Gunnerrific

Our win against Huddersfield was far tougher than it should’ve been. We escaped with a hard fought win, but it wasn’t without sacrifice.

Nasri is injured for 3 weeks. This is probably the biggest point of contention I have with the game. Nasri is our secondary, or some may argue primary, play maker.  He offers a lot of offensive capabilities in creating opportunities and space, but he is also capable of finishing things off himself. He’s been the first pick ahead of Arshavin, so Wenger will have some tough choices to make.

Squillaci saw red on his return to first team duty. Just as soon as we get a defender back, off he goes again. There’s really no arguing the red card. On another day, a different ref may have let it go. But on the replay, you can’t fault a ref for making that call. Squillaci was caught flat-footed, and he had the time to turn and let the player through, which he should have, but he chose not to. His arm was also up high enough to warrant further criticism. Aside from this incident, Squillaci seemed to be in the game and back to good form.

Fortunately, Song is a decent center back. Song was subbed in for Squillaci at the half to take over in the center back position with Koscielny. Now, let me be clear in saying that Song is one of my favorite players. He’s been exceptional this year, and is a necessary figure in our squad. However, if we’re going to be critical, he is only a decent center back. I say this only because he was caught out of position a number of times. However, what he lacked in defensive positioning he certainly made up for in a couple of runs up through the middle. Hopefully we won’t need him to do that much more.

Fabregas saved the day. No really. He pulled us out of that match. He was the playmaker that set up a number of opportunities. And then it was his interception and run into the box that created the penalty. And of course, he scored the penalty. It was a weird stutter step that made me hold my breath, but he sealed the deal.

Bendtner wants it. Bendtner had some much better moments in this match than any of his other recent games. You could tell that he was invested in the match from the first whistle, and he really did show some skill on the ball.

Almunia is back, for better or worse. Almunia had some good moments in goal and generally speaking had a good return to the first team.

The penalty call resulted in a yellow card. If Bendtner was the through on goal, and he was, then that should have been a red. Perhaps since he didn’t have possession quite yet, the ref hedged on his call. Fortunately this didn’t affect the game in the long-run, but it’s hard to understand how a ref can go against what is stipulated in the rules of the game. Even if that rule of the game is ridiculous (I think it should not be a red if a penalty is given… otherwise a red).

Kevin Kilbane is a prat. Just a stinking, festering cunt. He sounded like the sort of person that would preface a racist comment by saying “Now I’m not a racist but…”. He should know better by now than to make such stupid comments as to call out Arsenal players for fishing for penalties.

That’s it for today. Until next time, Come On Arsenal!

Robin Van Persie put on a finishing clinic at the Emirates yesterday. Fortunately, Wigan obliged. Although Wigan goalkeeper Al-Habsi was putting on a clinic of his own in reactionary saves. Arsenal’s play was just too good and one goalkeeper alone was never going to save the day.

I can’t tell you how happy I was with yesterday’s match. We were playing so good that a win was never in doubt. The only unfortunate incident was Robin van Persie’s shanked penalty. And holy hell was that a shank.

That missed penalty is one of van Persie’s 99 problems. But there’s good news.

If that image doesn’t make any sense to you, then see this video (NSFW language). I’m not the biggest of rap fans, but you’ve got to know this.

Alex Song was the secondary hero of the Wigan match. He was crucial in the midfield and basically disassembled Wigan’s offensive attempts like they were made out of so much lego bricks. This made the game extremely one-sided. Wigan didn’t even have a shot on goal in the first half for heaven’s sake. Would I be wrong to pick him over Fabregas or Nasri’s performances? They were great and provided all the angles of attack that we needed, but Song really stood out. And of course Walcott was jetting all over the place like a speed freak.

Another problem then, speaking of Walcott. He wasn’t in the game with the right mental perspective. His passing and shooting were mixed up entirely. And when Arshavin came on, he looked like he wanted to play so badly but just couldn’t make anything happen. It was as if he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, as though he was 2 seconds behind the play at all times.

So if we’re being overly critical of the match there are 3 things: VP’s missed penalty, Walcott’s decision making, and Arshavin’s play as a whole. But really, let’s not be assholes. That game was spectacular and we need more performances like it.

