Category Archives: Match Preview

Standing at the crossroads – which route will Arsenal take?

Posted on by
2

Here we are friends. Here we are standing at the final crossroads. The fork in front of us leads us to two separate destinations. One is a preferred route, full of lush green Champions League football, revenue for the clubs already bulging coffers, prestige of at least achieving what we all hoped would be the bare minimum this season, and finally the opportunity to celebrate St Totteringham’s day once again.

The second road is Europa League football. Once upon a time it would have been a similarly enjoyable path to tread, but the gardener has spent most of his time worrying about the other route that this one has become neglected, a little bit overgrown and slightly wiffy, if I’m honest.

Today there is a team from the North East of our land that stand between taking the first and the second road. They are the gatekeepers of our path and to dispatch them effectively will allow us to tread the route we want to tread.

I am getting nervous just typing this match preview, I can tell you that. I am nervous because I know that despite nothing other than pride to play for, Newcastle will be up for this game. They may have secured another year of Premier League football last week, but Alan Pardew will not throw on another group of kids to finish the season. He’ll play the strongest team he has. I am also nervous because I see similarities with what happened on the last game of last season against West Brom. The Baggies were in exactly the same position and yet still so nearly came away with a point that would have eventually meant Champions League football was taken away from us. For what it’s worth, I am appealing directly to the Footballing Gods now: if you like symmetry, parallels in life and such, grant us another away win on the last day of the season. And if we Gooners have to go through Hell and back watching a game of intense pressure, then so be it, as long as the final result is favourable enough to see Arsenal in with a shout for Champions League football next season.

Team-wise we will see a Newcastle side that has one or two question marks over it. The absence of both Krul and Elliott in goal, through injury and suspension respectively, will give Steve Harper the opportunity to play in his last game for Newcastle. So rather than expect him to flap at a few balls, let’s expect him to have the game of his life, meaning we’ll have to pepper his goal just to get a few through. In defence there will be no Steven Taylor, but Collocini and Yanga-Mbiwa will still form a decent enough back line to give our front three a tough enough game. Marveux is injured for the Geordies, but other than that they should have a fu strength team to put out. We know the quality of Cisse and Ben Arfa up top so we know we’ll be up against a tough attacking unit and I’m not expecting any favours from the them today.

As for us, our main questions revolve around a replacement for Arteta and whether Giroud will start at the head of the front three. I suspect Arsene will go for the Frenchman above Poldi, so the German may have to settle for an impact place on the bench. In midfield I think Arsene will opt for Wilshire as a ‘once more into the breach’ for Jack before he has his ankle surgery. Whether or not he lasts the full 90 will be another question Le Boss will have to work out. The back five picks itself really, so there’s no need to go over it on who is playing.

In the last two games up at St James’ Park we’ve had a player sent off and found it really hard to break Newcastle down after that. That was the same when we played Sunderland earlier in the year and so I’m hoping we can keep our heads and ensure that the match finishes 11 v 11. If we do, then I would hope that we have enough quality against this Newcastle side. However, Arsene has never beaten Pardew away from home and so we are up against another unwanted record that we have to break, so lets hope that particular hoodoo is extinguished come 6pm tonight. I could talk about the incentive Mike Ashley has offered of a £1million bonus to all non-playing staff if Newcastle win today, but that strikes me as a bit baffling, as the non-football staff have no influence on the game, so it’s hardly a motivator for the players. Anyway….

The players, the staff, the fans – all of us have a role to play today. Let’s be united today and hopefully sing our boys on to victory.

Up the Arsenal!

Wigan preview: heed the words of Macaulay Caulkin

Posted on by
Reply

So here we are folks. After a season of slogging towards the finish-line – an adjective that I feel is certainly fitting for our season – we find ourselves with five days to win two games and stake our claim to continue to eat at European Football’s top table.

As Macaulay Caulkin said famously in Home Alone: “This is it; don’t get scared now”.

Tonight it’s Wigan at The Emirates with, I think it’s fair to say, a lot riding on the game for both teams. I watched a bit of the Championship Play-Off semi final between Brighton and Palace yesterday, to which the annually trotted out line of “the most expensive match in world football” is often used, but I wonder how much tonight’s game is worth to both teams – just putting that into terms that Stan Kroenke and the Arsenal board might understand.

An Arsenal victory will condemn Wigan to a life away from the trimmings of the Premier League (albeit with ‘Parachute Payments’) for next season, whilst a Wigan win will all but end our hopes of a Champions League qualification slot for next year. And with it the possibility of added investment to the playing team (or at least a reduction in what could have been budgeted for) I don’t think I’m being too overly dramatic when I say that – there is no way Sunderland will do us any favours at the weekend against the Spuds – you can be sure of that. A draw does nothing for either side. It means a win on the last day for Wigan needs to be by about 12 goals and Arsenal have to beat Newcastle whilst waiting to hear from news from White Hart Lane.

Yesterday I spoke of how much more nervous I seem to be this season compared to seasons past – well, that tension and stress has now hit fever pitch, such is the worry that the team fluffs their lines tonight. We have looked shaky at times during this winning streak we’re on, and if we show any sign of psychological ‘handbraking’ as Arsene might put it, then you can be sure own opponents will capitalise.

