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. 

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.

It’s up for grabs now!!

By Aashish Siwan

The “It’s up for grabs now podcast” is an Arsenal podcast hosted by famous comedian and fellow Gooner Alan Davies. Alan is joined by co-hosts Tayo Popoola, Keith Dover and Ian Stone in producing this magnificent weekly show, which airs all throughout the season. The cast gather to put together a right laugh. The show has a strong following on Facebook too. If I was to sum it up in a few words, this podcast is like being at the matches, amongst the crowd, amongst the Gunners on the field and right in the atmosphere in the stands. It’s good therapy too if the weeks result(s) don’t quite go our way.

A bit of Arsenal history if I may. The title for this podcast comes from the famous commentary by Brian Moore during the 1989 league title deciding match where Arsenal took on Liverpool at the Kop. The First Division, which is now known as the Premier League, title race was run very close by Arsenal and Liverpool. As it happened, the two clubs met on the last day of the season and the match took place on the 26^th on May 1989. Due to the Hillsborough tragedy, which happened six weeks earlier, this was the only match that was left to be played on the final day of the season.

Arsenal had led the table from Boxing Day, but collected only one point from the final two home games, and Liverpool who were on a 24-match unbeaten run, had relentlessly closed a 19-point gap on the Gunners. Already FA Cup winners, the Reds had won their penultimate game and were now three points ahead of Arsenal. To turn it all around, the Gunners would have needed to win by a 2 goal margin, not an easy task for the then manager, George Graham, as Arsenal had not won at Anfield for the last 15 seasons. Liverpool were odds on favorites to add to their F.A. Cup. Regardless, Arsenal took the lead in the 52^nd minute when Alan Smith scored from a Nigel Winterburn free kick. The magic second goal came well into injury time with a surging run from Michael Thomas, which left Brian Moore screaming “Thomas, charging through the midfield… it’s up for grabs now! Thomas! Right at the end!” and leaving the 4000 odd Gooners delirious in celebration.      

So, if you need a laugh, a bit of a Arsenal history lesson, and feel that just watching the Gunners on TV doesn’t do it and really want to get into the atmosphere, check out the It’s up for grabs now podcast!! The Arsenal podcast hosted by Alan Davies.

Click here for a link to the podcast.

The show will be back on air from the 16th of August, right in time for the new season opener, which is at Anfield as well. 

 

Home Groan

By Aashish Siwan

In September 2009, English Premier League clubs agreed to a “home-grown” player rule. This new rule takes effect from the 2010-2011 season and means that any EPL team must have eight “home-grown” players in their squad of 25.

To qualify as “home-grown”, a player must have been registered in England or Wales for at least 3 years when they were between the ages of 16 to 21 (irrespective of their current age and their nationality), from what I understand of this rule.

What does this new rule mean for Arsenal FC?

Well, we already have a whole host of players who qualify and we will easily make this “home-grown” quota. If I have my data (from Arsenal.com) and calculations correct, the players that already qualify are as follows: 

Squad #. Name	DOB	Date joined AFC
4. Cesc Fabregas	4 May 1987	11 September 2003
11. Carlos Vela	1 March 1989	1 January 2008
14. Theo Walcott	16 March 1989	20 January 2006
15. Denilson	16 February 1988	31 August 2006
17. Alex Song	9 September 1987	12 August 2005
20. Johan Djourou	18 January 1987	1 August 2003
22. Gael Clichy	26 July 1985	4 August 2003
24. Vito Mannone	2 March 1988	1 July 2005
28. Kieran Gibbs	26 September 1989	10 September 2007
30. Armand Traore	8 October 1989	1 August 2006
52. Nicklas Bendtner	16 January 1988	1 August 2004

I have not included Aaron Ramsey in the above list as he is still in the early stages of his long road to recovery but the Welshman easily qualifies.

Listed above are at least six regular first team members (Fabregas, Walcott, Clichy, Denilson, Song and Bendtner). Others like Vela, Djourou and Gibbs have been in and out of the first team in the last year. Traore spent the last season out on loan to Portsmouth and prior to that has also had his chances to impress in the first team. Apart from his stellar 90 minutes away at Fulham last season, Mannone has the least first team experience of this group.

Wojciech Szczesny does also qualify as “home-grown”, but may yet be loaned out next season and Wilshere only misses out as he is just a few months short of his 19^th birthday (which will complete the required three year registration period).         

