FA Cup: Arsenal 2 - 1 Huddersfield Town: Way Too Close

Samir Nasri got hurt. EVERYONE PANIC! Pic via Guardian.

Arsenal 2: P. Clarke 21 (og), Fabregas 86 (pen)

Huddersfield Town 1: Lee 66

So, there we were. Ridiculously early on a Sunday morning. It was the 85th minute, it wasn't even 9:00 a.m. in New York, and Arsenal were five minutes plus added time away from needing a replay against League One Huddersfield Town. The Gunners' B team, on ten men, not only could not put the Terriers away, but at times looked dangerously close to crashing out. And yet again, in the FA Cup at home against lower level competition, Arsenal managed to find a get out of jail free card. And..... exhale.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes were obviously necessary again because of Arsenal's jam packed fixtures list. The Gunners will host Everton at the Emirates tomorrow, making this FA Cup tie the first match of two in about 60 hours. Manuel Almunia returned, thanks to rest for Szczesny and Fabianski's shoulder injury. Sebastien Squillaci returned to center back, playing along with Laurent Koscielny and giving Djourou a rest. Sagna and Clichy dropped to the bench for Emmanuel Eboue and Kieran Gibbs, as expected. Abou Diaby returned from injury to start in a holding role with Denilson. Samir Nasri started in the middle with the captain's armband, joined by Andrei Arshavin, Nicklas Bendtner, and Marouane Chamakh. So, in total, two members of the normal starting XI got the start.

Arsenal had a few chances early to take the lead, but with them being taken by Arshavin and Bendtner, they did not come to anything. Bendtner, in fact, had one absolutely terrible miss when he attempted to one-time a volley shot, but missed the ball completely, much to the delight of the traveling Huddersfield support. He did, however, shut them up a few moments later. He struck a low drive to the corner of the net that would have gone wide, but a favorable deflection and a Huddersfield own goal later, it was 1-0 to the Arsenal.

The problem is, Arsenal got a little too comfortable with that lead immediately afterward. This problem became even worse when Samir Nasri picked up a hamstring injury and had to be replaced by Tomas Rosicky. Nasri will be out for at least two weeks, so everyone hold your breath for the next three league matches. Just before halftime, Arsenal found themselves in even more trouble when Sebastien Squillaci was caught keeping too high of a line and obstructed the path of Huddersfield's Jack Hunt, who was through on goal. Straight red card all the way.

Squillaci's red card meant Alex Song had to come off the bench to play at center half and Arsene Wenger went defensive, pulling off Chamakh. Through the second half, you could tell Huddersfield's equalizer was coming. It arrived in the 66th minute, shortly after a brilliant diving save from Almunia had kept the lead intact. The Terriers won a corner and it was 6'3" Alan Lee who won the header in the box. So, it was time to bring on the big guns, and Cesc Fabregas came off the bench for Diaby.

The tie was in the balance, Arsenal settled a little, but play still went back and forth. Did Arsenal have a winner in them? Turns out, yes they did, thanks to more help from the penalty spot. Nicklas Bendtner was hauled down in the box by Jamie McCombe (who should have been sent off) and Mark Clattenburg pointed to the spot. Cesc Fabregas stepped up, stutter-stepped twice, and sent Ian Bennett the wrong way. Arsenal were back on top with four minutes of regular time to play, then held on for the win.

All in all, another unnecessarily stressful match caused by the apparent lack of cohesion in the back-up squad. They are an individually talented squad that just doesn't get the chance to find form due to a lack of playing time. Their reward for sneaking by Huddersfield is a London derby with Leyton Orient. Let's pray Nasri gets well soon and that Arsenal can back to doing their thing in the league.

International Gunner Watch - It's Almost Like Good News

Nice scarf, Tommy. Pic via Big Soccer.

With all of Arsenal's injuries, there will only be eight first team Gunners on international duty during this weekend's unfortunate injury period international break. This conveniently gives the wounded the opportunity to spend two weeks training and rehabilitating in London, or just watching pre-season NBA games, as shown in the picture.

Cesc Fabregas will not be playing for Spain, still out with a hamstring injury, but should be set to return immediately afterward the break. Please note that this is usually the exact opposite of how international breaks usually go for Arsenal players. Manuel Almunia should return to action for Birmingham City at the Emirates on the 16th as well. Theo Walcott may need another week, but may return for Arsenal's trip to Manchester City on the 24th. Robin van Persie is a bit behind schedule but could be back by the start of November. Nicklas Bendtner expects to be back in contention by the end of the month. Kieran Gibbs should be back within the next two Arsenal matches as well.

There's two bits of bad injury news and both are on the back line. Thomas Vermaelen's Achilles injury is slower to heal than expected and there is, as yet, no time table for his return. In addition, Bacary Sagna picked up a left thigh injury while training with France and has been dropped from the national squad for this week and sent back to London.

Also, there's the case of Carlos Vela, who was banned from the Mexican team for six months for organizing a hotel party after a friendly with Colombia last month. I think this is something Arsene Wenger, who is known to detest these breaks, should encourage more!

FRANCE: SAMIR NASRI / ABOU DIABY / GAEL CLICHY
Saturday v. Romania; Stade de France, Saint Denis
Tuesday v. Luxembourg; Stade Saint-Symphorien, Metz

France is currently in third place in Group D, thanks to their loss to Belarus. This time around, Les Bleus get to play the 5th and 6th place teams in the six team group. As mentioned above, France will be without the injured Bacary Sagna.

ENGLAND: JACK WILSHERE
Friday with U-21 v. Romania; Carrow Road, Norwich
Tuesday with senior squad v. Montenegro; Wembley Stadium, London

Despite being named to Fabio Capello's senior squad, Jack Wilshere will also be forced to play with Stuart Pearce's Under-21 squad in their Euro 2011 qualification play-off first leg against Romania in Norwich on Friday night. We're all worried he'll be overplayed by England, leading to an eventual injury plagued career, because as you probably know, it's happened before.

CZECH REPUBLIC: TOMAS ROSICKY
Friday v. Scotland; Synot Tip Arena, Prague
Tuesday at Liechtenstein; Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz

The Czech Republic have lost their first and only Group I match and sit in 4th place out of five teams. They had a bye round during the last international break.

