Champions League: Barcelona 3 - 1 Arsenal (4 - 3 agg.): It's Absurd Video Time

We here at Hipster Gooner realize that we haven't posted in a while. We're retooling a little bit, now that I have started writing previews for the NYC Arsenal Supporters' official blog, The Modern Gooner. As such, we have come to realize that it is in our best interest to add more of a twist to what we do here at Hipster Gooner, and have decided to establish ourselves as a more off-kilter look at the team.

And so, it begins here. We know you can get a standard recap of what went on in an Arsenal match almost anywhere on the Internet (might I suggest Sean's recaps on the aforementioned Modern Gooner?) But where can you get an absurd recap involving cops, robotic voices, and mispronunciation?

We didn't write the script specifically for the video (but we will in the future,) this was actually an e-mail exchange from yesterday afternoon between six people. As such, it's probably really weird and not as funny as it could be.

They'll get better. I promise.

Champions League: Arsenal 2 - 1 Barcelona: OOOOH TO BE A GOONER!

We've got Cesc Fabregas.

And Jack Wilshere. And Robin van Persie. And Andrei Arshavin...

Pic via Guardian.

Arsenal 2: van Persie 78, Arshavin 83

Barcelona 1: Villa 26

It's a pivotal month for Arsenal (but you know that already,) with a chance for silverware at the end, plus three other competitions of arguably more importance to worry about. Domestically, Manchester United looks catchable at the top of the Premier League, the Carling Cup final is the 26th, and a win on Sunday at Orient brings Arsenal to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.

Ah, but in Europe, it's a whole different monster, and thanks to losses in Donetsk and Braga in November, Arsenal started the knockout phase of the Champions League behind the eight ball, having not won their group. Their reward was Barcelona, the team that just can't stop fucking talking about Cesc Fabregas, the team that forced Arsenal out of this competition last year with a bit of a thrashing at Camp Nou, the team that plays the same style of football so well, you almost can't be blamed for developing some sort of inferiority complex.

But, with that draw comes an opportunity to taste revenge. A win at the Emirates on Wednesday night wouldn't put Arsenal through, of course, but they'd have the upper hand going away, and have given Barcelona something to think about. And oh boy, what a win it turned out to be.

Arsene Wenger made two changes to the side that beat Wolves at the weekend. Bacary Sagna was suspended, after picking up a red card in the final match of the group stage in December, so Emmanuel Eboue deputized at right back. In the slightly more surprising change, Samir Nasri was not just fit to join the squad, but he was also fit to start the match on the left wing, dropping Andrei Arshavin to the bench.

From the start, Barcelona started tippy-tappying it around for a minute or two, but unlike last year's encounter at the Emirates, Arsenal actually showed up at the start, and had the better of the chances through ten minutes. From a free kick, Samir Nasri dinked a ball on goal which Alex Song could not quite reach to redirect, and Victor Valdes in goal handled easily. Valdes later made a brilliant save on a tight angled shot from Robin van Persie. A few other Arsenal chances went begging as the final passes were too strong or the final touches were too heavy.

The bad news in the first ten minutes was the early booking of Alex Song, who clipped Lionel Messi before he could do anything too Messi-like about 35-40 yards out in the seventh minute. Throughout the first half, Song walked a fine line of picking up a second yellow card, which would have completely changed the complexion of this match.

Barcelona started to click after the ten minute mark, as the tippy-tappying resumed, and in the 15th minute, Messi should have put the Catalans up 1-0. David Villa sent him a through ball which saw Messi clear in on Wojciech Szczesny. The Pole stayed up as long as he could, but was eventually drawn to make a move, and Messi maneuvered brilliantly to flip a shot past him, which twisted just wide of the far post.

Despite all of Barcelona's building pressure, Arsenal nearly struck first on a brilliant counter-attack of their own. The pace of Theo Walcott started a chance as he picked out Cesc Fabregas on the break. Fabregas lined up a cross for van Persie, but Eric Abidal got a head in the way just in time. Then, Barca streamed forward and as Lionel Messi sent a through ball for Villa in the midst of Arsenal's offside trap, Gael Clichy backpedaled for no reason and played Villa on. From there, the finish was academic.

Much of the second half proceeded with Barcelona controlling the possession and tippy-tappy-tippy-tappying (I'm trying to include that phrase in as many paragraphs as possible.) Arsenal defended tenaciously, as you must against a team like this, to keep the match 1-0. A second goal was ruled out for Messi being offside and Szczesny made a huge save on Pedro as well. Yet, the feel at halftime was more optimistic than it was in either match with Barcelona last year. Sure, Arsenal was trailing, but they had created some chances this time. It felt like an equalizer could happen, as long as Arsenal could keep Barcelona from scoring again.

What the hell is that logo? I think it says, "Fuck Adebayor."
Pic via Daily Mail.

The Gunners had a strong start to the second half, and controlled a lot of the play throughout, but as in the first half, many of the chances went begging. It looked like, as Messi was, Robin van Persie was just not quite on form on this night. I guess he just wanted to fool us for 78 minutes.

Alex Song was removed for The Diminutive Russian, Andrei Arshavin, in the 68th minute, as Arsenal looked for more offense. Arsene Wenger spoke post-match about how the move could have backfired, and Arsenal could have found themselves two or three down. Alternatively, Song could have found himself with a second yellow, so not making the substitution could have backfired as well. So, who knows. Nicklas Bendtner came on for Theo Walcott in the 77th minute for a change of pace and style, i.e. the only really good way to use Bendtner, in my opinion.

Jack Wilshere's maneuvering won a corner kick as the clock reached 78 minutes. Arshavin took it, but Valdes caught safely. Then, Arsene Wenger angrily unzipped his coat. As Barcelona moved forward, Arsenal won a free kick at the halfway line and eventually Clichy found van Persie at a tight angle. From the byline, van Persie fired on goal, from an impossible spot, and managed to beat Valdes near post to make it 1-1. A brilliant, goal scorer's strike. And RVP's 12th goal in 12 games.

And so, the tide had turned. Barcelona tried to muster a challenge, but Laurent Koscielny (who was excellent) intercepted from Messi in the box. Wilshere hit Fabregas with a pass, and he played a powerful through ball for a breaking Samir Nasri, onside. Nasri ran out of space as he was closed down by the defense, however, so he cut back and sent a pass back toward the center. The pass found Arshavin, who thundered in a winner from 15 yards. And every Arsenal supporting place in the world went nuts.

