Thursday, September 30, 2010

Preview: Chelsea v. Arsenal

This can't be as difficult as Partizan Belgrade, right? Pic via Sky Sports.

Stamford Bridge, London
Sunday, October 3
16:00 BST, 11:00 a.m. EDT
  • Referee: Mike Dean
  • This Match, Last Year: Chelsea 2 - 0 Arsenal
  • All-Time in All Competitions: 69 Arsenal wins, 53 Chelsea wins, 51 draws
  • Arsenal's Recent Form: D-W-W-W-D-L
  • Chelsea's Recent Form: W-W-W-W-W-L
Predicted Line-Up
guesses in red

Fabianski
Sagna - Koscielny - Squillaci - Clichy
Song - Wilshere
Rosicky - Nasri - Arshavin
Chamakh

Subs from: Szczesny, Djourou, Denilson, Eboue, Diaby, Vela, Lansbury
Out: Almunia (elbow), Fabregas (hamstring), Gibbs (calf), Vermaelen (Achilles), Walcott (ankle), Van Persie (ankle), Bendtner (groin), Ramsey (broken leg), Frimpong (knee)

Arsenal News and Notes
  • Cesc Fabregas, Manuel Almunia, Kieran Gibbs, and Thomas Vermaelen are all out. That's just awful news.
  • Abou Diaby will return and is "80% likely" to start. His ankle problem kept him from making the trip to Belgrade this week.
  • Nicklas Bendtner will return to training after the upcoming international break.
  • Arsenal have dropped points in consecutive league fixtures for the first time since going four matches without a win towards the end of last season.
  • Arsenal lost consecutive league matches four times last season.
  • Since winning at Stamford Bridge in November of 2008, Arsenal has not won a match against Chelsea and Manchester United, in nine tries.
  • Arsenal have not kept a clean sheet away from home since a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa in January, and have not kept a clean sheet away from home in a winning effort since a 2-0 win at Bolton, also in January.
Chelsea News and Notes
  • Chelsea will be without Frank Lampard for two more weeks after a hernia operation.
  • Yossi Benayoun has traveled to Belgrade to receive supplemental treatment on his injured calf.
  • The Blues will also be without Salomon Kalou with a thigh injury.
  • Manager Carlos Ancelotti will likely be with the team on Sunday, despite the unfortunate passing of his father this week.
  • Chelsea have not dropped points in consecutive league fixtures since back-to-back draws against West Ham United and Birmingham City last December.
  • Before their Champions League win on Tuesday, Chelsea had lost consecutive matches across all competitions for the first time since falling to Inter Milan then Manchester City in February.
  • Chelsea have not lost consecutive league fixtures in four years. They lost the final two fixtures of the 2005/06 season, against Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers. They had already won the league by then anyway.
Match Facts
  • Chelsea took all six points from Arsenal last year. Arsenal did not score a goal in the process, losing 3-0 at home in November and 2-0 at the Bridge in February.
  • All-time in league fixtures played at Chelsea, both sides have won 24 times with 25 draws.
  • In the Premier League era, no away team has won at Stamford Bridge more than Arsenal. The Gunners have won six times since 1992.
  • Didier Drogba has scored 12 goals in this last 10 competitive matches against Arsenal. He had four goals last year in two matches.
  • Arsenal won this fixture two years ago 2-1, thanks to a brace from Robin van Persie, who was hurt for this fixture last year and is hurt again this year.
The Referee
  • The referee is Mike Dean.
  • Arsenal dropped points in all four matches Dean worked for them last year: a 2-1 loss at Old Trafford, a 1-1 draw at Turf Moor in Burnley, a 2-0 loss in this exact fixture, and a 0-0 draw with Manchester City at the Emirates.
  • Dean earlier this year worked Chelsea's 6-0 win at Wigan Atheltic. Last year, in addition to their home win over Arsenal, Dean worked Chelsea's 2-1 win at Stoke, 1-1 draw at West Ham, 2-0 FA Cup win at Preston, 4-2 loss at home to Manchester City, and 2-1 win at Old Trafford.
Around the League
  • Saturday: Wigan Athletic v. Wolverhampton Wanderers; DW Stadium, Wigan
  • Saturday: Birmingham City v. Everton; St. Andrew's, Birmingham
  • Saturday: Stoke City v. Blackburn Rovers; Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
  • Saturday: Sunderland v. Manchester United; Stadium of Light, Sunderland
  • Saturday: Tottenham Hotspur v. Aston Villa; White Hart Lane, London
  • Saturday: West Bromwich Albion v. Bolton Wanderers; The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
  • Saturday: West Ham United v. Fulham; Boleyn Ground, London
  • Sunday: Manchester City v. Newcastle United; City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
  • Sunday: Liverpool v. Blackpool; Anfield, Liverpool

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Champions League: Partizan 1 - 3 Arsenal: Back on Track

Hear Fabianski roar! Sky Sports screenshot via jaxxbizkit on Yfrog.

Partizan Belgrade 1: Cleo 33 (pen)
Arsenal 3: Arshavin 15, Chamakh 71, Squillaci 82

Who was that goalkeeper and what has he done with Lukasz Fabianski? After Saturday's unmitigated disaster, Arsenal needed some kind of result, which isn't always as easy as it seems on the road in Europe. Today, despite a handful of nervy moments, they got it.

Arsene Wenger made six changes from the side that failed to appear at the Emirates against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. Thanks to an elbow injury, Manuel Almunia did not make the trip to Belgrade and Lukasz Fabianski started in goal. Kieran Gibbs returned from his foot injury and started at left back in the place of Gael Clichy. Laurent Koscielny dropped to the bench for Johan Djourou, in a surprising move. Abou Diaby did not make the trip to Serbia either and was replaced by Denilson, Jack Wilshere returned to the line-up in place of Emmanuel Eboue, and Samir Nasri dropped to the bench in favor of Tomas Rosicky, who wore the captain's armband.

Arsenal looked a bit troubled at the back early and an 8th minute tackle from Denilson saved a potential shot on target in a dangerous spot for Partizan. Arsenal composed themselves from there and struck first in the 15th as the clever footwork of Jack Wilshere found Andrei Arshavin with a flick of the heel and the diminutive Russian powered a shot through the legs of the Partizan keeper, Vladimir Stojkovic.

Arsenal's lead lasted about eighteen minutes, as Partizan earned a penalty after Denilson handled in the area. Cleo, Partizan's dangerous Brazilian striker, coolly struck the spot kick into the corner as Fabianski guessed wrong to equalize. No fault to Fabianski there, it was a perfect penalty and the side's went into halftime level at one.

The tide turned in the 56th minute as Arsenal were given a penalty for a last man foul on Marouane Chamakh, earning defender Marko Jovanovic a red card. There was contact in the area and slight contact amongst their legs, but a considerably soft call. Had it not been a last man foul and outside of the box, I'm not sure it would have warranted a booking at all, but as it stood, Partizan was down to ten men. Arsenal could not take advantage of the situation, however, as Andrei Arshavin fired his penalty at the legs of the diving keeper and Stojkovic saved.

Arsenal finally got their go-ahead-goal in the 70th as a Rosicky cross found the head of Marouane Chamakh. Chamakh's header, however, hit the crossbar, but he was given a second chance on the rebound and did not miss. Afterwards, Chamakh was replaced by Carlos Vela and Jack Wilshere gave way to Samir Nasri's entrance.

From this point on, it appeared Arsenal was sitting on the lead a bit, playing their possession game, but they nabbed a third in the 82nd and for Sebastien Squillaci, it was his first as a Gunner. Samir Nasri's corner kick found the Frenchman's header on the far post, and Arsenal had a 3-1 lead.

The goal did come as insurance as Partizan earned their second penalty of the match as Kieran Gibbs tripped a Partizan attacker that fell into the box. Replays made it appear that contact initially happened outside of the area, but Wolfgang Stark, the German referee pointed to the spot. This time, however, Fabianski would guess right on Cleo's penalty and he saved the ball away for a corner kick, then punched out the resulting set piece, and then convincingly caught Partizan's next in-swinging shot on target. Fabianski then made an even finer save in the third and final minute of added time on an Ilic shot which followed from some more miscommunication between defenders.

