Longball Rovers 1 Netbusters 2

By Aashish Siwan

Goals: Blackburn Rovers: M. Diouf 27’ Arsenal: Walcott 20’, Arshavin 51’

Arsenal walked away with all three points from a wet Ewood Park. As expected, the hosts tried long balls all afternoon but the Arsenal defence held strong under the guidance from an inspired Manuel Almunia.

Wenger kept Almunia in goal, Sagna and Clichy at right and left back respectively and Laurent Koscielny returned after seeing out his one match suspension to partner Vermaelen in central defence. Song and Diaby added some muscle in font of the back four while Cesc Fabregas started his first match this season. The Arsenal captain was flanked by Walcott and Arshavin while Robin van Persie also started his first match for Arsenal in the lone centre forward role. New signing Sebastian Squillaci however was not available for this tough away fixture.

History tells us that taking on a team put together by Sam Allardyce is not an easy task and so a tough long afternoon was expected with a feeling of nervousness thrown in the mix. The Gunners knew what was expected from them in this match with Arshavin throwing down the gauntlet to the rest of his team mates saying that they should be after revenge for last season’s loss.

Trying to set an example, the diminutive Russian went on to tackle the biggest man on the field, Blackburn’s Christopher Samba, to give away a free kick with only 30 seconds gone. As expected, the free kick was sent in long but to no avail. Morten Gamst Pedersen then took Blackburn’s first throw-in of the match. He looked to do a Rory Delap even asking the ball boy to get him a towel to wipe the ball with. Pedersen was leaving nothing to chance but his throw-in was ineffective.

Diaby got a chance to give Arsenal the lead in the 3^rd minute as a van Persie corner managed to find it’s was to him via Walcott. Diaby hammered his shot in from 12 yards out but Vince Grella managed to get a block in even though neither he nor his keeper, Paul “Behind You” Robinson, had the faintest idea of where the ball was headed.

It was all hands on deck after this for Arsenal as Blackburn put pressure on and put in more of those long balls and throw-ins. Even van Persie found himself defending as White’s captain Ryan Nelson nearly gave Blackburn the lead, rising well to meet a Pedersen corner only for Fabregas to clear off the line. A series of corners and throw-ins ensued before Koscielny got a block in on Nikola Kalinic’s effort and Samba steered his header over the bar from the resulting corner in the 15^th minute.

The battle continued with Blackburn looking to exploit potential defensive weaknesses but Arsenal remained resilient and it was against the run of play that Arsenal took the lead. Van Persie skilfully controlled a pass from Arshavin before playing in Walcott who thundered a shot low past Robinson to give the battling Gunners the lead. So fierce was his attempt, that it left a hole in the Blackburn net as the match officials found out before the start of the second half. Walcott’s goal seemed to sap confidence out of the hosts but not for too long as Blackburn were level seven minutes later as El-Hadji Diouf outmuscled Koscielny to tee up Mame Diouf (no relation and on loan from Manchester United) to tap into an empty net. Koscielny learnt the hard way that a dummy tackle is not the best way to defend and Blackburn’s goal was one straight out of the Gunners attacking manual. 

Van Persie was then replaced by Chamakh as the Dutchman hobbled off with what looked like an ankle injury.

Arsenal continued to hold firm despite the double set back and further long balls and managed to withstand the Blackburn pressure to end the first 45 at 1 all.

The second half started eventually as the Blackburn grounds keepers took their time to repair the torn net. Pedersen was on hand to block an attempt from netbuster Walcott, before Pedersen himself had an effort that went high and wide over Almunia’s goal. Then, out of nowhere, Arsenal’s big-little giant awoke to put Arsenal in the lead. The opportunity afforded to Arshavin might have been a bit fortunate as Sagna’s cross found Fabregas whose attempt found the back to Walcott and found its way to Arshavin. Arshavin then proceeded to thread the ball past a sea of legs (mostly Blackburn’s) and also a pair of gloves to send the ball behind Robinson and give Arsenal in the lead.

Chamakh had a shot blocked soon after as Blackburn brought on attacking options to try and level matters. Fabregas, Walcott and even Koscielny had unsuccessful attempts on the Blackburn goal before Arsenal brought on Rosicky for a rusty looking Fabregas. The first caution of the match was handed to Gael Givet for a challenge on Walcott in th 74th minute.

