Aston Villa 2 - 4 Arsenal: It's Never Easy, Is It?

Yay! Pic via Facebook.

Aston Villa 2: Clark 52, 70

Arsenal 4: Arshavin 39, Nasri 45, Chamakh 56, Wilshere 90+3

Despite dominating large stretches of the match, including pretty much the entire first half, Arsenal still managed to make things difficult for themselves by conceding twice in the second half. After a difficult week on the pitch, a 2-0 lead at halftime just never feels safe anymore. In the end, the Gunners had answers for Villa's comebacks, and Arsenal once again pulled out a win in a tricky road fixture. Now, if they could only work on their home form...

Arsene Wenger made seven changes to the rotated side that looked disastrous at Braga. Three changes were made on the backline as Bacary Sagna, Laurent Koscielny, and Gael Clichy returned. Tomas Rosicky slipped in for the injured Fabregas. Alex Song, Andrei Arshavin, and Marouane Chamakh all returned to the side as well.

For all of Arsenal's pressure, there was nothing to show for it until the very end of the first half, when the Gunners struck twice. Andrei Arshavin took advantage of a number of defense miscues and finished his 30-yard dash by slotting the ball passed Brad Friedel and into the net for his first goal in the league since his winner at Blackburn in August. Arsenal should have had a second moments later, but Chamakh's shot hit the side netting. That second did come just before the half, as Samir Nasri thundered home a shot coming from a corner.

Arsenal were bright on the attack in the first half, but then again, they were the same last week at the Emirates and we all know how that turned out. And the script looked the same at the start of the second half this week. Arsenal were on the back foot after the restart, and Villa struck in the 52nd as Ciaran Clark fired home a poor clearance from Sebastian Squillaci. The goal probably should not have stood; even though he never touched the ball, John Carew was standing in an offside position and screened Lukasz Fabianski, which, by the letter of the law, is still interfering with the play. The rule here is so open to interpretation, though, that it's hard to fault the call not being made.

Unlike last week, when Arsenal fell further on the back foot after conceding, the Gunners answered Villa's strike immediately. Rosicky slotted a through ball to Chamakh, who found the net passed the outrushing Friedel. But, this match was far from over, and Clark made things difficult in the 70th, pounding a corner kick off the crossbar and straight down over the line. Twenty minutes to play and it was close again.

Arsenal waited until the 85th minute to finally make defensive substitutions, bringing on Kieran Gibbs and Denilson while removing Nasri and Arshavin. Gibbs took a ball to the corner to kill time and ended up winning a corner kick, after which Arsenal sent almost nobody forward for the set piece (which seemed odd; why not just take the corner short?) At least the Gunners took the pressure off the final minute as they regained their two goal lead in the 93rd. Jack Wilshere had the goal, his first in the Premier League for Arsenal, heading home a cross from Chamakh from close range. And, for at least two hours, Arsenal were top of the league for the first time since March.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Andrei Arshavin

Preview: Aston Villa v. Arsenal

Nothing happened in this match last year. Some people got hurt, I think. Pic via Daily Mail.

Villa Park, Birmingham

Saturday, November 27

12:45 GMT, 7:45 a.m. EST

• Referee: Mark Clattenburg
• This Match, Last Year: Aston Villa 0 - 0 Arsenal
• All-Time in All Competitions: 71 Arsenal wins, 64 Aston Villa wins, 44 draws
• Arsenal's Recent Form: W-W-L-W-W-L
• Aston Villa's Recent Form: L-D-D-W-D-L

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Fabianski

Sagna - Squillaci - Djourou - Gibbs

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Nasri - Arshavin

Chamakh

Subs from: Szczesny, Koscielny, Clichy, Denilson, Rosicky, Bendtner, Van Persie

Out: Fabregas (hamstring), Eboue (knee), Diaby (ankle), Almunia (elbow), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Cesc Fabregas's hamstring injury will keep him out for two weeks, which means he will hopefully be available for Arsenal's December 13 trip to Old Trafford. Fabregas missed the trip to Old Trafford last year with a different injury.
• Emmanuel Eboue will be out for four weeks with a strain to his medial knee ligament. This is considerably good news, as a tear would have probably meant the end of his season.
• Aaron Ramsey and Manuel Almunia both played for the reserves side on Tuesday, but are both still a ways away from a first team call up. I'd think Christmas for Ramsey. UPDATE: Or, you know, he could be loaned out to Nottingham Forest. That's really stunning...
• No real word on Gael Clichy's back injury, which forced him to miss the trip to Braga. Arsene Wenger is hopeful he'll return.
• Laurent Koscielny has picked up five domestic yellow cards, which should mean a one match ban for accumulation. I, however, can't find any evidence to support this. Considering he's already served two bans for red cards this year, I'm not sure how this rule is applied. Anybody?
• Arsenal have lost two straight across all competitions for the second time this season and second time this month. Arsenal last lost three straight in April, crashing out of Europe before losing at Spurs and at Wigan. That week felt just as bad as this week has, so far.
• Since a 2-1 win at Aston Villa in December of 2007, Arsenal have drawn all four league matches they have played in the city of Birmingham.