So, what did we learn (or continue to learn) today? Jack Wilshere was, again, fantastic, as was Marouane Chamakh. Fabianski did not make an error and actually covered himself in quite a bit of glory at the end of the match. The back four looks jittery way too much of the time, a problem that will hopefully be resolved with the return of Thomas Vermaelen (when will that be?) What did we not learn? Which Arsenal team and mindset will show up for an absolutely vital trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Preview: Partizan Belgrade v. Arsenal, Champions League Group Matchday 2


Stadion FK Partizan, Belgrade
Tuesday, September 28
19:45 BST, 2:45 p.m. EDT
  • Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)
  • First competitive match between these two sides
  • Arsenal's League Form: D-W-W-W-D-L
  • Partizan's League Form: W-W-W-W-W-D
Predicted Line-Up
guesses in red

Fabianski
Sagna - Koscielny - Squillaci - Clichy
Song - Wilshere
Rosicky - Nasri - Arshavin
Chamakh

Subs from: Szczesny, Djourou, Gibbs, Eboue, Denilson, Lansbury, Vela
Out: Diaby (match fitness), Almunia (elbow), Fabregas (hamstring), Vermaelen (Achilles), Walcott (ankle), Van Persie (ankle), Bendtner (groin), Ramsey (broken leg), Frimpong (knee)

Arsenal News and Notes
  • If you somehow have not heard yet, the biggest team news ahead of this match is the elbow injury sustained by Manuel Almunia on Saturday. No word on how long he'll be out / how long we're apparently going to have to deal with Lukasz Fabianski between the sticks.
  • Kieran Gibbs returns to the squad after picking up a foot injury in last week's Carling Cup win; I'd love to see him get a start over Clichy some time soon.
  • Abou Diaby has been left out of the 18-man squad without a reason listed. I've gone with "match fitness;" he is coming off that ankle injury, but he did play abysmally on Saturday.
  • Arsenal's other injuries you should know well by now. There's "a little hope" Fabregas will be ready for Chelsea at the Bridge on Sunday, which is a phrase that does little to give me any hope.
Partizan News and Notes
  • Partizan survived two qualifying rounds to reach the group stage, including a penalty shootout against Belgian side Anderlecht.
  • Partizan lost on Matchday 1 at Shakhtar Donetsk, 1-0.
  • They're led offensively by Brazilian striker Cleo. Former (and brief) Arsenal target Stefan Savic plays on their back line.
Match Facts
  • Partizan's last match against an English side came at St. James' Park, as the Serbian side knocked Newcastle United out in the third qualifying round in 2003/04 on penalties.
  • Arsenal have never beaten a Serbian side in European competition; however, this is only their third ever competitive match against a Serbian side. In the 1978/79 UEFA Cup third round, Arsenal lost 1-0 at FK Crvena Zvezda. They drew 1-1 at Highbury and were knocked out.
  • Arsenal have not won an away fixture in Europe in over a year, dating back to a 3-2 win at Standard Liege. Excluding qualifying rounds, Arsenal have won two of their last 10 trips away from home in the Champions League.
The Referee
  • The referee is Wolfgang Stark from Germany.
  • The last time Stark worked an Arsenal match, Lionel Messi scored eight billion goals as the Gunners crashed out of Europe. Or something like that.
  • He also worked Arsenal's 3-0 win over Villarreal in the second leg of the 2009 quarterfinal.
  • Stark worked three matches at this summer's World Cup.
England in the Champions League This Week
  • Tuesday: Chelsea v. Marseille; Stamford Bridge, London
  • Wednesday: Tottenham Hotspur v. Twente Enschede; White Hart Lane, London
  • Wednesday: Valencia v. Manchester United; Estadio Mestalla, Valencia

Monday, September 27, 2010

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Arsenal 2 - 3 West Brom: What!?!

Let the questions begin again... Pic via Soccernet.

Arsenal 2: Nasri 75, 90+1
West Bromwich Albion 3: Odemwingie 50, Jara 52, Thomas 73

I'm not going to sugar coat this; Arsenal was flat out awful yesterday and absolutely deserved to lose. This is the kind of match you have to win if you want to claim the league title. That said, remember: there are still 32 games to play in a long season. It's only September. One game doesn't make you a bad team. All hope is not lost. Yet. This weekend, we saw that Chelsea lost their first real test of the season, Manchester United can seemingly only draw away from Old Trafford, and Tottenham Hotspur is probably what we all know they are.

All credit in the world to the Baggies, of course. They came into the Emirates, played good football, didn't resort to ugly tactics to play the game, and thoroughly dominated much of the match. Top class, West Brom.

There were two changes to the side from the line-up that started at Sunderland last week, with Cesc Fabregas injured and Jack Wilshere dropped to the bench for a rest; Emmanuel Eboue got a start in midfield and Abou Diaby returned from the ankle injury he suffered against Bolton.

Arsenal did seem to have the better of play from the start and came close to scoring first when Andrei Arshavin hit the post twice after an Eboue cross. But even at that early stage, it was apparent that this was not going to be Arsenal's day. Their trademarks were not there. The precision passes lacked sharpness and missed the mark time and again, there was almost no creativity for the first 70 minutes of the match, and most players looked like they were just going through the motions. I think that's what was the most unacceptable about this match.

West Brom had the chance to go up 1-0 before the half when given a penalty; Manuel Almunia missed the ball and took out Peter Odemwingie in the box. The Baggies could not take advantage of the opportunity, however, as Chris Brunt took the kick poorly, Almunia guessed right and saved the shot.

But while Arsenal's performance in the first half was poor, it was downright shambolic in the second. Albion struck first five minutes after the restart. Jerome Thomas (formerly at Arsenal) skinned Bacary Sagna on the byline, then fed a cross through four Arsenal players who were caught watching to Odemwingie, who was not being marked as closely as he should have been by Alex Song. Easy goal thanks to poor defending.

Then, it got worse two minutes later. A bit of clever passing beat a hapless Song again. Gonzalo Jara was through and given time to shoot. It wasn't a particularly tricky shot, but it careened off Almunia and into the net. An absolute howler and the worst Almunia has allowed probably since that injury time goal at Birmingham last year or the own goal at home against United last year, just abysmal. In a matter of seconds, the game was spiraling out of control for Arsenal.

Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky came on for Eboue and Diaby, then Carlos Vela was brought on for attacking purposes as Laurent Koscielny was pulled, slotting Song into the back four. Things then managed to get even worse as Thomas made it three to West Brom. Almunia came out to challenge Brunt poorly (think of those goals Ibrahimovic scored for Barcelona in the first leg last year), then Brunt coolly slid a pass back to Thomas, who had another easy goal with Almunia in no man's land.

Arsenal (by which I mean pretty much just Samir Nasri) made an effort to make the scoreline a little less embarrassing on paper. Two minutes after Thomas's goal, Nasri hit the crossbar, then eventually created another opportunity for himself and slotted in a shot from about six yards out despite being covered by about four Albion defenders. Nasri added a second from about fifteen yards out in the 91st, with four minutes left to play. But, Arsenal had dug the hole too deep. A Wilshere cross to Rosicky at the top of the box in the 95th was one-timed over the bar, and that was it.

Nasri was fantastic, as usual. Almunia was horrible. Song was not his usual self and might have had one of his worst games in about two years (it seemed to me that he might have been hesitant to challenge in his usual manner after being sent off last week.) Diaby was unnoticeable. Everyone else was just mediocre.

Now, let's pray to the football gods that Fabregas and Vermaelen are fit for Chelsea next week.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Preview: Arsenal v. West Bromwich Albion

Samir Nasri opened his Arsenal scoring account in three minutes and 44 seconds against WBA. Pic via Arsenal.com.

