Grateful Gooner

Arsenal 4 – 0 FC Twente

// August 28th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Arsenal FC

Ahh…some breathing room. That’s what this 6-0 aggregate victory over FC Twente earns the Gunners. That and some 15 million Pounds. That’s why qualifying for the Champions League group stage is so important. The draw was held earlier this morning, and Arsenal found themselves in Group G along with FC Porto, Dinamo Kiev, and Fenerbahce. Lots of long flights there, but thankfully the trip to Ukraine is in September, and not December!

The win last night came courtesy of some great performances from the likes of Walcott and Gallas – two players who were criticized for their underwhelming displays at Craven Cottage this past Saturday. Both players got on the score sheet, as did Samir Nasri and Nicklas Bendtner. It was Nasri’s second goal in as many home games, and it’s great to see him getting into a position to score. That’s been sorely lacking from the wing these past few seasons – since Bobby Pires and Freddie Ljungberg left. I have high hopes for Samir, and I’ve got a feeling he’ll meet them. Bendtner had a horrible match last night, but still managed to find himself in the right place at the right time as Denilson (who also improved from Saturday) played a perfect back heel pass right into Bendtner’s path. Last night also saw the welcome return of Cesc Fabregas to the middle of the park, and the European Champion played only a half before coming off, but showed no signs of the hamstring strain that had kept him out these past few weeks.

So, with another season of European nights ensured, the focus goes back to the Premiership. A re-born Newcastle visit this Saturday. Kevin Keegan has improved the Magpies greatly since taking over last season. They gave ManUre a hell of a time on opening weekend, scoring the opening goal before having to settle for a 1-1 draw. The Gunners will need to put on a good performance to get a win, but win they must. Kickoff’s @ 12:30 PM ET here in the US, and the match will be shown live on FOX Soccer Channel.

Fulham 1 – 0 Arsenal

// August 25th, 2008 // No Comments » // Arsenal FC

Well, Arsene surely cannot be pleased with the performance put forth by his Arsenal side on Saturday. Being busy with Mikeapalooza on Saturday and the cleanup yesterday has afforded me some time to think a bit more rationally about the loss, but here I am, two days later, and the stench from Craven Cottage is still fresh in my nose.

Not one Arsenal player did anything right. It’s absolutely the worst performance in years. Arsene had this to say after the match:

“We lacked a bit more quality in our passing. We you look at the possession we had and what we did with it that is always a sign it is not only down power but vision and technical quality. That was not there today. I don’t know why. You have to credit to Fulham as well.”…

…”It was the kind of game where you could not afford to make a mistake and we made a massive one. It was a game where if you get to half-time at 0-0 then you would win the game. That is the biggest regret I have.”…

…”The result is there and we have to cope with it. We have a big game on Wednesday night and we have to respond with a top class performance because was we did today was just not good enough.”

Things need to turn around quickly, as the second leg of the Champions League qualifier against FC Twente takes place on Wednesday. That should see the Gunners advance thanks to the 2-0 lead that they earned two weeks ago, but if anything, Saturday’s performance, by the midfield in particular, underscores the urgent need for a veteran signing. Someone who can come in and do the business. There’s only a few days left before the transfer window closes. Let’s hope Arsene does something soon.

Arsenal 1 – 0 West Brom

// August 16th, 2008 // No Comments » // Arsenal FC

Arsenal got things off to a winning start today with a 1-0 victory over West Brom at the Grove. The Gunners opened the scoring early, new signing Samir Nasri finishing nicely on four minutes after some good build-up play. The relative ease and quickness with which the goal came made it seem that there’d be more goals to come. Unfortunately, those additional goals never materialized. That’s not to say the chances didn’t come. This is Arsenal, of course they came. But then again, this is Arsenal, so of course they weren’t converted.

Arsene Wenger didn’t seem too concerned. He was quoted as saying;

“Well it was the first game of the season, we had a physical game on Wednesday night and I was worried before the game that we would not be sharp. We made a good start, were always in control but could not finish the game off.

“You have that old story in the game, when you cannot finish the game off you feel you deserved to be punished when there’s 10 minutes to go.

“I am pleased with the fact that we didn’t concede a goal. We scored two on Wednesday, one today, so it’s better than the reverse. Overall it was a good week for us. A winning start, a win in the Champions League, so yes a good week.”

He’s right. It has been a good week. Now, thanks to the idiots at FIFA, we’ve got international friendlies scheduled this week, so most of the players will be heading off to play for their countries. Let’s hope they come back healthy. With the injury situation being what it is, the last thing we need is for more players to pick up a knock or two.

FC Twente 0 – 2 Arsenal

// August 13th, 2008 // No Comments » // Arsenal FC

They left it late, but thanks to goals from William Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor, an understrength Arsenal defeated Dutch side FC Twente in the first of the two-legged Champions League qualifier this afternoon.

Missing several starters due to injuries, the midfield was quite makeshift, and included 17 year old Aaron Ramsey and 16 year old Jack Wilshere. Both earned invaluable experience and came through unscathed.

A good two away-goal cushion is just what the doctor ordered, and all but assures that the Gunners will be in the group stages of the Champions League again this season. The second leg, back in London, takes place on August 27. In the meantime, there are two league matches scheduled, including this weekend’s season opener at home against newly-promoted West Brom. Despite another weakened side penciled in to start, this should be a win.

Nasri Finally Signs

// July 11th, 2008 // No Comments » // Arsenal FC

After months of speculation, and a few false alarms, Arsenal today officially announced the signing of French-U21 star Samir Nasri from Marseille for an undisclosed fee.

The midfielder has been touted as the “next Zidane” in some circles, and the few YouTube clips I’ve seen do demonstrate some great skill. It seems that Samir will be given the number 8 jersey, abandoned by Freddie Ljungberg last season, and that he will slot into the midfield straight away, replacing Aleksander Hleb who, by all accounts, seems to be off to Barcelona this weekend.

There’s still the possible departure of 30-goal scorer Emmanuel Adebayor, who is threatening to leave unless he get paid “Henry money” (his quote, not mine). Not sure if he deserves $240K a week after only one good season, but I’m sure there’s some club out there willing to pay it. Training starts in earnest towards next weekend, so my guess is that we’ll see some more news next week before the team heads to Austria.

First up though is the friendly against Barnet on Saturday the 19th, which has become a bit of an annual tradition. This typically is a chance for some of the younger players to prove their worth, so I expect to see new signing Aaron Ramsey, and the returning from loan Carlos Vela on the pitch for at least part of the time. It’ll be nice to have football/soccer back. Sure, with the Euro2008 tournament it’s made for a shorter summer, but nothing compares to weekly stress and relief of club football.

First images of the 2008-10 home shirts leaked

// June 4th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Arsenal FC

The picture above started appearing on message boards and Arsenal blogs this morning. Looks fairly legit, and I have to say, I like what I see. My understanding is that the new shirts are going to serve as an homage to the 1989 Championship winning side, so there’s going to be a yellow and blue away kit that looks similar to this as well. With pre-orders starting next week, my guess is we’ll start to see a few more images in the coming days.