Two Clean Sheets in a Row

It was another away win, this time at Swansea's Liberty Stadium. The score was a similar 2-0 to the one in Munich on Thursday morning.

However, unlike at the final whistle against Bayern on that cold, cold morning; this time it was smile all around when the referee blew his musical instrument  (at least that's how it sounded to me) this time around.

Another clean sheet for Lukasz Fabianski and I really hope he will continue keeping more clean sheets for us for the rest of the season. It was a smart move by Arsene Wenger and perhaps a very important thing to do to ensure Wos Szczesny will become a great goalkeeper in the future.

The goals came from two unexpected sources. Nacho Monreal got his name on the scoresheet for the first time in an Arsenal shirt with fifteen minutes to go from a scramble in front of the Swans' goal.

Then Gervinho, whose miss against Blackburn could be the main reason for us to be knocked out from the FA Cup was presented with a similar chance. Missing the chance could spark another comeback by the home side.

However, to the relief of all Gooners, he tucked away the ball under the despairing dive of Michel Vorm to kill off any remaining hope of the home fans in seeing their team saving at least a point from this match.

In a way, the result could be seen as a revenge of sort for the reverse scoreline they imposed on us at The Emirates back in December. Though there were huge amount satisfaction when we eliminated them in the third round of the FA Cup soon after that.

The win certainly put us on the right track to get back into the lucrative Champions' League spot as we trail London rivals Chelsea and Sp*ds by two and four points respectively.

Both are facing London rivals in their fixture this weekend. Chelsea are hosting West Ham United while Sp*ds welcome Fulham at The Lane. Every Gooner will definitely be praying for wins for The Hammers and also The Cottagers.

Not having Jack Wilshere was seen as a potential disaster for Arsenal but we managed to came through those matches with positive vibes. Thus the international break is most welcomed and hopefully Arsene will have a full squad at his disposal for the final push beginning on 30 March against Reading at home.


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Another Glorious Exit

After the 2-1 North London derby defeat at The Lane last Sunday, nobody in the right mind would predict Arsenal will do the impossible at The Allianz Arena against Bundesliga leaders, Bayern Munich.

Trailing 3-1 from the dismal performance in the first leg at The Emirates, we needed to win by three goals and not conceding any, a tall order for a side that has not kept a clean sheet in the last four matches.

Without the injured Jack Wilshere the tie looked lost. When Arsene Wenger announced that he will start with Lukasz Fabianski in goal and dropping his captain, Thomas Vermaelen to the bench I thought it was to give the returning Pole some match practice.

But when Olivier Giroud finished off a good counter-attack with the ball in the roof of the net, I dared to hope a little higher. However, we seemed to lost the momentum as the home side dominated proceeding for quite some time with Arjen Robben tormenting the Arsenal defence time and time again.

However, Fabianski stood tall in his first appearance for The Gunners in 2013  and kept us in the match with a series of fine saves.

I did not dare to hope anymore as time ticked away in Bayern's favour. However five minutes from the end Laurent Koscielny pushed me to dream of a memorable comeback with a looping header that crept past Manuel Neuer.

The aggregate was tied at 3-3 but we still losing on away goals rule. Just one more goal and we would be through to the last eight. However, just like against AC Milan last season; the one more goal did not come. We paid the price for the horrible display at home in the first leg.

Still, a win is still a win and winning at Bayern Munich will lift the morale of the boys and could be the launching pad they need to get into the Champions' League spot.


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The Odds are Against US

I am writing this with less than two hours away from the kick-off of the Champions League match between Arsenal and Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium.

Fresh from being eliminated by Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup Round 5 at the same ground, it is understandable if the mood going into this match is not an optimistic one.

Many Gooners are feeling the fear that The Germans will run rampant at the shaky home defence, having scored 57 goals in 22 matches and conceding just seven.

The defeat against Rovers could be devastating to the morale of the clubs and everybody related to it.

