fastidium

After our performance against Porto, it seems like having Fabregas out won’t be as big of a deal as previously thought. Everyone on the team is stepping it up.

We’re playing the rest of the season for Aaron Ramsey. Its such a stroke of bad luck to lose the young Welshman at this point in the season, but this tragedy-turned-motivation may just be the extra push to get us some hardware. Its all about character and how much you want it at this stage. It was enduring to see all the players wearing “Get Well Soon Aaron” t-shirts prior to kickoff.

Coming into this match against Burnley tonight, we needed to win by 4 goals in order to go level with Chelsea on points but beat them in goal differential. Chelsea were going to have a game in hand after this weekend because they were playing an FA Cup match. Man United were playing Wolves later in the day.

This match would be a coming-out party of sorts for Theo Walcott. He has these games every now and again. He was fantastic. I’m sure I join all Arsenal supporters in wanting these performances to become expected behavior from Walcott. Too often this season, his sprints down the right-hand side fizzle out and result in nothing.

If Nicholas Bendtner had been on his game, the scoreline would have been a lot more. I’m not sure what happened to the Dane. He and Walcott linked up numerous times, only to see his shots go over the crossbar or just wide of the post. You could see the frustration in everyone’s faces by the fourth or fifth attempt.

But, Bendtner’s flubs aside, Arsenal pulled out the 3-1 win. The first goal (34th minute) will probably win goal of the week honors. Samir Nasri floated the perfect ball over the defensive line and Cesc Fabregas ran onto the ball just in time to nutmeg the keeper.

Burnley would pull one back just after half-time.

The second Arsenal goal (60th minute) was Walcott – man of the match himself – finally pulling inside from a run down the right-hand side, and placing the ball ever so nicely in the far corner of the goal. Theo has a tendency to stay outside even though he may outrun a defender and try to cross the ball to another player. It was nice to see him change his normal routine.

The final Arsenal goal, by Andrei Arshavin, was in extra time and an end to frustrations, I’m sure, for the Russian striker. He had numerous chances prior to this. From a short corner kick, he intercepted a loose ball from Eduardo and cut inside. With only a small fraction of the goal open, Arshavin was able to slot the ball just inside the near post.

There was concern with Cesc coming off just before half. Turns out he’s got a hamstring problem and will hopefully be back soon.

Moving on, we’ve got a tough game against Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday. Its at the Emirates but we’ve got a 2-1 deficit to overcome. Then, next Saturday, we’ve got an away match at Hull City, who got blitzed by Everton today.

Arsenal swept to a 2-0 victory over Bolton in Owen Coyle’s first match as Wanderers manager. He should be proud of their fighting spirit however as they had plenty of chances to overcome the Gunners. It will remain to be seen whether he’s just swapped one relegation battle (Burnley) for another.

Cesc Fabregas and Tomas Rosicky returned to the starting line-up and Craig Eastmond made his first Premier League start of his career.

Bolton came out fighting in the first minutes of the game but those were the only minutes that it looked like they could prevail. Kevin Davies almost got on the scoresheet in the first minute but his first touch let him down. Arsenal would then take over and impose their game after the five minute mark.

Of course, it was Cesc Fabregas who would find the back of the goal for Arsenal. He’s had a tremendous season so far, and when he’s not injured, he’s the heart of everything we do. In the 28th minute, a quick exchange with Eduardo resulted in the Spaniard slotting a low shot past Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Two times there were clear penalties in the box by Bolton. The referee seem to think that our players were making big deals over nothing but replays showed that this referee needs to re-evaluate his judgement on such calls. Just because a player embelishes his fall does not mean its a non-penalty. In fact, for some referees, its required for them to call.

Arsenal’s 19-year-old midfielder Craig Eastmond, making his first league start, almost doubled the lead with a first-time shot from Fabregas’ corner. It was great to see him get some time in the first team but as the game went on, you could tell his mental stamina was waning. Its a tall order for a 19-year-old, no matter how talented, to be asked to play a defensive mid role for 90 minutes in a game of this magnitude.