RUSSIA: ANDREI ARSHAVIN
Friday at Ireland; Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Tuesday at Macedonia; Philip II Arena, Skopje

Russia is in 3rd place out of six in Group B. They lost to Slovakia and beat Andorra. Both of their matches are away from home in this set of rounds, but their one loss did come in Moscow.

IVORY COAST: EMMANUEL EBOUE
Friday at Burundi; Prince Louis Rwagasore Stadium, Bujumbura

Ivory Coast leads Group I after 3-0 win over Rwanda, during which Eboue scored the third goal.

MOROCCO: MAROUANE CHAMAKH
Friday at Tanzania; Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, Dar-es-Salaam

All four teams drew in Group D, though Morocco sits in 4th place out of four, since they played a 0-0 draw with a team that comes before them alphabetically (Central African Republic,) while Tanzania and Algeria's draw was 1-1.

ENGLAND U-21: HENRI LANSBURY
Friday v. Romania; Carrow Road, Norwich
Tuesday at Romania; Stadionul Municipal, Botosani

England's Under-21 squad plays a two-legged play-off with Romania to attempt to qualify for the 2011 tournament. The second leg is away from home since England finished second in their group.

POLAND U-20: WOJCIECH SZCZESNY
Sunday v. Germany (friendly)

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.

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.

Blackburn Rovers 1 - 2 Arsenal: Net Buster

Theo Walcott destroys some twine. Pic via Daily Mail.

Blackburn Rovers 1: M.B. Diouf 27

Arsenal 2: Walcott 20, Arshavin 51

Arsenal trips to Ewood Park are never very pleasant. Last spring, Arsenal was battered in their own box on set pieces and lost 2-1. Blackburn Rovers play a highly different style of game compared to Arsenal, though I suppose "style" is the last word in the English language I should use to describe their tactics. It looked like it could have been a frustrating affair, and when you stay out all night to make it for a 7:45 a.m. kick-off, frustration is not usually welcome.

Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie returned to the starting line-up for the Gunners, meaning Tomas Rosicky and Marouane Chamakh dropped to the bench. Jack Wilshere dropped to the bench as well with Alex Song slipping back into his usually holding midfield role and Laurent Koscielny returning to center back from suspension.

Arsenal nearly struck first early in the match. A Theo Walcott shot was blocked after a Robin van Persie corner, but the rebound came out to Abou Diaby, who from 18 yards fired a shot that deflected off Paul Robinson, Blackburn's keeper, and a defender before being cleared.

Things got a bit nervy from there for Arsenal as Blackburn threatened from set pieces. Play after a long throw from Rovers' Rory Delap-esque Morten Pedersen was headed out for a corner, then Manuel Almunia was involved in a bit of an argument with El-Hadji Diouf, and the goal attempt after the corner was headed off the line by Fabregas.

The Gunners struck first in the 20th with a lovely goal from Theo Walcott which actually snapped the twine of the goal netting. Walcott picked up a through ball from van Persie as he beat the left back and fired a shot into the low corner from just to the right of the penalty spot. It's that trademark Walcott goal.

Seven minutes later, Blackburn were level, not through set pieces, but open play. Bacary Sagna was caught up the pitch and El-Hadji Diouf beat Laurent Koscielny. One Diouf's cross met another on the other end as Mame Biram Diouf, on loan from Manchester United, found a spot between Thomas Vermaelen and Gael Clichy, and M.B. Diouf found the net, with Manuel Almunia out of position after trying to block the cross. The fact that M.B. Diouf was so wide open was the fault of Clichy, who was oblivious to his presence. I'm starting to wonder when Kieran Gibbs might get a start at left back.

At about the half hour mark came an event I hope not to have to write about much this season. On an innocuous challenge, Robin van Persie twisted his ankle and was forced to leave the match, with Chamakh replacing him. From what I've heard, it's a 10-14 day injury, which means the upcoming international break is coming at the perfect time for our made-of-glass striker. Little else to speak of in the opening frame; the match was 1-1 at the half.

 

Blackburn's tactic of attacking aerially through Paul Robinson's free kicks worked in the first half (top), but was stifled in the second (bottom). Analysis via Guardian Chalkboards.

Arsenal were significantly more composed in the second half, which allowed them to take control of the match. When you don't concede free kicks in the attacking half against Blackburn, you don't allow keeper Paul Robinson to fire long balls in your direction and you don't allow them to control the aerial game. As you can see in the above passing map, Blackburn won three balls in the box in the first half from Paul Robinson free kicks. As a result, Blackburn controlled the tempo of the play for much of the first 45 minutes. They were not given the opportunity to do the same in the second half, leaving three points there for the taking for Arsenal.

The Gunners went up 2-1 just six minutes into the second half. Sagna's cross found Fabregas who fired a one-time shot into the backside of Theo Walcott. The ball pinged, fortunately, to Andrei Arshavin, who coolly finished past a diving Robinson to give Arsenal the lead once more. Fabregas, still not quite 100% as far as I'm concerned, was lifted a bit after the hour mark for Rosicky. I think Arsene Wenger gave him about ten more minutes than he was originally planning.

Arsenal had the better of chances throughout much of the second half as they attempted to extend their lead: Chamakh had a brilliant chance blocked, Walcott fired another over the bar, and Jack Wilshere (on for Arshavin late) had the best opportunity of the half at the death but was off balance and scuffed a shot straight at the keeper. I think Blackburn had, at most, one shot on target in the second half, a David Dunn effort that was straight at Almunia.

In retrospect, a vital three points for the Gunners if they are to seriously challenge for the title this year. The team controlled the second half and did not allow themselves to be undone by Blackburn's tactics as they were last May. Manuel Almunia was calm and collected in goal, a good performance from the Spaniard who may no longer be starting for Arsenal by the end of the international break in two weeks. The back four were solid, with the exception of the errors which led to Blackburn's goal, though I'm a bit frustrated with Clichy's start to the season. I don't like Alex Song's new hairstyle, but he and Diaby were solid in the holding roles, and the forwards continued their excellent form to start the year, even Arshavin, who has looked sluggish and uninterested at times.