Aston Villa News and Notes

• Aston Villa currently leads the league in injuries, which is a big reason why they signed Arsenal legend Robert Pires on a six-month deal. Pires came on after 68 minutes of Villa's 2-0 loss to Blackburn last weekend and essentially did nothing. He will certainly be in the squad on Saturday.
• Three players may return for Villa at the weekend, including John Carew (calf), James Collins (calf), and Habib Baye (ankle).
• Carlos Cuellar (calf) and Nigel Reo-Coker (knee) are close to returns as well.
• Longer-term injuries include Marc Albrighton (appendicitis), Emile Heskey (knee), Fabian Delph (knee), captain Stiliyan Petrov (knee), Steve Sidwell (Achilles), and Andreas Weimann (ankle).
• Aston Villa have won just one of their last eight league fixtures, a home win over a depleted Blackpool side that was still too close for comfort.
• Of those seven non-wins, four were draws, and Villa were able to hold Chelsea and Manchester United to one point at Villa Park. However, the Villans did blow a 2-0 lead in ten minutes against United.

Match Facts

• Arsenal took four points from Aston Villa without conceding a goal last year. The Gunners won 3-0 at the Emirates, during which Cesc Fabregas made a cameo appearance of the bench, picked up a brace, then re-injured his hamstring. The reverse fixture was a 0-0 draw at Villa Park.
• Arsenal have drawn two straight matches at Aston Villa, last having won there 2-1 on December 1, 2007.
• Aston Villa have not won a home league fixture against Arsenal since December 13, 1998. Arsenal have won five and drawn six at Villa Park since. That match was a 3-2 Villa win, where a Dion Dublin brace canceled out a brace from Dennis Bergkamp.

The Referee

• The referee is Mark Clattenburg.
• Clattenburg last took charge of an Arsenal match when the Gunners won 3-0 at Manchester City, a match where City had a man sent off five minutes into play. He also awarded Arsenal a penalty, which Cesc Fabregas proceeded to telegraph.
• For Villa, he took charge of their 2-1 loss at White Hart Lane.

Around the League

• Saturday: Bolton Wanderers v. Blackpool; Reebok Stadium, Bolton
• Saturday: Everton v. West Bromwich Albion; Goodison Park, Liverpool
• Saturday: Fulham v. Birmingham City; Craven Cottage, London
• Saturday: Manchester United v. Blackburn Rovers; Old Trafford, Manchester
• Saturday: Stoke City v. Manchester City; Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
• Saturday: West Ham United v. Wigan Athletic; Boleyn Ground, London
• Saturday: Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Sunderland; Molineux, Wolverhampton
• Sunday: Newcastle United v. Chelsea; St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
• Sunday: Tottenham Hotspur v. Liverpool; White Hart Lane, London

A sad day for English gooners

Across the pond from Hipster Gooner Central, the epic fail of politics known as the UK general election has finally stumbled to a dull and disappointing finish. (Somewhat like Arsenal's last few matches before Sunday -- hey-o!) Though there is at least one vaguely bright spot in all of this -- Islington North returned their Labour MP to office, ensuring that the red and white will continue to be governed by the red -- in general, the mood has grown dark. Besides the serious policy stuff that is raising eyebrows and ire at Hipster Gooner HQ, including a proposed non-EU immigration cap that could prevent American Hipster Gooners from moving over to the land where football reigns supreme as well as perhaps affect some of our favorite non-European players (like Carlos Vela, our Mexican superstar), this quote, which ran on a blog housed by Tory mouthpiece the Daily Telegraph, has us feeling even more disgusted with the new government:

There are some positives worth highlighting already, apart from the sunshine. My favourite is the installation of a prime minister who has no particular interest in football. New Labour did many things to our politics but one of the worst was to elevate football and its most tiresome aspects into a quasi religion. Was anything more depressing than Alastair Campbell enrolling Sir Alex Ferguson as an occasional adviser and cheerleader? David Cameron says he is an Aston Villa fan, but has never displayed that teenager's obsession for the game that fed the tabloidisation of Labour.

Somehow, in one quote about our favorite sport, this writer has managed to encapsulate everything that is wrong with the entrenched class system in general, and Tories in particular. Football is our religion, and it's one that we're incredibly proud to share with people from all different countries and walks of life. So, with all due respect, Telegraph writer, consider this two fingers stuck up at you.

My Lucky Hat, Or, An Existential Crisis.

Jay-Z, the ultimate Yankee Gooner.

Before I started following the Arsenal, I’d always read articles about obsessive fans touting lucky talismans (talismen?) as the reason for their team’s victory. I found them a bit ridiculous, of course -- how could the fact that you wore the same pair of underpants for every game be anything besides rather unhygienic? That was, of course, in the era of B. A.

Since our love for the Red & White began, we’ve all begun accumulating habits, starting with wearing red on match days, followed by NYC Gooner pins, and more recently with shirts and scarves. Jack and I used to go to the Park Slope Dunkin’ Donuts every morning before matches (more a necessity when leaving the house at 8.30am), and there was a run of matches with goals scored while Max was putting money in the parking meter outside, but nothing had taken on any truly obsessive veneer until The Hat.

