Pre-Season 2010-11 Part 2

Just one more pre-season match for Arsenal before the real stuff get underway on 15 August 2010 at Anfield, where the Gunners will take a new look Liverpool which currently under rebuilding process by new manager Roy Hodgson.

The trip to Warsaw to play Legia is the last friendly match after the first one was played in mid July, thrashing Barnet 4-0. Since then Arsenal have won their matches against Austrian sides, Sturm Graz (3-0) and Neusiedl 1919 (4-0). They retained the Emirates Cup on the weekend after drawing 1-1 with AC Milan and beating Celtic 3-2.

There were many positives from those matches with new signing Maruone Charmakh finding the net against the Rossoneri and Laurent Koscielny's performance earning praises from partner Thomas Vermaelen. Jack Wilshere once again performed well in the tournament as he did last year. But this time around he was joined by Manu Frimpong and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas in putting up good performance for the Gunners.

The speculation of skipper Cesc Fabregas's future will always be one of the hot talking points for Arsenal fans as the interest from Barcelona seemed never to die down. For the time being he will be leading Arsenal when they take the field at Anfield in two weeks time, unless something happen in between.


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Pre-Season 2010-11 Part 1

The 2010 World Cup is over and attention will be given to the preparation of major league clubs across Europe for the season 2010-11.

The favourite discussion during the pre-season is the potential signing of new players by these clubs as they seek to strengthen their squad, especially for those which will compete in both domestic and continental competitions.

After another season which saw no silverware coming to the Emirates, many Gooners are hoping more players will be recruited in key areas which many think are the goalkeeping and the defensive unit. This is supported by the 41 goals that we conceded in the Premier League last season, not a championship winning credential according to Arsene Wenger himself.

One piece of good news is Wenger has made his move to strengthen the defence with the acquisition of Laurent Koscielny from French League Un side, Lorient. Whether he will be another Thomas Vermaelen is remained to be seen.

Norwegian Havard Nordtveit has returned from his stint with Bundesliga side FC Nurnberg. Perhaps Wenger has seen the experience has done the young defender a world of good as he has been included in the squad that has gone to the pre-season camp in Austria.

Another defender that is hoping for a good season is Johan Djourou. The Swiss international has not been lucky with injuries which saw him out of action for most of last season. With French veterans William Gallas and Mickel Silvestre are unlikely to sign a new contract with Arsenal, it seems Wenger is opting for a young defensive line-up.

In the goalkeeping department many fans are not convinced with the performances by Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski and are hoping for a more established international quality goalkeeper will make his way to the Emirates. Earlier there were rumours of Gigi Buffon was interested but somehow those rumours had died down.

Perhaps the performance of Wojciech Szczesny during his loan spell at Brentford at the end of last season has convinced his boss not to open his cheque-book.

Despite this there are also rumours that Fulham's Mark Schwarzer has been offered a player-coach position at the club. The Aussie is indeed a good short-stopper, not spectacular but reliable. His experience will be a bonus and it could his last chance to play for one of England top clubs. It will be nothing more than a short term solution.

The Arsenal front-line has been reduced with the departure of Eduardo 'Dudu' da Silva to Ukraine side, Shakhtar Donetsk. The Croatian international has been unfortunate during his time with us and was never really able to prove himself in the Premier League, especially after the horrific injury inflicted on him by Birmingham City defender, Martin Taylor.

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April Gloom

The month of April could be a time for jubilation or the beginning of despair until August. For many Gooners, it has been the latter for the past five Aprils that we been through. It does not look like it is going to change this April too.

We have been dumped out from the Champions' League in the early part of the month. Then we lost a League 'derby' for the first time in a decade, which did not spell the end right away for the title challenge as other contenders suffered setbacks in the programme too.

Unfortunately, when we thought we have shown enough character to remain in the hunt, we also showed that we also have the other side to our character. Losing 3-2 after leading by two goals with just about ten minutes left at Wigan certainly ended our faint hopes of a silverware this season.

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez who in some quarters believed to be a younger clone of Arsene Wenger due to his belief in playing the passing game would be very glad to get one over the master himself. I would not be surprised if he is being earmarked to fill the hot seat at the Emirates if Wenger himself decides to leave for a new project.

Since his arrival I have been a keen supporter of Lukasz Fabianski and would not have any qualm in defending him for his so called 'blunders'. However, it seems the frequency of these blunders have been quite high and most of the time would be costly. Wenger may have his own opinion but right now I feel we need a more solid goalkeeper at the heart of our defence.

The review has been good about another Pole custodian, Wojciech Szczesny currently on loan at the lower league with Brentford. Like another young goalkeeper in the Gunners' book Vito Mannone, he seems to benefit from playing in the lower divisions where the game is more physical in addition to more playing time which for a goalkeeper is very important to keep him in match shape.