Haiku Review: Liverpool 1 - 1 Arsenal

A new feature this year for Hipster Gooner is the post-match haiku review. Never has football writing so incisive or poetic.

Manuel Almunia: 4
He did not drop the/
ball into his own net like/
Pepe Reina (twat.)

Bacary Sagna: 5
A Sagna suspect/
cross. A beauty to behold/
for Daniel Agger.

Laurent Koscielny: 6
Joe Cole nearly broke/
him. Sent him for an early bath/
by Sir Atkinson.

Thomas Vermaelen: 6
Agog at Ngog/
For Liverpool's opener.
Solid otherwise.

Gael Clichy: 5
Should be number three,/
but I did not really see/
him do much at all.

Jack Wilshere: 4
Jack passed the ball to/
the Liverpool attack. Well,/
that was a bit crap.

Abou Diaby: 5
Abou Diaby!/
Just a bit mediocre!/
Abou Diaby!

Emmanuel Eboue: 5
Some only came to/
see his dramatic sidesteps,/
comical fumbles.

Samir Nasri: 6
Some words of advice:/
When you're taking those free kicks,/
hit it over the wall.

Andrei Arshavin: 2
Small like this haiku/
About the same amount of/
quality also.

Marouane Chamakh: 6
Marouane Chamakh
was pretty good in attack.
A goal he did lack.

Substitutes: The three replacements, due to a lack of time on the pitch, only receive a micro-haiku (3,5,3) for their efforts.

Tomas Rosicky: 8
Flowing locks/
gone. Just like the boys/
of summer.

Theo Walcott: 4
Walcott, heed/
my words and take flight./
It's insane.

Robin van Persie: 5
R. V. P./
forget injury./
Smash the ball.

Liverpool 1 - 1 Arsenal: Who's Only Got Ten Men?

Oops! Pic via Sky Sports.

Liverpool 1: N'Gog 46

Arsenal 1: Reina 90 (og)

At one point during the latter stages of the match, our own Maxwell Foxman turned to me and said, "John, you've got that facial expression you get when you're mad." I can't say I was mad, exactly... it was more frustration and the feeling of oncoming despair. After the match, our own Jack Palmer sent me a text that said "Welcome back, Arsenal stress!"

Remember that time Pepe Reina had his arm around Cesc Fabregas while our captain was uncomfortably forced to wear a Barcelona shirt at the Spain World Cup celebration?

Karma's a bitch, isn't it?

Fabregas was not available for the Gunners on Merseyside while Robin van Persie and Alex Song were unable to start; this gave Jack Wilshere his first Premier League start for Arsenal and put Samir Nasri, Andrei Arshavin, and Emmanuel Eboue as the three midfielders behind Marouane Chamakh.

Arsenal controlled much of the opening half in classic Arsenal style, that is to say, there was a lot of calm and controlled possession with absolutely nothing to show for it. Aside from a Thomas Vermaelen free kick in the early going, there was very little to challenge Pepe Reina.

Liverpool came close to opening the scoring late in the half. In the 44th minute, a Glen Johnson shot forced Manuel Almunia into a brilliant save and after a the corner kick, a shot seemed destined for the low left goal post, but Gael Clichy blocked the shot away on the line. A minute later, an ill-timed but not ill-intentioned scissoring tackle from Joe Cole on Laurent Koscielny saw the former Chelsea man shown a straight red card. Initial reports looked bad; Arsene Wenger was told by the physios that Koscielny might have broken a bone. With Johan Djourou already hurt, Arsenal would be down to one center back with the new signing out.

Koscielny appeared fine to start the second half, but the back four wasn't quite there in every sense of the term after the restart. An Andrei Arshavin pass went astray and eluded both Jack Wilshere and Samir Nasri and landed at the feet of Javier Mascherano. His pass fed David N'Gog, Arsenal's defense allowed him all of the time and space in the world, and N'Gog fired a brilliant strike past the arms of Almunia and into the top of the net. Liverpool was on ten men, but after 58 seconds of play in the second half, they were up 1-0.

The goal deflated Arsenal quite a bit and Liverpool stunningly dominated play for the first 20-30 minutes of the second half, a worrying concept considering the Gunners' man advantage during this time. A double substitution just before the hour mark brought on Tomas Rosicky and Theo Walcott in exchange for Wilshere and Eboue. Arsenal began regaining some possession around this point and after the 70 minute mark began having a few better looks at the goal. Robin van Persie appeared in the 76th for Abou Diaby and he added some spark, despite not looking 100%.

Rosicky had a powerful strike tipped over the bar by Reina, then a scramble around the goal line brought nothing; it appeared Arsenal's goal wasn't coming. Then in the 90th, Rosicky received the ball on the left wing after a throw-in and sent a cross into the box. It appeared Reina would have the cross controlled, but he was beaten in the air by Chamakh, whose header clanged off the bottom of the left post and was headed right back into the arms of the waiting Reina. But Reina could not control the ball and he fumbled it into his own goal. Final minute of normal time and Arsenal was level.

Manuel Almunia was forced into a brilliant save on a Steven Gerrard free kick in the 93rd to keep the match level. It was a well taken strike and would have been a heartbreaking result for the Gunners just minutes after they had been gifted an equalizer. But in bad news, Laurent Koscielny was shown two yellow cards in injury time, the second being a fairly ridiculously ruled intentional handball. The having one center back fear is now back, as Koscielny will now serve a one match ban.

Chamakh and Koscielny generally had strong debuts for Arsenal; Jack Wilshere was solid but doesn't seem ready to start for us on a weekly basis; Manuel Almunia had no major disasters but still doesn't instill any needed confidence in goal; the back four as a whole appeared lost at times, especially Gael Clichy in the second half; Andrei Arshavin was dreadful, but I have the feeling he's playing hurt; and, a difficult fixture is out of the way with a point while missing Fabregas.

Emirates Cup: Arsenal 3 - 2 Celtic: Too Close for Comfort

Carlos Vela (right) celebrates his goal with Jay Emmanuel-Thomas. Pic via Sky Sports.

Arsenal 3: Vela 3, Sagna 45, Nasri 51

Celtic 2: Murphy 72, Sung-Yueng 83

Arsenal once again dominated the first 70 minutes of a match at the Emirates Stadium in their home tournament, but once again crumbled in the final minutes. This time, however, their lead was large enough to hold up, and the  Gunners retained hold of the Emirates Cup with a 3-2 win over Celtic.

