Archive Listing for 2009

Arsenal 4-1 Portsmouth, The First 10 Minutes

The first ten minutes. That’s the only time in this match that Portsmouth really showed any kind of fight. They really gave up after about the 20th minute. Arsenal took over and Pompey lost their drive. Such is the way of teams who are ready for relegation or administration or whatever’s going to happen to[.....]

Arsenal 3-0 Aston Villa, Super Cesc on the double

This was the match that I picked as the turning point of the season. It would decide who, Arsenal or Aston Villa, would succeed as a top four team. Simply put, the top 4 will include Arsenal or Aston Villa but probably not both. Villa are contenders this year. The outcome of this game showed[.....]

Aston Villa Postgame

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas came off the bench to inspire his side to a victory over Aston Villa. It was more than inspiration; he came on the field like it was his destiny to score two goals today. Cesc Fábregas’s two goals worth the risk of injury says Arsène Wenger (Guardian) Super-sub Cesc sinks Villa[.....]

Christmas Comes Early – LA Sign Three Brazilians on Loan from Sao Paulo

The LA Galaxy announced today that they have acquired three players on loan from Sao Paulo FC of the Brazilian Campeonato for the 2010 MLS season. Their names are Alex, Juninho, and Leonardo. I guess those are popular names in Brazil because they can’t be the three players that I’m thinking of, right?

Player Spotlight: Thomas Vermaelen

Thomas Vermaelen has become my favorite Arsenal player of the season. It was a close decision between him and Arshavin, but I think the tremendous differences for our defense between this year and last are due to Vermaelen’s influence. At a tad under 6 feet, Thomas Vermaelen is not your typical centerback. In fact, many[.....]

Hull City Postgame

Kevin Palmer (ESPN) feels that Arsenal overcame their reliance upon Cesc Febregas and ‘special’ Robin van Persie. He wrongly says that it was “decided in three second half minutes as Giovanni missed a penalty harshly awarded against Mikael Silvestre”. While the foul shouldn’t have been awarded, it and the subsequent penalty miss were hardly the[.....]

Arsenal 3-0 Hull City, Gunners Show Some Fight

Arsenal started this game at 5th place in the league. The top of the table is close this year, with the exception of Chelsea pulling out in front early. That’s beginning to change and, as soon as the African Nations Cup starts, Chelsea will lose even more points. I predict a 3rd place finish for[.....]

Arsenal 1-1 Burnley

Arsenal 3-1 Liverpool

Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Jawbox: For Your Own Special Sweetheart

At its best, For Your Own Special Sweetheart compresses the energy of hardcore into something more nuanced and deliberate.