Monday, April 5, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Arsenal 1 - 0 Wolves: Tantric Football
Arsenal matches are becoming an exercise in delayed gratification. Pic via BBC.
Arsenal 1: Bendtner 90+4
Wolves 0
If you enjoy the pleasure of experiencing the subtle beauties of each and every part of the process while realizing that just scoring in the end is not the ultimate goal, then this match was ecstasy for you. For 93 minutes and 55 seconds, Arsenal kept us waiting. It was pretty at times, the passing was there, the pace was there, and the chances were there, but the big ending was always just out of reach. And then, just when you thought there would be no happy ending, as the seconds ticked away, our heroes scored. And we all jumped up and down in sheer delight. Credit to Gloria for the metaphor, by the way; I'm not that clever.
We knew coming into this match that the side would be depleted. Arsene Wenger fielded a side that saw seven changes from the team that started against Barcelona on Wednesday. Cesc Fabregas (leg), Andrei Arshavin (calf), and William Gallas (calf) sadly won't be starting any time soon. But in addition to those three known absences, Gael Clichy, Abou Diaby, Nicklas Bendtner, and Samir Nasri were all placed on the bench in the name of rest. As such, Sol Campbell, Mikael Silvestre, Tomas Rosicky, Denilson, Emmanuel Eboue, Theo Walcott, and Eduardo started along with the unchanged Manuel Almunia, Bacary Sagna, Thomas Vermaelen, and Alex Song.
Arsenal's plan seemed obvious the entire time as well, and it was merely a question of whether Wolves could contain it for 90 minutes. Tomas Rosicky filled in the playmaker role in place of the injured Fabregas and rested Nasri and the goal was to get the ball to Walcott, have him speed past the defense, cross the ball into the box, and hope for a goal. Best case scenario, Arsenal gets on the board early, scores another one a bit later, and coasts to three points without having to use their substitutes who were resting on the bench. Ah, but as you know by now, Arsenal never gets three points the easy way.
Six minutes in, Eduardo takes a great shot that brings about an even better reflex save from Wolves' Seattle-born goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann. Eduardo has an absolute sitter a few minutes later but instead of taking a shot at an open net on the first touch, he traps it first, thereby working his body into an awkward, off-balance position, then knocking a very lame attempt at goal well wide. Then a minute later even Sagna gave it a chance, but his shot was right at Hahnemann. The entire first half felt like a Carling Cup tie to me; a string of non-regulars in the side struggling to find the net.
As the second half played out, concern was setting in. Chances were there and a goal was vital to keep the season and the title hopes mathematically plausible. But would it come? By 64 minutes, the resting Nicklas Bendtner was called upon to take the field, replacing the barely noticable Eboue.
Two minutes later, the match turned on its head as Wolves captain Karl Henry was sent off with a straight red card for a bad challenge from behind on Tomas Rosicky. On replay, it looked worse than it was, and there is now a ton of controversy around Andre Marriner's decision to send Henry off. Opponents are complaining that Arsenal are working the officials over to be more protected in the wake of Aaron Ramsey's horrific leg break (and Kieran Gibbs's foot break... and Eduardo's leg break... and Abou Diaby's leg break... it just goes on...) It was certainly a bookable offense from Henry; it should not have been red. Wolves then had to hold onto their nil-nil draw for the final 25 minutes plus stoppage time on ten men.
Samir Nasri and Carlos Vela (remember him?) made appearances as the remaining Arsenal subs as the Gunners streamed forward looking for the all-important goal. It just never seemed to be coming. Rosicky missed a brilliant chances seconds after returning to the pitch. Bendtner's header was saved under the bar. Rosicky missed another chance, then saved a potential Wolves goal on the line after a corner kick.
As the clock struck 90 minutes, a Vermaelen kick went completely off course and into touch for a Wolves throw-in; it looked symbolic of the afternoon, a signal that a death knell for Arsenal's title hopes would be heard soon. Walcott missed a lovely chance with three minutes of five added already gone. It looked all over.
Then a Nasri pass found Rosicky, to Walcott, back to Sagna with one minute to play. Sagna crossed into the box as Nicklas Bendtner won positioning in front of Wolves defender Ronald Zubar. Bendtner's header curled to the left of Hahnemann, who had no chance. With seconds to play, Arsenal had scored to take a 1-0 lead, and every Arsenal pub in the world, just like the Emirates, went nuts. The big ending had finally happened.
Both teams ended up trading chances in the remaining minute afterward, but that was it. Arsenal is still three points off the pace with five games to play. Can they win all five and get the help they need to take the title? Who knows? What I do know is that it's probably going to follow much of the same pattern of beauty and frustration.
