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

Arsenal 2 - 1 Birmingham City: Same Old Arsenal...

Sorry I jinxed you in this week's preview, Jack. Pic via BBC.

Arsenal 2: Nasri 41 (pen), Chamakh 47

Birmingham City 1: Zigic 33

When Arsenal plays Birmingham City, discussion always, at some point, goes back Martin Taylor's studs up challenge that broke Eduardo's leg in February of 2008. Saturday, the sickening tackle was provided by Jack Wilshere. But, more on that later... All in all, what we saw Saturday from the Gunners was, on the whole, unsurprising: a few creative plays matched by a lack of creative spark in the final third. Then again, three points are three points, and they were very necessary.

Arsenal made two changes to the side that lost 2-0 at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago, both necessitated due to injury: Bacary Sagna picked up a thigh injury at Chelsea and Laurent Koscielny picked up a back injury... somewhere... meaning Emmanuel Eboue started at right back and Johan Djourou paired with Sebastian Squillaci at center half. In good news, both Nicklas Bendtner (groin) and Theo Walcott (ankle) returned to the side and started on the bench.

The Gunners had a few chances to open the scoring that were unsuccessful; a series of 1-2's between Jack Wilshere and Marouane Chamakh set up the Moroccan with a great shot at goal, which was blocked brilliant by Stephen Carr. Then, in the 17th minute, Arsenal had an open goal canceled out by the assistant referee's flag, as he judged Squillaci to be offside when he headed in a Samir Nasri free kick. Replays were not very convincing. In the 24th, Gael Clichy had a chance at goal slide just wide after getting a look thanks to a defensive error.

Birmingham then picked up the opener against the run of play in the 33rd, as a Keith Fahey cross found the head of Nikola Zigic, who is about eleven feet tall. Zigic nodded home a perfect header, twisting away from Lukasz Fabianski and into the far bottom corner of the net. Brilliant stuff which was, thanks to Zigic's height, practically indefensible. The Blues almost picked up a second a few minutes later thanks to a breakdown on the Arsenal back line (which is happening at least once or twice per game now), but Zigic's shot at a brace was fired over the bar.

Arsenal equalized within ten minutes, but it was not without controversy. Scott Dann barely clipped Chamakh's foot as he passed him and Chamakh went flying; Martin Atkinson pointed to the spot, awarding a penalty. Was there contact? Some, yes. Did Chamakh embellish it? Absolutely. Though, there was nothing wrong with the spot kick itself, with Samir Nasri pounding a shot past Ben Foster, who had gone the wrong way, and Arsenal and Birmingham were on level terms at 1-1 at the half.

The Gunners took over the match right away in the second half and took the lead within two minutes of the restart, thanks to some brilliant footwork from Chamakh, as he dribbled around several defenders, forced Foster to dive, and worked himself to have an easy shot at a gaping net from along the by-line. Classy stuff and a brilliant finish, something Arsenal could really use more often.

And I say that because much of the script of the second half (as in the first) went the same way a lot of Arsenal games have gone this year (hence this recap's title.) For as much possession and control the boys in red and white may have in a match (it was 62% to Arsenal in this one), they seem to get flustered in the final third. When you are without Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie, and Theo Walcott due to injury, a lot of that creative spark isn't on the pitch. The mercurial Andrei Arshavin might show flashes of brilliance, though this week, there were none from the Russian. Abou Diaby had a solid game in the central role, but never seems to pick out the right pass once he reaches the 18-yard box. Chamakh and Wilshere have combined for numerous chances this season, and Wilshere picked up the assist for Chamakh's goal. But, other than that, a ton of chances go begging. I've read Birmingham fans talk about how they deserved a point from this match, and they might be right, but this was largely so close because Arsenal often can't finish what they've started.

