Early Present...

...for kT Gooner

It was an early birthday present for mad redo1.

Though he arrived just in time to witness Manu Adebayor tapping in to put Sp*rs a goal up. Then he watched in delight as the former Gunner was flashed the red card for an open stud tackle on Santo Cazorla eight minutes after the goal.

Then came the moment he had been waiting for ever since the BFG joined Arsenal last season. Per Mertesacker's looping header levelled things up from a Theo Walcott cross.

Two minutes to the interval Lukas Podolski put the home side ahead, courtesy of another former Gunner William Gallas as the German's shot was deflected past Hugo Lloris.

Then persistent play in injury time at the end of the first half by Cazorla gave him the space for him to deliver the ball for Olivier Giroud to attack. The French international connected well to divert the ball past his team-mate in the French squad.

Then on the hour mark, Cazorla capped a fine performance with a simple finish after The Gunners had built from the back. With nineteen minutes to go, Gareth Bale pulled one back.

At 4-2 not many Gooners could seat easy as it had happened before, only for the points to be shared in the end. However, Walcott's strike as the match went into stoppage time certainly gave many Gooners the relief they were looking for.

At the same time repeated the same scoreline last season.


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Sado-Machostic Gooners

Two goals up after twenty minutes, then everything was square at the interval. Arsenal fans have been left with a sado-machocism feeling watching the Gunners in action in recent time.

Two goals up against Schalke in Gelsenkirchen and they left Germany with just a point after the home side fought back to level things up. It is best not to mention Reading, where the fans were subjected to a four goal deficit before Arsene Wenger's boys staged a brilliant comeback to win by 7-5, the highest goal-scoring match I have seen (though partly only).

Then you saw the team went behind to put yourself further in pain but the joy of seeing Olivier Giroud's header nestling at the back of the net for the equaliser made it all worthwhile.

We looked good for a winner though a draw was a more fitting result given the team performance. But a harsh penalty against the visitors in the last minute of added time put us in the vulnerable position of getting our hopes up that it will be three points on the board for us.

But the mistress of pain spared her best shot for the last. The pain of two points lost as Mark Schwarzer push Mikel Arteta's low drive past the post went searing through the heart.

Fortunately, not for me.

Based on performance alone, we were simply not good enough for the three points and the point gained was simply what we deserved from the match where we were weak defensively again.

The North London derby next Saturday will see us going through the same pain and joy again but hopefully it will end on a positive note for us.

COYG!!!


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Three Points from The Boleyn

kT Gooner missed another Arsenal Premier League match as the hotel he stayed in Kuantan while covering a sports event did not have the channel showing the Gunners' match away to West Ham United.

But waking up the next morning to the news of a three-one win was certainly a great way to start the day. With the report stating Olivier Giroud has finally broken his Premier League duck the day should have been a good one.

Well, it did turn out to be a good one.

I managed to catch the highlights later and found out that I was spared the anxiety of watching Arsenal dominating the first half but found themselves trailing to The Hammers' first real attack of the match when Mohamad Diame managed to turn Aaron Ramsey before curling the ball past Vito Mannone.

But at the same time I also missed the excitement when Giroud latched onto a cross by Lukas Podolski to divert the ball home past Jussi Jaaskelainen for his maiden Premier League goal, bringing the score level four minutes before the interval.

The main thing I missed however was the masterful performance by Santi Carzola who pulled the strings in almost all Arsenal attacking moves. He found Giroud with a ball out of defence and the Frenchman released Theo Walcott with a simple pass which the England forward controlled well before putting it past Jaaskelainen.

To cap a good night performance, the pocket size Spanish forward then unleashed an unstoppable left foot shot that completely wrong-footed Jaaskelainen from outside the box after Walcott had brought the ball inside from the flank.

The performance of the returning Per Mertesacker also showed that he provides something extra to The Gunners defence this season.

With the league taking a break due to the international break, I am hoping the winning momentum will continue when we travel to Norwich City on 20 October and two subsequent home fixtures against Schalke 04 and QPR.


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Greek Test Passed

Aaron Ramsey scored for the first time this season and the first question that popped up to my mind was "who's going to die?". Though it was just purely coincidence death occurred when The Welshman scored.

The finish he applied to the headed pass by Olivier Giroud was something special and it gave a gloss to the scoreline in a match that could have gone either way in the first half.

Another cool finish by Gervinho from outside the box gave the home fans something to cheer after Olympiacos had created more chances than The Gunners.

But Kostas Mitroglou stole between Laurent Koscielny and skipper Thomas Vermaelen to head home to even things up as Norwegian referee, Sven Oddvar Moen was about to blow the half time whistle.