The Gunners controlled the entirety of the first half, opening the scoring early as the efforts of Jack Wilshere set up a Theo Walcott cross to a sliding Carlos Vela to put Arsenal up 1-0 on three minutes. Despite numerous opportunities, Arsenal could not get a second until shortly before the stroke of halftime, when, after a corner kick, it was Bacary Sagna, of all people, who struck an absolutely brilliant drive off his non-favored foot from 20 yards out. Sagna had only scored once before in an Arsenal shirt, a header at Stamford Bridge in 2008.

Arsene Wenger made two positive substitutions at halftime, bringing on Samir Nasri and Marouane Chamakh, both of whom had brilliant games on Saturday. It worked pretty quickly; Nasri added to the scoresheet just six minutes into the second half.

From there, Arsenal took the engines off high gear and it nearly cost them. Sagna and Gael Clichy were pulled on 62 minutes and Thomas Vermaelen was pulled on 73. The back four from this point on looked shaky at best.

Celtic had the chance to ping a goal back from the spot on 68 minutes after a cynical American football-style tackle from Jack Wilshere on Marc-Antoine Fortune in the penalty area. Georgios Samaras lined up from the spot, but missed dreadfully high and wide. It looked like a goal would never come for Celtic...

...until the 72nd, when Daryl Murphy took advantage of a rebound from 10 yards out shortly after a corner. From there, Manuel Almunia kept Arsenal up two after a string of good saves, until the 83rd, when Ki Sung-Yueng was found open in the box after another defensive breakdown. Suddenly, a game which was firmly in control was now a one goal affair with seven minutes to play. Arsenal, however, were able to run out the clock, thanks to no stoppage time being played in the tournament, and were able to retain the trophy for the second consecutive year and for the third time in its four year history.

The Gunners play one more friendly, next Saturday in Warsaw, before opening the Premier League campaign at Liverpool on August 15.

Friendly: Neusiedl 1919 0 - 4 Arsenal: The Sheet's Still Clean

SC Neusiedl 0
Arsenal 4: Walcott 28, Emmanuel-Thomas 30, Chamakh 51 (pen), Vela 65

Quick notes again as I could not watch this one either:

• It appears to have been another comfortable win for the Gunners, who have outscored opposition 11-0 in three pre-season friendlies.
• Arsenal appeared a bit sluggish at the start, but cruised once the cobwebs were shaken.
• Walcott and Emmanuel-Thomas scored two minutes apart to give Arsenal a 2-0 cushion at the half.
• Marouane Chamakh scored his first goal in an Arsenal shirt, scoring from the penalty spot after he was pulled down in the box.
• Carlos Vela added his first of the pre-season on a chip shot.
• Manuel Almunia made his first appearance of the summer and got the start...
• ...but it was second half substitute Vito Mannone that stopped a penalty after Havard Nordtveit handled in the area. 

So far, there have been no tremendously tough tests for Arsenal this July, but AC Milan will come to the Emirates on Saturday for the Emirates Cup, followed by Celtic on the second day (who themselves will be in the middle of a Champions League qualification tie, the first leg of which is tomorrow.)

News Roundup 7/12/10 - The Day After Edition

Arsene Wenger is very disappointed in FC Barcelona. But, who isn't? Pic via Daily Mirror.

• Cesc Fabregas won the World Cup. Robin van Persie did not win the World Cup. I, also, did not win the World Cup. Neither did you. Unless you play for Spain. In which case, there's a good chance you also play for Barcelona. In which case, I'm going to have to ask you to stop being a jerk and tapping up Cesc. Thanks!
• New FC Barcelona president Sandro Rosell flew to South Africa specifically to talk to Arsene Wenger about the Fabregas transfer. Wenger refused to meet about the topic. [Daily Mirror]
• Also not talking about the Fabregas transfer: Cesc Fabregas. [Sky Sports]
• Impending additions: Mark Schwarzer and Joe Cole? Schwarzer is obviously only a one-year solution to the goalkeeping problem, since he's about 78 years old. [Daily Telegraph]
• Not an impending addition: Yoann Gourcuff. [Sky Sports]
• Formerly linked with Arsenal, but now going to West Ham: Loic Remy. [Daily Mail]
• Still probably leaving to either Celtic or Sunderland, but we won't know until after his honeymoon: Sol Campbell. [BBC]
• Probably going back to Spain: Manuel Almunia. [The People]
• Arsenal's first pre-season friendly: Five days from now.
• My overuse of colons in this news roundup: Highly annoying.
• I'll stop: Now.

News Roundup 5/13/10 - The Defensive Edition

William Gallas is just pissing everyone off now. Pic via Guardian.

• Arsene Wenger has admitted that he needs to make moves to strengthen the squad's defense next season, saying that conceding 41 goals is way too many to win a title. You know who's at fault for a lot of those goals? Almunia and Fabianski... Hint hint, wink wink. [BBC, Guardian, Daily Mirror]
• Speaking of the defense, Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has called out William Gallas for his "extravagant" wage demands in their contract negotiations. Basically, Arsenal is prepared to let him walk rather than buckle on their principles. [ESPN Soccernet]
• I think Sol Campbell, likely back for another spell, should beat up William Gallas for being a contract negotiation jerk. [Guardian, Times, Daily Mail]
• Here are two end-of-season reports on the team's performance. [Sky Sports, Daily Mirror]
• Tabloids report that Cesc Fabregas told some friends that he'll sign for Barcelona before the start of the World Cup. Note that there are zero direct quotes from the skipper in the Mirror article, though the Mail has him say "I'm in no hurry to leave the club." This is becoming quite a soap opera. [Daily Mirror, Daily Mail]

News Roundup 5/5/10 - The Mistake of the Year Edition

Blackburn managed to get the ball and Fabianski into the net on their second goal Monday. Frankly, that should be two goals. Pic via Daily Telegraph.