I feel the need to bring out an image of van Persie that I made the other day. It was particularly poignant given yesterday’s performance. I’ll leave you with this.

What a match that was against Leeds. I know you saw it, so I won’t go into all the gory details. Needless to say it was a thrilling match with a lot of back-and-forth play, featuring some stunning goals. Sagna blasted home a real cannon that the ghost of Schmeichel was unable to parry (check out my previous post for a picture of Sagna on top of the world with a goblet of fire wine while the Millenium Falcon flies overhead). Our third goal featured Bendtner lobbing a perfect cross onto the running head of van Persie, who headed in with conviction.

The main takeaway of this match is that for two consecutive games we have played with convincing skill and desire to win. The team was a unit. And secondly, almost just as importantly, was that for the majority of the Leeds game they did it without Fabregas and van Persie. Yeah, yeah. It was just ‘Leeds’. But they were playing well and they are a strong side. A convincing win is a convincing win. *shakes fist*

Next up, Wigan in the EPL at home on Saturday. We can handle that! Come on Arsenal!

Well that was a hell of a match. What a way to lose two points. I think time slowed down in the last 15 minutes of that match, it was torturous. You could almost feel that we weren’t going to escape with a win given the circumstances and the way the match was going.

To begin with, Sunderland surprisingly outplayed us. We spent far too much time in a defensive position struggling to prevent shots on goal. When Arsenal did have possession, we uncharacteristically lost possession. There were fleeting moments of potential when strings of passes worked perfectly around the Sunderland midfield, but ultimately our chances were far too few. Perhaps escaping with one point was lucky enough, just as Fabregas’s goal was lucky enough. In the end, the game was never truly in Arsenal’s control.

Alex Song’s sending off was far too harsh. Both yellows were very light. Although he was certainly getting gritty, he didn’t deserve to be sent off. If that were the case, there’d be a sending off in every league match. Although maybe that’s the way that puffy Dowd would want it. He really should lay off the fish and chips. This season Song has been playing lights-out. He’s been all over the back-end of the pitch, protecting the defense and picking up lose balls. In addition, he’s been a threat when he moves forward (when he isn’t giving up possession that is). Having him sent off not only meant playing a man down, but also playing without one of our cornerstones. Escaping with a win in those conditions was always going to be difficult.

One could also argue that, in addition to Song’s sending off, Rosicky’s missed penalty cost us the match. I thought the ball just grazed the top of the post, but no matter, it was always rising. I’m not sure why he chose to blast that penalty… in a situation like that I would’ve suspected he’d take the placement shot.

Despite all the bad I think that Chamakh, Koscielny, and Squillaci are really coming into their own. Despite a loss, we should take away from this match that we have three exceptionally capable players that have been added to the squad. That’s a necessary thing though, given the players we lost and the players that are constantly injured. Chamakh is showing real promise as a striker who is capable of any offensive or even defensive situation he is in. He made consistent efforts at pressuring the defense and in a game like this I think that helped postpone the inevitable.

So:

• We gave up a potential win to a lower team.
• We were constantly on our back foot.
• Fabregas picked up a knock.
• We are still struggling with several injuries, resulting in an inconsistent squad.
• Phil Dowd had it out for us.

But:

• We almost came away with a gritty win.
• Chamakh, Squillaci, and Koscielny are the right men for the job.

Overall it’s a terrible day for the Arsenal, but it’s still early.

I don’t really know where to start. Everything seemed to be going so well for our makeshift squad as we were 2-0 up against a woeful Wigan in the 80th minute. That should really be the end of the story. Unfortunately, the B team we had on the pitch forgot to finish the game and allowed Wigan to score 3 goals in 11 minutes. Our title hopes were ruined yet again.

The first half was frustrating and full of the typical ‘Arsenal problem’ in which we pass the ball around a lot without taking a shot. At one point one of Walcott’s crosses was handled and it was an obvious penalty. This was missed, but it was clear at this point that we had an advantage. Later, while running down the right side, Walcott then chose to cross a ball that he obviously should’ve taken the shot on. He still seems gun shy at times.

