Gunnerrific

Just one day after I wrote about how I disliked the way Hleb plays he puts on a clinic in Prague. Adding insult to injury he buried the game in extra time with a fine but scuffed strike. Kudos to Hleb and he has done quite well in starting the long journey to earn my trust back. Not that my trust matters much, I’m just a meager knob end. One nil to Hleb.

The volume and range of responses to my post yesterday was a sublime measure of human emotion. Nothing satisfies me more than being called an idiot, a pointless impostor journalist, and a goose *shock* in one foul swoop. If anyone that reads this blog thinks I’m a journalist go back to the stands at the Lane and stop calling me a baffoon. This is where you are supposed to come to listen to a die hard fan, download some cool wallpapers, and talk to other people in the comments.

I hope that my blog occasionally causes a positive stir in the Arsenal masses. Fortunately I have a thick enough hide that when someone calls me a vast turd it only brings a quarter tear to my eye. I would like to think that it is blogs like this that help push the Arsenal agenda forward, through controversy or not. However assuming such things might get me called the devil. Arseblogger led the way, the rest of us are just following suit.

Having 2 wins in 2 games is great! I hope we can keep this up for awhile. Hell why not the whole season. The Premier League is already off to a much more interesting start than last year. Manchester have suffered an injury blow with Rooney out for two months and Ronaldo has received a red card so he will be out for three games. Meanwhile Chelsea are continuing to survive despite being scored on by lesser sides. They’re in a bit of an injury crisis as well so maybe this is our first time in 2 years to be without injury problems. I’d better be careful saying that though because somebody could call me a dumb muppet.

On to other things… I think Gael Clichy’s secret identity is The Flash. I don’t understand how he is capable of running so fast throughout the entirety of the game. His burst of speed are amazing and I hope he keeps this up throughout the whole season. It’s strange to think that he was a part of The Invincibles on ’03-’04 and then to see how far he has come. I don’t even remember how many games he played that season, as far as I can recall just 17 minutes or so for one match. Somebody accuse me of knowing nothing about technique and then give me the exact details.

Our new right back is fitting in quite well. His run through the center of the field to create Hleb’s goal was quite impressive, and he hasn’t made any enormous errors in back. I can’t wait to see how Eduardo does when he debuts.

Oh and just to be clear I didn’t say I hated Hleb, I just hated the way he played. I really do hope he continues to score more goals though. Come on Arsenal!

I think making Billy Gallas captain of The Arsenal is a great idea. Call me crazy, go on if you must, but I think this is another change in a positive direction. It’s a departure from what we are used to and that’s why I think it will be good.

Gilberto is a great player but he is no captain. I haven’t seen him yell, motivate, or push the team while on the pitch. Gallas however has regularly spoken out against the club. I think it’s poor form that he has spoken out against the youth and inexperience, but it shows that he cares and he wants to make things better. Outspoken people are often great leaders and passionate about what they want. Coupled with the fact that he is a strong central defender and I think that he will lead the team to success.

It’s further proof that this Arsenal team isn’t anything we’re used to. With TH14 and Freddie out, it’s now more about the team coming together than ever. Youth be damned, this one is going to be a team effort.
The biggest key to the season ahead though is not Gallas by any means. It is without a doubt… Robin Van Persie. He must stay fit and he must score goals. It would be nice if they were all magic like his last two in the pre-season. Come on Arsenal!

Rumors are swirling that our man Freddie Ljungberg has played his last game for The Arsenal. He is confirmed to be injured for the rest of the season, and everyone seems to feel there isn’t a place for him on the squad anymore. Wenger has almost hinted as much as well.

True or not? I don’t know. It’s just another goddamned rumor, that’s all anyone ever talks about, rumors. One thing is for certain though, Freddie Ljungberg has been an amazing player for us. He has stood strong for the Arsenal for several years. He was part of our rise to dominance, the undefeated season, and helped to shepherd in the new class.

I think it is probably fair to think that it’s time for him to go. He probably still has the drive and skill left in him to play for some other side, but perhaps not for the Arsenal. At that point he’ll have a tough decision, just retire from the game altogether, or go to Portsmouth where the rest of our men have ‘retired’ to. Whichever he does, I’ll certainly be keeping an eye on him.

Cheers Freddie.

