Arsenal 6 - 0 Blackpool: Welcome to the Premier League!

Theo, please be that awesome every week. Pic via Guardian.

Arsenal 6: Walcott 12, 39, 58, Arshavin 32 (pen), Diaby 49, Chamakh 83

Blackpool 0

Blackpool thoroughly enjoyed their first week of top flight football in thirty years last week, opening their Premier League season with a 4-0 thrashing of Wigan Athletic. Yesterday, Arsenal sent the Seasiders crashing back down to reality.

Alex Song returned to the starting XI, playing his first football since the World Cup, and played at center half instead of his usual position in the holding midfield role, deputizing for the suspended Laurent Koscielny. Samir Nasri's injury meant that Tomas Rosicky was plugged into the starting line-up, while Theo Walcott replaced Emmanuel Eboue, who dropped to the bench.

Play was back and forth from the start, but even early on, you could tell this was going to be a special day for Walcott. Blackpool's left back, Stephen Crainey, will be having nightmares for months after getting torched repeatedly yesterday. Crainey was nowhere to be seen when Walcott opened the scoring, wide open on the right wing to put Arsenal up 1-0 on 12 minutes. Blackpool should have equalized about two minutes later as Gael Clichy lost his man on a cross. Gary Taylor-Fletcher got his head on the ball and had an open net, which he missed just wide to the right.

The match was turned on its head when Blackpool's Ian Evatt was sent off for what referee Mike Jones ruled was a last man foul, as he tackled Marouane Chamakh just at the edge of the area. The position was debatable as to whether or not it should have been a penalty; Andrei Arshavin masterfully blasted the ball into the net, past the diving Matthew Gilks who had guessed right, and it was 2-0 Arsenal with the road side on ten men.

Walcott picked up his second goal of the match just seven minutes later to make it 3-0. Walcott picked up a pass from Jack Wilshere in triple coverage with his back to goal about fifteen yards out, was allowed to turn by the defense and slotted a powerful shot under the arm of the diving Gilks. Arsenal was coasting away with the win by halftime.

It's important to note that Arsenal never seemed to take their foot off the accelerator for the first 25 minutes or so of the second half. Abou Diaby made it four after some brilliant maneuvering from Bacary Sagna to set it up. Walcott picked up his first career club hat trick after a pass from Diaby, once again being allowed to fire a shot despite coverage from at least two defenders. Chamakh missed a sitter a few minutes later, classic Nicklas Bendtner against Burnley style; with a wide open net, the ball took an odd bounce at the last second and as Chamakh slid into the ball's path, he sent it high over the bar, in a situation where it seemed harder not to score.

As if it wasn't bad enough for Blackpool at 5-0, this is when Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas came on, though both are clearly still a bit rusty. Chamakh scored his first Arsenal goal in the closing minutes with a header off a van Persie corner and Carlos Vela had a few very nifty moves that could have already been a goal of the season candidate if he only could have gotten the shot off.

At 5:00 p.m. English time last week, Blackpool was sitting on top of the league. One week later, it was Arsenal on top of the table, for two and a half hours, at least.

Preview: Arsenal v. Blackpool

It's been thirty years since Blackpool was in the top flight. Pic via Arsenal Programmes.

Emirates Stadium, London

Saturday, August 21

15:00 BST, 10:00 a.m. EDT

• Referee: Mike Jones
• This Match, Last Time: Arsenal 1 - 0 Blackpool (March 20, 1971)
• All-Time in All Competitions: 42 Arsenal wins, 15 Blackpool wins, 24 draws
• Arsenal's Recent Form: L-L-D-L-W | D (Last Year | This Year)
• Blackpool's Recent Form: W-D | W-W-W | W (Last Year | Promotion Playoff | This Year)

Predicted Line-Up

Subs from: Fabianski, Gibbs, Eboue, Denilson, Wilshere, Walcott, Arshavin

Suspended: Koscielny (one match, two cautions)

