Wicked Deflection

Arsenal 2, Standrad Liege 0 - More Injuries

2009-11-25T13:30:00.002-05:00

If Arsenal's treatment room were run by a for-profit organization, they must be raking it in. No sooner than Carlos Vela and Theo Walcott came back into the team, William Gallas and Kieran Gibbs go in to take those two spaces.

The victory against the Belgians is very nice but expensive. The broken metatarsal will keep Gibbs off for three months, meaning we probably won't see him again until the last month of the season. Gallas' injury looks pretty bad: his right eye was swollen shut and he was woozy for the last 15 minutes of the first half. I just hope that Gallas can play this weekend against Chelsea because Sylvestre doesn't fill Arsenal supporters with confidence. Speakingo confidence, why did Armand Traore look so nervous last weekend against Sunderland. He will have to do much better or Sylvestre (yikes!) or Eboue will have to play there. Hmmm, I wish we still have Mathieu Flamini to fill in at the left back spot.

Denilson looks pretty good for his first game back. I feel that his shot that scored from 30 yards is what Arsenal need because it gives variety to the way the teeam play. Now that there is a lack of size and strength up front, these shots can help open up the clogged area in front of the opposition's goal.

Samir Nasri looks very happy to be playing up front. He was lively and energetic last night. His chance for goal came from a defensive blunder but his shot that scored that goal was first-class.

Overall there was much pretty and intricate passing and it was clear that the players were not going all out because they had Chelsea on their minds. The same pretty passing was evidenced at the Sunderland game but nothing came of it last weekend. I hope that passing will give us a bushel of goals this coming weekend.

Sunderland 1, Arsenal 0 - Van Persie was missed, but Arsenal weren't too bad

2009-11-21T20:14:00.003-05:00

Arsenal lost the match today, but they didn't look too bad.

They lined up something like this:

Rosicky Eduardo Nasri
Ramsey Song Fabregas
Traore Vermaelen Gallas Sagna
Almunia

I love the look of the side with Rosicky in there. I'm a fan of those starting players, as well as the three subs Carlos Vela, Andre Arshavin, and Theo Walcott.

Arsenal were playing well, and looked like they would score, but they just lacked the cutting edge they needed to get a goal. Van Persie is out injured, and his absence hurt Arsenal. Eduardo had a chance or two, but having a rare start up front, he wasn't as sharp as Van Persie has been in recent matches.

Sunderland got their goal late in the match from a corner kick. There wasn't necessarily anything terribly wrong with Arsenal's defending, but Sunderland had enough luck and effort to bundle a goal. According to the script, that should have been Sunderland's consolation goal in a 2-1 loss.

The one complaint Arsenal Supporters will probably have is that the players were a bit too casual. Sunderland were there for the taking, but Arsenal's patient build-up play was perhaps a bit too patient.

On paper it looks bad: 3 points dropped, and falling off the pace in the title race. In practice, Arsenal looked ok. They'll score goals in most matches in which they play that well, and win most of those matches.

Fabregas and Song were a couple of Arsenal's best players. I really liked the look of Song, and if we compare his performance to that of France's two Diarras against Ireland, it's night and day. International starters they might be, but the Diarras were a pathetic spectacle, Lassana in particular, whereas Song looked great today: good passing, great tackling, and a couple nice runs.

For me, it was against the odds that Arsenal didn't score. They always looked comfortable and in control of the match, and it always felt like a goal or two would come.

It didn't, and that's a dent to their title challenge, but for me, a loss is much more palatable when there's a decent performance, and I really don't mind that the players didn't seem overly bothered. It's a long season, and if they keep up their good form, they'll be in the title chase, and some of those matches near the end of the season will be wonderful to watch. We don't need a panic to set in that would wreck the side's confidence, and upset the nice passing game.

I live for the nice passing game.

The Guardian's David Hytner on France-Ireland

2009-11-15T21:47:00.004-05:00

I don't normally post about France on this site, although I do follow them closely and contribute to the France World Cup Blog, but I enjoyed the first paragraph of this story so well that I'm posting a link to it: The Guardian's David Hytner on France-Ireland.

Now, to read the rest of the article.

France could secure a spot in the 2010 World Cup on Wednesday if they win or draw in the second leg at home.

Wolves 1, Arsenal 4

2009-11-07T14:46:00.003-05:00

Four more from the Arsenal. The first half ended 3-0.

Arsenal Captain Francesc Fabregas is in a rich vein of form, and he rounded out the first-half scoring.

Here are the Goals:

28' Eduardo/Wolves Own Goal
35' Eduardo/Wolves Own Goal
45' Cesc
66' Arshavin

Craddock scored a header from a corner to get an 88' consolation. It was a nice header, and I think it was the otherwise excellent Vermaelen that he shook off. Did I see that right? There was a tangle, but it fell perfectly for Craddock, who was basically unmarked, and he pummeled it into the back of the net. That was good for the home crowd, who were really singly loudly.

This wasn't Arsenal at their most delicious. It wasn't filet medium rare, but it was a great dinner nonetheless.

