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC_PRz_5B1k&feature=related

It was an outstanding shot, with the ball arriving over his shoulder he still managed to find the bottom corner of the net with unerring accuracy. The captain’s volley away at Liverpool wasn’t bad either and there was his strike into the top corner at home to Tottenham too……

Luckiest goal of the season

Andrey Arshavin only scored one goal this season and it was a direct result of sheer luck. As Michel Vorm attempted to throw the ball forward, it struck his own defender on the back of his legs and fell straight to Arshavin for the Russian to duly slot the ball into the empty net.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAy2S6fW1Uw

 

Best celebration

There can only be one winner, Thierry Henry vs. Leeds. The Arsenal legend came back to the club he loves with many questioning his decision and wondering if he would tarnish his reputation. However Henry proved that class is permanent as he came off the bench against Leeds in the F.A. Cup to a rapturous welcome and duly slotted home the winner as if he had never been away. Cue sheer delirium, as Henry ran towards Arsene Wenger to embrace his mentor before manically beating his chest. A true legend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-H70yLl-DQ

Happy Saint Totteringham’s day

West Brom 2-3 Arsenal

Let's all laugh at Tottenham!!

It may have arrived later than usual this season, but Arsenal supporters world-wide could yesterday celebrate Saint Totteringham’s day once again. This is the beautiful day which each season marks the point at which Tottenham can no longer finish above their illustrious North London rivals. That’s right, such is the dominance enjoyed by Arsenal and the sheer gulf in class between the two clubs that the Gunners’ fans have actually created a patron saint to celebrate the annual event.  This year’s feast day was probably celebrated as vigorously as any other due to the several trials and tribulations which Arsenal have had to face throughout the season.

Tottenham fans despair at yet another year below Arsenal

Before a ball was kicked in anger, the Gunners were shorn of their three most creative midfield players as Nasri and Fabregas left for pastures new while Jack Wilshere, their natural heir, suffered an injury which would keep him out for the entire season. Due to the transfers of Nasri and Fabregas being drawn out for the entire summer, Wenger was unable to quickly recruit replacements and consequently Arsenal endured their worst start to a season in over 50 years, sinking as low as 17^th, with many believing this to be Wenger’s poorest side. Several red cards in the first few games, led to suspensions which further depleted squad numbers and morale was at an all-time low when Manchester United ran riot and humiliated Arsenal 8-2.  Then for two whole months the Gunners were forced to play without any fullbacks as Sagna, Gibbs, Santos and Jenkinson were all out injured. Meanwhile in the other half of North London, Tottenham were enjoying their best season in almost 25years as thanks to their best side since 1961 (when they last won the league) Spurs opened up a large gap over the Gunners. Tottenham’s delusional fans, never slow in having ideas high above their station, even began to talk about winning the league as they mocked Arsenal with the chant of “mind the gap.” A gap which on 26^th February seemed destined to extend to thirteen points,

Poor Gunners fail to win again

Arsenal 3-3Norwich

As the final whistle sounded at Villa Park on Sunday, Arsenal were able to breathe a huge sigh of relief. Despite their best efforts in the hapless draw against Norwich, the Gunners had not managed to gift Tottenham or Newcastle the initiative in the race for third place. With Tottenham also drawing against Aston Villa and Newcastle losing to Manchester City, Arsenal know that a win in the last game of the season away to West Brom will secure that much coveted third place and Champions League football.

Whether or not the Gunners can actually produce a performance capable of winning at the Hawthorns is another matter. In recent games, despite professing their great desire to repay the fans who have stuck by them throughout this season’s constant ups and downs, the players have not been fully focused on the task at hand. Our forward play has been slow and lethargic while defensive mistakes have also crept into our game. Against Norwich, even though Yossi Benayoun’s wonderful strike in the first two minutes gave Arsenal an early lead, the Gunners’ performance in the first half was simply atrocious. The home defence just could not cope with the aerial threat of Grant Holt and as a result, the visitors looked dangerous each and every time they launched an attack. In fact at times the defence was in total disarray and it seemed only a matter of time before Norwich would score.

