Setanta’s Horrible Commentary on a Fantastic Arsenal Win

Going down after just 4 minutes was not the way Arsenal wanted to start a home match against Hamburg. Having gone down a goal in several home games, only to manage a draw after the initial shock, it looked like the team was going to follow the pattern once again.

The goal was similar to Newcastle’s… too much space was given to a player with a powerful shot. Flamini and Clichy got caught up and gave away enough space for a shot. Senderos came too far across to try to block it and the ball went right through the space he had only just occupied. Lehmann had no chance to save this one; it was as well placed as it could be.

However it was our 19-year-old youngster Cesc Fabregas who drove a pass into the heart of the Hamburg defense to see Robin Van Persie through. The young Dutchmen finished sublimely and Arsenal’s hopes were raised again.

Then towards the end of the second half, Eboue, up to his usual trickery down the right flanks, pushed through the defense to put a low drive past the Hamburg keeper into the back of the net. A joyous feeling of relief seemed to overcome the crowd as the chanting grew in strength.

The Beast picked up his first goal for Arsenal late in the match from a brilliant cross from Walcott. Baptista had little to do but smash the ball into the back of the net with his forehead.

Walcott looked amazing when he came on. He showed more class and brilliance in pushing through the defense to create opportunities. He knows when to lay the ball off and when to drive, which is a real asset to the team.

Ljungberg also looked great on the day of his return from extended injury. He is driven, tenacious, and a fighter and he had a couple of great chances and created even more chances for other players.

To me the defense still looked a bit spotty. I get scared when I see Eboue, Kolo, and Clichy all pushing put at the same time. Thank God Senderos was in today, you know he isn’t going anywhere except on corner kicks.

Setanta Sports announcers

Was anyone else watching the game on Setanta Sports from the U.S.? I don’t know if the commentary is the same everywhere, but I had to listen to two jackasses commentate on the game who clearly had no business doing so. I was appalled at the announcers. Not only did they not seem to have a basic understanding of the game, they also seemed oblivious to past Arsenal player performances.

It started off with one announcer saying ‘Hopefully Arsenal can win this one’… but then after the shock goal these two jokers spent a good 60 minutes complaining about how horrible Arsenal were. They trashed our captain and striker relentlessly. Henry wasn’t having the greatest day, but I have no clue why these two supposedly ‘impartial’ announcers had turned on the London side.

They also insulted Eboue for a couple of errant crosses citing that he had no business that far up the field… have they never seen some of his pinpoint crosses that yielded goals? The best part was when Eboue went on to score, and all of the sudden the announcers fucking love him. Pathetic.

Every comment was about Arsenal and it was thoroughly negative, until we went up. There were very few, if any, comments about Hamburg or the German players be it positive or negative.

Setanta is a great network, but only for the matches it carries. FSC trounces them in coverage, highlights shows, and announcers. I can’t believe I’m saying that about the announcers, but at least the Canadian/American announcers of FSC just make pronunciation mistakes. They don’t have an obvious slant towards an outcome or overly weighted and opinionated commentary.

And finally the BBC has posted in their rumor section that Arsenal supporters have started to push for Perry Groves book to overtake Ashley Cole’s. Anyone that reads this site surely reads the arseblog, so they already know of this effort. I think it’s great that Arseblogger can cause such a ruckus over something. I know the rest of the Arsenal faithful have been supportive in the cause, but this is quite a testament to the Arseblogger’s power.

Posting could be spotty this week as I am back in exciting Oklahoma City for Thanksgiving.  I’ll try to keep up my dailies but I make no promises.

What a day to be a gunner!