Arsenal probed a bit for a third, but would not come up with it, then Szczesny made a tremendous stop in the dying moments before a Messi shot was blocked by two Gunners. At the final whistle, Arsenal sealed a 2-1 lead they will take with them to Camp Nou in three weeks. And, as tough as that match will be, not only was Arsenal able to fire a warning to Barcelona that this is not the same team that rolled over for them last year, but they were also able to build up a huge confidence boost moving forward into the four crucial domestic fixtures that come before the return leg. Arsenal have, in addition to two cup ties, Stoke and Sunderland at home in the league while United have road trips to Wigan, Chelsea, and Liverpool.

By the time Arsenal plays at Camp Nou on March 8, the landscape of this season could be quite different on all fronts, and with the way things are shaping up for the Gunners, it looks quite positive. Nobody knew how this team would react to blowing a four-goal lead at Newcastle. Well, their two performances since have been nothing short of spectacular. And it's a damn good time to be a Gooner these days.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Jack Wilshere

Preview: Arsenal v. Barcelona, Champions League Round of 16, First Leg

Have you heard that Cesc Fabregas used to play for Barcelona in his youth days?
Because this is the first that I'm hearing about that.
Pic via Daily Mail.

Emirates Stadium, London

Wednesday, February 16

7:45 p.m. GMT, 2:45 p.m. EST

• Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)
• History: 0 Arsenal wins, 3 Barcelona wins, 2 draws
• Arsenal's League Form: D-W-W-W-D-W
• Barcelona's League Form: W-W-W-W-W-D

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Eboue - Koscielny - Djourou - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Nasri

van Persie

Subs from: Almunia, Gibbs, Squillaci, Rosicky, Arshavin, Bendtner, Chamakh
Suspended: Sagna (one match, professional foul)

Out: Diaby (calf), Fabianski (shoulder), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Samir Nasri surprisingly returns to the squad, having returned to training after the hamstring injury he suffered January 30 in the FA Cup. He should only start he's 100%. I would hope.
• Abou Diaby, however, picked up a calf strain on international duty. Nobody noticed, I guess, since he's suspended domestically.
• Speaking of suspensions, remember Bacary Sagna's red card against Partizan? Because I forgot about it too. He's unavailable and Emmanuel Eboue will deputize.
• Tomas Rosicky returns to the side as well, though I also, in this case, don't remember him getting hurt.
• Arsenal are unbeaten in eight across all competitions and have lost once in their last 14.
• The Gunners have not lost at home since November, going unbeaten in 11 at the Emirates.

Barcelona News and Notes

• Caveman impersonator Carles Puyol will miss the tie with a knee injury, forcing left back Eric Abidal to play in the center and forcing Maxwell (who was terrorized by Theo Walcott last year) to start on the left.
• As far as I can tell, Puyol is the only major injury in their side.
• Sporting Gijon's 1-1 draw with the Catalans at the weekend marked Barcelona's first league loss in 16 matches.

Match Facts

• This is the sixth all-time meeting between Arsenal and Barcelona. Arsenal have never won.
• No foreign club has ever won a Champions League tie at the Emirates, in 27 matches.
• Last year, Arsenal came from 2-0 down to draw level with Barcelona in the first leg of the quarter-finals. Nicklas Bendtner put Arsenal ahead on aggregate in the second leg before Lionel Messi scored four to knock the Gunners out.
• The two sides met in the 2006 final. Sol Campbell put ten man Arsenal ahead 1-0, but Samuel Eto'o and Juliano Belletti scored in the last fifteen minutes to win the title for the Catalan side.
• In 1999/2000, the two sides played twice in group play. Arsenal salvaged a draw at the Nou Camp, but then lost 4-2 in their home match, which was played at Wembley.

The Referee

• The referee is Serie A's Nicola Rizzoli. This is his first Arsenal match.
• Rizzoli took charge of last year's Europa League final, when Atletico Madrid beat Fulham in extra time.
• His last match on English soil saw him send off Manchester United's Rafael for two yellow cards in last year's quarter-finals, as Bayern Munich advanced on away goals.
• Rizzoli took charge of Barcelona's 5-1 win over Panathinaikos in the group stage earlier this year.

Other Round of 16 Ties

• Tuesday: AC Milan 0 - 1 Tottenham Hotspur
• Tuesday: Valencia 1 - 1 Schalke 04
• Wednesday: AS Roma v. Shakhtar Donetsk; Stadio Olimpico, Rome
• Next Tuesday: Copenhagen v. Chelsea; Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
• Next Tuesday: Lyon v. Real Madrid; Stade de Gerland, Lyone
• Next Wednesday: Inter Milan v. Bayern Munich; San Siro, Milan
• Next Wednesday: Marseille v. Manchester United; Stade Velodrome, Marseille

Arsenal and Barcelona, Together Again, and Why It's Win-Win

I won't go with the "this could get Messi" pun, like I did last year... so... oh, I just did...

Pic via Guardian.

In a drawing that surprised nobody, least of all Arsene Wenger, Arsenal's reward for failing to win their Champions League group is a date with the cruel mistress that is FC Barcelona.

I think most of us agree that the Catalans are playing the best football in the world right now, having hilariously beaten Jose Mourinho 5-0 recently. In many ways, you could say it's the worst possible team Arsenal could have drawn in the Last 16, and that's certainly true if this is the only competition you care about winning.

But, I'm here to argue why this situation is win-win from an Arsenal perspective. Obviously, there are two ways the tie could turn out, but I think both work to a different positive result in the end for our beloved Gunners:

1. Arsenal wins and advances. That would be what we call "sweet, sweet revenge" for everything that has happened to us involving Barcelona in the past calendar year. After crashing out of Europe fairly violently at the hands of Lionel Messi at Camp Nou last April, if Arsenal were to manage to win thus tie and advance to the quarterfinals, it would be a brilliant moment to savor. And, it would still be sweet revenge just on that topic alone, and that doesn't even consider all of the ridiculous tapping up of Cesc Fabregas that took place over the summer.
2. Barcelona wins and Arsenal's European campaign is over. Remember, Chelsea lost in the Round of 16 to Inter Milan last year, then went on to win the Double. The earlier you're out of Europe, the sooner you focus on your domestic season, which are all more winnable trophies for Arsenal than the Champions League is right now, anyway. The Carling Cup, which is arguably Arsenal's for the taking right now, will be over by the time this round concludes anyway, as will be five rounds of the FA Cup (three for Arsenal's involvement.) Last year, Arsenal advanced to the quarterfinals, only to draw Barcelona then, where they proceeded to lose several key players to long term injuries. It killed any fading hope Arsenal may have had in pushing for the league. If you're out of Europe in March, it makes it all the more likely you'll be on top of England in May. Unless you plan on reaching the Champions League Final, it's more detrimental to your season to crash out in either the Semis or the Quarters than in the Last 16.