Blackburn, along with the usual aerial bombardment, tried using Samba as an attacker out front to try and unsettle and intimidate the Arsenal backline but the Gunners were having none of it. As the final whistle drew closer, desperation crept in as a couple of Blackburn players were correctly denied penalty claims as ref Chris Foy left them floundering in the Arsenal box. Jack Wilshere, 83^rd minute replacement for Arshavin, nearly extended Arsenal’s lead as he worked himself some space in the Blackburn box only to be foiled by Robinson.

The match officials then signalled 3 minutes of added time, which seemed like an eternity but Arsenal remained resilient and defended as a team to see the match out and celebrate a well earned 3 points and a first away win since March.

Up next, we welcome one of Allardyce’s former teams to the Emirates where we take on Bolton Wanderers. Kick-off is at 3am Sunday morning (12/09).

Goals can be found on Arsenalist.com as usual.

Arsenal need a which doctor?

By Aashish Siwan

Injuries are expected in a contact sport like football but the rate at which Arsenal players seem to suffer injuries has to make you wonder if the club is cursed. The club has world class medical and training facilities available to it and its own complement of medical professionals in the form of team physio (Colin Lewin – 16 years with Arsenal), assistant physio (David Wales – 9 years with Arsenal), fitness coach (Tony Colbert – 12 years with Arsenal), team doc (Gary O’Driscoll – 18 months with Arsenal), masseurs (John Kelly – 8 years with Arsenal) and (Kieran Hunt – 2 years with Arsenal) all of whom would have been kept rather busy in the last few seasons. I think that it is safe to say that this group is vastly experienced and that the players are in capable hands.

It seems that the injuries are becoming more severe as the seasons go on and last season seemed to have been the worst of the lot with the squad decimated to bare bones across almost all departments.

Until this season that is. The new season has barely begun and our injury list has started to lengthen. We already know that Aaron Ramsey is still out and it was welcome news to hear Wenger state on the official site that Ramsey could be back as early as this November. That’s about as positive as it gets after suffering from an injury I have duly coined “The Arsenal don’t like it up em” injury. A mouthful I know, but it could have been worse.

Samir Nasri has just had a knee op that will keep him out for a month, thanks to a Steven Gerrard tackle away at Liverpool. Emmanuel Frimpong will be out for up to nine months with cruciate knee ligaments injuries he suffered in training, which is sad because the young man did well in pre-season. Johan Djourou (hamstring), Denilson (abdominal), Nick Bendtner (groin) are still out.

Let’s hope that we get ample defensive cover in time before injuries bite into the backline and that we don’t have to finish the season with forwards playing defensive roles and if anyone out there knows any good witchdoctors(s) that may just do the trick and free us from this curse.

Injuries to Arsenal players of course is not limited to the physical in nature as some players suffer mental injures (for lack of a better term) as Manuel Almunia seems to from time to time with recent comments about the need to talk about his future if Arsenal buy a new keeper and the Arseblogger sums up Almunia’s situation perfectly. 

Arsenal 6 Blackpool 0

By Aashish Siwan

 

 

Goals:  Walcott 12’,39’, 58’ Arshavin 32(p),  Diaby 49’, Chamakh 83’

Hat-trick hero Theo Walcott put in a stellar performance to welcome back the Clock, which was brought back as part of the Arsenalisation project.  Newly promoted Blackpool were duly dispatched in a match where the Gunners never really got out of second gear and if there was an element of fortune (just a little bit) last week at Liverpool, there was always a feeling the Arsenal could have added to todays score line.

Arsenal started with Almunia (c) in goal, Sagna at right-back, Clichy at left-back while Song filled in for suspended Koscielny and partnered Vermaelen at centre back. Diaby was again given the holding midfielder role, while Rosicky started in central midfield accompanied by Wilshere while Arshavin and Walcott supported lone striker Chamakh up front.

Not to be overwhelmed by their visit to the Emirates, Blackpool started on the attack and were the first to fire a shot in anger as David Vaughan’s attempt ended up in Almunia’s hands in the tenth minute. Blackpool were buoyed by their upset victory away at Wigan last week and wanted to make an impression today as well but found themselves behind in as early as the 12^th minute when Arshavin setup Walcott to slot in the opener. Walcott made no mistake at the end of a slick passing move and it was 1-0 to the Arsenal!!           