Emirates Stadium, London
Saturday, September 25
15:00 BST, 10:00 a.m. EDT
  • Referee: Michael Oliver
  • This Match, Last Time: Arsenal 1 - 0 West Brom (August 16, 2008)
  • All-Time in All Competitions: 61 Arsenal wins, 35 West Brom wins, 28 draws
  • Arsenal's Recent Form: D-W-W-W-D
  • West Brom's Recent Form: L-W-L-D-W
Predicted Line-Up
guesses in red

Almunia
Sagna - Koscielny - Squillaci - Clichy
Song - Nasri - Wilshere
Rosicky - Chamakh - Arshavin

Subs from: Fabianski, Djourou, Eboue, Denilson, Diaby, Vela, Lansbury
Out: Fabregas (hamstring), Gibbs (foot), Vermaelen (Achilles), Walcott (ankle), Van Persie (ankle), Bendtner (groin), Ramsey (broken leg), Frimpong (knee)

Arsenal News and Notes
  • Injury news is mixed, but lengthy (which is bad to begin with.)
  • Abou Diaby is expected to return Saturday, though he faces a final test on Friday. Don't expect a start; Arsene Wenger rarely throws a player returning from injury directly back into the line-up.
  • Cesc Fabregas (hamstring) and Thomas Vermaelen (Achilles) will each miss at least two more games (Saturday and Tuesday at Partizan Belgrade.) This Vermaelen injury was supposed to be just a "precaution," what the hell happened?
  • The good news on Kieran Gibbs's foot injury from Tuesday is that he didn't break the metatarsal bone, like he did last year; he's out "short term."
  • Tomas Rosicky (ankle) and Emmanuel Eboue (knee) face fitness tests on Friday, like Diaby.
  • The injury news on everyone else remains the same: Mid-October for Walcott, van Persie, and Bendtner, maybe November for Ramsey; I've heard Frimpong's knee ligament recovery is ahead of schedule.
  • Arsenal have not lost a competitive fixture this season (hell, they didn't lose any non-competitive fixtures, either.)
  • The last time Arsenal went this long without a loss at the start of a season was the fall of 2007, when they didn't lose until a Champions League group match on November 27. That was a streak of 21 matches unbeaten.
  • Arsenal have not dropped points at home to a side that was in the Championship the year prior since a 2-1 loss to Hull City two years ago, this weekend.
West Brom News and Notes
  • West Brom have a trio of players that might return from injury on the weekend: Ishmael Miller (thigh), Marek Cech (foot), and Joe Mattock (ankle.)
  • James Morrison returns from serving a three match ban.
  • The Baggies have not picked up a point from a road fixture yet this season, but have also not lost at home. In two road games, West Brom have lost 6-0 at Chelsea and 1-0 at Liverpool.
  • West Brom are unbeaten in three fixtures, but again, all three of those have been at The Hawthorns. They drew Spurs 1-1, beat Birmingham City 3-1, then bounced Manchester City from the Carling Cup 2-1 on Wednesday.
Match Facts
  • Arsenal have won their last three league fixtures over West Bromwich Albion. In 2008/09, Arsenal won 1-0 at the Emirates (the league's curtain raiser) and won 3-1 at The Hawthorns.
  • Arsenal did play West Brom last season, defeating the Baggies 2-0 at the Emirates in the third round of the Carling Cup.
  • The Baggies last beat Arsenal on October 15, 2005, 2-1 at The Hawthorns.
  • West Brom's last draw in North London was in November of 2004; their last win at Arsenal was in December of 1983.
The Referee
  • The referee is Michael Oliver.
  • This is the third Premier League match he will be officiating in his career. He has never worked an Arsenal match.
  • Last year, he worked two West Brom matches in the Championship. a 4-1 win over Bristol City and a 1-1 draw with Barnsley.
Around the League
  • Saturday: Manchester City v. Chelsea; City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
  • Saturday: Birmingham City v. Wigan Athletic; St. Andrew's, Birmingham
  • Saturday: Blackpool v. Blackburn Rovers; Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
  • Saturday: Fulham v. Everton; Craven Cottage, London
  • Saturday: Liverpool v. Sunderland; Anfield, Liverpool
  • Saturday: West Ham United v. Tottenham Hotspur; Boleyn Ground, London
  • Sunday: Bolton Wanderers v. Manchester United; Reebok Stadium, Bolton
  • Sunday: Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Aston Villa; Molineux, Wolverhampton
  • Sunday: Newcastle United v. Stoke City; St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Carling Cup: Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 4 Arsenal, a.e.t.: Worth Every Extra Minute

Henri Lansbury's first Arsenal goal came at White Hart Lane. Legend. Pic via Guardian.

Tottenham Hotspur 1: Keane 49
Arsenal 4: Lansbury 15, Nasri 92 (pen), 96 (pen), Arshavin 105

I don't think there is anything more satisfying then watching a North London derby that ends with fans streaming towards the exits as fast as they can at White Hart Lane, while the Arsenal section goes mental.

Arsene Wenger, watching from the director's box while serving a one match touchline ban for using the wrong method of getting Martin Atkinson's attention on Saturday, made eight changes to the side that drew at Sunderland, which actually resulted in a surprisingly strong side for a Carling Cup tie. Then again, it was the North London derby. Lukasz Fabianski was given his eight billionth second chance in between the sticks. Johan Djourou was given the chance, as expected, at center half along with first team regular Laurent Koscielny. Emmanuel Eboue and Kieran Gibbs played right and left back, respectively. Jack Wilshere, Samir Nasri, and Denilson started in midfield; Tomas Rosicky, Carlos Vela, and the young Henri Lansbury started up front.

Only three of those were changes from the starting XI on Saturday; Denilson and Rosicky came off the bench on Saturday and started today; Lansbury was the only reserve to crack the line-up, shocking for an Arsene Wenger managed Carling Cup squad, but typical for a North London derby in any competition.

Arsenal controlled possession early, but could not muster much out of it for the first ten minutes. In the 11th, the Gunners had their first shout for a penalty, but nothing was called by Lee Probert as Lansbury was tripped just inside the area by Benoit Assou-Ekotto. Probably should have been a penalty, but the first contact from the Cameroonian defender was just outside the area. Still, it was a missed foul in a dangerous spot.

That didn't matter much four minutes later as the Gunners struck first, in lovely fashion. Major credit on the goal goes to Jack Wilshere, who played an absolutely perfect cross along the six-yard box, where only the sliding Henri Lansbury could knock it into the net. It was the first Arsenal goal for the lifelong Gooner from Enfield in his first start.

Arsenal had two chances later in the first half flagged for offside. The first call was borderline, the second, blatantly wrong. Kieran Gibbs was through after another superb ball from Wilshere and maneuvered around the goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa as well before everyone realized the linesman's flag was (wrongly) up. The match remained 1-0 at halftime, with Arsenal having controlled most of the opening 45 minutes.

Tottenham made two substitutions, bringing on Robbie Keane and Aaron Lennon, and switched to a 4-4-2 and a more convincing attack line-up, and it worked in four minutes. Robbie Keane, ridiculously offside, was allowed to play on after a through ball and fired a low shot which squeezed just through the arms of the diving Fabianski and into the net. It was a hard hit ball, no doubt, and I know we can be rough on Fabianski because of his hundreds of thousands of errors in the past, but I sincerely feel that he should have had that shot and that Almunia would have had that shot.

Spurs' new found attacking style lasted for about seven minutes before it was all Arsenal again, but the Gunners could not find a go-ahead goal in normal time. In the 62nd, Carlos Vela headed a cross wide. In the 70th, Tottenham had their best chance for a winner as Aaron Lennon was through on goal, but Koscielny slid in with a perfect tackle to deny him. Arsenal brought on Marouane Chamakh and Andrei Arshavin in the 73rd minute to go for the win.

Lansbury was booked for a challenge in the 83rd that marked the first time in a long time that I actually clapped for a booking; this was the kind of "yeah, I'll take a booking to deny a scoring opportunity" kind of challenge that you like to see every once in a while. Two minutes later, looking for a brace, Lansbury whipped a shot that, while stopped comfortably, was one of Arsenal's best looks at goal since their opening goal.

The final minutes of normal time really seemed like a winner was coming for Arsenal. Denilson hit a 22-yard rocket in the 89th that was only palmed down by Pletikosa, but Samir Nasri could not get a foot to the rebound. It was a situation fairly reminiscent of Nicklas Bendtner's winner at Hull City in March, with a little more traffic in front. A free kick from Wilshere in the 90th flew past everyone until finding Djourou on the back corner, but his header could not be directed on goal and was cleared. Two minutes later, Eboue had a deflected look at goal, but there would be no regular time winner for anyone and the match headed to extra time, with every nerve in my body shaking.

Spurs kicked off extra time, but within thirty seconds, it was a penalty to Arsenal. Samir Nasri took a through ball from Arshavin and was taken down by Sebastien Bassong to set up the penalty. Nasri's strike was not the best (but on goal, unlike Rosicky's on Saturday), but the keeper guessed wrong, and Arsenal led 2-1. It was high enough that it would have been saved had Pletikosa guessed right.

Then, three minutes later, another through ball from Arshavin and another penalty to Arsenal, as Chamakh was hauled down by the arm by Steven Caulker. Nasri's penalty this time was perfectly along the ground to a corner, Pletikosa guessed wrong again anyway, and six minutes into extra time, it was 3-1 Arsenal.