Cesc was lively in midfield, really pushing forward, and he is a fan favorite at the moment, to say the least.

Eduardo doesn't look happy, and who can blame him? He wants to be playing in that Van Persie role - the starting striker. His part-time role as a winger whose goals all get credited as opposition own goals is not what he had in mind for this season.

Arsenal looked a bit off without Song, but then Diaby got crocked early on and Song played. Ramsey was the surprise starter, along with Eduardo.

Great stuff from the Arsenal!

Have Arsenal peaked or plateaued?

2009-11-07T07:54:00.002-05:00

Arsenal scored 4 in midweek in the Champions League, and are 4 points clear at the top of their group table.

Since losing away to Man City 4-2, Arsenal are unbeaten in 12 matches (League, League Cup, and CL). That includes 10 wins, three matches in which Arsenal have scored 3 goals, two with 4 goals, and one with 6 goals.

It's a really decent run of form, and it's going to be a real pain when it ends.

Away to Wolves today, I'm hoping for another 6-goal haul.

Here are the two we've had so far this season:

Matchday 1: Everton 1, Arsenal 6
Matchday 7: Arsenal 6, Blackburn 2

How about a clean sheet today's 6-goal haul?

The Table 10 Games In - Arsene Wenger's "First Trend"

2009-11-01T13:55:00.009-05:00

Taken from PremierLeague.com.

That's your Arsenal in 3rd.

Could be better, but look at Liverpool!

A couple right bastards in front of us. Typical lot.

This is what Arsene Wenger calls "the first trend."

Got to do better to win the league.

Soccernet: Spurs were shite.

The Guardian's Kevin McCarra: Spurs take the headlines by being so shite.

Arsenal 3, Tottenham 0

2009-10-31T15:06:00.003-04:00

Good from the Arsenal. I'm popping online about 5 hours after the match, and none of the blogs I read have updated.

Van Persie scored the opener. This match was available stateside in HD. ESPN is doing a good job with their EPL coverage - much better than they had done with their CL coverage.

Sagna put in a cross, and Van Persie stretched to get a touch on it, and he scored.

As they were showing replays of the goal, as well they should, Cesc went through to score another. The commentary is actually from the stadium, so they let us know, before we could see, that Cesc was up to something. The camera cut from Van Persie's replay to Cesc unloading into the back of the net.

My word, I was giddy.

Sagna and Van Persie scored a third goal similar to the first one, except this time the referee played advantage when no one expected him to, and it gave Arsenal an opportunity. Spurs made a mess of the would-be clearance.

More goals from the Arsenal would have been even better, but the points in the league are the crucial thing.

Arsenal-Tottenham Satruday Morning on ESPN 2

2009-10-30T13:09:00.002-04:00

Arsenal won midweek in the Carling Cup 2-1 over Liverpool, so Liverpool are out, and Arsenal advance.

Tomorrow morning is the North London Derby, and it's on ESPN 2 (8:30 a.m. Eastern, I believe).

The consecutive draws, in the two matches before the Carling Cup victory, were a pain, especially the loss of the 0-2 lead against West Ham in the league.

From an Arsenal perspective, Mannone gifting West Ham a goal was unfortunate, and a knock against him in his efforts to become first choice.

Almunia made a string of mistakes to start the season, and Fabianski is injured again, so it could be Mannone starting in the morning.

I have been a vocal supporter of Mannone, but foremost, I want Arsenal to have a solid keeper. Overall, I've liked the look of Mannone, and from what I've seen, he still looks like he might be the best option. Hopefully Arsene Wenger will manage the situation well.

Not to be sadistic, but I'm hoping for Tottenham misery tomorrow. An Arsenal goal-fest would put me in good stead for the rest of the weekend.

Manuel Almunia on the Comeback Trail!

2009-10-27T12:27:00.003-04:00

Well, last Sunday's match was forgettable - for supporters only; I'd have the players never forget it, but I've decided to forget about it. In fact, I haven't even watched it. It's still a pile of 1's and 0's in the DVR. Maybe someday when I feel really hyper-happy, then I'll use it to calm me down a bit.

The Carling Cup match is tomorrow at the Emirates against Liverpool. Many of our youngsters are expected to play along with players returning from injury. One player I predict will play is Manuel Almunia whom many have guessed is out of favor with Arsene Wenger after having been out for several weeks and has sat on the bench while the formerly third-choice Mannone started ahead of him for the past two league matches.

I think it's time Almunia should be brought back. Assuming that his relationship with his manager has not broken down, he is still the best and most experienced of Arsenal's keepers. He has done pretty well since our beloved Jens Lehmann really went mad and we need a pair of steady gloved hands between our goal posts to bolster our hope of trophies this season. So I think Almunia will play tomorrow and against Spurs on Saturday; I don't think Mannone would be able to handle Spurs. He has been playing against teams from the lower half of the league table and he has not instilled a lot of confidence, so why take the risk playing him when we play stronger teams.

I've asked my wife to bake a pie with lots of humble filling for Thursday, just in case.