Hugo Lloris or Manuel Neuer would be most welcomed by many Gooners but the asking price would probably turn off Wenger. But with many Belgians currently plying their trade in the Premier League and the success of Thomas Vermaellen this season there could be a hint of possibility that Wenger would attempt to bring Belgium current #1, Logan Bailly from German club Borrusia Monchengladbach.

Many would say that Arsenal lack the strength in depth and this season's injury list seems to be giving the statement its credence. But with many youngsters going out on loan this season to gain the necessary experience they would add more strength to the squad next season. Thus I would think there would only just be two new signings, three at the most be made during the close season.

Right now Wenger would be focusing on this weekend clash Manchester City. A win would certainly cement their grip on third place which is essential in order not to rush players too soon after their World Cup campaign in order to play in the play-off matches before the group stage. As for me, a win is just perfect after the suffering that we have endured at the hand of City in the league and cup this season.

C'mon you Gooners!


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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!

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Back Again!

What more can you say about the inconsistent posting of this blog. As much as I would like to post my thoughts before and after every match, it seems the task is not possible... not at the moment at least. With the last post way back in November there are a number of important matches that do not see any comment from me (of course life goes on irrespective whether I comment or not).

During the period I missed the double despair when Arsenal failed to score a single goal against London rivals Chelsea, losing 3-0 and 2-0 at home and away respectively. Of course losing against both Manchester teams hurt badly but I did not feel like sharing the pain here.

Of course there are also joyous moments, especially when we did the double over the Red half of Merseyside and the breathtaking display during the 5-0 win over Porto to qualify to the last eight of the Champions' League. Of course I also miss the character defining display when we came back from two goal down against favourites Barcelona to snatch a 2-2 draw before the return leg this Wednesday morning.

So hopefully these pages will be updated more consistently, perhaps as consistent as we would like Arsenal to display their full potential and bring more success to the fans who have been waiting for a notable number of seasons now.

C'mon you Arsenal!


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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!

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Half Dozen of Delights.

Arsenal showed their patience and persistence during their Champions League match against Olympiakos by constantly bombarding the Greeks' goal which was well kept by the greying Nikopolidis (A reminder of the state of mad redo1's hair). He was finally beaten by Robin van Persie's goal created by substitute Eduardo. There was a big hint of offside with the second goal scored by Andrei Arshavin but at the moment mad redo1 will take it any which way they come.

Then the visit of Blackburn Rovers on Sunday. It is never easy against Rovers, and Arsenal struggled most of the time when they came up against Sam Allardyces' Bolton Wanderers in the past.

Going a goal down inside four minutes was not what many Gooners had on their mind. Vito Manonne conceded his first Premier League goal as Steven Nzonzi looped over him from a long punt by Paul Robinson. The equaliser which came nearly quarter an hour later was the prelude of how Arsenal will score goals for the rest of the match.

The unlikely topscorer, Thomas Vermaelen tackle gave Arsenal possession and when it fell to skipper Cesc Fabregas, the ball back to the central defender was like serving it on a plate. His left foot drive saw Robinson grasping air and mad redo1 hi-fiving Nina at home.

It was completely opposite the way Blackburn regained the lead though credit must be given to David Dunn who made the extra man as they hit Arsenal on the break. Manonne seemed to have the shot covered but William Gallas's thigh got in the way. The deflection was enough to wrong foot the Italian custodian and mad redo1 found himself not laughing.

This could turn bad for the home side.

Fortunately, Fabregas decided to seize the day. After setting up Vermaelen for the first equaliser, his pass opened up the Blackburn defence for van Persie to equalise for the second time. In a similar move, the Spaniard found Arshavin whose shot gave Arsenal the lead for the first time during the match.

Blackburn had a good case for a penalty when Vermaelen seemed to have brought down Dunn but the referee waved it away and Arsenal just romped away. Fabregas continued trying to create chances for others but he had a go himself just under the hour when the ball fell kindly to him. His half volley left Robinson rooted as the ball went in the top corner.

The Fabregas show did not end there and Arsenal could have blew away Blackburn for double figures. But Robinson performed credibly and the visitors were also let off by some poor finishing by Arsene Wenger's charges. But there was nothing poor about Theo Walcott's finishing as he finished off a breath-taking Arsenal counter attack started by Fabregas in his own penalty area.

His introduction in the 69th minute was Walcott's first competitive appearance this season. Another substitute, Nicklas Bendtner got his name on the scoresheet as well with ten minutes to go when he cut across the field from the left after receiving a long pass from the right. His right foot shot sizzled past Robinson before going in off the post as The Gunners completed the half dozen.

With the kind of momentum they are on now, the international break is certainly not a welcome disturbance. However, it is hoped that it will continue for the visit of Birmingham City in a fortnight.

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