I understand this may not be a popular viewpoint, and obviously you want to win every competition in which you participate, but I'm just trying to be glass half-full here.

Champions League: Arsenal 3 - 1 Partizan: You're Killing My Nerves

Who do you think this is? Guardian was told it was Song. That's not right...
Other images via Daily Mail.

Arsenal 3: van Persie 30 (pen), Walcott 73, Nasri 77

Partizan Belgrade 1: Cleo 52

Well, that was close.

There were 21 minutes this afternoon where I was absolutely terrified of seeing Arsenal in the Europa League really soon. I was pretty much a Braga goal away from total heart failure. Then, the Gunners made a substitution I thought was a quarter of an hour late, it paid off, and Arsenal secured qualification... and a date with a German side or a Spanish giant in the Round of 16. But the process in getting there, well, it was unpleasant.

Arsenal made three changes to the side that started against Fulham at the weekend. Laurent Koscielny was able to start despite picking up a concussion, so that was not one of the three changes. Kieran Gibbs started at left back in the place of Gael Clichy, Denilson started in the place of Jack Wilshere in midfield, and Robin van Persie started up front alongside Marouane Chamakh, in place of Tomas Rosicky.

This meant Arsenal would again, not play their standard 4-2-3-1, considering the RvP/Chamakh pairing; this is really more of a 4-2-2-2 with the usual holding midfielders playing back, Nasri and Arshavin playing along the wings, and the strikers up front. Of course, it's probably just easier to call it a 4-4-2. Then again, chatting with fellow Hipster Gooner contributor Jack Palmer during the match, he suggested that the formation is more easily described as "Leaky-Shaky-Melange."

There was talk in the lead-up to the match about how important it was for Arsenal to start on the front foot. Given how Arsenal can get nervous at home this season, scoring the first goal and moving forward from there was crucial. The boys in red and white were content trying to pick the lock to score their first goal during the first quarter of an hour, but they were met with much resistance; Partizan was completely content with getting as many players as they possibly could behind the ball. Combine this with Jack Wilshere on the bench, Samir Nasri out wide, and Andrei Arshavin having the beginning of an abysmal game, Arsenal was not getting much done creatively. There are times when I love Arsenal's tippy-tappy, pick the lock style, but at the start of a match like today, you've just gotta bang the God damned door down.

Robin van Persie puts Arsenal ahead from the spot.

The match turned slightly for the worse in the 17th minute when continuously unlucky Kieran Gibbs got his boot caught in the ground, causing him to turn on his ankle. He was stretchered off, then popped back up and came back out onto the pitch for about ten minutes and limped about before being taken off for Emmanuel Eboue. It's really a shame that Gibbs can't seem to go more than two or three games without picking up an injury, this time, without any contact whatsoever. This was a freak accident and hopefully it does not mean a long time on the sidelines for the young Englishman, as I much like Gael Clichy being pushed for his playing time.

Of course, with Clichy not on the bench (out with illness), Eboue was forced to play left back, a position he does not normally play. Even when Gibbs went off with injury at Newcastle in the Carling Cup, Eboue came on and played right back while Bacary Sagna slipped over to the left to cover. The injury led to a lull in concentration from the Gunners, their touches were a bit sloppier (not to say they weren't a little poor even before that) and for about ten minutes, partially while Gibbs was still on limping, Partizan looked threatening on the break. With the way Arsenal's back four have fared lately, anything was possible, but the home side came out of that period unscathed. Partizan tried to exploit Gibbs's injury while he was still on, but could not muster a chance on goal.

There has also been a lot of talk lately about Alex Song's positioning and in the post-match interviews over the weekend, Arsene Wenger confirmed that it was his decision to tell Song to push up a little more than in the past. However, it was Song's forward positioning that led to the chance that led to Arsenal's first goal, though in a roundabout way. Song came up with the ball at the right corner of the penalty area, then slipped a pass through to Robin van Persie. As the Dutchman tried to turn back toward goal, he was tripped by Radosav Petrovic, and the Italian referee pointed to the spot. At the first angle, I thought it was a dive, but that's because Petrovic's tripping leg was obscured. Good call and van Persie did not miss, seizing the opportunity to bury his first goal of the season. Arsenal led 1-0 at the half, though it was not convincing, and it was by no means entertaining.

"Here we go again..."

We've seen Arsenal so many times this year take the lead into halftime, then capitulate early in the second half. It happened against Spurs, it happened at Villa, and it happened again today. And oh boy, was it a shambolic goal. Arsenal started the second half looking for their second goal (and the first 45 seconds of the second half were more exciting than any of the 45 minutes of the first), but in the 52nd, Cleo took the ball 25 yards out, with no Arsenal defenders in front of him, save Sebastian Squillaci. Cleo took a shot, it caromed off Squillaci's foot and popped high in the air, leaving Lukasz Fabianski absolutely no chance. Suddenly, it was 1-1. Suddenly, the doubt was creeping in again. And suddenly, a Braga goal could've meant the Europa League in the coming months.

If you were nervous from the start of this match, like I was, then the next 21 minutes must have been absolutely terrifying. Chance after chance after chance went begging. At the hour mark, I questioned where Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere could have been hiding. The change of pace had to happen and Andrei Arshavin's disastrous game was dragging Arsenal down. There was no creativity; Samir Nasri was playing as hard as ever but could not find a finish. Robin van Persie and Marouane Chamakh looked uncomfortable together combining up front. Something had to change...

Theo Walcott sends Arsenal through.

The change finally came in the 66th minute as Arshavin was removed for Walcott. A nifty little one-two between he and Alex Song drew a foul as Walcott was body checked to the ground just outside of the box. RvP took the kick, it swerved beautifully, but Vladimir Stojkovic made a top class save and tipped it over the bar.