For me, the feeling that I have inside me now is a sort of deja vu. It brought me back to the period when I was still a young supporter and at that time being a Gooner meant you were totally on your own among your peers as others opted to support the red side of the Mersey River.

Thus when the fixture between the two teams came, instead of expecting a win over Liverpool, I would be more excited if we could keep a clean sheet and score a few goals which was not an easy job against players such as Alan Hansen and Phil Thompson.

It was like we were expecting to lose even before the match had kicked-off.

Hence the deja vu.

Many football fans and pundits are predicting a win for Bayern, many also have said it will be a BIG win for them with the ones opting to say the home side will go to Munich in two weeks time with a lead could barely reach a significant number.

As for me, on paper everything pointed to a German win but as always, the Gooner inside says it is not impossible for Arsenal to get a positive result over the departing Jupp Heynckes side.


COYG!


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Double Ws Impress for Three Lions

Both Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott impressed for England in their 2-1 win over Brazil.

Wilshere was named as The Man of The Match for his performance.


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Pegged at the Death

The Gooner in kT was away from his home when the this FA Cup third round match was played. It was an intriguing match with The Swans already registered a win over us late last year.

I was hoping that we could get a good result at The Liberty Stadium (a place in the next round would suffice, thank you) but the worst part was not being able to follow it minute by minute.

The reason for being away was due to a photo session with the Negeri Sembilan Super League team and by the time I reached Shah Alam it was well and truly over.

Luckily it was just about the match and not our FA Cup dream.

Michu gave the home side the lead after coming on as a substitute around the hour mark and I could imagine myself saying, "Here we go again!" in anticipation of an early cup exit.

However Lukas Poldoski brought things level with ten minutes to go and then Kieran Gibbs blasted us ahead a couple of minutes later. We were three minutes away from the fourth round when Danny Graham ensured another trip to The Emirates for the Swans faithfuls in the middle of the month.

Of course I would have preferred it to be settled on a positive note for us but the chance to catch them in FA Cup action again certainly not a bad thing either.


COYG!

New Year's Day Stalemate

After four consecutive victories, almost every Gooner were expecting the match against Southampton should be another three points safely on board, especially this was the team we dispatched 6-1 earlier in the season and were hovering around the relegation zone.

At the end of the ninety minutes at St Mary the score read 1-1 and none of the goals were scored by an Arsenal player. In fact we were lucky to come away with a point at all.

Neil Adkins had set up his team to stifle Arsenal's fluidity and they did it so well which meant there was not enough time for the likes of Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere to have any effective control in the middle of the park.

In fact almost all Arsenal players were never comfortable on the ball during the match. Errors crept into their game and rash decisions were made, such as the one made by Bacary Sagna who cleared the ball to the feet of an opponent who then set up Gaston Ramirez who slammed the ball home past Wos Szczesny.

Our threats were quite easily nullified by the home defenders but still we managed to create some moments that could have developed into more positive outcomes.

In the end we had to thank lady luck for bringing us on level terms. Theo Walcott floated in a free-kick from the left and in his attempt to clear the ball,  Guilherme Do Prado diverted it into his own net with Artur Boruc left stranded on his line.

Thus it was a mixed start to the year, not a winning one but on the positive side not a losing one either.

Three For Theo...

...Four in a Row for Gunners

Can we make it four? mad redo1 asked after Arsenal win at Wigan just before the holidays. Tonight, the question was answered with a big YES.

What a match it was, Theo Walcott's hat-trick lifted the spirit of many Gooners and many would wish him to sign a new contract with Arsenal ASAP. Especially after the first goal that reminded every Arsenal fan of the Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry who was watching from the stands.

Further goals from The Ox and Lukas Podolski plus a brace by Olivier Giroud gave Gooners a good ending to 2012, though a clean sheet from Wos Szczesny would certainly make it better.

The three goals conceded reminded us that there are still work to be done in regards of our defending, not just the back four but as a team in whole.

mad redo1 hopes these wins will be the launching pad for a good 2013.

COYG!


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