For Wigan the threat to us is all to clear: Kone, Maloney, McManaman and the ball winning abilities of James McCarthy. They are the offensive threats and will attempt to catch Arsenal on the counter. Martinez is not stupid and he knows he won’t control possession for the whole match, so he’ll most likely set up with three at the back, look to catch Arsenal on the break with his wing backs and snatch a goal or two. That’s how Wigan beat us last season and that will be their game plan tonight. The decisions Martinez will need to make is how much rotation he can legitimately hand to his players. They have played three games in eight days where Arsenal have played none. If he is going to concede possession then he’s going to need his fittest players to be running their guts out tonight. He’ll also want a quick start. Last season they got two first half goals that stunned us and they managed to hold on through some shocking offensive play by Arsenal and some heroic defending. Martinez will know that his team will tire in the last 30 minutes or so, so his game plan will be to hope he is at least a goal up at half time.

As for us, well, I’ve got no idea how Le Boss will line up his side. He admitted yesterday that Jack is currently on painkillers and will undergo an operation on his ankle in the summer, so I’d be surprised if he’s anything but on the bench tonight. That means I suspect we will either see Cazorla dropping into midfield with either Gervhino or Podolski on the left, or the diminutive Spaniard will move across to the left to accommodate a starting slot for Tomas Rosicky. My personal preference would be to have Cazorla in the middle with Arteta and Ramsey, with Podolski up top and Gervhino on the left, and The Ox on the right. I know Theo has stepped up in his last two games and scored both of our goals, but at home against a team that will probably sit deep (especially if they are a goal up) his threat is nullified and so we need tricky players that can beat their man. Gervhino beats himself half the time, but the other half he can beat his man, so we might get more joy from him starting.

Whoever does get the nod from the manager needs to be up from this from the off. We steamrolled Manchester United for the first half a couple of weeks ago and our high pressing, intensity and desire got us up quickly and only a defensive mistake on Sagna’s part stopped us from winning the game. We need that same level of intensity from the first minute tonight. If we pour cold water on Wigan’s hopes early in the first half, they will tire enough for us to finish them off in the second, so we have to start quickly.

I think my nervousness about tonight stems from what happened to us at home against Wigan last year. We went into the game in form and a win would have all but secured Champions League football, yet we got our noses bloodied. I was confident before that game last year and was dealt a real reality check. Wigan had, and have now, the tools to damage us and we can’t – nay, mustn’t – let them do it again. There is more riding on this game for us than there was last season, just like their is more riding on it for them, so the pressure is on both clubs.

It’s never easy supporting Arsenal, it requires the constitution of a professional chilli eater, and it is going to be tested tonight. Let’s hope The Arsenal players can pass with flying colours.

See you on the other side my friends.

United Preview: high intensity, because they’ll be no free ride

Posted on by
Reply

Well it’s been talked about for about a week, it’s been speculated and debated, discussed and digested, but here we are folks. Arsenal entertain Manchester United at The Emirates. It’s a sunny start to the day and as I merrily tap away at my iPad in my Arsenal dressing gown, I have a few flutters of nerves that reside deep within my person. My day today revolves all around The Arsenal and I don’t want there to be anything but happiness in my heart when I lay my head down to rest come this evening.

This is not about some Dutch bloke for me. I couldn’t care less what he does (as long as he doesn’t score) and I haven’t cared one iota about him since ‘The Statement’. If he plays today, he will no doubt be a threat, but it will be up to our central defenders to nullify that threat. They know what makes him tick and how he works, so they need to avoid giving him time and space to pull away off their shoulders and tuck away any chances. I hope Koscienly finds himself up against that player more often than not, as I think he has the better of him in terms of pace.

This is not about a ‘guard of honour’. It will be 30 seconds of clapping by the players and probably some of the fans; one of which will not be me. I don’t go to watch The Arsenal for any opposition, I go to cheer on my team. I clap my team. I cheer when they do well. There is nothing in a guard of honour for me to clap for.

This IS about three points. To do that we will need to press United high up the pitch from the first minute. There needs to be the intensity for the players that they can close the spaces between midfield and attack quickly and suffocate possession from the midfield to attack and then shift the ball from back to front quickly. It will be a challenge, of that we are all sure, but it is one our team is more than capable of. I suspect the back five will remain unchanged from the victory at Craven Cottage, with the only exception in midfield being the re-introduction of Jack Wilshire. He’s looked a bit leggy since his return and has been most certainly overshadowed by Arteta and Ramsey’s good form, so I suspect that whilst it would be harsh to see Rosicky drop to the bench, Arsene will prefer Jack in the midfield. If he does, we need to see the marauding Jack, the Jack that has a quick turn of pace to beat his man in the first five yards, the Jack that is all action and willing to get stuck in as well. If we get that Jack, then up alongside the excellent Ramsey and with the master of ball retention Arteta, we should hopefully see a midfield that can dominate possession.

The real challenge for us today will be how the attacking trio performs. There may have been a few people pleased at the absence of Giroud – expecting Podolski to start instead – but whilst that would be my preferred choice, I don’t think it will be Arsene’s today. I don’t think Lukas is fit enough for 90 minutes and so my educated guess would be that we see Gervhino up top. His form of late has been better, but that’s as a winger rather than a target front man. He just doesn’t have the ability to do it but, should he start today, I hope he proves me wrong on so many ways today.

Either side of the Ivorian – if he does start – I think we’ll see Theo and Santi start. Both were pretty quiet at Old Trafford earlier in the season so we’ll need to see better and more lively presence. Theo will be up against a tough challenge of Evra, but the Frenchman loves to get forward, which is why moving the ball from back to front quickly for us could be key to get Theo running into plenty of green space. Santi will drift in field so we’ll need to have either Gibbs or Monreal providing plenty of attacking width, and we need our little Spaniard to have one of his gems of a game today. He’s one of the keys we have to unlock the United defence.