Blackpool looked to get back into the match as average defending from Arsenal allowed Gary Taylor-Fletcher to get a header in, which he flashed just wide. Walcott looked to seize this opportunity to showcase his talent as his blistering pace had the Blackpool defense on the back foot for much of the half. Walcott shot just wide in the 16^th minute and he turned provider for Chamakh a few seconds later as the Moroccan headed wide. Rosicky, Arshavin and Chamakh all had unsuccessful attempts on goal as Arsenal looked to pile pressure on Blackpool. Chamakh in particular should have done better as he was put clear in the Blackpool box by an industrious Walcott, only to see his effort saved.

Blackpool were once again caught offside as the Arsenal backline held firm before Walcott pulled an effort wide after some nice build up by ever present Rosicky.

Then, for the second week running, Arsenal found themselves a man up as Blackpool defender Ian Evatt was judged to have brought Chamakh down in the box. Ref Michael Jones did not hesitate to flash the red as Evatt was ordered off the field. In all fairness to Blackpool, this incident was another case for a video ref to be introduced to the sport as Evatt had no idea that Chamakh was just coming onto the ball as he went in to clear the danger and the incident itself took place just outside the Blackpool box. Never the less, Blackpool were down a man with 60 minutes still to go as Arshavin stepped up and made no mistake to double Arsenal’s advantage. His celebration however seemed a bit misjudged as he seemed to have forgotten which side of the now Clock End the Gooners were in.             

Arshavin and Chamakh missed efforts as Walcott put Arsenal further ahead with 6 minutes to go to halftime. Wilshere setting up his compatriot to slot in as the match looked well beyond the visitors. Walcott, Chamakh and Rosicky all had unsuccessful attempts on goal as the first 45 ended with the Gunners comfortably ahead.

Barely four minutes into the second half, Diaby was on hand to score from a Sagna cut back after Wilshere saw his attempt saved. Diaby crashing in his first goal since February where he scored the winner against Liverpool.

Song did well to block an effort on goal by Taylor-Fletcher in a rare attack by the visitors. Diaby missed an attempt after being found by Rosicky before Walcott completed his hat-trick from an assist from Diaby. The young Englishman looked delighted with his contribution to Arsenal’s hefty lead.

Chamakh then somehow missed a sitter after getting to the end of Arshavin’s cross as he slid in to fire over the bar with the goal wide open. Chamakh must have had the urge to curse his luck as he wondered what he needed to do to score.

Diaby was then replaced by Cesc Fabregas. What? I thought Cesc had already been signed by Barcelona with all the media hype surrounding the Spaniard leading up to the season opener last week. Oh, that’s right, Barcelona can’t really afford Fabregas right now. Whatever had been said via the media and done in the open public, Fabregas is still with us and is still our captain.

Carlos Vela was also brought on in and he replaced a rather tired looking Arshavin. Vela brought with him his bag full of tricks which was probably the last thing a tiring Blackpool needed to see. Vela, assisted by Clichy, had his attempt blocked with ten minutes to go before Chamakh finally got into the score sheet with a well taken header off a van Persie corner. The Moroccan looked relived to finally score.

Clichy and van Persie had unsuccessful attempts as the match ended with Blackpool well and truly beaten.

Goals can be found via the Arsenalist.

Up next we travel to Ewood park to avenge last season’s loss. Kickoff is at 11:45 pm next Saturday.

Liverpool 1 Arsenal 1

By Aashish Siwan

Goal Liverpool :Ngog 46’ Goal Arsenal : Reina OG 90’

Arsenal started their 2010-2011 campaign with a draw away at Liverpool. This eagerly anticipated clash had a few questions around squad selection and player availability, as far as the Gunners were concerned, to be answered before kick-off. Manuel Almunia, Lukasz Fabianski, Vito Mannone and Wojciech Szczesny all had some part to play, keeping goal in pre-season and Wenger opted to keep the announcement of this season’s no.1 between him and the players only to be revealed during the trip to the KOP. There has also been feverish speculation in recent weeks that Arsenal are after Aussie custodian Mark Schwarzer with Fulham’s new manager Mark Hughes holding firm in denying his current no.1 this move. Hughes’ previous relations with Wenger no doubt having a part to play in his decision. Shay Given has also been linked with a move to Arsenal since being ousted as Man City’s no.1 by Joe Hart. The Irishman has made no secret of his desire for regular footy and displeasure at having to play second fiddle. Only Wenger knows if we are seriously looking at either Schwarzer or Given.