• We've all been running this piece over and over again in our heads this season, but today's Daily Telegraph actually goes through and lists all of Arsenal's goalkeeping mistakes from this season. There are five from Manuel Almunia, two from Vito Mannone, and an astonishing six in four games from Lukasz Fabianski, and that's if you count only the "dropping it right on Bramble's head" equalizer from the loss at Wigan. [Daily Telegraph]
• Though, Sol Campbell thinks Fabianski would benefit from more regular playing time. That will, however, take several years off my own life. Thanks, Sol! [Sky Sports]
• Speaking of Campbell, there are reports of a new one-year contract in his future. [Times]
• Marouane Chamakh confirms that he snubbed Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur to join Arsenal on a free transfer next season. The Gooner Chant Machine is in full spin now. [Guardian, Daily Mirror, ESPN Soccernet]
• Guardian reported yesterday that Arsenal is indeed interested in Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, who has been on loan at Birmingham City this season... [Guardian]
• ...but Manchester City will not part ways with Hart while Shay Given is injured (thanks, Diaby, for your innocuous shot that might have apparently ruined our transfer dealings somehow) unless they themselves have already signed a replacement, perhaps in the form of Juventus and Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon... [Daily Telegraph]
• ...but there are Buffon-to-Arsenal rumors swirling as well. A move to England seems plausible, based on interviews with Buffon lately, in addition to the fact that Juventus has failed to qualify for next year's Champions League. [Guardian]
• Bolton manager Owen Coyle would like Jack Wilshere back again on loan next year. [Sky Sports, Times]
• And now, what you've all been waiting for: WAGs modeling national team kits! It features Gael Clichy's wife in France's kit. [Daily Mail]
• REMEMBER: City hosts Spurs at 2:45 Eastern today, 7:45 in England. A draw seals up third place for Arsenal. A City win makes it still mathematically possible to be caught on goal difference, but highly unlikely.

News Roundup 4/9/10 - The Dramatic Return Edition

Here's Robin van Persie, with two guys who don't play for us anymore. Pic via some random wallpaper site.

• Arsenal.com came out with a great interview with head physio Colin Lewin, on the team's rash of injuries this season. Here's what we learned:
• Cesc Fabregas will be able to play for Spain in the World Cup.
• Aaron Ramsey will make a full recovery and be back by autumn.
• Defenders Johan Djourou and Kieran Gibbs will resume training soon...
• ...as will Robin van Persie!
• Here's more on van Persie's return from the Guardian. The Daily Mirror suggests that van Persie could return to action Wednesday at Tottenham, given how crucial the match is for Arsenal's title hopes. It's not like a tabloid would ever exaggerate, right? My assumption would be that he'd return on the 24th against City, maybe next Sunday at Wigan if he's lucky. The last time we rushed a guy back from injury, Gallas re-injured himself in 40 minutes and is done for the year and France is pissed. Learn from our mistaken gambles or go all in? 
• Strong words from the blond dreadlocks: Bacary Sagna says Arsenal "plays too much" and is more concerned as a team about playing pretty rather than winning. Considering the source on this article, ESPN Soccernet, I'm sure they've twisted things to blow it out of proportion.
• The Daily Telegraph blames the Premier League's "culture of debt" on their crashes out of Europe before the Champions League Semi-Finals. Actually, it was Bayern Munich's president that said it. Again, grains of salt available for those interested.
• Hey look, transfer rumors! Of course, nothing is official until the window opens in the summer, but here's some more from the Daily Mail on Marouane Chamakh's move to North London. I know they're a tabloid too, but there's a quote from Chamakh about the move.
• More from the Telegraph, this time on Arsenal's well-documented need to buy central defenders in the summer. Actually, I'm totally comfortable with Silvsetre. If this wasn't text, you'd realize that I can't say that with a straight face.
• Nicklas Bendtner and Manuel Almunia on how important it is to rebound from Tuesday's loss with a win at Spurs.
• That match at Spurs on Wednesday will be broadcast in 3D by Sky Sports. Arsenal has lost all one of their matches that have been broadcast in 3D. I don't like those odds.

Champions League: Barcelona 4 - 1 Arsenal, 6-3 aggregate: Storybook Endings

Make it stop! Pic via Guardian.

Lionel Messi 4: 21, 37, 42, 88

Arsenal 1: Bendtner 18

Barcelona wins 6-3 on aggregate.

A girl once told me that she absolutely hated Arsenal because she thought of them as the team that wins everything. The kind of team made up of all of those evil and mean people in Hollywood movies that you're supposed to root against. The team you're supposed to hate with ever fiber of your being while you cheer for the underdog, that should go on to win in the end when the little guy pulls through in the final seconds, because it's a scripted movie.

I told her she was thinking of Manchester United, but I digress.

Entering today's Champions League quarter-final second leg in Barcelona, Arsenal was the exact opposite of the team described above. If this was a movie made in Hollywood, Arsenal was that little underdog you were supposed to root for. Barcelona had all of the big names who were supposed to waltz through the tie as if it were a minor inconvenience. The underdog rallied to even things up before embarking to Spain for the decisive leg, but would have to play the final 90 minutes of the round without several of their best players, out with injuries. Their captain out with a broken leg. Their best striker out now five months. Their second best offensive talent out. One of their best defenders, done for the year. Their bright young talent, hacked viciously one night in Stoke. Another anchor of their midfield, out. The odds were stacked against Arsenal and in any film, the Gunners would have come out on top in the end, a feel-good story of overcoming the odds.

Who are you rooting for in this film?

Apparently, this is real life. And apparently, even when that situation is presented, as it was by that girl several months ago, but in reverse, people still root against Arsenal. Every time Lionel Messi scored, the reaction from journalists appeared to be "ZOMGGGGG, DID U C THAT! AMAZING!!!!1!!!! I <3 HIMMMMM!!!111!1!1"

I'm sorry, I lost some respect for Messi when he rolled around on the pitch like he was shot in the back after Denilson won the ball with a textbook challenge while winning the ball, which resulted in a free kick to Barca and a yellow card to Denilson. And Arsenal-haters, I know you'll be quick to mention what happened between Tomas Rosicky and Karl Henry on Saturday. But there's a difference between a slightly late challenge from behind that's high enough to leave four stud marks on Rosicky's leg and a perfect challenge that completely wins the ball. Henry's red card was harsh for sure, but the call on Denilson shouldn't have even been a foul, let alone a yellow card.

