Ukraine Jinx Continues

Frankly, mad redo1 did not bother to get out from his bed this morning to watch the delayed telecast between Arsenal who were visiting Shakhtar Donestk. But upon checking the result and reading the report on ESPN-Soccernet he found oout that The Gunners failed to win again in Ukraine.

The 2-1 defeat would have put him on a bad mood but this time it was not so bad. Perhaps it was rather expected due to past record there where Arsene Wenger only managed to show a draw as his best result so far. But to give it a positive spin Theo Walcott found the net again with a goal that combined the quick thinking of Jack Wilshere, Walcott's explosive pace and the calm finishing that he executed.


Prior to the match, Wenger had hinted of giving the England international a more central role but if he keeps scoring from the position he is right now by all mean just play him there, especially with the availability of big tall strikers such as Nicklas Bendtner and Marouane Chamakh that he can feed on.

Another plus point was the performance of Lukasz Fabianski who could not be faulted for both goals and for pulling off a few good saves. Perhaps lady luck was not smiling on him today when Craig Eastmond's head deflected the ball past him as the youngster challenged Dmytro Chigrynskiy's header from a free-kick.


However there were concerns about Gael Clichy and his tendency to put Arsenal in danger with his defending. The French fullback should have cleared when Shakhtar's Darijo Srna put him under pressure. But he went on to lose the ball to the Croatian and from his low cross former Gunner Eduardo diverted it past Fabianski.

Once again credit to Dudu, he did not celebrate his strike.

Putting the defeat in perspective, Arsenal are still at the top of their group and the result means The Gunners have the advantage over Shakhtar if the remain tied on points after all six matches have been played with a better head to head record having won 5-1 at The Emirates during their first meeting.

It was a bit of an understrength side with just four players from the hard fought win against West Ham on Saturday started the match at The Donbass. The confirmation of their place in Round Two could wait, at least there will be something to play for when they travel to Braga for their penultimate group match later this month.

Clearly Wenger was thinking about the visit of Newcastle on Sunday when chose the team for last night match.


...

Another Aidil-Fitri Delight

A week after Muslims celebrate the Aidil-Fitri, a nice present from Arsenal duly arrives a day before many Muslims call as 'Hari Raya Enam'. This is when a Muslim performs an additional six days of fasting during the month of Shawal, preferably from the second day onwards even though it is not necessarily so. Even the additional six days are not compulsory.

However, for Gooners who manage to do that, then they receive half dozen of delights from the Emirates as the home side put six past Sporting Braga goalkeeper Felipe. In a match that could be dubbed as 'The Cesc Fabregas Show" the skipper found the net twice, starting the scoring in each half.

Andrey Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh also manage put their names on the score-sheet in the first half to give The Gunners a healthy 3-0 lead going into the break. Substitute Carlos Vela came on in the 63rd minute and duly found the net twice to put the gloss on the night when the Portuguese Arsenal learn what Champions League football is all about.

The naivety of the Braga side mean the central defensive pairing of Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci are not really troubled throughout the match. Despite the big win Arsenal fans must realise that sterner tests await when their team face FK Partizan in Belgrade later this month and the visit of Shakhtar Donetsk in October.

But before that, there is the matter of a trip to Wearside to face Sunderland on the weekend, a tougher assignment than the one tonight.


...

Reunion in the Champions League

Arsenal will be reunited with one of their alumni when the Gunners face Shakhtar Donetsk of the Ukraine in the Champions League Group H campaign. Arsene Wenger's men will also travel to Portugal and face their doppelganger side Sporting Braga who also play in red and white kit. Then another trip to one of the former iron curtain countries to face Serbian side Partizan Belgrade.

Many would say it is a relatively easy group but Arsenal do not have a good record against sides from the former Soviet bloc. In fact they were beaten 3-0 against Donetsk in 2000 before a Martin Keown stoppage time header in the return leg at Highbury secured their trip out of that group. Then another thing to be vary about is former Arsenal players tend to do well against their former club, thus I really hope that would not be the case for Eduardo, who has scored three so far for his new club.

Followings are Arsenal Champions League fixtures:

15-09-2010 SC Braga (h)
28-09-2010 FK Partizan (a)
19-10-2010 Shakhtar Donetsk (h)
03-11-2010 Shakhtar Donetsk (a)
23-11-2010 SC Braga (a)
08-12-2010 FK Partizan (h)

In another development, ESPN-Soccernet reported the completion of Sebastien Squilachi's transfer from Spanish side Sevilla to Arsenal despite no announcement has been made by Arsenal.com. The addition is certainly a welcomed one by many Gooners as the defensive unit looks a bit lightweight after the departure of Sol Campbell, William Gallas, Mickael Silvestre and Phillip Senderos.

The tall French international will add reinforcement with his good reading of the game and man-marking skills even which would make up for his lack in speed even though the pace in the Premier League is a notch higher than it is in La Liga. Thus it will take a while for Squilachi to adapt to his new environment.