A(rrghh)lkmaar 1 - Arsenal 1

2009-10-22T01:40:00.002-04:00

That was disappointing! Letting an inferior team equalize to force a draw at the dead brings back painful memory for a lot of Arsenal supporters.

Ronald Koeman did what he said to the press: his team maintained ball possession against Arsenal and actually had slightly more possession overall in the match. Even though Alkmaar did very little with the ball, they were patient but industrious so they deserve a lot of credit and the draw.

Arsenal, on the other hand, scored a goal and relaxed, especially towards the end of the match. Overall, everyone worked hard and did enough to get the win but one moment of naivete undid 93 minutes of hard work. But since Arsenal still leads the group and really only need one more win the secure qualification for the knock-out stage, this set-back is really not that big a deal. How the deflated feeling after dropping two points affects the team in the Premier League is more of a concern. Hopefully the manager can inject some shame and a sense of urgency in the team so that the same mistake won't happen again.

Alex Song was patrolling the midfield and blunting Alkmaar's attacks throughout and match. Abou Diaby was playing well again and contributing. Eboue was full of energy. Robin van Persie continues leading the line effectively, getting the assist for Fabregas' goal.

There is no doubt that the CL group stage can be low in the top teams' priority; maintaining focus on the Premier League should be foremost in the minds of Arsenal's players. Let's hope this weekend's encounter with West Ham provides the needed bounce-back!

Arsenal 3, Birmingham City 1

2009-10-19T10:31:00.002-04:00

That was an oddly hard game to find. I had to watch it on tape delay on Arsenal.com.

Two quick goals in the first half from Van Persie and Diaby were enough for the points.

Walcott started ahead of Arshavin, but Walcott went off injured in the first half, and Arshavin played the last hour, scoring the third in the 85th minute, I think it was.

Seb Larsson obstructed Mannone from a corner, and Birmingham scored. Mannone didn't clear the danger, and the referee didn't call the foul.

For Mannone to take over Italy's number one spot from Gigi Buffon, he's going to have to clear those - I'd still have him in there for Arsenal right now.

Here's roughly how they lined up:

Rosicky Van Persie Walcott
Diaby Song Fabregas
Gibbs Vermaelen Gallas Eboue
Mannone

Song had the assist for Van Persie's opener. Rosicky assisted for Diaby's goal,and Cesc assisted for Arshavin's goal.

That makes a few wins in a row now, and puts Arsenal among the leaders, which makes things interesting.

Alumunia v Mannone

2009-10-16T13:44:00.002-04:00

Wenger said:

"Carlos Vela has not landed, so he will not be involved. We lost Nicklas Bendtner today in training from a recurrence of his groin. Eduardo is not back yet, because he still has a thigh injury."

"Lukasz Fabianski is not completely back. We hope he will be very soon, because he has trained normally. Gael Clichy has a small ankle injury, and I leave him out completely tomorrow, but Abou Diaby should be okay."

"We have a few knocks and bruises which we discovered in training when the players come back."

"But (Manuel) Almunia is back in the squad and available. Cesc Fabregas had a few personal issues but they are going better now. He is available for tomorrow. Arshavin is back and available as well."

Almunia is back.

That makes it a straight choice between Almunia and Mannone.

I'm just one, but I put my vote in for Mannone. I like Almunia, but he'd been a bottler this season, and Mannone looks likes a top keeper in there.

Club Football is Back!

2009-10-15T16:03:00.004-04:00

Arsenal are hosting Birmingham City on Saturday. Club football is back after a two-week international break. Not all of Arsenal's Internations are back yet but here's what we know so far:

Gael Clichy - doubtful because of ankle injury
Abou Diaby - has minor ankle knack but looks to be able to play
Eduardo - Not available
Cesc Fabregas - missed Spain's match midweek but will be available

The status of Robin van Persie, Andrei Arshavin, William Gallas (I heard he had two teeth knocked out in a match?) Thomas Vermaelen, Tomas Rosicky, Aaron Ramsey, Bacary Sagna, Alex Song, and Emmanuel Eboue are not yet known (are there any more?). I hope all of them will come back from their national team duty unscathed. Previously injured players are:

Manuel Almunia - Wenger: "50-50"
Lukasz Fabianski - available
Denilson - not available
Samir Nasri - nearing his comeback; may have a chance to be in the team for the next Carling cup match

Arsenal's opponent this weekend are Birmingham City. In the corresponding fixture last season, Birmingham forced a 1-1 draw at the Emirates despite Arsenal having the vast majority of possession and build-up plays. Birmingham have not been doing well this season, especially on the road, but their keeper Maik Taylor seems to always play well against Arsenal so complacency has no place in this weekend's match.

On paper, Arsenal have too much firepower for Birmingham to handle but a combination of history (remember Eduardo's leg-break?) and players having two days of rest after international break could present Arsenal supporters some frustrating moments. Whether the Birmingham's new owner (Carson Yeung) and his pledge of giving Alex McLeish 40MM pounds to spend in January has any effect on their team is a factor is hard to know but that McLeish can put out a very disciplined team is a well-known fact. Arsene Wenger will have a couple of very busy days to prepare his team for this fixture.