Arsenal shocked the world by striking first, when Theo Walcott found himself on a break two-on-none with Nicklas Bendtner onside. Walcott's pass was awful and Bendtner's shot was saved but slipped out of the goalkeeper's grasp and Bendtner fired home the rebound. 1-0 Arsenal, 3-2 on aggregate. It was looking great!

And then, two minutes later, Messi equalized, and the whole match went to hell. Suddenly, you could see how much Arsenal was missing Alex Song more than anyone else. Without a natural holding midfielder, Arsenal could not contain Messi, and in 21 minutes, he had a hat trick.

Barcelona took their foot off the accelerator in the second half, but not in the same way as they did at the Emirates. They weren't exactly pressing for goals, but they were no slouches on defense. Arsenal's best chances either found Bendtner unable to turn and shoot in the penalty area, or someone else firing the ball into the crowd from 20 yards out.

Arsenal had two chances to pull back into the tie and hit the post on both of them, which were both offside anyway. Then Messi scored again, between Almunia's legs when he was slightly out of position, having already made one save. Once Messi had scored to pull the match even, Arsenal had been deflated.

So, where are we now? Out of Europe and with five more games until next season starts. Three points out of first with five games to play, needing Chelsea and Manchester United to drop even more points, while desperately having to win all five ourselves.

Today hurt.

Champions League: Arsenal 2 - 2 Barcelona: Total Football, Total Ridiculousness

Cesc Fabregas will be out for the remainder of the domestic season. Sigh. Pic via Guardian.

Arsenal 2: Walcott 69, Fabregas 85 (pen)

Barcelona 2: Ibrahimovic 46, 59

It was a bizarre night in North London for the Gunners, who were thoroughly outplayed by their Catalan opponents for significant stretches, suffered three major injuries, and still escaped, somehow, with a 2-2 draw.

For the first twenty or so minutes, Arsenal appeared to fail to realize that there was a match being played. Barcelona seemed to be playing a large scale game of keep-away and the Gunners were quite content to sit back and watch for very long periods of time. Also, hey, who was that new goalkeeper we had for the first half? Because there's no logical reason why the sentence "Manuel Almunia is the only reason Arsenal was still in this game" should ever be written, especially after his display in stoppage time. Arsenal had all of two chances in the first half (compared to Barca's six hundred and forty seven). Nasri whipped a shot just wide of the far post from the left side and Bendtner shot once right at the keeper but pounded the rebound off the woodwork, then ended up offside.

A key aspect of the first half was the injuries: Arsene Wenger took a gamble on starting William Gallas, who was still not back to full fitness. The gamble failed as Gallas left injured on a stretcher, shortly after Andrei Arshavin limped off. The injuries forced Alex Song from midfield to center back, bringing Denilson and Eboue off the bench (while leaving Sol Campbell sitting.) Final notes on the first half: how in God's name was it still nil-nil and how in God's name was that a yellow card to Fabregas? Mind boggling stuff from the officials at certain points in this game as it seemed like any slight wind would knock Barcelona's players to the ground. That leads me to believe that Barca would struggle in the Premier League against the likes of Bolton and Stoke.

As soon as the second half started, regular Almunia returned and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, played onside by an out-of-position Alex Song, charged up the wing and Almunia, indecisive as ever, came out to challenge, inexplicably stopped, then had the ball lofted easily over his head and into the net. This match was stunningly scoreless at halftime and it was 1-0 22 seconds later.

And then Ibrahimovic scored again thirteen minutes later, again beating an indecisive Almunia after being played onside by Song, and the match and the tie felt like they were slipping away.

Then, Theo Walcott came on the pitch. And just a few minutes after the substitution, it was 2-1. I've noticed that Walcott plays spectacularly whenever the TV cameras show that Fabio Capello is in the crowd watching him. Suddenly, Arsenal was in control. My first instinct at this point was that Arsenal sat back and allowed Barcelona so much time and space with the ball so that they'd have fresher legs for the final twenty minutes or so. It's more likely that Barca got complacent with their lead.

Cesc Fabregas won a penalty in the 84th, having been pulled down by Barca skipper Carles Puyol, who was sent off for a last man foul. In the process, Fabregas cracked his right fibula and will be out for the rest of the domestic season. With a broken leg, he took the spot kick anyway and brought Arsenal level, then played the rest of the match because Arsenal had already used all three of their allowed substituions. How bad ass is that?

So, it's all even going back to Camp Nou, though the Gunners are in trouble if away goals come into play. Arsenal will be without Fabregas, without Gallas, and without Arshavin. But both of Barca's center backs (Puyol and Pique) will be suspended. Tuesday should be as much of a roller coaster as yesterday was for us Gooners, but let's all remember, we still have Wolves first.

Birmingham City 1 - 1 Arsenal: Déjà Blue

 Kevin Phillips scored the 250th goal of his club career to derail the Gunners title hopes. Pic via BBC.

Birmingham City 1: Phillips 90+2
Arsenal 1: Nasri 81

For the second time in three years, Arsenal's bid for the Premier League title has been derailed at St. Andrew's. Two years ago, Eduardo's horror injury and an injury time penalty allowed the Blues to steal a point from the Gunners. Yesterday, Arsenal lost two points again at Birmingham, blowing a one goal lead in injury time. I don't really feel like watching the highlights of this one to provide a comprehensive recap, so here are some bullet points.