Doubts: Denilson (abdominal), Djourou (hamstring)

Out: Bendtner (groin, to Sept. 11), Nasri (knee, to Sept. 22), Ramsey (broken leg, to Nov.), Frimpong (knee, season)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Arsenal might have only one natural center back available to play: Thomas Vermaelen. The Gunners only have three on the squad anyway and Laurent Koscielny is serving a one match ban for being sent off at Liverpool on Sunday, but perennially injured Johan Djourou, out with a hamstring injury, has returned to training and could be named in the squad Saturday.
• There are reports gaining steam that Arsene Wenger is looking to sign Sebastien Squillaci from Sevilla. He's French and slightly injury prone, which leads me to believe this deal is almost certainly done! This could also lead to a loan spell for Havard Nordtveit.
• Samir Nasri picked up an injury to the meniscus in his knee at Liverpool which required minor surgery. He'll be out until late September (i.e. a month) at the earliest. He might be back around the time of Arsenal's entry into the Carling Cup or perhaps West Brom at home on the 25th.
• Nicklas Bendtner and Aaron Ramsey remain out with long term injuries. Bendtner will likely not be back until after the next international break, perhaps when Arsenal hosts Bolton on September 11. Ramsey could be back by November.
• If Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie are still not yet ready to start, we could be in for a very strange looking Arsenal starting XI. Already. It's only August. You have got to be kidding me.
• Oh, you say there's more? What's that? Emmanuel Frimpong has torn cruciate ligaments in his knee and is done for the season? Well then, this just keeps going, doesn't it?
• Across all competitions, excluding friendlies, Arsenal has won only two of their last ten fixtures (four draws, 4 losses.)
• Arsenal has not lost a match at the Emirates Stadium since January 31, 3-1 to Manchester United (nine matches: seven wins, two draws.)

Blackpool News and Notes

• Last week, Marlon Harewood had a brace as the newly promoted Seasiders defeated Wigan Athletic 4-0 at the DW Stadium. The fixture was originally supposed to be at home for Blackpool, but renovations to Bloomfield Road are not yet complete.
• In terms of injuries, midfielder Keith Southern is out with a knee problem until mid-September, forward Louis Almond is out until October with a shoulder knock, and forward Billy Clarke could be out for the year with an ACL rupture.
• Wednesday, Blackpool completed a one-year loan deal for Israel international Dekel Keinan from Maccabi Haifa.
• But, also on Wednesday, club chairman Karl Oyston stepped down from his position, after a tumultuous summer building up to the club's return to the top flight.
• Blackpool sat at the top of the table on goal difference after their 4-0 win at Wigan last week, at least for two and a half hours before Chelsea completed their 6-0 win over West Brom.
• This is the first time Blackpool has sat at least second in the top flight after a round of matches since fall of 1964.
• Blackpool have lost only one of their last 13 competitive fixtures. Then again, 12 of those were in the Championship and the loss was to also promoted Newcastle United.

Match Facts

• Blackpool have only won twice is North London in league play and once more in the FA Cup. All three of those Blackpool wins were in the 1950's.
• Blackpool's most recent season in the top flight was Arsenal's first Double winning season of 1970/71. Arsenal beat the Tangerines 1-0 in both fixtures.
• The two sides have met in four fixtures since them, though technically only two domestic cup ties. The 1976/77 League Cup tie required two replays before Arsenal won. In December of 1999, Arsenal won an FA Cup tie 3-1 at Highbury.
• Arsenal's last league loss to Blackpool came at Bloomfield Road in 1965, a 5-3 Gunners' loss.
• Arsenal's last loss to Blackpool overall came in the FA Cup in January of 1970, a 3-2 loss at Bloomfield Road.

Referee

• The referee is Mike Jones.
• Mike Jones only worked two Arsenal matches last season, both were 4-0 wins at the Emirates. One was over Wigan in September, the other, the season finale against Fulham in May.
• He worked one Blackpool match in the Championship last year, a 0-0 draw at Preston North End.
• He found himself in the media spotlight for the wrong reasons last season for allowing Sunderland's beach ball deflection goal in their 1-0 win against Liverpool.