Grant Holt had already had a shot which seemed destined to hit the back of the net, well blocked by Kieran Gibbs before the inevitable happened on twelve minutes. When Johnny Howson’s low cross was turned towards goal by Wes Hoolahan, it appeared as though Arsenal had escaped once again as the shot was rather weak and straight as Szczesny. Yet with his body behind the ball the young Pole somehow managed to let the ball squirm out of his hands and across the line. The moment summed up Szczesny’s recent dip in form. On Saturday his distribution was appalling, kicking the ball straight out on several occasions as well as not showing any fight or passion whatsoever. Norwich’s second goal highlighted this lack of desire perfectly. For the umpteenth time this season the visitors broke quickly following an Arsenal corner, the ball was fed to Grant Holt, whose shot hit Gibbs and looped over Szczesny and into the back of the net. While the goal was extremely unfortunate, Szczesny didn’t move at all to try to scramble the ball away. In fact he just stood there. With the summer transfer window fast approaching, it is imperative that Wenger signs another goalkeeper, someone who can really fight for the number one shirt and push Szczesny all the way, because at the moment he knows there is nobody at the club good enough to take his place and as a result he has let his high standards slip.

As Norwich kicked off to start the second half, Arsenal had to produce a vastly improved performance to save their season. However, they started the second period in the same lethargic manner which had so marred their first half showing. In fact the visitors should have further increased their lead, as first Simeon Jackson raced through the middle of the park, easily beating Vermaelen before hitting his shot straight at Szczesny, and shortly after this Hoolahan fired just wide. Had Norwich scored with either of these opportunities, there would have been no way back for the home side. In fact these missed chances actually galvanised the Gunners and they finally began to play the football we all know they are capable of as they created chance after chance. Benayoun slid the ball through to Van Persie, whose shot was saved by Ruddy, only for the rebound to fall to Ramsey. The young Welshman, who had another poor game, laid the ball wide to Gervinho whose low cross was met with a feeble effort by Ramsey, with the goal at his mercy. Vermalen then had an effort from close range blocked, before Arsenal finally restored parity. Alex Song picked up the ball on the edge of the box, following Chamakh’s blocked shot and the Cameroon international produced yet another perfectly weighted chipped ball forward to Van Persie who volleyed the ball home.

Arsenal were now on fire as they dominated possession and streamed forward time and time again with a winning goal seeming inevitable. With ten minutes remaining, the Emirates Stadium erupted once again as the ball deflected into the path of Van Persie, for the captain to hit a powerful shot beyond Ruddy and give Arsenal the lead. It was also the Dutchman’s thirtieth goal of the season, equalling Thierry Henry’s club record. Without their talisman this season the Gunners would never be in a position to fight for third place and having taken the lead at this stage of the game it seemed the home side had strengthened their grip on securing Champions League football for next season. However once they did take the lead, the Arsenal players became extremely nervous and seemed unable to maintain possession and see the game out. With five minutes left, Song needlessly gave the ball away, a looped ball forward then saw Morison run through on goal, in acres of space, to send his shot into the far corner and send the Emirates into despair. The Gunners had to push forward once again and with the clock ticking they did create chances to win the game, but ultimately did not take them. Van Persie shot straight at Ruddy and Chamakh headed the rebound wide, before Kyle Naughton clearly pushed Van Persie over, inside the box, as the Dutchman seemed destined to score. However the referee refused to award a penalty and in fairness Norwich also had claims for a penalty earlier in the game.

As the final whistle sounded the Gunners players appeared extremely frustrated, yet they only had themselves to blame. Far too often they have not approached games in a professional and dedicated manner. In the Premier League you cannot afford to take the opposition lightly as you will be punished. Yet once again Arsenal managed to somehow keep their destiny in their own hands, with Sunday’s results going their way. A win at West Brom will seal third place for the Gunners but they must vastly improve their attitude as in recent weeks this has not been good enough. Let’s just hope for a straightforward and uneventful last day of the season. Unfortunately as this is Arsenal Football Club, I sincerely doubt it will be that simple.

Podolski signing confirmed!