I don’t think there is any hope for us seeing a United team turn up in party mode. I think Fergie will name his strongest eleven and they’ll be going for a win. I suspect there might be a 5-10% less intensity from United, but even a United at 90% is still capable of beating every team in the Premier League so I don’t think we’ll get any favours from them today.

I fancy Aaron Ramsey to score today. Don’t ask me why because he’s hardly a Frank Lampard style goal scoring midfielder, but I just have a feeling. If we get the same result as the last time he scored against United then I’d be more than happy, as we came away from The Emirates with a 1-0 win and three points safely in the bank.

After the Spuds result yesterday, we’ve got a real opportunity to establish some daylight between us and them. We need to take these opportunities. We need that buffer to ensure that we have the points in the bag as quickly as possible. It would both motivate our team more and also de-motivate our (geographically) closest rivals. Come on Arsenal, lets make this a happy Sunday to remember.

Right, time for a shower, so brekkie, then the pilgrimage to the home of football.

Until tomorrow.

Fulham: Expect no favours, start strong and be efficient

Posted on by
Reply

On the banks of the River Thames today our brave and mighty red and white centurions will do battle against the local cottagers defending their land from being pillaged for three points. For today my friends, is game day, which means today is a day for you and I to wait patiently then watch patiently as a battle unfolds in front of our very eyes.

nothing like a bit of drama and hyperbole to start you off on a Saturday, eh? What we all hope to be reality is that Fulham put up as much fight as Audley Harrison and the match is over before half time. The likelihood of this eventuality is obviously slim, as Fulham will be reeling from their recent 0-3 defeat in which they probably shouldn’t have been 0-2 behind at half time at all. But such is the ruthless nature of football, and the football karma gods, that they saw it fit to give Chelski safe passage along Fulham Broadway with three points tucked safely under their arms. Why Chelski deserve anything, like, ever, is a mystery to me but they say the gods work in mysterious ways.

I suspect we’re in for a hell of a tough match today. Fulham may have nothing to play for, but they have established themselves as a solid Premier League side over the years and have still managed to bloody our noses when it doesn’t really look like they should be bothered at all. They will want to put on a show for their fans and take a ‘big team’ scalp today. It is on our players to ensure that it does not happen.

We go into the game off the back of a good run of results against some tricky opponents, so the hope is that we extend that good run another week at Craven Cottage. To do that we need to continue to use the blueprint of our success of the last two months: out of the traps early, pressing higher up the field and popping the ball around with pace and purpose. I believe the midfield will be the key in achieving this objective. One of the key features of this good run has seen Ramsey as the man in the engine room charging down and hassling opponents, Arteta as the metronome keeping everything ticking over and providing an outlet for the defence to distribute to as well as an option for the more attacking players should we need to retain pressure, and finally the guile and quick turnover from defence to attack that Rosicky brings with his energy to get the ball forward as quickly as possible. Rosicky has missed the last two games and faces a fitness test, but if he’s fit, he plays in my book. Jack has looked slightly sluggish in midfield against Norwich and Everton, so perhaps he could do with somebody to take the burden off him and have an opportunity to slowly feel his way back into the side.

Up top is where I’ll be most intrigued to see who plays. In the middle of the three there will inevitably be Giroud. He’ll come up against Hangeland and Senderos and his physical presence will most certainly be more of a handful than a Gervhino, Walcott or Podolski. But who to sit alongside him in the left and right positions? Personally, I believe we should see Cazorla on the right and Podolski on the left, dependent on how fatigued Cazorla looked when Arsene was assessing him yesterday. If he looks like he might need a rest (and lets face it, he’s played nearly all the games this season) then I would be inclined to play Walcott or perhaps even The Ox. Walcott will get more space against Fulham at home than he would against a Fulham team away from home and set up to defend, and Theo has the beating of the ageing legs of John Arne Riise. The Norweigan is a player that likes to get forward, so I’d expect there to be gaps to open up for the England international. Alternatively, the talking up of The Ox over the last couple of games could be a sign that Le Boss is ready to unleash him in today’s game. He too should have the pace to beat Riise and a little bit more trickery than Walcott, so I am hoping that one of those two players start on the right – probably with a preference of The Ox.

We know where the threat will come from Fulham, which will be the languid but effective style of Dimitar Berbatov. He has 13 goals this season, of which two were scored against us at The Emirates, so he knows how to swan his way into our defence and ripple the old onion bag. Thankfully (I hope) we have a different Arsenal team that will line up today to the one that drew 3-3 earlier in the season. More defensively aware, with a better idea of defending (although still room for improvement), Gibbs/Monreal will play at left back instead of Vermaelen, plus we have some steadier hands in goal than the bang averageness of Mannone, so I don’t think it’s too much to expect more from our defenders to not capitulate to the tune of three goals this time around.

If we continue to play as we have been playing, then this game should be ours for victory. We have the creative players to get goals against Fulham, we have more to play for than Martin Jol’s side, and we are the form team. But unfortunately none of that will matter if we are not up for it after the first five or ten minutes. If we give Fulham a sniff that we’re not up for it their players and the crowd will smell blood. We want them to smell poo. The poo of their players playing like they’ve fallen into a cesspit of sloppy passing, lack of cohesion and overall rubbishness.

We’ve not actually beaten Fulham for a couple of seasons now, having drawn at home last season and not picking up three points since December 2010 when we won 2-1 at home. So our recent form shows that this will be a tough encounter. But our overall record against Fulham isn’t too bad, so I’m hoping that we re-address the balance in terms of recent history and we give Fulham a good seeing to today.