Taking eight from the 11 above group leaves us room for 17 other first team players (totalling the 25 allowed in the new rule) who can be included in the first team as players who are not “home-grown”. From the current squad, they are as follows:

Squad #. Name	DOB	Date joined
1. Manuel Almunia	19 May 1977	18 July 2004
2. Abou Diaby	11 May 1986	13 January 2006
3. Bacary Sagna	14 February 1983	12 July 2007
5. Thomas Vermaelen	14 November 1985	19 June 2009
6. Laurent Koscielny	10 September 1985	07 July 2010
7. Tomas Rosicky	4 October 1980	23 May 2006
8. Samir Nasri	26 June 1987	11 July 2008
10. Robin van Persie	6 August 1983	17 May 2004
21. Lukasz Fabianski	18 April 1985	26 May 2007
23. Andrey Arshavin	29 May 1981	3 February 2009
27. Emmanuel Eboue	4 June 1983	2 January 2005
29. Marouane Chamakh	January 10 1984	21 May 2010

A total of 23 Gunners are listed in the two groups above. This completes the list of 26 first team players listed on Arsenal.com (excluding Sol Campbell who has joined Newcastle of course). But wait, the new rules state that a squad can only have 25.

Keeping the above scenario in mind, Arsene Wenger’s recent comment on Arsenal.com, about there being “no room to move” in the squad, suddenly makes a lot of sense. He may be forced to let players go in order to bring reinforcements in.

The departures of Fran Merida (Atletico Madrid), Philippe Senderos (Fulham), Eduardo (Shakhtar Donetsk), Mikael Silvestre (released), Campbell (Newcastle) and William Gallas (free agent) would have given Wenger some leeway in terms of registering the 25 required first teamers. On the other hand, there are a number of young Gunners who were out on loan last season who might not be too happy to go out on loan again this season and would rather stake a claim for a spot in the first team. A fitting example being young Szczesny who spent half of last season out on loan to league one outfit Brentford where he put in a string of impressive performances . The confident Pole has made his intentions known but is willing to have a chat to Wenger to explore all his options. Other returning loanees might not be so open and may seek other clubs in search of regular football.

Wenger has concerns about the squad limit of 25 not being sufficient for Arsenal. Given the extensive injury list that the first team has had to cope with in recent seasons, he has a valid point there too. There is respite however. The squad of 25 can be supplemented with an unlimited number of under 21 year olds during the January transfer window. Here’s to hoping that the squad of 25 is sufficient and we have readymade and raring to go replacements in the group of supplement players should the need arise (touch wood, cross all my fingers, polishing up that lucky horse shoe and dusting out the lucky rabbit’s foot).

We should consider ourselves lucky that we have a manager in charge who envisaged this new rule and had been preparing a squad (most of whom have now been playing together regularly for at least a couple of seasons already) just for this new rule. Suddenly Wenger’s policy on young players, effort in building a youth academy and having a relatively young squad is paying dividends while other clubs release senior players (in the case of Chelsea and Joe Cole) to balance their senior squad with youngsters.   

Wenger will have done his sums on how to move this squad forward with the new rule in mind and where exactly any further new arrivals will fit in to balance the squad. The new “home-grown” rule must have featured heavily on Wenger’s mind during this years January transfer window and may explain why only Campbell was brought (back) in when we could have done with a couple more additions.

Only time will tell us who else (if any) is going to join Arsenal for the new season and what qualities they will bring to the squad, which other players (if any) will leave the Emirates and what effect the incoming and outgoing players will have on the squad. Wenger clearly has a few calls to make and a few manager-player one on one meetings to carry out, but trust the manager to have things under control.

I am glad I am not in Wenger’s seat.

Some FAQ’s

Question: Is there a registration deadline?

Answer: Registration deadline is 1^st of September 2010.

Question: What happens if a team cannot name eight home-grown players?

Answer: That team will have to name a smaller squad.

Question: Does this rule also apply to the F.A. Cup, UEFA Cup and the Champions League?

Answer: The rule only applies to Premier League fixtures.

Question: Why has the rule been brought in?

Answer: So clubs promote youth development rather than buy readymade stars.

Question: What happens if a club sustains a long term injury?

Answer: That club can choose from the group of supplement players but special dispensation will be given in exceptional circumstances. If a club were to lose all their goalkeepers to injury say for example.      

**Player DOB and the date they joined Arsenal are courtesy of Arsenal.com.

SC Neusiedl 1919 0-4 Arsenal

By Aashish Siwan

 

Scorers: Walcott 28, Emmanuel-Thomas 30, Chamakh 51 (pen), Vela 65

The second and last match of the Austrian tour kicked off at 5 am this morning at the Sportzentrum Neusiedl. Arsenal started with Manuel Almunia (captain) in goal. Harvard Nordtveit started at right back again and Kieran Gibbs got in at left back. Wenger opted to start Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou at centre half. Midfield was once again marshaled by young Jack Wilshere who was flanked by Samir Nasri and Emmanuel Frimpong. Jay Emmanuel-Thomas got the nod at centre forward with Theo Walcott and Andrey Arshavin in support.