Arsenal have today ended months of speculation by confirming the signing of Lukas Podolski.

Speaking to the offical Arsenal website: Manager Arsène Wenger said: “We are delighted to secure the deal for Lukas and see him as an important part of our future. He is a top-class player, a very good finisher and a proven performer at club and international level. He is a very strong player and will provide us with good attacking options."We are happy to have made this signing early and we are looking forward to watching Lukas contribute at the European Championships over the summer, a level where he has already made 95 caps at the age of 26. That is a phenomenal record and just shows his quality as a player.”

 

Speaking about his move, Podolski said: “I’m so happy to be joining Arsenal Football Club and to play in the Premier League. Arsenal is one of the top clubs in Europe with a huge history. There are many top quality players at Arsenal and the style of football which the team plays is fantastic. I’m proud to become an Arsenal player and am looking forward to playing my first match at Emirates Stadium and doing my best for all the Arsenal fans.“I am looking forward to becoming an Arsenal player, but at the moment, my focus is with my current club Cologne. I will give everything I have until the end of season to make sure the team finish as high as possible in the Bundesliga. There will always be a place in my heart for FC Köln.”

Follow the link below to read my thoughts on the move when speculation first arose:

http://www.arsenalpitchside.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/arsenal-to-sign-podolski.html

Point a-piece at the Potteries

Stoke 1-1 Arsenal

Saturday’s battle away to Stoke followed a similar pattern to Arsenal’s recent matches, with the Gunners left extremely frustrated at the final whistle. While Stoke scored with their very first effort on goal, Arsenal played some exquisite football in the first half, but just could not get the second goal to seal all three points. Despite Stoke approaching the game as if it were a cup final, with their players and fans exuding  100% commitment, Arsene Wenger’s side were still able to demonstrate the vast chasm in class and ability that exists between the two sides, despite ultimately failing to win the game. The home support were in fact so pumped up for this game, they managed to leave all decency and decorum behind them as they entered the ground.   Throughout the game they decided to mirror their team’s ugly football by despicably booing Aaron Ramsey for having failed to get his ankle out of the way of Ryan Shawcross’ sickening tackle a couple of years ago. Their behaviour was simply disgusting.

The Gunners begin the game extremely well, pressing the ball high up the pitch and placing the Stoke defence, especially Ryan Shotton, under great pressure. It was Yossi Benayoun’s pressing which led to the first chance on goal in only the sixth minute of the game, as the Israeli stole possession from the Stoke defence before laying the ball off to Van Persie. The Dutchman returned the ball back into Benayoun’s path, however the man on-loan from Chelsea could not connect cleanly with the ball and his shot was easily saved by Begovic. A few minutes later Rosicky’s wonderful cross found the head of Van Persie at the back post, but his downward header was somehow saved by Begovic’s outstretched leg and went behind for a corner. At this stage of the game, with Arsenal moving the ball so slickly there appeared to be only one team who would score first, however a lapse in concentration allowed Stoke to take the lead against the run of play. Sagna, who has not been at his best recently, saw his loose forward pass intercepted and played out wide to Etherington, who had far too much time to pick out a cross. Peter Crouch meanwhile had drifted into the six yard box and was perfectly placed to head the ball past Szczesny, who didn’t even dive.

At a ground where Arsenal have come unstuck so often, it would have been easy for the Gunners to feel sorry for themselves, especially after such a promising start. However the away side refused to give in and continued to play their own game. Within five minutes parity would be restored. Having identified Shotton as a weak link in the Stoke defence, Benayoun pressured him into losing possession once again before releasing Rosicky with a wonderful reverse ball. The Czech international again produced a wonderful cross to pick out Van Persie’s forward run and this time the captain would not be denied, forcing the ball home to level the score.

Benayoun and Van Persie celebrate the captain's equaliser

Arsenal then took control of the game, creating a host of chances, the best of which fell to Gervinho. Bacary Sagna’s excellent cross into the box, only needed a touch from the Ivorian, but with Begovic rushing forward, Gervinho seemed to pull his head away at the last minute and the chance was gone. Then towards the end of the first half, Gervinho burst through on goal but showed a distinct lack of composure as he blazed his shot high and wide. The summer signing from Lille clearly needs to work on this aspect of his game in pre-season as his approach work is very promising; however he does not yet have a killer instinct when in front of goal and tends to miss extraordinary chances.