As Spurs fans raced for the exits, Arsenal grabbed a fourth; this time, the through ball was to Arshavin and into the net, from Wilshere. Spurs nearly pinged one back from a corner in added time of the first half of extra time, but Robbie Keane flick on goal was stopped on the line by Nasri.


Tottenham clearly appeared like they no longer wanted to be there for the final 15 minutes, as Arsenal passed the ball around, savoring a 4-1 win at the Lane and another round to maybe draw a weaker side and play some more youth in late October.

Oh, the down side. Of course, there's a down side. Kieran Gibbs left hurt, and might have re-broken the metatarsal he hurt last November that kept him out for pretty much the rest of last season. How about that. And the third string left back, Armand Traore... he's out on loan. And the first string left back, Gael Clichy, has probably been the weakest link on the back line this year.

But, anyway, happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. 4-1 win at the Lane.

Arsene Wenger Is Very Disappointed in You 9/21/10


Monday, September 20, 2010

Preview: Tottenham Hotspur v. Arsenal, Carling Cup 3rd Round

David Rocastle scored the winner in the 1987 League Cup semi-final replay at WHL. Pic via Arsenal.com

White Hart Lane, London
Tuesday, September 21
19:45 BST, 2:45 EDT
  • Referee: Lee Probert
  • Last League Match: Tottenham 2 - 1 Arsenal; April 14, 2010
  • All-Time in All Competitions: 68 Arsenal wins, 51 Tottenham wins, 44 draws
  • All-Time in League Cup: 5 Arsenal wins, 3 Tottenham wins, 3 draws
  • Arsenal's League Form: D-W-W-W-D
  • Tottenham's League Form: D-W-L-D-W
    News and Notes
    • Official word on Cesc Fabregas's scan will come tomorrow, but he has said "2 weeks" on his Twitter account. There's nothing that actually confirms that that Twitter account is authentic, but his sister is following him and they look so alike it's insane. That's enough proof, right?
    • Alex Song, who was sent off for two yellow cards on Saturday, gets to serve his one match ban in this cup tie, a match he was never going to appear in anyway. How fortunate!
    • Predicting the Arsenal squad for this match is even more difficult that normal and not because of Arsene Wenger's reliance on youth in the Carling Cup. Even considering that, Arsenal's injury woes don't stop at the first team. Injuries will likely keep Conor Henderson and Havard Nortdveit from appearing.
    • Reports indicate that Wenger will only name three reserves to the starting XI tomorrow, those being Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Henri Lansbury, and Craig Eastmond. That's fewer than one would expect.
    • That means it's Lukasz Fabianski in goal and not Wojciech Szczesny.
    • You can bet on seeing a few of the first team's bench players getting starts; including Fabianski. This means Johan Djourou will almost certainly start. Carlos Vela should start up front with JET. Kieran Gibbs will probably start, as might Emmanuel Eboue and Denilson.
    • With Thomas Vermaelen returning from injury this coming Saturday, Wenger might even start Sebastien Squillaci at center back with Djourou.
    • I'd expect a squad of similarly surprising strength coming from Tottenham.
    Match Facts
    • We hate Tottenham and we hate Tottenham.
    • We hate Tottenham and we hate Tottenham.
    • We hate Tottenham and we hate Tottenham.
    • We are the Tottenham haters.

    The Referee
    • The referee is Lee Probert.
    • Last year, Probert worked Arsenal's 3-1 win over Birmingham City at the Emirates and their 0-0 draw against Aston Villa at Villa Park.
    • For Tottenham last year, he worked only their 1-0 home loss to Stoke City.
    Other Carling Cup 3rd Round Ties
    (P = Premier League, C = Championship, L1 = League One, L2 = League Two)
    • Tuesday: Birmingham City (P) v. Milton Keynes Dons (L1); St. Andrew's, Birmingham
    • Tuesday: Brentford (L1) v. Everton (P); Griffin Park, London
    • Tuesday: Burnley (C) v. Bolton Wanderers (P); Turf Moor, Burnley
    • Tuesday: Millwall (C) v. Ipswich Town (C); The Den, London
    • Tuesday: Peterborough United (L1) v. Swansea City (C); London Road Stadium, Peterborough
    • Tuesday: Portsmouth (C) v. Leicester City (C); Fratton Park, Portsmouth
    • Tuesday: Stoke City (P) v. Fulham (P); Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
    • Tuesday: Sunderland (P) v. West Ham United (P); Stadium of Light, Sunderland
    • Tuesday: Wolverhampton Wanderers (P) v. Notts County (L1); Molineux, Wolverhampton
    • Wednesday: Aston Villa (P) v. Blackburn Rovers (P); Villa Park, Birmingham
    • Wednesday: Chelsea (P) v. Newcastle United (P); Stamford Bridge, London
    • Wednesday: Liverpool (P) v. Northampton Town (L2); Anfield, Liverpool
    • Wednesday: Scunthorpe United (C) v. Manchester United (P); Glanford Park, Scunthorpe
    • Wednesday: West Bromwich Albion (P) v. Manchester City (P); The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
    • Wednesday: Wigan Athletic (P) v. Preston North End (C); DW Stadium, Wigan

    Breaking: Arsene Wenger Charged By FA

    Word is coming from the Football Association that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will be charged by the FA with using insulting and/or abusive language and improper conduct following Saturday's 1-1 draw at Sunderland.

    Wenger argued with Martin Atinkson, the fourth official, about the amount of added time that was allotted, as Sunderland scored their equalizing goal in the 95th minute, after only four minutes of added time was indicated (that four is, of course, a minimum.)

    Wenger has until Thursday to respond to the charge. The result will be a fine of £8,000, plus a touchline ban of one match.

    More information coming, as we learn it; plus, our preview of tomorrow's Carling Cup tie is coming later this afternoon.

    Picture via Daily Mail.

    Sunday, September 19, 2010

    Sunderland 1 - 1 Arsenal: Chant Protocol

    Too much time on my hands. Pic via Dailiy Mail.

    Sunderland 1: Bent 90+5
    Arsenal 1: Fabregas 13

    We here at Hipster Gooner enjoy nothing more than celebratory singing and chanting at the bar during the course of an Arsenal win. But, we also understand that there are right times to celebrate and there are wrong times to celebrate. The dying minutes of a nervy match with a 1-0 lead is a wrong time.

    I love the back-and-forth chanting of "Arsene Wenger's red and white army" at the end of a win; it's always an incredible experience to hear so many Gooners singing, in full voice, for a victory. However, if you chant it at the wrong time, it can be a bit of a jinx. It should only be sung while winning comfortably (by at least two goals) and only during second half injury time; never before the 90:00 mark and never while up by one. The regulars couldn't reel in those who sang the chant yesterday and the jinx, of course, came into play. We're sorry. We tried.

    There were no injuries and no returns from injury between Wednesday's Champions League match with Braga and Saturday's match, so Arsenal's starting XI remained unchanged. It was obvious, however, that Arsenal appeared more lethargic at the start, playing a road fixture after a midweek match while Sunderland were the more well-rested side.

    The Black Cats dominated the first half of play, but it was through a strange series of events that Arsenal held a 1-0 halftime lead. In the 13th minute, Sunderland defender Anton Ferdinand held onto possession for a little too long without clearing, allowing Cesc Fabregas to close him down. When Ferdinand finally attempted to clear, it hit the charging Fabregas in the ankle and flew back toward the goal. Sunderland's goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was too far forward off his line, the ball was well over his head, and then it was in the net. As stunning of a fluke goal as any you'll ever see. The major downer of the first half was that Cesc Fabregas mysteriously left with an injuy; it's a hamstring and he will have a scan on Monday. There are rumors that he might miss a month. He was replaced by Tomas Rosicky, who also took over the captain's armband. That's relevant later.

    The wisdom of halftime was that Sunderland could not keep up the pace and the pressure for another 45 minutes and that seemed about correct from the restart. Arsenal looked refreshed after the break and pressured for a second goal. Then, the turning point: Alex Song was sent off for a second yellow card (his first was a harsh call for dissent after a foul was called, the second was for obstruction.) Suddenly, the thought that Arsenal would coast past a tiring Sunderland squad in the second half held no water; the Gunners would be on ten men for the last half hour.

    To compensate, Arsenal substituted Denilson into the midfield to replace the ineffective Andrei Arshavin. Arsenal managed to control possession better, even on ten men, with the Brazilian in the midfield, but the team would miss countless opportunities to score a security goal.