Arsene Wenger is Very Disappointed in You 4/4/2010
Even in victory he looks like he thinks you could do better.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Preview: Arsenal v. Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arsenal scored twice at Molineux in November. Wolves scored three, but two were in the wrong net. Good job, Wolves. Pic after Fabregas's goal via Guardian.
Emirates Stadium, London
Saturday, April 3
15:00 BST, 10:00 a.m. EDT
- Referee: Andre Marriner
- This Match, Last Time: Arsenal 3 - 0 Wolves (December 26, 2003)
- All-Time in All Competitions: 53 Arsenal wins, 29 Wolves wins, 25 draws
- Arsenal's Recent Form: W-W-W-W-W-D
- Wolves' Recent Form: L-L-W-D-W-D
Predicted Line-Up
guesses italicized
Almunia
Sagna - Campbell - Vermaelen - Clichy
Nasri - Song - Diaby
Rosicky - Bendtner - Walcott
Subs from: Fabianski, Silvestre, Traore, Eboue, Denilson, Vela, Eduardo
Out: Arshavin (calf), Fabregas (leg), Gallas (calf), Ramsey (leg), Gibbs (foot), Van Persie (ankle), Djourou (knee)
Arsenal News and Notes
- In addition to Arsenal's already existing long-term injury list, three more players were knocked out thanks to Wednesday's Champions League tie with Barcelona...
- William Gallas returned from his calf injury, only to leave on a stretcher in the first half. Andrei Arshavin limped off with a serious calf injury himself. Gallas is done for the year, or five weeks at best. Arshavin should be back to play Manchester City on the 24th, so he'll miss this, Barcelona, Spurs, Wigan, and the first leg of the semifinals should Arsenal advance.
- As for Cesc Fabregas, his fibula is cracked, leaving him out for six weeks, which is the rest of at least the domestic season. Based on that timetable, the only way we see Fabregas again this year is if Arsenal makes the Champions League Final on May 22.
- Gael Clichy (back) and Denilson (groin) both passed their fitness tests and should be available.
- Without Fabregas, the pressure falls on Samir Nasri to be in the midfield playmaker role. What this means for the rest of the line-up is an interesting question, especially since Arshavin is out too; both normally play the forward wings. This could mean Wenger will use a 4-5-1 with Bendtner as a lone striker instead of a 4-3-3.
- Wolves, last year's winners of the Football League Championship, have been in danger of being sent back down for much of the season. Their recent run of form have pulled them up to 14th place on 32 points. They are currently five points above the drop zone.
- Wolves have gone four games unbeaten (two wins and two draws), their longest such run of the season, and their longest unbeaten streak in England's top flight since the end of 2004, at a time when their last place finish and relegation was practically certain.
- Wolves have only beaten one team that is currently sitting higher than 12th place in the table. Hilariously, they beat Tottenham Hotspur twice by 1-0 scorelines.
- Wolves are fairly injury free with their only long term absentee being Michael Kightly, who has been receiving treatment for a tendon problem in his knee in Barcelona.
Match Facts
- Wolves won 8 of their 46 visits to Highbury in all-time League play. It's their first trip to the Emirates.
- Wolves have not beaten Arsenal in any competition since a 3-2 win at Highbury on September 29, 1979. They have lost 13 and drawn twice against the Gunners since.
- On their last trip to Highbury, Wolves lost 3-0 on Boxing Day 2003. Jody Craddock scored an own goal for Wolves that day. He scored another own goal against Arsenal back in November.
- The referee is Andre Marriner, who worked Arsenal 3-0 loss at home to Chelsea in November and their 2-1 win at Hull last month. For Wolves, he has worked their road losses to Liverpool and Bolton.
- Saturday: Manchester United v. Chelsea; Old Trafford, Manchester
- Saturday: Bolton v. Aston Villa; Reebok Stadium, Bolton
- Saturday: Portsmouth v. Blackburn; Fratton Park, Portsmouth
- Saturday: Stoke v. Hull; Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
- Saturday: Sunderland v. Tottenham; Stadium of Light, Sunderland
- Saturday: Burnley v. Manchester City; Turf Moor, Burnley
- Sunday: Birmingham v. Liverpool; St. Andrew's, Birmingham
- Sunday: Fulham v. Wigan; Craven Cottage, London
- Sunday: Everton v. West Ham; Goodison Park, Liverpool
Thursday, April 1, 2010
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.
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.
Arsene Wenger No Longer Disappointed! 4/1/10
After their stunning draw yesterday, we at Hipster Gooner have decided to end Arsene Wenger is Very Disappointed in You. We can't imagine him every showing disappointment again! In fact, all video and photos I have seen after that match have only shown him happy. So starting today, the Hipster Gooners are going back to our roots with:
Almunia Alacrity 4/1/2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