Fortunately Walcott’s goal in the 41st relieved all the tension. A perfectly placed shot buried in the back of net and we were on top. This is the type of goal we need Walcott to score. He was on the run, receiving a well placed pass from Bendtner, and confronted with defenders all around. He still managed to pull his way through and muscle a shot off.

There was a brief moment of tension when Watson went down in the box. Anyone that is claiming that Nasri’s pull on Watson was a penalty is an idiot. Nasri barely tugged on him and he fell down like a huge sack of pitiful potatoes. It was embarrassing, and I’m glad the ref made the right call.

In the second half, Silvestre managed to find himself completely unmarked to receive a corner perfectly on the head. 2-0 and Arsenal was just having a walk in the park.

At the 80th minute everything fell apart.

The first Wigan goal was a fluke. We had men all over the box and the pull back from Moses seemed completely accidentally placed. Watson happened to be in the right place at the right time and drilled it into the back of the net. You could say that our defenders were misplaced, but in looking at the replay it seems like we were just unlucky. We had every passing lane covered except for the unlikely pull back, which wasn’t even intended. If anything, it was the play leading up to this goal in which we allowed far too much space for Wigan to move up the pitch.

The second Wigan goal was a fluke. Fabianksi was a nightmare. There’s no way around it. Despite it being his birthday he was completely unsure of himself. Throughout the whole match he appeared to be questioning himself and lacking confidence. When the mistake came, it was a bad one. He had both hands on the ball but just didn’t hold onto it. Of course Bramble was right there to nod it into the back of the net.

The third Wigan goal was a fluke. N’Zogbia manhandled his way across the outside of the box while Clichy, Silvestre, and Campbell all tried to prevent any sort of shot on target. The strike was perfect, curling inward and off the post.

Fluke fluke fluke. We are very susceptible them.

Here’s the deal.

We are missing Fabregas, Arshavin, Gallas, Vermaelen, and Song, and Van Persie is still not fit for a full 90 minutes. That is 6 players out of our starting 11! At the end of the day, with those sorts of injuries, we are just not going to win as much. Someone really needs to do some investigating to find out why we are susceptible to so many injuries that last for so long. I’m less worried about Wenger’s choice of Eastmond over Eboue or Traore than I am over the fact that we keep getting destroyed by these injuries.

Given the number of injuries we’ve had to deal with as of late, it could be worse. Given how long Van Persie has been out, it could be worse. As of this point, it seems as though our 3rd place spot is guaranteed, and it could be worse.

In other news, Torres is out for 6 weeks, making Liverpool’s attempt to take the 4th spot all the more difficult. It appears as though for the first time, in a long time, the traditional top 4′s reign will be over. Fortunately Arsenal isn’t the odd team out.

Well that didn’t go too well. The stars and planets have aligned and Tottenham’s “once every 11 year win-at-home against Arsenal” was apparently due. The game was pretty one sided except for the 2 goals Tottenham managed to produce. Arsenal maintained 66% of ball possession and pulled off 8 more shots on goal, although only 1 of those was actually, you know, on goal.

Words really can not describe how tingly I felt inside to see Robin Van Persie on the pitch. When he cam on, the game instantly changed. Given that he only played for a bit, he produced some wonderful changes, played well, and seems to be his old self. As usual I will keep my fingers crossed that he comes back with a vengeance.

What Arsene Wenger had to say after the match.

Arsene Wenger said before the match that if we didn’t win the chance to win the title was over, and I have to agree. Given the amount of injuries we have sustained it would be unrealistic to assume that we can win every game for the rest of the season. In addition, both Manchester and Chelsea need to drop points, which is just as unlikely.

To top it all off, Vermaelen was injured early on and is expected to be out for 3 weeks. Great. Someone really does need to do some investigation into what our players are eating and/or drinking. Just as someone comes back from injury, someone else goes out. This has happened regularly every season and I think it is probably our most significant issue. We are just too susceptible to injuries that cause multiple week-long absences.

Our season has just deflated with the same sound a large, uninspiring, two-day old birthday balloon produces. Pfffffffffffffffffffft.

*Photo courtesy user Gordonflood.com on Flickr via CC w/attribution license.