Another development in the transfer front is the availability of Newcastle defender Steven Taylor after the player fails to agree terms for a new contract with his hometown club. However, I do not see Arsene making a move for the English defender, especially with his defensive unit is already full with French speaking nationals.

The manager also calls for more protection for goalkeepers during set-pieces, especially corners when opponents have a specialist in obstructing goalkeepers from getting to the ball fairly. This is especially true when facing physical sides such as Bolton Wanderers and this weekend's opponent Blackburn Rovers.

Former custodian Jens Lehmann was the favourite among opponents to use this tactic as the goalkeeper could be easily provoked just by having a player standing in front of him. However current short-stopper Manuel Almunia is more stable in that sense. However after seeing how Stoke City scored against Sp*rs last weekend, Arsene feels more protection is needed against such unfair plays.

The trip to Ewood Park will see the return of midfielder Denilson from injury while Laurent Koscielny who was suspended against Blackpool should take his place alongside Thomas Vermaelen. Thus there would be some changes in the midfield with Alex Song is expected to take the role as the enforcer in front of the back four. If Cesc Fabregas is fit, then the skipper is expected to take his place alongside Tomas Rosicky which will see Jack Wilshere and Abou Diaby dropping to the bench.

With an early kick-off time it will be interesting whether mad redo1 will place his butt in front of the telly or otherwise. Whatever it is, C'mon Gooners!

...

Messi-ed Out!

Watching how my beloved Gooners being destroyed single-handedly by Lionel Messi at the Nou Camp should have been a traumatic experience.

After coming back from two goal down to draw the first leg match at the Emirates one could be forgiven for thinking that Arsenal could get a result in Catalonia and progress to the last four of the Champions' League. But seeing the name Messi in the line-up certainly reduced the hopes of the optimistic Arsenal fan as the little Argentine has been in the form of his life.

Nicklas Bendtner's goal got our hopes a bit higher but the air of inevitability hung around and true to the belief, the lead only lasted for a mere three minutes before Messi blasted the ball past Manuel Almunia to level the score. And the way he completed his hat-trick before the break confirmed that I was watching 'The Lionel Messi Show' and despite Arsenal were at the risk of being totally humiliated I did not feel any animosity towards Barcelona.

For I knew that it was a rare occasion was unfolding right in front of my eyes and it was most unfortunate that Arsenal were at the receiving end of a beating by this exceptional player.

So what next for Arsenal and Arsene Wenger? I read that he feels the need to complement his home grown squad with a few more experienced players for next season campaign. It is a piece of news that I receive quite positively and I am sure many Gooners feel the same way.

But for the time being, Arsene has to make do with all the available players at his disposal for the short trip to play the other team in North London. Three points behind the leaders with just five matches to go do not leave much room for error thus Arsene must be hoping that his decisions on Saturday will enable Arsenal to maintain their challenge for the Premier League crown.

Come on Gooners!

...

November Rain

October has passed with Arsenal quietly making their way into the top four. Unbeaten during the month which started with a 6-2 demolishing of Blackburn, the 3-0 win over Sp*rs is certainly the best way to end it.

However, events in between the two results certainly raise doubts whether we can sustain a meaningful challenge for the Premier League title and also the Champions' League this season. The win over Blackburn is followed by a 3-1 win over Birmingham City while the young Gooners' victory over Liverpool in the Carling Cup precedes the win over the neighbours.

But it is the draws at AZ Alkmaar and West Ham that really put the question mark whether Arsenal could maintain their challenge this season. In both matches, Arsenal are cruising at 1-0 and 2-0 respectively when they fail to deliver the knock-out punch, a goal that would ultimately seal the match on both occasions.

Despite the draws do not really bear any bearing at this stage, it could be detrimental to the Arsenal cause in the long run. Drawing too many matches certainly cost us dear last season and we must avoid the same thing happening again.

November will see us travelling to Moulineux and the Stadium of Lights to face Wolves and Sunderland respectively. On paper these two matches should be just a walk in the park but in football just about anything can happen. Champions League campaign will see AZ and Standard Liege coming to the Emirates and at the end of the month it will be another London 'derby' with Chelsea being the visitors.

Nine Premier League points in November could be a tall order but in order to cement their credentials as genuine title contenders this season, Arsene Wenger's boys and men have no choice but to push for it, and push very hard.

C'mon Arsenal!

...

Back From the Dead

Dynamo Kiev 1 Bangoura
Arsenal 1 Gallas

Arsene Wenger expected a point from the trip to Kiev and a single point was what Arsenal got. The first half suggested that the trip back to London would be a jovial one as Arsenal stamped their authority all over their Ukrainian opponents.

Robin Van Persie came close but the biggest miss of the night surely had to be attributed to Manu Adebayor who shot high and wide with only the goalkeeper to beat after a mistake by the home defence.

Had Arsenal be more clinical in their finishing it would have been a different story altogether and continue Dynamo's run of defeats in the Champions League. Last season the Kiev side finished bottom of their group without a single point.

Perhaps the capital of Ukraine held a curse on Arsenal as the Gunners never get the right result there. But a point is definitely better than none though for a long time after going behind, Arsenal did not look like scoring at all.