One of the biggest problems for Arsenal, with this lineup, was that Armand Traore was left stranded on the left hand side. The Korean Lee Chung-Yong was a menace and played havoc for Traore until Gael Clichy made his triumphant return in the 74th minute. Only then was the left side more secure. Clichy came on for Rosicky but slotted in for Arshavin on the left. He played the model winger and tackler for Traore to watch.

Fran Merida was actually the first substitution in the 63rd minute. He came on for Eastmond and scored our second goal in the 78th minute. Arsenal swarmed the box as a cross from Eduardo came back across the goal mouth. Arshavin wasn’t able to get a hold of it but an onrushing Merida defly controlled and slotted to the opposite corner.

Overall, Bolton resorted to their patterns of the past. Its what Arsene’s called anti-Football: lots of dirty fouling and a team effort that concentrates more on disrupting the other team than actually moving the ball toward goal. Teams with a history of being managed by Sam Allardyce can show it. Owen Coyle may want to impose an Arsenal-like style of play on his new team, but when things go bad for them, this group of players will most likely fall back to what we saw against Arsenal today.

With this win, we move within 3 points of Chelsea at the top of the table. Arsene Wenger has told his team to start thinking about taking the Premiership title. Its exactly these types of games that we were not winning last season that makes Wenger and all Arsenal supporters optimistic. We overcame a fighting team at their home and we didn’t wilt in the pressure.

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 that Arsenal could win it all.

The deciding factor was, is, and will be … Cesc Fabregas. Losing Robin van Persie was a huge blow for the season but, if we lose Fabregas, the top four will be out of the question.

We had some chances before Cesc but he showed the determination to make it happen.

Denilson came out in the 57th minute and Super Cesc arrived. He made his arrival known right away. In the 65th minute, a free kick from the top of the box was placed perfectly in te left top corner, away from Brad Friedel’s reach. The second was a break away by Walcott in the 81st minute, who served up a nice dish for an onrushing Fabregas. Unfortunately, on that same play, Cesc came up with a bad ankle and would go out.

He came, he scored, he left ….

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 (ESPN)

Arsenal 3-0 Aston Villa: Magical Cesc Fabregas Double Downs Villains (Goal.com)

Arsenal 3 – 0 Aston Villa (BBC Sport)

The joy of Cesc by Kevin Palmer:

“Truly special players confirm their brilliance when it matters most and in a game that had the potential to define his side’s season, Arsenal skipper Cesc Fàbregas stepped up to the plate in the grand manner.”

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 deciding moments.

Mikey Stafford (The Guardian) gives the best all-around synopsis of the match.

Gill Clark (goal.com) gives accolades to Denilson and Abou Diaby for their performances.

David Young (ESPN Correspondent) calls the team’s performance pragmatic and efficient rather than spectacular and breathtaking. Young points us to the next four games, where 3 of them are at home. Then, starting on Jan 31, we face Man United, Chelsea, and Liverpool within a space of 11 days.

In the postgame interview, when asked about the first goal, Arsene admits that Denilson wasn’t going to take the free kick. Sure glad he did!

The absence of Robin van Persie from this Arsenal team is quite evident. RvP brings a forward presence to Arsenal that we’re unable to mimick without him. While Eduardo can play a holding presence up front, he doesn’t quite have the pace to come back into midfield when needed. And, Eduardo’s out too, so Arsene Wenger was forced to field all midfielders in this game against Stoke.

Our defense consisted of Almunia in goal, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, and Traore (Silvestre 88). The rest of the team line-up were Denilson, Nasri, Fabregas, Eboue (Ramsey 54), Rosicky (Vela 45), and Arshavin. The reason I list these out is because none of these players play a traditional (or non-traditional, for that matter) form of striker up front. Many of the them are prone to make runs forward but none of them can be considered targets up front, in the mold of RvP, Bendtner, or Eduardo. Even Vela likes to play off of the left-hand side.