However the home side came out blazing in the second half and eleven minutes after the restart Lukas Podolski restored Arsenal's lead with a smart finish that went in between the goalkeeper's legs after Gervinho had done all the hard work from the left flank.

Both Podolski and Gervinho went off with ten minutes to go and were replaced by Giroud and Ramsey. The Frenchman could have had his first Champions' League goal but his goal-bound shot hit Dimitris Siovas who happened to be in the way.

Despite not scoring, the Frenchman provided another crucial assist as his header found Ramsey who calmly lobbed the Greek goalkeeper.

Arsenal now lead the Group B table with a perfect record before their double header against German side Schalke 04 later in October and early November.


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Money Speaks As The Gunners Lost

kT Gooner was away from Kuala Terengganu when Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season, the 2-1 reverse against the cash injected team from West London. He was away in Tanjung Leman covering the Malaysian Match Racing Circuit 2012.

Defeat was not pleasant, especially in a derby. Without the opportunity to watch the match I would refrain from commenting on the performance of the home team.

It was just the decision taken by Arsene Wenger to rest the in form Per Mertersacker for the match was a bit baffling given the BFG's good performance in all the matches he has played this season.

Perhaps, he was influenced by the absence of a certain Ivorian who is now plying his trade in the Chinese Super League. However the partnership of Laurent Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen did not perform up to expectation. Both of them had a hand in all the two goals conceded.

The skipper conceded the two set-pieces that led to the goals while Kos failed to deal with the high ball delivered into the box, allowing Ferdy Torres to hook the ball past Vito Mannone.

Gervinho equalised with a sharp finish a few minutes before the interval. The Ivorian certainly proved his worth in front of goal this season, swiveling to turn Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain pass from he flank past Petr Cech.

However, The Gunners were undone again less than ten minutes into the second half with Koscielny once again failed to deal with another delivery into the box by Juan Mata who was credited with the goal.

I believe that Mannone should have taken charge of the situation by coming out as the ball was delivered at his goal. But it was a difficult free-kick to defend and the defence has get their call right. Unfortunately for Arsenal, everybody got it wrong.

Lukasz Podolski forced a really good save from Cech. His looping header was destined for the top corner until the goalkeeper managed to claw it away. Cech again came into the picture when he pushed away a deflected Olivier Giroud's deflected shot.

The Frenchman then missed another opportunity to level the score when he was put through by The Ox but he could not find the target with his shot. It was a costly miss as the ones with the monies walked away with all three points.

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Six-One, Part Two

One has been hoping for Olivier Giroud to score in the 6-1 Premier League defeat of Southampton a little more than a week ago but last season Ligue Un topscorer did not oblige.

This morning the same scoreline was repeated and much to my delights, the Frenchman found the net with a sublime finish after a through ball.

Given it was only against Coventry City in the COC but for me a goal is still a goal and to a striker getting your name on the scoresheet for your new club for the first time will ease the pressure.

The optimist in me will say it will be the first of many for Giroud and together with Andrey Arshavin who also found the net in his first outing for The Gunners this season, it gave positive vibes to everyone connected to the team.

With The Ox also netting a wonderful goal, Ignasi Miquel finding the net again and a brace for Theo Walcott, Arsene Wenger could be forgiven for grinning from from one end to another in his sleep later.

Never mind that Giroud saw his penalty saved by Joe Murphy earlier in the second half. It will serve as a reminder to him that despite scoring it does not mean his work will be easy from now own.

Still, I believe he will be very influential this season for us.


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A Deserved Point

Arsenal came away from The City of Manchester Stadium with their heads held high after forcing a draw against the cash-laden Manchester City.

Central defender Laurent Koscielny netting eight minutes from time in his first start of the season, capitalising on an error by Joleon Lescott who had given the home side the lead five minutes before the interval.

Just like their match against Montpellier in the Champions League on Wednesday morning, The Gunners rode their luck at times but their dominance in the first half should have borne fruits.

However, Gervinho failed to continue his good form recently. The most glaring error being his heavy touch that gave the chance to City goalkeeper Joe Hart to gather at his feet after Aaron Ramsey had put him through.

After a five star performance at Liverpool, Abou Diaby returned to his old frustrating self with a performance that could be described generously as average.

However it was the defence, especially the BFG Per Mertersacker who deserved the praise as they continued to work together well to thwart the home side's attacks.

Despite playing for the first time with Koscielny this season, the pair combined well. Vito Mannone who could be faulted for his positioning when Lescott headed home, also performed well keeping Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero from getting on the scoresheet.

The quick passing by The Gunners gave them the edge but their failure to finish the little openings that came their way put them under pressure after the break as City opted to sit deep and launch quick counter attacks.

But a point is as good as three given the fact that the gulf between the two sides in terms of spending power certainly backed the home side to come away with all the points.


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