Of course the penalty decision was very harsh and I thought the Dynamo player induced the penalty by pulling Bacary Sagna to fall with him. However it would not have come to that if William Gallas had not misjudged the flight of the ball which led to the break by Dynamo.

I was mouthing all kind of bad words to both Gallas and Adebayor when the two of them played quite a significant role in bringing the score to par. First the Togolese found the unmarked Theo Walcott wide on the right. Good for him.

Then Gallas popped up at the end of Walcott's low hard ball across the Dynamo's goalmouth to divert it into the net though there was a hint of offside (I think...) when he connected with the ball.

We continued to push forward but a point from Kiev could be regarded as a success considering previous heartbreaks that we suffered there.

Now, the Reebok awaits and hopefully we could snatch another three points there like we did last season.

...

Now For the Real Thing!

It is indeed a hectic by all means. The Malaysia Cup has reached the semi-finals with my local team, Terengganu had to endure a penalty shoot-out against Perlis before coming out on top.

The football season is coming to its end in Malaysia, many are relishing the coming of the Barclays Premier League new season. Arsenal has completed its pre-season programme with fans looking forward to an improved results from last season. But before that, there is the short trip to Eschende to meet Steve McClaren's FC Twente in order to qualify to the lucrative Champions' League.

The current immediate concern of many Arsenal fans is the thin layer of midfielders at our disposal with the departure of Matt Flamini, Alex Hleb and Gilberto Silva. Abou Diaby who was touted as the next Patrick Vieira due to the physical similarities seems to be spending more time on the treatment table and when given the chance on the pitch, failed to grab the opportunity to really establish himself.

Thus, the match in the Netherlands would probably see Cesc Fabregas and Denilson being partnered together. Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri (if he overcomes his injury) would probably provide the thrust from the wings. If the Frenchman does not make it we would probably see Manu Eboue operating on the right though I think Carlos Vela, Jack Wilshere or Armand Traore could be deployed there.

One good thing coming from the Armsterdam Tournament was the performance of Lukasz Fabianski between the sticks. He commanded the box well against Sevilla with several good takes when dealing with crosses. He also reacted well on one to one situations and showed good agility when required. A stiff competition to Manuel Almunia is foreseen here.

With Arsene Wenger prefers to do his dealings behind closed doors it is a bit difficult to guess who are joining the ranks though the addition of Xabi Alonso certainly would see my optimism rises a bit. Hopefully Arsene will find the time soon.

Astro has been a good satellite TV provider with the match at Huddersfield being telecast 'live' here in Malaysia. It is always good to see a good comeback after falling behind. The youngsters certainly showed plenty of character with the winner by Nacer Barazite indicated that the boy is progressing well.

Another good comeback was at the Amsterdam ArenA against host Ajax. Who would have predicted the two Manus would combine so well to score the first one with Eboue finding the head of Adebayor. The Togolese is trying his best to win back the heart of Arsenal supporters and his determination opened the chance for Nicklas Bendtner to equalise.

Then a good one-two with Denilson led to the winner by Adebayor though he would have to improve his rate of conversion in order to climb the charts of legends that have donned the red and white of Arsenal in the past. During the match alone he had me tearing my hair on numerous occassions for failing to do things that are expected of an Arsenal player.

I am hoping that Fabianski will start the match on Wednesday but I believe it will be Almunia and William Gallas to partner Kolo Toure in defence. Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy will provide the support for Walcott and Nasri respectively. Fabregas and Denilson will provide the openings for Adebayor and Robin Van Persie and hopefully we will come back with one foot already in the pot.

Go Gooners!

...

Short Trip Across the Channel

So the draw has been made and we are going to Enschede to face FC Twente in order to qualify for the group stages of the European Champions League this season. As highlighted by Arsene Wenger, the tie requires full concentration because the Dutch side now under the guidance from former England manager Steve McLaren could spring a few surprises as they did last season by finishing a credible fourth in the Dutch League.

The short trip should work to our advantage as it would mean that the travelling would be short and simple unlike last two seasons when we had to travel to the Balkans before qualifying to the group stage proper.

There were also comments from Manu Adebayor about him never has any intention to leave the Emirates and that he did not know the source that triggered all the quotes and speculations. Furthermore he stressed that 'his heart is with Arsenal'. At the moment. For me, it is more of a damage limitation exercise on the Togolese part rather to win back support from the fans.

He would completely win me over by scoring 43 goals this season.

Then there was this news about how Arsenal youth set-up is working well, especially if we manage to get something from the transfer proceed of David Bentley move from Blackburn to the Sp*ds next door. Nice piece of business there. Perhaps, if he had more patient he could have made the Pires/Ljungberg positions his own after the duo have left Arsenal. But we will never know.

The good news for us in Malaysia is that the Arsenal versus Juventus match in the Emirates Cup will be shown 'live' by the satellite TV provider.

At two in the morning.

But I am not complaning. Now. Hopefully I would not be complaning after the match too.

...