This was supposed to be the easier of the two Austrian fixtures with SC Neusiedl 1919 currently competing in the third tier of the Austrian League which is equivalent to the English Conference League and some Gooners (me included) can be forgiven for thinking that this would be a high scoring affair with the Gunners getting most of the goals. But Neusiedl put in a performance equivalent of a lower table Premier League side that put as many men as they could behind the ball defending and a keeper (or in this case two) who were in decent form. All credit to Neusiedl, they did defend well and did create a few opportunities without resorting to tactics we’ve seen from some of the lower table Premier League sides.

Walcott however did fashion himself a chance in as early as the second minute with a lovely turn down the right channel but the Neusiedl defenders were quick to react before Almunia was called into action to gather a Neusiedl free kick at the other end. Jack Wilshere had a penalty claim in the fifth minute when he managed to make his way past a few defenders with some nifty footwork only to be fouled. Play was waived on by the referee for an Arsenal corner. Nasri was on hand to take the corner which Neusiedl cleared comfortably. Arshavin then created himself some space but his tame effort was no trouble for the Neusiedl keeper Adolf Kaiser. Nasri did well to put Wilshere through just before the tenth minute with Wilshere being brought down again in the Neusiedl box. The referee waived play on again.

 

Emmanuel-Thomas’ tame shot, after some impressive footwork from the big man, was all too comfortable for Kaiser while his counterpart gathered comfortably from a cross at the other end. Some slack defending nearly lead to Neusiedl taking the lead when Markus Dombi’s header from a Michael Koller corner was cleared off the line by a switched on Nasri with Almunia well beaten. Young Gibbs the guilty party being caught ball watching.

 

Kaiser did well to save from Walcott who was setup by Arshavin before Nasri’s cross come shot nearly curled in from the right-hand channel. Kaiser came to the rescue again saving from Arshavin while Walcott’s follow up was well dealt with by the Neusiedl defenders all before Koscielny got in well to head away a Neusiedl counter. Walcott’s persistence was rewarded when he put Arsenal ahead on the 28^th minute. Emmanuel-Thomas’ driving run was dummied by the ever impressive Wilshere and met by Walcott who shot low and hard past Kaiser. 1-0 to the Arsenal but Walcott looked a bit confused and unsure on whether he’d scored or not. No worries Walcott. As long as they go in and count.

 

Thomas Vermaelen was subbed in for Djourou who was seen hobbling off nursing an injury just before the half hour mark. Let’s hope his injury is not too serious. Walcott was at it again soon after, combining well with Wilshere but shooting wide under pressure. With the Gunner’s piling on the pressure, Emmanuel-Thomas doubled Arsenal’s lead on the half hour mark. If Gibbs was guilty of ball watching when Neusiedl nearly took the lead, he more than made up for it doing well to cut back from the by-line to tee up Emmanuel-Thomas to score from a well taken effort.

 

Kaiser was again called into action to first foil Wilshere, who was setup by Nasri, and then Arshavin who had been in and out of the match. The first 45 ended with Arsenal 0-2 up and not the avalanche of goals that I expected. Lesson Learnt.

 

The Second 45 saw Vito Mannone coming in for Almunia, Bacary Sagna coming in at right back (replacing Wilshere) and Harvard Nordtveit moving into midfield (yet another unfamiliar position for the young Norwegian to play in). Gale Clichy replaced Gibbs at left back while Emmanuel Eboue came on for Walcott, Carlos Vela replaced Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh replaced Emmanuel-Thomas.  Wenger opting to give a few of the World Cup returnees a chance to get back into the groove of things.

 

Poor finishing let Vela down early in the second 45 before Chamakh was brought down in the Neusiedl box by Dombi. This time the referee did not hesitate to point to the spot. Chamakh stepped up and sent Rene Summer, Neusiedl’s replacement keeper, the wrong way to open his Arsenal account.  Summer did try to redeem himself however with saves off Vermaelen and Vela just before Vela pulled off a Carlos Vela special. Now, I haven’t seen too many Vela goals for Arsenal, but the once I have seen have been truly spectacular. His effort in the 65^th minute was goal of the match where he pulled off another magnificent chip that left Summer with no hope. Vela’s chance was created by Nasri who put in another impressive shift.