    There was no better chance than a penalty kick in the 75th when Samir Nasri was hacked down in the box. Arsenal was without their usual penalty takers (Van Persie, Fabregas, Arshavin, Bendtner) for various reasons on the pitch so Rosicky, wearing the captain's armband in the place of the injured Fabregas, chose that he would take the kick himself. Rosicky did not look comfortable taking the kick and I wondered why someone like Marouane Chamakh or Nasri didn't take it. Rosicky made Mignolet guess wrong on the kick but fired high and over the bar. Opportunity wasted.

    Even with the miss, it looked like Arsenal was going to steal three points from this fixture, right until the death. A match filled with questionable officiating from Phil Dowd was to end with four minutes of added time. Arsenal had cleared out from a corner kick at about 94:10. Sunderland was given one last chance. Gael Clichy had a poor clearance that deflected off Laurent Koscielny, into the path of Darren Bent, who fired home an equalizer past Manuel Almunia at 94:16.

    Let's be honest, "four minutes of added time" does mean four minutes as a minimum, but you don't usually see four minutes of added time turn into four minutes and thirty seconds unless there's an injury. In this case, there was not. Arsene Wenger was livid about the extra amount of added time and there are claims that he "shoved" fourth official Martin Atkinson (I haven't seen a video, I assume he touched his shoulder, at worst, to get his attention.) In any case, Arsenal was about negative 15 seconds away from stealing three points when Sunderland was given one last chance to draw level. That's why this draw felt so much like a loss.

    But let's be honest some more, Arsenal had no business winning this match. It would have been nice to take all three points from this fixture, but one point is more than the Gunners earned at the Stadium of Light last year, and that was after a two week break. There are, of course, still so many major concerns. The play of Gael Clichy this season has worried me, he seems to be the weak link on the back line. Cesc Fabregas's injury has come at a bad time; it would be nice to have him in top form at Stamford Bridge on October 3, so let's all pray his scan goes over well tomorrow. Andrei Arshavin is as mercurial as anyone on the team; there are matches like yesterday where he just doesn't seem to be bothered. Though I have to say in closing, that this was another solid and comforting performance from Manuel Almunia, who has not made a major blunder yet this season.

    Arsene Wenger is Very Disappointed in You 9/19/2010



    Disappointment Montage

    From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7b4S4ETGAc

    Saturday, September 18, 2010

    Thursday, September 16, 2010

    Preview: Sunderland v. Arsenal

    I got really drunk after the loss in this fixture last year, which was only partially related.
    I don't know why I told you that. Pic via Daily Mail.

    Stadium of Light, Sunderland
    Saturday, September 18
    17:30 BST, 12:30 p.m. EDT
    • Referee: Phil Dowd
    • This Match, Last Year: Sunderland 1 - 0 Arsenal
    • All-Time in All Competitions: 52 Arsenal wins, 49 Sunderland wins, 36 draws
    • Arsenal's Recent Form: D-W-W-W
    • Sunderland's Recent Form: D-L-W-D
    Predicted Line-Up

    Almunia
    Sagna - Koscielny - Squillaci - Clichy
    Song - Fabregas - Wilshere
    Nasri - Chamakh - Arshavin

    Subs from: Fabianski, Djourou, Gibbs, Eboue, Rosicky, Denilson, Vela
    Out: Vermaelen (Achilles), Diaby (ankle), Walcott (ankle), Van Persie (ankle), Bendtner (groin), Ramsey (broken leg), Frimpong (knee)

    Arsenal News and Notes
    • Abou Diaby and Thomas Vermaelen (ankle and Achilles, respectively) will miss the match and would likely have been sitting out next week's Carling Cup tie anyway, so both will return next Saturday when Arsenal hosts West Bromwich Albion.
    • Vermaelen's injury will force Arsene Wenger to have Johan Djourou on the bench, even though the Swiss center back is not 100% fit for first team play, and has been playing lately with the reserves to work through an injury.
    • The time table for return remains mid-October for Theo Walcott, Robin van Persie, and Nicklas Bendtner, "November" for Aaron Ramsey, and "May" for Emmanuel Frimpong, whose season is most certainly done with cruciate ligament damage.
    • This means there are no changes in the squad from Wednesday and that the only way the starting XI changes would be as a result of a starter not being match fit after the short break.
    • Arsenal are unbeaten in five competitive fixtures this season and are on a four game winning streak as well, their longest since winning six straight last winter. Dating back to last season, the Gunners are unbeaten in six.
    • Arsenal have not kept a clean sheet on the road since a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa in January.
    • Since Chelsea plays on Sunday, an Arsenal win puts the Gunners top of the league, at least for 22 hours or so.
    Sunderland News and Notes
    • The Black Cats will be without four players due to injury: Michael Turner is out with an ankle injury suffered in their win over Manchester City in late August, Craig Gordon has an arm injury and no time table for return, while Fraizer Campbell and David Meyler are long term absences with knee injuries.
    • Sunderland will also be without their captain, Lee Cattermole, who just loves getting red cards, and will be serving the first of a two match ban on Saturday.
    • Defender John Mensah is a doubt after picking up a knock in training on Thursday morning.
    • In five competitive fixtures this season, Sunderland have only lost once, on the road at West Bromwich Albion.
    • They are unbeaten in three home matches this year, but that includes a draw, a last minute win on a penalty, and a Carling Cup win over League One Colchester United.
    • Sunderland's last loss at the Stadium of Light was their final home match of last season, so their unbeaten streak at home dating back to last year is still three. That was a 1-0 loss to Manchester United.
    Match Facts
    • Arsenal have not won in their last two trips to the Stadium of Light, losing 1-0 last year and drawing 1-1 the year prior. Before that, they had won on three straight trips to Wearside.
    • Last year, Darren Bent scored in the 71st minute in this fixture to give the Black Cats a 1-0 win. It was Arsenal's first match after losing Robin van Persie to injury on international duty.
    • Arsenal won the reverse fixture 2-0 at the Emirates in February.
    The Referee
    • The referee is Phil Dowd.
    • Last year, Dowd worked Arsenal's 3-0 win over Aston Villa and 2-0 win over Bolton at the Reebok.
    • For Sunderland, he worked their Carling Cup loss to Aston Villa on penalties, a 2-0 loss at Everton, and a 3-0 loss at Liverpool.
    • So, as you can see, Sunderland did not score a goal in a match refereed by Dowd last season and Arsenal did not concede in theirs.
    Around the League
    • Saturday: Stoke City v. West Ham United; Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
    • Saturday: Aston Villa v. Bolton Wanderers; Villa Park, Birmingham
    • Saturday: Blackburn Rovers v. Fulham; Ewood Park, Blackburn
    • Saturday: Everton v. Newcastle United; Goodison Park, Liverpool
    • Saturday: Tottenham Hotspur v. Wolverhampton Wanderers; White Hart Lane, London
    • Saturday: West Bromwich Albion v. Birmingham City; The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
    • Sunday: Manchester United v. Liverpool; Old Trafford, Manchester
    • Sunday: Wigan Athletic v. Manchester City; DW Stadium, Wigan
    • Sunday: Chelsea v. Blackpool; Stamford Bridge, London

    Wednesday, September 15, 2010

    Champions League: Arsenal 6 - 0 Braga: The Arsenalists Have Been Arsenaled

    Hugs! Pic via Daily Telegraph.

    Arsenal 6: Fabregas 9 (pen), 53, Arshavin 30, Chamakh 34, Vela 69, 84
    Sporting Braga 0

    SC Braga thrashed Celtic then stunned Sevilla to get this far in Europe, then the team known as "The Arsenalists" because they took influence from Arsenal in choosing their kit colors got a dream drawing against their inspiration for their first match. It was a night Braga would probably now like to forget.

    Arsenal benefited from both Cesc Fabregas and Carlos Vela doubles, while Andrei Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh added two more to contribute to the Gunners' 6-0 win over Braga in London on Wednesday night. It was Arsenal's largest win in Europe since a seven goal thrashing of Slavia Prague nearly three years ago.

    Arsene Wenger made three changes from the side that beat Bolton at the weekend, though none of them were necessitated by injury (recall, Diaby did not start Saturday.) Samir Nasri returned from his knee injury to start, replacing Tomas Rosicky on the right wing, while Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy returned to their usual places on the back line after being rested four days ago.

    Arsenal were knocking on the door of Braga's goal from the start and had two minor shouts for a penalty to be given before a third shout finally warranted a point to the spot from the referee in the eighth minute, when Marouane Chamakh was tripped by Braga's goalkeeper Felipe (side note, what the hell goalkeeper wears a squad number like 84?) Felipe guessed right on Fabregas's penalty but could not stop the shot and Arsenal led 1-0 nine minutes into the first Champions League match of the group stage.

