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Fabregas will soon be leading the Gunners again...
The news of Fabregas going around lately has been the personal phone call he recieved from Ramon Calderon to convince him to sign for the Spanish giants Real Madrid regarding which our captain said:
“It’s true the president of Real Madrid called me personally – we spoke on the phone.
“But I never gave him my word that I was going to sign for Real Madrid. He asked about my progress and that was it.
“I have not given him nor anyone else the expectation that I will join them. The same goes for anyone who represents me.
“I am a person of my word and I can assure you that I have never given any club reason to believe that I would leave Arsenal.
“Nobody can say that they have agreed with me that I become part of their project. That is clear.
“I am a professional so I cannot close the door on anyone. On the one hand, you have your feelings and your passions and on the other you have your professionalism.”
But we don’t really care about it as much as we are waiting to see Fabregas back in action. And the good news is here. He is back and in contention for a starting place against Manchester City on the 4th of April. To add to that Adebayor is also back and has already scored for Togo in his first match since returning so Arsenal’s season is getting better and better. We can all feel this might be THE season for us! Our trophy drought seems to be heading towards an end it seems…
Meanwhile van Persie’s contract negotiations are progressing well according to the Dutchman himself but the only obstactle to getting him sign it is the lack of trophies. Win them and van Persie will remain ours! Read the article here.
Emmanuel Adebayor was on target for Togo in their 2010 World Cup qualifier against Cameroon which the hosts won 1-0. The Arsenal forward who is returning from a few months on the sidelines and it was his first match since returning.
You can watch the goal from the following link:
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?p=17315157
You will need to download the file.
Internati0nal break ends with bad news as always for Arsenal. This time around Nicklas Bendtner is the casualty. The Dane got off injuted in Denmark’s match against Malta half an hour into the game. Nicklas has been in good form for the Gunners lately, though his finishing has been poor at times, his work rate and movement on and off the ball hence his overall contribution to attacks cannot be questioned. Lets hope he returns soon.
He might not be a big miss as Emmanuel Adebayor returns. The Togolese international is favoured ahead of the young Dane so even if Bendtner had remained fit one would have expected Adebayor to fill in anyway. Ade returned from a long lay off in style, grabbing a goal after just 11 minutes. His good day was not as good as he would have wanted as he missed from the penalty spot later in the game. Apart from him, van Persie was also on target for his country, scoring one of Netherlands three goals.
While the Gunners represented their countries, there was business going on at Arsenal. Long time board member Danny Fiszman sold 8% of his shares to Stan Kroenke. Stan now owns 20% of the shares of Arsenal PLC. Arsenal’s Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis mantains the move is not going to have any significant changes in the day to day running of the club:
“This is a Club that has over 120 years of history and what has happened in terms of the adjustment of the share holdings between current Board members doesn’t affect the direction that we’re headed in. It is amongst two investors, both of whom share a common philosophy with respect for the Club and a respect for its traditions. None of that is going to change.
“We have some tremendous under-pinnings at this Club; the tremendous stadium that we play in, a very exciting and developing young squad who would be the envy of any team in the world, and a fantastic manager. The Club continues to make progress and we’re looking forward to the run-in to the season. We think this could be a very successful year for Arsenal.”
Wenger confident of his team's chances this season
Arsene Wenger feels somehow out of the blue, you never know Arsenal might end up winning the title. Mathematically their chances are very very bleak, but a very minute possibility still exists.
“I still have hope because I am a bit crazy
“Realistically, we will not win the league, but it doesn’t matter what our chances are – we have to give everything to go as close as possible to the top teams.
“Manchester United still have the quality to finish it off, but they had a big disappointment in losing to Liverpool and it can be difficult to recover.”
One has to admit, with the hot form Liverpool are in at the moment only Arsenal seem like the team who can beat them right now. But then again Wenger is just saying he wants Arsenal to win all of their remaining games and see where they end up. If other teams falter badly then who knows Arsenal might end up at least 2nd if not win the league. Looking at the way Arsenal are performing at the moment, there is no harm in such wild thinking.
Ljunberg has gone crazy!
Wenger may have been crazy with his extremely high hopes but former Gunner Freddie Ljunberg is crazier! He feels Wenger might leave Arsenal for somewhere where he is given more money to spend and he can win more trophies! Unbelievable! It is Wenger’s own strategy to invest in youth and hence the low level of spending. Its not like he has not been given money to spend.