If you’re off to the game, you know the drill, so sing until your lungs get saw – I know you all will. Up the Arsenal.

Everton preview: unleash Theo and Poldi

Posted on by
Reply

This is the one tonight folks. This is the one that, ever since our 3pm kick off with them was postponed due to the FA Cup Everton were still in, I’ve looked at and thought ‘we simply must win’. This is the game that on paper looks like the most difficult up against an Everton team that is in pretty decent nick, I have to say, sitting just four points off us having played a game more.

Strangely, as I write this, I don’t feel as nervous as the Reading or Norwich games. I wonder if that is because those were games that we were expected to cast asunder our opponents and move on to the next match with little regard for the confidence smashed team that lay at our feet? Anyway, at the weekend we all now know that Norwich were nothing of the sort and that it left a very late show, plus a few tactical substitutions to save our collective bacon. Therefore, perhaps my lack of apprehension is coming from an expectation that tonight will see a more difficult game and should we lose – whilst clearly disappointing – it would not be as if its to a relegation threatened team. I know this is all sounding a little bit too negative up until this point i.e. ‘what if we lose’, but it’s how I’m constructing and preparing myself for that eventuality and yet hopefully still remain upbeat if the worst happens.

But we aren’t going to let the worst happen, are we Arsenal? We’re going to be up for this game and show Everton why we have been doing this particular run successfully for the last 14 years. To the teams credit, they’ve done their jobs well enough over the last four games or so, but tonight’s opponents will most certainly provide a different challenge. And probably the most difficult of the games we’ve played since the away defeat to the Spuds. Everton won’t sit back and wait for a set piece, they’ll want to get forward and use the guile of Mirallas, Fellaini and Pienaar to unlock our sometimes fragile defence. I think the game against the Spuds provided Everton with the perfect blueprint to play away from home against us as well, so I think we’ll see the same team that rocked up at Shite Hart Lane returning to The Emirates. The Spuds have a similar style to us and left space in defence for the creative Everton players to express themselves, so I think they’ll know that we’ll do the same.

With the defence likely to be under more pressure today than Saturday, I suspect we might just see Mertesacker return to the first team. At least I hope so. He and Koscienly will have to deal with the physical presence of Anichebe and the aerial ability of Fellaini, but whilst Vermaelen is more suited to a physical approach than Mertesacker, the pairing of Big Per and Kos has been the most successful to these here untrained eyes. Per has the positional discipline that Thomas lacks, whilst the recovery pace of Koscienly is often a big plus when the big German can’t get back against a pacey front man.

Perhaps another reason why I’m less nervous about tonight is that I know we’ll get more space than on Saturday. The players that lined the yellow and green wall on Saturday had no intention of venturing forward, which meant that there was little space for our attacking players to express themselves. I’m positive there will be more tonight. The weekends game was a perfect match for somebody like The Ox; a player that would weave around in small spaces, as it ultimately proved and he almost did everything for the second goal himself. But tonight’s game is more suited to somebody like Theo in my humble opinion. Theo hasn’t seemed to master the art of stubborn defences that sit on the edge of their own box (and in some cases even deeper) and so his key strength – pace running beyond the last man – is effectively negated. But up against a team that likes to push its forwards on, that is where Theo becomes more of a threat, which I think we’ll see if he starts. Yes, he’s up against the excellent Baines, but he likes to get forward and support Pienaar and if Theo is on the pitch there will be a natural reluctance not to bomb forward as much by the English left back.

So it is my hope that Theo starts on the right and, up until I read some of the comments about Podolski, I also thought we might see him on the left and Giroud through the middle. But Le Boss has talked up Lukas’ goalscoring and the fact he often plays through the middle in training, whilst simultaneously being quite critical of Giroud’s first half against Norwich, so I’m wondering if we’ll see a change tonight and see Poldi through the centre. Personally I don’t think it should happen. Giroud’s more physical side to his game will be more of a handful to Distin and Jagielka, so I hope we see my original thoughts come to fruition and the German is deployed on the left. Plus, I think Gervhino got back into his old ways at the weekend, so Arsene could probably play the ‘tired’ or ‘rested’ card on him to avoid the emotional trauma it may do to the lad that sees him hitting corner flags every time he plays from now on.

We’re in the final throngs of the season now and the legs are starting to get heavy. Which is why it’s so pleasing to see more than a standard first eleven picking up the slack and taking responsibility. Which is probably also why I am less nervous as well. It is well known that Everton don’t have the biggest squad in the league, so I suspect the same players that played against QPR also play again tonight. Conversely, I hope Arsene indulges his luxury by shuffling his players around a bit to keep them fresh. I’d like to see Jenkinson and Monreal back in the team, with a midfield that perhaps could even slot Coquelin into it, although I wouldn’t replace Ramsey or Arteta, so I’m not sure how the Frenchman would get into the side. Jack looked a bit leggy on Saturday, so I’d keep him as an ace up the sleeve and see what strings Santi can pull through the middle. My hope is that the little bit of rotation we can afford to do allows us a little bit of extra zip in comparison to our toffee counterparts.

But this is Arsenal, after all. This is a team that never makes things easy. This is a team that went on a great winning run last season and nearly imploded at the end of it, only to salvage a win on the last game of the season against West Brom, so we know the problems they are capable of getting themselves into as much as getting themselves out of. If the world was printed on paper, The Arsenal would win tonight, beat Fulham on Saturday and watch the spuds get beaten by Moneychester City. But we know that our season will be harder than that. We must all realise that we’ve got a banana skin coming our way soon.