Now, on to the ugliness. Samir Nasri kneed a guy in the back. Emmanuel Eboue launched a scissor tackle on Liam Ridgewell. Both received only yellow cards. It wasn't all one sided, as Birmingham escaped penalty in the first half, shortly before Arsenal's goal, when Marouane Chamakh took an elbow to the head. But the stories are all coming from what happened in the 93rd as Jack Wilshere went in over the ball, foot raised, and studs showing into a challenge of Zigic. It was a terrible challenge and an obvious straight red card. It's a three match ban for violent conduct and Jack will be back domestically on November 7 against Newcastle (he'll miss two league fixtures and the fourth round of the Carling Cup.) He can play in Europe tomorrow.

As an Arsenal supporter, this is one of those situations you have to talk about while at the same time not being hypocritical. Zigic did not have his leg broken, but he could have. There are a few differences here from what Arsenal has had done to them in the past. Is Jack Wilshere that kind of player? Yes, in that he can occasionally get caught up in some recklessness caused by his youthful exuberance. But he's not flying into challenges solely trying to make sure the other guy can feel it, as we've seen from the likes of Karl Henry, Nigel de Jong, and of course, Ryan Shawcross. There have been too many instances where those players have not acknowledged being in the wrong. Jack has apologized, knows he was wrong, and will learn from this experience. He's come close to having some pretty bad challenges in the past this year, again, because he's young and in some instances, possibly trying to do more than he should. He has to learn not to cross that line. I think he will learn.

Oh, and as a passing note, what ever happened to Martin Taylor after the Eduardo incident? Well, he scored for Watford on Saturday.

Preview: Arsenal v. Birmingham City

Robin van Persie opened the scoring in this fixture last year. Pic via Guardian.
 
Emirates Stadium, London

Saturday, October 16

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

• Referee: Martin Atkinson
• This Match, Last Year: Arsenal 3 - 1 Birmingham City
• All-Time in All Competitions: 57 Arsenal wins, 38 Birmingham wins, 35 draws
• Arsenal's Recent Form: W-W-W-D-L-L
• Birmingham's Recent Form: W-D-D-L-D-L

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red
updated Friday

Fabianski
Eboue - Djourou - Squillaci - Clichy
Song - Denilson
Wilshere - Nasri - Arshavin
Chamakh

Subs from: Szczesny, Gibbs, Diaby, Rosicky, Bendtner, Walcott, Vela
Out: Koscielny (back) Sagna (thigh), Almunia (elbow), Fabregas (hamstring), Vermaelen (Achilles), Walcott (ankle), Van Persie (ankle), Ramsey (broken leg)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Still no Cesc Fabregas. Maybe midweek in the Champions League.
• Still no Manuel Almunia either, so let's pray for another solid showing from Fabianski. Is three in a row asking for too much from an Arsenal 'keeper with a... ahem, history?
• Thomas Vermaelen and Bacary Sagna are each about ten days away from returning, which could put them short for the trip to Manchester City on the 24th. How lovely.
• Laurent Koscielny has picked up a back injury in training and will not appear in this match.
• Am I more sarcastic than normal in this preview so far? It has been a while since we've posted; thank you, international break.
• Good news is the returning list: Nicklas Bendtner is back! So is Kieran Gibbs! Theo Walcott passed his fitness test and returns as well. Probably at least two more weeks for Striker van GlassAnkle Robin van Persie. Aaron Ramsey is back in training! HUZZAH!
• Arsenal have dropped points in three straight league matches for the first time since dropping points in four straight toward the end of last season.
• Arsenal has lost two straight, a fate they suffered four times last year, but they never lost three straight. You would have to go back to March 18 to April 7, 2007 for the last time Arsenal lost three straight league fixtures. They finished with only 68 points that year, 21 points off the pace.

Birmingham News and Notes

• The Blues only have one injury! I am so jealous! James McFadden is out for a while with an ACL injury.
• Birmingham have only won once in seven fixtures this year, but they've also drawn four.
• Their home loss to Everton two weeks ago was their first such loss at home in over a year.
• However, they have not won a league fixture away from home since a 2-1 win at Portsmouth on March 9.