    Another side note: remember where the first Champions League match of the group stage was nine minutes in last year? Arsenal had already been losing 2-0 for four minutes. Oh yeah, then they came back and won.

    Most of the match continued in the same vein from this point forward: Arsenal played their pure class tippy-tappy style that we all know and love and Braga at times appeared mesmerized, then decided they should try to counterattack, only to be out-muscled off the ball by a defender or roll a shot weakly to Manuel Almunia.

    Andrei Arshavin was put through one-on-one in the 30th minute and did not miss tonight, like he did eighty bajillion times against Bolton on Saturday. Four minutes later, a magnificent goal from Chamakh; a beautiful flick from Jack Wilshere sent the Moroccan through, then a tap shot through the legs of the defender and past the helpless Felipe into the far corner. Suddenly, it was 3-0, and the Gunners were coasting to halftime.

    Fabregas picked up his brace as Arsenal picked up their fourth goal in the 53rd after coasting through some effortless defending, passing the ball left to Arshavin, who delivered the cross directly to the wide open Spaniard's head.

    Then, the Carlos Vela show: two minutes after Arshavin pounded a shot off the left goalpost, he slipped a through ball to Vela who waited for Felipe to dive low before chipping his shot high and into the net for Arsenal's fifth. Vela would pick up the brace after Fabregas decided not to go through on goal for a hat trick of his own. Again, Vela waited for Felipe to commit, then calmly slotted the ball in the other direction. Carlos Vela has now scored three goals in the last two games; he has been on the pitch for a combined 43 minutes in those two games.

    What did we learn today? The most important part to take away from the win is probably that the back four held it together against a team that was billed to be good on the counter, but there were enough nervy moments to make you wonder how this team will actually handle the bigger guns in England and in Europe. Well, that's what all the pundits will be talking about anyway. For us Gooners, let's just enjoy a big win, especially when it comes one day after Spurs blew a 2-0 lead to draw.

    Arsene Wenger is Very Disappointed in You 9/15/2010


    Monday, September 13, 2010

    Preview: Arsenal v. SC Braga, Champions League Group Matchday 1

    Those colors look familiar... Pic via Daily Telegraph.

    Emirates Stadium, London
    Wednesday, September 15
    19:45 BST, 2:45 p.m. EDT
    • Referee: Alain Hamer (Luxembourg)
    • First competitive match between these two sides
    • Arsenal's League Form: D-W-W-W
    • Braga's League Form: W-D-W-L
    Predicted Line-Up
    guesses in red

    Almunia
    Sagna - Koscielny - Vermaelen - Clichy
    Song - Fabregas - Nasri
    Rosicky - Chamakh - Arshavin

    Subs from: Fabianski, Squillaci, Gibbs, Eboue, Wilshere, Denilson, Vela
    Out: Diaby (ankle/shin), Walcott (ankle), Bendtner (groin), Van Persie (ankle), Ramsey (broken leg), Frimpong (knee)

    Arsenal News and Notes
    • Abou Diaby is expected to miss at least two games (those being this match and Saturday's trip to Sunderland) after he was hacked to pieces by Paul Robinson.
    • Theo Walcott, Robin van Persie, and Nicklas Bendtner remain out until mid-October with their respective injuries.
    • Samir Nasri should return to the starting line-up, having recovered from meniscus surgery, an injury he picked up at Anfield a month ago.
    • Thomas Vermaelen should return to the starting XI as well, from an Achilles injury picked up on international duty.
    • Aaron Ramsey is on pace to return in November from his broken leg. That probably means Christmas.
    Braga News and Notes
    • SC Braga are without defender Elderson and midfielder Leandro Salino, serving one match bans for accumulation.
    • Braga won two playoff rounds to qualify for group play. They ousted Celtic 4-2 in the third qualifying round (in between legs, Celtic lost to Arsenal in the Emirates Cup,) and beat Sevilla 5-3 in the final playoff round.
    • The team is known as "The Arsenalists" because, since 1921, they have worn red and white, having chosen their colors based on Arsenal. Which really means we're both copying Nottingham Forest.
    • Braga fell to their first domestic defeat of this season on the weekend, losing 3-2 at FC Porto.
    • Braga sit fourth in their league table. They are five points behind first place Porto.
    Match Facts
    • Arsenal last faced Portuguese competition in the Round of 16 last year, defeating FC Porto 6-2 on aggregate. They played Porto the year before that in group play, winning both matches at home and losing both matches on the road.
    • Arsenal have won four straight group stage home matches. Their last draw was a 0-0 draw with Fenerbahce on November 5, 2008.
    • Arsenal's last loss at home in group play was to Inter Milan, 3-0 on September 17, 2003; incidentally, that was at the start of the year Arsenal went unbeaten in the league. Arsenal famously won the return fixture at the San Siro 5-1.
    • Both Arsenal and Braga are talented offensive sides with some question marks on defense. This could be a high scoring match.
    The Referee
    • The referee is Alain Hamer from Luxembourg.
    • Last year, he worked Arsenal's 4-1 group stage win over AZ Alkmaar at the Emirates. The year before that, he worked Arsenal's 1-1 group stage win over Dynamo Kiev, also at the Emirates.
    England in the Champions League This Week
    • Tuesday: Werder Bremen v. Tottenham Hotspur; Weserstadion, Bremen
    • Tuesday: Manchester United v. Rangers; Old Trafford, Manchester
    • Wednesday: Zilina v. Chelsea; Stadium Pod Dubnom, Zilina

    Sunday, September 12, 2010

    Arsenal 4 - 1 Bolton: Pass, Pass, Pass, Pass, Goal

    Laurent Koscielny scored his first as a Gunner, but was to blame for Bolton's equalizer later. Pic via Daily Mail.

    Arsenal 4: Koscielny 24, Chamakh 58, Song 78, Vela 83
    Bolton 1: Elmander 44

    It was a bit classic Arsenal. Tons of chances with few results, a mistake in the back leading to a goal against, and a slight nervousness at halftime. In the end, the Gunners came through and put the match away, using a killer instinct they lacked at times last spring.

    With the first Champions League matchday looming on Wednesday, Arsene Wenger chose to switch up the line-up a bit, giving starts to some players we haven't seen in a while. The result was six line-up changes and a shaky back four who had never played together before. Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna were rested for Kieran Gibbs and Emmanuel Eboue respectively. Thomas Vermaelen was out with a slight Achilles injury and newcomer Sebastien Squillaci started in his place. Jack Wilshere, who was on loan at Bolton last spring, started instead of Abou Diaby. And, with Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie injured, Tomas Rosicky and Marouane Chamakh slipped back into the starting XI as well.

    Arsenal should have struck early as in the fifth minute, Andrei Arshavin was put through one-on-one with Bolton's rookie goalkeeper. Arshavin's shot was directly at the young keeper and the Diminutive Russian had his first of many misses. Bolton looked strong to start the match, always threatening with the possibility of clipping a goal, especially with the back four being as shaky as it was.

    That being said, Arsenal did score first. The Gunners maintained possession following a corner kick and Jack Wilshere played a perfect aerial ball into the box. Laurent Koscielny got a touch, nearly fired a shot into Cesc Fabregas, then tapped the ball home for his first goal in red and white.

    Unfortunately, Koscielny was at fault for Bolton's equalizer twenty minutes later. Koscielny attempted to nod the ball back to Manuel Almunia so he could pick it up, but his header was misplaced and into the path of the charging Chung-Yong Lee. Almunia was left with very few options and attempted to cut down the angle. Koscielny then didn't closely mark Johan Elmander, who headed home a cross to get the game to 1-1 at halftime.

    Arsenal took a 2-1 lead thirteen minutes after the re-start, again following a corner. Cesc Fabregas's cross from just on the line found a wide open Marouane Chamakh, who headed in the goal with ease, to the point where it looked like Bolton assumed he was offside for some reason. It might only be his second goal of the campaign, but I think Chamakh has had a fantastic start to his Arsenal career. It's great to have a player who can cause havoc in the box. For all of his size, it's not a role Nicklas Bendtner has filled well.