I am plumping for a 4-1 home win for Arsenal. A clean sheet is a bit much to hope for judging from recent performances but if the players are up for it, Arsenal should have no trouble putting the ball into the net.

Come on, you Gunners!

Arsenal 6, Blackburn 2 - Arsenal stunning going forward, a joy to watch

2009-10-04T22:53:00.006-04:00

I caught the match on tape delay, and it's quite late Sunday evening, but I'm buzzing from that Arsenal performance. It was wonderful.

Blackburn opened the scoring in the first five minutes. Their goalkeeper, former England starter Robinson, played a really nice long ball from a freekick, and a Blackburn player had a perfect looping header to score.

It was very disappointing to concede, and I was worried for Mannone, because maybe he could have done better, but Vermaelen could have done better as well to win the header.

Vermaelen made amends in sensational fashion scoring an incredible strike to level the scores. He can hit it sweetly with his left. It was from distance, but it was emphatic.

Then Arsenal's defense was caught out again. Gallas defended way too casually, I thought, and was sure that he didn't need to pressure the ball because he'd be able to block any shot. He did get a bit of a block, but just enough to deflect the ball in for a goal. Blackburn were up 2-1.

Arsenal had already looked great going forward, and that's the second match in a row, after the Champions League match during the week, in which Arsenal have looked fantastic. This kind of form is a real peak. Maybe it won't be sustained, but these last couple matches have been as good, or at least very nearly, as any of the Arsenal football I've seen in my ten years as a supporter, at least they're performances that I've enjoyed as much as any others, especially today.

There was an incredible performance right at the end of the season a few years back when Arsenal beat Everton 7-0. Everton had actually just secured 4th in the league and qualified for the Champions League, but Arsenal's form carried them to an emphatic victory.

I don't think any of those players are around anymore, but the current set of players put in a performance today that I enjoyed just as much as that one.

One thing that these two matches this week have had in common is the lineup. I believe the only difference was at right back - it was Eboue in midweek and Sagna today:

Arshavin Van Persie Rosicky
Diaby Song Cesc
Clichy Vermaelen Gallas Sagna
Mannone

Van Persie scored the equalizer to make it 2-2. Diaby was margianlly involved in some of this good buildup, and by that I mean he passed the ball to Cesc. Cesc was fantastic today.

I'm buzzing too much to write well. Here are the Arsenal goals.

Thomas Vermaelen (17)
Robin Van Persie (33)
Andrei Arshavin (37)
Cesc Fábregas (57)
Theo Walcott (75)
Nicklas Bendtner (89)

Highlights here.

Arsenal 2, Olympiacos 0 - One-Way Traffic

2009-09-30T00:02:00.004-04:00

Arsenal now have 6 points from two Champions League group-phase matches.

I quite enjoyed the match.

They lined up like this:

Arshavin Van Persie Rosicky
Diaby Song Cesc
Clichy Vermaelen Gallas Eboue
Mannone

There's a lot of good players in that line-up, and Olympiacos were on the ropes for the full 90 minutes. The games kept its edge by staying 0-0 until late in the second half.

Rosicky looks like he's still getting match fit, but he's such a good player, it's great to have him in there.

Diaby is a least-favorite player among the Arsenal Supporters these days, but I still like him. There's not much I didn't like about tonight's first 11. I can see that Diaby could do a little more, but I think he offers more than potential to the side, although I think most Supporters agree that he has plenty of potential, and I think that's partly why they're so impatient with him.

Song has become so reliable. He was a big part of the match being one-way traffic (although the passing from Olympiacos being really poor helped too).

The star of the match was the Olympiacos goalkeeper. I'm pretty sure he's the keeper who played for Greece when they won the Euros. He made a lot of saves, but Arsenal were mostly hitting shots he could easily reach, unfortunately.

I've eviscerated Eboue for the last two or three seasons (after initially having liked him when he first got a run at right back). I hate the sight of players exaggerating injury, which was one of Eboue's specialties along with diving and starting altercations. He was a huge embarrassment, but he's having a pretty decent season this time around, and I thought he did really well at right back tonight. He's a poor finisher, so he can be disappointing at right forward, but as an attacking right back he's in his element.

When the goal finally came (right after Diaby went off, I fully realize), it was Cesc, to Eduardo, to Van Persie and in. Great goal. Not much different than several other build-ups Arsenal had earlier in the match, but Eduardo got the decisive pass spot-on at the point that the previous build-ups had broken down.

The best chances in the first half fell to Cesc. He hit the bar with one chance, and there was another good chance that I don't remember as well. He had a third good chance after it was 2-0. But Cesc doesn't need to score to be a big contributor to the team, and he was great in midfield.

The players who need to score to keep up morale, including their own, are Van Persie and Arshavin, so it was brilliant when Arshavin got a second goal for Arsenal (even if he was a bit offside).

If you only see highlights of the goals, don't be misled. Arsenal created many more good opportunities than those, and it was great entertainment.