None of this is to say that we shouldn’t be playing this way. I’m just pointing it out.

Arshavin’s goal in the 26th minute brought the end of my frustration over the Russian. His touch up till then had been atrocious. In one instance, he could have easily scored but he pushed the ball too far forward and the goalie was able to get to it first. The goal, however, was a perfect example of Arshavin’s knack for shooting without it looking like he’s shooting. He’s got that little flick from a prone position that ends up being a pretty hard shot. It was the culmination of a nice little exchange between Cesc and Arshavin.

It was utter pain to see Cesc miss a penalty.

As soon as Ramsey came on the pitch, our form changed. I noticed that we were playing a much slower, shorter passing game up until that moment. I’m not sure if the change came because of Ramsey but it seemed to coincide with his arrival. His pace was what won him the opportunity to score and he made good on it in the 80th minute. It was a perfectly placed shot which could have gone anywhere if he had taken it harder.

A new frustration has arisen for me with this team … Carlos Vela. I hope he improves. He really added nothing to the team by floating out on the left like he did.

Blackburn gave up 8 goals to Arsenal last season. With Thierry Henry in attendance for Arsene Wenger’s 13th anniversary at Arsenal, we almost matched last year’s performance in a single match.

Read more  »

It was systematic. It was precise. It was a demolition. Arsenal’s opening of the 2009/10 Premiership campaign at Everton, August 15th 2009, ended in a final scoreline of 6 to 1. Goals were scored by Denilson (26th minute), Vermaelen (37), Gallas (41), Fabregas (48,70), and Eduardo (89). As the main catalyst, Fabregas scored two himself, but he wasn’t the only one who’s performance assisted on the six goals. Nicklas Bendtner, playing wide right, has some dazzling runs down the side and into the box. Arshavin and Van Persie stretched the Everton defense wide open, and each should have had some goals themselves, in all fairness. Song and Denilson controlled the midfield through out the game. This was a clinical team performance by a team with everything to prove.

While Arsenal possessed the ball well, this game was settled by set pieces. The first goal was a master strike by Denilson to curl Fabregas’ side pass into the upper left corner. But, it wasn’t the dagger that ended the possibility of an Everton comeback. The 2nd and 3rd goals did that. Both centerbacks, first Vermaelen, then Gallas, headed the ball home on well-orchestrated set pieces by Arsenal, not so well defended by Everton. One team has been practicing these, the other not. After those two goals, any confidence left in Everton was gone. The rest of the goals would come on counter attacks, because Everton was pushing forward. This is what Wenger’s Arsenal does best and its been too long since we’ve seen it happen.

Read more  »

By finishing off Rangers 3-0 on Sunday, Arsenal won their first hardware of the new season, the 2009 Emirates Cup. Yes, its only a preseason tournament and it was on our home ground, but let’s celebrate it and look forward to good things to come.

Here are some notes that I jotted down while watching. The highlight reel from Youtube is below.

• Andrey Arshavin is so aware of things going on around him. He had several dummies and its hard to see how he knew that another player was behind him. I’m looking forward to some more magical moments from Arshavin. He might be my favorite current Arsenal player right now … no, that’s not true; although, he’s probably a close second to Cesc Fabregas.
• The last goal is a showcase of the young, young guns coming through at Arsenal. Sanchez Watt doesn’t give up and manages to get the ball off the endline where the defender should have been able to shepherd it out. The ball comes to Aaron Ramsey who has the foresight to not blast the ball at an impossible angle. He patiently waits and sees a running Jack Wilshere through a crowd of players. Then, he manages to dink it over everyone to the opposite side of the goal where Wilshere has the composure to place a well hit ball into the far corner. Its a thing of beauty. Watch the highlights below.
• Jack Wilshere!
• The biggest problem for Arsenal is the ability to clear the ball on corners or set pieces. The ball bounced around too much in the box and luckily Rangers didn’t jump on their chances. Hopefully, having Thomas Vermaelen in there will help to remedy those situations.