• It was not surprising to see Alex Song start at center back, in place of the suspended Thomas Vermaelen. Song had a solid game on the back line, as he had in the second half last week.
• It was surprising to see Arsene Wenger's choices at midfield. It's not out of the ordinary for Arsenal to play a 4-5-1 if injuries or suspensions force their hand. It is odd to me that both Samir Nasri and Andrei Arshavin were relegated to the bench. Tomas Rosicky had a solid match in his start, but Theo Walcott did not.
• Arsene Wenger said he would not make choices for his squad based on the thought to rest players for Wednesday's Champions League tie with Barcelona, but it seriously felt like Nasri and Arshavin were left on the bench for exactly that reason.
• Howard Webb had a terrible game as referee. Perhaps I'm biased, and to be fair, Webb helped us in the past by not calling Fabregas's handball at the end of the 1-0 win over Liverpool in February...
• ...but I feel like Alex Song gets booked on his first challenge of every match for no reason, and Gael Clichy's booking was just idiotic. The only possible foul there was obstruction; without contact, it's hard if not impossible to justify a card...
• ...why did it take Webb ages to whistle a foul on Abou Diaby that negated Arsenal's opening goal?
• ...why didn't Webb call a foul on the knee high tackle that injured Cesc Fabregas? The questions about Webb's choices could just keep going.
• I am partially of the opinion that, while I love Fabregas's determination to stay in the game, there were stretches of the first half where his knee injury appeared to be detrimental to the team on the pitch. He seemed to play through it better in the second half.
• Arsenal had several chances to make this match 2-0 and put three points in the bank after Nasri's goal in the 81st. Nasri probably should have had a brace, but elected to pass to Arshavin instead, who botched the chance. Arshavin has been quite off lately, so perhaps I should take back what I said earlier about his appearance on the bench.
• I don't want to watch the replay of Phillips's injury time equalizer, coming at 91:01. From what I recall, it was Bacary Sagna who failed to clear, and it was Manuel Almunia who failed to control the ball. Try to catch it next time, Manuel; don't lamely tap the ball upwards in the air so its backspin lets it land in your own net.
• Once at least third place is assured, if the title is completely out of reach (likely in a few weeks' time), I'd like to see Vito Mannone get another chance in goal.

Okay fellow Gooners. It's time to regroup and get ready for a huge clash with Barca on Wednesday. Iniesta is out for Barcelona, so there's some luck there on that front. Hopefully Cesc will be fine.

Keep the faith!

Arsenal 2 - 0 West Ham United: We've Only Got Ten Men

 Thomas Vermaelen's last man foul resulted in Arsenal's first red card of the season. Pic via BBC.

Arsenal 2: Denilson 5, Fabregas 83 (pen)
West Ham United 0

I said this post's titular phrase/chant half-sarcastically before stepping outside at halftime, with a twinge of fear in the voice. But throughout the second half, the Gooners were singing it as boisterously as ever, as if it were a good thing. Indeed, we only had ten men on the pitch; West Ham still looked overwhelmed. And it was amazing.

We were all surprised and confused at the start. Why was Denilson starting in midfield over Abou Diaby? Then within the first five minutes, he showed us all why Arsene Wenger is smarter than us. After some nice work down the left flank by Gael Clichy and Andrei Arshavin, a cross was looped in for Nicklas Bendtner. Upson had a chance to clear, but only got the ball as far as Denilson, who proceeded to exchange passes with the tall Dane, then strike a shot past the diving Robert Green, and then he did a hilarious little dance. One nil to the Arsenal.

Arsenal looked poised to start a thrashing of the Hammers early; Denilson had another chance four minutes after his goal but thumped a shot into the ground then Eboue twisted a shot wide in the 21st. Things eventual settled in terms of game pace as the Gunners held their 1-0 lead through the first half. Then the game turned...

In the 44th minute, a through ball was floated ahead for West Ham striker Guillermo Franco. Thomas Vermaelen nudges the striker in the back and Franco goes down. The assistant referee twirls his flag to call a foul, and it's in the box so it's going to be a penalty. Then referee Martin Atkinson comes over to book Vermaelen, but since he was the last defender and Franco was judged to be in alone on goal, the card was red and Arsenal was down to ten men.

Calling it a foul was a tremendous stretch and Arsene Wenger was not happy and immediately ran over to argue with the fourth official. Or, as it appeared at first on the television cameras, it looked like he ran over to argue with Gunnersaurus. The rule here, however, is very black and white. Or at least it's supposed to be, but there's no consistency in officiating these days. Atkinson was right to send off Vermaelen, by rule for last man fouls but the call was a weak one to begin with. I expect Arsenal to appeal and also can't figure out if this is a one match ban or three. Different web sites say different things. I always thought professional foul reds were one and violent conduct reds were three.

On the penalty, Manuel Almunia was up to the task. Alessandro Diamanti fired his kick exactly where he had when he equalized on a penalty for West Ham on Vito Mannone at Upton Park in October. Almunia, who replays showed was off his line (remember what I said about consistency in officiating?) guessed right and kept Arsenal up by a goal at halftime.

With Vermaelen sent off, Arsenal dropped Alex Song back to center back and switched from their 4-3-3 style to a 4-4-1 with Bendtner employed as the lone striker. West Ham enjoyed a little more possession with one extra player, but never truly threatened (and this is why we chanted "we've only got ten men" to mock the Hammers in attendance). Carlton Cole hit the post in the 77th minute. Aside from that, it was a lot like West Ham decided not to show up for the second half.

Matthew Upson, who did not clear the ball well enough in the 5th minute which led to Denilson's goal, put the game away for Arsenal by handballing in the box. Cesc Fabregas pounded the penalty straight ahead as Green jumped to his left, Arsenal led 2-0 and we all went nuts at Nevada Smiths. We were going top of the league for at least a day thanks to the arrangement of fixtures.

The atmosphere at the pub was perhaps the best of the season. The Hammers, notoriously loud and kind of annoying, were practically silent the entire game (thank you, early goal). In a way, it was disappointing. What I love about the New York Gooners (let me clarify, NYC Arsenal Supporters) is that we'll always sing all game long, regardless of the score. Also, I started a "Can you hear the Hammers sing?" chant. I believe this counts as the first time I've started singing something and gotten the rest to follow.

A brilliant start to spring. Let's hope the season contains some silverware.

Arsenal 3 - 1 Burnley: A Little Bendt Out of Shape

 

 Not even close, Nicklas. Pic via Guardian.

Arsenal 3: Fabregas 34, Walcott 60, Arshavin 90+4

Burnley 1: Nugent 50

They sure do like to keep it interesting, don't they?

There was some interesting talk in the ladies room of Nevada Smiths after the match, says friend of the blog Gloria. I don't remember the story as it was relayed to me exactly so I won't quote it here. Basically, the gist was it involved Nicklas Bendtner and his inability to score.