Lets just hope it’s on the pre season tour of Japan in a few months.

Have a good one. Come on you reds!

Norwich: let’s do ours and then worry about the rest later

Posted on by
Reply

Good morrow noble gooner colleague. I hope this Saturday finds you chipper and hopeful in the wake of a potential three pointageness against the Canaries of Norfolk.

As for me, well friends, I am ever so slightly glum this morn. Why? I shall not be partaking in the feasting of football frivolity in my usual place in Block five. It’s fair to say that the fates have not favoured me, as for yet another week I find myself in the midst of family obligations that prevent me from visiting north London. It truly is a sad state of affairs, but I am hoping the players, fans and everyone travelling to The Emirates today is treated to a football feast from The Arsenal.

The feasting that we are all hoping for is not guaranteed, however, as this is a Norwich team that has already chalked up a victory at home and a point away at The Emirates last season with what I’m sure the neutrals would call a ‘thrilling game’. Me? I’d call it a horror-show. Needing a win to further cement our top four credentials, it was roughly this time last year that we conspired to not just shoot ourselves in the foot against Paul Lambert’s men, but blow it completely off. It was classic Arsenal self destruct with some shocking defending that meant we were 1-3 down at one stage. Thankfully we at least got a draw out of the game, but my hope for today is that we are not subjected to the same today. The tonic for today has to be high intensity, pressure higher up the pitch, plus an early goal to ease the inevitable nerves. And there will be nerves. You can’t support Arsenal and not have them. I think it’s in the membership pack they send you once you’ve parted with your cash at the end of each season for your red, silver or gold membership, or something. We have to have the stress. We can’t not.

So whilst we’d love to have a comfortable 3-0 victory with a nice 2-0 lead at half time, don’t be surprised if it doesn’t happen how you’d hoped. Of course, we’re just as likely to breeze past the opposition as we are fall over at the feet of them, so don’t be surprised if there isn’t the stresses that I am professing to you now either. Whatever happens, I’m sure they’ll be talking points.

I don’t know what sort of team we’ll see today, but I’ve already said a couple of times this week that I hope there’s an element of rotation today. I expect we’ll see Fabianski, Vermaelen and Koscienly, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see Jenkinson and Gibbs at full-back, with Arsene looking to shuffle his pack ahead of the Everton game.

Midfield will be the most interesting in terms of selection. I could easily see Wilshire thrown in after learning of Rosicky’s absence, but equally I could see Arsene drop Cazorla back into midfield and give Podolski a chance on the left of the attack. Equally, with Gervhino playing himself into form recently, it would not be a surprise to see him rested for Everton and The Ox, or even Theo, come in to replace him. Or perhaps Arsene will use Gervhino today and rest him for Tuesday. Either way, what is very clear is that Arsene has options, which for gooners everywhere can fill us with a little bit more in the run up to the end of season dash for Champions League places.

I really hope Arsenal don’t approach this game as a forgone conclusion. Let’s face it, it’s not as if we don’t have form in that regard, given the season we’ve had and the inconsistencies we’ve shown. That’s why today HAS to be the marker that we lay down for both the Spuds and Chelski. We have to make a statement to them: if you want a Champions League spot, you’ll have to come and take it, because we aren’t going to let up. And if we do what we’re supposed to, it won’t matter what they achieve. That was the message from Arsene in his presser yesterday and I hope the players are feeling the same. Concentrate on our game, concentrate on putting on a five star performance, and focus on what the opponents are doing once we’ve got our points in the bag.

As for Norwich, they’ve got a bit of a keeper problem at the moment with Mark Bunn potentially out, but that’s pretty much it from them. With Arsenal teams of past eras I would have been pretty confident of a win against a Norwich team that aren’t in the best of form at the moment, but this is one of the most unpredictable teams of Arsene’s reign, so I’m never truly confident of victory. As a result, until I hear that second or third goal go in, I’ll not feel relaxed at all.

If you’re going today, scream your heart out for Arsenal, three points, and a further climb into the Champions League spaces.

Reading between their lines – a tight game expected

Posted on by
Reply

So here we finally are people. For some reason it feels like more of a schlep to get to this weekends Arsenal action than ever before. I don’t know if that is because we had a couple of good results before the international break banged on our door, therefore this interjection was at the wrong time in terms of building some momentum, but I for one am glad we are back to some normality.

It’s Reading today that visit the Emirates and with new boss Nigel Adkins due to take the reins for the first time, it’s fair to say that it makes Reading a little bit of an unknown quantity today. Will we see a side that is buoyed by ‘new manager syndrome’? Quite possibly, especially with the fact that they are fighting for their Premier League lives and now with a new manager there will be players who will be wanting to show that they deserve a place in the starting eleven.

We’ve played them twice at the Madjeski Stadium this season and both times have come away with victories and plenty of goals, but on both occasions we’ve also conceded a few. Reading played with an open and attacking style that, whilst admirable, was foolhardy from a team that was newly promoted and didn’t quite have the personnel to trade blows with some of the bigger boys in the league. However, since the turn of the year Reading started picking up points, became a little more solid at the back and have looked like a team that at one stage could pick up enough results to get them out of the bottom three. You only need to look at the game at Old Trafford to know that they will not come at Arsenal like they did at the Madjeski. Reading will try to be more compact at the back, will probably play with a five man midfield like they did at Old Trafford, and will hope to frustrate Arsenal like so many teams have done this season. They welcome back Pogrebnyak and his physical presence up top will give our two central defenders something to think about.