But seven minutes after coming on, Theo Walcott had a winner for Arsenal. A Sagna cross was blocked down, but cleared only as far as Theo, who chested it down and one-timed a shot across the face of the goal and into the net. And the panic was averted.

Then, Arsenal got a third just four minutes later to make the scoreline a little prettier (considering the effort today was, on the whole, abysmal.) Nicklas Bendtner, who had just come on for Chamakh, played another nifty one-two with Song (maybe he's not such a rogue striker after all,) Song found Nasri at the top of the box and he pounded a strike into the net to make things a little more comfortable.

The end of the match would not be without a little more bad news for Arsenal. With a Partizan striker through on goal and the possibility of a very nervy finish, Bacary Sagna, the last defender, tripped him just ahead of the box, and took a red card for the team. The resulting suspension in the Round of 16 is worrysome, but Sagna made a choice to ensure that Arsenal would be through and not make things more difficult in the final five minutes should Partizan have scored. Mind you, he did not know at the time that Shakhtar led by two and qualification was all but guaranteed.

In the end, this was probably not a good build up to a huge tilt with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday and I would love it if I could write a recap where I don't feel the urge to use the word "nervy" in every paragraph. Today we learned: 1) Chamakh and van Persie don't work together yet, 2) we need a creative player in the middle at all times (choose between Fabregas, Nasri, Rosicky, or Wilshere), 3) something has got to be done about this home form problem, and 4) we're off to either Germany or Spain in the next round.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Theo Walcott

Preview: Arsenal v. Partizan Belgrade, Champions League Group Matchday 6

Marouane Chamakh nods in Arsenal's winner in Serbia back in September. Pic via Daily Mail.


Emirates Stadium, London

Wednesday, December 8

7:45 p.m. GMT, 2:45 p.m. EST

• Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (Italy)
• Reverse Fixture: Partizan Belgrade 1 - 3 Arsenal
• Matchday 2 was the first and only competitive fixture between sides
• Arsenal's League Form: L-W-W-L-W-W
• Partizan's League Form: W-W-W-W-W-W

Predicted Line-Up

just assume these are mostly guesses

Fabianski

Sagna - Koscielny - Squillaci - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Nasri - Arshavin

Chamakh

Subs from: Szczesny, Eboue, Gibbs, Denilson, Bendtner, Van Persie, Rosicky

Out: Djourou (thigh), Fabregas (hamstring), Diaby (ankle), Almunia (elbow), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Qualification
Grid of possible results at right.
This assumes Arsenal will finish with a better goal difference than Braga.

• Arsenal will qualify for the knockout stage, if:
• They win, OR
• They draw and Braga drops points, OR
• They lose and Braga also loses.
• Arsenal will win Group H, if:
• They win and Braga wins by fewer than 14 goals.
• Arsenal will finish third, starting the Gooner European Apocalypse, if:
• They lose and Shakhtar Donetsk drops points, OR
• They draw and Braga wins.

Match Thoughts

It is the beginning of an absolutely huge, almost season defining week for Arsenal. They have gone top of the table in the league for now, benefiting from Manchester United's postponement from the weekend. Arsenal still has their fate in their own hands regarding United's game in hand, as the Gunners travel to Old Trafford on Monday.

But it all starts here, at home, in the Champions League against Partizan Belgrade tomorrow. A couple of dreadful results away from the Emirates in Europe through the month of November have put Arsenal's back up against the wall. If their performance is any form of shambolic tomorrow, there's a chance the Gunners will not qualify for the knockout phase, essentially "doing a Liverpool" from last year, or, as I've called it, the "Gooner European Apocalypse." And quite honestly, I had a weird nightmare about that last night.

Arsenal's home form in the league has left something to be desired all season long, including losses to West Brom, Newcastle, and the Scum. Their back-to-back wins over Wigan in the Carling Cup and Fulham on Saturday has only begun to rectify the problem; that rectification must continue tomorrow. The Gunners have been dominant at home in Europe, winning by a combined 11-1 to scoreline against the two sides that would eventually beat them away from London last month.

You'll see that my predicted line-up feels largely like guesswork. It's an XI that would make sense in the league and would make sense for an absolute must-win fixture like this one, but Arsene Wenger's rotational choices in the Champions League this year have been bothering me for a month now. And it's the main reason why this is must-win in the first place.

Robin van Persie could get a start, as could Theo Walcott, but I'd be quite unhappy if Nicklas Bendtner or Emmanuel Eboue got the start too. I like Eboue, and he's passed fit again, but remember he looked dreadful in the Carling Cup, and only escaped further embarrassment when Victor Moses left with injury. Let's have as few question marks as we can on the back line, okay?

Injury News and Match Facts

• Johan Djourou picked up a thigh injury and now suddenly Laurent Koscielny is fine to start. Djourou should be fit again by the weekend, but I'm really concerned at how quickly we've had to rush back the young Frenchman from a head injury due to a lack of center backs.
• The English media has sensationalized the fact that Thomas Vermaelen won't be back until January. It's as if our best player just recently suffered a devastating injury. He's been out since August! Quite frankly, there was a time I didn't expect him to be back at all this season.
• The other injuries remain the same: Cesc Fabregas hopes to be back by Monday at Old Trafford, Abou Diaby's ankle remains mysterious, and I'm pretty sure Manuel Almunia just doesn't want to be number two behind Fabianski.
• Arsenal's 3-1 win in Belgrade in September was the only other competitive fixture between these two sides. Partizan's penalty goal was the only goal they have scored in the group stage, now through five matches.

The Referee

• The referee is Italy's Paolo Tagliavento.
• He's been a Serie A referee since 2004 and a UEFA Cup/Europa League referee since 2007.
• As far as my research dictates, however, this seems to be his first Champions League match.
• His highest international honor to date has been taking charge of two World Cup qualifiers.

England in the Champions League This Week

• Tuesday: Twente v. Tottenham Hotspur; De Grolsch Veste, Enschede
• Tuesday: Manchester United v. Valencia; Old Trafford, Manchester
• Wednesday: Marseille v. Chelsea; Stade Vélodrome, Marseille

Champions League: Braga 2 - 0 Arsenal: The Downward Spiral

Yeah... Pic via Guardian.

SC Braga 2: Matheus 83, 90+3

Arsenal 0

After the debacle that was Saturday against Spurs, this match was time for Arsenal to get back on the proverbial horse, and in the process, secure their path into the next round of the Champions League. Instead of getting back on the horse, what actually happened was the horse kicked Arsenal while they were down. So now, Arsenal is still stuck face down in the mud with things spiraling out of control very quickly.