Other random notes:

Mannone did get a chance to make a nice save, from a rare Olympiacos corner. I've beaten on Arsene before about this, and it occurred to me again: Arsenal had about 10 corners. None of them came to anything useful that I can remember. Olympiacos had approximately one corner, and it required a save from Mannone. Why can't Arsene get more out of corner kicks?

Not that I want to expend much energy beating on Arsene after he sent out such a nice first 11.

Bendtner was the player who lost out. He was just in a car crash, and although I read that he'll be available for the weekend, he was out injured for this match.

Walcott is still out. Arsenal will have to field 12 players when he's back if I'm going to have all my favorites on the pitch together.

Eduardo did great coming on as a sub. He was decisive. Ramsey got a short run, and Carlos Vela got a run at left midfield, as opposed to one of the forward spots, which was a bit of a curiosity, adding to the fun.

Fulham 0, Arsenal 1 - Man-of-the-Match to Mannone

2009-09-26T15:41:00.009-04:00

At the start of today's match, Vito Mannone was Arsenal's third-choice goalkeeper, and speculation was rife that he might soon be relegated to fourth choice. His man-of-the-match performance against Fulham might have changed that.

I wouldn't be at all surprised now to see Mannone have a run in the side as first-choice keeper.

He got his chance because first-choice keeper Manuel Almunia had a chest infection and second-choice keeper Fabianski is out injured.

At the end of the match, the broadcasters presented a graphic showing the number of shots on target: Fulham 11, Arsenal 4.

Mannone had a fantastic match making saves.

Arsenal have been the better side on numerous occasions in recent seasons, but dropped points because of the opposing goalkeeper's stand-out performance (Brad Friedel comes to mind).

Suddenly Arsenal have a keeper who can produce that kind of performance.

Arsenal had me worried. They looked like they couldn't string anything together, but eventually, in the second half, Cesc played a nice long ball to Van Persie, and Van Persie finished ruthlessly. Bedntner also had a couple chances, but his finishing was poor. Eboue had a chance late on and couldn't convert.

The overall performance from Arsenal was sub-par, so to come away with 3 points is a welcomed surprise, and it really feels like something new to have a keeper save us from dropping points when we're otherwise being overrun.

Arsenal bloggers I've read were worried about Mannone. They thought he was shaky, and a lot of them probably won't be convinced until he has a long run of good performances as first choice. I'd seen far too little of him to form an opinion, but in the one match that he did play for the first team, at the very end of last season, Arsenal had an easy win, and the journalist in the post-match interview mentioned to Arsene that he thought Mannone had been excellent for the reserves. That stuck in my memory, so I was cautiously optimistic when he got his chance this season.

Without Mannone, it could have been a 4-1 loss, and it would have felt like a pretty fair result. The other Arsenal players started congratulating him more and more after each save.

The sequence when Arsenal did score was really good play. Great from Cesc. Even better from Van Persie. I think Song was involved as well, winning the ball in midfield.

And that one good moment was all that was required, because Mannone took care of the rest.

League Cup - Arsenal 2, WBA 0

2009-09-22T22:51:00.014-04:00

Arsenal have done it again in the League Cup.

It wasn't the 6-0 that they had at this point last season, but a couple great late goals, both involving Ramsey and substitute Carlos Vela, have Arsenal through to the next round. The 56,000 supporters in attendance and the rest of us watching on Arsenal TV Online (ATVO) enjoyed it tremendously.

Jack Wilshere was great, not at his very best, like he was in pre-season, but he was described by the Match Commentators, at least before Vela came on and Ramsey got involved in Arsenal's two goals, as Arsenal's best player.

Fairly early in the match, Wilshere was involved in a clash with a West Bromwich Albion (WBA) player, and the player earned a red card. The player was actually a former Arsenal youngster: Jerome Thomas. He pushed Wilshere in the face. The referee was keeping an eye on the situation, because there had been a tough tackle right beforehand, and he was looking to see if one of them was really injured. The referee produced the red card right away.

As far as red card incidents go, it was pretty straight forward.

It did show a little bit of a different side of Jack Wilshere. Evidently he can irritate opponents.

He's a little guy, but he took Jerome Thomas down with a shoulder-to-shoulder hit. The ball had changed hands a couple times before Wilshere caught what someone described as an elbow in the face. It didn't look all that bad, but Wilshere didn't appreciate the sentiment. He initially tried to exaggerate how much he was hurt, but when the referee was clearly not going to call anything, and play moved upfield, Wilshere gave up holding his face, and asked Thomas what he was on about. That's when Thomas pushed him in the face and got sent off.

What a substitute appearance for Vela. He was great. He actually made his best contribution in the opening goal that Sanchez Watt scored. He had a sweet touch (I could only tell how sweet it was in the replays) to set up his strike. It was right at the keeper, but it was hit hard, so the keeper had to parry it, and it fell nicely for Watt to score.

Watt has a baby face. People talk about Wilshere looking young, but Watt looks even younger.

He looks like quite a good player, Watt. He was involved quite a bit, and scored the winner. He was also just on the bench for Arsenal's first Champions League match, so he's close to Wilshere in the first-team pecking order.