    If you go back to my preview post from Wednesday night, you'll see I mentioned that the referee, Stuart Attwell, was working his first Arsenal match. In short, he was dreadful, and seemed unprepared for this level. Arsenal probably had about three legitimate calls for penalties that went unnoticed. Bolton avoided bookings on numerous occasions, and then when Attwell does pull out a straight red card, it's a ridiculously harsh call. Not to mention that a foul should have been called on Alex Song shortly before that anyway. Kyle Davies was booked in the first half in a situation where he had actually committed two bookable offenses, but wasn't carded for the first since Attwell played advantage. Speaking of which, when Gary Cahill was sent off, Attwell failed to give Arsenal the blatant advantage. Then, a brutal challenge on Abou Diaby isn't called a foul at all. At times, the officiating was just plain nonsense.

    Alex Song scored a brilliant goal to start putting the match away as he poked through a chip shot from a tight angle to make it 3-1 with twelve minutes to play. The goal was the 1000th Arsenal goal scored in the Premier League under manager Arsene Wenger. Arsenal would get Wenger's 1001st league goal five minutes later, a cool little side-footed tap from Carlos Vela, which came after a brilliant through ball from Cesc Fabregas, which came after a marvelous game of keep away, diagrammed below; I think it was 24 consecutive passes.



     by Guardian Chalkboards

    Wednesday, September 8, 2010

    Preview: Arsenal v. Bolton Wanderers

    Arsenal fell behind early in this fixture in January, equalized controversially (pictured), then won comfortably. Pic via Guardian.

    Emirates Stadium, London
    Saturday, September 11
    15:00 BST, 10:00 a.m. EDT
    • Referee: Stuart Attwell
    • This Match, Last Year: Arsenal 4 - 2 Bolton Wanderers
    • All-Time in All Competitions: 55 Arsenal wins, 38 Bolton wins, 35 draws
    • Arsenal's Recent Form: D-W-W
    • Bolton's Recent Form: D-W-D
    Predicted Line-Up
    guesses in red

    Almunia
    Sagna - Koscielny - Vermaelen - Clichy
    Song - Fabregas - Diaby
    Rosicky - Chamakh - Arshavin

    Subs from: Fabianski, Squillaci, Gibbs, Eboue, Denilson, Wilshere, Vela
    Out: Nasri (knee), Walcott (ankle), Bendtner (groin), Van Persie (ankle), Ramsey (broken leg), Frimpong (knee)

    Arsenal News and Notes
    • Theo Walcott's injury, suffered on Tuesday with the England squad, is not a broken ankle, but the initial diagnosis of two weeks was, of course, wishful thinking. It looks more like four to six weeks now.
    • Samir Nasri is ahead of schedule and is returning to training with the team. I wouldn't expect a start from the Frenchman on Saturday, but he could return to the bench.
    • The news on Robin van Persie is much worse, since his ankle might actually be made of glass. The word after the Blackburn match was two weeks. That quickly jumped up to four weeks. Now it seems he's out until "mid-October," which would ultimately end up being about six weeks since the injury. The worst part is that he'll almost certainly miss early October's trip to Stamford Bridge.
    • The news on Nicklas Bendtner's groin has been all over the place; my understanding is that he could be available by that aforementioned match at Chelsea in October.
    • Aaron Ramsey remains out until at least November; Emmanuel Frimpong will not likely see first team action this year after his ligament tear.
    • Arsenal are unbeaten in their last four competitive fixtures dating back to last season. Including pre-season friendlies, they are unbeaten in ten. But who includes those? Nobody, that's who.
    Bolton News and Notes
    • Sean Davis is out until October with a knee injury.
    • Bolton will have to start 22-year-old rookie Adam Bogdan as their goalkeeper; Jussi Jaaskelainen was shown a straight red card in Bolton's last match, a 2-2 draw with Birmingham City, for a slap to the face of Roger Johnson, and is suspended.
    • Like Arsenal, Bolton are one of seven Premier League squads without a loss this season. Only Chelsea has three wins and no draws. Arsenal and Manchester United have one draw. Bolton, Birmingham, and Wolves have two draws, and Fulham has three.
    • Bolton are unbeaten in their four competitive fixtures this year, which includes their 1-0 win over Southampton in the Carling Cup.
    • Dating back to last season, Bolton is unbeaten in five.
    Match Facts
    • Arsenal won both fixtures against Bolton Wanderers last season. After multiple fixture rearrangements, both matches were played in a four day span.
    • Arsenal won 2-0 at the Reebok (with goals from Fabregas and Fran Merida), then won 4-2 at the Emirates after falling behind 2-0 early (with goals from Rosicky, Fabregas, Vermaelen, and Arshavin.)
    • This fixture was postponed twice last season; once for Arsenal's Champions League play-off tie against Celtic and once due to heavy snow in London.
    • Arsenal has won their last seven league fixtures against Bolton. The Trotters last win was a 3-1 win at the Reebok in November of 2006. Former Gunner Nicolas Anelka had a brace.
    • Bolton's last league win at Arsenal was January 13, 1962, a 2-1 win. Since then, the Gunners have won 12 and drawn three.
    The Referee
    • The referee is Stuart Attwell.
    • Attwell became the youngest referee in Premier League history when he debuted in September of 2008.
    • This is the first time in his career he will be officiating an Arsenal match.
    • He has already worked one Bolton match this season: their opening day 0-0 draw against Fulham. Last year, he worked one Trotters match: a 2-1 win at Stoke.
    Around the League
    • Saturday: Everton v. Manchester United; Goodison Park, Liverpool
    • Saturday: Fulham v. Wolverhampton Wanderers; Craven Cottage, London
    • Saturday: Manchester City v. Blackburn Rovers; City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
    • Saturday: Newcastle United v. Blackpool; St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
    • Saturday: West Bromwich Albion v. Tottenham Hotspur; The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
    • Saturday: West Ham United v. Chelsea; Boleyn Ground, London
    • Saturday: Wigan Athletic v. Sunderland; DW Stadium, Wigan
    • Sunday: Birmingham City v. Liverpool; St. Andrews, Birmingham
    • Monday: Stoke City v. Aston Villa; Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent

    Reserves: Arsenal 4 - 3 Blackburn Rovers

    Sebastian Squillaci makes his debut in red and white at Underhill Stadium. Pic via Arsenal.com.

    Arsenal 4: Aneke 45, Afobe 59, 84, Emmanuel-Thomas 87
    Blackburn Rovers 3: Benjani 26, Dunn 42, 72 (pen)

    The international break has afforded teams the opportunity to test their recovering players in the waters that is the reserves league. As such, four normally first team Gunners started for the reserves squad in their second fixture of the season, as they hosted Blackburn Rovers reserves at Barnet's Underhill Stadium in North London. Arsenal entered the match 1-0 on the season, having beaten Bolton's reserves 5-0 in late August.

    Center back Sebastien Squillaci made his debut for the squad and played all 90 minutes alongside a back four that included Johan Djourou, perpetually recovering from his own injury problems. In addition, Denilson, who has not played a match since last season, started in the midfield as he's recovering from an abdominal problem, and Lukasz Fabianski started in goal, as he is trying to recover from being Fabianski. Maybe it's not surprising that the reserves conceded three.

    To be fair, Blackburn Rovers also started four players from their first team who are trying to return to the line-up, and took a 3-2 lead on a penalty (which had been conceded by Djourou) before Benik Afobe equalized for Arsenal, then Jay Emmanuel-Thomas won the game three minutes from time.

    Tuesday, September 7, 2010

    International Gunner Watch - It's Just a Sprain!

    Walcott left on a stretcher, but it's not as serious as it looked. Pic via Daily Telegraph.

    Here is your international recap for Tuesday:

    Turkey 3 - 2 Belgium
    Tough loss for Thomas Vermaelen and Belgium, who are now falling farther behind in Group A qualification. Daniel van Buyten had a brace for Belgium, who led 1-0, then equalized 2-2 in the 70th before Arda Turan won the match for Turkey in the 78th. Belgium have not been in the Euro tournament since 2000 (as hosts;) they last qualified under normal circumstances in 1984.

    Russia 0 - 1 Slovakia
    Andrei Arshavin and Russia dropped points at home to Slovakia after Miroslav Stoch won the match for the away side in the 27th minute.


    Bosnia 0 - 2 France
    France got a much needed win in Sarajevo today, their first under manager Laurent Blanc. Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, and Abou Diaby played all 90 minutes.


    Switzerland 1 - 3 England
    After setting up Wayne Rooney's opening goal, Theo Walcott was stretchered off the pitch with a nasty looking ankle injury... but thankfully, the Arsenal international curse didn't take full effect. It looked like a break at first, but reports state that it's actually just a sprain. Fabio Capello asked Theo "two weeks?" regarding the length of his injury and Walcott's response was "less." Kieran Gibbs did not feature.