Although in the second half the Arsenal faithful would have expected their side to kick on and take all three points, the Gunners seemed to run out of steam. They created one glorious opportunity following another cross into the box, however Van Persie could not steer his header wide enough of Begovic and the Stoke goalkeeper was able to gather the ball with ease. Referee Chris Foy then became the centre of attention, missing a clear hand ball on the edge of the box by Shawcross and then denying Arsenal a penalty for a shove on Benayoun as he attempted to run onto a Van Persie pass. With the referee having a clear view of the incident I still cannot understand why he did not award the away side a penalty.

Benayoun appeals in vain for a penalty

Yet despite Chris Foy’s incompetency, Arsenal did not really do enough in the second half to win the game. The high tempo of the first half was no longer there and Van Persie became more and more isolated upfront, making it increasingly harder for him to maintain possession and so the ball kept on coming back at Arsenal. Whenever the Gunners did have possession, Stoke would bring everybody back and defend with ten or even eleven men behind the ball. In such instances it is imperative for Szczesny to release the ball quickly so Arsenal can hit the opposition on the counter attack. However time and time again, the young Pole seemed to hang onto the ball for far too long on Saturday, allowing Stoke’s players time to get back and defend. Also with the game becoming stretched in the final few minutes, Oxlade-Chamberlain should have been brought on to exploit his pace on the wing, yet Wenger opted for the safer option of Andre Santos instead.

In the end, a wonderful goal line clearance from Saga, following a long throw (what else?) from Rory Delap, enabled Arsenal to leave the Potteries with a point. It may well prove to be a vital point too, as the Gunners still have third place in their own hands. Win their last two games against Norwich and West Brom and third place is ours. One thing is certain however, Arsenal simply cannot afford any more slip-ups.

Stalemate at the Emirates

Arsenal 0-0 Chelsea

Arsenal and Chelsea played out a drab 0-0 draw on Saturday, with only the home side creating the few note-worthy chances as the visitors replicated their mid-week performance against Barcelona, by defending deep and in numbers, in the hope of catching the Gunners on the break. Although Roberto di Matteo did make eight changes to the team that had defeated Barcelona, it was a surprise to see Chelsea employ such tactics, given that victory would have propelled them right back into the fight for third place. Despite the negative tactics, it was still extremely disappointing for the Gunners faithful, to witness their team unable to break the deadlock against a side which had rested so many of their first team regulars.

Many would have expected to see a great reaction from the Gunners following their poor display in the defeat to Wigan, as had happened against Manchester City following defeat to QPR. However for most of the first half, they did not impose themselves on the game, as they did not place any pressure on the Chelsea defence when they had possession. The Arsenal players instead stood off them, allowing the visitor’s back line time and space to pass the ball among themselves and effectively slow the game down. Whenever the Gunners did have possession they struggled to create anything of note, greatly missing the injured Arteta, as they lacked the vision and speed of thought to play the right pass at the right time to dissect the Chelsea defence. Aaron Ramsey, who many observers have indicated, looks jaded, continually passed the ball square or back to the defence, negating any potential momentum and allowing Chelsea to get back in numbers and defend. On one of the few occasions he did play the ball forward, in the second half, his perfectly placed cross field ball landed perfectly for Van Persie’s lethal left foot, but the Dutchman did not catch it as he would have wished and sliced his shot harmlessly wide.

This miss epitomised the captain’s day as Arsenal’s best chances seemed to all fall to him, only for Van Persie to miss each and every one. In the first half in particular, Walcott’s inviting cross from a free kick, saw the Dutchman arrive unmarked at the far post. It seemed all he had to do to give the Gunners the lead, was make contact with the ball, but his effort somehow managed to hit the outside of the post.