One player who's ahead of both of them is Ramsey, and he had the passes out of midfield for both of the goals.

The first was a little chip to Vela.

The second was even better. Ramsey got the ball from Gilbert, and played a first-time pass on to substitute Randall.

Randall had to start on the bench and watch Coquelin complete the 3-man midfield with Ramsey and Wilshere, but when he got that ball from Ramsey, he made a case for himself to be first choice with a sweet chip that was just kept out by the bar. When the defense didn't clear it, Vela walked it in.

It was an extraordinary sequence, and it's just like Arsenal's League Cup side to produce something like that.

Here's how they lined up:

Traore Watt Sunu
Wilshere Coquelin Ramsey
Gibbs Silvestre Senderos Gilbert
Szczesny

Gilbert passed to Ramsey in the build-up to both goals.

Vela came on for Sunu, which was a big upgrade. Sunu will need another chance to impress.

Randall came on for Coquelin. There's not much to choose between these two. They're both pretty good, but it seems like Coquelin is the hotter prospect.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Randall transfer somewhere and do really well.

Barazite come on for Traore. Traore is much closer to the first team than Barazite.

So the big players for Arsenal were Vela, Ramsey, Watt, Randall, Gilbert, and Wilshere. The goalkeeper, Szczesny, had a good match. It was mostly quiet for Gibbs, Silvestre, and Senderos against 10-man WBA.

Arsenal 4, Wigan 0

2009-09-19T20:39:00.008-04:00

Great result for Arsenal today at home against Wigan.

This type of match can divide opinion, because the performance wasn't always as good as the result.

The match will live in the memory for the performance of Arsenal's new central defender Thomas Vermaelen. He's a good player. He scored the first two goals, his 3rd and 4th of the season. The first was a bullet header from a set play, a Van Persie corner I think, and the second was a sweet, sweet strike from the edge of the box, with his preferred left boot. Vermaelen's defending was also top shelf.

Clichy finally came up with a decisive piece of attacking play, and did something I've rarely seen him do: he found his way over to the right side of the pitch. Havoc was on the cards. It almost looked like he could shoot himself, or pick out a nearby teammate for a goal, but instead he cut the ball back to the left side of the box where Eduardo was unmarked. Eduardo's first shot was saved, but he got a follow-up that took a deflection off of Eboue and went in. It might have gone in without the deflection.

The fourth came at the death when Bendtner did well on the end-line, and Cesc made a great run to meet his cross.

I took Cesc's non-celebration as an indication that he agreed that the overall performance was a bit off. Given how poor Wigan looked, it seemed like Arsenal should have put the match beyond their reach much earlier.

Wigan couldn't string anything together. They offered very little resistance, other than conceding fouls 20 yards from goal.

It wasn't 90 minutes of the beautiful game, but overall 4-0 was about right, and Arsenal did well to get the 3rd and 4th goals. Cesc and Clichy, who were a bit below par for parts of the match, did well in the end.

I'm not a fan of Eboue as a right forward. By his standards he's having a good season, but he had a couple really decent scoring chances in the first half and couldn't capitalize.

Arsenal have so many players unavailable. Rosicky came on as a sub. He's a player I really like. He's so injury prone, that I assume he'll be unavailable again soon.

They lined up something like this:

Eduardo Van Persie Eboue
Diaby Song Fabregas
Clichy Vermaelen Gallas Sagna
Mannone

I love the 433. The front 5 change positions all the time, which creates all sorts of possibilities.

If everyone in the squad is fully fit, a first 11 along the lines of the following might be the best option to placate my insatiable appetite for Champagne football:

Arshavin Van Persie Walcott
Rosicky Song Fabregas
Gibbs Vermaelen Gallas Sagna

Almunia's been having a poor season, so I don't have a strong opinion about who should be playing in goal. Mannone has looked shaky at times, but Almunia was even shakier when he first got games for Arsenal, the way I remember it. Fabianski is a third option (Fabianski (injured) and Almunia (sick) are both out right now).

Likewise, at leftback I don't feel strongly that Clichy should be dropped, but he's been so shaky, and Gibbs seems more likely to produce a decisive pass, or even get a goal. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Arsene Wenger has thought about making this switch. Clichy has been a good player for a long time, so it's not a decision he would take lightly, even with Clichy passing the ball to the other team so often.

I've been a fan of Diaby, and I think that he could be a good player, but he put two or three balls in the stands today. It was shocking. Nasri (out injured) is another option for left midfield, and he would probably do pretty well there, but I think a fully-fit Rosicky is a better player.

Ramsey was the first sub to come on today, around the 66-minute mark, for Diaby. He's still just 18, but he's also a candidate for one of those three midfield slots. A fit Nasri, though, is probably a better option at this point. Denilson, who is injured right now, which is rare for him, is another option, and he's usually fairly steady, probably behind Nasri in the pecking order, but ahead of Ramsey.