Arsene Wenger, judging by rotation, seems to have no desire to win the Champions League

The amount of squad rotation in the past two Champions League fixtures have boggled my mind. There were seven changes to the side that lost on Saturday. Bacary Sagna was on the bench. Samir Nasri was on the bench. Alex Song was on the bench. Marouane Chamakh was on the bench. Andrei Arshavin and Robin van Persie were left in London to "rest."

During the month of November, the squad has been treating European competition like it's a glorified, multi-national version of the League Cup, which is a disturbing thought if you spend too much time thinking about it. Shakhtar Donetsk was not the time to field a B team, and after losing there, Braga certainly was not the time to do it again.

This team has, offensively, run out of ideas

Unless Cesc Fabregas is in tip-top form, this team has lately been playing like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off. Fabregas was at the top of his game in the first half on Saturday, but has been invisible at best and noticeably detrimental to the team at worse since. This happened against Newcastle as well, and it's thanks to his recurring hamstring injury (which recurred again and will likely keep him out for at least two weeks.) When Fabregas is playing hesitant, the entire offense suffers.

Unfortunately, without Fabrgeas on the pitch at all, the offense will still suffer. This is because his replacements have not yet built up the instinct to pick out that perfect pass in the final third that Fabregas is so damned good at. Samir Nasri will probably be close to there in time, but he's not right now. Arsenal essentially had no threatening chances on goal from open play yesterday. Crosses are sent into the box and nobody is there but the other team. Once Arsenal starts losing, they start hoofing the ball long, forgetting that they don't have the personnel on the other end to win those long balls anyway.

The squad does not have a straight-up holding midfielder and it makes the back four look worse

Without the injured Thomas Vermaelen, the Arsenal back four have exposed themselves this season as lacking experience and prone to break downs that lead to goals conceded. How on Earth did one Braga striker beat three Arsenal defenders twice yesterday? Once Eboue was injured forcing Arsenal to ten men, the back line never reorganized themselves. But, even with all of the problems the back four have had, they have not been helped by the fact that Arsenal's holding midfielders haven't exactly been natural for the role this year.

Arsenal have deployed four different players in the holding role section (the 2) of their 4-2-3-1 formation this season: Alex Song, Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby, and Denilson. Diaby is currently hurt, having been hacked at the same ankle twice this season, but he's more of the creative offensive type anyway, and was playing the Fabregas box-to-box role as of his last appearance at Chelsea. The same essentially goes for the young Jack Wilshere; he's not the type you want just hanging back at the halfway line when he offers so much to the offense. Denilson, we've been saying for years, does not have the size and body type to fill the role adequately anyway.

This leaves Alex Song, who has been pushing way too far forward this season. Song was on the bench yesterday (this goes back to my rotation point above, of course), but it's been an issue all year. Paraphrasing a bit from various sources, a holding midfielder's job is: "screening the defense, covering for those who push forward, retaining distribution nearer the defense, directing distribution forward, and forcing the opposition offensively into more difficult areas of the pitch." Basically, you can't do any of that if you find yourself caught forward on the attack. This, in turn, exposes the back line.

The holding midfielder needs to be someone who floats back around the halfway line ready to deflect pressure away from others. If caught out of position, as Song has been so many times this year, the consequence is added pressure on other players whom you are supposed to be helping.

Nicklas Bendtner, for all his talk, is useless

For examples, see yesterday and November 3 at Shakhtar Donetsk. That is all.

Arsenal lacks the mental resolve to win anything

This is troubling. I've talked a lot recently about the differences between Dominant Arsenal and Complacent Arsenal, who are seemingly two completely different teams. At Everton, Dominant Arsenal played 70 minutes and built a 2-0 lead, which Complacent Arsenal did not have enough time to fuck up. Against Spurs, Dominant Arsenal played 45 minutes and built a 2-0 lead, which Complacent Arsenal had plenty of time to fuck up. Yesterday, only Complacent Arsenal appeared. You can't win trophies like this.

Arsenal had most of the possession through the match (about two-thirds, I believe) and yet never seemed to be threatening on the attack. There's something seriously wrong there. This is a team that was just days ago embarrassed in the second half at home against a bitter rival. The proper response to that is to go out and thrash a legitimately weaker opponent (Braga is 10th in Portugal and had lost three of four.) Despite losing to West Brom, despite losing to Newcastle, despite losing to Spurs, all at home, you get the sense that this team still finds themselves too comfortable in games they "should" win.

That means they 1) lack a killer instinct to take advantage of situations where they could put the opposition down for the count and 2) are incapable of pulling themselves up when the going gets tough, as evidenced by repeated losses in the same pattern. That's going to lead you nowhere fast in these competitions.

I am legitimately worried where this season might end up going

With everything that has happened this month, I'm starting to find my normal, ever-lasting-until-mathematically-eliminated optimism fading fast. Suddenly we're possibly a draw against Partizan away from the Europa League. And playing as Arsenal has this month is a fast track to a fifth place finish and, you guessed it, the Europa League next year.

Football can be a cruel and unforgiving game. If you spiral out of control for too long, it becomes nearly impossible to rectify the situation. If next month continues as this month has, then who knows what competitions this team will be going for next year.

Just ask Liverpool.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Matheus

Champions League: Shakhtar Donetsk 2 - 1 Arsenal: Second Guess

This wasn't as awesome as that other Eduardo goal. Pic via Guardian.

Shakhtar Donetsk 2: Chygrynskiy 28, Eduardo 45

Arsenal 1: Walcott 10

I am going to inevitably keep this recap short, because if I don't, I run the risk of going off on tangents and having the whole thing turn into a profanity laced tirade about Arsenal's performance yesterday. On Monday, I outlined why it was crucial for Arsenal to pick up three points in this fixture, since it would clear their path to the knockout phase, and allow Arsene Wenger to rotate the squad in the remaining two group fixtures. Instead, injuries forced Wenger to make a number of changes anyway, and it was costly. Those two remaining fixtures now look like must-wins for Arsenal to finish top of the group.

Arsenal made a whopping seven changes from the side that beat West Ham United on Saturday. But, only four of those changes were necessitated by injuries, as Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song, Denilson, and Andrei Arshavin dropped out. I'm under the impression that most of these were precautions and three could play Sunday (one hopes, though Denilson will drop for Jack Wilshere back from suspension.) In came Wilshere, Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosicky, and Craig Eastmond.

