Late Song of Joy

As expected the London derby between Arsenal and West Ham at The Emirates turned out to be a nervous affair for many watching Gooners around the world. On paper Arsene Wenger's men should not have much difficulties in disposing the bottom side but this being the Premier League, one is never certain of the outcome of any match.

Wenger's Arsenal were on a four match winning streak and were looking forward to making it the fifth. Of course, West Ham being West Ham, they just would not lay down and play ball. After creating a few openings the feeling was we would be celebrating an Arsenal goal soon.

Unfortunately Robert Green in the Wet Ham goal had other ideas. Why it is always against Arsenal that goalkeepers tend to show their best? (with the exception of Tim Krul on Thursday) Green performance should catch the eye of Fabio Capello in the stands saving from Cesc Fabregas and Sebastien Squillaci.

Based on this he should be back for the next England squad for the friendly against France. Another player who should be in that squad too is Theo Walcott. His introduction after 67 minutes caused more concern for the visitors and many Gooners thought he had scored soon after coming on but his attempt despite beating Green hit the post and the loose ball went safely into the goalkeeper's hands.


Earlier Samir Nasri had hit the bar with a long range effort and this had the fans thinking this could be one of those days. Nasri who had a good scoring run coming into this match would likely to be in the French squad facing his team-mate Walcott during the friendly.

If this was a drama, the scriptwriter could not have written it better. With just minutes before normal whistle was blown a cross from Gael Clichy found it's way into the six yard box and looked like it had evaded everybody until Alex Song stooped low to divert the ball past Green.


It was cruel for the goalkeeper but as a Gooner I was glad to be cruel just as long the three points were safely on the board in order to keep up the pace with other contenders.


...

Clean Sheet in the North-East

You might feel that Arsene Wenger never really put a serious assault on the League Cup since taking charge of Arsenal. His usual line-ups would consist of squad players and promising youngsters that have excelled in the reserve side.

However he has proven so many times that his belief in the ability of young players at his disposal is not an act of blind faith. The have dispatched quite a number of big name sides in recent years such as Liverpool and Manchester United and a few sides that fielded their strong sides when facing The Gunners in that competition such as WBA and Wigan Athletic.

This morning Carling Cup tie at Newcastle saw Wenger continued playing his young players. Craig Eastmond and Kieran Gibbs continued to feature while Havard Nordveit made it to the bench. But for me the most important player starting the match was goalkeeper Wosciech Szczesny who has been crying out for a chance to prove his worth for Arsenal.

The Polish youngster certainly did not disappoint with a few good saves against a Newcastle side that was not really at their full strength, with Chris Hughton clearly putting his priority to the weekend North-East derby against Sunderland at the same venue.

The emerging Szczesny, whose display during his loan spell at Brentford really showed his potential to become a good goalkeeper; will now make the contest for the spot between the sticks even hotter at The Emirates between him, Lukasz Fabianski and the 'injured' Manuel Almunia. Of course, the three of them will have to content with Vito Mannone once the Italian loan spell at Hull City ends in January.

After a long period of feeling vulnerable with their goalkeepers, Arsenal fans can now breathe a bit easier knowing that Wenger is right after all by sticking with the ones at his disposal. Fabianski certainly growing with confidence during each match he played and he would have to work hard in order not to make any mistake, knowing that his place could be taken by others.

I am very pleased with the developments as I have been a fan of Fabianski since he first came to the club. His erratic displays prior to this season really made me wonder whether he is just a good goalkeeper in a low quality league in Poland or he really is a great goalkeeper in the making. Right now my opinion is of the latter and I really hope that he will keep it up for years to come.


The 4-0 win against Newcastle also marked good return to the side by Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner. The England international brace sandwiching another good strike by Bendtner who has scored twice in as many matches after a similar strike against Manchester City on Sunday.

It was a match with a lot of positives for Wenger and he will be looking forward to Saturday London derby against West Ham United at The Emirates as another potential three points on the board even though matches against The Hammers were never easy.


...

Three Points in Manchester

There have not been a fruitful trip to the City of Manchester for quite sometime. Last season we came back with nothing and it really hurt especially with a certain Togolese running the whole length of the pitch in celebration just to show how much we should be missing him when in truth it merely increased the hatred level of us Gooners for him.