As for The Arsenal, there looks to be a few players that seem to have found a smidgen of form, which means that as a fan, I’m not 100% sure which side Le Boss will field. I have a rough idea, but nothing is concrete with Arsene, as he’s just as likely to swap things around as he is to go for consistency. I suspect Fabianski Mark.2 (the upgraded version Arsene has used since he came back from injury) will still get the chance to build on his confidence boosting performances against Bayern and Swansea to stay in between the sticks and will go for a similar look back four to those that played at the Liberty Stadium. Monreal, Koscienly and Mertesacker will surely start, but what of that right back slot? Sagna’s form has hardly been impeccable this season whilst Jenkinson is looking ever the part at right back every time we see him. I think Le Boss will go with his French compatriot, which is a harsh situation for Corporal Carl, but I think Arsene still has his favourite in that position and so Bacary will get his chance to recapture his spot quicker than Vermaelen and Szczseny have done.

Midfield will most likely include Arteta and Ramsey, given Arsene’s seeming reluctance to use the Little Mozart Rosicky at the moment, which I actually think is a bit of a shame. Rosicky is somebody who has the beating of a player a lot easier than Rambo, and his energetic style and ability to move the ball from back to front a little quicker is something that I think puts him a little more in the mould of the currently absent Wilshire. I think having Tomas in the side gives us a little more urgency in going forward and at home against a team towards the bottom of the table the impetus should always be on ensuring you have enough at the top end of the park rather than the back in defence. Aaron’s new found defensive stability is good and if Jack remains out against West Brom next week I think he’d be a more natural covering choice than Rosicky, but for this week I’d hope Le Boss goes for the more creative option.

Of course, Arsene could opt for both Rosicky in midfield and Cazorla out wide on the left of the attacking three, but with the return of Podolski I think he should be slotting straight into the side today so I hope that is Arsene’s thinking. Poldi brings a clinical finisher who’s directness and willingness to run his arse off for 70 minutes is something that we’ll need if we want to put this Reading team under serious pressure today. If he does play, he’ll be joined in attack by Giroud and possibly The Ox, who I think deserves that starting spot after a good performance against Swansea followed by a good performance and goal against San Marino that will surely have boosted his confidence. He deserves a run in the side now and with Theo ruled out for this weekends game, it’s a chance to shine for the youngster.

I think this will be a tough and frustrating game. When we played Reading earlier in the season there were still a lot of games to go and Reading thought that their open and attacking style could be something that catches teams out and gets them a few points. But now that we are in the business end of the season, that free-flowing attitude has been replaced by a bit more pragmatism when lining up against opponents. We saw that against Manchester United and I think we’ll see that today. Reading will be thinking that a draw is a great result, which can be achieved as a minimum with a clean sheet, so they will sit back and perhaps look to hit us on the counter at times. I am always worried before any Arsenal game that means something, but today my worry is that we see a game of sideways passing on the edge of the Reading box with little or no penetration through a wall of hooped blue and white shirts. We will need all of our crafty and creative players to be at their probing best today. Players like The Ox and Cazorla will need to be on form and I hope we see at least a first half goal for Arsenal to bring Reading out a little and open the game up. Otherwise we’ll see mounting frustration if there are no goals by half time.

We’ve got nothing else to concentrate on this season other than Champions League qualifications. Aside from the midweek game against Everton in mid April we have one-a-week matches until the end of the season so there can be no excuses for any slip ups. I know we’ve come off the back of an international break, but a) there was only a few players in our side that actually played the full 90 minutes midweek, and b) these players are all seasoned international professional footballers and so will know exactly how to prepare themselves physically. We just need to hope that mentally they are prepared too.

We need three points today to keep the momentum and pressure on those above. Up the Arsenal.

Nervous of swans, but confidence must be carried over

Posted on by
Reply

Howdy gooners, hope this Saturday finds you well. Let’s hope it finds you even ‘weller’ come 5pm GMT. Let us also hope that The arsenal make it considerably less grim than the weather here in Blighty too. It’s greyer than a certain Dutch United players hair, and more miserable looking than Harry Redknapp after a snubbing for an En-ger-land managerial position.

The team travel to the land of Leeks today in the hope of wrestling three points from Swansea on their own turf and I’ve got to be completely honest with you, I am infinitely more nervous and apprehensive about this game and the result than the Bayern games – both home and away. For the away match it is understandable – we didn’t realistically have anything to play for other than pride and the players did a sterling job at recapturing some of that with a victory to what will inevitably be the German Champions in a few weeks. We were never expected to win, the pressure was off and the team managed to react with an outstanding defensive display.

Today however, presents an entirely new and I think more difficult challenge. Bayern knew that the odds were so heavily in their favour that they switched off. Do we truly believe we will see the same from Swansea? I don’t. I think Swansea will be massively up for this game. There is a case to argue that they have won the Carling Cup, are in Europe for next season and are probably a little bit too far away to go for a Champions League spot, so their end of season party has already started and they might not be 100% focused. But I don’t see that as the case. Michael Laudrup is showing himself to be a very adept manager and capable of motivating his team very well. A lot of people wondered (me included) whether or not the work of Brendan Rodgers could be exceeded after a good first season in the Prem, but the Dane has shown that it most certainly can motivate his team – especially at home. I’ve just had a quick check of their home form and you have to go back to 8th December to see the last time they lost at home, which was a 4-3 defeat to Norwich. They’ve also picked up a 1-1 draw against United during that time, so it gives us all an idea of the task that sits before the Arsenal players today.