And besides with the talent he has at his disposal at Arsenal I don’t think he would be mad enough to waste it by leaving it under someone else. Freddie said:
“If he gets a great opportunity somewhere where they spend more money and win things, maybe that’s a possibility. At the same time he likes to bring up new players and he has been at Arsenal a long time.
“I know he is a winner; he always wants to win – just as much as the players. He gets as angry as the players when we lose.
“When they are not winning, or they are fourth or fifth, I know he is not happy about not winning.
“Maybe it’s harder. If you look at the money they are spending, they are not spending as much as before.
“Maybe it puts more pressure on him [Wenger]; maybe he can’t get exactly what he wants all the time; maybe he could a bit more in the past.”
Maybe Ljunberg is not in his senses! I see no reason why Wenger would leave the club at this stage. We are very close to winning two trophies and the squad looks better than ever. Without many injuries at a time we have one of the best squads in Europe. Wenger would not let all the talent go down the drain. He loves Arsenal and the players.
We just can’t stop winning now can we! Yet another brilliant performance from the Arsenal as they gain a 3 point lead over Aston Villa which might not last long if Villa win against Liverpool though it seems highly unlikely as the Reds are in hot form. One thing is confirmed after the thrashing though, the gap between Chelsea and Arsenal is down to just 6 points.
It was yet another typical Arsenal performance. The free flowing passing football that we were so used to seeing last season was missing this season but not anymore. 4-0, 2-1 and through to the semis of FA Cup, 3-1. You can’t ask for more! The starting line-up surprised me as Diaby played instead of Song. Song is going through the form of his life and I am not the biggest of fans of Diaby. But the young Frechman would soon show us he deserved to start! Arsenal made a good start when Gallas failed to make contact with the ball from a decent van Persie corner. Next up van Persie sent Bendtner through but the angle was now against the Dane. He had a shot but it was a comfortable save for Harper. Newcastle were starting to press more and had most of the possession and they were soon to be rewarded for it. A cross sent in. Almunia tried to punch it away but couldn’t. Tried to retrieve the ball from Taylor but appeared to have brought the Newcastle man down. Penalty given. The clinical finisher Martins stepped up to take it. Went for the bottom corner but Almunia dived the right way and saved! What a start to the match. At this point in time Newcastle manager would be regretting his decision not to start Owen who surely would have put the penalty away. The next real chance came Arsenal’s way. van Persie finds Arshavin inside the box. The Russian takes the ball away from the defender making space for the shot and lashes at it but a superb block by Steven Taylor to deny him his 2nd goal for the club. Both the teams are having turns at getting goal scoring opportunities! Martins plays a neat ball to Lovenkrands. He is about to unleash the shot just inside the box but Clichy steps in and clears it away for a corner. A vital clearance and at that time I was scared Clichy might give away a penalty afterall he is an expert at fouls inside the box! Arsenal’s turn now. Arshavin given the ball at the half way line. Gets away from one defender… two… goes for the spectacular and wow what an effort. Hits the bar but exceptional stuff by the little Russian. Next up Nolan crosses in to Lovenkrands. A clear goal scoring opportunity but it goes begging. Arsenal break away. Diaby on the ball but gives it away cheaply. Newcastle’s turn again. Martins gets the ball. Turns. Has a shot but just outside the post. Then van Persie is picked out by a great ball by Nasri. The Dutchman controls well but in doing so Harper came right in front of him and made an easy save. Next up a chance for Bendtner to have a shot on goal but instead he finds van Persie. Steven Taylor with another goal saving block this time denying van Persie. He was reminding me of John Terry with his blocks! Half time. What a half of football. Both the sides had their chances but Arsenal had the better half. Diaby was hopeless and needed to improve.
Second half’s first real chance was from an Arsenal free kick. Arshavin to take it. Sends a delightful delivery into the box, headed in by Bendtner. Arsenal broke their deadlock and Newcastle did the same 47 seconds later. Newcastle went for a pressing attack straight from the kick off. Martins tried to get away from Gallas to have an opportunity to shoot. But Gallas did the job for him. Attempts a hopeless clearance giving the ball back to Martins who slams the ball into the bottom corner. There was nothing Almunia could do. Game on once again. But Arsenal didn’t make the scoreline last long. 5 minutes later Diaby tries a one-two with van Persie which gives him loads of space in front of the goal. He kept going and when defenders drew near from both the sides he powerfully sent the ball into the roof of the net! Who would have expected Diaby to score! Unbelievable stuff. 3 minutes later van Persie picks out Nasri who must have been surprised with the amount of space he got. Smashed the ball into the bottom corner at the near post. 3-1 with 4 goals in 10 minutes! Chances came Denilson’s and Gallas’s way. Denilson’s shot saved by Harper and Gallas failed to get sufficient contact on his header from a corner. van Persie had a chance. One on one with Harper but in trying to round the keeper the angle became too tight and the chance ended. It was all Arsenal now. Bendtner poorly heads wide from a Sagna cross. van Persie shoots over. The last chance of the match fell to Diaby but his effort strikes the post. 3-1 it ends and a deserving victory for Arsenal.