Towards the end of the first half, Alex Song chipped a ball into the path of Van Persie, whose movement away from the Chelsea defence was magnificent. The Dutchman controlled the ball on his chest, but could only fire his shot straight at Cech. In the second half, Song’s wonderful arched forward ball, took John Terry out of the game and found Van Persie bearing down on goal, but for some strange reason, the Dutchman, usually so calm in front of goal, seemed to panic and rushed his effort when he had time to take a more measured approach. His rushed shot did not even force Cech into a save as it sailed harmlessly and disappointingly wide. Before the end of the game, Arsenal’s talisman for so much of the season would squander another golden opportunity. This time played in by Gervinho on the left hand side of the box, Van Persie feigned to shoot and turned inside Jose Bosingwa. With the goal at his mercy the Emirates crowd were expecting him to shoot, but he instead turned back onto his left foot, subsequently narrowing the angle and allowing Cech to make the save.  Maybe it is a sign that Arsenal rely far too much on their captain to provide the goals, as with the Dutchman seemingly off-form, it is hard to see where the goals will come from. Theo Walcott, who had yet another quiet game, is now injured for the rest of the season while Ramsey has not been able to chip in with his fair share of goals this season despite numerous opportunities. Then there is the fact that Arsenal do not have any back up options for Van Persie, as we all know Chamakh and Park no longer have the confidence of the manager, to produce at this level.

Ultimately, Arsenal’s best chance of the game fell to a central defender. Before the end of the first half, Van Persie’s wonderfully lofted free kick found Koscielny in acres of space in the box. The French international probably had time to bring the ball down and fire home, but he elected to attempt a looped header over Cech. With the Chelsea goalkeeper rooted to the spot, it seemed the ball would sail over him and into the goal, but unfortunately, it hit the crossbar instead.  At the final whistle, the Arsenal players were clearly disappointed and frustrated, as Chelsea had shown no ambition and had been there for the taking. If only the home side and pilled on more pressure then maybe the away side’s stubborn defence would have been breached.

As it is, with Tottenham losing to Queen’s Park Rangers, Arsenal are six points ahead of their North London rivals, although Spurs do have a game in hand. Newcastle are now only three points behind the Gunners, also with a game in hand, although they still have to face Manchester City and Chelsea before the end of the season. The Gunners cannot look for the other teams to drop points in the race for fourth place as there are far too many permutations. All Arsenal can do is regroup and try to win their remaining fixtures which will not be an easy task by any stretch of the imagination, unlike at the end of Saturday’s game, come the end of the season the Gunners must not have any regrets.

A week is a long time in football

Arsenal 1-2 Wigan

What a difference eight days make. On Sunday 8^th April, the referee’s final whistle at the Emirates was greeted with cheers and wild celebrations as the Gunners defeated the world’s richest club. Yesterday’s final whistle only prompted those very same supporters to shake their heads in disappointment and disbelief, having witnessed their side’s defeat to one of the Premier League’s smallest clubs. While Arsenal had been absolutely outstanding against Manchester City, their performance last night was nothing short of abysmal. Not one of those players in red and white could emerge from the game with any credit whatsoever and each and every one of them should hang their heads in shame. The sheer lack of effort was disgraceful and the arrogant approach to this game from the home side was quite frankly disgusting. It’s all well and good geeing yourselves up for a massive game against Manchester City but you have to show every single team in this league respect, you cannot just turn up on the day and expect to win the game, you have to earn the right to play your football and you can only do this by showing passion, commitment, grit and determination.  What makes matters even worse is that this was not a Wigan team who produced a fantastic performance out of the blue; they have been playing extremely well for several weeks now, only losing two of their last eleven games and one of those, against Chelsea, was down to poor offside decisions. In fact Roberto Martinez’s side had also just beaten title chasing Manchester United during the week, so what more of a warning did Arsenal need that this side are no push overs?