I’m not sure about who will start for Swansea, but I think we all know where the danger lies, through Michu and his excellent scoring record against us. He’s already got three this season and no doubt will be fancying his chances against a defence that you can most definitely call ‘beleaguered’ this season.

But off the back of the Bayern game, there is renewed hope from this Arsenal supporter that the team has stumbled upon the formula for defensive solidity. We road our luck at times against Bayern, but the whole team was brilliant at the defensive element of our game on Wednesday night and if the same desire, commitment and organisations is shown against the Swans today, then we could get a result. i said on Twitter yesterday to a few fellow gooners that we’re not going to play a team brimming with the quality that Bayern had every week, which is not meant to be a dig to any of our upcoming fixtures, just an admission that we were on the back foot for most of the game and th result was very much a ‘smash and grab’ when you look at all of the stats from midweek. It’s ironic actually, because it’s a similar sort of game to the one at The Emirates which saw Swansea pick up their three points. Defensively they were solid which resulted in a lot of sideways probing and not a lot going forward for Arsenal, whilst offensively they were ruthless, punishing our defensive lapses in concentration with two late Michu goals.

The manager has a decision to make over the defensive side of the team in both goal and at centre back (decisions already made at full back with the rotation of Gibbs and the injury to Sagna), but personally I think the decision has already been made and we’ll see a relatively unchanged team today – Fab and Kos both keeping their places. Podolski is not back from injury so I think we’ll see Cazorla on the left with Walcott on the right and Giroud through the middle. I’m hoping for more from Olivier today. Yes, he got the early goal in midweek that gave us hope and hopefully some more confidence for him, but I still thought he was quite poor against the Germans. His hold up play left a lot to be desired of and he made a few poor decisions in the final third by not finding his teammates when he really should have. But today is a new day, a new game and an opportunity for him to prove his worth. I just hope he doesn’t do that flappy hand thing – it’s really quite annoying and is starting to make him look like the boy who cried ‘wolf’. Every time he goes down and does that I wonder if his leg will be hanging off, yet he’s back on his feet and running around five minutes later, the big Jessie.

The trouble with this Arsenal team this season is that you have no idea how they will react after any type of result. You’d hope that the Munich game would instil confidence and belief that would be a welcome injection with ten games to go, but we’ve seen too many false dawns to believe that we’ll get a guaranteed show-stopping performance today. Me, I’d settle for a nerve jangling, nail-biting, Twitter-refreshing-every-two-seconds, 1-0 victory, but you certainly can’t get any assurances on that result. I said yesterday that I’m not sure whether or not Arsene can motivate the team every game between now and the end of the season and I’m still unsure. I’m hopeful that he and the players themselves can be motivated to forge some sort of winning streak, but the inconsistency of this whole season leads me to believe it is a tall order. AS clichéd as it is, and as clichéd as Arsene sounds when he says it, let’s just take it one game at a time and get today’s game outcome as a positive result and the look to what’s next.

Until tomorrow.

Realism must give way to hope

Posted on by
Reply

Morning all.

Game day. We’ve been waiting for one of these for quite some time now after the disappointment of losing to the Spuds over a week ago. Tonight’s game is welcome from me in the sense that I get to watch The Arsenal again, but the circumstances and the situation that befalls us tonight has certainly tempered my excitement.

Let’s be realistic here; we’re probably going out of the Champions League competition. I don’t want to come across as overly negative, but the odds are so far stacked against us that you’d have to be a crazy billionaire that is on a mission to blow his fortune as quickly as possible, to stake any serious money on us against Bundesliga Champions elect Bayern Munich.

I see that Munich are potentially three games away from having their domestic league sewn up before April. They’ve also conceded fewer goals all season than we did in one game last year at Old Trafford. And they taught us what ruthless efficiency can achieve at the Emirates by putting us to the sword on our own turf. You see stats and figures like that and it doesn’t exactly give you hope of a chink in the armour:

Aim for the neck, it’s the weakest point in their armour

Their team will feature a plethora of players all capable of unlocking the best defences in the world. Unfortunately for us, our defence isn’t even the best in London, let alone England or the world. Kroos, Muller, Mandzukic, Robben and Ribery (who I think might be out?) will all pose us serious questions that the side will have to be able to answer if we stand any hope of qualification.

At the other end of the field, I don’t think it is too much to expect more from our forwards, following the NLD. By all accounts, Olivier Giroud wasn’t great and Theo hardly terrified people, but we know that he can. In the reversal of this fixture a month ago, Arsene went with Theo up top on his own, which I can sort of see the logic to. I’d assume it was to avoid seeing Bayern play such a high line and cutting the room between defence and midfield – places Santi and Jack love to crop up in. Unfortunately it didn’t work and he was a forlorn figure on his own. So I suspect we’ll see Giroud play through the middle again – simply because we don’t really have any other viable options.

I’ve deliberately left out the news from Le Boss yesterday about players that are missing, possibly because I didn’t want to stretch the negativity of the blog today even further, but it would be a fools errand not to recognise the massive blow we got yesterday about Jack being out for three weeks. It’s not just a massive blow tonight, but the ramifications of injury to what has clearly become our talisman this season could be felt come the end of the season if our Champions League hopes are lost. No doubt Rosicky will come in, and to say that he needs to have a finish to the season like last season is an understatement. He needs to fill some immense shoes and I hope the ‘Little Mozart’ can do us all proud; starting this very evening.