Around the League

• Saturday: Birmingham City v. Blackburn Rovers; St. Andrew's, Birmingham
• Saturday: Everton v. Wolverhampton Wanderers; Goodison Park, Liverpool
• Saturday: Stoke City v. Tottenham Hotspur; Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
• Saturday: West Bromwich Albion v. Sunderland; The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
• Saturday: West Ham United v. Bolton Wanderers; Boleyn Ground, London
• Saturday: Wigan Athletic v. Chelsea; DW Stadium, Wigan
• Sunday: Newcastle United v. Aston Villa; St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
• Sunday: Fulham v. Manchester United; Craven Cottage, London
• Monday: Manchester City v. Liverpool; City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester

Not The Boys of Summer

Definitely not North London

It is odd how quickly the absence is felt. The matches--some watched, some read about--provide a constant ebb and flow, a framework to the week. As another season ends it is met with mixed feelings of relief and regret. That team, those players will never exist in the same way again. You hope that it will be better after a period apart, but worry that some of the magic might be lost. You wonder if love is everlasting.

The odd years are harder, lacking the respite of the even years' tournaments. These events confuse as well as console. To see Song do all he can to stop Bendtner and Van Persie, watch Gallas bundle Vela off the ball, chinks the mythic unity bestowed upon the team. The transfer rumours and gossip fuel this idea of disunification.

Not quite wanting to let go of this season just yet I have gone in search of a mistress; to squint a little and pretend it was someone else. I stumbled upon the Blackpool game that John excellently reported on, and wanted this plucky little team to win. Blackpool are not Arsenal: theirs are rough brush strokes compared to silky smooth lines. Charlie Adam, their talismanic Fabregas-a-like, is Scottish not Spanish (it shows). Yet as I hear the roar of the crowd, the shared hope, I hear the echoes of friends' cries of joy and frustration, and I cannot wait to join them again next season.

Follow our Nottingham Forest vs. Blackpool liveblog below:

Promotion Watch: Tangerine Dream

Blackpool edged Swansea by one point for the final playoff spot and now lead their semifinal with Forest. Pic via Guardian.

With Portsmouth, Burnley, and Hull going down along with Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion assured of promotion, we currently know 19 of the 20 teams that will be in the Premier League next season. The Championship playoffs (between the third through sixth seeds) began today to determine the final team to earn promotion to next year's top flight.

The playoffs are being contested between four teams that have been in the top flight before, though for some, not in a very long time: Nottingham Forest, Blackpool, and Cardiff City (and Leicester!)

Forest's last year in the Premier League was 1998/99. Forest has spent five seasons in the Premier League since it's formation in 1992. They were also the very first team to finish last place in the league's first season. In those five years, Forest defeated Arsenal once, 2-1 at City Ground shortly before Christmas 1996. Of course, if you know your history, you also know that Arsenal wears red because their first set of kits were borrowed from Nottingham Forest.

Ah, but Forest currently trails in their two-leg semifinal with Blackpool, whose run of points in eight of their last nine league fixtures allowed them to pip Swansea City for the final playoff slot. In today's first leg in Blackpool, Forest struck first in the 13th minute, but the Tangerines equalized in the 26th and won the match from the penalty spot in the 56th. Blackpool leads the tie 2-1 with the final leg to be played in Nottingham on Tuesday night. Blackpool was last in the top division of English football in Arsenal's first double season - 1970/71.

The other semifinal tie begins tomorrow as fifth placed Leicester City (out of the Premier League since 2003/04, when they managed a 1-1 draw at home from Arsenal in the Gunners' unbeaten Invincibles season, as Craig Hignett equalized for Leicester in injury time) hosts fourth seed Cardiff City, looking to become the first team in Wales to play in the Premier League. Cardiff was last in the top flight in 1961/62.