Defensively Arsenal were poor at times today. We are seeing defensive lapses in nearly every match now. Improvement needed. On the positive side the wing backs played well. Sagna sending in decent crosses in and Clichy was very effective going forward, did not attempt his hopeless crosses and was sound defensively making a goal saving tackle as well. The central midfielders were lost all match. I can’t wait to see Fabregas back again. Nasri and Arshavin were too good. They pulled all the strings for Arsenal. Everything they did was just perfect. Bendtner once again worked extremely hard. His movement on and off the ball is quite good. Once he improves his finishing he can become a very good forward. van Persie is missing too many chances but at leas he is getting the assists.
I think we can start hoping for a top 3 finish even. Add to that Arsenal having quite a chance in the FA Cup and you can’t rule them out of the Champions League just as yet.
Arsenal may now be without Walcott but Newcastle will also be without one of their main players, Micheal Owen. According to reports the forward has been told by his manager he is not fit enough so he will start the match on the bench. Apart from Walcott Arsenal will not be missing any other players from the win against Hull City. But they do have a trio returning from injury. Almunia, Silvestre and Eduardo. Almunia and Eduardo are welcome returns but I would rather be happy with an injured Silvestre because then he doesn’t get to play! He is crap. Worst signing ever. Lets hope Wenger doesn’t play him as often as he did before the Frenchman picked up the injury.
We could see this line-up tonight:
Almunia
Sagna Gallas Toure Clichy
Song Denilson
Nasri Arshavin
van Persie Bendtner
I wouldn’t be surprised if Diaby starts instead of Denilson as his physical presence could be vital against the tough tackling Newcastle. And Eboue might start in place of Bendtner.
Moving to Newcastle now. They will be without Mark Viduka, Xisco, Danny Guthrie, Joey Barton and
Igancio Gonzalez. Add to that a start on the bench for Owen and Arsenal have quite a chance in this one.
Newcastle’s form isn’t the best coming into this match: WDLLD. Compared to Arsenal’s WWWWW (I have included the penalty shootout win against Roma as a win though it was 1-0 to Roma at the end of normal time).
This is yet another must win match for Arsenal. Aston Villa are faltering so another draw or defeat this weekend could mean Arsenal getting a 2 or 3 point lead over them. A win here and then for the next match against Man City we will have the services of our captain Fabregas, who according to Wenger is just two weeks away and should be fit for the Man City clash. That is awesome news! We sure as hell missed him!
Anyway I hope it will be a relaxing match today! 2-0 to the Gunners! Yeah! I am quite tired out after a match for my college football team which we won 7-0 :p so I hope Arsenal can refresh me with a scintillating performance!
Theo Walcott is all set to spend another spell on the sidelines as the winger has now injured his knee. The young Englishman who had just recently returned from a horrendous shoulder injury had been pulling the strings for Arsenal along with the impressive Arshavin for Arsenal in the recent matches and his injury comes as a big blow to the Gunners.
Arsenal had been counting on the returns of their injured players including Walcott to give finishing touches to their brilliant runs in the FA Cup and Champions League but Walcott’s injury is a big setback. The extent of the injury is still not known but Wenger expects him not to be available for England’s coming fixture so he could be out for a few weeks at least.Arsene Wenger revealed the news on Arsenal.com:
“Walcott got injured today in training. We have to test it, he has a scan on his knee today. We are surprised and worried. He was in very good form coming back and that is very bad news for us and for England. For the rest of the season might be too long, but he’s out of tomorrow’s squad and he could be out of the England squad. He locked his knee so it could be a cartilage problem. He did it walking back from training. He was fully normal during training but maybe it only came out when he stopped. We have to see how he responds today and I hope it’s not really serious.”
Lets pray the injury isn’t serious and that he gets back as soon as possible.