The main problem with this Arsenal team is that there are far too many individuals who talk a good game in the press, but then fail to back it up on the pitch. In the build-up to this game I lost track of the amount of times I saw an Arsenal player profess their desire to seal third place and not let the gap between the Gunners and Tottenham disintegrate. Players such as Theo Walcott, who never lives up to any of the numerous statements he makes to the press. For the past week we read this nonsense time and time again, but then come kick-off it was like watching rabbits caught in a car’s headlights as Arsenal just watched Wigan run riot. Bacary Sagna in particular, had his worst game in an Arsenal shirt, allowing Victor Moses to do anything and everything he wanted. Almost every time Moses had the ball, he was able to simply glide past the French right back as if he wasn’t there.

The visitors did not waste any time, racing into a two goal lead within eight minutes and stunning the Emirates crowd. The first goal came as a direct result of an Arsenal corner, something that the Gunners have been susceptible to all season, but Wenger has still not addressed it. A poor Van Persie corner was cleared at the near post to Sagna, whose attempt to head the ball back to the Dutchman was easily cut out, allowing Wigan to counter attack, on the left flank through Jordi Gomez. Although the Arsenal players chased back, they had been caught and no one could get back in time to prevent Gomez from slipping the ball through to Franco Di Santo, who was in acres of space bearing down on goal. Out came Szczesny, to narrow the angle, but rather than stand up until the last possible minute and make himself as big as possible, the Polish international went to ground far too quickly, allowing the ball to flick off his trailing leg, loop over him and back into the path of Di Santo to tap into the empty net. Barely a minute later and it was two-nil, as Moses tormented Sagna once more before playing a low ball into the box, which Szczesny seemed to dive over, allowing Gomez to fire home from close range. With Wigan’s supporters barely totalling 200, each goal was greeted with an eerie silence, as the visiting players celebrated wildly, while the home supporters could not believe the nightmare unfolding before their very eyes. Although several newspapers today have highlighted the fact Arteta was not on the pitch for either goal, due to an ankle injury, and so Arsenal were down to ten men, this is not an excuse for the woeful defending which led to both goals.

Although the home side did seem to respond well to conceding the second goal, as Al-Habsi saved well from a Benayoun header and Vermaelen reduced the deficit with a good headed goal from Rosicky’s cross, before Djourou narrowly volleyed wide, Arsenal did not create anything of note after this short flurry. In fact Al-Habsi did not have to make a save in the entire second half, as the Gunners dominated possession but did very little with it, while Wigan posed the greater threat on the break. Arsene Wenger described his side as running out of petrol in the second half, saying they have given so much over the last few weeks that they simply ran out of steam. Well this excuse doesn’t wash with me, after all on the previous Wednesday, while Wigan fought tooth and nail to achieve an historic 1-0 win against Manchester United, Arsenal had their game, against Wolves, effectively won inside the first ten minutes. Wigan, like QPR before them, simply wanted it more. The Gunners are far too busy congratulating themselves for saving a season which started so badly, with the irony being they haven’t actually achieved anything yet.  If they continue to take their eye off the ball, the hurt and disappointment of failing to qualify for the Champions League will greatly overshadow the optimism which accompanied their recent resurgence. There were times last night when the Arsenal players looked like they were moving in slow motion as Wigan players would knock the ball past them and simply glide effortlessly past and regain possession. Wenger, rather than looking for feeble excuses, complaining about time wasting and then ludicrously not shaking Martinez’s hand at the end of the game, should castigate his own players. “Never again” came the cry following the debacle at Loftus Road, but yet just over two weeks later here we are again. 

Yesterday’s defeat now simply piles more pressure onto the next game against Chelsea. Defeat in this fixture would plunge Arsenal right back into the desperate four way scrap for the two remaining top four positions, just when they had been threatening to pull away and secure third spot. Mikel Arteta seems to have suffered a serious ankle injury which could leave Arsenal having to field Ramsey in the middle of the park. The young Welshman is desperately short of form, appearing to be a fraction slower than everyone else around him and so effectively slowing the game down and not possessing the speed of thought to provide killer through balls. Meanwhile, Robin Van Persie, who has obviously been phenomenal all season, has recently seen his form dip slightly. As the team captain, the Dutchman now needs to come to fore once more and lead his team into the Champions League. Failure to do so now, having fought so hard to recover from such a dreadful start, would be utterly demoralising.