The Gunners also got a welcome boost with Arsene Wenger signing a new contract, keeping him at the Emirates till June 2014.

Djourou, Ramsey, Denilson, and Fabregas were all missing due to injury while Nordtveit missed out due to an admin error on the part of the Norway Football Federation. The joy’s of international duty.

Wenger opted to start Manuel Almunia (c) in goal, confirming him as Arsenal’s No. 1 until the Premier League transfer window closes on the 1st of September if media speculation is to be believed. Bacary Sagna started at right-back, Gael Clichy started at left-back while central defense was manned by Laurent Koscielny, making his Premier League debut, and Thomas Vermaelen. The much talked about defensive midfield role, due to Song’s injury concerns, went to Abou Diaby who was declared available only hours before kick off. Jack Wilshere, also making his Premier League debut (for Arsenal that is) and Samir Nasri started in central midfield while Emmanuel Eboue and Andrey Arshavin started on the flanks leaving Marouane Chamakh (third Gunner making his Premier League debut) as the lone striker completing the 4-1-4-1 formation. Also making a debut was the new Arsenal away kit which looks impressive in yellow and the fluorescent nature of this kit should help the opposition recognise the Arsenal players appendages better, cutting down on those nasty challenges the Gunners seem to suffer. Here’s for hoping.

The KOP was buzzing with anticipation and excitement for the season ahead under new manager Roy Hodgson and the hosts got going with the customary “You’ll never walk along” but the travelling Gooners did not disappoint, making themselves heard while paying homage to Arsene Wenger and his young chargers.

Thomas Vermaelen got the action underway for the Gunners who looked sharper then their hosts. Nasri laid on a free kick for the Belgian to smash past the Liverpool wall only for Reina to come to the rescue with a firm punch clear. Nasri, Clichy and Vermaelen all had attempts just before the hour mark as the hosts looked unlikely creators of anything positive. 

Serbian Milan Jovanovic came up with an attempt for Liverpool, which he shot wide on the 37^th minute after beating the offside trap. The new Liverpool acquisition looking to win the home crowd over but would have done better squaring the ball onto an on rushing Joe Cole instead. Just before halftime, Glenn Johnson made some space for himself with the Arsenal defense failing to close him down as we seem to do more often than not. Johnson’s resulting effort was tipped over the bar with an acrobatic save from Almunia. Steven Gerrard took the resulting corner and defensive lapses again allowed David Ngog to get in and steer his header on goal. Clichy was alert enough to clear the danger off the line as Liverpool started to pile pressure on.

Cole then managed to get himself sent off right on the stroke of halftime with a crude challenge on Koscielny. The initial tackle close to the Arsenal corner flag wasn’t as bad as the follow through which saw Koscielny being stretchered off. Ref Martin Atkinson had a clear view of the incident and did not hesitate to award a straight red. Grim news for an Arsenal squad with only Song on the bench as defensive cover and one could only fear the worst for Koscielny.

It was a welcome sight then to see Koscielny walk out for the start of the second half without any signs of impairment. Arsenal avoided disaster there but not for too long as young Jack Wilshere misjudged a ball from Arshavin down the Arsenal right-hand channel which was played to him as the Gunners tried to pass their way out of trouble. Ngog was quick to pounce on the loose ball and drove into the Arsenal box to fire in an attempt that gave Almunia no chance. The Gunners fell behind just as they were supposed to make the most of their one man advantage.

The unexpected lead gave Liverpool a boot as they started to impose themselves on the game. All of a sudden, things were not looking too bright as Almunia came for and fluffed at a couple of corners and Arsenal looked in danger of falling further behind.

Arsenal called on the services of Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky to try and unlock a stubborn Liverpool defense which had Gerrard dropping in deep as defensive cover to try and protect their lead.  Wilshere and Eboue made way. The hosts continued to create chances without building on their lead with Dirk Kuyt and Ngog looking to expose the Arsenal backline.

Reina was called into action to parry a Walcott free kick before Diaby was replaced by Robin van Persie and Liverpool brought on Torres.