Three changes were the case of rotation in the squad, the use of which in this match, a must-win as I've outlined before, bothered me significantly. Bacary Sagna and Laurent Koscielny dropped to the bench for Emmanuel Eboue and Johan Djourou. Nicklas Bendtner started up front in the place of Marouane Chamakh.

Why rotate so much now when winning this match allows you to rotate during a more difficult stretch of fixtures in the future? Arsenal plays Newcastle at home on Sunday. After their next group stage match, one on which there is now more pressure to win, they play Aston Villa away. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Sure, it started off well enough. Arsenal took a lead within ten minutes thanks to the pace of Theo Walcott. In clearing a corner, Jack Wilshere's ball out of danger sprang Walcott, whose lightning quickness meant that nobody was going to catch him. He slotted a neat little ball under the diving keeper and Arsenal looked like they'd win comfortably. Which, apparently, set them up perfectly to be complacent for the oncoming Shakhtar onslaught.

The Ukrainian side dominated the rest of the first half, essentially, and they drew level just before the half hour mark, after a bizarre run-up. Wilshere was fouled but the referee played the advantage to Arsenal, who after a pass or two, lost possession. Suddenly, Shakhtar was racing the other way against ten defenders, and a caught out of position Eboue was forced to commit a foul and pick up a booking to prevent further damage on the counter. The damage would come on the resulting free kick anyway, as a perfectly taken strike found the head of Dmytro Chygrynskiy, then glanced off Craig Eastmond and into the net. Originally an own goal to the young Gunner, the deflection was of a shot going on goal anyway, and Chygrynskiy eventually got credit.

Arsenal played about five solid minutes of time in the first half after their opening goal, but it all came crashing down just before halftime. On the break, Gael Clichy was absolutely skinned alive by Darijo Srna, who then slotted a perfect cross for Eduardo to one-time past a diving Fabianski. To his credit, the Crozilian again did not celebrate him goal. But the stadium certainly did, and it's a goal that can never happen at this level. Clichy's error was inexcusable. He had briefly won back possession, only to try to dribble his way around Srna instead of clearing. He paid the price and looked foolish in the process.

There were a few chances for Arsenal to equalize in the second half with Wilshere coming closest in the early going, but after a while, all of Arsenal's efforts were coming from 20 yards out with very little to challenge Shakhtar's defense. Another sign of rotation appeared when Carlos Vela was the first substitution, with Marouane Chamakh coming on with only about 17 minutes to play at most. Then, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas came on with only nine minutes with which to work. It looked at certain times like Arsenal had no intention of winning this match; they lacked spark in their play for about 70 minutes in total.

Bright spots existed, of course. Lukasz Fabianski was stellar again; let's hope the fact that he was on the losing end doesn't shatter his confidence. Johan Djourou is improving game-by-game, though he still has one too many adventures at center back for my liking. Jack Wilshere did not lose a beat during his suspension and Theo Walcott looks just as fired up as he did before his injury.

On the negative side, after a positive run of games, Nicklas Bendtner was largely useless yesterday. For all of the great work we've seen from them in the past, Samir Nasri and Tomas Rosicky had off nights in terms of their creativity. Gael Clichy needs someone to challenge him for his starting job since Kieran Gibbs seems perma-hurt. I don't think Craig Eastmond is quite ready for the European stage; Henri Lansbury, who was left on the bench, is arguably more ready. Everyone else was fairly mediocre (that apparently means Eboue, Squillaci, and Vela), while Chamakh and JET didn't get enough time to warrant much judgment.

Disappointing match, all in all. One in which Arsenal saw their future fixtures get a little more difficult. I think that's what makes it worse.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Darijo Srna

Preview: Shakhtar Donetsk v. Arsenal, Champions League Group Matchday 4

Arsenal will be without Cesc Fabregas thanks to a re-tweaked hamstring. Pic via The Indepedent.
 
Donbass Arena, Donetsk

Wednesday, November 3

19:45 GMT, 3:45 p.m. EDT

• Referee: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)
• Reverse Fixture: Arsenal 5 - 1 Shakhtar Donetsk
• All-Time in All Competitions: 2 Arsenal wins, 1 Shakhtar win, 0 draws
• Arsenal's League Form: D-L-L-W-W-W
• Shakhtar's League Form: W-W-W-W-W-W

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Fabianski

Sagna - Koscielny - Squillaci - Clichy

Wilshere - Eastmond

Walcott - Nasri - Bendtner

Chamakh

Subs from: Szczesny, Djourou, Eboue, Rosicky, Vela, Lansbury, Emmanuel-Thomas

Out: Fabregas (hamstring), Song (calf), Denilson (groin), Arshavin (undisclosed), Gibbs (knee), Diaby (ankle), Almunia (elbow), Vermaelen (Achilles), Van Persie (ankle), Ramsey (broken leg)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Cesc Fabregas picked up an injury to his hamstring on Saturday (again) and will not make the trip to Ukraine. It's mostly a precaution. Keep in mind, Fabregas has had hamstring problems on-and-off since first coming off at Burnley last December.
• Denilson, Alex Song, Abou Diaby, and Andrei Arshavin were all left in London due to various knocks.
• To make up for their absence, word is that young Gunners Craig Eastmond and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas were on the plane. And by "word," I mean here's a picture, courtesy Jack Wilshere's Twitter. Henri Lansbury traveled as well.
• Arsenal will all but mathematically win Group H with a win and will certainly do so with a win plus Braga dropping points against Partizan.
• The Gunners have won five straight across all competitions. It's their longest winning streak since a six match run last winter, which was snapped in March at Birmingham.
• Arsenal have outscored their competition 14-2 through three matches in group play. 14 goals in three matches is a Champions League record.
• Another Champions League record: Marouane Chamakh has scored in six straight European matches; the first three of the streak were with Bordeaux last year.

Shakhtar News and Notes

• Shakhtar Donetsk are five points clear of rival Dynamo Kyiv for the league lead domestically.
• This season, Shakhtar have only dropped points three times this year: a loss and a draw in the league plus their 5-1 loss at the Emirates.
• The Ukrainian side have not conceded a goal in three domestic fixtures since their loss in London.
• The Coal Miners have not yet lost at home at Donbass Arena, which opened at the start of last season.