The other piece of stand out news is that Szczseny is ‘rested’ for tonight’s game against Munich. As my esteemed Twitter colleague Tim Lewis said yesterday, quite why a player that has just had 10 days off needs to be rested in a game like this is beyond me, but I think we can all read between the lines and see that this is a statement from Arsene. It is a demonstration that some of his performances have not been great and he needs to step up and improve his concentration levels if he wants to stay number one. I also wonder if Arsene is looking at getting another keeper in during the summer to challenge the Pole. After all, the fact that Fabianski starts tonight will instil more fear in our players and fans than it will the Germans. I suspect it might be Lukas’ swan-song as an Arsenal player.

Speaking of Lukas’, we also received the news that Poldi would also be missing. That’s a big blow too. He would have been up for this game and to have him missing doesn’t exactly improve our chances.

Yet despite all of this, despite all of the probabilities pointing towards a German win, despite our form slowly disappearing on an early summer holiday, despite injuries and despite media savaging, I still hold on to that most treasured thing called ‘hope’. After all, we’re flying the flag for Britain now. There are no other teams from these here isles that can lay claim to the Champions League throne and a possible date at Wembley, so I am hoping that there can be a momentous evening that lies ahead of us and happiness and joy across all Gooners come 10pm tonight.

Sing up for The Arsenal.

Bayern at home: Redemption can be swift

Posted on by
Reply

Football is a wonderfully forgiving world. You can be at rock bottom one day, then within a day or two gone by you have the opportunity to wash away your sins by that sweetest of things: victory. Football is a fast paced world and that can sometimes work to your advantage. Redemption can be a swift and wonderful thing in football. All you have to do is win.

That is certainly the mantra that I would be saying to each and every one of the players that are elected to play tonight. Each player has to know that they must put all of their previous transgressions to one side and focus purely on the opponents for tonight: Bayern Munich.

Arsenal rarely make it easy for themselves and tonight is testimony to that. Instead of finishing top of the group we slipped up to Schalke which meant a more difficult tie earlier on in the competition. Aside from Barcelona, I don’t think you could get more difficult than last year’s finalists, Bayern Munich. They have a plethora of attacking players that can carve open defences at will and probably should be the reigning  Champions of Europe, but for Roberto Di Matteo and his selling of soul to the Devil to win the FA Cup and Champions League last year. Unfortunately for the Italian he paid the price of being at Chelski, but the way that Bayern played in that final against the Chavs should serve as both a stark reminder of their quality, but also of their weaknesses. Look, I’m not suggesting that because Chelski won on penalties, it will be an opportunity for us to do over the Germans. But I think that despite the media savaging that seems to be happening at the moment, we can win tonight and then get a result away from home. I have to believe that. Hope is the last bastion of the desperate man, and after our desperate performances in the cup competitions this year I have to hold on to hope that this Arsenal team will come out swinging tonight.

There’s no doubt that we have the ability to put on a show and prove the doubters wrong. There is no doubt that some of these players have something to prove to, well, just about everybody. but there is a doubt in their own confidence and their own belief right now. I haven’t met too many non-gooners that are giving us much chance over two legs. But we’ve seen the side grind out a result against Sunderland. We’ve seen them come back from the abyss against Liverpool after a shocking first half. So we have to believe that we can see them negate the attacking threat of Gomez, Ribery, Robben, Muller and Schweinsteiger.

I was told yesterday that Bayern have conceded just one goal away from home this year. well, I suspect we’ll have to double that tally if we want to take anything substantial to the Allianz Arena. That is a frightening statistic in its own right, but if it alleviates a little bit more pressure and provides an impetus for the players to play up to the ‘underdogs’ tag even more, then I won’t mind. We will need to see Podolski (rested on Saturday so you never know, he might actually make 90 minutes for us tonight!), Walcott and if playing, Giroud, to be on form tonight. We can ill afford profligacy in front of goal. We will need Jack to be his marauding self and Santi will need his vision and passing range to be at it’s best. I suspect we’ll see a back four of Sagna, Koscienly, Mertescaker and Vermaelen take to the field in defence, and it is my hope that the BFG can show his German international teammates a thing or two at the heart of our defence.

We will need to see an Arsenal that is quick off the blocks and up for this tonight. There are no opportunities in Champions League football for ‘second half Arsenal’ and if the same intensity is shown to Bayern as was shown to Blackburn, it will be a massacre. But here’s the thing; I don’t doubt for a second that the players won’t be infinitely better than the weekend. I think we’ll see a totally different Arsenal team that is pressing, chasing every ball and is giving the home fans something to scream about. Right now, that’s all I care about. Yes, we can assess why they can’t do that in every game should what I am predicting happen tonight, but that is a debate for another day. All we need to care about tonight is making the atmosphere amazing, the players are up for it, and we show the Germans what we’re made of.

A quick word on Arsene before I sign off for the day. I have to say I was a little embarrassed by his outburst in the presser yesterday. I’ve always admired Arsene for the dignity he has shown even in the face of some quite manipulative and spineless journalists. But yesterday had all of the hallmarks of a manager that is feeling the pressure and can potentially see the end in sight. It is a sad state of affairs. But I don’t really want to dwell on that too much right now, I want to make sure everyone with a stake in Arsenal Football Club, is behind the team and roaring them on to success tonight. I’ll leave my thoughts on Arsene for another day.

I’ll be there in all my Arsenal fineries cheering on the lads. If you are, or if you’re watching on TV, just make sure you’re screaming as much as me! Come on Arsenal!