Liverpool were reduced to nine men temporarily with about ten minutes to go as Daniel Agger seemed to collapse in a heap in back play as Arsenal attacked. No one seemed too sure as to exactly what had happened to Agger with concussion, heat stroke and a pulled muscle seeming the likely causes.

Rosicky, not fazed by what was going on around him, nearly pulled Arsenal level combining well with Chamakh only for Reina to pull off one of the saves of the match. Rosicky’s movement and trickery alone deserved a goal. Oh Arshavin, where art though is what I thought to myself as time ran out. The Russian was present but failed to have any impact what so ever.

Not one to give up, Chamakh kept trying and was duly rewarded when his attempt was palmed into his own net by Pepe Reina. Chamakh got to the end of a Rosicky cross only to hit the post but Reina was on hand to help the Gunners achieve an unlikely point as Arsenal were finally level. Gerrard nearly put Liverpool back into the lead from a free kick but Alumina did well to save but then Koscielny managed to get himself sent off as well for two bookable offences in quick succession as the added five minutes ran out. Koscielny’s sending off was debatable though as ex Premier League referee Graham Poll explains.    

As disappointing as the draw was, Arsenal should count themselves extremely lucky that Reina gifted the travelling Gooners a reason to smile, well sort of, with a blunder from the otherwise reliable and one of the best keepers in the League.

Next up we welcome newly promoted Blackppol to the Emirates who caused a major upset putting 4 goals past Wigan in the weekend. Kick-off is 2 am on Sunday the 22^nd. Good Arsenal blogger the Arsenalist has all the match highlights here.

News roundup

By Aashish Siwan

Young striker Sanchez Watt joined Leeds United on loan for the entire 2010-2011 season on the 3^rd of August. He started for Leeds who hosted Lincoln City in the first round of the Carling Cup. The 19 year old setup a goal and earned a penalty as Leeds dispatch Lincoln City 4-0.

Luke Freeman is also out on loan and joined Yeovile Town on the 2^nd of July. The England youth international has already featured for Yeovile Town in the Carling Cup and returns to Arsenal on the 1^st of January 2011.

Kyle Bartley too has gone back out on loan to Sheffield United. The young central defender made 13 appearances for United in a three month loan spell last season and has opted for a season long loan this time around.

Dutch striker Nacer Barazite is on trial in Scotland with Rangers. It is not clear at this point in time whether the trial is with an option for a season long loan deal or for a permanent transfer.

Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs have been called up for the England senior squad to face Hungary in a friendly match tomorrow morning. The duo are joined by Theo Walcott who has been recalled by England manager Fabio Capello. Henri Lansbury is to also represent England but at under 21 level.

Arsenal captain and talisman Cesc Fabregas has finally come out expressing his desire to remain at the club for at least another season. He released this statement last week making his intentions knows. This is a welcome boost for the Gunners ahead of the season opener at the KOP.

International Watch

A grand total of 12 Gunners are representing their nations in the latest round of frendlies sanctioned by FIFA just days ahead of Arsenal’s visit to Liverpool. Whilst other Premier League teams will have their fair share of representatives out there, one has to wonder of the significance and rue the timing or these frendlies and hope that the Arsenal contingent come back injury free and fresh and ready for this weekend. Anyone hoping to see World Cup finalists Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie in action this weekend might be disappointed as both have been given very slim chances to feature by Arsene Wenger.

This latest round of frendlies sees Fabregas travel to Mexico where he will take on Carlos Vela’s Mexico, Emmanuel Eboue travel to Upon Park where Ivory Coast take on Italy, Walcott, Wilshere and Gibbs travel to Wembley and Thomas Vermaelen travel to Finland with the Belgian side. Tomas Rosicky is also with the Czech Republic squad to host Latvia while in form Samir Nasri has been included in the French team that will travel to Oslo to take on Norway. Gael Clichy, Abou Diaby and Bacary Sanga will all have to watch the match on TV while they serve a one match ban imposed on the entire French squad that took part in South Africa. Lukasz Fabianski is in the Polish squad to face a Cameroon side that will be missing the services of Alex Song who is still out injured. Andrey Arshavin is also away with the Russian squad while they prepare to face Bulgaria while Marouane Chamakh is away with the Moroccan squad to face Equatorial Guinea.  

Here’s to hoping that those out on international duty come back to Arsenal refreshed and injury free.

Liverpool, here we come.          

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