Match Facts

• Arsenal have never won in four tries on Ukranian soul; they lost their only trip to Donetsk 3-0.
• Arsenal's last trip to the Ukraine was a 1-1 draw at Dynamo Kyiv in 2008.

The Referee

• The referee is Massimo Busacca from Switzerland.
• Busacca took charge of Arsenal's come-from-behind 2-2 draw against Barcelona at the Emirates in last year's quarterfinal first leg in late March.
• Busacca worked one match in this summer's World Cup: Uruguay's 3-0 win over host South Africa. Busacca sent off South Africa's goalkeeper for a professional foul. He also worked the Champions League Final in 2009, when Manchester United lost 2-0 to Barcelona.

England in the Champions League This Week

• Today: Bursaspor 0 - 3 Manchester United
• Today: Tottenham Hotspur 3 - 1 Internazionale
• Wednesday: Chelsea v. Spartak Moscow; Stamford Bridge, London

Champions League: Arsenal 5 - 1 Shakhtar Donetsk: Perfect Day

A special moment at the Emirates. Pic via Guardian.

Arsenal 5: Song 19, Nasri 42, Fabregas 60 (pen), Wilshere 66, Chamakh 69

Shakhtar Donetsk 1: Eduardo 82

Most Gooners secretly or not-so-secretly wanted to see our former Brazilian-Croatian striker Eduardo score a goal on his return to the Emirates Stadium. Of course, since he plays for the other team, we all wanted it to happen while Arsenal was winning comfortably. Yesterday, therefore, could not possibly have been scripted any better. Meanwhile, the Gunners are now three points clear at the top of Group H.

Cesc Fabregas returned, a bit surprisingly, to the starting XI, from a hamstring injury he sustained while scoring a fluky goal at Sunderland a month ago. Tomas Rosicky also slipped into the starting side, meaning Abou Diaby and Andrei Arshavin dropped to the bench in the two changes to the side made since Saturday's win over Birmingham City. With Fabregas returning to the named side, Carlos Vela dropped out of the 18-man team and started for the Reserves (not impressively, I've heard.)

The early going was nervy and the Ukrainian champions had a little too much of the possession. I've heard it mentioned that ever since Arsenal failed to show up at home against West Brom, there has been an uncomfortable air of nervousness around the team until they finally get going.

Then, a gift. In the 19th minute, a Samir Nasri corner should have been handled comfortably by goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov, but, in a moment we would have called an "Arsenal audition" before Arsene Wenger decided not to buy a keeper anyway for some reason, Pyatov dropped the ball. Johan Djourou was there to kick it behind Pyatov, but not far enough sto score; Alex Song cleaned up the mess, picked up his second goal of the year across all competitions, and put the Gunners ahead 1-0. This was, of course, bad news for Shakhtar, a team that came to the Emirates content to steal a point and not more. Arsenal took a 2-0 lead into halftime thanks to a beautiful strike by Samir Nasri, firing home a cross from Alex Song from just outside the box.

Arsenal kept going in the second half and earned a penalty at the hour mark when Johan Djourou was preposterously wrestled to the ground in a headlock while waiting to receive a cross from a Nasri set piece. The fact that Adriano and Shakhtar protested the call and the booking was laughable. Fabregas pounded the penalty home and lifted up his shirt, revealing a happy birthday message to his mother. How sweet. Then, taking no chances with the captain's fitness, Arsene Wenger pulled Fabregas for Denilson. Just after, Eduardo was subbed on for Shakhtar.

Jack Wilshere got on the score sheet, playing his last match before starting to serve his three match domestic ban (oh, also, in the first half, he put in another fairly questionable tackle; get it together, Jack!), his first Arsenal goal since the 2008 Carling Cup and only the second in his career. Jack played a 1-2 with Tomas Rosicky and flicked a shot over the out rushing keeper to make it 4-0. Three minutes later, it was 5-0, when Chamakh was clear ahead of the Shakhtar defensive line while the entire bar thought he was offside. Chamakh actually paused when he received the pass, glanced over to see if the linesman's flag had gone up, then still had time to go clear in on goal.

At 5-0, Chamakh and Nasri were pulled for Arshavin and the return from injury of Theo Walcott, who had been left on the bench on Saturday. There was little left for Arsenal to prove, though it was good to see Walcott still has his pace. The match ended perfectly in the 82nd, with a brilliant half-volley shot into the corner by Eduardo, to make it 5-1. No Arsenal fan could ask for more and I don't think an away goal has ever received such a reception in North London.

Arsenal had a solid shout for a penalty in the 87th when Arshavin was shoved to the turf, but the referee held his whistle, though it would not have mattered. I think the best question is who would have taken the penalty anyway, with Fabregas and Nasri on the bench and Rosicky probably not taking penalties after missing at Sunderland. I think Arshavin is the obvious choice.

Of course, a question we can all choose to ignore is how the English media would portray Arsenal's comfortable win, and I leave you with this parting line from the Guardian's MBM: "The final whistle brings familiar confusion: were Arsenal brilliant or were there opponents deeply inept?"

Shut up, media.

Preview: Arsenal v. Shakhtar Donetsk, Champions League Group Matchday 3

Eduardo Silva, Shakhtar Donetsk's number eleven.

Na-na na-na na-na na-na... Pic via Euro Rivals.

Emirates Stadium, London

Tuesday, October 19

19:45 BST, 2:45 p.m. EDT

• Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (Norway)
• All-Time in All Competitions: 1 Arsenal win, 1 Shakhtar Donetsk win, 0 draws
• Arsenal's League Form: W-W-D-L-L-W
• Shakhtar Donetsk's League Form: W-L-W-W-W-W

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Fabianski

Eboue - Djourou - Squillaci - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Nasri - Diaby - Arshavin

Chamakh

Subs from: Szczesny, Gibbs, Fabregas, Denilson, Rosicky, Walcott, Bendtner

Out: Koscielny (back), Sagna (thigh), Almunia (elbow), Vermaelen (Achilles), Van Persie (ankle), Ramsey (broken leg)

Arsenal News and Notes

• No new injuries to talk about, plus Cesc Fabregas will return, likely starting on the bench.
• Jack Wilshere's three match ban applies to domestic play only; he can still play in the Champions League.
• Theo Walcott might return to the starting XI, though I'm not positive who slips out of the line-up. Perhaps Diaby?
• Arsenal has not dropped points from a group stage match at home since a 0-0 draw with Fenerbahce in November of 2008.