Alongwith Walcott’s injury comes some good news which will be overshadowed by the bad news. Eduardo returns and is in the squad for the trip to St. James’s Park. Eduardo can’t fill the temporary void left by Walcott but his return is a welcome one.
“Eduardo played just over a week ago against Roma – he had a minor injury and he is in the squad tomorrow. Manuel Almunia is fit too.”
Hopefully now Eduardo can put away the simple chances that come Arsenal’s way but have been wasted by Bendtner and van Persie in recent matches.
The Champions League draw has been and Arsenal have been drawn to face Spanish underdogs Villareal. The other underdogs f the tournament have been drawn against possible the best side in the world at the moment Manchester United.
Now if Arsenal progress, they will face Manchester United in the semi finals at Old Trafford. Thanks to this draw an Arsenal vs Barca final is a possibility. I am more worried about Villareal than about Man Utd. Arsenal are known to perform better against big teams and do poorly against relatively smaller teams. Most recently they got out the season before the last to PSV Eindhoven in the Round of 16. Lets hope history repeats itself and Arsenal come out on top just like they did against the same opposition in their run to the Final.
A few months back I had joked to my friends this season the final is going to be Arsenal vs Barca and Arsenal will get their revenge! And now it might actually happen too! But lets not think about that and rather focus on Villareal. It aint going to be as easy as most will argue it is.
Andrey, fans enjoyed the match against Hull. Tell us what you knew about your opponents.
Before the game I only knew that they won here in the beginning of the season. After the game I learned that our teams also played in the FA Cup semi-final in 1930.
In fact they played twice. The first game finished 2:2 and in the replay gunners came out on top, winning 1:0.
A.A.: It’s great that the tie was settled in one game. It was a bit of an unexpected start for us – we conceded a goal. Basically, we had the initiative and possession of the ball from the beginning and throughout the game. We should have scored first but it turned out otherwise.
Why weren’t you able to find the net for so long?
Our attacks were quite slow, which allowed Hull to close the spaces, in some cases they displayed real heroics. They benefited from using only 1 ball, that was pretty surprising for me. I’m used to having balls scattered around the pitch. Everytime the ball goes out, you have to wait for it. The attack loses momentum because of that, letting defenders get back and close the free spaces, it slows the game down. It gives an advantage to teams who play slower game. They were wasting time as well, I’m glad that the referee started booking them for time-wasting in the beginning of the second half, although he could have started in the first. We obviously needed to strengthen our game and bring on some fresh players that helped us see out our opponents.
What did Arsene Wenger tell you at the break?
He told us that while we were doing the right things, we needed to speed up a bit to get the result. He asked us to stay positive about the game till the final whistle.
Hull City have a tiger on their coat of arms, almost like Luch Vladivostok in Russia. The Tigers from the East Riding of Yorkshire were biting, but not much more than than. Was the result fue to Arsenal’s class?
Yes, our team’s class is higher than Hull’s. On the other hand, we didn’t win just because of that. Today we displayed skill and character. We didn’t have much time to win the game, I’m please that we made it. Any victory feels good, but those won on character are twice as sweet.
Ahead of the game, many newspapers reported that Arshavin might miss the Cup quarter final because of the injury, some reported that you missed yesterday’s training. Wenger later said that you were desperate to play. When did you learn that you will be on the pitch?
I was recommended to train separately from the team but I wanted to train with the guys, not on my own. And it’s always the manager’s decision regarding who’s going to play. When did I learn that I will be playing? 3 hours before the game.
How are you now?
Not worse than ahead of the game.
Van Persie’s goal from your assist was the turning point of the game. It was a nice touch, but tell us didn’t you want to score yourself?
Not really. It was a difficult position. To score from there, I needed to hit the top left corner, an easier option was the pass, which resulted in a goal.
You have the Cup semi-final ahead. It’s going to be another London derby, this time against Chelsea.
That game is long way away. We have several games before that, our thoughts are now on the next one. When it will be time to prepare for Chelsea, we will start thinking about them.
By the way, another of your managers – Guus Hiddink was in the stands as well, did you know about that?
No, I didn’t.
Did you manage to meet him in London?
No.
In Saint Petersburg, you were one of the most popular citizens. Everyone recognized you when you were in town. Your performances for the Gunners generate a lot of attention towards you in Great Britain as well. How do you find that?
In London people don’t really know me but I don’t have a problem with that at all.