 

Then came the chance Neusiedl needed to pull a goal back in the 66^th minute. The referee pointed to the spot from a Neusiedl corner to a bemusement of almost all of the Gunners and a fair few Gooners (me included). Replays vindicated the referee showing that Chamakh had clearly handled Dominik Silberbauer’s header. Juray Skripec stepped up but Mannone was equal to Skripec’s spot kick, saving comfortably. In all fairness, Skripec’s shot was not the greatest penalty ever taken but full credit to Mannone for stepping up, keeping focus and at the end of it all, helping keep a clean sheet.

 

With 20 minutes to go, Nasri and Koscielny were taken off and replaced by Wilshere and Emmanuel-Thomas. Wenger must be impressed by what he’s seen of the two young Englishmen to give them an extended run. Nordtveit, by the way, finally got his chance to take up position at centre half, his preferred spot, even though he hasn’t done himself any disservice with his performances in all the different positions Wenger has deployed him in. Mannone pulled off another impressive save in the 84^th minute before Summer saved an effort off Vela as the 90 minutes came to a close.

 

Samir Nasri put in another man of the match performance, always willing to get involved in play, being industrious, helping out defending, keeping and making most of possession and most importantly, setting up goals for Walcott and Vela. Mannone also did well in the 45 minutes he featured and Wilshere also impressed. The powerful duo of Emmanuel-Thomas and Frimpong would have left positive impressions on Wenger and Nordtveit’s ability to fit in well in a few positions across the field will also come in handy in the new season.

 

The final scoreline was a bit below what was expected but 0-4 away win is noting to complain about.

 

 

Up next, the Gunners head back to the Emirates to host the 2010 edition of the Emirates cup. Up first, Arsenal take on AC Milan at 3:20 am on Sunday morning (1^st August) and then Celtic at 3:20 am on Monday morning (2^nd August). Expect the gunners to get a good work out in both those matches.

Watch all the goals courtesy of Arsenalist.

Goodbye Eduardo

By Aashish Siwan

 

Eduardo has signed for Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk for an undisclosed fee (which is rumoured to be in the region of £6m). Not since the departure of Vieira have I been so sad to see a Gunner leave the mighty Reds.

 

Eduardo’s decision to leave the Emirates for the Donbass Arena is totally understandable as he had fallen down the pecking order in the central forwards list since the signing of Marouane Chamakh and needed regular game time to build up his fitness, match sharpness and confidence to revive his faltering career. With game time not guaranteed, Eduardo has opted to leave Arsenal for a fresh start.

 

Last season Eduardo was deployed more often in the left forward spot then his preferred central role and seemed a shadow of the man who scored 12 goals from 22 starts in his first season with Arsenal. One can only wonder what sort of an impact the Brazil born Croatian would have had for Arsenal had he not suffered that horrific injury at St. Andrews in 2008. Eduardo showed great mental fortitude, character, determination and courage to make his comeback where many had predicted that he may fail. Months of rehab and physio sessions later, he made a successful comeback and even scored a brace in his first game back against Hull. The 27 year old Croatian international signed from Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb in July 2007 and made 67 appearances and scored 20 goals in all competitions, the most memorable of his goals being this marvellous effort against Burnley in the F. A. Cup.

 

I am sure everyone associated with Arsenal Football Club will wish Eduardo well and I personally hope that the Ukrainian Premier League and the Ukrainian media treats him well (as the Daily Mail still does not get it) and Eduardo sets the Ukrainian League and all other competitions alight with brilliant performances.

Doviđenja and sve najbolje Eduardo. I am sorry you had the worst possible experience indirectly through the best club in the world. It’s the price we pay for the beautiful football we play.

Eduardo’s first ten goals for the club:

 

SK Sturm Graz 0 Arsenal 3

By Aashish Siwan

Scorers: Nasri 16, 43 Lansbury 57

Arsenal took on SK Sturm Graz in their first match of the Austrian tour at the UPC-Arena (formerly known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium, interestingly enough) in Graz this morning. With all due respect to Barnet F. C., Sturm Graz were expected to provide a much sterner test for an Arsenal team full of youngsters and untested combinations. A 27-man squad was named for the tour with the likes of Clichy, Diaby, Sagna, Vela, Song and Eboue all returning to pre-season training but none being available for this match.

Wenger retained the 4-3-3 formation and started with Fabianski in goal, Vermaelen and Djourou at centre back, Nordtveit at right back and Traore at left back. Wilshere once again started at central midfield flanked by Nasri and Frimpong. Chamakh headed the attack supported by Arshavin and Walcott.