Match Facts

• Arsenal won this fixture 3-1 last year: Arsenal scored twice in two minutes to take a 2-0 lead, Lee Bowyer pegged one back for the Blues before Arshavin sealed the points in the 84th. Vito Mannone started in goal for the Gunners.
• This fixture also happened to be the exact same weekend last year. How weird!!
• Birmingham City has not won in their last six league attempts against Arsenal, though they have drawn three. The last two of those draws, both at St. Andrews, came with the Blues equalizing dramatically in injury time.
• Birmingham have not won at Arsenal since a 3-1 win on October 19, 1957. Since then, Arsenal has won 17 times at home against the Blues and have drawn nine.

The Referee

• The referee is Martin Atkinson.
• The last time Arsenal saw Atkinson, he was the fourth official at Sunderland, when there were 842 extra seconds was a controversial amount of injury time allowed the Black Cats to equalize. Then, Arsene Wenger shoved him and got suspended for a match.
• He has also been involved in the officiating crew in the last three instances where an Arsenal player has been shown a red card. So, looks like someone's getting sent off Saturday. Any bets? I'm taking Jack Wilshere.

Around the League

• Saturday: Bolton Wanderers v. Stoke City; Reebok Stadium, Bolton
• Saturday: Fulham v. Tottenham Hotspur; Craven Cottage, London
• Saturday: Manchester United v. West Bromwich Albion; Old Trafford, Manchester
• Saturday: Newcastle United v. Wigan Athletic; St. James' Park, Newcastle uponTyne
• Saturday: Wolverhampton Wanderers v. West Ham United; Molineux, Wolverhampton
• Saturday: Aston Villa v. Chelsea; Villa Park, Birmingham
• Sunday: Everton v. Liverpool; Goodison Park, Liverpool
• Sunday: Blackpool v. Manchester City; Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
• Monday: Blackburn Rovers v. Sunderland; Ewood Park, Blackburn

International Gunner Watch - It's Almost Like Good News

Nice scarf, Tommy. Pic via Big Soccer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Arsene Wenger Is Very Disappointed in You 10/06/10

From Arse 2 Mouse:

ZOO: Arsene Wenger looks so serious all the time. Does he ever lighten up and have a laugh?

CHAMAKH: When I came here that was the impression I got, too. But, gradually as you get to know him you do see him smile.
ZOO: But does he ever laugh?
CHAMAKH: Well, I think so once! No, after every win he smiles a lot.

(image from: http://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/article686983.ece/Wenger-talks-a-good-game)

Matches Moved for UK Television

This is a television. Free use image via Wikipedia.

Four Arsenal fixtures in December and early January have officially been moved for broadcast slots on British television. All matches are normally scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. in England (10:00 a.m. here in New York City) but can be moved if a television network in the UK decides to air it live. Matches are usually moved either earlier or to Sunday/Monday for Sky Sports and are moved to later on Saturday for ESPN. This also alters which television network airs the match in the United States.

The following is the list of Arsenal's upcoming fixtures through January that have been moved for television and will not be aired at the standard Saturday time. This includes all mid-week league fixtures, whether or not they were moved in the first place. As a New York-based blog, all times are Eastern:

Manchester City (away) airs Sunday, October 24 at 11:00 a.m.

Newcastle United (home) airs Sunday, November 7 at 8:30 a.m.

Wolves (away) airs Wednesday, November 10 at 2:45 p.m.

Everton (away) airs Sunday, November 14 at 9:00 a.m.

Tottenham Hotspur (home) airs Saturday, November 20 at 7:45 a.m.

Aston Villa (away) airs Saturday, November 27 at 7:45 a.m.

Manchester United (away) airs Monday, December 13 at 3:00 p.m.

Chelsea (home) airs Monday, December 27 at 3:00 p.m.

Wigan (away) airs Wednesday, December 29 at 2:45 p.m.

Birmingham City (away) airs Saturday, January 1 at 12:30 p.m.

Manchester City (home) airs Wednesday, January 5 at 2:45 p.m.

UPDATED: For the sake of completeness, here's the list of matches that are at the standard Saturday 10:00 a.m. time:

Birmingham (home) on October 16.

West Ham (home) on October 30.

Fulham (home) on December 4.

Stoke (home) on December 18.

Chelsea 2 - 0 Arsenal: Bitter Pill

Why is Drogba practically guaranteed to score somehow against Arsenal, every time? Pic via Daily Telegraph.