For this trip however, there was no sign of him on the pitch when the match started, showing what a bloated ego he has in his head. His Man City team showed that he was not really missed at all judging from activities during the opening minutes when a David Silva back-heel forced a reaction save from Lukasz Fabianski.


For many, the incident in the fourth minute became the crucial factor in determining the outcome of the match. Maruone Chamakh was brought down just outside the box by City Belgian defender Dedryk Boyate after a wonderful pass by Cesc Fabregas. The referee had no choice but to show red to Boyate as he was the last man.


However Arsenal had to wait until the 20th minute before finally breaching the home defence. In form Samir Nasri played a one-two with Andrey Arshavin before smartly lobbing the ball over Joe Hart. It could be 1-1 when returning defender Johan Djourou showed his lack of match sharpness when Micah Richards managed to turn him before unleashing a curler. Fortunately, it went wide of Fabianski's goal.


Then it should be 2-0 before the break when Vincent Kompany (ironically another Belgian defender) clipped Fabregas just inside the penalty area. It was a clear penalty and the skipper himself took the responsibility from the spot. Unfortunately, Hart went the right way and managed to smoother Fabregas shot which lacked power if not precision.

The home side responded well in the second half but Arsenal just held on and clearly playing with a man short against Arsenal took its toll on City. The introduction of the Togolese and Mario Balotelli did not make any difference as Alex Song's commitment saw him first to a loose ball to poke it past Hart, making it 2-0. Substitute Nicklas Bendtner made it 3-0 with a wonderful finish after managing to stay onside from a pass by Nasri.

When Mark Clattenburg blew the final whistle it was the first clean sheet by Arsenal in fifteen matches and for mad redo1 it was further meaningful as it was made by Fabianski whose confidence seemed to grow in each match he played.

It was indeed a fruitful trip to Manchester.


...

It's The Drog... Again!

After witnessing a 2010 Malaysia Cup match between T-Team and Selangor at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah, mad redo1 proceeded to the McD 'drive-thru' outlet to catch the visit of Arsenal to Stamford Bridge. Unfortunately, all seats in front of the TV were taken. Thus when another Gooner, Ahmad Arif arrived we decided to adjourn to the nearby T-Cafe.

It was still 0-0 but Arsenal already asked a few questions about the home defence. Both Marouane Chamakh and Laurent Koscielny should have put The Gunners ahead but both were unable to find the back of the net with their effort.

Arsenal were matching the home side but as always there was the question of luck that became a crucial factor in these kind of matches. Perhaps I am a bit bias but the feeling was Arsenal were not getting the break when playing against the so called big teams. Whether it was decisions by the officials or the bounce of the ball.

And tonight, it was no exception.


Our nemesis Didier Drogba connected with a low hard delivery from Cashley Cole and it hit the post before going in. It could have hit the post and rebound to safety but no, it went in off the post. During the build up to the goal there was a foul on Abou Diaby but it went un-noticed by the officials (not saying they did it intentionally but just failed to spot it).

In the second half I thought for a long period of time Arsenal could have leveled the score from their dominance but they just could not find the crucial breakthrough. Samir Nasri was very lively and so was Jack Wilshere. Andrey Arshavin whose attempt forced Peter Cech into making a good save in the first half, faded in the second.


Then came the moment when the home side put the match just a bit beyond our grasp. A foul by Koscielny as they broke through meant the referee Mike Dean had to award a free kick, which was centrally located of Lukasz Fabianski goal.

During the build up Florence Malouda joined the wall. Now, when I was at school, the coach taught me when an opponent joins your defensive wall during a free-kick, make sure have a team-mate covering behind him and do not say 'welcome to our defensive wall' to him at all time.


Unfortunately, the entire Arsenal squad did not go to my school. Thus when Malouda stepped aside after the referee had whistled, there was this big gap in the wall and for a Brazilian like Alex it was like a Grand Canyon opening up for him to slot his thunderbolt, which I doubt even the best goalkeeper in the world now would have difficulties in reaching it.

That it. We are now seven points behind the league leaders. But so what? We have been adrift before but on many occasions we managed to find ourselves in the mix right to the death. With many personnel coming back from the treatment room in the next few weeks, our squad will look much stronger.


The most positive aspect from the match at the Bridge was Fabianski. He looked confident throughout the match and if he is given a run of matches during which he does not court any 'incident', then Mark Schwarzer's dream of playing for a top club will remain just that, a dream.

Keep on Goonering you ARSE-s!!!

...