It may have been a frustrating night and an average performance but still a win is a win and that’s what matters in the end.
The game started in disastrous fashion for the hosts. They could not get into their quick passing football at the start and looked uncomfortable when in possession and they paid the price for it. Hull pounced on the first available opportunity. Barmby took a shot that took a huge deflection off Djourou and lofted over the helpless Fabianski. 1-0 to the visitors and it seemed Hull were up for another upset at the Emirates. But Arsenal had other plans. That goal was a wake up call for the Gunners. After that they started to dominate and that continued till the end. But occasional opportunities for Hull remained and they got one very soon after the first goal. A free kick given away by Gallas just outside the box and we have seen Geovanni score from that range before. His free kick was nearly a body blow for Arsenal. Heading for the top corner but Fabianski dived and punched the ball out for a corner. A world class save to deny Hull a dangerous 2-0 lead. After that chances kept falling Arsenal’s way but no clear cut chance. It remained 1-0 at half time and Arsenal needed to improve if they were too keep alive their dream of winning the FA Cup. van Persie was quite surprising in the first half. He looked helpless whenever he recieved the ball and couldn’t do anything noteable. Diaby was as worse. 90% of his passes were to Gallas and Sagna. He looked too hesitant to make forward passes.
Wenger’s half time talk reaped fruit for Arsenal. The second half was sheer domination for Arsenal. They nearly broke the deadlock with a Diaby header from a corner but the ball went wrong side of the post. Then a header cleared off the line came to Song with his back towards goal. The Cameroon international tried an athletic effort but once again off target. The pressure was mounting but Arsenal failed to convert their opportunities to goals. With 20 minutes remaining I feared this is not our day. Visions of Arsenal vs West Ham came to my mind and this match seemed just like it. Chance after chance but they couldn’t score heading for defeat. Even when Nasri and Bendtner came on, the number of chances increased but the goal was still lacking. Eventually substitute Bendtner got away from two defenders inside the box and was at a very acute angle towards the goal. He picked out the unmarked Arshavin at the far post. The Russian instead of attempting a difficult finish from a tight angle found van Persie right ahead of the goal, he too was unmarked, and he did not make any mistake. Lashed it into the top of the net with a first time effort by his right foot. Finally Hull’s resistance had snapped thanks to some poor defending. After that Hull could not do what they had been doing all match – time wasting. So as they tried to attack, Arsenal’s attacks became more dangerous. The winner came with just around 5 mins to go. Once again a substitute was involved. Nasri’s free kick lofted into the box. Three four players and the keeper went for the ball and eventually it landed to Gallas who was expecting the ball to come to him. A simple header to make it 2-1. Hull were furious as they claimed Gallas was offside and replays suggested they were right. But it seemed Myhill could have had the last touch before the ball fell to Gallas. Because of the number of chances they created Arsenal deserved to win!
Fabianski had a very good match. He was not at fault in the goal and apart from it he was brilliant. Sagna worked his socks off. Equally impressive at defending and attacking but it was his poor clearance that set up Hull’s opening goal. Djourou was poor. Gallas was solid. Gibbs was terrific. Unbelievable performance from the youngster. I was particularly pleased with his crossing apart from defending and runs. He is like a young version of Clichy except that his crosses are much much better. He has a great future ahead of him. Arshavin was exceptional yet again. He can pick out brilliant defence piercing through balls out of nowhere. Amazing. Song was good once again, solid. Diaby was very poor in the first half but better in the second. Walcott was great as expected. Vela and van Persie were poor mostly. Vela had a bad day but he is far more capable than how he played today.
Moving to some controversial issues now. Phil Brown accused Fabregas of spitting at Hull’s assistant manager Brian Horton. What a hopeless accusation. I can’t even imagine Fabregas doing such a vulgar act. What a bad loser Brown is. Just because you have been dumped out of the cup by fat better opposition doesn’t mean you put out baseless accusations. Fabregas has immediately denied it saying he hasn’t done it on the pitch even so why would he do it when he is not even playing. Its odd that Brown is the one making the accusation not the victim himself! It kind of shows someone is just lying. Trying to take his anger out on someone! But it’s not proven yet. I sure hope Cesc didn’t do it.
As for Wenger not shaking hands with the lizard-face, it was Brown who rushed down the tunnel first I think. Even if he hadn’t gone down first he looked disgusted and not in the mood of a handshake so nothing Wenger could have done really. Bad loser Brown.
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