The Gunners started the match slow with possession being lost and passes failing to stick all around the park contributing to a disjointed affair. No to be outdone by their prestigious visitors, Graz were looking to exploit the high line held by the Arsenal back four and success nearly came their way around the fifth minute when a Walcott error let the Graz attack in down the left channel. Nordtveit stepped in snuff out that chance.

Walcott had a very close offside decision go against him and when the Gunners did put their foot down, Nasri was on hand to put Arsenal ahead. If Nasri’s goal against Barnet was a gift, his first against Graz was a thing of beauty! Arsenal’s attack broke down when Chamakh was dispossessed just outside the Graz box, but Nasri recovered possession, shifted the ball onto his left foot to avoid an oncoming tackle and shot low past the Graz keeper. One-nil to the Arsenal!!

Thomas Burgstaller cleared off the line a couple of minutes later from Chamakh’s effort on goal. It took Graz 25 minutes to test Fabianski with Marvin Weinberger’s effort off a Graz free kick failing to trouble the Polish international. Fabianski though, had to work harder to pull off a fantastic save off Imre Szabics who was put through one-on-one with Fabianski by Weinberger a couple of minutes later. Szabics headed over from the resulting corner.

A defensive error from stand in captain Vermaelen nearly let Graz in but Djourou reacted well enough to intercept. Nice to see Djourou having a decent pre-season after being out of action for around 12 months thanks to international obligations.

Arsenal needed to respond to the Graz attacks and Nasri stepped up with the prefect reply. Just before halftime, Nasri curled in a free kick into the top left-hand corner of the Graz net giving their keeper no chance what so ever. Arsenal ended the first 45 0-2 up and Wilshere picking up the only caution of the match with a rash challenge.

The second half started with Szczesny in for Fabianski, Gibbs for Traore, Koscielny for Vermaelen, Emmanuel-Thomas for Chamakh, Craig Eastmond for Frimpong, Rosicky (captain) for Nasri and Henri Lansbury coming in for Arshavin with Wilshere moving up to the left forward spot and Rosicky slotting into central midfield. Arsenal had an all English attack of Wilshere, Emmanuel-Thomas and Walcott with Eastmond, Lansbury and Gibbs the other Englishmen to make the XI in the second half.

The second 45 began the same way as the first as the Arsenal subs took some time to get into their groove as Thomas Burgstaller’s attempt on goal ended in the hands of Szczesny. Mario Haas was gifted a shot on goal with defensive frailties creeping in. Haas’ attempt on goal however was weak and Szczesny gathered comfortably.

Their profligacy in front of goal cost Graz dearly as Lansbury added a third from a very composed finish just before the hour. Emmanuel-Thomas and Nordtveit combined well down the right flank allowing Emmanuel-Thomas to power his way past a few Graz defenders. Emmanuel-Thomas laid the ball on for Lansbury who only had the keeper to beat as Wilshere’s dummy run seemed to drag the rest of the Graz defenders with him. Lansbury made it count and looked very assured while doing so.

Wilshere was retired on the hour mark as Traore made his way back onto the field to try his luck in his favored left forward spot.

Emmanuel-Thomas seemed comfortable enough to try and dribble his way past a packed Graz box soon after. Walcott took over to help Emmanuel-Thomas out but his attempt only managing to find the side netting.

The Gunners seemed comfortable enough with 30 minutes to go but that wasn’t going to stop Traore (who should have done better from a Walcott cross even though he wasn’t expecting the ball to find its way past Graz defenders), Rosicky, Koscielny and Emmanuel-Thomas from trying their luck. Walcott too had an attempt that he flashed past the Graz goal.

Djourou’s charge up the Graz half almost cost Arsenal a goal only for Nordtveit to recover well and put in a fantastic tackle in the Arsenal box.

The Gunners came away with much needed match practice and 3 goals at the end of the 90 with Wenger getting a chance to cast an eye on player combinations, individual performances and vital stats ahead of the new season. SK Sturm Graz looked resigned to a defeat in the second half, more so after Lansbury’s goal, opting to conserve energy as their new season kicked off last weekend.

Samir Nasri put in a man of the match shift in his preferred role just in behind the leading striker but Emmanuel-Thomas’ powerful performance (good ball retention, his strength when holding onto possession, his movement on and off the ball and bringing other players into play) all the while alternating positions with Walcott  and Nordtveit’s stellar performance (great tackles, good crosses and great general awareness while defending and attacking) while playing out of position again would not have been missed by Wenger.

Pre-season continues next week with a visit to SC Neusiedl 1919. Kick off is at 5 am on Wednesday the 28^th of July.

Watch all the goals below: