It was the second time Arsenal lost to Manchester City by the 1-0 scoreline.
Once again we gave them a good run for their millions of pound spent compared to us.
It was a defeat no Gooners should feel ashamed of. Given a few touches here and there we could have brought three points back to London. In the end, we lost to a scrappy goal by David Silva who had the intelligence to anticipate that the ball might come his way.
Wos Szczesny who already performed heroically to keep the score level going to the interval could not handle Mario 'Why Me' Ballotelli stiff shot. Kun Aguero could not connect properly with the loose ball but Silva was there to ensure there was no clean sheet for the Polish custodian.
Robin van Persie led by example but on a number of occasions the officials decisions went against his side. His wonderful chip over Joe Hart was ruled out for offside and Phil Dowd ruled it was a case of 'ball to hand' when a home defender's hand connected with the ball inside the penalty area.
Thomas Vermaelen also came close but could not direct his attempts to a more damaging areas in Hart's goal.
However, the injury suffered by Johan Djourou forced a change which saw Ignasi Miquel coming on. As for me, the young Spanish defender did well overall but the introductions of Andrey Arshavin and Marouone Chamakh were seen as a bit baffling when the more confident Youssi Benayoun and Thomas Rosicky could have done more damage.
There should have been a change of approach when Chamakh took on the field with a more direct attack with him as the target-man could see the tall Moroccan bringing others into attack. But of course, Arsene being Arsene the height and good holding play of Chamakh were wasted with ball to feet approach.
The lack of full-backs also saw Arsenal could not fully attack through the wide area for fear that they could be caught on a quick counter-attack like what happened at the Emirates in the Carling Cup quarter-final.
It was our fifth defeat in the Premier League and one could completely derail our title ambition. But the season is still long and every Gooner should have the optimism that we could still challenge the rest of the contenders for the crown we last won as the 'Invincibles' which City would not be able to emulate after their defeat last week.
I was rather hoping for an early anniversary present from the Gunners but it was just not meant to be.
COYG!
...
Monday 19 December 2011
Saturday 17 December 2011
Milan, again!
The Gunners were handed quite a tough draw when they were paired with Serie A leaders AC Milan in the last sixteen of the Champions League competition. Many Gooners would be optimistic with Arsene Wenger's lads' chances of progressing further as trips to the fashion capital of the world had borne fruitful results in the past.
However victories over Milan (2-0) and their city rivals Internazionale (5-1) are part of of the past now, and as much as we like to see them repeated, it is going to be a totally new ball game comes February 2012.
The January transfer window would see a few changes in both squads even though Arsene already stated that he would not go into it unless there is a super deal for The Gunners. As always, I would consider ourselves as the underdogs when coming face to face with clubs such as Milan.
Having won the continent's biggest prize and the world title, Milan are bigger than Arsenal in that sense but I am sure Arsene's players would be able to match the Rossoneri on the pitch to ensure a good result to bring back to London.
What I will be praying for is our best players will be able to stay injury free and those who have not been able to perform at their best will be able to do so.
But this will be for a not so distant future. The immediate one will be the trip to Eastlands this Sunday, which would not be easy. Despite our good performance against City in the Carling Cup, it is going to be a different ball game this weekend, especially after they were beaten for the first time in the Premier League this season at Chelsea last week.
Another clean sheet by Wos Szczesny is most welcomed and for Theo Walcott to start scoring for fun would be even better. Again, we will go onto the pitch as underdogs again given our poor results over there in recent season even though a repeat of last season 3-0 win would see me jumping joyously around.
Of course two of the goalscorers for us that day are no longer with us with one is likely to play some part in plotting our downfall this Sunday. However, another goalscorer Alex Song has developed into a more complete player in recent time with wonderful assists apart from his usual role as a midfield destroyer.
It will be an interesting match and I am hoping, as well all Gooners around the world for a positive result from the trip to Manchester.
COYG!
...
However victories over Milan (2-0) and their city rivals Internazionale (5-1) are part of of the past now, and as much as we like to see them repeated, it is going to be a totally new ball game comes February 2012.
The January transfer window would see a few changes in both squads even though Arsene already stated that he would not go into it unless there is a super deal for The Gunners. As always, I would consider ourselves as the underdogs when coming face to face with clubs such as Milan.
Having won the continent's biggest prize and the world title, Milan are bigger than Arsenal in that sense but I am sure Arsene's players would be able to match the Rossoneri on the pitch to ensure a good result to bring back to London.
What I will be praying for is our best players will be able to stay injury free and those who have not been able to perform at their best will be able to do so.
But this will be for a not so distant future. The immediate one will be the trip to Eastlands this Sunday, which would not be easy. Despite our good performance against City in the Carling Cup, it is going to be a different ball game this weekend, especially after they were beaten for the first time in the Premier League this season at Chelsea last week.
Another clean sheet by Wos Szczesny is most welcomed and for Theo Walcott to start scoring for fun would be even better. Again, we will go onto the pitch as underdogs again given our poor results over there in recent season even though a repeat of last season 3-0 win would see me jumping joyously around.
Of course two of the goalscorers for us that day are no longer with us with one is likely to play some part in plotting our downfall this Sunday. However, another goalscorer Alex Song has developed into a more complete player in recent time with wonderful assists apart from his usual role as a midfield destroyer.
It will be an interesting match and I am hoping, as well all Gooners around the world for a positive result from the trip to Manchester.
COYG!
...
Sunday 11 December 2011
A Birthday Present from the Past
To coincide with the Gunners' 125th Anniversary celebration, Arsenal were expected to display the brand of football they have recently been associated with, the slick passing combined with pass and run that have been the trademark of Arsene Wenger since he arrived in North London sixteen years ago.
A repeat of a 7-0 scoreline against an Everton side going through a bad patch would add to occasion.
However, as in life it did not always turn out the way you planned. The Toffees came with a game-plan and David Moyes' boys stuck to this plan and managed to keep the scoreline level, though on a number of occasions it was more down to the home side inability to finish the chances that came their way.
Topscorer Robin van Persie even managed to look below par as he could not bring his team-mates together on the same wavelength.
But the thing with players such as van Persie was that he only needed one moment to change the complexity of the match and after labouring for the best part of the match, the captain finally found his moment when he connected perfectly with a lob by Alex Song with a volley that left Tim Howard stranded.
It was like an eternity watching the ball rolling and as it was going towards the far post the was this fear in my mind that it would bounce the 'wrong' way. But it did not and as thousands celebrated at the Emirates, the five of us GanuGooners joined in the celebration.
It was a goal that almost mirror the one scored against Charlton a few seasons ago but this time it seemed more refined. It would be included in many great goals compilations from now on.
One-nil to the Arsenal was more synonymous with George Graham's era but the three points that came with it were as welcomed as at any time. It showed that there was still the never say die attitude among the players that push them to create something out of nothing even when they have been frustrated throughout the match by the resolute defending showed by Everton.
The final whistle could not have come soon enough, especially after another teenage player in blue came very close to better Woz Szczesny in the Gunners' goal. Conor McAleny nearly did what Wayne Rooney had done on his debut but much to the relief of Gooners around the world it was off-target.
Three points from a 1-0 win, sounds very, very familiar to me.
...
A repeat of a 7-0 scoreline against an Everton side going through a bad patch would add to occasion.
However, as in life it did not always turn out the way you planned. The Toffees came with a game-plan and David Moyes' boys stuck to this plan and managed to keep the scoreline level, though on a number of occasions it was more down to the home side inability to finish the chances that came their way.
Topscorer Robin van Persie even managed to look below par as he could not bring his team-mates together on the same wavelength.
But the thing with players such as van Persie was that he only needed one moment to change the complexity of the match and after labouring for the best part of the match, the captain finally found his moment when he connected perfectly with a lob by Alex Song with a volley that left Tim Howard stranded.
It was like an eternity watching the ball rolling and as it was going towards the far post the was this fear in my mind that it would bounce the 'wrong' way. But it did not and as thousands celebrated at the Emirates, the five of us GanuGooners joined in the celebration.
It was a goal that almost mirror the one scored against Charlton a few seasons ago but this time it seemed more refined. It would be included in many great goals compilations from now on.
One-nil to the Arsenal was more synonymous with George Graham's era but the three points that came with it were as welcomed as at any time. It showed that there was still the never say die attitude among the players that push them to create something out of nothing even when they have been frustrated throughout the match by the resolute defending showed by Everton.
The final whistle could not have come soon enough, especially after another teenage player in blue came very close to better Woz Szczesny in the Gunners' goal. Conor McAleny nearly did what Wayne Rooney had done on his debut but much to the relief of Gooners around the world it was off-target.
Three points from a 1-0 win, sounds very, very familiar to me.
...
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