Shakhtar Donetsk News and Notes

• Eduardo has scored four goals with his new team and have appeared in 11 matches, seven of those off the bench.
• Shakhtar has a number of players who have just returned from or are returning from injury, much like Arsenal. Dmytro Chygrynskiy and Yaroslav Rakytskiy returned for their league match on Friday while Douglas Costa should return for this match.
• Their only long term injury is Brazilian playmaker Fernandinho.
• Shakhtar also has six points from two group stage matches; they defeated Partizan 1-0 and Braga 3-0.
• In 13 league matches, Shakhtar has won 11, lost one, and drawn one. They have a five point lead over Dynamo Kyiv.

Match Facts

• Arsenal and Shakhtar met twice in group play in the fall of 2000. Arsenal won 3-2 at Highbury but lost 3-0 in the Ukraine.
• Shakhtar's last match against English competition came in the knockout stage of the UEFA Cup in 2009, when they defeated Tottenham 3-1 on aggregate, then went on to win the tournament.
• Arsenal's last match against Ukrainian competition came in group play in 2008 against Dynamo Kyiv. Arsenal won 1-0 at home and drew 1-1 in Kiev.

The Referee

• The referee is Svein Oddvar Moen from Norway.
• This season is his first working in the Champions League and this is his first Arsenal match.

England in the Champions League This Week

• Tuesday: Spartak Moscow v. Chelsea; Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
• Wednesday: Manchester United v. Bursaspor; Old Trafford, Manchester
• Wednesday: Internazionale v. Tottenham Hotspur; San Siro, Milan

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

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.

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

Champions League and We're 'avin a Laff

UPDATED: The fixtures do not work the same as they did last year. The following is the order of matchdays: 1) Braga home 2) Partizan away 3) Shakhtar Donetsk home 4) Shakhtar Donetsk away 5) Braga away 6) Partizan home. Days are 1) Wednesday 2) Tuesday 3) Tuesday 4) Wednesday 5) Tuesday 6) Wednesday. Ignore all other fixture information in the body of the post.

I chose not to live blog the drawing because it was just painfully long-winded and boring. In any case, Arsenal has been place in Group H this season, as they were last year, and as they were in 2005-06 when they reached the Final in Paris.

From Pot 2, Arsenal has drawn Ukrainian champion Shakhtar Donetsk, notable as the team to which Arsenal sold Eduardo last month. Since I believe the schedule works in the same way every year as to when teams from each pot travels to another, Eduardo will be returning to the Emirates in the last week on September (days before Arsenal plays Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.) Arsenal will be traveling to the Ukraine days before hosting Manchester United, which just sounds dreadful right now.

Shakhtar Donetsk is the only team in the group which Arsenal has played before; they met in group play in the 2000-01 Champions League. Arsenal won 3-2 at Highbury, but lost 3-0 in the Ukraine.

Shakhtar Donetsk won the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League) in 2009.

From Pot 3, Arsenal has drawn Sporting Braga from Portugal, a team nicknamed "The Arsenalists" because their jersey is similar in style to the Gunners' strip. Braga qualified by defeating Sevilla from Spain in a thrilling tie, 5-3 on aggregate after a wild 4-3 win in Seville on Tuesday. Braga finished second in Portugal last season, behind champions Benfica. Arsenal will play Braga in mid-October and early November. This is Braga's first trip to the group stage.

Arsenal faced Portuguese competition in last year's Champions League, defeating FC Porto 6-2 on aggregate in the Round of 16, after Fabianski made a disaster of the road leg and Bendtner picked up a hat trick at home.

From Pot 4, Arsenal has drawn Serbian champion Partizan Belgrade. Partizan survived three qualifying rounds to advance to the group stage. In the second qualifying round, they defeated Armenian champion Pyunik 4-1 on aggregate. In the third qualifying round, they defeated Finland's HJK Helsinki 5-1, and in the play-off round for champions, they defeated Belgium's Anderlecht on penalties. Arsenal will open their Champions League campaign in Belgrade in mid-September, then will host Partizan in late November.

Also, let's all laugh at Tottenham... they've drawn Internazionale Milano, Werder Bremen, and the Netherlands' FC Twente in their group.

News Roundup 8/9/10 - The Idiots Keep Talking Edition

Twitchy, one of his forwards, and some a-hole from Barça all have things to say today. Pic via The Sun.

• We'll start with news though: A Daily Mirror exclusive links the Gunners with a possible loan move for Manchester City's Shay Given, since the Irishman is about to lose the #1 job at Eastlands to Joe Hart. While amazing if it happens, and slightly more plausible than the Pepe Reina rumor on Saturday, I honestly don't think City is stupid enough to give a rival one of their two talented keepers. But who knows, they could be... [Daily Mirror]
• Jermain Defoe honestly thinks Tottenham Hotspur can do better than Arsenal in European competition. Look, I don't want to get into the whole UEFA coefficient thing in detail, but Spurs are pretty much guaranteed to have a more difficult path to get out of the group stage than Arsenal will. [ESPN Soccernet]
• Harry Redknapp is totally flabbergasted that Fabio Capello called up three Arsenal players for England's friendly with Hungary on Wednesday who were not originally chosen for South Africa. He jokes that since Jack Wilshere was called up without a Premier League start in his career, Arsenal must be better than the English team. Despite his intentions, he's right. [Daily Mail]
• Did you think that the Cesc Fabregas saga was over? You're wrong! Because the media is still talking to Xavi! Today's gem: "Maybe he'll come in January when Arsenal are out of the Premier League title race. Their team is just not competitive." Hilarious delusion: appearing daily out of the Nou Camp. [The Sun]
• Blond-braided right back Bacary Sagna likes the idea of signing Emir Spahic for cover at center back. At least someone does. [Daily Mail]
• Reports are that Hull City has won the race to sign "excess to requirements" forward Jay Simpson. I'll never forget that brace he had against Barnet last month. [Daily Mirror]
• Did you like all of those goals on Saturday? Well, the Arsenal Ladies won their friendly yesterday 14-0. No mercy! [Arsenal.com]
• An idiotic round of useless international friendlies which is sure to set back Arsenal's training about three weeks or so begins tomorrow.
• Programming notes: We'll talk about those friendlies a bit tomorrow, have a last look back at last season on Wednesday, a look forward to this season as a whole on Thursday, and our preview of the first match at Liverpool on Friday.

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.