Arsenal 0

Chelsea 2: Drogba 39, Alex 85

I'm not one for moral victories, largely because they don't earn you three points in the table. However, I don't think I would be too far out of line here to suggest that Arsenal's fate yesterday was a little undeserved. Arsenal proved they can challenge the champions (something many pundits did not suggest was possible), even with a laundry list of first team players out injured, but in the end, the breaks did not go the Gunners' way. A draw would have probably been a fairer result given the balance of play (by no means am I suggesting Arsenal should have won), but to win at Chelsea, you have to make the most of the chances presented to you; Arsenal still can't always do that.

Four changes were made to the side that started at Marzipan Partizan on Tuesday. Kieran Gibbs's calf injury meant that Gael Clichy returned to his role at left back. Laurent Koscielny, rested on Tuesday, returned at center back in place of Johan Djourou. Samir Nasri, also rested at the start on Tuesday, returned to the line-up in place of Tomas Rosicky, and Abou Diaby started in the place of Denilson. Quite honestly, I don't think Diaby should have started and would have preferred Song and Wilshere in the holding roles, Nasri as the lynchpin in the center, and Rosicky starting out wide.

What is worrying is that Arsenal's early pressure was essentially their only pressure. Andrei Arshavin had a solid first half, but was essentially the only offensive creator on the pitch in red, with Nasri out of his natural position wide on the other side and Rosicky on the bench. Of course, given his mercurial nature, Arshavin disappeared in the second, as did the rest of Arsenal's chances.

Arsenal could have scored twice in the game's first minute. A brilliant header from Marouane Chamakh was barely flicked wide by Alex; then, Laurent Koscielny found himself wide open on the resulting corner after losing his man, then nodded the ball high over the bar. When you're at Stamford Bridge, you need to take every opportunity you get to score, and Arsenal just didn't do it. I don't think they had a chance quite as good as those two the rest of the game. They may have controlled possession for a good chunk of the match (as per usual), but there was no major threat in the final third.

At the time, I thought Chelsea's opening goal was a moment of pure luck and fortune, but on seeing replays, it was largely just Didier Drogba being a world class football player that has a knack for scoring against Arsenal. A Ramires pass found an overlapping Ashley Cole who centered to the Ivorian striker, guarded well by Sebastien Squillaci. The cross was slightly behind Drogba, but he flicked the back of his foot to catch the ball, which ricocheted off the post and into the net for a surprising opener. Not much could have been done from an Arsenal point of view on the shot itself; the build up was a bit frustrating, however. Alex Song was fouled before Ramires took the ball in the first place, Samir Nasri switched off to allow the through ball for Cole to get inside Bacary Sagna, and the rest was history.

Chelsea's insurance goal came directly from a free kick in the 85th, perfectly taken by Alex into the top corner. Against, not much could have been done defensively on the shot itself, but in the build up lies the frustration. You can't blame Laurent Koscielny for the tackle (and yellow card) that led to the kick, he did what he had to do to stop the counter attack and took a booking for the team; I applaud him for that, and he's becoming quite a good Premier League defender. Chelsea's possession in the first place came from a misplaced pass, though I forget who was the culprit.

All in all, Arsenal probably deserved better, but can't be expected to earn it when you miss your chances. Lukasz Fabianski was fantastic in goal (no, really, if you didn't see the match, I am not kidding you) and was not at all to blame for either of Chelsea's goals. Jack Wilshere was, again, promising in midfield. Abou Diaby remains a tremendous source of frustration for me (I believe I said I was "so over him" outside of the bar after the match.) Alex Song had a better match this week than last week against West Brom (who didn't, though.) Arsenal's deficiencies remain the same, though: 1) the back four look suspect at times, which will likely be aided whenever the hell Thomas Vermaelen returns, and 2) the attack is significantly lacking creativity and spark, which will likely be aided whenever the hell Robin van Persie returns.

Optimism reigns supreme in this Gooner's mind. It's only October. There's time and Chelsea don't look that unbeatable. Time will tell.