    Czech Republic 0 - 1 Lithuania
    Milan Baros missed a penalty that would have equalized in the 40th minute, and Tomas Rosicky and the Czech Republic are off to a bad start.


    Argentina 4 - 1 Spain
    Karma continues to torment Pepe Reina for his little Barcelona shirt stunt. Cesc Fabregas played 56 minutes for Spain in their friendly. It was only Spain's third loss since 2006.

    Carlos Vela and Mexico hosts Colombia tonight in another friendly.

    U21: England 3 - 0 Lithuania
    Jack Wilshere returned to the fold as a substitute after being withheld from Friday's match after his focus had slipped due to his involvement in... some sort of fracas... Wilshere was a catalyst for the Three Lions, ensuring their qualification, which looked to be in danger entering the weekend.


    U21: Italy 1 - 0 Wales
    Italy finished top of their group, thanks to another clean sheet from Vito Mannone.

    Arsene Wenger Is Very Disappointed in You 9/07/10


    Sunday, September 5, 2010

    International Gunner Watch - Africa Cup Qualification, Eboue Scores

    Ivory Coast celebrates a 3-0 win. Pic via CAF.

    Here's your recap of Saturday's international action involving Arsenal players:

    Morocco 0 - 0 Central African Republic
    Marouane Chamakh and Morocco could not secure three points at home against Central African Republic, who are currently ranked 202 in the world.

    Mauritius 1 - 3 Cameroon
    Samuel Eto'o had a brace in the win for Alex Song and Cameroon.
    Ivory Coast 3 - 0 Rwanda
    Emmanuel Eboue scored from 25 yards out five minutes from time in the first half to give Ivory Coast the 3-0 lead by which they would eventually win.

    Mexico 1 - 2 Ecuador
    Carlos Vela played 64 minutes in Mexico's friendly lost, on home soil, to Ecuador.

    Friday, September 3, 2010

    International Gunner Watch - France Lost Again!?

    Belarus won. In France. Pic via ESPN.

    Here's your Friday recap of international matches involving Arsenal players:

    Belgium 0 - 1 Germany
    Thomas Vermaelen played all 90 minutes for the Belgians, who lost thanks to Miroslav Klose's 51st minute goal.


    Andorra 0 - 2 Russia
    Andrei Arshavin played all 90 minutes as well, as Russia picked up a brace from Pavel Pogrebniak. In this qualifying match for 2008, Arshavin was sent off.


    France 0 - 1 Belarus
    Things just aren't getting better for France's national team, are they? Clichy, Sagna, and Diaby played all 90.



    San Marnio 0 - 5 Netherlands
    Robin van Persie's hurt, of course, but the Oranje didn't seem to need him.

    England 4 - 0 Bulgaria
    Theo Walcott was not quite in the form he has been in with Arsenal lately; Jermain Defoe picked up a hat trick at Wembley, but Spurs center back Michael Dawson left with what looked like a serious knee injury. Kieran Gibbs did not feature.

    Liechtenstein 0 - 4 Spain
    Cesc Fabregas played the second half; Fernando Torres and David Villa each had a brace.

    UNDER-21's:

    Portugal 0 - 1 England
    Jack Wilshere did not appear off the bench, but Daniel Sturridge's goal kept England alive.

    Ukraine 2 - 2 France
    Now on loan Armand Traore was not named in the squad for France's draw, which eliminated them from qualification.

    Bosnia 0 - 1 Italy
    Vito Mannone kept a clean sheet as Italy stayed alive in Sarajevo.

    Finland 2- 0 Poland
    Poland was eliminated; Wojciech Szczesny was not named in the squad.

    Thursday, September 2, 2010

    International Gunner Watch - Euro Qualifiers, Round 1


    Qualifying for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship begins this week, which means a number of Arsenal players will be out on international duty during this, the first international break of the 2010/11 Premier League season. Of course, not all of Arsenal's international players are European; in fact, only nine of the 17 Gunners on international duty this weekend will be participating in Euro qualifiers. Four more will be playing for Under-21 European squads, while four will be playing in African Cup of Nations qualifiers. All this, and Carlos Vela in a Mexican friendly...

    FRANCE: Abou Diaby, Bacary Sagna, and Gael Clichy
    Four Gunners went to South Africa representing France and three came back (*coughGallasisatraitorcough*) ... Samir Nasri could have been named to this weekend's squad had he not been injured and Sebastien Squillaci, Arsenal's newest signing, was not named to Laurent Blanc's squad.

    France is in Group D of qualifying, up against Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Albania, and Luxembourg. France will host Belarus in Saint-Denis on Friday, then travel to Sarajevo to play Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday.

    ENGLAND: Theo Walcott and Kieran Gibbs
    England is 12-0 when Theo Walcott plays while Kieran Gibbs has earned his second call-up. Jack Wilshere was dropped to the U-21 squad, so more the peacemaker later. England is in Group G, with Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales, and Montenegro.

    England hosts Bulgaria at Wembley on Friday and will play Switzerland in Basel on Tuesday.

    SPAIN: Cesc Fabregas
    Those Barcelona players get another chance to tap-up our captain this week, which is just fan-frickin'-tastic. Spain is in Group I with Rosicky's Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania, and Lichtenstein. Spain will play Lichtenstein in Vaduz on Friday, but with only five teams in the group, the World Cup champions will not play on Tuesday. Maybe that means we get Cesc back in training sooner, please?

    CZECH REPUBLIC: Tomas Rosicky
    As mentioned in the above paragraph, Rosicky's Czech Republic are in the same group as Spain. They will have off on Friday, then on Tuesday, they'll host Lithuania in Olomouc.

    BELGIUM: Thomas Vermaelen
    Belgium and their captain Vermaelen do not have an easy trip into the Euro 2012 as they are in Group A with Germany, Turkey, Austria, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan. Belgium will host the Germans in Brussels on Friday night, which would be a huge win. Tuesday, they travel to Istanbul to play Turkey.

    RUSSIA: Andrei Arshavin
    Arshavin and the Russians missed out on a trip to the World Cup in the final play-off round of qualifying but are in Group B here, along with Slovakia, Ireland, Macedonia, Armenia, and Andorra. Russia starts with Andorra in Andorra-la-Vella on Friday, then hosts Slovakia in Moscow on Tuesday.

    ENGLAND U-21: Jack Wilshere
    Recently arrested Jack Wilshere has been dropped from the senior squad to the Under-21 squad (though, that's not related.) In their U-21 qualifiers, they'll play Portugal in Barcelos on Friday, then host Lithuania in Colchester on Tuesday. These are the last two U-21 qualifiers, with that tournament being held in 2011. England is second in Group 9, behind Greece. England could be eliminated with a loss to Portugal.

    FRANCE U-21: Armand Traore
    Traore, now on loan to Juventus, will play with France's Under-21 squad as they play the Ukraine in Kiev on Friday and Malta in Amiens on Tuesday. France is in third in Group 8; they'll be eliminated with a loss to Ukraine or a draw if Belgium picks up at least a point against Slovenia.

    ITALY U-21: Vito Mannone
    I'm not sure if Mannone starts for the Italian U-21 squad. I do know that he's 22 years old now. Italy is third in group 3. They'll play Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo on Friday and Wales in Pescara on Tuesday.

    POLAND U-21: Wojciech Szczesny
    Our young future #1 keeper is in group 4, where Poland sits in third place as well, behind Holland who have already qualified and Spain. Poland will play Finland in Pori on Friday and Spain in Grodzisk Wielkopolski on Tuesday. Poland will be eliminated on Friday if they don't beat Finland or Spain wins against the Netherlands.

    It looks like all four of these Under-21 teams could be eliminated by the end of the week.

    IVORY COAST: Emmanuel Eboue
    Ivory Coast are in Group H of 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, along with Benin, Rwanda, and Burundi. The Elephants will host Rwanda on Friday in their first qualifier.

    CAMEROON: Alex Song
    The Indomitable Lions are in Group E with Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mauritius. Cameroon in this round will play Mauritius in Curepipe on Saturday.

    MOROCCO: Marouane Chamakh
    Morocco is in Group D with Tanzania, Algeria, and Central African Republic. The Lions of the Atlas will host Central African Republic in Rabat on Saturday.

    MEXICO: Carlos Vela
    It's a friendly for Carlos Vela and Mexico. They'll play Ecuador in Guadalajara on Saturday.