It looks as though our fourth place spot has been secured. Potentially we could take 3rd if Liverpool slips up, which is quite possibly with their focus on the Champion’s League final… lousy scousers. Given the turmoil of our season, the injuries, and the new blood, fourth is really good. In fact I’m quite happy with it.

United have done quite well with Rooney and Ronaldo playing lights out. Chelsea’s Drogba has just been a ridiculous goal scorer for them. Liverpool has played just about as well as we have over the season, which is certainly reflected in the points.  Losing to all of those lower table teams at the start of the season was our undoing that we could never recover from though.

The biggest and most exciting developments this year were the arrival of RvP, the dominance of Cesc, and the clear capability that Diaby has displayed. The worst part about the season this far, for me, has been Hleb. I don’t understand what he is doing out there half the time.

Today United fell to Milan, which I was quite disappointed with. Really, I wanted United to go through for an all English final. If it can’t be the Arsenal, it had better be an English team over those diving Milanese cunts. First the Italians win the cup, and now they have a team going to the final. Hell, given the events of two years ago they will probably win it now.

There has been lots of news about a supposed new white kit. I think it looks pretty nice, but it sounds like I’m in the minority. What should we do instead, keep the same kits that we have right now? Bah.

What a remarkable performance by “the kids” on Sunday. This final was by far one of the most wholly entertaining matches I’ve seen in a long time. I am still reeling a bit about everything this game included and I feel like I need to watch it again to see everything. However before that happens here are some things that stood out the most:

The Performance

Sure, a win would have been better, but barring that Arsene and the team proved everything they set out to prove (and more) about the quality of the youth program at Arsenal. We were the better side for the majority of the match, and there’s a special sort of joy that comes with seeing a team who’s average age is just under 21 make Chelsea’s costly first team look like the poorer side.

Oh, and Theo’s goal! What a magnificent build-up to a finish that was pure class. His first Arsenal goal really couldn’t have come at a better moment or looked any prettier.

I honestly can’t say enough good things about the team’s performance. Diaby looked immense out there and his ability to anticipate the flow of play and break up Chelsea’s moves was breathtaking. I might go so far as to say that he looked like Viera from the 03-04 season. His work on Sunday makes the news of his injury all the more frustrating. Let’s hope it isn’t too bad this time. Traore is really coming along, too. While he looked a little raw trying to deal with some of Chelsea’s seniors this was by far his best performance and any mistakes he made during the game were overshadowed by his promise.

The Controversy

I’m glad John Terry’s injury wasn’t as bad as it looked because it was definitely a tense few minutes in the pub while waiting for him to get medical attention. I’d also like to join in the applause for Arsenal physio Gary Lewin. It seems like he’s always the first guy out there to help out when someone is injured. Kudos to him.

The “brawl” was really not that bad. Toure definitely overreacted to the foul but didn’t do much more than yell at Mikel until Lampard tried to get involved which led to Cesc holding him back by his neck and things just descended from there. At least that’s how it looks to me. Adebayor didn’t deserve a red card and there’s been some talk that the referee might have carded the wrong guy, meaning to send off Eboue. That actually makes sense after watching this video. Arsenal have appealed Adebayor’s card with the FA so hopefully it’ll be overturned. And can we please get rid of Eboue already? He’s ridiculous.

Cesc has been getting a lot of stick for being “a brat” lately but I quite prefer Goodplaya’s take on him. A sore loser with impeccable taste in loathings.

Here’s a question: What’s the deal with the celery that was being chucked towards Cesc everytime he took a corner? Is there a meaning behind the celery that I’m missing or is it the only vegetable that Chelsea’s fans could get their hands on?

As mentioned here on ArsenalAmerica there is a gathering of sorts for Los Angeles gooners. I encourage you to stop by the Fox and Hound and check it out. For that matter there are several American viewing parties being organized, so I hope that you can find some like minded individuals for Sunday morning’s affair.

I myself will be at the Lion and Rose in San Antonio (Alamo Heights location) to enjoy the match. It doesn’t matter that it’s 8am local time for me. I will be drinking.

And lastly there weren’t nearly enough comments on Otto’s last post. It’s a shame really, I felt like it was comedy gold.

No doubt we’ll see a near 1st string side from Chelsea, while the Arsenal youngsters will make their last debut in the cup this season. It will surely be a monumental struggle and I can’t wait to see how they do. Come on Arsenal!