Not hard to find things to gripe about in this one, but three points are three points, so I won't harp on them. We've said it before, in our Top 100 lists, that there must at least be one hundred goals that would have been scored if Robin van Persie were healthy. Bendtner missed at least five brilliant goal scoring opportunities yesterday. Eduardo missed another. Andrei Arshavin missed two (I blamed his rustiness coming back from his hamstring injury) before scoring. That's eight golden opportunities that went by the wayside. This could've been 11-1.

There was plenty of restlessness at the Emirates yesterday, especially after Burnley equalized. Arsenal took a first half lead on a really first class goal from Cesc Fabregas, putting the ball through Brian Jensen's legs after a brilliant lofted pass from Samir Nasri. But then, a few minutes later, Fabregas was pulled for Abou Diaby, after re-aggrivating the hamstring injury he first hurt in December. EVERYBODY PANIC!!! He's highly doubtful for Tuesday's Champions League tie against Porto. Thankfully, Alex Song's suspension is only for domestic play.

Burnley's equalizer came in two steps: on a long ball lofted to the center circle, Bendtner made no effort to challenge for possession, and the Clarets lofted the ball deep in the other direction. Then, the central defense, which I never trust with Mikael Silvestre on, tries to trap David Nugent, on loan from Portsmouth, but fails. Nugent is clear and chips the ball over a helpless Manuel Almunia.

From that point on, Theo Walcott took over. Yes, that's right. Theo Walcott played with tremendous skill, poise, and pace in the second half. Once Burnley brought themselves level, Walcott realized it was time to stop crossing it to Bendtner and time to finish one himself, which he did with a striking left footed shot to the far post, ten minutes after Nugent's equalizer. It was Walcott's first goal five months.

But the lead never felt comfortable until Arshavin buried the game with seconds to play. The Gunners inability to finish off golden scoring opportunities was a little worrying. But as it stands, though Chelsea has a game in hand, the table reads 63-61-61. Hard to complain when you've won four straight in league play. But we were this close to starting a Robin van Persie chant after each of Bendtner's misses.

Arsenal 2 - 0 Sunderland: Boring, Boring Arsenal?

Easiest goal ever? Pic via Guardian.

Arsenal 2: Bendtner 27, Fabregas 90+3 (pen)

Sunderland 0

What is there to really say about the result in this one? It was by no means a win for the time capsule. Arsenal did what they do best. They dominated possession, set up a ton of pretty opportunities, and scored just enough to take three points from a side that now finds themselves firmly in the relegation conversation, purely because they have forgotten how to win.

I can't say this was a particularly fun game to watch, though in actuality, it was for me for a variety of reasons that I don't need to get into here, they're irrelevant in this discusssion. I'll stick to the basics of what happened from strictly a football analysis standpoint; Arsenal was once again maddening on both sides of the ball and the Guardian recap puts it better than I ever could: "Such is the nature of this red and white beast, with its lack of ruthlessness at either end."

With Robin van Persie hurt, the Gunners lack a dominatingly ruthless striker, capable of putting fear in the hearts of defenders like Didier Drogba and Wayne Rooney can. Add Andrei Arshavin and Eduardo to the list of injuries and suddenly Arsenal nearly has nobody capable of finishing. If only Nicklas Bendtner was as good as he assumes he is as putting the ball into the net.

That being said, Bendtner did have the decisive goal, as easy a goal as he'll ever score, set up fabulously by Emmanuel Eboue, who started on the left side in place of Bacary Sagna for the purpose of maintaining a quick pace against a struggling Black Cats side. It was a lot like the only goal I scored in middle school soccer: a goal line tap in during a blowout win over Delaware Valley. I did nothing and got all of the credit. The kid who set up the situation was pissed on that day (and for the entire season). I don't think Eboue was quite as upset on this occasion.

Arsenal only really had that one opportunity, plus several others blown in classic Arsenal fashion: too many passes leading to an eventual clearance by the defense when one pass finally goes astray. Shockingly, Arsenal did put the game away thanks to the benefit of a penalty kick awarded in second half injury time; it was Arsenal's second penalty kick in 37 games since Eduardo was called out for simulation in August. With Van Persie hurt, it's now Cesc Fabregas's job to take the spot kicks, and he buried this one, unlike his first attempt on the year against Stoke City in December.

But let's not forget this came right after a golden chance for Sunderland with a free kick right outside of the box that ended up hitting the wall. One got the feeling watching this game, especially after Wednesday's disaster in Portugal, that Sunderland was always one simple Arsenal blunder away from bringing the game level. That mistake never happened; Manuel Almunia had a solid, if unspectacular game in goal, injured finger and all (he only had one questionable clearance where he punched it out instead of clearing, and it ended up setting up a break for Theo Walcott anyway) and Mikael Silvestre was by no means as good as William Gallas is at center back, but you'll notice that I don't have anything damaging to say about his performance either.

Aaron Ramsey got his first start in ages, in place of the injured Abou Diaby, but all the Welshman did was further the stereotype that Arsenal is just a bunch of fancy passes and no shooting skill. Theo Walcott started on the wing (for speed purposes, as was the aforementioned case with Eboue, plus England manager Fabio Capello was in the stands watching) but he did what he does best as well: bring the ball forward quickly and then either pass to nobody in particular or shoot wildly wide of the net.

All of this being said, it can be boiled down to this: it wasn't pretty but Arsenal got three points.

News Roundup 2/18/10 - The Revolving Infirmary Door Edition

I thought you could all use some cheering up. Pic via Daily Mirror.

• We will have another post later on Martin Hansson and the Porto winner from yesterday. This post is about all of the other news surrounding Arsenal...
• For example, did you know that Abou Diaby got hurt last night? And he, like Alex Song, hurt his medial knee ligaments? Diaby is zero percent to feature against Sunderland on Saturday, but Alex Song is 80/20 to play; Manuel Almunia is 50/50. William Gallas, Andrei Arshavin, and Eduardo are all still out. Gallas and Arshavin will also miss the trip to Stoke on the 27th. [Arsenal.com]
• 18-year-old Islington born goalkeeper James Shea has signed a new contract. The site says he's "known for his superb shot-stopping ability." He's a fucking goalkeeper, I should hope so. [Arsenal.com]
• The Mirror says we're losing Gilles Sunu to Bordeaux. [Daily Mirror]
• Again, more on yesterday coming later.