I like Eduardo as a sub. He's skillful in the box, and can score goals. Sometimes I feel like his passing game and build-up play isn't as well suited to producing 90 minutes of Champagne football as Arshavin and Walcott.

There's League Cup football on Tuesday. A mix of Arsenal's 2nd and 3rd strings (most likely) will be hosting West Bromwich Albion. I love watching Arsenal in the League Cup because that's where some of the best flowing football has been played in the last few seasons. The match after that is Arsenal away to Fulham, in the late Saturday kickoff.

That 4-0 result from today has a nice, glossy look to it.

DVR Mishap - Evidently Fortuitous

2009-09-17T09:15:00.007-04:00

Here in the US, we've had a huge increase in easy-access to Champions League Football to start this season. The channel that first brought us the English Football we now enjoy, in the late 90s I believe, Fox Sports World/Fox Soccer Channel/FSC, has now taken over Champions League coverage from ESPN, who tended to have shockingly poor and limited coverage.

FSC is showing many matches through the night on tape delay. Getting caught up in the excitement, I set my digital video recorder (DVR) to record them all.

The DVR ran out of memory and stopped recording during the showing of the Real Madrid match, so when the Arsenal match was shown on tape delay, my DVR didn't record it.

I got back home while the Arsenal match was being shown, well into the second half, to find my DVR on the fritz. I decided to watch what was left of the match, rather than wait for a re-broadcast, and tuned in to see Arsenal 2-1 down.

I think Ramsey had just come on.

And it was a strange match, with an oddly subdued commentator. The guy was obviously knowledgeable, and had been watching plenty of Arsenal football, but he seem disinterested, as if he were really looking forward to finishing his shift so he could go home.

And Standard Liege and their supporters weren't much more interested themselves. Arsenal were completely controlling the game. It seemed very mysterious that a side that looked so poor could have scored two goals.

In the few minutes I watched, Arsenal scored twice, had a shot cleared off the line, brought a great save from the keeper, and very nearly set up Bendtner for his 2nd, and Arsenal's 4th.

I've read Goonerholic and Arseblog, two reliable Arsenal bloggers, and they made a convincing case that I was lucky to miss most of the match because Arsenal were mostly poor up until the point that I started watching.

Even while I was watching, it was more a case of Standard Liege looking really poor than Arsenal looking especially sharp.

For Arsenal's equalizer, it looked like the referee missed an Alex Song handball in the build-up. Vermaelen bundled it in for his 2nd Arsenal goal.

The winner came from a corner kick that fell right to Eduardo's knee where he scored from point blank range. Terrible defending.

Bendtner had scored Arsenal's opener right before halftime after a good run and assist from Diaby.

Eduardo had actually assisted for the opposition's opening goal, playing a backheel to one of their players on the edge of the box, although I was pained to see Mannone not make the save.

Their second goal also come in the first five minutes. It was a really soft penalty called against Gallas.

Anyway, it's a very welcomed 3 points to start to the Champions League group phase. Usually around 10 points or so from the 6 group-stage matches is enough to advance to the next round, so 3 points is a great start.

Man City Hammer Arsenal 4-2

2009-09-12T14:06:00.006-04:00

Arsenal were handed a beating today in Manchester, making it 0 points from 6 away to Manchester this season.

Man City ran out 4-2 winners against an average Arsenal side.

Arsenal showed a soft underbelly, and were well beaten.

The misery for Arsenal Supporters was comprehensive. Old boy Adebayor was named man-of-the-match, stamped Van Persie is the face with no repercussions, scored, and ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal Supporters; Old boy Kolo Toure is now Man City captain; and Craig Bellamy, so often surplus to requirements for his sides, got at Arsenal's soft underbelly today and carved us open.

Arsenal had a couple consolation goals from Van Persie and Rosicky.

Arsenal's defense just couldn't stand up to City. They scored the first from a headed set-piece. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th came in quick succession from counter-attacks - the type of goal Arsenal normally prefer to score rather than concede.

Clichy was exposed. Vermaelen showed his limitations. Almunia looked out of sorts.

Disgraceful performance.

Two losses on the trot.

All 4 Man City goals were traumatizing, and it was a humiliation at their stadium for the 2nd season in a row.

Manchester City have the beating of Arsenal in them, and it was awful to see today.

Man City Preview

2009-09-11T14:33:00.002-04:00

Up against Toure and Adebayor - two of our former best players, now on the newly-rich Manchester City, but Vermaelen is going to shut that down.

Adebayor will be made to whinge.

Van Persie, if he plays, will bang in a goal, and the Arsenal will score at least two, and allow at most 1.

Manchester City 1, Arsenal 3, I predict.

Don't think the boss would sic Wilshere on 'em, do ya?

Could be 4, then.

Is Adding Senderos Enough?

2009-09-02T17:34:00.004-04:00

The transfer window shut yesterday. The EPL's top 4 clubs did not make any last-minute transfers. Is this a symptom of the current "economic climate"? Hard to say but the implication is clear: besides the big-name transfers, the top 4 teams will look much the same as last season.