In the past month, we’ve moved to Brixton (South London for those keeping track), land of hoodies and baseball caps, so I’ve taken to wearing my Yankees cap when the weather permits. This, combined with my fond memories of Yankee-Arsenal fans at Nevada Smith’s, is why I found myself on the afternoon of the first Bolton match in the Arsenal Tavern wearing red, white, and blue.

That match, I had the hat on from the start, and we all know how that turned out (2-0 to the Arsenal.) The following week’s Bolton rematch, we went to the Twelve Pins and I removed my cap for the first half. We went two down. Hat came on, we won 4-2 and went top of the league.

It seemed obvious really, almost too perfect. We couldn’t score goals without the hat; we couldn’t stop scoring goals with it.

Then came the night that tested my faith. Although be-hatted for the whole match, we went down 3-1 to Stoke. Just like all irrational obsessives, I quickly found an excuse: it was a FA Cup match, so clearly the hat only worked for the Premiership.

My hat wasn’t my only totem, though. The two matches where I wore my new Rosicky shirt and he played, he made major contributions: the injury-time equaliser that salvaged a draw from the Everton match in January, and the first goal in that stunning comeback against Bolton.

Then came Aston Villa. The hat and the shirt were both on to provide the maximum amount of luck clothing could provide for the beginning of a wretched stretch of fixtures. The unhappy end is fresh in all of our minds -- not even a flicker of hope illuminated what was just a stunningly unlucky match. To add insult to injury, Rosicky played poorly, with his two chances denied by cruel fate, the bar, and Aaron Ramsey. By the end of the match, I threw the hat to the floor and stomped on it for good measure. The dream was no more. The lucky hat had lost its luck.

And it couldn’t have come at a worse time, with Manchester United less than twenty-four hours away and Liverpool and Chelsea looming on the horizon. A new strategy is needed…but what?

Let us know if you have any surefire lucky rituals (and if you do, please, please do them extra for tomorrow.)

Aston Villa 0 - 0 Arsenal: I Didn't Drink Enough for This

Aston Villa 0
Arsenal 0

Well, that didn't go well.

I have to admit, it was not easy for me to keep tabs on this match. It wasn't going to be televised until 5:00, and since I have to know what's going on live, I decided to follow it from home, could not find a stream that worked for more than five minutes, and spent the last ten minutes of the match refreshing a search for "Arsenal" on Twitter to know what was happening.

Here's what I do know:

• Eduardo hurt his hamstring (I did see that happen) and will not be out for a long time, but will miss Sunday against Manchester United.
• Tom Vermaelen, on the other hand, looks to be more seriously injured. It's his fibula and it's either a nerve problem or it's broken.
• It's a good thing Arsenal might get Chris Smalling from Fulham.... oh... wait.... they failed and he's going to Manchester United next year.
  
• FUCK!
• I did see both Arsenal shots that hit the woodwork. I especially noticed Aaron Ramsey and Tomas Rosicky collide instead of shooting for the open net after Fabregas's post in first half stoppage time.
• Gael Clichy was completely outplayed by Ashley Young for 90 minutes.
  
• Chelsea won 3-0 thanks to that deal with Satan they must've made. Arsenal is now third in the table.
• Arsene Wenger spoke of Aston Villa's "long-ball" game, which caused Martin O'Neill to go apeshit insane.
  
• Also, I hear Wenger said O'Neill looks like a dork.
  

Preview: Aston Villa v. Arsenal

Villa Park, Birmingham
Wednesday, January 27
1945 GMT, 2:45 pm EST

• Referee: Lee Probert
• This Match, Last Year: Aston Villa 2 - 2 Arsenal
  
• Arsenal's Recent Form: W-W-W-D-W-W
• Aston Villa's Recent Form: W-W-W-L-L-D
  

Predicted Line-Up
guesses italicized

Almunia
Sagna - Gallas - Vermaelen - Clichy
Fabregas - Denilson - Ramsey
Rosicky - Arshavin - Eduardo

Subs from: Fabianski, Wilshere, Traore, Nasri, Vela, Bendtner, Eastmond
Out: Merida (ankle), Song and Eboue (Africa Cup), Diaby (calf), Gibbs (foot), Van Persie (ankle), Djourou (knee)

• Nasri and Bendtner are both back to fitness and available, but both are expected to start on the bench.
  
• Ramsey may not start as he's coming back from injury as well; if he doesn't, Eastmond will probably start in the middle again.
• Jack Wilshere is still questionable, this time with illness. He's also expected to be loaned out soon, so the next time we see him, he might not be wearing the Arsenal jersey.
• Bacary Sagna will start, but his shoulder problem is "still not completely clear."
• Arsenal can go back to the table with a win, though if Chelsea beats Birmingham, the Gunners will only go top if they win by at least as many goals as Chelsea does.
• An Arsenal win would also give Arsene Wenger 300 career Premier League wins.
• Arsenal have not lost at Villa Park since December 1998.