For Arsenal, large portions of the squad remain the same; even Philip Senderos, whose rumored move to Everton did not materialize before the close of the window, is a familiar player to most Arsenal supporters. One could say that the presence of Senderos obviates any need to sign a new center half but there are those who don't have much confidence in the young Swiss and still are thinking that Arsene Wenger should buy one. The reality is that Senderos or whoever is bought will be the fourth choice center half barring injuries to Gallas, Vermaelen, and Djourou. It will be difficult to find players with the quality required who would be willing to sit for most of the season. Here Senderos is stuck also; he wants to play more to get into the Swiss national team in this world cup finals year but he has little chance of playing at Arsenal. I think Wenger will have a little headache about who to play and how much. But look at it from another angle, players will be working hard to try to get games so overall performances may improve because of that.

Elsewhere, Denilson and Nicklas Bendtner signed long-term contracts with Arsenal, ensuring that supporters will continue to see them in the next few years. This stability is beneficial to the team because understanding on the pitch takes time to develop and the longer a group of players stay together, the better they will be able to play together and produce positive results.

Speaking of results, I am wondering what effect the current, two-week long international break will have on the team after the Man U game last weekend. They will play the undefeated Man City when they come back. That's an important game, I think, because a bad result there will provide fodder for the pessimists and the media to play up how much quality Arsenal lost when they sold Ade and Toure to Man City, and talk of Arsenal missing next year's Champions League will be a big topic again. I hope for a good result so that I won't walk around angry like I've been this week; it's not good for everyone around me.

Man United 2, Arsenal 1

2009-08-30T11:12:00.003-04:00

This loss was the setback we were dreading.

The fact that Arsenal played well and opened the scoring could add to the trauma of imploding, gifting two goals to United (a penalty and an own goal), and dropping three points.

The international break could help. Just having some time and space from the loss could help the players forget about the match and move on.

In the past, a loss like this has sometimes sent Arsenal into a weeks-long patch of bad form - repeating that would be the worst result.

The penalty was a dive by Rooney, similar to the one by Eduardo against Celtic.

Diaby's own goal was one of the worst I've seen. Madness.

It was a good call on the offside at the end that disallowed an Arsenal goal.

Man City is up after the International break, when 3 points will be required.

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

2009-08-28T15:42:00.002-04:00

Two weeks into the 2009-2010 season, Arsenal are playing fantastic football and getting supporters excited.

In the Premier League, two wins from two games, 10 goals scored and the team is performing at a high level. The new 433 formation is getting rave review from all quarters, particularly from the fans who are treated to beautiful football all over the pitch. The start to this season has a similar feel to the one couple years ago in which Flamini helped Arsenal to a flying start and the momentum was maintained until February when Eduardo suffered his broken leg and the team suffered a broken spirit. Tomorrow's match at Old Trafford will be a stern test for the formation, the players, and the belief from everyone. Whether Arsenal will continue their flying start to this season will be revealed tomorrow evening. The competition for the top 4 position has a new look this season; Man City, with their megabucks, are expected to be contenders; Tottenham, in three matches, have equaled their best start in a quarter century and are a surprised leader in the current table. Aston Villa have stuttered and Everton are faring even worse. If things continue this way, there will be a new-look top 4 soon.

Arsenal have qualified for the Champions League proper with a 2-legged win over the Glasgow Celtic. 5 goals scored over those two matches again show the fire power of this team. I'm not sure the draw (in the group with Alkmaar, Olympiakos, and Liege) is a good thing or not. On the one hand, it means that the probability is high for Arsenal to reach the knowck-out stage but on the other, complacency may become a factor that works against Arsenal.

The transfer window shuts on September 1 and it seems Arsene Wenger is not going to buy any more player. The squad, admittedly is quite big but there are several players with long-term injuries that may still cause the squad to look thin on occassion. Supporters are still nervous about the defensive midfield position where Alex Song has staked the strongest claim. Denilson hasn't eased anyone's worries yet despite his excellent showing so far and Abou Diaby hasn't shown that he can play with discipline there. If Wenger doesn't bring anyone new to that position, it looks to be the above three players who will rotate and share that area of the pitch with the captain, with Ramsey in contention to get a game there.

In central defense, William Gallas and Tomas Vermaelen have clicked well and produced 4 good games. Johann Djourou's knee injury and the uncertainly with Philip Senderos make supporters nervous because Sylvestre is next up in the pecking order. Everton were heavily linked with Senderos but have acquired Syvain Distin from Portsmouth; maybe Senderos will get a game with Arsenal soon? I wouldn't be unhappy if that happens; I think Senderos can become a very good player.

All eyes are now on the match this weekend against Man U. How Arsenal play in this match will set the tone for the next few weeks. Here is hoping for a great game!

Eboue puts Celtic to the sword

2009-08-26T22:10:00.001-04:00

5-1 on aggregate. Arsenal through.

Iconic moment from Eduardo.

Eboue ends the tie as a contest with sublime skill to score killer goal.

Arshavin makes like Eboue and scores a third.

Celtic get a consolation.

3-1.

Wilshere came on and looked brilliant.

Things look good.